September 12, 2023 • 51 mins
I'm back with another very special That Moment episode - this time with my partners Keith and Carl for some real behind-the-scenes stories from our early FUBU days. There's no filter on this one, so get ready for some never-before-heard tales of hustling to build the business, forging connections in the hip hop world, and the hard lessons we learned about partnerships, marriage and more.
From getting inspired by Kahlil Kain and almost losing our first big deal out of ignorance, to turning our Queens house into a factory and Keith sneaking into video shoots with "gifts" for the talent, we're pulling back the curtain. I'll take you inside those long nights in the studio with legends like Redman and Wu-Tang, and Carl will explain how he decided music was the natural next move for FUBU.
You'll hear how we leveraged our genuine friendships in hip hop to take the biggest risk of our career, the crazy story of ODB showing up at our house, and why Drake and others still rep FUBU hard today. No topic is off limits - we get real about the cost to our personal lives, beefs between partners, and the hard choices we made chasing our dreams. This is the unfiltered origin story of a culture-shifting phenomenon. Let's take it back to how it all started and reflect on the wild ride to get where we are today. Get ready for some inspirational tales and hilarious memories you can't miss!
Host: Daymond John
Producers: Beau Dozier & Shanelle Collins; Ted Kingsbery, Chauncey Bell, & Taryn Loftus
For more info on how to take your life and business to the next level, check out DaymondJohn.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
See Karl k and I. He was heading towards leaving
the Marasha told to go to the Magic Show. I
ran up to him, nervous and scared. I was always
told that African Americans don't support each other. I'm making clothes,
he's making clothes. Why would he ever support me? And
you know, when I think about it, I remember seeing
his hangtag on a on a jacket Jean. I remember
(00:20):
saying to myself, this guy looks like a little young
Mike Tyson. Wow he we can make our own clothes.
What if I told you there was more to the
story behind game changing events. Get ready for my new podcast,
That Moment with Damon John will jump into the personal
stories of some of the most influential people on the planet,
(00:44):
from business mobiles and celebrities to athletes and artists. All right,
what's happening? So this is a very very special episode
of That Moment with Damon John and especial for a
couple of reasons, because, first of all, I have two
of my three I would call them brothers. I got
a lot of people passing in my life right now,
(01:05):
and I got to tell you something. Family ain't necessarily family.
When I'm seeing things happen to some of these people.
And these two out of three of my guys, what
I've recently seen happen to other people that I know,
they're more in my family than anybody ever will be.
(01:26):
I remember one of them when I was six years old,
or four years old or five years old the door
one house in between. His name is carled right here,
I member my man, Keith. I forgot us a funny
story too, that moment. He we we gotta have some
fun here, because I gotta tell you about why we're
gonna have fun when we're on certain stages. You know,
(01:46):
it's the motivational Damon. John absolutely is the motivational Keith
and Carl. And the purpose of that stage, whether it
be entrepreneur's future, entrepreneurs, small businesses and those things that
you know, we're there for one purpose, on one purpose only,
is to inspire them. Then when other stages were it's
publicly seen by corporations and various of things. And we're
(02:11):
also there to show the power of unity that is
not often spoken about between these four African American men
who were some of us were raised by single African
American women who are still together, who never was didn't
get famed due to selling drugs or hurting people who
(02:34):
didn't have this high level of education and who also
had people like falcon I and Russell Simmons, Spike Lee
and various other African Americans help us. Nobody wants to
hear that story. Mm hmm. You know, and it's our
(02:55):
job to share this story. We also have made it
a point to we've been through a lot with a
lot of different so called keeping it real that the celebrities,
it's not our jobs to talk about those people either.
You know what our jobs do and what we're gonna
give you today. We're gonna give you insight on how
it is to work with partners that we didn't always
(03:19):
get along. Now, i gotta tell you one thing. We
never have a physical fight to the point where we
heard each other. So I'm not gonna say that we
had a beautiful relationship all the time. But whenever we
had a disagreement, it wasn't like a beef. It was
family members. So this is very special because this is
(03:40):
a this is a platform that I control. There's a
platform that we're gonna talk about a lot of stuff
and that I don't have a right to say how
these men feel about barriers of the things. But most
likely we're gonna learn a lot of stuff. They're also
gonna take me down memory lane because as we all are,
(04:01):
right when people say hello to you in the restaurant,
a bar, or on a place, Hey, how you doing,
I'm so away from you have the same talking points,
right you get into this rhythm. I don't have the
same talking points here because I made something and I
may say something and they're gonna go, no, hom he
ain't happened like that. It was close, and they're gonna
check me. And by the way, my partner Keith, he
(04:26):
should have been born in Denver, Colorado. He he, he
grew up brilliant because he would uh. He had gummies
before I knew what gummies were, and a sends but
he remembers more any him and Snoop. And now he's
(04:47):
not a Snoop. I mean, he's a two percent of Snoop.
I don't even not Snoop does another story anyway, But
I can do that because this is that moment. So
welcome my partners, Keith and Call and other partner Jay
is somewhere right now making some money, and I just
figured that maybe we would do a follow up because
(05:07):
if I had all of my partners on you, you
wouldn't we wouldn't get a word individuals, what's up?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
What up to?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Well, I'm gonna tell you something that other I think
we've come around after COVID. A lot of people don't
necessarily say didn't say this before. We don't necessarily as
a young man who grew up, who couldn't show any
vulnerabil I'm gonna tell you both before we start this,
because I maybe cursing at the end, that I love
I love both of you. So so for the reason
(05:39):
we sought that off. Yeah, thank you man. Now that
we start that off, we've gotten a certain resurgence. Attention.
Bye Champagne. Poppy Drake first of all, one of my uh,
(06:00):
one of the artists that he's one of my favorites,
and we don't we don't really know him. I've interacted
with him here in the passing, and I'm gonna tell
you how I feel about it. I've noticed. I gotta
tell everybody there only about ten percent of African Americans
(06:24):
were poob about ten percent. And I'm going to tell
you the ones that wear it that I've noticed so
everybody right now, how dare you? Wow? The reason I
can say that is, let's look at the man. We're
really big in Philippines. We're really been in Korea. How
many African Americans you know there? Okay, let's start off
with that. We haven't gone anywhere. We will always hear
(06:47):
you know. I love when I see brothers and sisters
like Yo. Don should bring that out? O Yo? Where
can I find him? The same place? You over that, lady,
and you can support me.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
You can do that.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
But the ones that I see wear it often Scissor Drake,
that just Summer Walker, Fat Joe right, and it's always
really really established celebrities. I see wealthy and I'm talking
(07:29):
about finance. I'm talking about education, wealthy African Americans and
extremely aware and accomplished African Americans. And I tend to
ask them why, you know what they say? I can
afford anything. I have everything, but I've done my homework.
(07:56):
I know either I grew up with this, I aspire
to do it. It inspired me. I know that you
guys still own it. I know the story. And even
though I can wear anything, and I do, I wear
every brand, I wear it because it feels good. First
(08:16):
of all, it's quality, and I'm making a different statement.
Tomorrow I wear tom Ford somewhere. Tomorrow I'll wear this.
There's a certain joy that comes with that. I have
nothing against any other designers at all. Actually, I love
all people who design, except for those who may put
(08:40):
derogatory things, you know, Confederate flags and nooses and various
other things like that. So anyway, there's this resurgence. We
never went away. But guys, how do you feel about
this new recent attention? And shout out to Drake, Shout
out to Scissors, Shout out to some of Walker, Shout
out Megan the Stallion. Shout out to uh boys and
(09:04):
man Luda, Chris, all our people who are are still
wearing it. And you guys can also drop little objects. Uh,
shout out to every everybody. Oh uh uh uh big
Sean feel about uh yeah, Chris Brown, Kodak Kodak lad.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
You know how I feel about it is.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
You know, we've always been that brand that that's been
a staple in our culture. And I think the best
thing that we've done so far was to and you know,
this goes back to the farmer's days. Damon when when
you know, clothes is catching on fire.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
But that and as Farmers Boulevard people think that.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
You know, we we decided very long ago to put
the quality in the clothing that we made. And you know,
when I see somebody now even when we when we
started putting it out again, you know, people were pulling
out things or thrifting and finding, you.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Know, things that were twenty years old and look brand new.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
So you know that's due to us using the best
fabrics and the best quality that we can find. And
you know, so it's always been a staple in the
Coach and especially in the hip hop community. You know,
we did a lot of work, We did a lot
of groundwork. So the name is out there knowing all
over the world, you know. So you know, we did
our part. And to see Drake thirty one years later
(10:37):
circle back and throw something on that we didn't give him,
we didn't, we didn't, He didn't ask us for it,
he didn't call us about it. He just decided to
throw it on and do whatever he was doing with it.
You know, says a lot about the brand.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
And I want to make sure that I make sure
that I want to make sure that people here and
know that what we will be sharing with them is
what they and how they can utilize it for them
personally their brand to experience things. And as we get
this done, you know, I was thinking about Keith. I
want to thing. I like to say this before everybody
said they did it first, with what everybody said either,
you know, I'm just like, I'll mess this uthing before
(11:14):
everybody said they did it first. We did it all
before they said they did it all. We did it first. However,
I want to I want to acknowledge some people. You
know who I saw the other day. Yeah I saw Wingo,
Yeah yeah, Jagget Edge right, and they were performing. Will
you tell let's talk about all the men and women
who kept it seven hundred of us when we started.
(11:37):
Remember we used to go down the show uh sets
and give it to them and they were doing a
photo shoot and it was samples. Remember the holes in
the bad.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
A lot of people out there that really really loved
the brand. You know, they loved it back then. They
still have a lot of respect for it now, you know.
Jagged Edge was was a big part of that.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
I remember about four or five years ago when we
came back with the hats and.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
And no no, but talk about remember when you was
on the set. I'm gonna tell you the story and
you're gonna elaborate. Remember when you brought them down A
lot of them right now, we pulled something to show.
They were taking photos for the like their new album
or something like that, and they had holes the side
(12:23):
of the toaster in the back, like you know, make
sure you can't see the whole home.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
But they knew, you know what, They knew that it
was something that people didn't have yet.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
So it was, you know, to them, as long as
you ain't see the whole they was good.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah, she miss Jones where I want to be boy
Monty love method man. You know, you know, you know
when it was that moment that either we were on
our way to to doing something special or it was
that moment that this dude was actually crazy. I don't
(12:59):
know wich one it was is when old dirty bastard
showed up at our house in Queens and nobody knew
who he was and he was part of Wu Tang
and one of the biggest stars in hip hop. And
I was there like with my shirt off in the
(13:20):
house going is this so old dirty crazy? Middle of
our living room. That's yeap, crazy sound. And of course
I jip Williams and all the people we grew up with.
The Onyx used to cut our hair.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
I tell his story, you know, here and there.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Frederi was actually one of the reasons we got the
deal because we're playing you know he that's right, not
the movie. He was on the movie what's that call?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
No No? And he got shot in the show. Yeah,
and he got shot in the red shirt.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
And that's what I thought the movie I throw the
juice or something like that. That see that he don't
remember more than that.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Called you back and it was like, I see you
guys still out there doing your thing. You know, Let's
have another meeting. And it was all gravy after that.
But after the first meeting, we thought we was on
and then you know, nothing happened. So we were like, okay,
let's get back to work.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
You know. Somebody would call and he wanted.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
To well, let's I'm gonna tell you that moment. And
there's a chapter one of my books is called Negotiating
out of Ignorance. So what Keith is talking about is that,
like many of you right now, we were starving. We
were we were, we were happy. And when I say
(14:48):
before they did it first, who did it all? I
got to give you a couple of acknowledgments to who
we came up with. We were all collectively at that
show called the Magic Show. It's a trade show and
we'd all collect the get together. I know we talked
on this recently. It would be April Walker walk Aware
who inspired us, Tony Shellman and you would have Shabaz
(15:11):
Brothers right, our buddy Philip Cabone. Of course, we will
stand at that Magic Show one time and I remember
having twenty seven dollars in my pocket something like that,
and we had taken that picture of llll cool J
standing outside of the car and put it in the
Source magazine. And then I remember Karl k and I.
He was heading towards leaving the Marsha Toll to go
(15:32):
to the Magic Show. I ran up to him, nervous
and scared. I was always told that African American don't
support each other. I'm making clothes, he's making clothes. Why
would he ever support me? And I ran up to
him and damnit it, I didn't know. They ask him
for an autograph for advice and and you know, when
I think about it, I remember seeing his hangtag on
(15:54):
a on a jacket Jean. I remember saying to myself,
this guy looks like a little young Mike Tyson. Wow,
we can make our own clothes. And I thought it
was supposed to be done by people who were Italian
or this and that. When African American's Caribbeans anybody who
comes from countries, tailoring is our business, right, I mean,
(16:16):
you know, they make for the community. I ran up
to him. I had twenty seven dollars in my pocket,
remember him saying, I know you, I know who you are.
Come to my booth tomorrow. I didn't have any money,
We didn't have any money to buy him and asked
to get in. And he invited us to the booth.
I forgot who was with me or was just myself,
and he introduced me to every single buyer that came by,
and he paid it forward to me and to us.
(16:38):
We go and we had to add I think in
the paper, and we had the guys from Samsung Textile
Division called and like a shoe shark, they were looking
at their options on who to manufacture and distribute with,
and us being young, young guys is when we had
(17:00):
answer machines. Remember, they're like, yes, go well, you know,
we'll figure out. We'll give you a call. And he's like,
wait them all whatever, checking it off, Like I do thing.
I go home Friday, call up Monday, Hey hey, you
doing answer machine? Call back? Maybe tuesday? All right, guys
(17:24):
picked an arm mm hmmm Wednesday. We must be playing
some serious phone tag. Yeah nothing, nothing, Nathan. They go
on and they don't know what happened. They maybe invest
in somebody else trying something else, because you know, I
(17:45):
think that as we all together in general, look at businesses,
don't start Thank for you. Business is not out jump
right in businesses. Let me check it out, Let me
do let me see what else is out in the market.
How am I feeling about it? All right? I think
here's what Keith was talking about. You know, we go
(18:06):
out to the trade show again and we've had I
think maybe Ll had done the hay Loover video. I'm
not sure what happened to Keith and all back it up.
But then he said to Fred row in that New
York on the cover scene, you know there's a scene
where he gets shot. He run the food blue shirt.
We're walking by, and I believe the story goes that
a big great retailer named Doctor Jay's is sitting at
(18:27):
a table and you know, those guys from Samsung are
selling them. They're good, the winter jackets or whatever. And
the guy turns around and goes, that's the fool guys,
go get them. And then the week after Magic, they
called us back. Now I had gotten one hundred thousand
dolls loan. We already turned the house into a factory
six times before that. I didn't have a loan, so
(18:47):
I was desperate. Now s I got one hundred thousand dollars.
One dollars. Far as I knew at that time, Keith
was gonna last me four hundreds. But when they called,
I was like.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
They were like, yeah, I want to come and check
it out. I was like.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Listen here, oh boy, you know. And I wasn't saying
like that. Wait A feel of it was like that,
and they and I was nasty, but I was young.
I didn't know what I didn't know. I was taking
it like a street guy. And by the way, I'm
(19:27):
not a streak, I mean fighting. I was just taking
offensively that they were just checking their opportunities, and he said,
I think what happened was his brother Bruce was like,
Bruce is a little aggressive. Bruce probably like, well.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
I like the way.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I like the way you're talking. If he uses that energy,
we're gonna do something and we go in. We signed
were gonna go in and do a deal. But it
was really I have three or four moments there. The
moment I saw called Kana and and I was nervous
and I ran up to him him and he helped us.
(20:02):
The moment of ignorance that I had that realizes our fluck. Now,
I could have lost the deal, the moment I didn't
have enough into information and we could have been homeless
because we all kind of moved into house keep you
will work in the job, and then you were coming
home and help, and then you were paying a rent
(20:22):
to help the house keep going.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
You know, I was getting turned down those.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
A couple of moments, what's up?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
And we got and we got we got the call.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Because to quit the fight. No, not here. No, I
didn't want you to quit. I don't want you to quit.
Here's what I want to two jobs. Like I wanted
to pay I wanted to pay your rent, and I
wanted you to be spunky as a mull in the
house and help work even though you was working all day,
(20:57):
and I wanted you to make sure your paid your
rent own.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
To be like, yo, I know you with the word
from God, but we need you here, Like do I
can give you to about twelve one o'clock then.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
I gotta go.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
He was like, well, I think I think that if
you really look back on it, even further back, it's
really everything is in stages, like you got to identify
the people that you want to be with in order
(21:31):
to be order to take things to the next step.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
So I remember, as Damon, when we was growing up.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
One thing that kind of attracted me to you, I
guess is when we used to hang up and hang
out in the bedroom and do our breakdancing routines whatever
as teenagers.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
But we we we used to say this thing like
I don't have the money. You got money. And when
I say I don't have no money, I don't have
no money, don't have no money, I don't have no money.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
But Dayn on the other hand, he has money stashing
little containers and bottles and jaws, and he'd be like
he he just broke as met So although that was
frustrating sometimes, but it taught me a valuable lesson. Just
broke the different levels a broke, and Damon to me
(22:33):
was never broke. And I always admired that about him.
And with that being said, I knew that took a
certain kind of character to have those kind of qualities.
So when looking around at your friends and your options,
you'd be like, Okay, whatever this guy's doing, I'm gonna
rock with him, you know what I mean. That's how
I kind of looked at him when he came to
as a younger year.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Well, you know, I want to I want to take
it to another little boy you call with that moment.
You know, I told the story about nineteen eighty nine.
I stood on the corner in nineteen eighty nine. When
I sit in that corner, you still in that corner
with me. We sold a bunch of hats. Now we would.
You would jump into the business and we would. You
were in there a couple of years and you helped
(23:16):
me start the business. And then I remember, you know,
you had your family, You had your wife and you
had a child, and I think you're working in a
factory or something, and you were spending all the time
now over the house. And she was like, yo, man,
you can't do that. You can't do that. Man. And
I remember, for a very short period of time, I
don't know, maybe a couple of months or something, I
don't know what it was, you had to step away
(23:38):
because you was a young father. You had a fact,
you had a job, you had a child, and and
your wife didn't know. I mean, let's think about it.
We're young. It just sounded like you were hanging out.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
With the boy.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Oh you were in a house.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Well, let me get the shape. What's the company called.
It's a company?
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Right, Okay, hold on, there's a company. Oh those forty.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Dogs and pork ron showing looks good.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I'm here with the baby. You keep a shame.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
You all run at your company up too? Man?
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Isn't that precious?
Speaker 2 (24:20):
All right?
Speaker 1 (24:22):
And then you're going to expose Yeah, yeah, all little girl,
are you hanging out on video sets? O? How's that
company going today? We get your ass over here. Now.
You even against will so yo, and we were shy
of making it six years shy of it. So this
(24:43):
is not we're rolling. You're like, yeah, I'm going back
over there, man, And you cause the riff, even though
your wife stayed by your side. What happens to a
relationship right now? And Keith, you're amazing life was the
only one that laughed through all this. I lost, you know,
(25:04):
my first marriage due to my uh not having work
life balance, running around doing you know, dedicating myself to
my job call you know. Unfortunately, you know some things
have happened there that in that world you're no longer there.
You know, she's no longer you know together at the moment,
(25:25):
you know, no longer together. But what was it? The man?
You want to risk that all to see? Like how
and then how do you deal with that? Because there
was no promise on what we were gonna do. It
was never done before on the level.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Look at what you have in front of you and
what the possibilities are. So what I had in front
of me was wasn't that great? It wasn't terrible. I
would have been lived a normal life, you know, I
mean I would have survived when I saw a potential
here that was unlimited for me. Not to grab that
and run with it the best I could?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
To me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
So you can as a young man out there trying
to make it in the world.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
You know, you kind of figure, you know, if I.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
Don't make it, I can always come back if I
do make it.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
With some there are men, there are men and women
right now with their significant other. They're not respect do
not understand that? And rightfully so sometimes they're like, but
we got a bigger goal that if we stay this path,
and it's hard enough to just living as a normal
couple in this day and age, what do we say
(26:38):
to those people? I mean, Keith, you too, would you
say yours your stuff? By right? And and and it's
held us down period. She's just like the fifth members
for the call, all right, shout out to my shew.
What do you say to those people right now who
have to make those critical decisions on how do I
support my wife? Not? I mean because be very honest,
(27:00):
the girlfriend and I had at that time. I remember
I said, hey, I had a little vanbits. I was like,
I got this idea, you know, and I was called foob.
Now I had borrowd money from her before and I
paid it by it was a little late, just a
little it was a little late guy, a little late.
And she worked for American Express a little with her,
(27:24):
A little bit older than me. I think I was
twenty one, she's maybe twenty six or twenty seven. Great job,
great woman. I said I need eight hundred I know,
I said I need four hundred hours. She was like.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Another brain doing that.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Damon, dam it, Yeah, what are we doing? What is
it called fooble? Nah? Man, baby, I love you, I
can't do it well. I remember coming over to the
twenty thousand square foot mansion, maybe about ten years later,
because I left her after that. Not that was one
(28:05):
of the reasons I left her. I just said she
didn't believe in me. I remember looking around, Can you
still need that three hundred dollars? But what do you say?
Those people?
Speaker 3 (28:19):
You know, and you definitely got to put the work in.
And I kind of, you know, I seen, you know,
I was around you guys every day. So I've seen
how when we started, you know, really working and traveling
and the told that you know, you guys were going
through and I would watch it and I would see
the mistakes that you guys were making. I ain't gonna
(28:39):
get into all of that right now, but I was
seeing some of the you know, because they say you
lose your first wife to the business. Right, So I
was that was the the statement as we came into
the game.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
That was the statement, don't do.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
No cocaine and you're gonna lose your first wife to
the business.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
And I was like, no that what was his name? How?
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, good www? I told me.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
He was like, hey, how so how I told you that?
First of all, well, let me let me tell you
about house. So when we got into the business, the
conversation everybody was different and so beep this I never
knew he said that to you. You know what he
(29:28):
said to me, damon money is a great slave with
a horrible master, and pull your taxes because guess what,
I'm on the ground. I say, what do you do
on the ground? He said, I owe the government something
like something like four million dollars. I said, how how
(29:49):
do you make? How do you owe the government four
million dollars? He said? I said, you had four million dollars. No,
it started off as eighty thousand, interesting ten tes after
twenty five yeah, And he said save that money. So
he saw me as saving money and that he must
(30:10):
something different than you keep.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
You know, it was crazy because he told me that,
and uh, I think it was Mitch. I think Mitch.
I think it was Mitch. They sent me down, and
you know.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Don't do no drugs, don't do no cocaine. That's what
everybody does in this industry. Don't do no cocaine. But
you know, just talking to them and hearing what they
what they were saying, and then seeing my own partners
come up and go through the certain you know, certain
certain things with them their wives or their their significant others.
(30:46):
I was like, Okay, I'm not gonna do that. I
definitely ain't gonna do that. But what it was was
I had to. And it was, like I said, it
wasn't easy. It was like, oh, you got to go
on another trick, you got to do this, you got
to do that. And you know, at the time, we
was on fire, and you know, we wasn't the best
partners at that time.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
We was doing our thing running around.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
But by the way, none of us we never went yeah,
we never went that. We never want that out.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
But no, you know, and what the decision I made
to try to keep my wife was to make time.
So when we used to go on trips or we
would go to conferences or whatever or magic and I
would ask her what her when was her vacation, and
I would just book a vacation, try not to be busy.
(31:43):
As long as we wasn't doing anything, I would take
that time off and I would make sure that I
went on vacations and spend time with her and.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
You know, gave her her time.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
And you know, over the years, like I said, it
wasn't easily clashed. A couple of times, especially when I
messed up and was doing things that I shouldn't have
been doing, and then you know, that caused a lot
of friction. But you know, for the most part, I
try to make sure I paid attention and stay you know,
stay connected, because that was the biggest thing for me.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
Yeah, I think a lot of times it's timing too.
I think that I was married at what seventeen years old?
Eighteen years old, so I think that going through the
extreme side was one thing.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
But once I think, if it get a chance to
it's been when you meet.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
But I say to people, if you if you're starting
off in a marriage and you have a dream that
you're trying to follow and that particular partner doesn't see it,
do it anyway. I mean, the bottom line is you're
gonna have a lot of regrets in your life if
you don't chase that thing that that makes you feel fulfilled.
So whatever, whatever the end of the day, whether you
(32:54):
stay with the woman and she decides to have patience
with you, that's a beautiful thing. Well if she's decided
to believe you, that's the problem. Should regret it. But
the Bible lies.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
If I don't keep bringing baby, just keep ringing, really don't.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
But I mean, I make sure you don't regret your
decisions at the end of the day and make sure
that you do what's what's going to fulfill you. I mean,
sometimes it's just it's those hard decisions that you got
to make as entrepreneurs.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
That everyone just not gonna make. You gotta be that
person to make that decision through hard ones.
Speaker 3 (33:31):
It was it was time to where you know, it
was like, oh, you need to stay home, you need
to do this, or she wanted me home all the time,
and I'm like, I can't get no money at home, baby,
if I don't go out there and get this money, Like,
how I'm going to afford the way we live and
(33:52):
the things that we have. I have to do this,
Like so I understand what you're saying when you've got
to make that decision, because you know, I know so
many people.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Who and in the five to be exact.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
Who chose women over their business and you know, was uh.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
And that's that and that's family too. It's like you
got parents, you got siblings. A lot of people just
won't see your vision. Yeah, man, Wes in that little
house by ourselves, rocking out that we gotta do. They
can't see behind those walls, so they may be thinking
the worst of you and think you're doing all kinds
of other ship. But you really can't blame them all
(34:34):
at the end of the day. But a lot of
times they just don't see what you see.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
You can't. You just gotta kind of let them believe
what they believe.
Speaker 4 (34:42):
But most people come around, as you see, they come
around after a while and see that YO show results.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
People gonna see it.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
All Right, let's let's let's hold to the middle time. Right,
we're starting a bubble, you know, ninety whatever, right, think
God nice, no social media, no Internet, no cell phones,
I mean cell phones are just starting to get out there.
You were we were we were an army, right, you know,
(35:13):
Jay was the one who basically look at look at
Jay is the one who could look at a garment.
He always invested in clothing. He loved it. I thought
he was crazy at first when I would say how
much you pay for those pair of pants? Why? Right?
And I would later learn that it's an investment, so
he added that. And he also has the ability to
look at something for a and just study. He's really analytical.
(35:36):
He you were my navy seal. You still are. I
am not going to go to a studio and sit
in there with Redman and Method Man and Wu Tang
and all kind of cats that ain't Wu Tang from
(35:57):
midnight to six in the morning and and have a conversation.
And and then I remember saying to you, we didn't
have much money. Well, I think we sent you and
Leslie over the Soul Trade Awards someplace. Now, no tickets
to the show, no social media, don't really know. Nobody
would drop you off in LA with a box full
(36:17):
of shirts or send you to a video set. They're
kicking everybody off. You were the one. You were the
street dude because they just loved you. And you know
it wasn't because you had any history of being and
this and that you just grabbed me and everybody that's
(36:38):
my man D. I know they described us your d.
I don't know, but he don't be talking o funny
style calls and that keep my man Keith. What was
your negotiation tactics in there or was you just having
the fun? I mean you even to that today. That's
why you got food with radio you get people to
have these kinds of combinations easy.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
And I remember me and you had a little thing
going on about how easy my job was, and I
was trying to tell you it wasn't.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
That easy, and you were like, anybody could do your job,
and I'm like, bro mm hmmm, because it was for
one I got.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
I gained a lot of respect being one of the
founders that was on set that for For the people
that saw me roll up, they were like, oh man,
they wanted to put me in the video most of
the times, and I was like, nah, I just want
to play the back I'm just over here.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
But I did get in a bunch of videos over
the years.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
But it was like going up to people and being
on them sets and trying to figure it out on
the fly, and you know, there's no secret. I indulge
in the marijuana. So that to me was my end.
And I heard who did I hear say that? I
(38:01):
heard someone say that recently and and I just laughed.
I think it was bust of Rhymes on BT. He
said the same thing. He would I would have the best,
the best marijuana, and I would go up to them
and I'd be like, Yo, what's up man?
Speaker 2 (38:12):
What you doing? You're smoking on what you got right?
Try that.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Was It was a combination of that combination of me
being a people person.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
I'm serious. It was like doing that. And then they
would be like, I seen it in actually seen it
like we wanted to. We went to We went to.
It's an amazing thing to see.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
I went to Houston to meet Bun Be because I
just spoke to my boy Read and I was like, Yo,
Dame and me and Dame want to come out there.
You want to sit with Bun talked about doing some stuff.
He was like, all right, come come to the studio.
So we go to the studio. Well be sitting in
the lobby. So he's like, yo, Bun is ready for you.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
So I said, come on, d He was like, go there,
do your die. What was like, said as I oh
the door.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
You know, Bun being very hull moved, very cool with
you know, the utmost southern hospitality.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
He was.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
He was glad to see us. So he was like,
you know, glad to see me walk through the door.
So he was like, yo, we're Dave. I was like, oh,
he out there thinking on the phone. You know, I
made an excuse, I said, I thinking on the phone.
But he was rolling up. So as he was rolling up,
I was like, yeah, I got this on the plan
brought this smell.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
That and he was.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
He started breaking that up and then he was like,
you know, go get Dang with Dang to him to
come in. And then I went toil Dan yo, d
come on. And when Damon came in, it was all up.
It was just so that was a combination of it,
but just me being I think one of the founders
that was on the set. People really really you know,
(40:07):
because we were big at that time.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
We were on TV all all the time. We went
into sines all the time, so being on set, but.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
I want to Keith, I want to break this down
in Laming's terms to people, right because we all, you know,
people want to be around others like them to have
similar interesting, to come from a genuine place. So let's
talk about me coming on set, and let's talk about
what happens. Right, we're just coming up and come on, hey,
(40:40):
how y'all doing. There's one here, dude over here? Yeah here,
I'm on with a shirt. How mamus you do? What?
How much you got? I ain't got none? Give me
a second, Keith, come on set. Well this is if
we don't know y'all want here or this wrapper here? Yeah? Yeah,
(41:03):
what you want? I want them with a shirt?
Speaker 2 (41:06):
How you got?
Speaker 1 (41:07):
I ain't got none? All right? What do you want?
Can you go get them? I'm standing right here.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
I'm standing right here.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
Let him know. No, no, no, I got a cataract.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
I'm standing right here.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
Now. It ain't no different than a mom preneur coming
on set and everybody's trying to get these other mom preneurs.
But you bringing your little girl on, so you got
your your whatever, your boy, and you're doing your thing
that a mother does. All right, It is no difference. Right.
(41:49):
Then you go into any kind of set and you're
a financial person and somebody's over here talking about whatever
they are, and you're talking in finance like listen, you
know I got uh you know, I work with X
amount of different type of high net portfolio people. It
becomes a language whether.
Speaker 4 (42:07):
It's I think, and from your perspective, Dame, as a leader,
your job is kind of identify people's strimps and put
those put them in positions where you know they're gonna
be successful. And I think that we all knew in
(42:38):
those environments those places, Keep is going to come out
on top. You know, he just ads that personality, he
has the and he knows he knows first of all
what he's got to do when he goes in there.
But on top of that, he knows how to use
his assets to get it done.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
You know, it is worked.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
You know.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
The other thing that that I attribute a lot of
my success to was knowing the artists and paying attention
to the artists and actually having conversation with the artists
because they would tell me I don't wear polos, I
don't wear these colors like I remember trade the truth
he was no bigger than the two eggs. He wanted
(43:16):
the four x in size forty four pants, and I
couldn't believe. I said, why, that's how I like to
wear my clothes. So if you don't know that, then
you assume you're gonna bring him the wrong size and
he's not gonna wear it. So I like to identify
with a lot of the artists to talk to him
and figure out what they like, what they don't like,
what colors they like, and then once I got a
(43:36):
pattern of them of what they you know, their preferences were.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
When I used to pick the clothes.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
I used to it was like I used to kind
of call myself almost like a stylist, because I would
style the outfit before I bring it to him. So
when I pulled it out, everything matched, it was fly already,
so they just had no you know, they had no
other choice but to say, oh man, I'm wearing that
outfit because I already put it together for him.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
And I think for me, that was one of the.
Speaker 3 (44:05):
Biggest attributes for us to get getting a lot of
those placements on, you know, especially early on later on
when we were doing other brands and everything else.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
It was it was a totally other situation.
Speaker 3 (44:18):
But for me, it's like making sure that you had
the right outfits and the right colors for that artist,
to make sure that.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
You know, when they looked at it. It really hyped
about it.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
So I want to break this down because we're gonna
talk about the arists. We want to talk about that
moment the Carl decided that we needed to reinforce our
understanding all of entertainment of music. But what Keith is
really breaking down is before there was analytics. He was
putting his analytics together and me on our side from
(44:54):
a design standpoint. Remember, I'm gonna show you some analytics here.
This year there's orange, but it's burnt orange. Now burnt orange?
An orange with two different oranges. How are we gonna
(45:17):
get burnt orange? Well, let me give you analyst because
this is we're damon. Now talk analytics. You know, Keith
was like this, So a designer making over at a
really great company, uh, you know, making at that time
maybe eighty thousand dollars a year, designer working at one
(45:39):
of the big sneaker companies. We didn't make sneakers at
the time. Well, they're gonna design the sneakers for the
new colors next year. They're gonna use what we call
Pantone colors. They're gonna use this type of orange, the
burnt orange. Is it a sunny d orange, is it
a stun orange, whatever the case is, they're gonna put
that in the line. They're going to design that lot
one year prior that design making eighty thousand dollars. However,
(46:01):
if I desire to go over to that design, stop
and call the head designer and say I got twenty
thousand dollars. If you just want to advise me, I
got it in a brown bag and alley. If you're
using a fear, I will give you that twenty thousand dollars.
So how what happens is I'm able to now make
(46:24):
sure that miraculously that beautiful old five jersey that is
back to school is the same exact burnt orange as
that top sneaker company. And that's kind of right. We're
putting things together, isn't that? We look on an apple.
If you like that kind of music, go hit this
(46:45):
button for other people to do that. Right, So it's
always about connecting in what are the way, right, Connecting
on site, meaning connecting through a form of communication, a
form of lifestyle culture, whatever that may be, children's whatever, right,
connecting and knowing not only in general, but what that
(47:06):
person likes to wear. Because back then I remember everybody
thought hip hop was just saying, well, some dudes dress backpack, rappish.
Some dudes dressed army, fatigue, grunge, onyx, some dudes dress
Biggie Small's champagne. Some dudes dress call hard right that
(47:28):
style they were. You couldn't just address any artists the
way they wanted to dress. So now let's talking about
how companies want to keep it real. But there's keeping
it real and it's just staying true to who you are.
Car season, we're spending a lot of money on commercials,
on BT and various of the things. Call said, d
(47:51):
I think we're doing too much. And we have all
these contacts, all these great artists, man, and we love
the music. Man. We're in the studios they're asking and
that's what to wear for the album. We're asking them
what they're wearing. And how do we you know we
was gonna be artculating the pop? What happened? What did
you decide? There was a moment when you decided that
we need to do.
Speaker 2 (48:08):
At that time it was music. I mean, it was
just an obvious to me.
Speaker 4 (48:11):
It was an obvious transition for our company because we
were so entwined with it, you know, from the beginning.
But even so, I think when we first made the
name Fuobu. You know you did a post recently about
how to choose a company name. When we first made
the name or decide on the name, I knew that
this was it can go in different directions outside of clothing,
(48:33):
even from the beginning.
Speaker 2 (48:35):
But at that time we were ready.
Speaker 4 (48:37):
I felt we were ready to expand, and the natural
course of that would be to me was be music.
Speaker 2 (48:43):
And we decided to start that label Food Records and
be Entertainment.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
And a lot of people would say, man, you know,
we're just doing it because we want to, you know,
we want to just put our music, but you had
a bigger and we actually didn't make money technically off
the music. And we're the first to do it, the
first to go gold. I believe. I think we went
gold close to it. I'm like, I don't know. We
the first singles we released on our album with Light
(49:10):
Tam Reaction by mister Cheeks, and then we had a
song called Produced and Rectly by Uh Parrell, a new
a new producer named Parrell, and then and then track
Masses did it and Kenny uh Uh uh uh the
(49:31):
Dream is Real, found a guy in Atlanta to do
three other singles on there, a really great young producers
up named Little John. We did this video and at
that time, a guy named Keith Murray. It just came
home from prison and we have one of their lu
(49:52):
Jay Keith Murray and Ludacris. We do a track called
Fatty Girl, put out a bunch of our fat album
and our stuff in there, and Call is like, wait
a minute, I don't know who's gonna make my It's cool.
I had a bigger idea because the whole reason Call
It did it was like, if we're gonna spend a
million dollars on b and that's only gonna be a
bunch of thirty second commercials, Wait a minute, why don't
(50:14):
we culturally do this? We have a three and a
half minute video. We can spend a million dollars creating
this album, and then even if the video is not playing,
but somebody just listening to it, they already think about it.
And we ended up doing how much in Fatty Girls?
Well over a million pair of jeans. This has been
(50:35):
part one of the Unfiltered Pooval Files. Tune in next
week for part two that Moment with Damon John is
a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more
podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show
(50:57):
and don't forget to subscribe to and rate the show.
And of course you can't all connect with me on
any of my social media platforms. At the Shark, Damon
spelt like Raymond, but what a d
See Karl k and I. He was heading towards leaving
the Marasha told to go to the Magic Show. I
ran up to him, nervous and scared. I was always
told that African Americans don't support each other. I'm making clothes,
he's making clothes. Why would he ever support me? And
you know, when I think about it, I remember seeing
his hangtag on a on a jacket Jean. I remember
(00:20):
saying to myself, this guy looks like a little young
Mike Tyson. Wow he we can make our own clothes.
What if I told you there was more to the
story behind game changing events. Get ready for my new podcast,
That Moment with Damon John will jump into the personal
stories of some of the most influential people on the planet,
(00:44):
from business mobiles and celebrities to athletes and artists. All right,
what's happening? So this is a very very special episode
of That Moment with Damon John and especial for a
couple of reasons, because, first of all, I have two
of my three I would call them brothers. I got
a lot of people passing in my life right now,
(01:05):
and I got to tell you something. Family ain't necessarily family.
When I'm seeing things happen to some of these people.
And these two out of three of my guys, what
I've recently seen happen to other people that I know,
they're more in my family than anybody ever will be.
(01:26):
I remember one of them when I was six years old,
or four years old or five years old the door
one house in between. His name is carled right here,
I member my man, Keith. I forgot us a funny
story too, that moment. He we we gotta have some
fun here, because I gotta tell you about why we're
gonna have fun when we're on certain stages. You know,
(01:46):
it's the motivational Damon. John absolutely is the motivational Keith
and Carl. And the purpose of that stage, whether it
be entrepreneur's future, entrepreneurs, small businesses and those things that
you know, we're there for one purpose, on one purpose only,
is to inspire them. Then when other stages were it's
publicly seen by corporations and various of things. And we're
(02:11):
also there to show the power of unity that is
not often spoken about between these four African American men
who were some of us were raised by single African
American women who are still together, who never was didn't
get famed due to selling drugs or hurting people who
(02:34):
didn't have this high level of education and who also
had people like falcon I and Russell Simmons, Spike Lee
and various other African Americans help us. Nobody wants to
hear that story. Mm hmm. You know, and it's our
(02:55):
job to share this story. We also have made it
a point to we've been through a lot with a
lot of different so called keeping it real that the celebrities,
it's not our jobs to talk about those people either.
You know what our jobs do and what we're gonna
give you today. We're gonna give you insight on how
it is to work with partners that we didn't always
(03:19):
get along. Now, i gotta tell you one thing. We
never have a physical fight to the point where we
heard each other. So I'm not gonna say that we
had a beautiful relationship all the time. But whenever we
had a disagreement, it wasn't like a beef. It was
family members. So this is very special because this is
(03:40):
a this is a platform that I control. There's a
platform that we're gonna talk about a lot of stuff
and that I don't have a right to say how
these men feel about barriers of the things. But most
likely we're gonna learn a lot of stuff. They're also
gonna take me down memory lane because as we all are,
(04:01):
right when people say hello to you in the restaurant,
a bar, or on a place, Hey, how you doing,
I'm so away from you have the same talking points,
right you get into this rhythm. I don't have the
same talking points here because I made something and I
may say something and they're gonna go, no, hom he
ain't happened like that. It was close, and they're gonna
check me. And by the way, my partner Keith, he
(04:26):
should have been born in Denver, Colorado. He he, he
grew up brilliant because he would uh. He had gummies
before I knew what gummies were, and a sends but
he remembers more any him and Snoop. And now he's
(04:47):
not a Snoop. I mean, he's a two percent of Snoop.
I don't even not Snoop does another story anyway, But
I can do that because this is that moment. So
welcome my partners, Keith and Call and other partner Jay
is somewhere right now making some money, and I just
figured that maybe we would do a follow up because
(05:07):
if I had all of my partners on you, you
wouldn't we wouldn't get a word individuals, what's up?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
What up to?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Well, I'm gonna tell you something that other I think
we've come around after COVID. A lot of people don't
necessarily say didn't say this before. We don't necessarily as
a young man who grew up, who couldn't show any
vulnerabil I'm gonna tell you both before we start this,
because I maybe cursing at the end, that I love
I love both of you. So so for the reason
(05:39):
we sought that off. Yeah, thank you man. Now that
we start that off, we've gotten a certain resurgence. Attention.
Bye Champagne. Poppy Drake first of all, one of my uh,
(06:00):
one of the artists that he's one of my favorites,
and we don't we don't really know him. I've interacted
with him here in the passing, and I'm gonna tell
you how I feel about it. I've noticed. I gotta
tell everybody there only about ten percent of African Americans
(06:24):
were poob about ten percent. And I'm going to tell
you the ones that wear it that I've noticed so
everybody right now, how dare you? Wow? The reason I
can say that is, let's look at the man. We're
really big in Philippines. We're really been in Korea. How
many African Americans you know there? Okay, let's start off
with that. We haven't gone anywhere. We will always hear
(06:47):
you know. I love when I see brothers and sisters
like Yo. Don should bring that out? O Yo? Where
can I find him? The same place? You over that, lady,
and you can support me.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
You can do that.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
But the ones that I see wear it often Scissor Drake,
that just Summer Walker, Fat Joe right, and it's always
really really established celebrities. I see wealthy and I'm talking
(07:29):
about finance. I'm talking about education, wealthy African Americans and
extremely aware and accomplished African Americans. And I tend to
ask them why, you know what they say? I can
afford anything. I have everything, but I've done my homework.
(07:56):
I know either I grew up with this, I aspire
to do it. It inspired me. I know that you
guys still own it. I know the story. And even
though I can wear anything, and I do, I wear
every brand, I wear it because it feels good. First
(08:16):
of all, it's quality, and I'm making a different statement.
Tomorrow I wear tom Ford somewhere. Tomorrow I'll wear this.
There's a certain joy that comes with that. I have
nothing against any other designers at all. Actually, I love
all people who design, except for those who may put
(08:40):
derogatory things, you know, Confederate flags and nooses and various
other things like that. So anyway, there's this resurgence. We
never went away. But guys, how do you feel about
this new recent attention? And shout out to Drake, Shout
out to Scissors, Shout out to some of Walker, Shout
out Megan the Stallion. Shout out to uh boys and
(09:04):
man Luda, Chris, all our people who are are still
wearing it. And you guys can also drop little objects. Uh,
shout out to every everybody. Oh uh uh uh big
Sean feel about uh yeah, Chris Brown, Kodak Kodak lad.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
You know how I feel about it is.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
You know, we've always been that brand that that's been
a staple in our culture. And I think the best
thing that we've done so far was to and you know,
this goes back to the farmer's days. Damon when when
you know, clothes is catching on fire.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
But that and as Farmers Boulevard people think that.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
You know, we we decided very long ago to put
the quality in the clothing that we made. And you know,
when I see somebody now even when we when we
started putting it out again, you know, people were pulling
out things or thrifting and finding, you.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Know, things that were twenty years old and look brand new.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
So you know that's due to us using the best
fabrics and the best quality that we can find. And
you know, so it's always been a staple in the
Coach and especially in the hip hop community. You know,
we did a lot of work, We did a lot
of groundwork. So the name is out there knowing all
over the world, you know. So you know, we did
our part. And to see Drake thirty one years later
(10:37):
circle back and throw something on that we didn't give him,
we didn't, we didn't, He didn't ask us for it,
he didn't call us about it. He just decided to
throw it on and do whatever he was doing with it.
You know, says a lot about the brand.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
And I want to make sure that I make sure
that I want to make sure that people here and
know that what we will be sharing with them is
what they and how they can utilize it for them
personally their brand to experience things. And as we get
this done, you know, I was thinking about Keith. I
want to thing. I like to say this before everybody
said they did it first, with what everybody said either,
you know, I'm just like, I'll mess this uthing before
(11:14):
everybody said they did it first. We did it all
before they said they did it all. We did it first. However,
I want to I want to acknowledge some people. You
know who I saw the other day. Yeah I saw Wingo,
Yeah yeah, Jagget Edge right, and they were performing. Will
you tell let's talk about all the men and women
who kept it seven hundred of us when we started.
(11:37):
Remember we used to go down the show uh sets
and give it to them and they were doing a
photo shoot and it was samples. Remember the holes in
the bad.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
A lot of people out there that really really loved
the brand. You know, they loved it back then. They
still have a lot of respect for it now, you know.
Jagged Edge was was a big part of that.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
I remember about four or five years ago when we
came back with the hats and.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
And no no, but talk about remember when you was
on the set. I'm gonna tell you the story and
you're gonna elaborate. Remember when you brought them down A
lot of them right now, we pulled something to show.
They were taking photos for the like their new album
or something like that, and they had holes the side
(12:23):
of the toaster in the back, like you know, make
sure you can't see the whole home.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
But they knew, you know what, They knew that it
was something that people didn't have yet.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
So it was, you know, to them, as long as
you ain't see the whole they was good.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah, she miss Jones where I want to be boy
Monty love method man. You know, you know, you know
when it was that moment that either we were on
our way to to doing something special or it was
that moment that this dude was actually crazy. I don't
(12:59):
know wich one it was is when old dirty bastard
showed up at our house in Queens and nobody knew
who he was and he was part of Wu Tang
and one of the biggest stars in hip hop. And
I was there like with my shirt off in the
(13:20):
house going is this so old dirty crazy? Middle of
our living room. That's yeap, crazy sound. And of course
I jip Williams and all the people we grew up with.
The Onyx used to cut our hair.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
I tell his story, you know, here and there.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Frederi was actually one of the reasons we got the
deal because we're playing you know he that's right, not
the movie. He was on the movie what's that call?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
No No? And he got shot in the show. Yeah,
and he got shot in the red shirt.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
And that's what I thought the movie I throw the
juice or something like that. That see that he don't
remember more than that.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Called you back and it was like, I see you
guys still out there doing your thing. You know, Let's
have another meeting. And it was all gravy after that.
But after the first meeting, we thought we was on
and then you know, nothing happened. So we were like, okay,
let's get back to work.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
You know. Somebody would call and he wanted.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
To well, let's I'm gonna tell you that moment. And
there's a chapter one of my books is called Negotiating
out of Ignorance. So what Keith is talking about is that,
like many of you right now, we were starving. We
were we were, we were happy. And when I say
(14:48):
before they did it first, who did it all? I
got to give you a couple of acknowledgments to who
we came up with. We were all collectively at that
show called the Magic Show. It's a trade show and
we'd all collect the get together. I know we talked
on this recently. It would be April Walker walk Aware
who inspired us, Tony Shellman and you would have Shabaz
(15:11):
Brothers right, our buddy Philip Cabone. Of course, we will
stand at that Magic Show one time and I remember
having twenty seven dollars in my pocket something like that,
and we had taken that picture of llll cool J
standing outside of the car and put it in the
Source magazine. And then I remember Karl k and I.
He was heading towards leaving the Marsha Toll to go
(15:32):
to the Magic Show. I ran up to him, nervous
and scared. I was always told that African American don't
support each other. I'm making clothes, he's making clothes. Why
would he ever support me? And I ran up to
him and damnit it, I didn't know. They ask him
for an autograph for advice and and you know, when
I think about it, I remember seeing his hangtag on
(15:54):
a on a jacket Jean. I remember saying to myself,
this guy looks like a little young Mike Tyson. Wow,
we can make our own clothes. And I thought it
was supposed to be done by people who were Italian
or this and that. When African American's Caribbeans anybody who
comes from countries, tailoring is our business, right, I mean,
(16:16):
you know, they make for the community. I ran up
to him. I had twenty seven dollars in my pocket,
remember him saying, I know you, I know who you are.
Come to my booth tomorrow. I didn't have any money,
We didn't have any money to buy him and asked
to get in. And he invited us to the booth.
I forgot who was with me or was just myself,
and he introduced me to every single buyer that came by,
and he paid it forward to me and to us.
(16:38):
We go and we had to add I think in
the paper, and we had the guys from Samsung Textile
Division called and like a shoe shark, they were looking
at their options on who to manufacture and distribute with,
and us being young, young guys is when we had
(17:00):
answer machines. Remember, they're like, yes, go well, you know,
we'll figure out. We'll give you a call. And he's like,
wait them all whatever, checking it off, Like I do thing.
I go home Friday, call up Monday, Hey hey, you
doing answer machine? Call back? Maybe tuesday? All right, guys
(17:24):
picked an arm mm hmmm Wednesday. We must be playing
some serious phone tag. Yeah nothing, nothing, Nathan. They go
on and they don't know what happened. They maybe invest
in somebody else trying something else, because you know, I
(17:45):
think that as we all together in general, look at businesses,
don't start Thank for you. Business is not out jump
right in businesses. Let me check it out, Let me
do let me see what else is out in the market.
How am I feeling about it? All right? I think
here's what Keith was talking about. You know, we go
(18:06):
out to the trade show again and we've had I
think maybe Ll had done the hay Loover video. I'm
not sure what happened to Keith and all back it up.
But then he said to Fred row in that New
York on the cover scene, you know there's a scene
where he gets shot. He run the food blue shirt.
We're walking by, and I believe the story goes that
a big great retailer named Doctor Jay's is sitting at
(18:27):
a table and you know, those guys from Samsung are
selling them. They're good, the winter jackets or whatever. And
the guy turns around and goes, that's the fool guys,
go get them. And then the week after Magic, they
called us back. Now I had gotten one hundred thousand
dolls loan. We already turned the house into a factory
six times before that. I didn't have a loan, so
(18:47):
I was desperate. Now s I got one hundred thousand dollars.
One dollars. Far as I knew at that time, Keith
was gonna last me four hundreds. But when they called,
I was like.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
They were like, yeah, I want to come and check
it out. I was like.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Listen here, oh boy, you know. And I wasn't saying
like that. Wait A feel of it was like that,
and they and I was nasty, but I was young.
I didn't know what I didn't know. I was taking
it like a street guy. And by the way, I'm
(19:27):
not a streak, I mean fighting. I was just taking
offensively that they were just checking their opportunities, and he said,
I think what happened was his brother Bruce was like,
Bruce is a little aggressive. Bruce probably like, well.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
I like the way.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I like the way you're talking. If he uses that energy,
we're gonna do something and we go in. We signed
were gonna go in and do a deal. But it
was really I have three or four moments there. The
moment I saw called Kana and and I was nervous
and I ran up to him him and he helped us.
(20:02):
The moment of ignorance that I had that realizes our fluck. Now,
I could have lost the deal, the moment I didn't
have enough into information and we could have been homeless
because we all kind of moved into house keep you
will work in the job, and then you were coming
home and help, and then you were paying a rent
(20:22):
to help the house keep going.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
You know, I was getting turned down those.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
A couple of moments, what's up?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
And we got and we got we got the call.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Because to quit the fight. No, not here. No, I
didn't want you to quit. I don't want you to quit.
Here's what I want to two jobs. Like I wanted
to pay I wanted to pay your rent, and I
wanted you to be spunky as a mull in the
house and help work even though you was working all day,
(20:57):
and I wanted you to make sure your paid your
rent own.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
To be like, yo, I know you with the word
from God, but we need you here, Like do I
can give you to about twelve one o'clock then.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
I gotta go.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
He was like, well, I think I think that if
you really look back on it, even further back, it's
really everything is in stages, like you got to identify
the people that you want to be with in order
(21:31):
to be order to take things to the next step.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
So I remember, as Damon, when we was growing up.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
One thing that kind of attracted me to you, I
guess is when we used to hang up and hang
out in the bedroom and do our breakdancing routines whatever
as teenagers.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
But we we we used to say this thing like
I don't have the money. You got money. And when
I say I don't have no money, I don't have
no money, don't have no money, I don't have no money.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
But Dayn on the other hand, he has money stashing
little containers and bottles and jaws, and he'd be like
he he just broke as met So although that was
frustrating sometimes, but it taught me a valuable lesson. Just
broke the different levels a broke, and Damon to me
(22:33):
was never broke. And I always admired that about him.
And with that being said, I knew that took a
certain kind of character to have those kind of qualities.
So when looking around at your friends and your options,
you'd be like, Okay, whatever this guy's doing, I'm gonna
rock with him, you know what I mean. That's how
I kind of looked at him when he came to
as a younger year.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Well, you know, I want to I want to take
it to another little boy you call with that moment.
You know, I told the story about nineteen eighty nine.
I stood on the corner in nineteen eighty nine. When
I sit in that corner, you still in that corner
with me. We sold a bunch of hats. Now we would.
You would jump into the business and we would. You
were in there a couple of years and you helped
(23:16):
me start the business. And then I remember, you know,
you had your family, You had your wife and you
had a child, and I think you're working in a
factory or something, and you were spending all the time
now over the house. And she was like, yo, man,
you can't do that. You can't do that. Man. And
I remember, for a very short period of time, I
don't know, maybe a couple of months or something, I
don't know what it was, you had to step away
(23:38):
because you was a young father. You had a fact,
you had a job, you had a child, and and
your wife didn't know. I mean, let's think about it.
We're young. It just sounded like you were hanging out.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
With the boy.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Oh you were in a house.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Well, let me get the shape. What's the company called.
It's a company?
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Right, Okay, hold on, there's a company. Oh those forty.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Dogs and pork ron showing looks good.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I'm here with the baby. You keep a shame.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
You all run at your company up too? Man?
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Isn't that precious?
Speaker 2 (24:20):
All right?
Speaker 1 (24:22):
And then you're going to expose Yeah, yeah, all little girl,
are you hanging out on video sets? O? How's that
company going today? We get your ass over here. Now.
You even against will so yo, and we were shy
of making it six years shy of it. So this
(24:43):
is not we're rolling. You're like, yeah, I'm going back
over there, man, And you cause the riff, even though
your wife stayed by your side. What happens to a
relationship right now? And Keith, you're amazing life was the
only one that laughed through all this. I lost, you know,
(25:04):
my first marriage due to my uh not having work
life balance, running around doing you know, dedicating myself to
my job call you know. Unfortunately, you know some things
have happened there that in that world you're no longer there.
You know, she's no longer you know together at the moment,
(25:25):
you know, no longer together. But what was it? The man?
You want to risk that all to see? Like how
and then how do you deal with that? Because there
was no promise on what we were gonna do. It
was never done before on the level.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Look at what you have in front of you and
what the possibilities are. So what I had in front
of me was wasn't that great? It wasn't terrible. I
would have been lived a normal life, you know, I
mean I would have survived when I saw a potential
here that was unlimited for me. Not to grab that
and run with it the best I could?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
To me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
So you can as a young man out there trying
to make it in the world.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
You know, you kind of figure, you know, if I.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
Don't make it, I can always come back if I
do make it.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
With some there are men, there are men and women
right now with their significant other. They're not respect do
not understand that? And rightfully so sometimes they're like, but
we got a bigger goal that if we stay this path,
and it's hard enough to just living as a normal
couple in this day and age, what do we say
(26:38):
to those people? I mean, Keith, you too, would you
say yours your stuff? By right? And and and it's
held us down period. She's just like the fifth members
for the call, all right, shout out to my shew.
What do you say to those people right now who
have to make those critical decisions on how do I
support my wife? Not? I mean because be very honest,
(27:00):
the girlfriend and I had at that time. I remember
I said, hey, I had a little vanbits. I was like,
I got this idea, you know, and I was called foob.
Now I had borrowd money from her before and I
paid it by it was a little late, just a
little it was a little late guy, a little late.
And she worked for American Express a little with her,
(27:24):
A little bit older than me. I think I was
twenty one, she's maybe twenty six or twenty seven. Great job,
great woman. I said I need eight hundred I know,
I said I need four hundred hours. She was like.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Another brain doing that.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Damon, dam it, Yeah, what are we doing? What is
it called fooble? Nah? Man, baby, I love you, I
can't do it well. I remember coming over to the
twenty thousand square foot mansion, maybe about ten years later,
because I left her after that. Not that was one
(28:05):
of the reasons I left her. I just said she
didn't believe in me. I remember looking around, Can you
still need that three hundred dollars? But what do you say?
Those people?
Speaker 3 (28:19):
You know, and you definitely got to put the work in.
And I kind of, you know, I seen, you know,
I was around you guys every day. So I've seen
how when we started, you know, really working and traveling
and the told that you know, you guys were going
through and I would watch it and I would see
the mistakes that you guys were making. I ain't gonna
(28:39):
get into all of that right now, but I was
seeing some of the you know, because they say you
lose your first wife to the business. Right, So I
was that was the the statement as we came into
the game.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
That was the statement, don't do.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
No cocaine and you're gonna lose your first wife to
the business.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
And I was like, no that what was his name? How?
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, good www? I told me.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
He was like, hey, how so how I told you that?
First of all, well, let me let me tell you
about house. So when we got into the business, the
conversation everybody was different and so beep this I never
knew he said that to you. You know what he
(29:28):
said to me, damon money is a great slave with
a horrible master, and pull your taxes because guess what,
I'm on the ground. I say, what do you do
on the ground? He said, I owe the government something
like something like four million dollars. I said, how how
(29:49):
do you make? How do you owe the government four
million dollars? He said? I said, you had four million dollars. No,
it started off as eighty thousand, interesting ten tes after
twenty five yeah, And he said save that money. So
he saw me as saving money and that he must
(30:10):
something different than you keep.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
You know, it was crazy because he told me that,
and uh, I think it was Mitch. I think Mitch.
I think it was Mitch. They sent me down, and
you know.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Don't do no drugs, don't do no cocaine. That's what
everybody does in this industry. Don't do no cocaine. But
you know, just talking to them and hearing what they
what they were saying, and then seeing my own partners
come up and go through the certain you know, certain
certain things with them their wives or their their significant others.
(30:46):
I was like, Okay, I'm not gonna do that. I
definitely ain't gonna do that. But what it was was
I had to. And it was, like I said, it
wasn't easy. It was like, oh, you got to go
on another trick, you got to do this, you got
to do that. And you know, at the time, we
was on fire, and you know, we wasn't the best
partners at that time.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
We was doing our thing running around.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
But by the way, none of us we never went yeah,
we never went that. We never want that out.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
But no, you know, and what the decision I made
to try to keep my wife was to make time.
So when we used to go on trips or we
would go to conferences or whatever or magic and I
would ask her what her when was her vacation, and
I would just book a vacation, try not to be busy.
(31:43):
As long as we wasn't doing anything, I would take
that time off and I would make sure that I
went on vacations and spend time with her and.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
You know, gave her her time.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
And you know, over the years, like I said, it
wasn't easily clashed. A couple of times, especially when I
messed up and was doing things that I shouldn't have
been doing, and then you know, that caused a lot
of friction. But you know, for the most part, I
try to make sure I paid attention and stay you know,
stay connected, because that was the biggest thing for me.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
Yeah, I think a lot of times it's timing too.
I think that I was married at what seventeen years old?
Eighteen years old, so I think that going through the
extreme side was one thing.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
But once I think, if it get a chance to
it's been when you meet.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
But I say to people, if you if you're starting
off in a marriage and you have a dream that
you're trying to follow and that particular partner doesn't see it,
do it anyway. I mean, the bottom line is you're
gonna have a lot of regrets in your life if
you don't chase that thing that that makes you feel fulfilled.
So whatever, whatever the end of the day, whether you
(32:54):
stay with the woman and she decides to have patience
with you, that's a beautiful thing. Well if she's decided
to believe you, that's the problem. Should regret it. But
the Bible lies.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
If I don't keep bringing baby, just keep ringing, really don't.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
But I mean, I make sure you don't regret your
decisions at the end of the day and make sure
that you do what's what's going to fulfill you. I mean,
sometimes it's just it's those hard decisions that you got
to make as entrepreneurs.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
That everyone just not gonna make. You gotta be that
person to make that decision through hard ones.
Speaker 3 (33:31):
It was it was time to where you know, it
was like, oh, you need to stay home, you need
to do this, or she wanted me home all the time,
and I'm like, I can't get no money at home, baby,
if I don't go out there and get this money, Like,
how I'm going to afford the way we live and
(33:52):
the things that we have. I have to do this,
Like so I understand what you're saying when you've got
to make that decision, because you know, I know so
many people.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Who and in the five to be exact.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
Who chose women over their business and you know, was uh.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
And that's that and that's family too. It's like you
got parents, you got siblings. A lot of people just
won't see your vision. Yeah, man, Wes in that little
house by ourselves, rocking out that we gotta do. They
can't see behind those walls, so they may be thinking
the worst of you and think you're doing all kinds
of other ship. But you really can't blame them all
(34:34):
at the end of the day. But a lot of
times they just don't see what you see.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
You can't. You just gotta kind of let them believe
what they believe.
Speaker 4 (34:42):
But most people come around, as you see, they come
around after a while and see that YO show results.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
People gonna see it.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
All Right, let's let's let's hold to the middle time. Right,
we're starting a bubble, you know, ninety whatever, right, think
God nice, no social media, no Internet, no cell phones,
I mean cell phones are just starting to get out there.
You were we were we were an army, right, you know,
(35:13):
Jay was the one who basically look at look at
Jay is the one who could look at a garment.
He always invested in clothing. He loved it. I thought
he was crazy at first when I would say how
much you pay for those pair of pants? Why? Right?
And I would later learn that it's an investment, so
he added that. And he also has the ability to
look at something for a and just study. He's really analytical.
(35:36):
He you were my navy seal. You still are. I
am not going to go to a studio and sit
in there with Redman and Method Man and Wu Tang
and all kind of cats that ain't Wu Tang from
(35:57):
midnight to six in the morning and and have a conversation.
And and then I remember saying to you, we didn't
have much money. Well, I think we sent you and
Leslie over the Soul Trade Awards someplace. Now, no tickets
to the show, no social media, don't really know. Nobody
would drop you off in LA with a box full
(36:17):
of shirts or send you to a video set. They're
kicking everybody off. You were the one. You were the
street dude because they just loved you. And you know
it wasn't because you had any history of being and
this and that you just grabbed me and everybody that's
(36:38):
my man D. I know they described us your d.
I don't know, but he don't be talking o funny
style calls and that keep my man Keith. What was
your negotiation tactics in there or was you just having
the fun? I mean you even to that today. That's
why you got food with radio you get people to
have these kinds of combinations easy.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
And I remember me and you had a little thing
going on about how easy my job was, and I
was trying to tell you it wasn't.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
That easy, and you were like, anybody could do your job,
and I'm like, bro mm hmmm, because it was for
one I got.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
I gained a lot of respect being one of the
founders that was on set that for For the people
that saw me roll up, they were like, oh man,
they wanted to put me in the video most of
the times, and I was like, nah, I just want
to play the back I'm just over here.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
But I did get in a bunch of videos over
the years.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
But it was like going up to people and being
on them sets and trying to figure it out on
the fly, and you know, there's no secret. I indulge
in the marijuana. So that to me was my end.
And I heard who did I hear say that? I
(38:01):
heard someone say that recently and and I just laughed.
I think it was bust of Rhymes on BT. He
said the same thing. He would I would have the best,
the best marijuana, and I would go up to them
and I'd be like, Yo, what's up man?
Speaker 2 (38:12):
What you doing? You're smoking on what you got right?
Try that.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Was It was a combination of that combination of me
being a people person.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
I'm serious. It was like doing that. And then they
would be like, I seen it in actually seen it
like we wanted to. We went to We went to.
It's an amazing thing to see.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
I went to Houston to meet Bun Be because I
just spoke to my boy Read and I was like, Yo,
Dame and me and Dame want to come out there.
You want to sit with Bun talked about doing some stuff.
He was like, all right, come come to the studio.
So we go to the studio. Well be sitting in
the lobby. So he's like, yo, Bun is ready for you.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
So I said, come on, d He was like, go there,
do your die. What was like, said as I oh
the door.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
You know, Bun being very hull moved, very cool with
you know, the utmost southern hospitality.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
He was.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
He was glad to see us. So he was like,
you know, glad to see me walk through the door.
So he was like, yo, we're Dave. I was like, oh,
he out there thinking on the phone. You know, I
made an excuse, I said, I thinking on the phone.
But he was rolling up. So as he was rolling up,
I was like, yeah, I got this on the plan
brought this smell.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
That and he was.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
He started breaking that up and then he was like,
you know, go get Dang with Dang to him to
come in. And then I went toil Dan yo, d
come on. And when Damon came in, it was all up.
It was just so that was a combination of it,
but just me being I think one of the founders
that was on the set. People really really you know,
(40:07):
because we were big at that time.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
We were on TV all all the time. We went
into sines all the time, so being on set, but.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
I want to Keith, I want to break this down
in Laming's terms to people, right because we all, you know,
people want to be around others like them to have
similar interesting, to come from a genuine place. So let's
talk about me coming on set, and let's talk about
what happens. Right, we're just coming up and come on, hey,
(40:40):
how y'all doing. There's one here, dude over here? Yeah here,
I'm on with a shirt. How mamus you do? What?
How much you got? I ain't got none? Give me
a second, Keith, come on set. Well this is if
we don't know y'all want here or this wrapper here? Yeah? Yeah,
(41:03):
what you want? I want them with a shirt?
Speaker 2 (41:06):
How you got?
Speaker 1 (41:07):
I ain't got none? All right? What do you want?
Can you go get them? I'm standing right here.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
I'm standing right here.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
Let him know. No, no, no, I got a cataract.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
I'm standing right here.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
Now. It ain't no different than a mom preneur coming
on set and everybody's trying to get these other mom preneurs.
But you bringing your little girl on, so you got
your your whatever, your boy, and you're doing your thing
that a mother does. All right, It is no difference. Right.
(41:49):
Then you go into any kind of set and you're
a financial person and somebody's over here talking about whatever
they are, and you're talking in finance like listen, you
know I got uh you know, I work with X
amount of different type of high net portfolio people. It
becomes a language whether.
Speaker 4 (42:07):
It's I think, and from your perspective, Dame, as a leader,
your job is kind of identify people's strimps and put
those put them in positions where you know they're gonna
be successful. And I think that we all knew in
(42:38):
those environments those places, Keep is going to come out
on top. You know, he just ads that personality, he
has the and he knows he knows first of all
what he's got to do when he goes in there.
But on top of that, he knows how to use
his assets to get it done.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
You know, it is worked.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
You know.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
The other thing that that I attribute a lot of
my success to was knowing the artists and paying attention
to the artists and actually having conversation with the artists
because they would tell me I don't wear polos, I
don't wear these colors like I remember trade the truth
he was no bigger than the two eggs. He wanted
(43:16):
the four x in size forty four pants, and I
couldn't believe. I said, why, that's how I like to
wear my clothes. So if you don't know that, then
you assume you're gonna bring him the wrong size and
he's not gonna wear it. So I like to identify
with a lot of the artists to talk to him
and figure out what they like, what they don't like,
what colors they like, and then once I got a
(43:36):
pattern of them of what they you know, their preferences were.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
When I used to pick the clothes.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
I used to it was like I used to kind
of call myself almost like a stylist, because I would
style the outfit before I bring it to him. So
when I pulled it out, everything matched, it was fly already,
so they just had no you know, they had no
other choice but to say, oh man, I'm wearing that
outfit because I already put it together for him.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
And I think for me, that was one of the.
Speaker 3 (44:05):
Biggest attributes for us to get getting a lot of
those placements on, you know, especially early on later on
when we were doing other brands and everything else.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
It was it was a totally other situation.
Speaker 3 (44:18):
But for me, it's like making sure that you had
the right outfits and the right colors for that artist,
to make sure that.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
You know, when they looked at it. It really hyped
about it.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
So I want to break this down because we're gonna
talk about the arists. We want to talk about that
moment the Carl decided that we needed to reinforce our
understanding all of entertainment of music. But what Keith is
really breaking down is before there was analytics. He was
putting his analytics together and me on our side from
(44:54):
a design standpoint. Remember, I'm gonna show you some analytics here.
This year there's orange, but it's burnt orange. Now burnt orange?
An orange with two different oranges. How are we gonna
(45:17):
get burnt orange? Well, let me give you analyst because
this is we're damon. Now talk analytics. You know, Keith
was like this, So a designer making over at a
really great company, uh, you know, making at that time
maybe eighty thousand dollars a year, designer working at one
(45:39):
of the big sneaker companies. We didn't make sneakers at
the time. Well, they're gonna design the sneakers for the
new colors next year. They're gonna use what we call
Pantone colors. They're gonna use this type of orange, the
burnt orange. Is it a sunny d orange, is it
a stun orange, whatever the case is, they're gonna put
that in the line. They're going to design that lot
one year prior that design making eighty thousand dollars. However,
(46:01):
if I desire to go over to that design, stop
and call the head designer and say I got twenty
thousand dollars. If you just want to advise me, I
got it in a brown bag and alley. If you're
using a fear, I will give you that twenty thousand dollars.
So how what happens is I'm able to now make
(46:24):
sure that miraculously that beautiful old five jersey that is
back to school is the same exact burnt orange as
that top sneaker company. And that's kind of right. We're
putting things together, isn't that? We look on an apple.
If you like that kind of music, go hit this
(46:45):
button for other people to do that. Right, So it's
always about connecting in what are the way, right, Connecting
on site, meaning connecting through a form of communication, a
form of lifestyle culture, whatever that may be, children's whatever, right,
connecting and knowing not only in general, but what that
(47:06):
person likes to wear. Because back then I remember everybody
thought hip hop was just saying, well, some dudes dress backpack, rappish.
Some dudes dressed army, fatigue, grunge, onyx, some dudes dress
Biggie Small's champagne. Some dudes dress call hard right that
(47:28):
style they were. You couldn't just address any artists the
way they wanted to dress. So now let's talking about
how companies want to keep it real. But there's keeping
it real and it's just staying true to who you are.
Car season, we're spending a lot of money on commercials,
on BT and various of the things. Call said, d
(47:51):
I think we're doing too much. And we have all
these contacts, all these great artists, man, and we love
the music. Man. We're in the studios they're asking and
that's what to wear for the album. We're asking them
what they're wearing. And how do we you know we
was gonna be artculating the pop? What happened? What did
you decide? There was a moment when you decided that
we need to do.
Speaker 2 (48:08):
At that time it was music. I mean, it was
just an obvious to me.
Speaker 4 (48:11):
It was an obvious transition for our company because we
were so entwined with it, you know, from the beginning.
But even so, I think when we first made the
name Fuobu. You know you did a post recently about
how to choose a company name. When we first made
the name or decide on the name, I knew that
this was it can go in different directions outside of clothing,
(48:33):
even from the beginning.
Speaker 2 (48:35):
But at that time we were ready.
Speaker 4 (48:37):
I felt we were ready to expand, and the natural
course of that would be to me was be music.
Speaker 2 (48:43):
And we decided to start that label Food Records and
be Entertainment.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
And a lot of people would say, man, you know,
we're just doing it because we want to, you know,
we want to just put our music, but you had
a bigger and we actually didn't make money technically off
the music. And we're the first to do it, the
first to go gold. I believe. I think we went
gold close to it. I'm like, I don't know. We
the first singles we released on our album with Light
(49:10):
Tam Reaction by mister Cheeks, and then we had a
song called Produced and Rectly by Uh Parrell, a new
a new producer named Parrell, and then and then track
Masses did it and Kenny uh Uh uh uh the
(49:31):
Dream is Real, found a guy in Atlanta to do
three other singles on there, a really great young producers
up named Little John. We did this video and at
that time, a guy named Keith Murray. It just came
home from prison and we have one of their lu
(49:52):
Jay Keith Murray and Ludacris. We do a track called
Fatty Girl, put out a bunch of our fat album
and our stuff in there, and Call is like, wait
a minute, I don't know who's gonna make my It's cool.
I had a bigger idea because the whole reason Call
It did it was like, if we're gonna spend a
million dollars on b and that's only gonna be a
bunch of thirty second commercials, Wait a minute, why don't
(50:14):
we culturally do this? We have a three and a
half minute video. We can spend a million dollars creating
this album, and then even if the video is not playing,
but somebody just listening to it, they already think about it.
And we ended up doing how much in Fatty Girls?
Well over a million pair of jeans. This has been
(50:35):
part one of the Unfiltered Pooval Files. Tune in next
week for part two that Moment with Damon John is
a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more
podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show
(50:57):
and don't forget to subscribe to and rate the show.
And of course you can't all connect with me on
any of my social media platforms. At the Shark, Damon
spelt like Raymond, but what a d
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