Season 2 · Episode 11

Michael Bell Sr. "Peerless" A Branding Masterclass

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0:00Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
0:07And this is big.
0:10I have a legend speaking on branding.
0:14And I've been in the entertainment realm
0:1650 plus years, heavy in the music,
0:21but also an actor, model, coach.
0:26There's so many things.
0:27And I want to speak on that,
0:29but I want to give you your flowers for everything you've done,
0:31especially in the music and hip hop community.
0:35And, you know, you could do the better introduction for yourself.
0:39So I'll let her pass the torch and pass the mic.
0:42OK, good evening. Good morning.
0:44My name is Michael Bell, AKA Peerless,
0:49in terms of my hip hop name,
0:51or you can find my music under that name.
0:54He's Peerless, Peerless.
0:56Yeah, I've been in the entertainment business for 50 plus years.
1:01And as an artist, throughout the 50 years,
1:06it was all for me about expanding, growing,
1:11leaving comfort zones, you know, things of that nature as an artist
1:16to keep reaching, because artists, I consider art a limitless source.
1:21And as long as you can tap into a creative reservoir,
1:25you're right on time and time.
1:30So I want to jump right into it, going all the way back to age 14.
1:36What were some of those moments like at that age?
1:40Well, at the age of what was very popular here in Cleveland,
1:44and there was a lot of talent, was talent shows.
1:49They were very popular.
1:52It was a lot of competition because you had a lot of great talent here.
1:55You had a lot of talent that was actually pattering themselves
2:01after national acts.
2:03So therefore, it could have easily been a national act, easily.
2:09I mean, in terms of the nightclubs and things that you had here,
2:14you couldn't, in other words, like,
2:17I would say that there's a lounge act and then there's a performance act.
2:23What's the difference between the lounge act and the performance act?
2:26OK, a performance is like what you would go see at a venue,
2:31what the Wolf, I was going to say the Wolfstein, but what is it called now?
2:34Is it still the Wolfstein?
2:35I think that changes.
2:36OK, yeah, the Wolfstein State Theatre, it would be that level of talent,
2:41because in those days, you got discovered by your performance.
2:45If a record company was going to sign you,
2:48it would be because of your performance.
2:50That's what, you know, we weren't recording a lot of records like the Access,
2:54you know, to do those things today.
2:57So therefore, the performance was a thing.
3:01And I was raised on the street, 139th and Kinsman.
3:07And on that street as singers, you had Paul Woodall,
3:11you had Michael Camp, you had Alfred Andrews,
3:15you had Christine Dixon, you had Tony Christian.
3:20It just it was so many singers.
3:22So at the age of 11, I started singing.
3:26We started out singing Beatles songs.
3:28And then a couple of years after that, the Temptations came on.
3:33I started singing with Alfred and Michael.
3:36And then later on, maybe a year after we started,
3:38a young man moved onto our street by the name of Paul Woodall.
3:42What was very interesting about Paul at the age of, like, say, 13 or 14,
3:47he could arrange vocal harmonies.
3:51And because in those days, a lot of us, we didn't have bands
3:54unless we were doing the show.
3:55So we started out a cappella.
3:57So a lot of the vocal things that he would create
4:00would compensate for the music that wasn't there.
4:03He was a very talented fellow.
4:05So I moved from Cleveland to Shaker.
4:10And there I met my best friend and one of the best singers ever
4:14in Cleveland, Ohio, by the name of a guy by the name of Harold Beverly.
4:19He went from Harold Beverly to H.B.
4:22Soul to Sundown.
4:23He had many names, but he was an extraordinary singer.
4:28Because in those days, Eddie Laverto, the OJs was very popular
4:31and David Ruffin, of course, and Harold could do both of those well.
4:36In fact, years later on, as he traveled through the South
4:40and gained some popular popularity,
4:44Olly Woodson, who sang Treat Her Like a Lady for the Temptations.
4:48That was his drummer.
4:50And he would feature Olly.
4:51And later on, those guys got together
4:54and another with another friend of mine by the name of Nebraska Turner,
4:58who I had sung with who
5:01some with the some with the Bill Pinkney Platters
5:04later on, all those guys together.
5:07So there was a lot of that going on.
5:09So at 14, I did 12.
5:11I did my first talent show.
5:14And at that time, the Temptations had a record on live.
5:17Don't look back.
5:21I just started singing.
5:22And a lot of the older guys would say, man, you sound like Paul.
5:26I didn't know who I knew David was.
5:28You know, I knew who Eddie was.
5:30You sound like Paul.
5:31So he told me, said, go and get to meet the Temptations album.
5:35And Paul, he was the original lead singer.
5:38You listen to that. So I did.
5:41Now, when he got time to do the talent show was my first performance.
5:45And I guess throughout the rehearsals, other people who were on the show
5:49were talking about us to the students because we.
5:53Well, Alfred and Michael went to Hamilton, the Herald and I went to Shaker.
5:57So we couldn't compete because of that, no matter how good we were,
6:02because we all didn't attend the same school. Right.
6:05So anyway, man, we walked out and it was packed.
6:09And I was nervous.
6:11But you heard the roar of the crowds.
6:13I saw they already heard about us. Right.
6:15So I got comfortable. I was real comfortable.
6:18And we did the first two songs and by the time we got to my song,
6:21which was The Closer.
6:24I do remember as soon as it started
6:27that the crowd went crazy and I started singing.
6:31So I got real comfortable.
6:33And I was singing away.
6:34And I watched as the crowd went from screaming
6:40to standing up and what had occurred.
6:45Our time was up.
6:47But I was so into the song, I didn't see anybody on the side stage
6:51saying, come off, come up, come off.
6:54Right. Because our time was up.
6:56So I guess they say close the curtain.
6:59And the moment I wasn't aware of, but the moment they closed the curtain,
7:02I stepped forward in front of the curtain and laid on everybody.
7:06Everybody told me it looked like he was playing.
7:09And I remember I went down on one knee
7:11and these girls bum rushed the stage and they grabbed me
7:16and they almost pulled me head first.
7:18And the assistant principal, Mr. Noah, he reached out from behind
7:22the curtain and grabbed me right on time.
7:24And all the guys from the rest of the group ran to me.
7:27Oh, man, did you see that?
7:28That was called you. Did you see what you did?
7:30You know, and I didn't.
7:31And it was like, oh, that was it.
7:33That was it. You know, this is this is where I needed to be.
7:36And I felt someone needed to see us at the age of 12 and at the age of 14.
7:43The popular club here was Leo's Casino.
7:47In those days, a lot of those acts didn't go
7:51and do the large venues like they do now.
7:54The supper club was the next level.
7:57Like you had the popular Copa
8:00Cabana in New York City and Cleveland.
8:04You had the Versaia Motor in.
8:07So let me for maybe your age group.
8:11Let me give you a picture of Cleveland.
8:14You had clubs from like a hundred and five
8:18all the way down to seventy ninth or seventy first.
8:20It was closed everywhere.
8:23People were out, man, having fun.
8:25A lot of national acts came through here.
8:28A lot of them just came in sometimes to sit, you know, just sit in
8:31and play because Cleveland, as far as the music goes, it was like Detroit.
8:37But we didn't have the producers and what have you
8:41to elevate us to that next level.
8:45So it was like for me, I wanted to be in the music business.
8:50So the Temptations were playing the Versaia.
8:53I saw it in a Friday Plain Diller Friday magazine.
8:56It was about 11 o'clock at night.
8:59And I thought I'd give a call to the venue.
9:02And when I called the venue, I knew the name Eddie Kendricks well.
9:05And from just studying the album covers for so many years,
9:09I felt a vibe with Eddie and Paul.
9:12And I called and asked for Eddie.
9:14In those days, they send you right through to the room.
9:17And I have to tell you that even at 14,
9:20my voice was heavy as it is now.
9:23So I sounded like an adult man when I called.
9:26I didn't think about that then.
9:28And I called and I had to speak to Eddie.
9:30We greeted and I told him, I said, man, you know, I have a group
9:34and we sing your songs and people love us, you know,
9:37because of the talent show.
9:39And that was the first time.
9:40Yeah, that was the first talent show.
9:42First performance ever.
9:44So what would you say to a young artist that,
9:48you know, they haven't got themselves out there
9:51or scared or be afraid to get on stage
9:54like that limited belief, like that first time stage fright.
10:00You know, it's very funny about stage fright
10:03because a lot of people relate butterflies.
10:08I get butterflies nervous.
10:10Yeah. Yeah, that's considered like a nervousness. Right.
10:13But here's the story to that.
10:16If you've been in the business a long time
10:18and then you lose those butterflies, it's time to come off stage.
10:27That type of energy, you can cave in or push forward.
10:34You see, as in anything, that's a new adventure.
10:38The unknown always seems to be frightening until you jump in.
10:41And sometimes you got to jump in with no feet.
10:46Jump in with no feet. Yeah.
10:47That means you don't know what's happening, where you're going to go.
10:52But what's important and most important is faith in yourself.
10:57Think how much faith that I have to pick up the phone at 14
11:01and let me call one of the Temptations at 14.
11:06The talent show did it for me.
11:08The talent show did it in a way that I didn't want to go to school anymore.
11:15You got that mindset at 14. I had that mindset at 14.
11:17That's powerful.
11:18So I called and he said, Where are you guys singing?
11:25And I said, Well, we're singing in my mother's basement.
11:27And he said, I'm not coming out to any mother's basement,
11:30but you guys could come down here.
11:33All right. It was at the Versailles Motor Inn.
11:36We could go there. So it was late at night.
11:38I was pumped. I was excited.
11:40I couldn't wait to the next day, you know, to get together with them,
11:43to tell them, hey, man, we're going to audition for Eddie Kendricks.
11:46And the next day, I told my mother, my brothers and sisters,
11:50and they were like, Mike, for real, how did you know?
11:52How did you know where they were staying and everything?
11:54So when I got with the guys, they had the same questions.
11:57Man, how did you know? How did you know?
12:00For me, I'm I'm researching.
12:02Well, they're here. I called.
12:04And the guy he said to me when I called, hey, man, they're not staying here.
12:08They're staying down the street at the Holiday Inn.
12:10I said, the Holiday Inn? Yeah, on 36th Street.
12:14So that's how I found that out. Right.
12:15So in those days, you know, you had the phone in the basement, the phone upstairs.
12:20I said, we'll go in the basement and I'm going to call to show you.
12:24I know where they are.
12:26So I called and they went downstairs.
12:28I said, pick up the phone.
12:31And they picked up the phone and they heard the operator say, sorry, he's not in.
12:35So that call start calling other guys, David, Paul.
12:39And they were like, oh, man, we're going to seek for the temptation.
12:42They were pumped. Right. Yeah.
12:44So we already.
12:46And one of the things that Eddie said to me,
12:49he said, don't bring any cooties down here.
12:52And cooties was our term for what people would say, hoodlums or the gangsters.
12:57Don't bring them down here.
12:59And as soon as he said that in a way, that
13:03kind of celebrity thing
13:06kind of went away because he was speaking our language,
13:09but he didn't want to be bothered with that.
13:11So he was he was aware.
13:14I was aware that he was aware what was going on in our generation. Right. Yeah.
13:20So a couple of days or a day or two,
13:23a day or two before we got ready to go down, I called again.
13:27And this is how the phone call went.
13:30Hello. Hello, Eddie.
13:32Who is this? This is Bill.
13:34Don't come down here, damn it.
13:36You didn't call. You bugged everybody in the group.
13:38I'm sorry.
13:39Look, if I hear you bugged another person in this group,
13:44don't come down here.
13:45So don't bug.
13:47If you if you don't do it, you can come.
13:49OK. And I didn't know I'm sorry.
13:51So he said, OK.
13:52Now, I didn't tell the fellas almost booed.
13:54So, yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:58And it came to that day.
14:00And we went down and he answered the door.
14:03And we I had never seen any with facial hair.
14:06Very thin fellow, like six, one, very thin.
14:09And we walked in and I noticed and it was the first time that people
14:14I saw someone who actually collected records
14:17because in his hotel room, it must have been about
14:20maybe 50 records lined up of albums of different artists
14:24other than themselves.
14:26So we found out that he was a collector of phonographs.
14:30And so we came in and we had a lot of questions, you know, like
14:35why didn't you and David get along?
14:38And he addressed it as is as if it was territorial.
14:42And I'm from Birmingham.
14:44David is from Mississippi.
14:45That's how he addressed it.
14:47But we got the impression that everything was cool.
14:50We asked about drugs.
14:52What I noticed
14:54that they never spoke about each other's business.
14:59The answer was, I don't know about anybody else, but I don't, you know.
15:04So we picked up on that.
15:06So let me hear you sing.
15:08We got up and we sang an OJ song.
15:11How does it feel?
15:13He's very impressed.
15:14And then I saw him don't look back.
15:18And the moment that I finished.
15:22I kind of got the same response that I got from the talent show.
15:27He jumped up and ran out of the room. Wow.
15:31And all the guys just it was a surprise because he didn't say anything.
15:37He just jumped up and ran out of the room.
15:40And we're all we all start, you know, look toward the door as he went out.
15:43And in my mind, I said he went to get Paul
15:48because the older guys told me you sound like Paul so much like Paul.
15:54He came back. He was collected.
15:56You know, where did you go?
15:58Oh, I went to see some of the other guys in the group.
16:02You know, was was around.
16:05And then I knew that it was Paul.
16:07Yeah. Wow.
16:11Then I started to show the choreography,
16:15which you say as well, I just move.
16:17I'm not a dancer.
16:18So I was showing the choreography and where he was standing,
16:22the hotel room, you can look out into the parking lot.
16:25And Paul just happened to be pulling in.
16:27And we all ran to the to the window because he said, here's Paul now.
16:32And we saw this green El Dorado pull in green and white
16:36pull in and saw this guy get out.
16:40And he had what we would call a polo shirt.
16:45This is like 1967.
16:48He had like a polo.
16:50This polo was like a caramel color.
16:56And it was it's hard to describe because I've never seen another one
16:59like it because it was like material on material made within it
17:03because they had a design. It was really nice.
17:05And then they had a pair of silk shorts,
17:08which would have kind of tapered to the knee that length
17:12and a pair of slip on deck tennis shoes and a pair of Ray bands.
17:18And as he got out of the car, we was making a hoopla.
17:21Paul, Paul.
17:22And he humored us by putting on the glass, his glass,
17:25like touching his glasses and walking like he was a big time star.
17:29You know, yeah. And there was an awning
17:33that he would walk under to come into the hotel
17:35that he would be out of our visibility.
17:38But before that occurred, he threw his keys in the air
17:42without losing the stride and without looking back,
17:46caught him behind his back.
17:48He did a toe spin,
17:50caught his keys behind his back without losing the stride.
17:53And he came in and Earl Brevely was standing by the door
17:57and Eddie says answer the door and he answers the door.
18:02And then I heard Earl says, hey, Paul, and Paul says,
18:06yeah, yeah, yeah, I talked to you on the phone.
18:08And I said, no, that was me.
18:11And he said it just like this.
18:13Oh, that was you, huh?
18:15Like that, you know, I was like, it didn't sound like approving. Right.
18:20So I said he was the one that probably gave Eddie all the trouble
18:23because not only, you know, did I feel like I messed up,
18:26but I felt like I got him in trouble by calling them. Right. Yeah. And
18:32I was nervous because he was the choreographer
18:37and Eddie was kind of proud.
18:38He said, go ahead, Bill, finish the steps.
18:41And Paul had on the Ray Band, so you really couldn't read,
18:44you know, his face, he had a straight look like a poker face.
18:47And he was like, yeah, do the steps.
18:51And I started with the choreography and I was probably
18:5860 seconds in.
19:00And he said it just like this.
19:04We got a goddamn thief in the room.
19:07And as a kid, 14,
19:11it didn't hit me like a compliment.
19:16It actually hit me like I was a thief.
19:19And I stopped right there in my tracks.
19:24And I think he picked up on that and he said, OK, they can dance
19:29but can they sing?
19:31And he was already pumped.
19:33You know, he's like, yeah, right. See? Yeah.
19:35So we saw Harold's song, How Does It Feel?
19:38He was like, yeah, OJs, you know, they do the OJs and then I saw him
19:42don't look back.
19:44And Eddie was sitting down and Paul was standing up.
19:47And Eddie kept nudging him while I was singing and pointing up.
19:51Get ready, get ready. He's on you.
19:54And after everything was after we were done,
19:58I was waiting on this response and he just went, oh, yeah,
20:04they can sing, but they'll be broke up by tomorrow.
20:07And one of the guys in the group said, sure would.
20:12And one of the herald got upset and like balled up his fist
20:16and was like boo man, because his nickname was Boo, Boo's Alfred.
20:20Boo man. And then Paul said, look at his boy,
20:22trying to give him the high sign.
20:24Like, why did you say that?
20:26OK, I'll see you guys later.
20:28And he left. And I was like, wow.
20:32So Eddie said, look, I want you guys to come back tomorrow.
20:35I want some people to hear you.
20:37So we will pump these because I got to get ready to go to work.
20:41And I asked, where do you work?
20:44And he laughed and said, little brother,
20:47this is work.
20:48So here's our orientation.
20:51So we started at the age of 14.
20:53And I was the youngest.
20:55Hey, let's go to work. Right.
20:56You know that we started using that.
21:00So the next day,
21:02no, what occurred?
21:05Eddie went into the bathroom to get ready to for work.
21:09And I was standing outside the bathroom door
21:12while he was trimming up his food, man, just talking.
21:15And there was a knock on the door.
21:18And he said, answer that.
21:20And when I opened the door,
21:22it was this tall fellow
21:25that had on this gold shirt with a V neck,
21:30green pants and the same deck tennis shoes that Paul had on.
21:35And we were listening to the Temptations album,
21:38Temptations with a Lot of Soul.
21:40And the song that came on was a song called Save My Love
21:44for a Rainy Day, which was a song that Eddie had recorded.
21:47And this guy, his arm was in a cast.
21:50And as soon as I opened the door and he he was just standing there,
21:54he looked at me and I looked at him.
21:56Then he pushed past me and said, whoa, this is my song.
22:00And I was like, Eddie, who was that?
22:01He said, that's Ruffett.
22:03And see, he didn't have on glasses and anything.
22:05And in 67, a lot of black men were transferring over
22:11from process, process hairdos.
22:14I don't know. You're familiar with the process where you get your hair
22:18straightened. Yeah.
22:19So, you know, you kind of had that like that white boy's hair.
22:22You know what I mean?
22:24So yeah, they were leaving that and going in the 60s was about
22:30the true culture of blacks in America.
22:34And I would say that period was our culture.
22:40And I say that.
22:42And even though when I'm going to say you may not understand it,
22:45but I'm going to use it so you'll get an idea.
22:48The ants are ancestors.
22:51Well, upon the blacks in the 60s, like full force,
22:59you can see it in the dress.
23:01You can see it in the consciousness.
23:04But at that time in America,
23:06everybody was questioning the values of America.
23:10You had the hippies, you had this.
23:13They would release. They were questioning everything.
23:15So out of that period, you got your Martin Luther Kings.
23:18You got your H rap Browns.
23:21You got your Nikki Giovanni, Nikki Giovanni.
23:24You got all our revolutionary people was through the 60s.
23:29So the Afro was the identification, black power.
23:35But David was standing there with a hairdo that looked like in 67
23:40that looked like it was a woman's hair straight out of rollers, curlers.
23:47So it took me aback, you know,
23:50because there's a lot of things that can go on in the entertainment industry.
23:53Right. You know, your stuff about Puffy now, you know,
23:56which is not new, a lot of that stuff.
23:57So you didn't know who was who, what was what.
24:00You know what I mean? Right.
24:01And I was cognizant of cognizant of that at that age.
24:04But he pushed past me and he started dancing
24:09in the middle of the room to the song Save My Love for a Rainy Day.
24:14And they were just like taken in.
24:16And even where I was standing, I was taken in.
24:19I had to I had to say dance, David.
24:21And then he quickly turned around and say, hey,
24:24you guys can come to my room if you want to.
24:26So Eddie said, OK, look, make sure you guys are back at the wall.
24:29So we said, OK.
24:30So we walk and we walk into David's room, which is a door to down.
24:34And he says, my record player is just as good as Eddie's.
24:37You know, so we go and we open the door.
24:40And it was a gentleman in the bathroom picking his hair out.
24:44And I was like, David, who is that?
24:46And, you know, you want to be the first to know.
24:48And I tell the rest of the guys is coming in right behind me.
24:51But they're right behind me. But I want to be in the know.
24:53You're right. Right.
24:55And I didn't hear him all the way.
24:58And I thought he said, that's our manager.
25:01And I turned around to the rest of the guys and I said, hey, man,
25:04that's the temps manager.
25:05And David got in my face and said, that's my manager.
25:09And then like I just straighten up like right.
25:13And in the hotel room,
25:14you only have so much room for clothing and what have you.
25:17They had brought up an extra rack for David and like people
25:21collect to the shoes that they David must have had about 30 or 40
25:24pairs of shoes to wear.
25:26Then on the on the dresser, it was a tray
25:29with about maybe 30 pair of different frames of glasses.
25:33You know, so we walked in and we wanted that.
25:37He puts his he puts this little record player on
25:40that couldn't compare to Eddie's and he's playing their album.
25:45And we David Singh, David Singh.
25:47He'd go, no, it's like David Singh.
25:51No. So Harold Beverly opened up and he was rolling.
25:56David turned around like after he was 30 seconds in for not your words,
26:01for not your words.
26:03Harold, shut up, because David was like intimidating. Right.
26:07So we had questions.
26:08You know, it's like, hey, man, we heard you were supposed to go to this party.
26:13And David at that time was 26 and David was like, party,
26:18party, get your rest, get your rest.
26:23And he was almost during this period
26:25was talking about different other things.
26:26And then he was almost dressed.
26:28And then he said, I'm not wearing this.
26:31So he took that all off.
26:33In my mind, at 14, he's showing out.
26:38OK, so
26:40as he was going in his drawer to get the fresh pair of socks
26:44to go with his next outfit,
26:46one of us asked, which one of you go with Tammy Terrell?
26:50That was our turn for saying that that's your girlfriend.
26:54Is that who you go with?
26:55You know, so David did this.
26:59Which one of you go with Tammy Terrell?
27:02And he says, go with
27:05go with and at the time, he pulled off some pictures out of the drawer
27:10and he handed them to Alfred and we all jumped on the pictures.
27:13And it was a picture of Tammy and it said to my husband, David Ruffin.
27:19And we said, oh, man, you married to Tammy Terrell.
27:23What did the picture say?
27:25It's just you get an idea of David.
27:28OK, so so so.
27:30So in my mind, I'm like.
27:35This guy's like egotistical.
27:38You know, I didn't have a turn, but I felt, you know, ego. Right.
27:41So I just got I got regular.
27:43I got, you know, I felt comfortable.
27:46And I think one of the guys asked him something and he said,
27:49you see that bottle of medicine on my dresser?
27:53I have to drink that every day.
27:55He had ulcers at 26 years old.
27:58OK. So how was he at?
28:00How old was he at the time? He was 26.
28:03Oh, wow. OK.
28:05Yeah, he had ulcers. He was 26.
28:08And I remember getting up off the bed and walking over
28:11to the side of the dresser and watch him comb his hair out.
28:17And he first time he really initiated something.
28:20And you guys have heard of a 75 and everybody was like, no, no.
28:24And I went, I have, you know, like that, you know,
28:27I'm flexing. I have.
28:30And he he from combing his hair out.
28:33He was like 63. I'm a little guy.
28:34He turned around, got in my face and said, what is it then?
28:39And I said, I was intimidated.
28:40And I said, I don't know. I was just kidding.
28:42He said, I know you were right. Yeah.
28:46So he completely completed everything.
28:48And we go downstairs in the elevator
28:51and we're standing outside on the ramp
28:54like of the hotel before you walk into the parking lot.
28:59And we see this long limousine come around.
29:04And you you you couldn't tell whether it was a Mercedes
29:09or whether it was a Cadillac. It was sharp.
29:11I had never seen anything like it.
29:13I guess this was the 75.
29:16And on the car panel on the passenger side,
29:21you know, you got the with a light panel, then there's the door.
29:23But at the bottom of the front panel panel
29:27written in curse and in cursive was David Ruffin.
29:31And it was a pair of white frame glasses
29:33like illustrated on the car. Wow. Right.
29:37And so they the shelf opened the door.
29:40When he opened the door, we saw the blooming carpet.
29:43We saw the television.
29:44We saw the bar in the back and we saw David get in.
29:49And he's like, wow.
29:50Then we saw the driver get out.
29:52Walk back around the David's door, open David's door,
29:56let down David's window, go back around, get in the car
30:00and take David to the gig, which you can walk probably in eight minutes.
30:05Wow. Some of them early lessons like, you know, having a good time,
30:12but also soaking up the wisdom and the knowledge and experience.
30:17How big is mentorship at an early age or any lessons?
30:21Well, after that, what occurred for us the next day
30:27really catapulted me into, OK, this is it all the way.
30:32So. The day.
30:37That was the next day, the people didn't show up.
30:40And we were walking Eddie to work.
30:44You had to Sahara Hotel on the other side of the street,
30:48and then there was the Versailles Motor Inn.
30:52And we saw we heard somebody say, hey, Eddie.
30:56And it was a guy with his luggage getting out of a taxi.
31:01And out of respect, we stayed on this side of the street
31:04while Eddie walked over to the guy who called me.
31:07Talked for a few minutes.
31:09Then he motioned for us to come over and he introduced us
31:12to Levi Stubbs and the four tops.
31:15And he told us to go upstairs with Levi and he was going to work.
31:19So we went upstairs with Levi.
31:21We sung for Levi and he took all our names and numbers down.
31:25And on the way out, one of the guys said,
31:28there goes Barry Gordy and Diana Ross.
31:32And me, I had on my I had on my father's
31:35seersuckle suit with the white shirt and the white shoes
31:38looking like I was from Panama.
31:40You know what I'm saying?
31:42And I was just trying to be impressive.
31:44So I walked up and I said, how are you doing, Mr. Gordy?
31:47My name is Michael Bell.
31:48And I grabbed Diana Ross's hand and I kissed her on the cheek.
31:52And I said, hi, Diana.
31:53And she said, and she kind of blushed and said hi.
31:56And then he bided her farewell.
31:58And then he asked us, where are you guys coming from?
32:00So I gave him the whole scoop, how we sung for Ed Paul.
32:04And we just left Levi's room, you know,
32:07and I guess what they were doing,
32:09you know, Detroit wasn't that far away.
32:11So their artists would come and support each of the shows
32:14like they were coming to support the Timbs.
32:16And so he said, well, let me let me let me hear
32:19you guys sing something.
32:22And we blasted out.
32:23Oh, OK, not so loud, not so loud.
32:26Call back to the hotel and ask for Robert Bullard
32:30and tell him I said to give you guys an audition.
32:34Later on, I found out that Robert was his nephew.
32:37So on the day of our audition, we go in the room.
32:40Robert, real nice guy.
32:42It's a beautiful lady sitting in the chair, you know,
32:44with her legs folded up and she has on that one piece jumper
32:48where you can see her beautiful legs and everything.
32:50She's gorgeous.
32:51And he introduced us and said, this is Cindy Bird's song.
32:55She's going to be the new supreme.
32:57And I said, oh, it's going to be four Supremes.
33:00And he said, no, three.
33:01And that broke my heart.
33:04Florence wasn't going to be in the group anymore.
33:05That kind of broke my heart.
33:06So we did our audition.
33:09So I waited a day or two and I called
33:11and he said to me,
33:15Motown says you guys have a place with us upon graduation.
33:20And I got mad.
33:22Man, what about Stevie Wonder?
33:24Stevie Wonder didn't graduate.
33:25And he started laughing.
33:27He said, man, Stevie Wonder, man, he's blind.
33:31That's totally different.
33:32So he said, anytime you come to Detroit, contact me.
33:36And I did. And we got together.
33:37And that's how I found out he was Gordy's nephew.
33:40And I saw some of the history
33:42or where Papa Gordy was an enterprising man himself.
33:47You know, things like that.
33:48I got a sense to see all that.
33:49So from that occurring for me,
33:53I stayed in touch with Eddie and Paul till Paul passed away
33:58and Eddie passed away.
34:00I was in contact with them throughout.
34:02And I learned I was I was going to be groomed by Paul
34:06in New York before they found Paul dead.
34:10He had told me that.
34:11So we didn't get a chance to get to that.
34:14It's so much that I can say, if you want to do another show
34:17about them and the things we can do that.
34:19That's true. Yeah, young man.
34:21I had a lot to see.
34:23So and to hear the things from them.
34:27You know, when Eddie got out of Temptations,
34:30Eddie only had a couple hundred thousand dollars
34:32and some houses out of all that fame.
34:40Paul was down on his luck.
34:43Well, Florence, she ended up on welfare.
34:47I think she died on welfare.
34:49Oh, man. So one thing about Eddie,
34:54this whole push that I learned from Eddie, because I remember
34:57I remember the first question I asked was,
35:01how do you feel when someone else leads the song?
35:05And he said, don't matter me, little brother, long as I get paid.
35:09It was always as long as I get paid.
35:12So from that, I knew I had to learn the business.
35:17And I recorded my first record at 16.
35:21Not with Motown.
35:23It was a local label here
35:25by Bale Bondsman, by the name of Chuck Brown.
35:30Chuck Brown created a label called The Rule Records.
35:34And initially, he created that label
35:37because his girl was a great singer.
35:40Her name was Cassandra Abrams, but we called her Chicken.
35:44So Sauru, were you kind of learned the business, music business?
35:47Well, I'm learning as I go.
35:49Learn as you go.
35:50Because Eddie was like
35:53my big brother, like any references I need or I wasn't sure if I would call him
35:57and he would say, little brother this, little brother that, you know,
36:01and then I would see him every year, you know, he would come through.
36:07So 16, so my parents had to sign that contract.
36:13I wrote my first record.
36:15I was brought to the label by Paul Woodall.
36:18He had joined up with some other guys and they were called the Out of Sites.
36:22And they were a very popular recording group,
36:27as long as along with the entertains, along with the Imperial Wonders.
36:31And people were recording and doing records.
36:33And they were being played on the radio at that time by Ken Hawkins.
36:37Ken Hawkins was a noted DJ who would reach out to a local talent,
36:42Marvelous Ray, and promote them.
36:45So and but who played my record was Lynn Toliver.
36:49His name was Shotgun at the time.
36:52Yeah, we became friends.
36:55So Shotgun would play my record.
36:58With that, I asked to be out of that contract.
37:02And he let me go after maybe a year.
37:07Because I think we did two shows.
37:12We did one at the Lakeview Palladium in Dayton, Ohio,
37:16where we opened up for Curtis Mayfield and impressions.
37:19And that was right before Curtis went solo.
37:23We did that.
37:24So I recorded my record.
37:26The focus on that time at the label, it was the Out of Sites.
37:30So as far as material, it was going to the Out of Sites.
37:34So I decided to write my own song.
37:36And I did. And I took it to a noted guitar player
37:40who was working with that whole situation.
37:42I got by the name of Calvin Brown.
37:45So Calvin Brown, I was singing my song for Calvin Brown.
37:48And Calvin Brown was like, Mike, you need a change in the song, man.
37:51When you get here, do this.
37:52So we came up with the song.
37:54I can't make it without you.
37:56And we did that when, like I said, after those two years,
37:59the Americana, downtown Cleveland, that and the Lakeview Palladium,
38:04which I didn't get paid.
38:06And I was out of that contract.
38:10I started with a band.
38:14It was a three piece band,
38:16Joe Pearson, Clarence Gillespie and George Jones,
38:19the hottest three piece rhythm section that you would ever hear, ever hear.
38:27Clarence was a man.
38:31Clarence, not only was he a drummer,
38:34Clarence could put the live shows together
38:37in terms of what music should be done, what segues.
38:41And when you guys are doing the choreography,
38:44I'm going to hit three licks on the snare and you do the licks with the snare.
38:47So he was given. I was learning performance.
38:50Performance, yeah. Yeah.
38:52So we left and went on the road.
38:55And then those days, like I said, your show is what sold you.
38:59We ended up going through the Southwoods,
39:02what's considered the Chitlin circuit down south.
39:06And we were a lot in Tennessee, Alabama.
39:11And I remember when we were in Alabama,
39:15people were asking us, did we ever come up against this band?
39:21And I can't remember the name of the band,
39:23but I'll tell it to you in a few minutes who they became
39:25because they were supposed to be the hot thing.
39:28So I know one thing that we did,
39:30there was a popular eight or nine piece band called Black Haze in Birmingham.
39:35We played the Persian Lounge with these guys.
39:38And we were on the show with just the three singers and the three piece.
39:42Tore them up.
39:44And they had to say, man, we're nine pieces, man.
39:47We couldn't touch you because George Clarence and Joe,
39:51they were that tight.
39:52They were tight playing the show.
39:54I mean, it's what you would see like at the state.
39:59That's the level.
40:00That's what we were.
40:01A lounge act, you're just atmosphere.
40:04You're just playing the music.
40:06And you may sing well.
40:07You may do a million runs and all kind of gymnastics.
40:11But you just sing.
40:12You just sing because our thing was,
40:14you can stay at home and listen to a record.
40:17You can stay at home.
40:20We have to make you come out.
40:22I got to see them visually.
40:24You see what I'm saying?
40:26So you had to answer your earlier question.
40:29Most acts I see now are lounge acts.
40:34So going back to.
40:37So for me, I think I know where you want to go.
40:40Going to that contract.
40:41I reached out.
40:43I wanted to talk to Ben Breen.
40:46You know he is?
40:47No.
40:48Ben Breen was a Tony Award winner on Broadway.
40:56Ben ended up with his own TV show one summer.
41:00Ben played Chicken George in Roots in the movie Alex Haley's Roots.
41:06But Ben was just like dancing.
41:09I went to see Ben Breen at the front row.
41:11And I saw Ben Breen jump from the stage to the arms of the people's chair and
41:21walk on the backs of the chairs all the way back up and then back down to the stage.
41:26And that was a revolving stage.
41:28Oh, Ben Breen was cold.
41:29He was in major shows, Pippin, Harry.
41:34He was that guy.
41:36And I couldn't get to Ben so I ended up talking to Ben's road manager,
41:41a guy by the name of Clay Anderson.
41:43See, I always saw things.
41:44And he said, you seem like a nice young man.
41:47I want to tell you something.
41:49He said, in order to succeed, be objective.
41:56He said, do you know what I mean?
41:58I said, no, what do you mean?
41:59He said, always look at yourself in the third person.
42:06How do I do that exactly?
42:08Well, when you're objective, it's like you're not into your feelings.
42:14It's more of, I see the external things that I'm dealing with.
42:20Whether I agree with it or not, it is what it is.
42:24And I need to do what's necessary because his second thing was,
42:29don't allow yourself to be consumed by people.
42:35But there's also come a time where, like you said,
42:38looking at yourself in an external way.
42:40The external things that you're dealing with to make sure
42:43that your calculation is proper and moving you toward the
42:49optimum action that you need to do to succeed.
42:53You need to be able to accept the fact of what's really there.
42:57Don't alter it by saying it's something other than what it is.
43:03That's the first lesson.
43:05I think the first lesson is faith in self.
43:11Because in this business, you know, like I hear a lot of people say,
43:15I don't want to be around the negative.
43:17Stay around the negative.
43:19My thing to anyone who's speaking like that,
43:22you're already at a disadvantage because if you can't take rejection,
43:29and if you can't take someone negative being in a controlling position
43:37to help your career, you might as well sit down.
43:41This is why there's such a word as strategy.
43:45But in order to have a strategy that's on,
43:50that means you have to come up with the plan.
43:53Why would you make a plan on something that's altered,
43:55you altered in your mind instead of what's really there?
43:59Because you only operate.
44:02See, I look at us with spirits.
44:05That's what we are.
44:06We possess a mind and we possess a body.
44:14You control your body.
44:16You control your mind, huh?
44:19You only operate off the information that's in your mind.
44:24So if you're not getting the results that you desire,
44:29check it out and see the information that you're operating off on
44:35when it really renders such results.
44:38That's being objective.
44:40Does that make sense?
44:41And that in itself, it's not just music business.
44:47That's it, period.
44:48Even in life, in knowing how to choose your people,
44:54you have to know how to choose your people.
44:57It reminds me of chess, like the game chess.
44:59Well, then life is likened to a game
45:03because in life, you already have to accept the fact
45:08that in order to be a winner,
45:10accept the fact that the physical universe
45:14was not designed for you to win.
45:18You got a question on that?
45:21Is that so?
45:24Actually, it's crazy.
45:26I'll tell you what.
45:28Say you're getting ready to do something.
45:31I'm getting ready for this podcast.
45:34Whenever you say you're getting ready to do something,
45:36how much doubt pops up?
45:38You start looking at different things.
45:40What?
45:40Am I right?
45:41Self-doubt, yeah.
45:43So the moment you say you're going to do something,
45:45what's there?
45:46Doubt.
45:48True.
45:49It wasn't designed for you to win.
45:51It was designed for you to put your will to it
45:55and get it done because if anything is going to happen,
46:00it's only going to happen if you intend.
46:04And the operative word is intend
46:07because that which you don't intend will not happen.
46:13So when we want to talk about branding and learning anything,
46:21my first thing that I would advise anyone
46:25is like a professor told me when I went to Kent,
46:28my sociology professor,
46:30he said what you learn today may not be applicable tomorrow.
46:37So make the library your friend
46:40because anything you don't know,
46:42the information is in there.
46:44Now you have Google.
46:46So as I was taught in learning,
46:51never go past a misunderstood word
46:56and never guess at a word to look it up
47:01for that's where you begin to get clarity of concept
47:05because you can look up one word,
47:07it's about five or six different definitions
47:10of which one fits the scenario that you're in.
47:15It's just like learning concepts.
47:17Branding, right quick.
47:19A lot of people that I talk to,
47:21and we'll get into it,
47:22but a lot of people think that what they do is branding
47:27and it's not.
47:32What is branding?
47:34Branding must answer the question,
47:38why do I need what you have to offer in my life?
47:46Let's take a look at the playing field.
47:48How many people doing music?
47:51You can't count.
47:53How do you break through that
47:56in what we're dealing with today?
47:58Your identity.
47:58How do you break?
48:00That's branding was designed to break through the noise.
48:04Because then what it puts you in
48:06is what is considered a niche market.
48:09When somebody could be doing the exact same thing
48:13that you're doing,
48:16but because of your brand,
48:19it takes on something different.
48:21For me now,
48:24I think I'm doing,
48:25I understand the concept because about 20 years ago,
48:29I had in 2003,
48:32I started going for a reality show
48:36and I shopped for three years
48:38and then I started shopping the show
48:40and I happened to run into a guy
48:42who said he had some connections.
48:43He came to a gig.
48:44I was in a band, Shout,
48:46and he loved the band and he was like,
48:48hey, look, I got a reality show connections and all that.
48:51So I hooked up with this guy.
48:52His name was Daniel Money Penny.
48:55He said, Mike, most of the pennies.
48:57You know what he said?
48:58I said, Daniel Money Penny.
48:59You sound like money.
49:01So Daniel was,
49:03we were talking,
49:04I think Daniel made $75,000 within a three month period
49:11and I was like,
49:13how'd you do that?
49:14He said, well, I do taglines.
49:16I said, what's that?
49:18I write lines,
49:21business lines and identification lines
49:23for people's products.
49:24Copywriting?
49:25No, like Nike.
49:26Just do it.
49:28See, there should be a one line
49:30that could come out of your brand
49:33because what you have to do,
49:34once you identify your brand,
49:37when people come to you,
49:38you have to do what is called brand orientation
49:43because they're new to you.
49:44Just like going to college.
49:45What do you get?
49:47Orientation to that, which it is.
49:49So you have to orientate people to your brand.
49:52This is so ambiguous term to use,
49:55but just for the sake of example,
49:56say I say my love,
49:59and a lot of people say I stand for love.
50:00I stand for love.
50:01That's not specific enough,
50:02but as an example,
50:04let me say, okay, love.
50:06That's my brand.
50:08And then what can I say about love
50:10that you need to hear
50:12that you've never heard before,
50:14but you need this information.
50:15I need to tell you
50:17because you feel like it can help your life
50:18because see, branding is not about you.
50:22Branding is about the other people
50:24that you're trying to give to.
50:25Being direct, yeah.
50:26It's not about you at all, at all.
50:30I don't care how good you think you are.
50:31It's not about you at all.
50:35It's about serving them.
50:37So with your brand,
50:39you say, okay, love,
50:39it's my thing, blah, blah, blah.
50:41My t-shirts,
50:44if it won't have anything,
50:45but quotes about love,
50:47my music,
50:50everything that I do
50:52must bear
50:55and the visibility
50:57of that which I say I am
50:59because here's the thing
51:00that branding was supposed to do
51:02during the period.
51:03You had different talk forums
51:05and stuff like that
51:06that people could lend themselves to
51:08get in the chats.
51:10So there's other people
51:12who have podcasts
51:13who have things talk about love.
51:15So now what happens?
51:17I go over here
51:18and I'm over here talking.
51:20Oh, that guy, yeah.
51:21Oh, what does he do?
51:23Oh, he does music.
51:24You know what?
51:26I'm not that much in the music,
51:28but let me check it out
51:29because that's my guy.
51:30I like the way he feels and think.
51:32Oh, man, I'm going to get his stuff.
51:35I'm going to buy his t-shirt.
51:37I'm going to buy
51:37because the way they feel about who.
51:40About who?
51:42About who?
51:43Me.
51:46So in a way,
51:49it's almost like
51:51what Hollywood
51:52and what the big corporations do
51:54in the music business.
51:55We must create a persona.
51:59Yeah.
52:01Tagline Motown.
52:03Who was Motown for?
52:04So your audience is in there.
52:06Music for Young America.
52:08Now, when you take Nike's
52:10one line out of their brand,
52:12who does it apply to?
52:14Just do it.
52:15How many people would that apply to?
52:18Almost everybody.
52:20All right, then.
52:20You're getting me now
52:21when I'm talking about brand is
52:23I mean, we could talk more,
52:24but are you getting a sense of it?
52:27Just do it.
52:28Let's do it.
52:30What color?
52:31What age?
52:34That's a brand.
52:35And you know, when I really
52:36after I was taught branding,
52:37you know, when I really realized
52:39how I was supposed to go down,
52:41I was an extra
52:44for LeBron James commercial
52:47when he came back to Cleveland.
52:49Mm hmm.
52:50And in this commercial,
52:53what it showed,
52:54they had shots of people
52:57on the construction site.
52:59They had kids on the school bus.
53:02You know, people all over Cleveland.
53:05And my scene, I was,
53:06we were, we shot it.
53:08Was it the Woodstein?
53:09We shot it there.
53:11And then they they had
53:12a half an audience over here.
53:14They filmed that.
53:14Then they put us to the other side
53:15and they filmed that side.
53:16And the calves came in.
53:19Cavs came in.
53:20They're bouncing the ball around.
53:21You seen that shot?
53:22And then you see LeBron,
53:24they go into a huddle
53:25and LeBron says Cleveland on so and so.
53:28And while he's doing that,
53:29you see all these different people
53:31from different parts of Cleveland
53:33doing their thing.
53:34And I remember that.
53:35And then all of a sudden,
53:36it's like a horn blows
53:38and everybody's tuning in.
53:39And Brian said, we got to do this.
53:41And next thing you know,
53:42everybody from wherever they were,
53:44they all ended up downtown
53:46and center like with Brian.
53:47Yeah.
53:48That's Brandy.
53:49That's Brandy.
53:49Do you understand me now?
53:51That's Brandy.
53:52In unity, community.
53:54That's beyond the ball game.
53:55Do you see what I'm saying?
53:57And when you look at it,
53:59it was sharp because
54:00he had just come back to Cleveland.
54:03And this is for Cleveland.
54:05So we're getting you
54:05on that emotional level.
54:08Brian is back.
54:09See, this is Brandy, baby.
54:11And that's the thing, man.
54:13Just being a creative person, me,
54:16just to get your hands
54:17at the mold and shape of brand for me,
54:19I'm still trying to come up
54:20with my orientation.
54:22For me, it has worked backwards
54:24that I do it through the content
54:26because your content,
54:28that's what it must speak,
54:30what you're about.
54:32So it begins to guide
54:34so people can come
54:35and then it's consistent
54:37because it's consistent along the line
54:40of your brand and your brand philosophy.
54:43You said that woke you up
54:44as far as like branding
54:45and help you build a brand.
54:47When did you know you had
54:49brand and down pack like
54:50this is what I must do?
54:52For me, I'm still that name,
54:58what is going to be called
54:59in the tagline.
55:01For me, an artist's responsibility
55:06as an artist,
55:09and this is my viewpoint.
55:11No one else has to agree with it.
55:14It's artist's responsibility
55:18to interject what I would say,
55:23let me, for lack of a better word,
55:25let me say fresh realities
55:29into that which is present
55:31and the realities that I must interject
55:36must be that which furthers humanity
55:40or further my people.
55:42No artist can be a good artist
55:45unless he's aware of his mind,
55:49but not only his mind,
55:51but the mind of the country
55:53in which he lives.
55:56You see, for me in my evolution
56:00as an artist and that
56:02when I look at it all
56:03has always been with me
56:06is my people.
56:08So the money and all that
56:11at my stage,
56:13it has never been about the money.
56:16It's just let me do
56:17what I want to do
56:18and my father before he passed,
56:19he told me something.
56:21He said, Mike, you know what?
56:25You've always been a success.
56:26You know why?
56:27I said, why?
56:27Because you always did
56:29what you wanted to do.
56:33And so for me now,
56:34the music that I create
56:38or anything that I do
56:41must help people to dial into
56:46that which they possess
56:49and to express,
56:51especially the climate
56:53that we're in
56:55in this country politically.
56:57See, remember I was talking
56:59about the ancestors on us
57:02in the 60s.
57:04That was the true culture.
57:06This that you guys are calling
57:08the cultures or subculture,
57:09it's a culture without a culture
57:11and you don't own anything.
57:13You don't do this.
57:15So it's not really a culture.
57:17I want to speak on culture
57:18just so we do have
57:21the correct definition of culture.
57:24What is culture?
57:25For me, culture is a way of life.
57:32Culture is a,
57:35and that way of life
57:37will cause you to do certain actions.
57:42When we say culture,
57:45then I have to look at
57:46what can survive.
57:48You know what I mean?
57:50What are the true culture?
57:53Not the symbols of culture, right?
57:58Not the symbols of culture.
58:02Just for the sake of definition
58:07as I said that
58:10I don't like to go past
58:12a word that I don't clearly understand
58:14or guess at.
58:15So that we don't guess
58:17and I can speak to it then
58:18we can look up the definition of culture
58:21and from that I can go into
58:24not the symbols of it
58:25but the essence of what culture are
58:27and what culture would mean to us
58:30as a people here in America
58:32being descendants of Africans.
58:35Because that's what we are.
58:37The whole terms of black and white
58:39didn't come into play until the 1600s
58:42and that came in for a certain reason.
58:45That's a whole other subject.
58:47So culture for us
58:48that would be totally another show
58:50if you wanted to know the truth about it
58:51because let's not surface that.
58:54Let's really get into that
58:56where it's clear to us
58:58and clear to others
58:59that's listening to us
59:01because anything I want to say
59:02I want to make it clear
59:03so a person can decide upon
59:06whether that's their reality or not.
59:09You see in life
59:10there's no such thing in terms of
59:12well that's wrong and this was right
59:14because what might be right for you
59:16could be wrong for someone else.
59:18So I like to use
59:19that there are three realities.
59:21Three realities.
59:22Yeah yours, the other person's
59:24and what we can agree on
59:26because that which we can agree on
59:28that means we share reality.
59:30That's that which we cannot.
59:31Three truths yeah.
59:32We don't share reality
59:33and that which you share reality with
59:37you want to share space with.
59:41That's true.
59:42So that's how that works.
59:44So the whole thing of culture
59:46so if I consider myself
59:48leading someone into the knowledge of that
59:50let's do something on that
59:52where we'll come back
59:53with the Oxford definition of culture
59:56and then we'll go into it
59:57and see how applicable it is to us.
1:00:00Let's break it down yes.
1:00:02Yes let's do it.
1:00:04So how long you want to do this
1:00:05because I mean you know
1:00:06we have a couple of shows
1:00:07you already know.
1:00:08That's going to be part of it.
1:00:09Oh yeah you already know.
1:00:12Every week almost you have something new.
1:00:15I mean you know and all this
1:00:17will aid in business.
1:00:20So what's the relationship
1:00:22between branding and marketing?
1:00:25That's all that is all encompassed in it.
1:00:28Go together yeah.
1:00:28Because once you're on the brand
1:00:30and you know that you have to do
1:00:33everything consistently that's visible
1:00:35that keeps you on the straight.
1:00:37That's what branding does.
1:00:38It keeps where it can be predicted.
1:00:41So people say I know
1:00:42that I can go over and deal with this
1:00:44because the brand keeps it consistent
1:00:46the thing that they like.
1:00:48Once you find that you're not
1:00:49jumping all over the place
1:00:50they're over there for your brand.
1:00:52So for me I'm still walking around
1:00:55going like creatively in my mind
1:00:57a lot of times it's just like
1:00:59okay what must this serve?
1:01:01What can I say?
1:01:02What would be the orientation?
1:01:05Because for all of us
1:01:08we all are community building
1:01:10and it's to our community
1:01:13is where we want them to support us
1:01:16but we have to give them something
1:01:18that supports their lives.
1:01:20We're here right now.
1:01:21You know you look at music
1:01:23you know my thing to artists
1:01:25hey man look forget about
1:01:27who was hot back then
1:01:29and who's hot on the charts.
1:01:31Now the people already have that
1:01:33when they go on the internet man
1:01:34looking for that fresh.
1:01:36Why are you looking for the same thing?
1:01:39You know it's like now on the internet
1:01:41you know it's like people can pattern
1:01:43mine and get a million followers
1:01:45doing somebody else's music.
1:01:48So to cut through all that
1:01:51that takes some thought doesn't it?
1:01:54It do.
1:01:54Not just boom I'm a singer
1:01:56I'm at the song so
1:01:57bam I'm at the song
1:01:58so I'm just there the other.
1:02:00I mean how come you don't follow me man?
1:02:02And the killing part
1:02:06you're trying to grow
1:02:07you're not a celebrity
1:02:08interact with people
1:02:10when people say something to you
1:02:12on your page they don't have to
1:02:14come back and acknowledge it
1:02:16say something it's engagement
1:02:19it's social media
1:02:22social social
1:02:24and then when nobody comes to my page
1:02:26how many people do you interact with?
1:02:30Interact.
1:02:31Energy.
1:02:31How many people do you stimulate
1:02:32that they want to come back
1:02:34and say okay okay
1:02:36so get your brand together
1:02:38that might help you along those lines
1:02:40and we'll talk more about branding
1:02:42because it's still probably not clear enough
1:02:45but there is a book
1:02:47that I would suggest
1:02:49for anybody
1:02:51that I studied 20 years ago
1:02:53when I came into content marketing.
1:02:55What's that book?
1:02:56It's called epic content marketing
1:03:01by Joe P. U. L. I. Z. Z. I.
1:03:15I got dialed into content marketing
1:03:21because Daniel Moneypenny
1:03:26cut me into a guy out of Dublin, Ohio
1:03:30Brad Zirconi
1:03:32Brad Zirconi
1:03:35he's a master brander and marketing guy
1:03:39he's on Facebook.
1:03:40Brad Zirconi.
1:03:40Yes C-I-R-C-O-N-E
1:03:46C-I-R-C-O-N-E
1:03:48because at that time
1:03:49I was trying to shop my reality show
1:03:52and I didn't have any stars
1:03:54and Brad
1:03:57Brad said to me
1:03:59Mike take a look at it
1:04:01the most popular show right now
1:04:03doesn't have any stars
1:04:04and it was The Wives of Orange County
1:04:07or something like that
1:04:10and at that time
1:04:11I was so far ahead of the curve
1:04:15that I didn't have any models
1:04:16that I could follow
1:04:18in terms of what I was doing for a reality show
1:04:21I think at the time I was doing that
1:04:23MTV was just going over into that
1:04:27because they later did a piece
1:04:29with Beyonce called a hip-hopper
1:04:31I don't know if you remember that
1:04:32Hip-hopper, yes
1:04:33Yeah they did that hip-hopper
1:04:34but interesting enough
1:04:36a guy from Cleveland pressed a picket
1:04:38Cleveland, Ohio
1:04:40Yeah from MFA at Cleveland State
1:04:45Mike Berry
1:04:46Mike Berry
1:04:48I was
1:04:49we'll get into this too
1:04:50I was instrumental in moving hip-hop
1:04:52in the city
1:04:53in terms of live performances
1:04:55and trying to gel the public
1:04:57with the local artists
1:04:58and at that time
1:04:59Mike Berry
1:05:00they were fade entertainment
1:05:03they were like the most popular
1:05:05in terms of moving product
1:05:07and doing all that kind of stuff
1:05:08they were the cats
1:05:09they were really the cats
1:05:10and they used to come
1:05:13man that's a whole nother story
1:05:14all these people used to work together
1:05:15to get together
1:05:16to try to make Cleveland a place
1:05:18that was happening for music
1:05:19and what happened
1:05:20What do you think changed the culture
1:05:23or that movement?
1:05:25Let me tell you what I did
1:05:26in terms of hip-hop here in Cleveland
1:05:28for me
1:05:29and this
1:05:32I brought my first
1:05:36promotion with hip-hop
1:05:39was KRS-One
1:05:41I had just come from doing a house gig
1:05:46in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
1:05:49I was down there for seven years
1:05:51and then I was back here
1:05:53and I was raising my kids
1:05:55and they were
1:05:57this is funny
1:05:58because my daughter
1:05:59she'll talk about this today
1:06:01remember that time
1:06:02dad picked up the record
1:06:04and said
1:06:04who is a Mac Light?
1:06:09MC Light
1:06:09I called her Mac Light
1:06:11and they started laughing
1:06:12they started laughing
1:06:14right
1:06:15and it's like that
1:06:16MC Light
1:06:16so I said
1:06:17let me try this hip-hop thing
1:06:19so it was between
1:06:21LL Cool J
1:06:23and KRS-One
1:06:25and they said bring KRS-One
1:06:27and I reached out
1:06:28and we brought KRS-One to Cleveland
1:06:31Yeah
1:06:31it actually couldn't play Cleveland
1:06:34because something had occurred in Cleveland
1:06:36I don't know if it was the two live crew or what
1:06:38something happened
1:06:39that they couldn't give hip-hop shows
1:06:40in Cleveland anymore
1:06:41so I ended up having to take him
1:06:43to the Packard Music Theater
1:06:46in Warren, Ohio
1:06:47along that way
1:06:48Okay
1:06:48Yeah
1:06:50So why do you think
1:06:52people rebranded
1:06:54back to you in Cleveland?
1:06:56Like now
1:06:57it's slowly coming back to that
1:06:59What I felt
1:07:01was a disservice
1:07:04to Cleveland's hip-hop community
1:07:08when I had the hip-hop shows
1:07:11you had to audition for me
1:07:14I just don't want 20 people
1:07:16jumping up and down on the stage
1:07:18you remember when that was happening
1:07:19just bring 80 people
1:07:21and we'll jump around
1:07:22it looks like it's happening
1:07:23they had to audition
1:07:24so it was all Mr. Bell
1:07:26I was like no let me have it
1:07:27because here's the thing
1:07:29you want people to come and see these shows
1:07:31and return every week
1:07:33Every week
1:07:34We got to be beyond
1:07:35because what you're trying
1:07:36we're trying to build an audience
1:07:37so that you can sell
1:07:39to your Cleveland audience
1:07:41like they're doing in other cities
1:07:43How else are we doing?
1:07:44We're not riding around
1:07:45selling music out of our car like that
1:07:47So here's the thing
1:07:48if we have a place
1:07:50and the place was the trilogy
1:07:52Don and Bell Mascot
1:07:54who had
1:07:56Bells
1:07:56I had been knowing them since I was a kid
1:07:58and I used to be in their house band
1:08:01for many years
1:08:02when they had house bands
1:08:03so anyway they asked me to come in
1:08:06and at that time I think Latif
1:08:09was actually doing stuff
1:08:10but I guess he was getting ready to switch out
1:08:14and so when I came in the trilogy
1:08:16I think they had
1:08:18maybe 25 people in there that night
1:08:21so I said okay we'll do it
1:08:23and we had like 4,000 invitations
1:08:26that we could pass out
1:08:28and if you got in before 11
1:08:32you're free
1:08:32You're free, yeah
1:08:33So it was me
1:08:35my nephew Corey
1:08:37Corey Grant
1:08:39he's making movies and stuff now
1:08:40He wanted to make movies here
1:08:42but he was here with me
1:08:44and Corey and I we would go out
1:08:46and we would be passing out these flyers
1:08:49but we were doing more than passing our flyers
1:08:51we'd be having conversations
1:08:52yeah man what's up
1:08:53that you know so that interaction
1:08:54we just
1:08:55my energy
1:08:55you know how my energy is right
1:08:57so we're just doing all that man
1:08:58man the first week we were there
1:09:00we had 500 people man
1:09:02and listen
1:09:03when you walked in
1:09:05it became the Metropolis
1:09:09when you walked in
1:09:11and I'm gonna do a series
1:09:13because I filmed a lot of this
1:09:15when you walked in over the bar
1:09:18in the center bar
1:09:19it was a catwalk
1:09:20we had girls on the catwalk
1:09:22you know we had people dancing through the club
1:09:25and the acts were smoking man
1:09:27they were getting down man
1:09:28so a lot of the stuff we have
1:09:30on camera when I do the series
1:09:33that I've been talking to you about
1:09:34and like I said
1:09:37Big Yank was Mike Berry's name
1:09:40always come through
1:09:41Too True, Brina, Too True
1:09:44from Bone's
1:09:46what was that family
1:09:47you know when Bone did that family album
1:09:50the Bone Thugs family album
1:09:52you had the only female rappers was Brina
1:09:55right
1:09:55okay
1:09:56and Jazz
1:09:57so Jazz had kind of went underground
1:10:00and we had Brina
1:10:01anybody who was doing anything
1:10:04in Cleveland as far as hip hop
1:10:05and I'm talking acts
1:10:07I'm talking about great talent
1:10:09so out of that
1:10:11that we had the hip hop convention
1:10:13and I'm active within the hip hop convention
1:10:16they got it lasted for days
1:10:18you got all the legendary people
1:10:20who we had an act of talking
1:10:21and then you had events happening
1:10:23in different clubs
1:10:24the millennium and all that stuff
1:10:26and I remember I was getting ready
1:10:28to go to the millennium
1:10:29and I got a call
1:10:30I got a call from
1:10:33my woman at that time
1:10:34and my daughter
1:10:35Dad we met we met
1:10:39KRS1's dancer
1:10:41dancers
1:10:41Jay Day
1:10:43he said he's going to be on our label
1:10:45and I was like
1:10:47I never met him
1:10:50I don't know but he said he is
1:10:52I never met him
1:10:54so we got there
1:10:56to the KRS1 concert
1:10:58and he came up
1:10:59and he was like what's up Pops
1:11:01and he was like
1:11:02we're going to be you know with you guys
1:11:04so they were from the Boogie Down Bronx
1:11:06so we was recording people
1:11:07from the Boogie Down Bronx
1:11:09and it's interesting
1:11:09because they called me Papa Jack
1:11:11in the Boogie Down Bronx
1:11:12why you call me Papa Jack man
1:11:14because man you remind me
1:11:16of the artist from Greenwich Village
1:11:18you know about Greenwich Village
1:11:19no oh that was the spot for artists
1:11:21in New York that was it
1:11:23New York okay
1:11:23yeah yeah yeah back in the day
1:11:25it was Greenwich Village
1:11:26that's so that's complimentary
1:11:28you know coming from my New York
1:11:30brothers young brothers
1:11:31yeah all the stuff we got
1:11:33man there's so much we can talk about
1:11:34you know that thing
1:11:35we talk from time to time
1:11:37here and there so much
1:11:38I could talk for hours
1:11:39so you just have to get me down
1:11:41to the specifics
1:11:42but I think we're off to a good start
1:11:45here what do you think
1:11:46yes yes and I just want to
1:11:48go back and retouch on the rebranding
1:11:50because like you said
1:11:51branding is about consistency
1:11:53yeah but people sometimes rebrand
1:11:56themselves a hundred different times
1:11:58well here's remember this
1:12:01what I said it's not what you do
1:12:05it's what you represent in life
1:12:08that others need in their lives
1:12:12remember the attention span
1:12:14is like this short yeah
1:12:21so ingenuity
1:12:23see just to say
1:12:25what did I say in the beginning
1:12:26I said in order to do anything
1:12:29you must understand the concept
1:12:32because it's only the information
1:12:34you're going to operate on
1:12:36that exists in your mind
1:12:39so if you're not getting
1:12:40the results that you desire
1:12:42that means that it's something
1:12:44that you're not doing
1:12:45because you can we have the ability
1:12:48to intend anything
1:12:51if you could deal with the opposition
1:12:54if you could deal with the opposition
1:12:57if you cannot deal
1:12:59with the opposition
1:13:00you have no business in the game
1:13:04wow that's that's a mic
1:13:08dropper right there
1:13:10so how do they get back on on track
1:13:12if no when you off track
1:13:14well if they don't have any awareness
1:13:16it's easy to get back on
1:13:17which well that which keeps you consistent
1:13:21you got to be objective
1:13:23you got to know
1:13:24you can fall off at any time
1:13:26but we forget we can change our mind
1:13:28that's the easiest thing in the world
1:13:29if you fell off here
1:13:30okay let me change my mind about this
1:13:32change your mind
1:13:33and get back over here
1:13:34see that's why objectivity is so important
1:13:38because to tell you the truth
1:13:40you're only going to get certainty
1:13:42on that which you see
1:13:43which you can look and see
1:13:45anything else you figure
1:13:46and you're guessing
1:13:47and you can go up
1:13:49one figure only leads to another figure
1:13:51you never get to a final analysis
1:13:53you'd be frustrated by the time
1:13:54you it's like a dwindling spiral
1:13:57one figure leads to this figure
1:13:59to this figure
1:13:59and a mystery is just that
1:14:01it's a mystery
1:14:02it's not just a mystery right
1:14:03so by looking
1:14:05but in your looking
1:14:07you must accept that comfortably
1:14:12even that which you do not agree with
1:14:14that's the only way you surmount opposition
1:14:17because if you can't
1:14:18if you if you can't have opposition
1:14:21that goes back to what I was saying earlier
1:14:23about dealing with negatives
1:14:25somebody can throw some negative in your way
1:14:27that you didn't even think would do that
1:14:30but you're not dealing with them
1:14:31you're dealing with your goal
1:14:33trying to get where you need to go
1:14:34so it ain't personal right
1:14:36what you're getting all emotional about
1:14:38you got strategies to work with
1:14:40get to where you need to go
1:14:42so make friends with negative baby
1:14:44be able to have negative
1:14:45you can because see when you have
1:14:47can have something
1:14:49it's disarmed emotionally
1:14:51you just got the information about it
1:14:55never to repeat again
1:14:56that's just like
1:14:58and it may not work for everyone
1:15:00but the word should
1:15:02is a word that I'm constantly
1:15:05trying to keep
1:15:07out of my vocabulary
1:15:09because when I say something
1:15:11should be
1:15:12I'm not accepting the way it is
1:15:16that's right
1:15:16am I right
1:15:17that's right
1:15:18if I say shouldn't
1:15:20it shouldn't be this
1:15:23I'm not accepting
1:15:24so what's my calculation going to be
1:15:27or when would I be
1:15:28I'm stuck if I say it shouldn't
1:15:31because that being something there
1:15:33I'm stuck
1:15:34what can I do
1:15:36but if I can have it
1:15:38let me look at it
1:15:39okay I need to do this
1:15:41this is like warfare
1:15:42and when this could be looked at
1:15:44warfare
1:15:44when you have two opposing people
1:15:47in war
1:15:48what are they doing
1:15:49in the tents
1:15:50we see it in the movies
1:15:51they're putting strategies together
1:15:54and they're trying to be
1:15:56other determined
1:15:59you don't know what that is
1:16:00let me tell you what it is
1:16:02you were talking about chest
1:16:04chest yep
1:16:05see can you take a loss
1:16:10I can yes
1:16:11they said
1:16:13the most successful person
1:16:16is a person who could lose everything
1:16:19and get it again
1:16:21huh
1:16:22but what happens to people
1:16:24when they lose
1:16:26they become the effect of the loss
1:16:29and it's overwhelming
1:16:32especially if you try to bite off a lot
1:16:35if you try to bite off a lot
1:16:36and you you can get discouraged
1:16:39when you don't get that win
1:16:40that's why small wins
1:16:41are important
1:16:43because they add up
1:16:45to the big win
1:16:47you see
1:16:48that's very important
1:16:49so to share space
1:16:52with that
1:16:52that's why I said
1:16:53you're already on your way to winning
1:16:56when you accept the fact
1:16:58that the physical universe
1:17:00was not designed for you to win
1:17:02going back to the game of life
1:17:03so then you're going to be looking
1:17:04at that which opposes you
1:17:06is it okay for things to oppose you
1:17:08that's what I want to know in life
1:17:10is it all right for things to oppose you
1:17:13because ups and downs are yours
1:17:15no matter how you feel
1:17:17so you got to get a perspective on it
1:17:21because remember this
1:17:24your thoughts are senior
1:17:26to the physical universe
1:17:29wow
1:17:29here want me to make it plain for you
1:17:32anything that you see in the physical universe
1:17:35was once in a person's mind
1:17:36before it showed up here
1:17:37am I lying
1:17:39not at all
1:17:40so where did it happen first
1:17:41in the mind
1:17:45take the example of the Wright brothers
1:17:47whether they stole an ideal or not
1:17:50cars were just being made
1:17:52imagination
1:17:52right so we say
1:17:54not more than imagination
1:17:57communication
1:17:59how so
1:18:02here's how so
1:18:04we're living in a time
1:18:06when there's a lot of cars
1:18:08I come up to you
1:18:09and I say you know what
1:18:10I'm getting ready to make a flying car
1:18:12what would you say
1:18:13I'm crazy
1:18:15we just got cars
1:18:16right
1:18:17right
1:18:18and in my mind
1:18:20that's what I want to do
1:18:23but everywhere I go
1:18:25people are telling me I'm crazy
1:18:28so I lose communication
1:18:33with my idea
1:18:34because I was listening to others
1:18:37I'm out of communication
1:18:39with my own idea
1:18:42going back to that self-doubt
1:18:44not self-doubt
1:18:47not being able to take opposition
1:18:48and see that
1:18:50which opposes you
1:18:51because you can't have opposition
1:18:53so therefore you can't move
1:18:55opposition out the way
1:18:56because you can't have it
1:18:58so therefore it shouldn't be there
1:19:00it should
1:19:00it should
1:19:01you living in the shoes
1:19:03instead of what is
1:19:06what is
1:19:08so that meant
1:19:11how well did I communicate
1:19:13with my own idea
1:19:14if others talked me out of it
1:19:16how well did I communicate with it
1:19:19how well did the
1:19:20the Wright brothers communicate
1:19:22with their idea
1:19:23of making a flying machine
1:19:24very well
1:19:25they can't
1:19:26it happened
1:19:26it happened
1:19:27they could have been talked out of it right
1:19:29but what was the
1:19:30the determining factor was
1:19:32how well you communicate
1:19:35with your own ideas
1:19:36they can only come into the physical presence
1:19:39based on how well you communicate
1:19:41with your own idea
1:19:43that's why some people say some stuff
1:19:45he'd be like oh yeah they're going to do it
1:19:47but the bottom line
1:19:48you don't see how well they communicated
1:19:49with that idea
1:19:50that was something they were just saying
1:19:52and you find that out later
1:19:53when it didn't happen
1:19:54that was something they were just saying
1:19:58am I right
1:20:00that's true
1:20:00am I
1:20:01is that clear
1:20:03because I want to make sure
1:20:04everything I'm saying is clear
1:20:05did I clear that up
1:20:07yeah
1:20:07but how do
1:20:09want to sit down
1:20:10and communicate with your ideas
1:20:11communicate with your idea
1:20:13you have an idea
1:20:14take an idea just off the cuff
1:20:16what's the ideal of yours
1:20:17a book writing a book
1:20:18writing a book
1:20:19so how do you write a book
1:20:23get a pen and paper or typing
1:20:24okay so first you're going to get the pen
1:20:26and the paper
1:20:27that's one move
1:20:27now in all things you have
1:20:30what is called a cycle of action
1:20:32from the beginning
1:20:34to when it ends
1:20:35because if it ends
1:20:36and you still going on
1:20:37that's kind of crazy
1:20:39all right then
1:20:40so in a cycle of action
1:20:41well marketing
1:20:42beyond the book
1:20:43well let's stay here
1:20:44cycle of action
1:20:48the cycle of action must have a beginning
1:20:51right
1:20:52really you must begin
1:20:53let's say
1:20:55I'm going to start at one point
1:20:58and I'm going to walk
1:20:59my intention is to start at this point
1:21:01and walk over to this next point
1:21:04so I must begin
1:21:05by taking what
1:21:06the first step
1:21:08first step
1:21:08that should begin
1:21:11now I got to get
1:21:13to the other side
1:21:14should I be
1:21:15thinking about
1:21:16the step I just made
1:21:18or should I be thinking
1:21:20should I be in present time
1:21:22trying to make the next step
1:21:24present
1:21:24okay then I make that step
1:21:27then I just do two steps
1:21:29should I be
1:21:30dealing with the two steps I've made
1:21:32or in present time
1:21:33going to the third step
1:21:34because it takes eight to get there
1:21:36got to go to eight
1:21:37all right then I keep doing it
1:21:39and I keep staying in present time
1:21:41until I get to my intention
1:21:43okay I want to write a book
1:21:45what did I say
1:21:46my professor said
1:21:49if there's anything you want to know
1:21:53make the library your friend
1:21:55in this case anything you want to know
1:21:58make google your friend
1:21:59how do I become an author
1:22:02first I must have an ideal about a book
1:22:06then I have my ideal about my book
1:22:08now I have to communicate
1:22:10with my idea
1:22:12to see how much I can talk about
1:22:14my idea
1:22:16or if I don't
1:22:17I'm just gonna sit down with the pen
1:22:19and be there
1:22:21with the paper
1:22:22and I'm gonna write down
1:22:27what I do next
1:22:28well I'm waiting on a strike of lightning
1:22:30to hit me
1:22:31because I don't have any direction
1:22:33because I don't know what I intend
1:22:35to write
1:22:37going back to Nike
1:22:38just going back to intention
1:22:40it won't happen
1:22:42unless you intend to happen
1:22:43and as you take each step
1:22:46in present time
1:22:48until that book is completed
1:22:50that means you just did
1:22:51a whole complete cycle of action
1:22:54you ever see somebody start a cycle of action
1:22:56and give up halfway
1:22:57does that happen
1:22:58all the time
1:22:59what happens
1:23:00what it could be
1:23:01that they decided to
1:23:03but you can get into
1:23:04what I call other determinant
1:23:08and that's dangerous
1:23:10what is other determinant
1:23:13when something else
1:23:14determines your actions
1:23:17what makes it dangerous
1:23:19is that you think you're doing it
1:23:21when it's something else
1:23:26I say this
1:23:28you ever heard
1:23:29that no man is an island
1:23:31you ever heard that
1:23:33no man is island
1:23:34and most people
1:23:34when you when you hear that
1:23:36what do you think
1:23:37that you don't live by yourself
1:23:39no one is island
1:23:40let me take it a little further
1:23:42no person can live on this earth
1:23:45without being an effect
1:23:47of another person or another thing
1:23:50so to say
1:23:52that you live alone
1:23:55and you're this
1:23:56and you control of everything
1:23:57and this that and the other
1:23:58are you aware
1:23:59when you take an effect
1:24:01and that thing begins
1:24:03to determine your actions
1:24:05and you think it's you
1:24:07just like I told you
1:24:09God intended to do the airplane
1:24:13but people kept saying you're crazy
1:24:15he believed more in their reality
1:24:18what happened to his intention
1:24:21he got out created
1:24:23by somebody saying you're crazy
1:24:25lost his whole idea
1:24:27he communicate communicated more
1:24:29with that ideal of him
1:24:31then he did his idea
1:24:32that he wanted to create
1:24:35am I right
1:24:36it's true
1:24:37let's let's break it down
1:24:39where where it can be looked at
1:24:42remember I said
1:24:43when you look
1:24:44is where you get certainty
1:24:46not not guessing or figuring
1:24:49we don't want to guess and figure
1:24:50we don't want a mystery
1:24:51that never comes to a conclusion
1:24:53we need certainty
1:24:54so we need to look
1:24:56and you need always need
1:24:58to have your eyes about you
1:24:59in present time
1:25:01if you plan on bringing something
1:25:04into the physical existence
1:25:05like I said
1:25:08everything that you can turn around
1:25:10and look at
1:25:11it was once in a person's mind
1:25:14before it appears
1:25:17so how well you communicate
1:25:19with the ideals in your mind
1:25:22determines whether or not
1:25:24your intention is going to go down
1:25:30one must have intentions
1:25:34because if one does not intend it
1:25:37to happen
1:25:37it will not happen
1:25:40what would you say
1:25:41to someone that's struggling
1:25:42with intention
1:25:43or you know don't know how to
1:25:45get in the habit
1:25:46if you're struggling with intention
1:25:48you're not dealing with intention
1:25:49if you're struggling
1:25:50there again it goes back
1:25:53to how well one communicates
1:25:57how well you communicate with self
1:26:00how well you communicate
1:26:02is very important
1:26:03because for you to get things done
1:26:05you have to be able to communicate
1:26:08with your own intentions
1:26:13now understand this now
1:26:15this is why I said
1:26:17understand concepts
1:26:19are very important
1:26:20you say you're going to do something
1:26:22but you don't know the concept of it
1:26:25how are you going to do it
1:26:28how are you going to do it
1:26:29if you don't know the concept
1:26:30you can easily give it up
1:26:32or you may not even start
1:26:34because you're foggy on the subject
1:26:39you got to be clear
1:26:41let me make it here
1:26:42first of all
1:26:43you got to be realistic
1:26:46and you got to be clear
1:26:47about what you can intend
1:26:49this is why I said
1:26:51a little bit at a time
1:26:53because believe it or not
1:26:54you create ability
1:26:58create ability
1:26:59you create ability
1:27:04what are you doing
1:27:05when you bring something
1:27:06you created the ability
1:27:08to bring something in
1:27:09the ability to
1:27:10it takes a certain amount of ability
1:27:12to do certain things
1:27:13so you are creating ability
1:27:15as you are doing it
1:27:22that is the marvel
1:27:24of being the spirit in a human body
1:27:29that's the marvel of being the spirit man
1:27:32it is
1:27:34I never heard it broken down that way
1:27:36does it make sense
1:27:38perfect sense
1:27:40because if you intend to do something
1:27:42it's going to happen
1:27:44that's true
1:27:45but if you don't
1:27:46you got to know when you intend now
1:27:48don't you
1:27:49that's one thing
1:27:49you can't play with yourself about
1:27:53and like I said
1:27:55if you say you're going to do something
1:27:57others have talked you out of it
1:27:59you didn't intend it
1:28:01because you didn't communicate
1:28:02with your intention well
1:28:04you didn't communicate
1:28:05with your own idea
1:28:08you're playing with yourself
1:28:11ain't no room for that
1:28:14so going back to the branding
1:28:17like people brand
1:28:19rebrand themselves multiple times
1:28:21why is that
1:28:23well
1:28:24if you're branding yourself
1:28:27you want your brand to render what
1:28:29what do you want it to render
1:28:32customers
1:28:33okay
1:28:34product sales
1:28:35so
1:28:36if you keep doing
1:28:38cycle upon cycle upon cycle
1:28:40what happens there
1:28:42you create it against yourself
1:28:46you create it one thing
1:28:48and then you say
1:28:48let me jump over here
1:28:50did you complete this cycle
1:28:53huh
1:28:54no
1:28:54did you jump over here
1:28:56did you complete this cycle
1:28:58so now you got two incomplete cycles
1:29:01how well are you communicating
1:29:03wow
1:29:04then you keep adding it on
1:29:05what's happening with your communication in cycles
1:29:07it's going away
1:29:09you got confusion
1:29:10because you created against yourself
1:29:12you said you was going to create one thing
1:29:14then you created against that
1:29:15by saying you was going to do something else
1:29:17now that whole rainbow can't find the color
1:29:20look
1:29:20so like I said
1:29:22you have to be clear
1:29:24about your intention
1:29:26so if you're not clear
1:29:28that's the first thing am I right
1:29:30that's right
1:29:30to be clear on your intention
1:29:33because if you're not clear on your intention
1:29:36how are you able to do it
1:29:37you're going to face opposition
1:29:40and if you're not clear
1:29:42opposition can make you pull you dress down
1:29:47so
1:29:48what would you say is harder
1:29:49building a brand
1:29:50or maintaining one
1:29:52coming up with a brand
1:29:54coming up with a brand
1:29:55why is that
1:29:57because that is it
1:29:59remember the brand answers the question
1:30:02the foundation
1:30:02the brand answers the question
1:30:06why do I need what you have to offer in my life
1:30:10and you want customers
1:30:12you want people that
1:30:14take your offering
1:30:18if you're not clear how they're going to be
1:30:23how
1:30:25just look at it mathematically
1:30:28if you're not clear
1:30:30how are they going to be
1:30:35they're not going to be
1:30:37so it's building trust
1:30:40the trust is the brand that you said
1:30:43what you say you're about
1:30:44I see it consistently
1:30:46I trust you
1:30:48because that what you said
1:30:49I see it's just like
1:30:50okay guys
1:30:51I'm posting this up on Tuesday
1:30:55you come on Tuesday
1:30:56and it's not there
1:30:59okay
1:31:00I posted on Friday
1:31:03then I come back again
1:31:04and say I'm going to post something else
1:31:06and I don't make the date
1:31:08what are you going to feel about what I'm saying
1:31:10every time I say I'm going to post something
1:31:11even if it's
1:31:12if it's in your reactive mind
1:31:15you're going to be like
1:31:17you always say you're going to do it
1:31:18but you don't never do it
1:31:19the time you say you're going to do it
1:31:22so how I'm going to trust you
1:31:28got to be consistent
1:31:29people say word is bond
1:31:31word is bond
1:31:32word is really bond
1:31:36dealing with brand
1:31:38word is bond
1:31:40see now you're going to get down to
1:31:43who really knows what that means
1:31:45and who hasn't just been acting in parrot fashion
1:31:48like Polly want a cracker
1:31:49Polly want a cracker
1:31:51my brand
1:31:51my brand
1:31:52to sound chic
1:31:56just like
1:31:57like GoFundMe
1:31:59that's a brand
1:32:00how so
1:32:02how so
1:32:03how can I gauge
1:32:05how much money I'm going to get
1:32:07from a GoFundMe
1:32:09it's going to be based off of my community
1:32:13and the way it used to be
1:32:14the way we used to try to operate
1:32:16was to go on social media
1:32:18and bring people to your website
1:32:20that way you know
1:32:22that those who came to your website
1:32:24those are your customers
1:32:26or to put it another way
1:32:28those who have given you their email address
1:32:31that's why email addresses
1:32:33was so important
1:32:34I remember I did something years ago
1:32:36and I had to pay this guy to use his email bill
1:32:39because he had numbers
1:32:40that was awesome
1:32:41I got this many I can drop it into my deal
1:32:43power email list
1:32:44okay okay that was it
1:32:46so for us the thing was
1:32:48to get you to my website
1:32:49and see now
1:32:50I'm looking at something a little different
1:32:52this is getting ahead of us
1:32:53but I'm looking at something a little different
1:32:54but to me it's in the line with branding
1:32:59that social media
1:33:03is at a place
1:33:06and whether you believe it or not
1:33:09Facebook is also your competition
1:33:14in branding
1:33:15Facebook is your competition
1:33:17Facebook is a brand
1:33:21but they're smart
1:33:24you know how
1:33:26and this is something that I said well
1:33:29God now they did
1:33:31because they did an orientation
1:33:33on your community
1:33:35you got a community
1:33:37a community already orientated by Facebook
1:33:40and know what it is
1:33:41man I'm used to being interactive over here
1:33:44I'm used to saying this about myself
1:33:46is my webpage interactive
1:33:52no and people are orientated to that
1:33:56how much time they want to spend on my page
1:33:58or what is my page for
1:34:00it's just to get tickets
1:34:01how does that work
1:34:02I don't want to what's the name
1:34:05and my model for when I was starting out
1:34:07was Ryan Leslie
1:34:08you know Ryan Leslie is
1:34:10because Ryan Leslie was doing what I was doing
1:34:12but Ryan Leslie really had a big intention on his
1:34:16but he was the only one that was doing
1:34:17what I was doing with all that filming
1:34:19and what have you
1:34:20so I was inspired also by Ryan Leslie
1:34:23because Ryan Leslie was the only one that I could see
1:34:26that was doing what I was doing
1:34:29but that book that I suggested
1:34:32Epic Content Marketing
1:34:33that's what put me ahead of the game
1:34:37even though I got 50 years plus
1:34:39I'm like 18 years old out here baby
1:34:42you understand what I'm saying
1:34:43you know
1:34:44even going back to like 18, 19
1:34:47you studied acting at Caramiel
1:34:50yeah because Clay Anderson
1:34:52Ben Vereen's road manager
1:34:56he told me to lend myself
1:34:58even if it didn't pay
1:34:59to lend myself to things such as that
1:35:03to develop my talent
1:35:05yeah so in fact my father used to say
1:35:07and other people have said it
1:35:09and even the acting coaches that I had at Caramiel
1:35:12Mike I want you to be an actor
1:35:15but I wanted to sing
1:35:17Lucia Colombi
1:35:19she was my teacher
1:35:21Audrey Cobb was my teacher
1:35:23and Margaret Ford Taylor
1:35:27and of course working with the infamous Reggie Kelly
1:35:31my time at Caramiel
1:35:33Glenda Dickerson out of Washington D.C.
1:35:38Mike Malone
1:35:39who actually that Duke Ellington school
1:35:42that Dave Chappelle came from
1:35:45and then Mike worked with Debbie Allen
1:35:48the Howard sisters
1:35:49you know just that environment
1:35:50it's enriching
1:35:52it's artistic
1:35:53it feeds
1:35:54it elevates
1:35:56and that kind of energy
1:35:57you transport that to other people
1:36:01man art is a spirit
1:36:02let me get down to the essence of it
1:36:04beyond the marketing and the visibility
1:36:07what it does
1:36:08art art
1:36:09and to me our revolution
1:36:11I said it
1:36:13no not preachers
1:36:14not all that
1:36:15but your artist
1:36:18in the time that we're living in
1:36:20the artist
1:36:22true artists
1:36:24I'm not talking about those
1:36:25that want to be in the business
1:36:27to get girls
1:36:28to be in the business for attention
1:36:29I'm talking about
1:36:30those who want to serve
1:36:33the people through art
1:36:34those are your new revolutionaries
1:36:37it's got to come through the arts
1:36:39it's got to come
1:36:42right now
1:36:43look at the climate baby
1:36:46look at your political climate
1:36:47see a lot of us may not want to ask
1:36:50is where we are
1:36:51you a lot of people complain about Trump
1:36:53why I won't complain about it
1:36:55how much control I got over it
1:36:57how much
1:36:58it's silly for me to think
1:36:59it's put my energy over there
1:37:00what can I intend over there
1:37:03nothing
1:37:04I can only look and see what's before me
1:37:06and what I need to intend
1:37:08because in the beginning was the word
1:37:10and the word will survive
1:37:12survive
1:37:13that was the word
1:37:14in the beginning was the word
1:37:15and the word will survive
1:37:17that's where we're at
1:37:19we're dealing with a social existence
1:37:21spiritual beings
1:37:22dealing with a social existence
1:37:25how do you operate as a spirit
1:37:27through this
1:37:28that's what I'll be talking about
1:37:30when I talk about everything
1:37:31I'll be talking about the abilities
1:37:33that we have as a spirit
1:37:34that we can apply to the matter
1:37:36energy space and time universe
1:37:40so for someone
1:37:41or maybe even an out of towner
1:37:42that haven't been to caramoo house
1:37:44what's that energy like
1:37:45caramoo house
1:37:49that's the oldest black community
1:37:53theater in the world
1:37:55what it was like for me
1:37:56Cleveland, Ohio
1:37:58what it was like for me
1:38:00it was just awesome
1:38:02because of the level of talent
1:38:04in my class
1:38:07well number classes
1:38:08James Pickens
1:38:10Jim Pickens
1:38:11who's on the
1:38:12what's the hospital series
1:38:14that's big
1:38:15he's the black head of it
1:38:18I'm not sure I don't watch much tv
1:38:19well he
1:38:20James
1:38:21people you may not have heard of
1:38:23Marvin Bay Wright
1:38:25Marvin Wright Bay
1:38:26look him up
1:38:28awesome talent
1:38:29awesome talent
1:38:31just
1:38:33that kind of
1:38:36where it's competition
1:38:37you know
1:38:38but it's that healthy competition
1:38:41because everybody is coming in
1:38:44trying to be
1:38:45A 100
1:38:46nobody wants to slack
1:38:48because the level of talent
1:38:50that's there
1:38:50I want the part
1:38:53so with that kind of thing
1:38:55what do you think about
1:38:56the level of talent
1:38:57what is it going to do
1:38:58you see
1:38:59because everybody trying to be
1:39:01on the A game
1:39:04and helpful
1:39:06a spirit of sharing
1:39:08understanding
1:39:10that hey it's a whole
1:39:11it's not just one person
1:39:13and it must happen together
1:39:16it's a great feeling
1:39:18and to feel that unity
1:39:21was something
1:39:23that wasn't there
1:39:25is there
1:39:25and the people with this talent
1:39:28came together
1:39:29and made it one
1:39:31that's the beauty of life
1:39:33as an artist
1:39:34I wish life could be like that
1:39:35I wish we as a people
1:39:37could come together as one
1:39:39oh what we could be able to do
1:39:41you know
1:39:42people talk about miracles
1:39:43oh this would be a miracle
1:39:46black unity
1:39:47that would be a miracle
1:39:49then talk to me baby
1:39:50yeah art imitates life
1:39:52art imitate life
1:39:55they say that
1:39:56I Dave Stewart
1:39:57who I did hip hop for life
1:40:00with Dave Stewart
1:40:01that was the first film
1:40:02the first hip hop film
1:40:04to make it to Sundance
1:40:05we couldn't compete
1:40:07because we had already
1:40:09previewed the film
1:40:10in order to compete in the Sundance
1:40:12you can't preview your film
1:40:14they have to preview it
1:40:16but they gave us a showing
1:40:17it was hip hop
1:40:18for life
1:40:20Dave Stewart
1:40:22did that film
1:40:23I believed in it a lot
1:40:25and then it made it
1:40:26to Sundance
1:40:27wow
1:40:28yeah
1:40:29what was that
1:40:30the hip hop community
1:40:31got together
1:40:33the hip hop community
1:40:34got together to make that film
1:40:35represent Cleveland
1:40:36now you asked me earlier
1:40:38so let me digress
1:40:39and let me tell you
1:40:41what happened
1:40:42that I think
1:40:43hurt the live hip hop scene
1:40:45you had to audition for me
1:40:48then here comes the other promoters
1:40:51based on how many tickets you sell
1:40:54you can be on the show
1:40:57what did that do for a show
1:40:59visually
1:41:01what did it do
1:41:02if I can sell the tickets
1:41:03I don't have to be a great act
1:41:04I just sell the tickets
1:41:05and the promoter has me on the show
1:41:08to me
1:41:10that hurt
1:41:11live hip hop performers
1:41:13and expectations
1:41:15here in Cleveland
1:41:18because what was the spot
1:41:20that everybody was going to
1:41:24after Don and Velma left
1:41:26the original owner took over
1:41:29and I ended up working
1:41:31for who he brought in
1:41:33but then
1:41:34it was a person
1:41:35there who felt like
1:41:37they got stepped over
1:41:38and they should have been the one
1:41:40and so they undermined
1:41:41what I was doing
1:41:44downtown in the flats
1:41:45where we were killing them
1:41:46in the flats
1:41:47footage all that
1:41:48I'm not just talking
1:41:50when we do this series
1:41:51you got to see it
1:41:52got to see it
1:41:52you got to see the level of talent
1:41:54you got to see it
1:41:55and just a lot of things
1:41:57we were doing
1:41:57a lot of us doing a lot of recording
1:41:58all that stuff
1:42:00do you have a title
1:42:01for their series already
1:42:03my first one was called
1:42:04I don't know what I want
1:42:06to call this one yet
1:42:08because I'm gonna have to keep
1:42:09reviewing a lot of the footage
1:42:10because not only
1:42:12what I did for Cleveland
1:42:13through the hip hop
1:42:15I actually have footage
1:42:16of some of the acts
1:42:19that were in Cleveland
1:42:20when I was coming up
1:42:22at 14, 15, 16
1:42:23I was fortunate enough
1:42:24to put the entertains
1:42:27back together
1:42:28so you can hear them
1:42:30talk about the Cleveland scene
1:42:32you can hear them
1:42:33talk about the level of talent
1:42:35and you'll be able to
1:42:36witness a performance
1:42:37to see what I'm talking about
1:42:40I can't wait for it
1:42:41Cleveland
1:42:41talking about proud
1:42:43look this history you need
1:42:46do you never document our history
1:42:49you need to
1:42:50you know
1:42:50yeah you need to
1:42:52because it's almost like
1:42:53being here
1:42:54and not connecting with Africa
1:42:56you lost some of your history
1:42:58to be in Cleveland
1:42:59and not connect
1:43:01with what was here
1:43:02you're gonna lose some of your
1:43:04history and your life force
1:43:06you got to connect
1:43:07with what was
1:43:08so you can continue
1:43:09and your goal
1:43:09the youth's goal
1:43:11is to take it
1:43:12and continue it
1:43:13but as always some
1:43:15it gets cut
1:43:18and the connection is broken
1:43:20and then it always
1:43:21end up sub
1:43:24there's a TV show
1:43:26on Tubi
1:43:28that I want to recommend
1:43:32on Tubi
1:43:34go and watch this series
1:43:37called S-O-U-L
1:43:41Soul
1:43:42there you're gonna get poetry
1:43:45you're gonna get the
1:43:46revolutionary music
1:43:47and let me say this
1:43:49while I'm at it
1:43:50okay
1:43:51Afrobeats
1:43:54for some reason
1:43:55I just tuned in to Afrobeats
1:43:5720 almost 15 years ago
1:44:00but then
1:44:01as it's circling around
1:44:03I understand why
1:44:05I was there in the 60s
1:44:08when the musicians
1:44:10all the African
1:44:12like I told you the ancestors
1:44:13was upon us
1:44:15the music of that period
1:44:17the jazz mostly
1:44:19not I can't say mostly
1:44:20because of the rhythms
1:44:22and all that
1:44:23oh it was straight Africa
1:44:25and then
1:44:28Fela
1:44:29who's the father
1:44:31of Afrobeats
1:44:34comes to America
1:44:36to try to make it in the business
1:44:38I'm sure at that time
1:44:41Africa
1:44:42and America
1:44:43came together
1:44:46musically
1:44:47and then
1:44:50Fela hooked up
1:44:51with a Black Panther sister
1:44:54and it was that sister
1:44:55that told Fela
1:44:57take this music
1:44:59and revolutionarily
1:45:01rise this music
1:45:03for your people
1:45:04who is Fela
1:45:05Fela's the father of Afrobeats
1:45:07look him up
1:45:09F-E-L-A
1:45:11and Afrobeats was
1:45:13revolutionary music
1:45:15and in the 60s
1:45:18that's what we were
1:45:20Afrobeats baby
1:45:24that's why it came back around to me
1:45:26WizKid
1:45:27Burner and all that
1:45:29it was pulling me in
1:45:32I see why
1:45:33because actually
1:45:36to me
1:45:37like I said
1:45:37they have a tendency to break things
1:45:39creativity was broken here in America
1:45:43it was broken
1:45:45maybe after the 90s
1:45:48but it was broken
1:45:51and
1:45:51Wiz
1:45:54Burner Boy
1:45:56that progression
1:46:00of the Black music from the 60s
1:46:02that we did
1:46:04with the ancestors
1:46:05the ancestors was on us
1:46:07more than anywhere in Africa
1:46:08because we influenced it
1:46:10and now to me
1:46:11it's coming back to me
1:46:13huh
1:46:14through that generation
1:46:17so when you want to talk about
1:46:19us being one people
1:46:22look at my mindset
1:46:24look at my mindset
1:46:26that shows you
1:46:27how it came back around
1:46:28to me
1:46:30that's one people
1:46:31that we shout it out
1:46:33Fela got it
1:46:34that R&B soul blackness
1:46:38that's not in us
1:46:39because we popped out
1:46:41now anybody can do R&B
1:46:44R&B was soul music
1:46:47soul music
1:46:47we were known for soul
1:46:49not manufactured music
1:46:51soul
1:46:52we free again y'all
1:46:54the internet
1:46:56quit following
1:46:57and swallowing
1:46:59being Polly wanna cracker
1:47:01and get creative
1:47:02we're creative people
1:47:04and we've forgotten that
1:47:06as a people
1:47:07we are very creative people
1:47:10and we're not that
1:47:12we are miserable
1:47:13that's why our hands
1:47:14have been tied for so long here
1:47:16that's why we
1:47:17go against one another
1:47:19because you can't
1:47:21get kicked around so long
1:47:23and that energy doesn't come out
1:47:24but see we're not powerful enough
1:47:26to aim at that which aims at us
1:47:28so we aim at each other
1:47:31and we can't unify
1:47:32we can't create together
1:47:34man I'm going on
1:47:35you know like I tell you
1:47:35this is other shows
1:47:38so even with that
1:47:40speak about the creativity
1:47:41what's your thoughts on
1:47:43the new AI and it's AI music
1:47:45you still have to be creative
1:47:47don't you
1:47:48do
1:47:48okay when does AI
1:47:51become in our position
1:47:53mindset
1:47:54what did I say
1:47:55what did I say you must be
1:47:57objective
1:47:59didn't I say
1:48:00and you must as is
1:48:01and say something
1:48:02shouldn't just stand there
1:48:03and you shouldn't say what it is
1:48:04before you see it
1:48:07if it hasn't happened
1:48:09then you're trying to guess what it is
1:48:10you're working on your guess
1:48:11and you'll be sitting there
1:48:12with your damn hands folded
1:48:14wait till it shows up
1:48:16and know that you have the ability
1:48:18to deal with any opposition
1:48:20AI
1:48:21why
1:48:23look we're spirit
1:48:26and the AI
1:48:27who did it come from
1:48:28it came from somebody else didn't it
1:48:31it got created by somebody
1:48:32that didn't fall out of the sky
1:48:35it's not an alien
1:48:36somebody created it
1:48:38I'm alien
1:48:39that could be
1:48:40and we can get into the definition of that
1:48:42if you like
1:48:44hey
1:48:45hey
1:48:45you see what I'm saying
1:48:46so you either create
1:48:50and you can be out created
1:48:52you can create
1:48:53and you can out create
1:48:55it's an even flow
1:48:57even flow
1:48:57so it's about
1:48:58what did I say
1:48:59in my conversation
1:49:02create
1:49:03ability
1:49:04you can't create enough ability
1:49:06to out create an AI
1:49:07you don't know it until it shows up
1:49:09then it becomes opposition
1:49:11but never fear opposition
1:49:13you have the ability
1:49:14to surmount any opposition
1:49:17you do
1:49:19that's why I said
1:49:20you have to have faith in self
1:49:21and nothing outside of yourself
1:49:24because that which is outside of yourself
1:49:26if they lead you to that
1:49:28that dictates to you or it don't
1:49:30and then if it doesn't
1:49:31because see things like that
1:49:33you'll deal with that
1:49:34whether they're real or imagined
1:49:36and if you're dealing with something
1:49:37that's imagined
1:49:38it ain't as your source
1:49:40you're already out the game
1:49:46because you take on that
1:49:47which is imagined
1:49:48that's true
1:49:51what would you say to a young artist
1:49:54like yourself as you was 14
1:49:56to talk to young people today
1:49:57you know
1:49:58it's very interesting
1:50:01because when you look at young people
1:50:03they're different from when I was young
1:50:06you understand what I'm saying
1:50:08you're different
1:50:09it's a different social orientation
1:50:13see whether you like to believe
1:50:16that we're free thinkers or not
1:50:18but only a free thinker
1:50:20to a degree that you can be free to think
1:50:22that's that's that's
1:50:24other than that
1:50:25we're orientated into a social mechanism
1:50:30and you hear people say
1:50:32well when I was younger
1:50:34the person down the street
1:50:36even though they weren't related to you
1:50:38related to you
1:50:38could give you a whooping
1:50:39or straighten you out
1:50:41that stopped at a certain point
1:50:43what happened
1:50:43see things change socially
1:50:45we affected by propaganda
1:50:50all that
1:50:51so to the youth
1:50:53it goes back to what I said about
1:50:57being objective
1:50:59you're young
1:51:00you're trying to discover
1:51:02what it is you want to do
1:51:05I say gravitate toward that
1:51:10which you have the most affinity for
1:51:13and when I say affinity
1:51:15that means a willingness to share space
1:51:17because that which you're willing
1:51:20to share space with
1:51:21you'll give over to
1:51:24so find that
1:51:27or some people will put it
1:51:29in another wording would be
1:51:31find that which you have a passion about
1:51:34learn all you can about it
1:51:36and see if you're able to pay the price
1:51:39of that passion
1:51:40if you're able to go
1:51:42if you're willing
1:51:44to go all the way
1:51:45because you're definitely going to have to
1:51:47need to look at it
1:51:49you learn as you go
1:51:52and apply yourself
1:51:53as you go
1:51:55is that clear enough
1:51:56that is clear
1:51:58and I want to go back to
1:52:00remember you talked about
1:52:03selling out shows
1:52:05with bringing in 50 or 50 500 people
1:52:09and most people nowadays
1:52:11cannot even get 10
1:52:12well let's go back
1:52:13to what I said
1:52:16most are lounge events
1:52:17lounge events
1:52:19so how do they step up
1:52:23and become on the next level
1:52:24your creation in marketing
1:52:26I'm not gonna give people my ideas
1:52:38that's why believing in self is so important
1:52:45because
1:52:46excuse me
1:52:48like I said
1:52:49we all have a reservoir of ideas
1:52:52how many go in and out your head
1:52:54that you don't connect with
1:52:55and communicate with
1:52:56oh so many so many
1:52:57that's a proof of point
1:53:02so communicate
1:53:04with your own idea
1:53:06because then
1:53:07if you're not communicating with it
1:53:08that tears you right there
1:53:09that's something for you not to do
1:53:11so you're not wasting any energy over there
1:53:13yeah
1:53:14that clears it up doesn't it
1:53:15yeah
1:53:17yeah
1:53:18and that's what it's about
1:53:20you know
1:53:23identity
1:53:24you have to remember
1:53:26that we are not our identity
1:53:29spirit assumes identities
1:53:32and most often than not
1:53:34if we've seen a person
1:53:35that won something
1:53:37we're going to assume
1:53:38that same identity
1:53:39that that person did
1:53:40because don't we do that
1:53:42because that means you know
1:53:43we'll win
1:53:45but you're gonna
1:53:45when you do that though
1:53:48there'll be a point
1:53:49when maybe that person's not around anymore
1:53:51and then you got to get creative
1:53:53about your solutions
1:53:55so let me say this
1:53:59like I said
1:54:00we have a reservoir of ideas
1:54:02and we create ability
1:54:06right
1:54:06create ability
1:54:07and we create ability
1:54:11and you create your ability
1:54:13along the lines of that
1:54:15which you intend
1:54:18we also accept the fact
1:54:20that there would be opposition
1:54:22and negativity
1:54:23if you can't have opposition
1:54:24you can't have negativity
1:54:26you can't put a handle on it
1:54:28that's when I hear people say
1:54:30I don't want to be with negative people
1:54:32man you might be a president
1:54:33of a record company
1:54:34and he's negative as hell
1:54:35how you gonna deal with it
1:54:37that's true but gotta have that flow
1:54:40I remember Eddie
1:54:42Eddie had a lawyer
1:54:44Eddie Kendricks had a lawyer
1:54:45that was handling his solo career
1:54:47I had called and left a message
1:54:49and I said Eddie how's the lawyer
1:54:51he said Bell did you call me
1:54:54I said yeah I called you
1:54:56he said
1:54:59did he know what you want to talk to me about
1:55:02I said no I didn't say it
1:55:05but I never got to call
1:55:06so you tell me how good is he
1:55:09he never told me you call
1:55:10he didn't know what you need to talk to me about
1:55:13he didn't know what it was
1:55:15it could have been something major
1:55:16so you tell me how good is he
1:55:19fired
1:55:21you got to be sharp out here
1:55:23how many artists you hear about
1:55:24losing money and all that
1:55:25so what I'm telling you
1:55:27from the very beginning
1:55:29is going to get you taken care of
1:55:31across the board
1:55:32because that's you as life
1:55:35in dealing with anything
1:55:36it's not separate
1:55:37that's you operating as a spirit
1:55:40in this crazy world
1:55:44accept the world for what it is
1:55:46accept the world for what it is
1:55:47you know from a religious point of view
1:55:49people say you know
1:55:50you're born in sin now
1:55:52you're not born in sin
1:55:54your nature is not that
1:55:57but you're born on a criminal planet
1:56:00where everything they do is sinful
1:56:02and it may you just be careful
1:56:04that you don't become the effect of it
1:56:06by trying to get what they got
1:56:08product of your vitamin
1:56:10wow
1:56:11is there a artist that you see nowadays
1:56:15that's well branded themselves
1:56:18are you kidding me
1:56:22we as kids
1:56:24international
1:56:26burner boy
1:56:27international
1:56:28most all your African artists
1:56:30Chris Brown
1:56:31Chris Brown
1:56:31Chris Brown was smart
1:56:32I want to even touch
1:56:34he jumped on afro beats
1:56:36whenever he started to roll
1:56:37he's smart
1:56:37but I understand him and Wears
1:56:39have been friends for the longest
1:56:41trying to do something
1:56:42so that kind of
1:56:43and he's so creative
1:56:44so he's open to a lot of things
1:56:47and that that's really good
1:56:49so most of mine are African
1:56:52American music to me has had its day
1:56:56it's like what Miles Davis
1:56:58I remember he was asked
1:57:00in this documentary
1:57:02uh what about the new artists
1:57:05I don't see nothing happening
1:57:07because they're going to college
1:57:08studying what we already played
1:57:11that's true
1:57:11what we already did
1:57:13we're still talking about R. Kelly
1:57:14the king of R&B
1:57:16R&B never was
1:57:18how you gonna say R&B
1:57:20when you can be popped out now
1:57:22see that was the whole thing
1:57:23a lot of R&B
1:57:24we need to get over to the pop
1:57:26we need to get over to the pop
1:57:28so we can sell
1:57:28and we can keep our deal
1:57:30and we can do shows
1:57:31so your so-called R&B
1:57:33kind of got warded down
1:57:34even R. Kelly
1:57:35I'm sorry
1:57:38I'm sorry
1:57:40he might be classified under R&B
1:57:44but soul music
1:57:46haven't heard it in a while
1:57:49who was the last track you heard
1:57:50that was Soulful
1:57:51whoo man
1:57:52but see I listen to a lot of underground
1:57:54I was always an underground dude
1:57:56same same
1:57:57yeah I was always an underground dude
1:57:59because interesting enough in Cleveland
1:58:01you had a radio station called WMMS
1:58:04later on it became mostly like rock
1:58:07it was called a buzzer
1:58:08but WMMS
1:58:10their DJs didn't have a playlist
1:58:13so in the 60s
1:58:15you would hear R&B music
1:58:17that you wouldn't hear
1:58:18on your traditional R&B stations
1:58:21which was WABQ
1:58:22and WGMO
1:58:24so there was a lot of black underground artists
1:58:26that I got tuned into
1:58:29whose music was far ahead
1:58:31of what was being promoted commercially
1:58:35Al Jarreau was a very interesting one
1:58:37if I could speak of somebody
1:58:39who was so far advanced artistically
1:58:42that it took him so long
1:58:43to the point that he didn't get signed
1:58:44until he was 36 years old
1:58:46because like Jarreau told me
1:58:49I did a two hour interview
1:58:51with Jarreau LaVert
1:58:52that's going to be in the series
1:58:55a year before he passed away
1:58:56and Jarreau said this
1:58:58you got to remember
1:58:59the people that run the record companies
1:59:02they're not creative
1:59:03it could have been the janitor
1:59:05who been around for the company for 40 years
1:59:07their things are dollars
1:59:09they don't deal with creativity
1:59:11that's why I say
1:59:12it's the greatest time in the world
1:59:13to be an artist
1:59:14because you can be creative
1:59:17as you want to be
1:59:18and I suggest that you do
1:59:20so that you be distinguishable
1:59:23brand yourself correctly
1:59:25and it'll take care of you
1:59:27because see you're talking about
1:59:28making a living
1:59:30and they tell me
1:59:31you only get $4,000
1:59:33off of a million streams
1:59:39$4,000 from a million streams
1:59:41how you going to live on that
1:59:42hey and like what we used to say
1:59:45and we had competition in our groups
1:59:48don't bother us live
1:59:49we'll smoke you off the stage
1:59:51why?
1:59:52because we want to come back
1:59:53again and again
1:59:54so our performance
1:59:56is so important to us
1:59:58that's why Charlie Wilson
1:59:59that's why he's so popular
2:00:00that era of entertainment
2:00:03how popular is Charlie
2:00:05because I'm telling you stuff
2:00:06you can look at
2:00:07that's why
2:00:09that's why Charlie is
2:00:10that's why
2:00:11that's his appeal
2:00:13he has that panache
2:00:17you can sing all day
2:00:18you can sing a billion runs
2:00:19you know these kids
2:00:20they go to the school of arts
2:00:22I see singers stand up
2:00:23I don't see performers
2:00:27right again
2:00:28I can stay home and listen to the real track
2:00:31who was your favorite performer growing up?
2:00:35now?
2:00:36growing up
2:00:37you know it had to be
2:00:38Eddie Kendrick, Paul Williams, Al Jarreau
2:00:41DJ Rogers
2:00:42who else can I name
2:00:44because there was a lot of underground people
2:00:46that people may not know
2:00:47Walter Heath
2:00:48Walter Heath is actually a Facebook friend of mine
2:00:53you know Walter Heath
2:00:55I don't know if you ever heard of
2:00:58Sills and Croft
2:00:59no
2:01:00they were big
2:01:00they wrote Summer Breeze
2:01:03Summer Breeze make me feel so good
2:01:04and the Isley Brothers
2:01:05we did
2:01:05Sills and Croft had a bunch of
2:01:07Diamond Girl
2:01:08they had a bunch of music
2:01:09I think Walter married one of their sisters
2:01:11but Walter
2:01:11like I was saying
2:01:12consciousness
2:01:13you know drugs was a big thing
2:01:15in the 60s
2:01:17in the writing
2:01:17Walter had a song called
2:01:19You Know You're Wrong Don't You Brother
2:01:20you say you believe in the Bible
2:01:22but you got to get down with survival
2:01:24you say you're full of love for the human race
2:01:27still you got to do your thing in the marketplace
2:01:30you ride around in a brand new car
2:01:33but anybody can see the sorry fool you are
2:01:36and then you have the nerve enough to try and say
2:01:39that your brother's just a junkie anyway
2:01:41You Know You're Wrong Don't You Brother
2:01:43you're dealing death for a dollar
2:01:46see this kind of consciousness
2:01:49to enhance our community
2:01:51you see that writing
2:01:53that all that was cut off
2:01:55but I tell you
2:01:57if we had that
2:01:58that's what's funny
2:01:59music feeds
2:02:01words
2:02:02and therefore
2:02:03you know
2:02:04well I gotta wait
2:02:05to go to church on Sunday
2:02:07to hear it
2:02:07to be inspired
2:02:08no
2:02:09just in your everyday living
2:02:11let us talk about those states
2:02:14that we're capable of reaching
2:02:16so that we're on the square with one another
2:02:20frequency
2:02:20that's what it's about
2:02:22so we're on the square with one another
2:02:24so that I'm trying to help you succeed
2:02:26because I know where to help me
2:02:28we have that bond
2:02:30you understand
2:02:31or if you cross me
2:02:32I'm gonna come and talk to you
2:02:34and we get where however that is
2:02:35but what it is
2:02:39accountable to one another
2:02:41because I know this for a fact
2:02:44you need people to make it
2:02:46you don't make it by yourself
2:02:49believe that
2:02:52you gotta love people
2:02:54to me you gotta love people to succeed
2:02:58because you're gonna deal with all kinds
2:03:03yeah
2:03:04you want to speak about the importance of relationships
2:03:07and business
2:03:08the importance of relationships
2:03:09well I have to get into
2:03:12how you choose your people
2:03:14it's very important
2:03:15on how you choose your people
2:03:17you see what I'm saying
2:03:18a lot of times
2:03:19we get people
2:03:21because our circumstances
2:03:22may choose them for us
2:03:25you see
2:03:25but how you choose your people
2:03:27is very important
2:03:28but how can you be correct
2:03:31on choosing your people
2:03:32when you gotta be correct
2:03:34about being communicating with yourself
2:03:36and what you intend
2:03:38makes sense
2:03:40communicate with yourself
2:03:43communicate with yourself
2:03:44it's very important
2:03:45to be on the one with yourself
2:03:49because
2:03:50if you're not on the one with yourself
2:03:52how are you gonna be that in a relationship
2:03:56and then
2:03:58let's move it further
2:04:00and say if you're not on the one with yourself
2:04:02and you're not good on the one in one
2:04:05how you gonna be good in a group
2:04:09huh
2:04:09that's true
2:04:10and then if you can't be good on those three
2:04:12how you gonna be good for your race
2:04:14and then you're not on those
2:04:16how you gonna be good for mankind
2:04:21relationships
2:04:21that's all it's about
2:04:24how many
2:04:25I
2:04:26to define
2:04:31how well I get along
2:04:35in this side of eternity
2:04:37on this side of existence
2:04:41is how well I dealt with what
2:04:44relationships
2:04:45and yourself here
2:04:47right
2:04:48me myself
2:04:49and my integrity
2:04:51when I say integrity
2:04:53that's wholeness of self
2:04:56that's my own self-created truth
2:04:59that I must live by
2:05:02regardless
2:05:02or what somebody else says or done
2:05:06my integrity may speak to me and say
2:05:09no don't do that
2:05:11even though that may advance you
2:05:13but don't step on that person
2:05:15to get ahead
2:05:17that's integrity
2:05:18why
2:05:19because the faith in myself
2:05:22I believe in my destiny
2:05:25and who could bother my destiny if it's destiny
2:05:29I make my decisions
2:05:31or I'm the effect of something
2:05:33that I'm not aware of
2:05:35and it makes my decision for me
2:05:36and I think it's me
2:05:38then I'm in trouble
2:05:41be objective
2:05:43be clear
2:05:44in all things
2:05:45you know it's very easy
2:05:48when you think about relationships
2:05:50you go
2:05:52do unto others
2:05:55it sounds so preachy or churchy but
2:05:59want for others what you want for yourself
2:06:01it's enough
2:06:05for me love is wisdom
2:06:09wisdom is love
2:06:11people think
2:06:12that you're weak
2:06:14but listen
2:06:16if you put it all out there
2:06:19it won't take you to loan
2:06:20to find out who's who
2:06:22appreciate and who don't
2:06:23and then once you find that out
2:06:25don't say what they should have done
2:06:27say what they did
2:06:28and then deal with it the way it is
2:06:31love is wisdom
2:06:34if you know you
2:06:35periods you can be in love
2:06:38it's easy to read that which is not about it
2:06:42huh
2:06:42because people say
2:06:44so much
2:06:47but we got to look at what you do
2:06:50the actions
2:06:54yeah
2:06:56that's true
2:06:57you want to do this again
2:06:58then we cover it
2:07:00no you got it all
2:07:02I do want to speak about
2:07:04I feel like Michael Jackson
2:07:06one of the greatest entertainers
2:07:08and business person
2:07:10performers
2:07:11yeah
2:07:11and Kassang also
2:07:13yeah
2:07:13and to like modern times
2:07:15I feel like Chris Brown
2:07:15kind of engulfed that
2:07:17and now he's charging BIP
2:07:19a thousand dollars to take a picture
2:07:21yeah
2:07:22is that good Brandon?
2:07:23of course it is
2:07:25why wouldn't it be
2:07:27okay because here's the thing about branding
2:07:30that's when you find out how much your fans love you
2:07:34if they pay a thousand dollars
2:07:37he doesn't know whether or not
2:07:38they took pop bottles to get the money
2:07:40or they had to struggle
2:07:41that's their last thousand
2:07:43he doesn't know that
2:07:44that's up to the individual to know that
2:07:46can I afford that meet and greet?
2:07:50can I afford a thousand dollar meet and greet?
2:07:52depends on how fanatical you are
2:07:56huh
2:07:58depends on how fanatical you are
2:08:01I'm gonna take my last thousand dollars
2:08:03that I got in the bank
2:08:04and do a meet and greet
2:08:06with Chris Brown
2:08:07I would say I'm fanatical
2:08:10how about you?
2:08:11that's the truth
2:08:14I do want to build themselves up to be
2:08:16or have that courage to charge a thousand dollars
2:08:20how?
2:08:21that's not a guess
2:08:22before the show
2:08:22that's not a guess
2:08:24you got statistics in business
2:08:26what's a guess?
2:08:29what's a guess?
2:08:31let's take a look at this
2:08:33how broad is Chris Brown's fan base?
2:08:38what are the ages who love Chris Brown?
2:08:43what's his appeal?
2:08:44all races?
2:08:46so marketing says
2:08:47you're gonna get seven percent
2:08:50or whatever your crowd is
2:08:52so if you're looking at a cat
2:08:53with a billion dollar
2:08:54billion people loving him
2:08:56seven percent ain't bad
2:08:57it's not
2:09:02that's content marketing
2:09:04content marketing
2:09:05seven percent
2:09:07that's when I was talking about
2:09:10GoFundMe
2:09:11and I was talking about
2:09:12the email before I got sidetracked
2:09:15so somebody said to you
2:09:17how much money are you trying to raise
2:09:21in the GoFundMe?
2:09:23well I need ten thousand dollars
2:09:26okay
2:09:27my email is gonna dictate
2:09:29how realistic that is
2:09:31my email capture
2:09:33I got all
2:09:34I got 50 people
2:09:37that know about me
2:09:38that I can promote my GoFundMe to
2:09:41it's ten thousand dollars realistic
2:09:46look at your fan base
2:09:47I got 50 people
2:09:48you're not getting ten thousand
2:09:49your crowd source dictates
2:09:52what your advances are gonna be
2:09:56so you got
2:09:58and then
2:09:59then when I remember when I did
2:10:02money issues
2:10:02was was my first release
2:10:05I did that in the 90s
2:10:08late 90s
2:10:09and I remember going to get it pressed up
2:10:12and the guy that was doing my art illustration
2:10:16we were talking about likes and numbers
2:10:18and all that
2:10:19and he said let me show you something
2:10:22and he showed me a guy in this city man
2:10:25a artist
2:10:26man he was the man
2:10:29as far as followers
2:10:30likes and whatever
2:10:34it wasn't reflected by the people
2:10:35who bought his merchandise
2:10:41what bridge is that
2:10:43branding
2:10:47you can have a million followers
2:10:48but you won't know who's who
2:10:50until it's time to buy
2:10:51it's like Facebook
2:10:52oh you got a lot of followers
2:10:53yeah but until it's time to buy
2:10:55right
2:10:55I appreciate it
2:10:57but until it's time to buy
2:11:02if they don't buy
2:11:03who can I look at
2:11:05me the brander
2:11:07the brander
2:11:11so so knowing what you know today
2:11:13how would you brand yourself tomorrow
2:11:16would it stay the same
2:11:17or would you change some things
2:11:18well see this is what
2:11:19this is what you have to look at
2:11:22Nike are they changing their brand
2:11:24it's still just do it
2:11:27and they're consistent with what they're selling
2:11:29you're not changing
2:11:31once you find your brand
2:11:32you consistently give that
2:11:37what you create
2:11:39must be the visibility
2:11:41of your brand
2:11:43what you say you're about
2:11:46remember
2:11:47a brand answers the question
2:11:51why should I have what you
2:11:53have to offer
2:11:55in my life
2:11:56it's a million people
2:11:57doing what you're doing
2:11:59so how much thought you need to give
2:12:01you got to get to give it
2:12:02something that's close to what you're about
2:12:03because it's only you about
2:12:05that's that can be repeated
2:12:06because that's what you know about
2:12:09okay you can get to know about
2:12:10more than anything else is you
2:12:13it's almost like it's not
2:12:16separate
2:12:17and as a creative person
2:12:19that's cool
2:12:20the music what I'm about is all one
2:12:23it's all a creative process
2:12:26I have to dig in to know what I'm about
2:12:29I can't be phony with it
2:12:31I don't want to be
2:12:33I can't consistently do phony
2:12:36I can do the real Mike Bell
2:12:39or the real peerless
2:12:41being right wrong
2:12:43mm-hmm
2:12:45yeah
2:12:46that's true
2:12:47you have to be
2:12:48you have to be
2:12:49so faith in self
2:12:51it always comes back down
2:12:53to one doesn't it
2:12:54out of everything that I've been saying
2:12:56that's true
2:12:56faith in self
2:12:59be objective
2:13:00be clear on your intentions
2:13:02and get on with it
2:13:09now 50 to 100 years from now
2:13:13when people talk about
2:13:14Mike Bell senior
2:13:16what are some of those things
2:13:17you want them to say
2:13:18it depends on what I leave
2:13:22I can't talk about that now
2:13:24because I'm still in operation
2:13:27and what I intend to leave
2:13:31if I leave it
2:13:33I know what they're going to say
2:13:36or I know what they're going to feel
2:13:38even if they don't say it
2:13:43because that must be generated in me
2:13:47even before it's expressed out
2:13:49because that's what you feel
2:13:50in all creations
2:13:51whether you're conscious of it or not
2:13:53you'll feel the vibrations
2:13:55I had a
2:13:57what people would call
2:13:58psychic clairvoyant woman
2:14:00came in my life when I was 19
2:14:01I was supposed to have
2:14:02she told me I was supposed
2:14:03to have been with her
2:14:05and she said to me
2:14:07that you are
2:14:09a celestial artist
2:14:14you understand
2:14:16of the spirit
2:14:18so that's
2:14:19and I must give things of the spirit
2:14:21to enhance
2:14:23others life force
2:14:26because everyone needs
2:14:28their life force enhanced
2:14:30am I right
2:14:31your life force is that
2:14:33they keep you going
2:14:34all of us need stuff
2:14:36that keep us going truly
2:14:38especially now
2:14:41there's so much dysfunction
2:14:46in the society that we live in
2:14:47see my view as an artist
2:14:50is broader than a record deal
2:14:52and plus I'm 72
2:14:54I'm not looking to be signed to a label
2:14:59you know what I mean
2:15:00I'm I'm youthful
2:15:01and can probably do more things
2:15:03than you people half my age
2:15:05I know that for a fact
2:15:06true true
2:15:07you know what I'm saying
2:15:08I know that for a fact
2:15:10but at this age
2:15:12don't want somebody controlling me
2:15:17not unless the playing field is even
2:15:20so to the youth
2:15:22make sure your playing field
2:15:24is even before you jump in
2:15:26or don't jump in
2:15:28because how many of you hear from the stories
2:15:30that end up with no money
2:15:32do for self
2:15:33this is the greatest time in the world
2:15:35to be anything
2:15:37with the internet
2:15:38everybody should have a brand
2:15:41everybody
2:15:42when jobs get up out the way
2:15:44there's the internet
2:15:44that's a global market
2:15:46we we haven't even scratched the surface
2:15:49when you want to talk about
2:15:51the money that's on there
2:15:53man I was in my studies
2:15:56these guys they kept raising money
2:15:58for something they were trying to get off
2:16:01it was some kind of computer
2:16:05program or something they were doing
2:16:08and I kept reading about it
2:16:09and they were able to raise millions
2:16:12lose it
2:16:13raise millions
2:16:14in the private sector
2:16:15until they had to go public
2:16:17and what happened
2:16:21they had already predicted
2:16:22in five years
2:16:24they would have three billion dollars
2:16:27and he came home one day
2:16:31and his wife was watching television
2:16:33she was crying
2:16:38and he said what's the matter
2:16:40she was pointing to the television
2:16:43the very thing that they were getting ready to sell
2:16:47in the five years to make the three billion
2:16:50Microsoft just came out with it for free
2:16:56back to the drawing board
2:16:59now that's enough to knock the wind out of your sails
2:17:02but if you believe
2:17:05and you have intention
2:17:08you can surmount even that
2:17:10because time is nothing but a consideration
2:17:14why do I say that
2:17:16take two people
2:17:17come from the same environment
2:17:19the same schooling
2:17:20they both decide to be authors
2:17:22they go to college
2:17:23they get a deal
2:17:24why is it that one can write
2:17:26five books in 10 years
2:17:28and let's say it's the same quality
2:17:30why is it that one can write five
2:17:32and one could write nine
2:17:35you know what the difference is
2:17:37the one that wrote nine
2:17:39consider that he could write nine
2:17:42your considerations are senior over time
2:17:49because that's all it is
2:17:50is a consideration
2:17:53what you consider
2:17:55is your own self-truth
2:17:58believe in yourself
2:18:00so you can believe in your intentions
2:18:03and you can get on with it
2:18:07so as we start to wrap up
2:18:10I know you spoke about
2:18:11Cleveland almost becoming a national act
2:18:14what stopped that
2:18:16like I said
2:18:17we didn't work together
2:18:19we didn't work together
2:18:21that's the bottom line
2:18:23we just it takes unity
2:18:25I don't care
2:18:27you can have an idea
2:18:28just like me
2:18:30I can have an idea
2:18:31and I can know
2:18:33every position that it takes
2:18:35to get it done
2:18:36but I can't do it all
2:18:38so therefore you need people
2:18:41if you could delegate
2:18:43for lack of a better word
2:18:44do this
2:18:45you can't do everything
2:18:47you need people
2:18:49when they say
2:18:51you can't make it by yourself
2:18:54that's the truth
2:18:58you can't
2:18:59and if you're not good
2:19:00with relationships
2:19:02you won't
2:19:05Paul told me that
2:19:06Mike you're going to make it
2:19:08but first you got to learn
2:19:09how to talk to people
2:19:10and I was like
2:19:11I know he ain't talking to me
2:19:12the way he talked to me
2:19:13but I understood it
2:19:17and I speak about legacy
2:19:18what would you want your legacy to be
2:19:24you better still continue
2:19:25it's going to go back
2:19:27to that which I create
2:19:30and then I can do it no more
2:19:32and that which I left
2:19:36that will speak
2:19:38instead of me saying
2:19:41because for me
2:19:46would I put it in words
2:19:49I would want to leave
2:19:51a certain spirit
2:19:54you know what I mean
2:19:56a certain spirit
2:19:58who could I use that
2:20:00as an example
2:20:01to say
2:20:02we love
2:20:03just simple like this
2:20:05we love the spirit of the man
2:20:16anything that he had to offer
2:20:18he offered
2:20:21to help
2:20:23along the way
2:20:30a spirit
2:20:31it may not tune into that spirit
2:20:33but for me
2:20:35my intentions
2:20:37will speak
2:20:39for me
2:20:41because you know
2:20:42people have different
2:20:44perceptions
2:20:45conclusions about things
2:20:47but integrity
2:20:48that's why I live with integrity
2:20:49the closest I can now
2:20:51right
2:20:52so I have to worry about my
2:20:53what the legacy would be like
2:20:54because I know how I lived
2:20:55I mean even saying that
2:20:58going back to Brandon
2:21:00people have different brands
2:21:03what do you mean different brands
2:21:04and in their head
2:21:05every individual
2:21:06has a different brand
2:21:09of you
2:21:09what is a brand
2:21:11to me
2:21:12it's identity
2:21:13the reflection
2:21:14communication
2:21:15but in business
2:21:17a brand answers the question
2:21:20why do I need
2:21:21what you have to offer
2:21:23in my life
2:21:24so a person that's branding
2:21:26would have to know
2:21:27what they have
2:21:28that a person could define it
2:21:30that takes some soul searching
2:21:32doesn't it
2:21:33it do
2:21:33all right then
2:21:34so even before you can speak on
2:21:36that you have to know
2:21:37that's branding
2:21:39and that takes a minute to get to
2:21:41and then once you get to it
2:21:43then the light comes on
2:21:44and then you follow that light
2:21:46and create along that light
2:21:49but that light must come to you first
2:21:54it's a soul thing
2:21:57you can look at it business-wise
2:21:59but you have to go into your
2:22:00inner self to pull it out
2:22:02that's true
2:22:03so let's say it's spiritual
2:22:05let's say it's living
2:22:07how close are you to your spirit
2:22:09what your spirit about
2:22:10what's it good about
2:22:11I hear you what you're professing
2:22:13what your brand is going to tell me
2:22:15I hear what you're professing
2:22:17what does your brand speak
2:22:24this has been amazing
2:22:27is there something
2:22:28that I didn't ask
2:22:30that I should have asked
2:22:31no but you can always come back
2:22:32if you find people want to know more
2:22:34I'm coming back
2:22:35you know we can talk
2:22:36if you find that throughout this
2:22:38it was a lot of questions
2:22:39or whatever
2:22:40or some people wanted some things
2:22:41cleared up
2:22:42you know we fan
2:22:43you've been a strange
2:22:44but I mean we fan
2:22:48that is that is true
2:22:50you know okay
2:22:52I appreciate this
2:22:53surely
2:22:54as we've wrapped
2:22:56I definitely want to
2:22:57again give you your flowers
2:22:58and thank you for sending down
2:23:00spending this time
2:23:01this has been a
2:23:02still cultivating
2:23:03I appreciate the flowers
2:23:04I'm still planting seeds
2:23:05still planting seeds
2:23:06fruition yes
2:23:08even with that it takes time to grow
2:23:10yes sir
2:23:12it's definitely been a master class
2:23:14okay
2:23:14only for me
2:23:15but you know
2:23:16I know the audience would definitely
2:23:17well let's hope so that it is
2:23:19there again
2:23:20and we'll be back
2:23:21what I had to offer
2:23:22I hope it enhances their lives
2:23:26wow
2:23:27so this is
2:23:29photographer Jackson
2:23:30Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media
2:23:33bringing you Alien Eyes Photos Industry talk
2:23:37with Peerless
2:23:38or maybe
2:23:39that's it
2:23:40Michael Bell
2:23:41say yes
2:23:42right
2:23:42so either or
2:23:44but you can find this
2:23:46on all streaming platforms
2:23:48audio
2:23:49and YouTube is being funky
2:23:51but we're gonna be on YouTube soon
2:23:54and you can find me over
2:23:55at alieneyesphotos.com
2:23:59that's alieneyesphotos.com
2:24:01and follow me on all social media
2:24:05alieneyesphotos
2:24:05that's alieneyes with a Z
2:24:08and photos with a S
2:24:09and where can people find you
2:24:11Facebook Michael Bell Senior
2:24:13Instagram
2:24:14yeah Peerless
2:24:15TikTok
2:24:16yeah Peerless
2:24:18but right now
2:24:19more to come
2:24:20yes
2:24:21any closing words
2:24:22what would you want to lead the audience
2:24:24my closing words is that
2:24:25I want for you all
2:24:27what I want for myself
2:24:30be clear on what you want
2:24:33be about it
2:24:35get on with it
2:24:38and that's it
2:24:39that's a wrap