Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Luke James Full Interview

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Luke James Full Interview · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

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Speaker 1: as well as their secrets to success. The next season
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Speaker 1: Studio with Me and I'm Excited. Was raised in Gumbo
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Speaker 1: Cut New all This Louisiana. Then a Houston boy. He's
2:03
Speaker 1: in Texas. I know about that. By the rouge, you know,
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Speaker 1: Alexandria my man. My parents were street Point Bojan so
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Speaker 1: I got a whole lot of spectrum there. You gonna,
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Speaker 1: I'm a little north. South is different from the North. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
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Speaker 1: But we gumbo. Everybody gumbo. Everybody can come together on
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Speaker 1: that one. But that really gotta be right. There's got
2:25
Speaker 1: to be right there. He currently spends his time between Atlanta, Chicago,
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Speaker 1: Los Angeles, and New York, all four cities I've lived
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Speaker 1: in fully where he always is working hard on their
2:36
Speaker 1: multitude of projects, like starting like a starring role in
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Speaker 1: the musical drama Star on Fox HB so HBO's Insecure,
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Speaker 1: MC Girlsa Ray Usa is Unsolved, the Murders of Tupac
2:48
Speaker 1: and the Tories, B I G and this role as
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Speaker 1: my Man, Good Friend R and B singer Johnny gil
2:53
Speaker 1: on BTS that Bobby Brown Story, which drove in numbers
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Speaker 1: record numbers twenty nine million viewers doing premier week. Please
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Speaker 1: work with the money Man Conversation my Man two times
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Speaker 1: Grammar nominated. Luke James, How you do? How you doing?
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Speaker 1: Set me a real nice Well, I got to set
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Speaker 1: you when you've done something I've learned over the years.
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Speaker 1: I tell people when I introduced him, what we make
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Speaker 1: a mistake on home That resume. Gotta gotta be told
3:21
Speaker 1: because we're you're you're kind of like you don't want
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Speaker 1: to like always brag about it, but it does tell
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Speaker 1: you you can walk in the door for a region
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Speaker 1: and be respected. Absolutely. Now, when did you feel in
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Speaker 1: this business you started getting respected? Luke Wow, Um, you
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Speaker 1: know I've had I've had moments, and I'd say I
3:39
Speaker 1: have moments, but I think it it hasn't It hasn't
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Speaker 1: really been until really around now, to be fair, because
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Speaker 1: I think now I've actually put in a solid well
3:51
Speaker 1: now it's being New Year's full ten years, thank you too,
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Speaker 1: to my to my craft, being an established artist and
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Speaker 1: also jumping into a new endeavor, you know, a film
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Speaker 1: and TV. Well, you know, it's really interesting because you
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Speaker 1: are a diverse talent singer. Okay, And sometimes I remember
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Speaker 1: when I was managing Steve Harvey because it was a comedian.
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Speaker 1: Some people were envious that he was able to get
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Speaker 1: sitcoms because he was a comedian. They feel he didn't
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Speaker 1: put the work into the craft, you know, and so
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Speaker 1: he just gave. He just got it because he's Steve.
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Speaker 1: He's a funny guy. And that's not fair. You know,
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Speaker 1: we all put different levels of work. Because if I
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Speaker 1: mentioned the cities in Atlanta, Chicago, what y'all love that food?
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Speaker 1: That's cold run, New York City and then l A.
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Speaker 1: It just because you gotta go there. You gotta go there.
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Speaker 1: So that means you putting work into your life. There's
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Speaker 1: there's there's means that there's times you would be rather
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Speaker 1: be someplace else, but you gotta be there. You gotta
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Speaker 1: be about that. I mean, you know they're there are
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Speaker 1: different paths you must take, and sometimes you don't always
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Speaker 1: know it right off the back. You know, I left
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Speaker 1: New Orleans, um right out of high school, went to
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Speaker 1: l A sleeping on a couch, sleeping on the floor,
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Speaker 1: you know, me and my me and my bros that
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Speaker 1: I graduated from school with, and and we just you know,
5:11
Speaker 1: we have the mentality that Okay, this is what it's
5:14
Speaker 1: gonna take. We need to we need to leave New Orleans.
5:18
Speaker 1: We need to go somewhere else and and start hitting
5:20
Speaker 1: the pavement there and sing there and get our name
5:23
Speaker 1: out there. And and that's just really what it really is.
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Speaker 1: You know, um Uh. As an actor, you're you're you're
5:31
Speaker 1: stationed different places, you know, and that's a beautiful thing
5:34
Speaker 1: because you you if you have the time you get
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Speaker 1: an opportunity to if you can um sink your teeth
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Speaker 1: into the city that you're in and and and there
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Speaker 1: you can feel the pulse of what that city has.
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Speaker 1: And and like living in New York that hustle and bustle,
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Speaker 1: I mean that that feeling, that that feeling, you must
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Speaker 1: all all of it and the attitude. Now something may
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Speaker 1: take it negative, but I I took it as a positive.
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Speaker 1: People don't have time, you know people really you have
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Speaker 1: to respect people's time and that and and and they
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Speaker 1: cherish their time, and so that's why they get going.
6:07
Speaker 1: That's why it feels like, you know, as soon as
6:09
Speaker 1: you wake up at nine, you know, nine am, you blink,
6:13
Speaker 1: it's nine pm, and you know, it feels like you know,
6:16
Speaker 1: so it's so it's it's it's interesting. You know, you
6:18
Speaker 1: go to New York Midtown at two o'clock in the morning,
6:21
Speaker 1: it feels like a five o'clock in the regular city. Yes,
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Speaker 1: And that's the crazy part about New York City. And
6:26
Speaker 1: I always tell people that, you know, the reason I
6:29
Speaker 1: bring up those different locations, each one of those cities
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Speaker 1: are different. And you walk away with as of what
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Speaker 1: that is that atmosphere. I think it makes you a
6:39
Speaker 1: much more rounded person. It does. I think so too.
6:41
Speaker 1: I think traveling is absolutely it's imperative to any person.
6:45
Speaker 1: I think, I think we you you have to at
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Speaker 1: some point in your life. You have to have I
6:51
Speaker 1: hope you you're able to. You're blessed to have a
6:53
Speaker 1: nomad uh period in your life where you where you
6:58
Speaker 1: just live a bunch of differ from places. I mean,
7:01
Speaker 1: because I think it's just really important to to to
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Speaker 1: know about the world, right, you know, right, you know,
7:07
Speaker 1: it's really funny just watching you talk, listen to you talk.
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Speaker 1: I feel like I'm talking to a poet, a poet,
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Speaker 1: and it's really cool. And I'm talking to Luke James,
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Speaker 1: two time Grammar nominated and sing aartists, you know. And
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Speaker 1: I would tell you what, I'll really tell you what.
7:20
Speaker 1: I love talking to you because she when I left
7:24
Speaker 1: IBM to do stand up comedy, one thing I always
7:27
Speaker 1: want to do is have multi levels of income. And
7:30
Speaker 1: that what he's see. I like, that's what you're doing.
7:32
Speaker 1: She's really rough in this business man, because they could
7:35
Speaker 1: be more setbacks and games, and the setbacks are what
7:38
Speaker 1: turned people around. They turn them around absolutely we look
7:41
Speaker 1: at this business, it's a lot of people who have gifts.
7:43
Speaker 1: There is a lot of people have that passion. But
7:45
Speaker 1: those setbacks, man, can stop you because because you really
7:49
Speaker 1: don't have anybody to turn to. I always tell people,
7:52
Speaker 1: you know, you can talk to somebody who's the secretary.
7:54
Speaker 1: He talked about throwing male because they have people that
7:57
Speaker 1: it's relatable to the normal person. But you're talking, you're
8:00
Speaker 1: telling somebody I'm going to l a. All they think
8:03
Speaker 1: about is all the other stars then jail. Yeah, people
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Speaker 1: they can't think of Luke j How you gonna make it? Do? Who?
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Speaker 1: You know? Right? Who? Yeah? You have to really believe
8:16
Speaker 1: in yourself. You have to. It's it's I mean, you
8:19
Speaker 1: have to be out of your mind in a sense
8:21
Speaker 1: of it, in a sense of in a sense of
8:23
Speaker 1: your belief and your passion, and it truly has to
8:28
Speaker 1: be yours. It can't be no one else's. Because I
8:31
Speaker 1: think that's where you know, people people say, well, how
8:34
Speaker 1: do you say? Because everybody kind of, like you know,
8:35
Speaker 1: thinks they're supposed to, but not everybody's really living their truth.
8:39
Speaker 1: I think not everybody's walking in their particular steps. They're
8:42
Speaker 1: seeing someone else's influence there you as someone else's influences
8:47
Speaker 1: is making them do something maybe that isn't completely right
8:50
Speaker 1: for them, and there's a hole at the end of
8:53
Speaker 1: that tunnel. There is some sort of place where they'll
8:57
Speaker 1: realize that this isn't for them and they that's sometimes
9:01
Speaker 1: the downfalls and that, but that's why you have to
9:03
Speaker 1: really really find that and know for sure that this
9:06
Speaker 1: is what you want to do and then go for
9:08
Speaker 1: blow right right now. You know the really cool part
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Speaker 1: about listening to you because at that age I experienced
9:15
Speaker 1: it at my age, you know, because I left on
9:18
Speaker 1: the road you did an eighteen and twenty six. I
9:20
Speaker 1: decided to make a decision that I'm tired of IBM.
9:23
Speaker 1: I looked around, you know, I got enough you know,
9:25
Speaker 1: showtime and made me the funniest comic contextures three years
9:28
Speaker 1: in a row. I figured that was enough going out
9:31
Speaker 1: there and tested I hadn't enough credits, you know, the
9:34
Speaker 1: walking papers to get out there and see if I
9:36
Speaker 1: could do this. But even when you get out there,
9:38
Speaker 1: you're still alone. Did you did you go to l
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Speaker 1: A by yourself? Well? I went to l A with
9:44
Speaker 1: with two of my two of my bros that I
9:46
Speaker 1: went to high school with Okay, we were we were
9:48
Speaker 1: in a group, a trio UM. And then and then,
9:52
Speaker 1: you know, somewhat some some parts of the business weren't understood,
9:56
Speaker 1: and and and some issues, you know, family issues when
10:00
Speaker 1: I came about, and then we kind of fell apart
10:02
Speaker 1: group UM. I had to make a decision. I had
10:07
Speaker 1: to make a decision whether to stick around with with
10:11
Speaker 1: my my two brothers who decided to leave l a
10:15
Speaker 1: Um decided that they were going to leave l AM
10:19
Speaker 1: or stay in l a And Finn for myself. And
10:25
Speaker 1: that's the key word right there, Finn for yourself. That's
10:27
Speaker 1: that's that's the that's the one that's why they left. Yeah,
10:29
Speaker 1: because I'm gonna tell you something, man, a lot of
10:32
Speaker 1: people want to be stars. A lot of people want
10:34
Speaker 1: the dream of the pot at the end of the
10:37
Speaker 1: wrong bow. But it's a lot of loneliness, Yea, there is.
10:41
Speaker 1: And it's a lot of self doubt. You have to
10:44
Speaker 1: you know, if you have faith, you have to. It's
10:46
Speaker 1: so much, man, it's so much, it's so much, you know,
10:49
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, let's speed up to the last
10:53
Speaker 1: five years. I say, for me have been one of
10:57
Speaker 1: the hardest, one of the hardest times for me, just um,
11:03
Speaker 1: just finding myself, finding what I love, um, finding out
11:09
Speaker 1: my truth just in general and career. Is this music?
11:13
Speaker 1: Is this what I want to do? Continue to do?
11:15
Speaker 1: Is is this what I'm supposed to do? Um? Also
11:18
Speaker 1: is this all I have? You know? And and and
11:22
Speaker 1: around that time is very really scary and and and
11:24
Speaker 1: then also just personal life that love and and wanting
11:28
Speaker 1: to be in love and trying to have a life,
11:30
Speaker 1: and and my putting everything inside of this in front
11:34
Speaker 1: of me, you know, because I am I putting my
11:37
Speaker 1: career ahead of living life and stuff? And am I
11:41
Speaker 1: missing out on things? You know? And and you know
11:44
Speaker 1: it was it was It was a lot, you know,
11:46
Speaker 1: going through a not feeling like I was being appreciated
11:49
Speaker 1: at a label, you know, trying to I mean, getting
11:53
Speaker 1: all of these all of these opportunities, but not not
11:56
Speaker 1: fully being able to capitalize on. Yeah, mac somebody, because
12:00
Speaker 1: I didn't completely have the artistic freedom that I needed,
12:05
Speaker 1: that that I needed in order to capitalize on so
12:08
Speaker 1: many of the things that were coming to me, like film.
12:11
Speaker 1: So you went five years, I'm going another five years. Okay, cool?
12:14
Speaker 1: Today you know I'm in my staff, you know, we
12:17
Speaker 1: do a meeting, alright and now and I always say
12:20
Speaker 1: find out for guests, gonna come on the show, interesting,
12:22
Speaker 1: come on the show. And I got staff and Jersey
12:26
Speaker 1: and Richmond and conference call and they go. I go.
12:29
Speaker 1: Then Luke James name, come on? Did I hear the
12:32
Speaker 1: words chocolate drop? I don't. I don't play with I don't.
12:45
Speaker 1: I couldn't even get past you know what did he do?
12:48
Speaker 1: What did he got out? No? No, no, no, no,
12:51
Speaker 1: chocolate job. It's gonna be on the show. He's gonna
12:53
Speaker 1: be on the show. So so so so that means say,
12:57
Speaker 1: some good times happening out there when you carry Monica. Yes,
13:01
Speaker 1: but the ladies chocolate yes, yes, no, truly no, I
13:06
Speaker 1: honestly need to be fair. It never it wasn't the
13:08
Speaker 1: thought of my mind. I mean, the ladies make the choice,
13:11
Speaker 1: they decide what it is. I just throw my hands
13:14
Speaker 1: up and say, yes, I'll be that. That's how you
13:15
Speaker 1: get a soul, That's how that's night at the masquerade. Yeah,
13:24
Speaker 1: just me, I'm I'm man. I'm truly grateful, truly grateful.
13:28
Speaker 1: This is yeah, this is this is this is all
13:31
Speaker 1: born eighteen years old. I'm gonna follow my dream. Yeah,
13:35
Speaker 1: I got to got to chocolate drop her actor. Man,
13:41
Speaker 1: I mean, wow, are you making me think of these things?
13:44
Speaker 1: Like I'm just grateful. Man. This is a journey man,
13:48
Speaker 1: you know, it's a journey what I try to do
13:50
Speaker 1: with money making conversations. I've been blessed because I know you.
13:53
Speaker 1: I know you from the highs and the lows, and
13:56
Speaker 1: there's some levels you're gonna get that I've experienced, you know,
13:59
Speaker 1: private just walking in red carpets, multitude and things like that,
14:04
Speaker 1: because I want you to experience that, because you're gonna
14:06
Speaker 1: pay it forward because you year way I talk, you know,
14:09
Speaker 1: because my legacy is sharing my experiences were younger with
14:12
Speaker 1: the younger generation. Let them know it's possible. Absolutely. But
14:15
Speaker 1: what happened to me, I started believing myself later in
14:18
Speaker 1: the game. I'm asking you to believe in yourself now
14:21
Speaker 1: that the opportunity to gives follow lead with him because
14:25
Speaker 1: those sad moments can't win and what cannot beat you
14:29
Speaker 1: is you. And that's all I'm saying is interview, because
14:33
Speaker 1: we've got a lot to talk about, because we're gonna
14:35
Speaker 1: get into that area. But the journey is important for
14:38
Speaker 1: my listeners to here that you're a special young man
14:41
Speaker 1: and you can have all these credits, and then what
14:44
Speaker 1: do you do with those credits? How do you build?
14:45
Speaker 1: How do you how you turn opportunity into momentum. And
14:49
Speaker 1: this is what this conversation, this is what this interview
14:51
Speaker 1: is about. You live in momentum. Absolutely the shot. You
14:56
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, that momentum so that no tour, NonStop,
15:01
Speaker 1: your singer is moving actor. You know, double hand, double hand,
15:08
Speaker 1: you know. But you know something, You're humble, yeah, you
15:10
Speaker 1: know because of the fact that we got our time
15:12
Speaker 1: twitched up on this meeting. You didn't you didn't you
15:15
Speaker 1: didn't jump, I go, I'm out. I'm hanging there, you know,
15:19
Speaker 1: coming to apologize about the time confusion. But that's important
15:21
Speaker 1: people to understand. That's who you are, you know, because
15:24
Speaker 1: you understand situations. You know, you did not even let
15:27
Speaker 1: an emotional moment the two an opportunity, because that's what
15:30
Speaker 1: this interview is out, an opportunity. So we're gonna be
15:33
Speaker 1: right back from my man two times sold that show.
15:36
Speaker 1: I'm put that in front the soul that showed out
15:38
Speaker 1: Chocolate Drop. Luke James will be right back. More from
15:44
Speaker 1: Mars McDonald the money making conversations. Don't touch that dog.
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Speaker 1: Making Conversations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Ladies and gentlemen,
18:02
Speaker 1: it's time you stop thinking about your dreams and put
18:04
Speaker 1: some plans into action. I just Rashaw mcgong, and you're
18:10
Speaker 1: listening to money making conversations, I said, move money making conversation.
18:15
Speaker 1: I have an incredibly incredible gas man. I would really
18:18
Speaker 1: enjoying this interview because it's an interview about the truth. Yes,
18:21
Speaker 1: and I think the more and more I tell the
18:23
Speaker 1: truth on the show Money Making Conversation, people understand why
18:26
Speaker 1: I do it. And you are you? You share your
18:30
Speaker 1: your youthful, your your the plight of saying I made
18:33
Speaker 1: a decision I was eighteen. A lot of people make
18:35
Speaker 1: a decisions eighteen to go to college. But see that
18:38
Speaker 1: path wasn't your path? You know why? You know, I
18:43
Speaker 1: knew early on. I knew in school, I knew, and
18:46
Speaker 1: I knew in high school. I knew I knew in
18:49
Speaker 1: I knew in middle school. I remember I remember in
18:52
Speaker 1: middle school saying, WHOA four more years of school? At eight?
18:58
Speaker 1: Four more years? I don't know if I could do
19:00
Speaker 1: another four after that, and then another four after that,
19:04
Speaker 1: depending on what it is I want to do. And
19:07
Speaker 1: you know, I realized, man, I'm a I'm an artist.
19:10
Speaker 1: I knew I was an artist, and I knew that
19:12
Speaker 1: I needed to live life, and I knew life for
19:15
Speaker 1: me wasn't happening inside of inside of the classroom. I
19:19
Speaker 1: wish I'd have done better. I wish I would have
19:21
Speaker 1: I would have I wish I had a more nurturing
19:26
Speaker 1: environment to the way that I the way that my
19:29
Speaker 1: particular mind thoughts right, you know, and that way I
19:35
Speaker 1: would have been more susceptible to um the actual lessons
19:39
Speaker 1: and then also the arts, because I think I was
19:41
Speaker 1: just really big on arts and highly distracted and you know,
19:46
Speaker 1: you know, a d h D on top of everything.
19:48
Speaker 1: You know. The thing about it is that because your
19:50
Speaker 1: your age group get criticized or being visionaries for being
19:54
Speaker 1: not par not following the traditional path. You know, my
19:57
Speaker 1: age group. You know, you're supposed to go to college.
20:00
Speaker 1: It's a good job, you know. Then you raise your family,
20:02
Speaker 1: get a retire, but all that starts being shattered under
20:06
Speaker 1: your under your pensions and for one kids and jobs
20:11
Speaker 1: that never laid your off and never fired you started
20:13
Speaker 1: firing you and yeah company and started getting swallowed up.
20:15
Speaker 1: So you were educated there if there's no trust here,
20:19
Speaker 1: who did I trust but myself myself for myself. I
20:22
Speaker 1: put it all them on myself. I knew earlier on
20:25
Speaker 1: my mom knew my mom my mom my mom was
20:28
Speaker 1: always on on me about like, this is your dream,
20:31
Speaker 1: this is your dream. And at the end of the day,
20:34
Speaker 1: when you have your kids, you have your wife, they're
20:36
Speaker 1: gonna look at you. Why why you don't have this
20:39
Speaker 1: and that? Okay, now we're gonna look at this this
20:41
Speaker 1: new CD. Yes you know, okay the title yes, because
20:45
Speaker 1: this has a love slash d Yes. Okay, so it's
20:50
Speaker 1: two titles. Yes. I thought to feel love to feel loved.
20:55
Speaker 1: I find that those are two different things. You know,
20:57
Speaker 1: you can you can feel love. You can feel loved
21:02
Speaker 1: and not feel loved, or you can feel loved and
21:05
Speaker 1: not feel loved, you know, in a sense of being
21:07
Speaker 1: able to reciprocate it being in in a sense of
21:10
Speaker 1: you know, um, you know it's around you, but you
21:16
Speaker 1: don't particularly feel it. And that's you know, that's something
21:20
Speaker 1: that may not be something you're about your surroundings or
21:24
Speaker 1: it could be. But it's also it's it's all either way.
21:27
Speaker 1: It is. It's a it's a you have to reflect
21:29
Speaker 1: on yourself, you have to look into yourself and find
21:31
Speaker 1: out what those issues are. And creating this album, that
21:35
Speaker 1: really was what it was about for me. I just
21:38
Speaker 1: was in that place of not really feeling love or loved.
21:42
Speaker 1: And I definitely had love, have love around me, and
21:45
Speaker 1: have always had love around me. But it's just I
21:48
Speaker 1: guess a numbing that I was getting being in part
21:51
Speaker 1: of it, being in the business and having in my life.
21:56
Speaker 1: And you know, they say, you know, it's business and
21:58
Speaker 1: not personal, but as an artists, everything's personal, you know,
22:02
Speaker 1: so because we are we're all emotional people. Yes, you know,
22:05
Speaker 1: it's really it's really interesting when people, You know, when
22:08
Speaker 1: people look at when I was a comedian or your
22:11
Speaker 1: your your artists from a singing perspective, people look at
22:14
Speaker 1: you and they go, you should be always happy. You
22:16
Speaker 1: should be somewhere writing the song. I should be happy,
22:19
Speaker 1: you know, dude. I see life differently. I see I
22:21
Speaker 1: see I see probably more trouble than you see. I
22:24
Speaker 1: feel everything. People people really don't understand. I feel like
22:32
Speaker 1: my I feel everything. I feel hurt, I can I
22:36
Speaker 1: can feel joy, But I mean there's a lot going on,
22:40
Speaker 1: and especially when you when you're in the business, it
22:43
Speaker 1: can be it can be tough when you're trying to
22:45
Speaker 1: really believe in yourself, push yourself through something and you
22:49
Speaker 1: find yourself in a box, and I think this, this
22:51
Speaker 1: album is a bridge, right, this is a bridge from
22:55
Speaker 1: that place to where I'm going, um, which is which
23:00
Speaker 1: is way more, way more sweeter and and and freeing
23:03
Speaker 1: because this is this is my new endeavor, my first
23:06
Speaker 1: uh record as an independent artist, you know, UM, A
23:10
Speaker 1: fearless move. Absolutely, I feel truly free. I'm I'm in
23:15
Speaker 1: a new I know I have a new life, you know,
23:18
Speaker 1: new career path that that has expanded. I've always prayed
23:22
Speaker 1: that that my uh, that I can expand my that
23:26
Speaker 1: God allowed me to expand my territory. And I didn't
23:28
Speaker 1: think it'd be like this, but I'm grateful it is. Well,
23:34
Speaker 1: this is you know, I look at your your a
23:37
Speaker 1: great smile and uh and and your your passion, and
23:40
Speaker 1: you're very honest. You know about your pain. Because I
23:44
Speaker 1: think that if you if you tell the truth, then
23:46
Speaker 1: you don't have no reason a lot. And I think
23:48
Speaker 1: that if if my story pushes you away, then I
23:52
Speaker 1: needed to. I want to tell my story a lot.
23:54
Speaker 1: You needed to hear it. You need to hear it.
23:56
Speaker 1: And so so when we look at the album, tell
23:57
Speaker 1: me talk about some of the songs on the album.
23:59
Speaker 1: Why you approach the music that way because you distinctively
24:04
Speaker 1: told there's two titles here, so there's two different tones
24:07
Speaker 1: that will be thrown out. How many how many cuts
24:10
Speaker 1: on this nine cuts? Nine cuts? Um, you know, one
24:14
Speaker 1: of them, one of them, one of the songs. Uh.
24:17
Speaker 1: And it's it's more of it what you call it interlude.
24:21
Speaker 1: For me, if I'm looking at looking at it like
24:23
Speaker 1: a play, then it's a it's an intermission. Um. And
24:27
Speaker 1: this this, this intermission is called gratitude. And it came about, um,
24:32
Speaker 1: you know, in a moment, a real honest moment where
24:36
Speaker 1: I needed to remind myself how grateful, how blessed I am,
24:41
Speaker 1: right right right, you know. Um, you know, we all
24:44
Speaker 1: get in our heads and we all think everything seems
24:47
Speaker 1: seems like everything is wrong and not right. And at
24:49
Speaker 1: some point, you know, and and and a lot of
24:52
Speaker 1: times in those moments, you gotta you gotta take a breather.
24:54
Speaker 1: Everything is totally fine. That that's champagne problems. That is
24:57
Speaker 1: really nothing to really a the rest of the day
25:00
Speaker 1: to go bad. So in that moment, I happened to
25:03
Speaker 1: be in the booth in the studio feeling that way.
25:06
Speaker 1: And yeah, I asked the asked the engineer to give
25:10
Speaker 1: me a blank slate. Man, I just need I just
25:12
Speaker 1: need to yell right now. And I just started screaming,
25:16
Speaker 1: I am blessed, blessed, blessed, I am blessed, blessed, blessed,
25:22
Speaker 1: and and that became I was like, Wow, this is affirmation,
25:26
Speaker 1: this is something I need, this anthem an anthem, and
25:29
Speaker 1: it's for me again. This this album is very personal,
25:33
Speaker 1: these songs. So from that song that that's a that
25:35
Speaker 1: was a moment that I felt like I needed and
25:38
Speaker 1: I needed to constantly hear that and why not make
25:40
Speaker 1: a song about it? And then wow, I think other
25:42
Speaker 1: people would need the same thing. Uh, Moving on to
25:45
Speaker 1: another song called Traveling, where I travel a lot. My
25:50
Speaker 1: life is like on the road all the time, and
25:51
Speaker 1: I'm always in a hotel, a new hotel all the time.
25:54
Speaker 1: I wish I've kept the keys from each hotel. Isn't
25:58
Speaker 1: the worst when you wake up and you go where? Man? Yes,
26:01
Speaker 1: that's that's hard. I'm always I'm wait, wait, wait where again?
26:06
Speaker 1: What I don't even ask about the time. I don't
26:08
Speaker 1: even know. I don't know what the timetable is here.
26:11
Speaker 1: I'm just here, you know. And so that I created
26:14
Speaker 1: a song called Traveling because I just thought, you know,
26:16
Speaker 1: I spent a lot of my times in the hotel,
26:19
Speaker 1: and when you don't know where else to go for me,
26:23
Speaker 1: my imagination runs wild, and I wanted to write something
26:28
Speaker 1: that was very cerebral and kind of spoke to that,
26:31
Speaker 1: that essence of of just um going on a voyage,
26:34
Speaker 1: mentally thinking, putting yourself where you want to be, thinking, thinking,
26:39
Speaker 1: thinking it first, and then somehow you appear there, which
26:43
Speaker 1: I think that's a manifestation. I think that's the power
26:46
Speaker 1: of that. I think I think that's you have to
26:48
Speaker 1: work on that and constantly build that your your maniffesto
26:51
Speaker 1: up now, show to right. It is a tour, it's
26:56
Speaker 1: a promo tour. This is this is a small intimate
26:59
Speaker 1: setting so I can get reconnected with my my day
27:02
Speaker 1: ones and my new fans, and and also this is
27:05
Speaker 1: new music and I want to I wanna, I want
27:08
Speaker 1: to perform and work on these records in front of people,
27:11
Speaker 1: but in the smallest setting. We'll get bigger, we'll get larger,
27:15
Speaker 1: but right now, I just want to touch the people.
27:17
Speaker 1: When I had Padda Bell on the album came out
27:20
Speaker 1: of a year and a half ago, she wanted to
27:22
Speaker 1: do a small tool yeah, because she wanted to touch
27:25
Speaker 1: the people, you know, intimate, because you it's really interesting man,
27:29
Speaker 1: because you know, I've been in Mason Square Garden, that's
27:32
Speaker 1: you know, the eighteen thousand people. I've been in the
27:34
Speaker 1: Philips Arena fifteen thou people. And so I know what
27:37
Speaker 1: you you can just because I'm they're laughing way back
27:40
Speaker 1: up there, up there, I can remember I started in
27:42
Speaker 1: the club yeah yeah, which is way more challenging, which
27:46
Speaker 1: you can see the eyeballs all the way to the
27:48
Speaker 1: back of yeah yeah. And so when they're nodding their head,
27:51
Speaker 1: you can see all them no on their heads. It
27:54
Speaker 1: is right right right, And that's that's a beautiful feeling.
27:57
Speaker 1: And so so I can understand why you're doing in
28:00
Speaker 1: this type of tour because you have the right to
28:02
Speaker 1: do that. You have the right to test yourself. You
28:03
Speaker 1: have the right to spand what's inside you, what you
28:06
Speaker 1: feel is right. And a lot of people, let's go
28:08
Speaker 1: for the bigger opportunity. Let's go for this. No, No,
28:11
Speaker 1: i'ma tell you something. You could when you're gonna fall back.
28:13
Speaker 1: We all fall back, but you got to know how
28:16
Speaker 1: to get up. You have to do this right here,
28:18
Speaker 1: giving you the tools off how to stay up right.
28:21
Speaker 1: That's right, stay stay up now. I'll be remiss if
28:24
Speaker 1: I don't talk about the shot. Okay, Okay, Chicago, let's
28:27
Speaker 1: get into it. Okay. Now, the character you're playing, the
28:30
Speaker 1: little kid with the with the with the dreads, I
28:33
Speaker 1: played his older brother. Now, i'ta tell you something. That
28:35
Speaker 1: look kid, which I love because he runs with the
28:37
Speaker 1: little young kid and uh, and uh when you pull
28:41
Speaker 1: out that gun man, I was always I've always been
28:44
Speaker 1: worried about that. If you have not seen the shot.
28:47
Speaker 1: Luke James, you're coming on this season as the older brother,
28:50
Speaker 1: and uh, the story. Uh really, I really cater to
28:55
Speaker 1: these three boards because I'm always afraid for them because
28:59
Speaker 1: if you know anybody Chicago, Chicago in the summertime, it's like, dude,
29:03
Speaker 1: it's like uh, dead man walking for young black youth,
29:07
Speaker 1: especially around fourth of July the holidays for some reason.
29:10
Speaker 1: And I know that, and so when I look at
29:11
Speaker 1: this show, I see this innocence and then I see
29:16
Speaker 1: then I see what could possibly go wrong for the innocence. Then,
29:20
Speaker 1: so to me, this character is perfect for you playing
29:23
Speaker 1: the older brother, absolutely because You've got a younger brother
29:25
Speaker 1: who thinks he knows Oh yeah, I think he thinks
29:27
Speaker 1: he knows everything. And I'm the brother that has been
29:31
Speaker 1: through it already. Absolutely, I've seen it already. I've been
29:34
Speaker 1: I've been to the dark side. I've been near death,
29:38
Speaker 1: and I don't want that for him, right, And so
29:41
Speaker 1: I come in. I come in by any means necessary
29:45
Speaker 1: to get my little brother out of to save him
29:47
Speaker 1: from this. That's you know, you know where he's at
29:50
Speaker 1: the Yeah, you know if he's if he's willing to
29:52
Speaker 1: pack a gun. Yeah, yeah, he's a man in his eye, right,
29:56
Speaker 1: And so your advice that you couldn't give it, We
29:59
Speaker 1: don't have to look at that pisode. If you're if
30:00
Speaker 1: you're a fan of the show, I know what you're
30:02
Speaker 1: walking into. Yeah, you know, where were you at? That's
30:05
Speaker 1: the numb more statement just coming out of his mouth? Yeah,
30:07
Speaker 1: where were you at? That? That was that? I mean,
30:11
Speaker 1: it was a fight. It's a fight. It's it's definitely
30:13
Speaker 1: a fight because my character is the type of character
30:15
Speaker 1: is just his way, you know, he I mean, they
30:19
Speaker 1: have similar mentalities, they have very similar mentalities. My way
30:22
Speaker 1: is the only way, you know, And and Luckily, my
30:25
Speaker 1: character has a as a um has has has a
30:29
Speaker 1: love that that is very supportive to him, but also
30:32
Speaker 1: to keep him, to remind him of his younger self
30:35
Speaker 1: and know and and to remind him that you can't
30:38
Speaker 1: just approach your little brother the way you think as
30:43
Speaker 1: your little brother, you must have you must approach him
30:45
Speaker 1: as another man. You know. It's really interesting because I
30:47
Speaker 1: have six sisters and two brothers, and one of my
30:50
Speaker 1: younger brothers, I didn't realize how much how much he
30:54
Speaker 1: depended on my guide. In some ways, I may have
30:56
Speaker 1: failed him, you know. I have to say that honestly,
30:58
Speaker 1: because I dude, I was trying to live. I was
31:01
Speaker 1: trying to grow up. I wish iall were trying to
31:02
Speaker 1: find out how man, you know, And so that's why
31:06
Speaker 1: this character I'm really interested in watching and seeing you
31:09
Speaker 1: in person here. I'm really interested because you have some
31:12
Speaker 1: nice and tangible as a human being, and I know
31:15
Speaker 1: you're gonna bring that to that role. You know, it's
31:18
Speaker 1: because when I say that, there's an innocence and there's
31:20
Speaker 1: also a pain because of the fact that you made
31:23
Speaker 1: mistakes because you're trying to find yourself. People got just
31:27
Speaker 1: used the wrong way now this kid is coming along
31:29
Speaker 1: with this kid and your younger brother going you weren't
31:32
Speaker 1: there because watch you to listen to you. Okay, what
31:35
Speaker 1: can you do to make my life better? That's a challenge, man,
31:39
Speaker 1: that's like a foot in the face. Really, I mean truly,
31:42
Speaker 1: I mean, this is what you see is you. It's
31:48
Speaker 1: it's the hard truth. It's really true. It's really true,
31:51
Speaker 1: hard hard truth. Because I mean a lot of a
31:54
Speaker 1: lot of men we go through we go through that,
31:56
Speaker 1: and we we have to. It's I find that it's
31:59
Speaker 1: a good opportunity for to be able to show someone
32:03
Speaker 1: reaching back, someone having that that experience and trying their
32:08
Speaker 1: hardest to not stay stay in that experience, and to
32:11
Speaker 1: pull someone out of it, you know, not just it,
32:14
Speaker 1: but you know because he's it feels like he's just
32:17
Speaker 1: about his brother, but he cares about his brother's friends
32:20
Speaker 1: because his brother cares about it his friends. So wherever
32:23
Speaker 1: his friends go, you know, his little brother will go.
32:25
Speaker 1: So I need to care about his his friends too,
32:28
Speaker 1: to make sure they're out of trouble and understand what's
32:30
Speaker 1: what's at stake, and not to play these games. But
32:33
Speaker 1: it's uh, yeah, no, I'm really I'm really grateful to
32:37
Speaker 1: be able to play this particular role in his character. Um,
32:40
Speaker 1: because I've grown up around people like this and people
32:43
Speaker 1: who have been through these things, and and and because
32:45
Speaker 1: in some ways New Orleans black people, community, every soul food,
32:54
Speaker 1: it's a big thing in Chicago as well as the
32:56
Speaker 1: New Orleans you know, community yes, the hood, yes, the
33:01
Speaker 1: stand in it, and and being proud of government influence
33:05
Speaker 1: right right right, you know. So that's what I'm saying. Man,
33:07
Speaker 1: I'm excited about about seeing you on this role this year.
33:10
Speaker 1: You know, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna close and
33:12
Speaker 1: say this. You know, intros are what they are. They
33:14
Speaker 1: talked about they talk about what you accomplish. But as
33:17
Speaker 1: we as we walk through this interview, you see what
33:20
Speaker 1: you are accomplishing now, and so see that's the merger.
33:24
Speaker 1: That's that's the value of success. You know. You know,
33:27
Speaker 1: we gotta mention what you did, but you always want
33:29
Speaker 1: to talk about what you're doing. You're doing and so
33:32
Speaker 1: without tool, that's okay, you're doing the shot. You gotta
33:35
Speaker 1: see d out there now and you're chocolate drop. I mean,
33:40
Speaker 1: what is that a complaint about life? It's so good?
33:45
Speaker 1: Oh man, two times Grammar nominator Luke James, This ros
33:48
Speaker 1: Sean McDonald. You're listening to Money Making Conversation and you
33:50
Speaker 1: can catch all money Making Conversations episodes on Money Making
33:54
Speaker 1: Conversation dot com. Thank you keep listening to you'all. In
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