Revisiting Flavor Unit's Compilation "Roll Wit Tha Flava" and the rise of Zhané #HipHop50

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

*DISCLAIMER: Transcripts are created using AI, and may not accurately represent the content exactly as presented. Transcripts are provided as a courtesy to our listeners who require them.

[00:00:00] How to Support Us
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Jay Ray: Hey, what's up, good people. It's Jay Ray, the co-host of Queue Points, and I wanted to come to you because there are two really important ways that you can support our show. One is by subscribing to it Wherever you listen to or watch your podcast. Queue Points is pretty much everywhere. The other thing that you can do is you can visit us on Apple Podcast.

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We're always appreciative of you supporting Queue Points. We thank you so much for all that you've done for us so far, and enjoy the show. 

[00:01:21] Introducing the Hosts and Queue Points Vibes
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DJ Sir Daniel: Greetings and welcome back to Queue Points, dropping the needle on black music history. I am DJ Sir Daniel.

Jay Ray: And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my government as Johnny Ray Cornier. The third, what's happening Folks?

DJ Sir Daniel: Listen, it's your favorite. A award-winning. Well, award-winning. Award nominated. 

Jay Ray: You know, let's speak it into

the future. 

DJ Sir Daniel: into

Jay Ray: That's right.

DJ Sir Daniel: Award-winning podcast, , uh, Queue Points. 

[00:01:51] Diving into Hip Hop History and Personal Updates
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DJ Sir Daniel: And, uh, we are very happy to be back with you to discuss, well, first of all, if you're looking and you're trying, you're figuring out if you're watching us and you're trying to figure out what, in the, naughty by nature is going on with Sir Daniel and his outfit tonight, it all will be explained.

It's all part of the major topic tonight. But first, now I need to ask how my homeboy is doing. Jay Ray, what's the word? How you feeling?

Jay Ray: I am feeling great. I am. So we're gonna have a lot of fun. I think with this topic we are gonna talk about a very specific period of time in hip hop history and, um, looking forward to that. And it has been, uh, a glorious week. We launched our, uh, official slash magazine this week, which looks hot. Y'all gotta get on it.

So feeling really good Sir. Daniel, how you feeling?

DJ Sir Daniel: I am absolutely wonderful. Um, it's fake spring here in Atlanta, um, I'm not, you know, breaking out any shorts or anything like that. Atlanta, Georgia has proven that we can have a, um, a blizzard in the middle of March and it's not March yet, so just seeing. But other than that, I'm awesome. Jay Ray, let's, uh, remind the folks how they can keep up with us.

And like you said, we have our wonderful newsletter, 

Jay Ray: We do. 

DJ Sir Daniel: let them know how they can subscribe and get that wonderful newsletter.

Jay Ray: Absolutely. So, um, by the way, we're having spa fake spring too. The air conditioning is on in this room right

now. That is how warm outside it is today. So anyway, um, yes, so y'all can sign up for the newsletter by, um, you can certainly go to our website. It'll pop up on the screen or you could just go ahead and, and, uh, drop the hit, click the dropdown for the newsletter, but also visit qp t.net/newsletter and you can join, um, you have to stay in touch with all things Q point.

So the way to do that is definitely to subscribe. Uh, you can visit our website as. Hit the subscribe button and you can join. You should definitely become an insider max because it just makes sense. You get access to everything, all of the back behind the scenes stuff. You get to watch all of our, however commas.

We had a super fun, however, comma, this week

we, 

DJ Sir Daniel: God.

Jay Ray: let's just say we played a game called Whats and Teddy's Man Purse. And y'all need to see that.

DJ Sir Daniel: Y'all listen, y'all showed out and when I tell you that I was holding my sides, it was so fun. It 

Jay Ray: It was 

DJ Sir Daniel: We're definitely doing that. You need to tune in every time, every Monday night. When we do however, 

Jay Ray: mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: um, I like to say a shout out to, uh, Harold Pride. Harold Pride is in

Jay Ray: What's up Harold

DJ Sir Daniel: and I see Mark McPherson is on the check-in, 

Jay Ray: What's up, mark? 

DJ Sir Daniel: our peoples are checking in and we're so glad to see you.

[00:04:55] Harry Styles and the Brit Awards Controversy
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DJ Sir Daniel: J Ray, you know, we're into like, what, three weeks out from the Grammys

Jay Ray: is it? No, it's, yeah, it's about three weeks. Yeah.

DJ Sir Daniel: we're about three weeks out for the Grammys and Harry Styles is the gift that keeps on giving. is back in the news, not here in the States, but for something that happened overseas.

Jay Ray: So Harry Styles, um, won won an award at the Brit Awards, um, and he won the best artist in the best pop r and b category.

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah.

Jay Ray: Okay, so I need to, we need to, we need to, one, this category is weirdly titled, so here's what happened. The Brit awards, apparently, cuz I had to look this up, I'm like, why is this even a category?

It doesn't seem to make sense. So the Brit Awards used to have a category up until about 2006 called a Best Pop. Uh, it was the, you know, the best pop, uh, artist winner. And at some point they retired that award, bought it back in 2021 and called it Best Pop r and b. So the, in the history of the winners of this award are mostly boy bands and just like, Random pop artists.

So last year was Dua Lipa. This year is Harry's Styles. It just don't make no sense. Brett Awards what y'all doing. What is the best pop r and b, and y'all have some of the best r and b artists in the world.

DJ Sir Daniel: so that's what, that's what made this the, the article jump out at me because at first I was gonna be like, you know what? I'm paying it who, you know, we don't wanna mention, give Carrie styles too much, you know, let's move on from him, however. But just like you said, there was a period, there's still, and I'm sure there's still great music, but. British soul. We gotta talk about the run that British soul and the choke hole that they had on our lives. I'm talking about Misha Paris, um, uh, soul to soul,

Jay Ray: Ends.

DJ Sir Daniel: loose ends. The list goes on and on, and I'm just like, what happened? What happened? I really want to know from our, um, our British brothers and sisters, what happened and why is r and b, the label of r and b being bastardized the way it is in these award shows?

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: yeah, it's just a whole lot and I'm just like, okay, enough. Harry gone. Each of you should have sat there and ate your food, and it's really not his fault. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: the name that just keeps coming up and we're just like, what is it y'all? What's going on over there?

Jay Ray: Can I, and, and I wanna p point out, because like I said, the award came back, um, in 2021, so it was first presented in 2022. Here are the nominees that have come up for best British pop r and b Act. It's just such a weird thing. Uh, Adele Joy Crooks, Griff, ed Sheeran. And Dua Lipa won last year, so she was nominated this year was Cat Burns.

I have to look up who Cat Burns is. Charlie X C X, Dua Lipa, again, Sam Smith. And then of course the winner is Harry Styles. So I just don't understand this category. , I don't, I

don't get it. 

DJ Sir Daniel: I thought r and b stood, stood for real black, but that's just, you know, the, the r and b part is missing. We got the pop covered, but the r b part seems to be a little, you know, a little scarce, 

Jay Ray: Yes, 

DJ Sir Daniel: um, but one person that is really coming for their things. 

[00:08:50] Common's Journey Towards an EGOT
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DJ Sir Daniel: Is coming for all of the things that are due to him is common.

Jay Ray: yes. 

DJ Sir Daniel: common intents and purposes. It's been a while since Common has like really gave us a full on out hip hop album in some years now, if I'm not mistaken. But Common is putting in work in all the arenas I'm talking about, um, television, the movies, of course, um, what else? Television, movies 

Jay Ray: Stage. 

DJ Sir Daniel: look stage, 

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Broadway.

And so he's well on his way to becoming and he egot you just brought this to my attention.

Jay Ray: yes. Common is right there. I ego, he is so close to an egot. So we wanted to just show common some love. So his, um, most recent, so he's currently on Broadway and his play, which is called Between Riverside and Crazy. If any of y'all have checked it out, let us know. Um, I, me and mom might have to make a trip up.

It's been extended, so it just raised the, the eyebrow of like, oh, common is really coming for his ego. So the only remaining award common has left is a Tony. So it looks like he's really leaned into the stage. And I really appreciate that. I love a focus, I love an artist who's like, listen, I'm coming for my things.

And Common is definitely there. So to that point, so his last, um, and I like this record, A beautiful Revolution. He did a one and two over the pan. He did a one over the pandemic. I liked that joint a lot. The album cover to that was so sick. Um, but they were hiphop joints. Real dope. At least part one. I'm not as familiar with part two, which came out in 2021.

But Common is on its way to an ego, and we wanted to show common some love and congratulations on having, uh, between Riverside and Crazy Extended on Broadway. That is a big deal because, you know, they will like, it's time the show's closing and not this show. So that.

DJ Sir Daniel: Awesome. So we're gonna keep a lookout for coming. um, again, back to just, um, back to the, the Grammys. One more time. I, this clip came up on my timeline and I immediately hit Jay Ray. I was like, you gotta see this. So they're Willie. 

[00:11:21] Ghetto Boys and Grammy Performances: A Deep Dive
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DJ Sir Daniel: Apparently Scarface has his own podcast and he was having a conversation with his old band mate, Willie D of the Ghetto Boys, To say there was, it got a little, there was a little tension, 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: you know, a little, uh, panini pressing going on is to say the least. But there was a point in the conversation where Willie D brings up the point that he, nobody reached out to him to be on the Grammys to perform. um, because the song that that Scarface, um, performed his part from was my mind's playing tricks on me.

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: And Scarface made a really great point. Scarface was like, look, they reached out to me. , because I am, I'm Scarface, I'm an artist on my own. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: they've, they, you know, they had the discussion. They both agreed, yes, you are a, so you are definitely a bonafide solo artist. We've all created our own lanes of solo artists.

We also did this amazing iconic, uh, legendary work as the Ghetto Boys. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: of course, our most iconic song is my Mind Playing Trick songy. so Willie D's contention is, is that the, the, because Scarface, um, performed his, um, his verse, or part of his verse from my mind's playing tricks on me, he said, Willie D feels like, well, that's a Ghetto Boy song.

Jay Ray: right?

Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: a ghetto boy song. 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: they never, they didn't say anything to me. So 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: had some, he had some contention with that, and Scarface was like, Hey, That's, that don't have nothing to do with me.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: That's something that the producers reached out for, but he says, don't ever get it, . He was like, don't ever get it twisted.

I don't need to do that song ever again. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: own catalog, 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: and I saw both sides of this argument, 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: and it wasn't really an argument because you could tell Willie d to me, Willie Dee looked like he was approaching it. He was trying to figure out how to approach it without creating some type of argument with, Scarface.

But Scarface was like, Hmm, I, I really don't even appreciate you trying to, to press me on my, my show about this.

Jay Ray: So this was, I liked this conversation because it did show. Two men, two grown black men having a difficult conversation. And I do wanna sh, I wanna send Willie D some love because there were a couple of times when I was listening to this, like Scarface is really digging, like really digging in here.

And Willie was really not trying to take. Where sometimes if you get in your feelings about stuff, you can, you can let it go there. So I liked the fact I won, liked the fact that they had the conversation because I thought about that when Scarface walked on stage. I was like, where's Willie D? Because I heard, uh, the track for my mom's playing tricks on me begin.

I was like, oh my God. And the Scarface came out and I was, and my immediate first thought was, where's Willie D? 

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: sure he's probably like, why am I not present? Because he is very visible, right? Um, now I will say, I can see both sides as well, so, okay, so the podcast, by the way, it's Ghetto Boys Reloaded, so it is Willie and Scarface together.

Willie actually is kind of a podcast legend. He had, um, a podcast a couple of years ago called Willie D Live, um, and it became a bit of a thing. And um, he started a YouTube channel. So Willie D is kind of like really dug in on the podcasting thing for a while. So he's been in that, in that, that, that space.

And what was interesting is Willie was like, when you left and he was like, well, what are you gonna do this weekend? He was like, oh, I'm going to, uh, Scarface was like, oh, I'm going to LA to do this Grammy's thing. And when he was like, okay, well cool. Not thinking nothing of it, he was like, you Scarface, you got a huge catalog, you probably are not going to do.

a Ghetto Boy song. And turns out that's what happened. And so I could see how Willie was like, eh, and he did ask the question, did you think when they said, because uh, Scarface was like, I didn't know what song they was going. He was like, I didn't know what song I was gonna do. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: I got there they was like, you're gonna do Mine's playing Tricks on me.

And he was like, all right, cool. And then Willie was like, well, did you think to even just pick up the call the phone to say, yo, I just saw you. They are gonna have me do my mind's playing tricks on me on stage. You good. You know what I'm saying?

Because 

DJ Sir Daniel: a very great 

Jay Ray: mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: that particular question.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. . And I think they both made solid points and you know, they got to the end.

What was hilarious is look, Scarface was like, look, listen. I won't do that song if you not pressing, I won't do it on my shows. I won't do that song or whatever. And I just was like, Hey, you got two grown men. This could have gone left,

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah.

Jay Ray: this could have gone left. And people did pick up on the tension.

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: Um, and honestly, they've played into it too, right?

This is getting them views on their, their, their podcast. But what's beautiful is ultimately they are okay. You know what I mean?

DJ Sir Daniel: Right.

Jay Ray: But it did bring up, and maybe I'm just overly sensitive about stuff like that, but , it did bring up the fact of, hey, when you are in partnership with someone, and especially music, right?

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: asked to do something on behalf of,

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: you know what I mean? How, you know, what's the.

what do you do? Yeah. What's the

protocol? 

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah.

Jay Ray: You know what I'm saying?

DJ Sir Daniel: you're absolutely right. And shout out to Wany. Lovet is in the building. What's up Wa Wany. She makes a, a wonderful point. She says also, Willie D is somewhat of a political activist and he is controversial, so they could have been biased in their selection, 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: which is a dope point.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: that could have been part of the reason why they only went with Scarface. But to your point, Jay Ray, I love the fact that other, younger black men can watch these quote OGs

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: have a disagree. Be in and show that yes, I was in my feelings. They may not say it outright, but clearly they're displaying.

I was in my feelings about this. I felt left 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: you didn't consider me or my feelings in this situation. the most important part is that they, young black men can see these two OGs agree to disagree, have their, have their argument live, have their argument recorded on camera, and then, but come to a, a solution that doesn't require anybody to throw hands.

Doesn't require anybody to pull guns, but shows that things can be resolved 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: talk about it and just say, Hey, please consider me next time. Think about me if something like this comes.

Jay Ray: Yep.

DJ Sir Daniel: And yeah, cuz Scarface is like, you know, so yeah, I perform my mind's playing tricks on me without you 

Jay Ray: And You've done this? Yeah.

DJ Sir Daniel: done the same thing too.

It's part you have license to do. So 

Jay Ray: Right. 

DJ Sir Daniel: part in the iconic song. So you could, you could do that anywhere you go. So there's no real about who should be performing the song because we both used that song. So it was just a really interesting and, uh, gratifying in hip hop 

Jay Ray: Agreed. 

DJ Sir Daniel: the inner workings of a group because we all, all we see most of the time are the headlines about, you know, such and such is not speaking to such and such anymore.

They refuse to go on stage together. All kinds of things. We've seen it played out so many times, but I'd like to see this behind the, behind the scenes kind of look and to see people work things out. And again, model. For the community at large how you can have co, how you can resolve conflict with just by just speaking and using your words.

So out to Willie D and Scarface.

Jay Ray: You know, and one, one interesting. This is an aside, but I also found it interesting listening to them because, Just having them talk through like the group dynamic, right. Since Bushwick Bill's passed on, right. He was like, well, the reality is me and you are the ghetto boys at this point. He was like, so when we're talking about Bill, he's obviously, you know, he's passed on, former member of the Ghetto Boys, but for all intents and purposes, we are the ghetto boys at this point.

Right? It's just me and you. But it was interesting having Scarface even reflect, cause Willie did brought up like, remember when we did the so-and-so record and it was just me and you and Scarface was like, bruh, I don't even remember them records. Like it's crazy. He was like, Willie, I literally forgot. He was like, I do not remember them records.

And it you, we often, I think of Prince when Questlove was like, oh my God, that guitar solo and Darling Nicki. He was like, I just don't, I don't know how to play that. Like I don't, I don't remember how that goes. So if you asked me to play it, I couldn't play it. I would have to listen to it. And it was hearing Scarface do the same thing, like Willie, you just jogged the memory for me cuz I literally forgot about those records.

they've done

DJ Sir Daniel: something 

Jay Ray: much stuff.

DJ Sir Daniel: You done so much, so much music that you can't even remember all the stuff. 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: here's another aside. Speaking of Prince, you just brought this up. I saw a clip, um, of DJ City. Um, they have a podcast and they were sitting talking with DJ Kiss, who is a, a woman, um, outta New York.

She, and she was retelling a story of, uh, evening where she was booked to DJ date for Prince.

Jay Ray: My

God. 

DJ Sir Daniel: an, not a party, not an event, a date. She shows up and she's like, where is everybody else on? And they're like, no, prince and his lady are arriving. They want you to play music for them the whole

Jay Ray: Oh my God.

DJ Sir Daniel: so, but the, the interesting part, the funniest part is she says that the, um, her instructions were, you can play anything but Prince songs.

Jay Ray: Makes perfect sense.

DJ Sir Daniel: it does, but she played something Prince adjacent. She, she was like, I'm gonna play something Prince adjacent. And she said she played app Apollo six s um, uh, blue Limousine.

Jay Ray: yeah. Yeah.

DJ Sir Daniel: And she says that Prince, she said, the curtain puts, cause apparently she's behind the curtain, 

Jay Ray: Right. 

DJ Sir Daniel: witness what's going on. Prince comes from behind the curtains and says, you know, Jesse stole my, uh, stole my baseline from that song. she was like, oh, okay.

Jay Ray: I like real, but

DJ Sir Daniel: Being like, you know, Jesse stole my , stole that baseline from me. And I thought that was the most hilarious thing you could. We, speaking of Jesse Johnson, of 

Jay Ray: yes. 

DJ Sir Daniel: who was part of the, um, part 

Jay Ray: the Revel the, 

DJ Sir Daniel: back in 

Jay Ray: yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: part of the revolution. And yeah, I just thought that was such a beautiful and funny story.

Ah, I would've, if

Jay Ray: Can you imagine if you, if you was their dj, I, I know you would be texting right now like, oh my god, prince just came, said,

DJ Sir Daniel: uh, prince is mad at me. He played, he's still salty about Jesse Johnson, Shaw But I would live, I would

Jay Ray: You would be living

DJ Sir Daniel: If Prince cut his eyes at me, I would. That would be just the best feeling ever. um, we also wanted, tonight we want to give, um, this episode, we would like to offer condolences to the family and say rest in peace to Raquel Welch.

Jay Ray: Yes. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Raquel Welch was clearly a beautiful, woman. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: I, she was iconic just for, you know, she made a lot of different movies back in the day. But she is well known for having the first interracial sex scene in a movie 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: 1969 in a movie called 100 Guns. Is that

Jay Ray: 100 rifles, I

believe. Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: And her co-star that she broke this interracial sex cherry with was none other than Mr.

Football activist himself, Jim Brown. 

Jay Ray: Mr. Jim Brown. 

DJ Sir Daniel: That is your, your fresh in the biz. And it was, they called it interracial because Raquel Welch was clearly, um, a bivian woman. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: American, she's, but in Hollywood, of course 

Jay Ray: right? 

DJ Sir Daniel: I guess she's interracial, she's mixed with, um, white and bivian.

were trying to focus on her being white. She's just exotic looking. And so when this happened, it was controversial cuz it's an, an interracial sex scene. And it was, it was kind of risky. Risque is what is risque for a sex scene for 1969. They were doing all the things in 69.

Jay Ray: Absolutely. So, yeah. Um, if you look up this particular scene, it is, you get a, there's a lot of, there's a lot of booties. Um, so Raquel Welch is showing a booty. You kind of get a g uh, uh, who else at Burt Reynolds is in it? You don't get to. He don't. He's naked, but you don't get to see nothing. But then they cut to like the Jim Brown and Raquel Welch.

But yes, uh, rest in peace. Uh, to Ms. Welch. She was one of those figures in particular when we were growing up that was kind of always on TV cuz she would be guest starring on something. This was kind of past the points of her, uh, big screen career. But she was definitely very visible on game shows and on television.

It was just one of those variety shows. Absolutely. And she was one of those figures that we grew up seeing. So, um, absolutely rest in peace and, um, yeah. To Raquel Welch. Um, listen Sir Daniel, this is a thing that we have to go through at our big ages.

DJ Sir Daniel: at our big ages, we're seeing a lot of our icons.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: From music to the big screen away or leaving us, um, as they get older. It's funny, last week when we did our show honoring Spike Lee and his contributions to hip hop, at the very end, we unlocked the memory. We were like, oh, wait a minute. We almost forgot.

Spike Lee gave Queen Latifah her first big movie role in Jungle Fever 

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: the sassy waitress at the, um, the soul food restaurant that she couldn't believe that Wesley Snipes brought her stringy white ass up in here. That kind, you know, that movie. And so we, in keeping in that line, we were like, you know, queen Latifah really has done a lot, did a lot in her, um, music career before truly blowing up as a Hollywood, um, power, um, 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: and.

know, we were thinking about the compilation album Roll with the Flavor, and that is the topic for this particular, um, podcast. And we're talking about a time 1993. Um, queen Latifa, like we said, has started in, uh, in Living single. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: time she's gaining more movie rolls under her belt, but she's also gone on to be a regular, a bonafide television star.

So she's on Living single and, and, um, but she's also still got her foot in the music business as a label owner

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: and an executive producer. so what she and her partner Sham did of course, was come up with a compilation album called Roll With the Flavor, it featured a lot of, um, up and coming hip hop stars, some people who were already hip hop 

Jay Ray: Mm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: and.

A gem of an r and b group that we're gonna discuss even

Jay Ray: Right.

DJ Sir Daniel: But before we get even get into that, it is the 50th anniversary of hip hop. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: one thing, hip hop, um, has always been innovative in, in how it presents, um, its artists. We were always creating platforms for artists be heard. in the early days, cassettes were being floating, were floating around.

So we had the early stages of mixtapes, even back in the seventies and early eighties. But then when hip hop started getting, um, some more attention from the record labels and they had like, um, segments on radio FM radio, not just 

Jay Ray: right? 

DJ Sir Daniel: FM radio at some very, um, marketable times, time slots. Then we have record labels approaching certain people to create compilation 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: I think it's very important that, um, before we discuss Roll With the Flavor, we discuss some compilation, hip hop compilation albums that really changed, um, the direction of hip hop and how we and giving hip hop artists different platforms. 

[00:30:01] Compilation Albums and Hip Hop's Evolution
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DJ Sir Daniel: So, you know, for those that are watching the show, you know, I got these stacks of albums behind me and so I went digging and I pulled up this, uh, Tommy Boy compilation called Power Jam 85.

And there it's got a full list of, um, Of rap groups that a lot of people don't remember. Probably don't remember, but there's a, oh, a female rap group on here called Sweet Trio, which was DJ'ed. The DJ was our friend, DJ Jazzy Joyce. So we have Power Jam 85. That was a Tommy Boy compilation. And Tommy Boy was like a, a early rap, hiphop, um, label.

Jay Ray: Yes. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Boy was on the hiphop scene, like big time. I, I have to give mention to this man right here, 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Love Bug on the cover of Herbie Love Bug and his brother Stevie o Herbie's machine. The house that hop built, or the house that rap built on this are classics from Antoinette.

Jay Ray: That was such a banger.

DJ Sir Daniel: Such a banger.

I got an attitude, 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: which was the record that sparked one of the more infamous, um, hip hop battles 

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: between female MCs. And then of course we've got the salt and pepper. This was the first compilation that push. It actually appears on the push it remix. 

Jay Ray: Got it. 

DJ Sir Daniel: and the, um, and the underground cut. I am down from salt and pepper and we also have the fabulous two, the mal mile Clan overlords.

So Herby, of course, like we always credit credited Herbie with, is one of the forefathers of creating rap crews. And before your Diddy, Sean Diddy Combs created Bad Boy and things like that. And, you know, the, the rap label family, 

Jay Ray: Yes. 

DJ Sir Daniel: that's Herbie's Machine, the house that rap built. Um, another one that I want to give homage to is the Uptown is Kicking It album.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: features, um, is a brainchild of one Andre Harrell. Rest in Peace, a legendary Andre Harrell, who used to be in a rap group

Jay Ray: He did? Yep.

DJ Sir Daniel: called the, what was their names? The,

Jay Ray: Um, it was two

of them, 

DJ Sir Daniel: Dr. Jekyll and 

Jay Ray: Mr. Hyde. 

DJ Sir Daniel: and Mr. High, I believe. Believe that's it. Yeah. Andre Harrell. So on this particular album you have heavy D in the boys who were, of course, by far the biggest breakout group of, off of this label and off of this compilation, and quiz.

um, made their mark, um, as their premier female rap 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: On the Uptown label we have Groove B Chill who 

Jay Ray: Yep, 

DJ Sir Daniel: featured in House Party 

Jay Ray: yep, 

DJ Sir Daniel: the brothers that and play in house party for the dance battle. 

Jay Ray: yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: And, um, and a funny thing, Marley Marle, who is, who is mostly known as a juice crew affiliate, um, the producer that is responsible for Roxanne Shante 

Jay Ray: Big Daddy came. 

DJ Sir Daniel: big Daddy King, the whole Juice crew, he was also featured.

He had a quite a relationship with this particular group of people and it kind of 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Marley Marles actually, um, featured on this album as a producer for the Marley Scratch, which is. No, that's on the B side of, um, bass game on 

Jay Ray: okay. 

DJ Sir Daniel: and Sin. Chris's 12 inch. Oh, it's called, it's called He cut So fresh.

So that was his cut on here. So shout out to the late Andre Harrell for creating that, um, hip hop compilation. And then one of my personal favorites is the first priority music family basement flavors, uh, compilation,

Jay Ray: I remember when you found that

DJ Sir Daniel: Oh yeah. Well, we, we were in, no, we weren't in Detroit, were we?

Jay Ray: I don't know if

DJ Sir Daniel: a 

Jay Ray: I, yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: but it may have been here, I can't remember.

But this features, of course, audio two positive K, who went on to do, I got a 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: you know, is iconic Mc Light, of course. But I think my favorite standout from this particular album is, of course, Toronto's own . Michi me, 

Jay Ray: Hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: um, la love with their two songs on here. So we have a precedent of rap music, compilations, hip hop has always been about creating platforms for their artists.

And, and the best way to do that is to create a compilation album. So, because you never know who's gonna pop, right? 

Jay Ray: Absolutely. 

DJ Sir Daniel: I do have to give a shout out, um, to, Mr. Magic. As well as cool DJ Red Alert because they, they were the real pre, pre, uh, predecessors of mixed tapes because they were approached by, um, NEX Plateau and Profile records to have their own compilation albums of some huge hip hop hits.

So that was pretty huge for a dj. If a DJ put the stamp on your record that helped prepare Propel your record to even Higher Heights because it was featured on their compilation album. 

[00:35:25] Roll with the Flavor: A Flavor Unit Compilation Deep Dive
---

DJ Sir Daniel: So in keeping with that, like I said at the top, we are honoring or we are, we are discussing Roll with the flavor.

Jay Ray: We are discussing it

DJ Sir Daniel: It is. So I found. . I found this at one of the record shows that comes to Atlanta and it was like I was flipping through this guy's collection and I saw this and I was like immediately just yanked it and was like, mine 

Jay Ray: Right. 

DJ Sir Daniel: gotta have it. Even though, and Jay Ray and I are gonna talk about like the of hit, let's say, the amount of popular hits that came off of this compilation album.

It's kind of sparse

Jay Ray: only really one. And that re that one isn't even ref, that one isn't even reflective of this album. So it's very interesting. Um,

DJ Sir Daniel: interesting.

Jay Ray: But I, I do wanna, as we, as we lead into this, I do think it's important that we acknowledge that, to your point about discussing compilation albums, that this is kind of flavor Unit 2.0 in that there was a flavor unit compilation in 1990 that was produced by 45 King.

Now what, I don't know, and maybe you know the answer to this, I don't know if. Flavor unit was adopted as kind of like a extension of what 45 King was doing. Cause I think 45 King was just doing something. He was calling like the flavor unit as kind of like a title. I don't know if it was considered a crew, but there is kind of a dope compilation record, which all of you can stream.

So if you sign up for our newsletter, we're gonna include, uh, the stream so that y'all can listen to it. But it includes a singing Queen Latifah, she's doing like a reggae sing song thing. Crazy dope over this 45 King beat. But you have folks like La Shabazz on here. Uh, and the one crossover that are on the, the only two people that are on both flavor unit records are Queen Latifa and Apache.

Um, Yeah. So, uh, this is interesting because now by the time we get to 1993, um, flavor Unit has signed a distribution deal with Epic 

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: um, they, like we go and do a label. Um, and so really quickly you get D Nice on here who's already a hip hop. He's already a hip hop star. Um, so he's on here and, um, Nicki d we know Nicki, we know Queen Latifah, we know Nicki, we know Apache, we know Freddie Fox.

DJ Sir Daniel: And at this time we know, we also know Naughty by nature.

Jay Ray: Oh yeah. Naughty by. That's right. Naughty by Nature is on this. Yes. They're so

interesting that they're done at the end. Yeah. So this is an interesting moment,

DJ Sir Daniel: And so I what Latifa and Sha Kim Charm, Warren Celestine were also doing was signing new X 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: and giving them the opportunity. , you know, to shine. Now there's a couple people now, groove Garden. I was hearing about Groove Garden prior to this. 

Jay Ray: Me too. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Groove Garden have been on Tommy 

Jay Ray: Boy 

DJ Sir Daniel: to that.

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: so I think, I think this may have been the era where there was a separation, um, a severing of the relationship between like Queen Latifa and 

Jay Ray: Tommy Boy 

DJ Sir Daniel: that time. 

Jay Ray: Yep. 

[00:39:16] Queen Latifah's Evolution and Impact
---

DJ Sir Daniel: Um, so there was a, there was that overlap in, into Epic Records before Queen Latifa went to Motown. And so, because right after this came the Black Rain Project,

Jay Ray: Correct.

DJ Sir Daniel: which was really definitely released on, on Motown.

Jay Ray: Right. 

DJ Sir Daniel: so and speak, and let's just stay, let's stay on Queen Latifah for a second. Like, queen Latifa is just, as you mentioned, she on, on Mark the 45 Kings compilation. She's like just doing her thing. She's already a badass on the mic. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: she can sing. We know she can rhyme. And so now we see Queen Latifah doing this major pivot, as I mentioned earlier, into not only a bonafide television and movie star actress, but she's also flexing her, her business woman savvy.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: is not just a, Khadija is what made Kadija so real, is that Kadija was very much Queen Latifa, 

Jay Ray: Absolutely. Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: much the same person running Flavor Magazine, you

Jay Ray: Right. She, they literally, she, so even when you look at the role with the flavor video, I'm like, oh, that's just Khadija, right. . You know what I'm saying? But it's Queen. So when we saw, we were able to accept Khadija as who she was because we knew who Queen was as both. And Mc connected to hip hop as well as a woman who was into basketball.

A woman who rode motorcycles. Right. A business woman. And so, yes, so we were able to see this kind of emerge. And I think what's most interesting for me about this compilation is so the songs I liked at the time, I still like,

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: The songs I didn't like, I really don't like now. Like I literally, they literally are like, I'm like, oh yeah, this is really bad

now 

DJ Sir Daniel: is terrible.

Jay Ray: it, right.

Because it was terrible then and it's terrible. It's like, it was terrible then. And now it's like, ugh, that's cringe worthy, terrible now. Um, but I, what's interesting is I, when I listen back to this, I'm like, childish, they had shaved this down to like six joints. This joint might have popped.

DJ Sir Daniel: honestly speaking, you know, um, I think, you know, to your point, if we look at. Queen Latifah's joint on here. Uh, I really enjoyed Nikki D's Joint 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: out as well as LaShaun, um, featuring Sea of the Black Market and, and her song Gimme Head. 

Jay Ray: I was dope. 

DJ Sir Daniel: which was, uh, dope and funny at the same time because that was, that's definitely LaShawn's Lane 

Jay Ray: Yeah, 

DJ Sir Daniel: is giving you, you know, hard rhymes, but, you know, a, a, a wedge of comedy to go with it.

[00:42:21] The Gangster Bitch Era and Its Influence
---

DJ Sir Daniel: this, when I think of this album and this era, Ray, don't you think of the gangster Bitch era

Jay Ray: this is, this is the epitome of the gangster bitch era because you are going through and listening to the rhymes on this, and you're like, oh, ladies,

DJ Sir Daniel: The la it's like the ladies were making an extra effort to be extra hard on this. Even with their, even on their, their appearance. 

[00:42:51] Fashion and Identity in Hip Hop
---

DJ Sir Daniel: You know, Apache really, really struck a nerve and struck a chord with a lot of young ladies about creating this and, and, and I'm paying homage, you know, through this outfit tonight with my, with my black vest on, over my t-shirt and my black bandana, cuz you know, this is, I'm giving you a little Newark, New Jersey, you know, New York kind of flavor tonight with this particular ensemble.

Cuz it reminded me of how everybody went for this, this like, really maintenance man chic. If I could. We were all J Ray, we were all wearing these oversized workman jackets, these workman boots. You know, Timbalands of course was the go-to, 

Jay Ray: Right 

DJ Sir Daniel: but we were all wearing these oversized clothing. Uh, we were dickie down, like oversized Dickie outfits.

And not even talk about the Carhartt couture Carhartt. If you didn't have the little golden Carhartt, uh, emblem on the side of your vest or whatever, it wasn't legit. But I think, so back to Apache Apache. his song Gangster Bitch. don't know. It was so influential to see all these young ladies, you know, throwing on head rags and, you know, toughening up wearing the, you know, the gear.

It changed. If you look at it, escape. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: at escape's first album 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: All of them are baggy pants, tight shirt with a flowing, um, plaid shirt. 

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: They've got the bandanas, the locs on. That was such a time, what a time to be alive. The young ladies were really going, were really going for that look, giving that harder image.

And it was, Hmm. Where did you think of that

Timem, Jerry 

Jay Ray: It was it upon reflection. It was cringe. So, um, in preparation for this show, um, I decided to, uh, revisit music videos from that era. And the last video I decided to catch up with is LaShaun. So I decided to play some LaShaun and see what she was doing in her first, her music video that was supposed to signal her album, which got shelved.

This was also the weird period where an album was supposed to come and it never came, or they just got shelved all together and it was like, it just never dropped. Like

DJ Sir Daniel: she was on Tommy Boy. She

Jay Ray: she was on Tommy Boy too. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: yeah. It was a lot of old Tommy Boy, God bless him. So,

DJ Sir Daniel: I got that back here

Jay Ray: yeah, so I revisited that, that video, and I thought to myself, Why are you, why, I don't know why you lifting weights in this video?

I don't know why this is happening. It was almost like take, um, masculinity and like turn it up to like 20. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: I don't know why y'all wanted, why did, why y'all doing this? It?

DJ Sir Daniel: I

Jay Ray: And, but if we, we knew, but this was the signal, right? This was the time. 

[00:46:13] The Shift in Women's Representation in Hip Hop
---

Jay Ray: Remember, we, we talk about it, we talked about it when we talked about our mc lights show where their, and the yo-yo show where it was that period of time where it was in like 91, where all the women, like all of a sudden they got their hair permed.

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: they had full beats and you know, they dancing in the videos and then by like 93 it was remember yo-yo, but that black, that black pearl shit was whack

DJ Sir Daniel: Exactly. 

Jay Ray: you couldn't do that

DJ Sir Daniel: well, you know, the chronic dropped 

Jay Ray: Exactly. 

DJ Sir Daniel: The chronic dropped in by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and the whole dog pound and completely changed the landscape of how. everybody was grooving to. Right. And, and the imagery took over the whole industry. Like I said, you had people on the East coast dressing like, um, Lesters from 

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: And so if the women wanna be taken seriously now because the, the men are just completely dogging them out, the women are like, oh no, we've got to really, to get your attention, am going to have to put these titties behind this plaid shirt. I still got

Jay Ray: This extra, extra, extra large shirts

DJ Sir Daniel: this extra large shirt.

I'm gonna put on this bandana. I'm gonna walk around with a machete. And which was, you know, which is a pretty accessory if you think about it. It is very, you know, a machete goes with everything.

Jay Ray: Um,

DJ Sir Daniel: It goes with everything. And so it, it was just like in order to counter the narrative of bitches ain't shit, know, they had to really come harder with their, um, with their imagery and their rhymes.

And it's like, well if the fellows are gonna get ridiculous, I can get like, even dumber with these rhymes and the way that, um, that we're gonna portray ourselves and we're just gonna have a um, I guess machete fest on, on these mics and these images that are going, going out. And for all intents and purposes that ruled the airways, we ended up with a person like Boss.

Jay Ray: we ended up with Boss in this era. Yes.

DJ Sir Daniel: and Boss is one of those moments in hip hop history where we all found out record labels created boss, she's the woman herself. Um, Michelle, I believe is her name, the woman herself Mc, clearly she had the chops because that record so like crazy. 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: end, she said, oh, well this is what's selling.

People are into gangsters,

Jay Ray: you need a, you need a Uzi

DJ Sir Daniel: You need, I need you to be, I don't need you wearing makeup. I'm, I need you to pull the Scully all over, all down on your head. Put on these locs. We barely gonna know what you look like. And we want you to just, you know, come out with the most bizarre, um, prison reform rhymes that you can ever come up with.

And we ate it up. We ate that up. And she'll tell you to this day, she'll tell you to this day, like, yeah, that was all made up. 

Jay Ray: That 

DJ Sir Daniel: all of that was just completely fabricated and made up.

[00:49:30] Exploring the Flavor Unit Compilation Album
---

Jay Ray: yeah, and I, I, so this particular compilation. Okay, so I'm gonna be very, very honest. I don't like, I don't like this record, I didn't like this record when it came out either. Like, it was one of those records where the people who were good were good. I was like, oh, I liked you before you was on here, so you good on here?

Queen Latifah's bring the flavor, lies dope. Like it's still dope. I listened to it. I'm like,

oh, there are a couple of lines where I'm like, I don't like that line, but I like this song. Um, the, the crew record the flavor unit, MCs record, classic record. You got, um, black sheep at the end. If you got a nine and she got a nine and he got a nine and you got a nine and if you got a nine, if you got mine.

And I got mine and everybody had nines, but they had like the number nine. It was like making fun of the, you know, the moment in hip hop that we were in where they were making fun of like, everybody's got a gun now, so we are gonna, but we're gonna have the number nine, you know, and do this hot. ending. So that posse cut.

Dope dices, joint. Dope. Can we take a pause for, and we've talked about D Nice several times on this show, how Denic has been in so many pivotal eras of hip hop. Just like a person who's always on the vanguard. He's either a DJ or he's an mc, or he's a producer many times. He's all three, you know what I'm saying?

His joint dope. Uh, the LaShon joint, we talked about dope. Um, so the Nicki G. The Nicki DeJoy, lyrically it's dope. There's a weird domestic violence thing leading into that song, which I forgot about. And I had my headphones on and I was like, oh my God, is he smacking her

DJ Sir Daniel: yeah, it is, it is very jarring, right? Like you said, when you hear it in your, in your headphones or you hear it in your ears, it's a, it's a very jarring moment, and it's supposed to be like that. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: the came time for the video, they bypass that for a narrative of a woman, d d at a what appears to be a bachelorette party with her homegirls, and they're in a bar, and it, this man comes in who we're assuming, we assume is Nikki D's love, interest or partner at the time.

she says, she just looks at him and says like, don't even trip. she puts her hands on her waist to

Jay Ray: because she's got a nine

DJ Sir Daniel: she's got a gun. She, she got that heat on her. so the whole song really. A woman's, um, anthem, a woman's take back your power. Uh, what was that movie that Jennifer Lopez was in enough?

was like . It was like enough on wax, enough on steroids and, um, and burning bed. Let's not forget Burning Bed.

Jay Ray: yeah, with Farrah Faucet.

DJ Sir Daniel: what, say you put burning bed in enough on a rat tune with Nikki 

Jay Ray: you get Freak out

by Dick 

DJ Sir Daniel: out and you know, the, it was good to see, like Queen Latifa stood by her side in the video.

And again, they, the images were soft but hard. 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: the women in the video, they were all soft but hard because, you know, everybody still had on like these. These, oh, April Walker Suits, right. 

Jay Ray: Ah-huh. 

DJ Sir Daniel: is a dope. We talked about

Jay Ray: we talked about walkaway. Yep. We absolutely did.

DJ Sir Daniel: walker wear in our fashion and hip hop segment. um, yeah, they were wearing that, which I thought was a dope, um, element to include a black, um, woman, fashion designer in the video.

yeah, it was, it was just a weird time of them trying to strike this balance of, yeah, I'm a woman and I want to be beautiful, but I'm also hard. So that was one of the standout tracks for sure on this album.

Jay Ray: Yeah. Um, definitely. Absolutely. So I would, you know, I have a solid five. I will say one of the worst rap songs that I've ever heard is on this album, and I don't know how it made the cut. I don't know who they knew, but let me see who's on the Brooklyn Assault team. Do we know who these rappers are?

There's Okay, so there's a lot of them. There's a, there's a bunch of them.

DJ Sir Daniel: That

Jay Ray: Uh, 

DJ Sir Daniel: the thing. 

Jay Ray: was the thing. So De Creator Third Rail Art Ride Gap, the Ripper and Ike Capone, I'm sure you brothers are amazing, but On the Bone Again, is one of the worst songs I have ever heard. And it's like, so if we take, uh, Shaun's give me Head, gimme Head

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: made a bad version, this is that song from a dude's perspective.

DJ Sir Daniel: it was missing any kind of humor 

Jay Ray: Right, 

DJ Sir Daniel: LaShaun. LA's song with, and her song is with Sea of the Black Mar, 

Jay Ray: right. See if the black market, yeah. And they were supposed to have a, yeah, they were supposed to have a joint out and it never came.

DJ Sir Daniel: And it never came. So you can see that it could be done, there could be some humor involved in it, but to your point of J Ray, there was like no humor involved.

And I think, you know, that was a choice. You know, a lot of rappers felt like they couldn't be taken seriously if there was any humor or anything associated with their rhymes. Even naughty by nature. If we look at naughty by nature and some of their, their gritties raps and some of their, you know, Treach could make you laugh with his metaphors.

Jay Ray: Absolutely. 

DJ Sir Daniel: he could be talking about, I, I, you know, I hang you like a, it is called Witches City,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: you know, they and his wordplay, but there was some humor, there was some levity, but they also knew how to switch it up to make people want to dance a party. 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: that was reason why you don't, you never hear about a Brooklyn assault team today, but you still know who naughty by nature is because naughty by nature was able to strike that balance.

Jay Ray: Yeah. Um, this, so, you know, February 16th this record came out. So we are recording February 16th, 1993, and we're recording this on February 16th, 2023. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah. 

Jay Ray: I do look at this record as kind of a time capsule for. What was happening and the crossroads that New York was in at the time. This is before Nas, you know, hit the scene.

Um, this is before Jay. This is before Biggie. The New York is in this weird time because, you know, the West coast has emerged, the chronic has already been released. Right. Snoop's album is on the way. It might have actually come out by the time this came

out. 

DJ Sir Daniel: already out by now.

Jay Ray: Yeah. So New York is in this weird, New York and Jersey are in this weird time, and I think this record kind of encapsulates the growing pains that existed in New York at 

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

[00:57:03] The Legacy of Flavor Unit and Its Artists
---

Jay Ray: But something, so there's an interesting figure that's on this album that we don't, uh, we forget that this person started as a rapper.

DJ Sir Daniel: Absolutely none other than Mr. Love and Hip hop himself. Benzino,

Jay Ray: Yep.

He was Ray Dog back then.

DJ Sir Daniel: He was Ray Dogg, but a lot of people don't realize. So the Source magazine, which was considered by myself included, to be like the hip hop bible of magazines, ran in conjunction with Benino. Benzino 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: that staff, Benzino was an owner of the Source magazine and even took it to the level of creating the Source Mag Source Awards.

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: he was, he's credited as a producer on, on the Source Source Awards show. That of course. Well, we saw how that turned out and the things that came out from that, that fateful night. 

Jay Ray: Right. 

DJ Sir Daniel: um, but yeah, but we forget that Benzino had this moment as an Mc outta Boston with the Almighty Rs Soul 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: And here we are in 2023.

We're not playing any Benino records, however, we 

Jay Ray: We're playing this dark.

DJ Sir Daniel: daughter, 

Jay Ray: to his daughter, now. Yeah, 

DJ Sir Daniel: Ray, who has a huge. Song right now. It's a huge TikTok hit. 

Jay Ray: yeah, 

DJ Sir Daniel: record in the dance club, so it's amazing. Um, the seeds that were planted and who planted them in these hip hop streets.

Jay Ray: absolutely. So yeah, you get a track from, which is, which is not a bad track. It sounds literally like they just swallowed nwa

an ice cube and because it's, uh, the, they that track bad Boys samples. Um, genius of Love, 

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah. 

Jay Ray: is always a dope sample. I mean, if you put that on a joint, it's gonna be dope. Um, and yeah, it just sounds like they swallowed, uh, ice Cube and, uh, An NWA joint and just was like, we gonna do that as a track.

So it's a very interesting, not a bad track. Um, I actually was surprised. I was like, Ooh. And what's funny, it unlocked the memory for me. I owned the Almighty RSOs album when it finally came out. So that was also an interesting thing, are almighty r s o appears here in 93. We didn't get the record from them until like 96.

Like it was way all so many of these groups, we eventually got a record. We didn't get it through Flavor Unit and we didn't get it for years.

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: But I think this brings us to the, the one big kaboom of this album. And Sir Daniel, it's on the back of your record. The group that we know as John A, their name was spelled totally differently on this compilation.

DJ Sir Daniel: So if you're a Janna fan, um, and you have their album, their name is spelled z 

Jay Ray: Ze. Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: e, and it's a combination their names Jean and Renee. 

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: And I think that's why it's spelled this way on this, on this Flavor unit album. Y'all can't see it, but I'm

Jay Ray: Yeah. You can see it?

DJ Sir Daniel: it's spelled j h a n e. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: I am so curious as to know what, who brought him the Z 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: jean's name is spelled with a J.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Renee of course is Renee. So that's how you got Jana. But that's an interesting story. I would love if, you know, on my, um, lips to guys's ears, we get a chance to talk to either Jean or Renee or 

Jay Ray: Yeah. Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: would be awesome for Queue Points. But bonafide hits, 

Jay Ray: Banger. 

DJ Sir Daniel: this, this is the

Jay Ray: The last song on the album, like A afterthought, the only r and b track. It's the last song on the album. I always felt like, I remember when I got to the end of the record 

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: what's this? And I was in love with that song.

DJ Sir Daniel: Absolutely. And it, um, produced by KG

Jay Ray: of course,

naughty by Nature 

DJ Sir Daniel: Fame, which unlocks a whole new career for him because he's, he's known as the producer DJ for Naughty by Nature. But now he be, this is like the very first of, um, KG the r and b producer who produces acts like Next 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: hits like, but love and, um, uh, what's a huge hit for next?

Um,

Jay Ray: white. Not white. Well, I think he did wifey too, but no, the other two.

DJ Sir Daniel: Wifey and too clo, too close. Another enormous, gigantic hit of a r and b song, like KG is onto something. Kg like literally wrote the book on creating R um, r and b, like barbecue, cookout songs. 

Jay Ray: Barbecue, cookout, 

DJ Sir Daniel: These songs. are and iconic. And don't ever die. They will never die. And it's so, you know, to Jay Ray and I's Point, it's just like this song, it seems like the afterthought on the album and it's the very last cut on the album, but it is the hugest hit.

And I think that's what makes this particular compilation such. A unique time capsule. Like you put it, Jay Ray of a compilation album. Um, don't know, Queen Lafa and Sha really, they were on one when they put this together, like, and when they were signing people to be on this team. I don't know. They, it is just weird how it all came together.

Like it's one of those things that you look back on and just like, this is, and there's a label, a sticker on the album that says Fat Beats and Dope rhymes from the most lyrical family around the flavor unit 15 flavorful. And that's spelled with pH 

Jay Ray: Of course. 

DJ Sir Daniel: funky tricks, including roll with the Flavor.

Flavor. And sticker is not even mentioning Jae.

Jay Ray: check it. Okay. This, okay? It's all coming together. It's all coming together. You notice how it says 15? I bet you KG was like, throw this Ja AE joint on there because they were ha they obviously had been working because they're 16. They're 16 tracks, including the Jana.

DJ Sir Daniel: 16.

Jay Ray: Isn't there 16? Is there 16?

DJ Sir Daniel: so, so there's 15 on the, the vinyl,

Jay Ray: 15 on the vinyl, let me see, hold on. Let me, let me see. 1, 2, 3, 4. I think you're about five six, so No, you're right, there's 15. Damnit. Okay. No, it's fine. I don't have there,

DJ Sir Daniel: theory,

Jay Ray: there's no conspiracy theory here, but I do think that, um, because even when you look at that cover, sir Daniel, 

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: are on the cover, but they make 'em look like rappers.

They're kind of at the top. You see Jean and Renee at the top, but they look like MCs. I'm like, I don't, I don't, I don't get it.

And 

DJ Sir Daniel: cover too. Now that you bring it up.

Jay Ray: dope cover.

DJ Sir Daniel: this. Yeah. The 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: all the artists are like framing the whole album 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: of course, queen Latifa and Shaq Kim, and can we talk about Queen Latifa and Shaq Kim's relationship? Like if you, they are the. The quintessential, if you want to look up what loyalty look like in the music business, because in the in entertainment business period, queen Lafa and Sham Compare definitely are the poster children for loyalty.

Jay Ray: Absolutely. 

DJ Sir Daniel: I mean, it's been over 30 years, probably more than that since they've known each other and since they've worked together. you can clearly tell that Latifa, it's almost a marriage. 

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Latifa clearly loves and trusts this man, and he does. He loves and trusts her. They protect each other.

Um, they've protected each other. They've been through thick and thin with the death of death of 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Her whole 

Jay Ray: whole family, her brother and her mother

fathered. 

DJ Sir Daniel: father, still with us. I think 

Jay Ray: I don't, her father,

may have

passed away. Oh, I'm not certain, but I'm gonna

look. 

DJ Sir Daniel: you know, he's, he's definitely her family so that the fact that they've been able to.

and there's flavor unit films. What was that movie? The Cookout, 

Jay Ray: The Cookout, Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: into, producing movies. So yeah, I, we gotta give a shout out to Queen Latifa and we talk about Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis la and Baby Face, you know, other couples like that. We gotta give it up to, um, Latifa and Sha Kim.

Jay Ray: Yeah, like that. And just looking at the way La Latifah's career has gone and knowing that Sham has been there every step of the way, that's like, yeah. Like you really get a chance to see what's possible. And they gave this record label a shot. It didn't go cuz what ended up happening of course, is um, of course Latifa released Black Rain on Motown.

We are gonna talk about Black Rain later in the year y'all. So stay tuned for that. Um, John a signed to Motown two. Um,

DJ Sir Daniel: went over there.

Jay Ray: Yeah. So, um, I know that they had the epic distribution for this. I'm sure it was like, eh, this ain't doing what we thought it was gonna do, so let's go ahead and try some other things.

What I also, what I, what I love too is that they kept going. I mean, you know, the artists that we know about, we know about the ones that we don't know about, we don't know about. Um, Freddie Fox became bumpy Knuckles. We'll never forget you, bruh. He's still out here rhyming, um, and 

DJ Sir Daniel: sure. 

Jay Ray: yeah. So I think this record is an interesting time capsule and check it out if y'all have it, checked it out.

DJ Sir Daniel: Is it on streaming

Jay Ray: it is not on streaming platforms. You have to, you have to, uh, check it out on.

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: so yeah, that's the only place that you can listen because, uh, I actually called my brother cuz I had this compilation and I was like, do you have my, that, that old flavor unit? He was like, no, I probably took it with me when I moved at some point, but cuz I was gonna ask him for it.

So then I was gonna have the, like, the copy that I bought, 

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. 

Jay Ray: then, uh, here, uh, that is gonna be interesting. I probably need to do a show from my brother's CD wall because so many of my old CDs from this era are there.

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah. That would be a dope segment 

Jay Ray: Uhhuh .Yeah. But,

um, this is a fun, fun time. Fun

[01:08:14] Reflecting on Personal Experiences and the Era
---

Jay Ray: time. 

DJ Sir Daniel: February. This is February of 1993. 

Jay Ray: Yep. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Hmm. 

Jay Ray: 30 years bruh.

DJ Sir Daniel: wow. I've been outta high school for 30 years cuz that's when I graduated high school was in 1993. Wow.

Jay Ray: And. I was in. Um, so I w what year was this? So I would've been in so sophomore, so yeah, I would've been a sophomore in high school. Um, during this, and this would've been my first year, a public high school. My favorite one, my favorite high school experience. And, um, yeah, just a weird ass moment in time where people was just walking around in, in, uh, Carhartt Couture.

DJ Sir Daniel: Man Chic. Yeah. Imagine being here in the south cuz by that time I was here in, in Georgia, come and your influences are my influences. Of course were New York, 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: also have the west coast with their major influence on everything. here I am, you know, we're down here in this, imagine the summertime in the, and I know they were making fun of us.

You could tell, you could spot a New Yorker out of the bunch. would be wearing oversized t-shirts. Some um, some jorts, some denim jean shorts, 

Jay Ray: Right, 

DJ Sir Daniel: a pair of Timberlands. then you have the nerve to put on a vest over that t-shirt in the hot summertime. What were we thinking? 

Jay Ray: sir. Daniel, 

DJ Sir Daniel: thinking?

Jay Ray: y'all, why were our clothes? I was looking at the videos like, oh my God, these clothes are so big. It's so much fabric. Y'all . It was so

much. 

DJ Sir Daniel: fabric. How were people running in jeans that big and, Timberlands? Uh, so here's a funny story. last time I wore a pair, , I wore a pair of Timberlands. let's see, I was, um, attending Clark and Atlanta University. I, my car had died on me, so I was taking um, the train and the bus to get to school, 

Jay Ray: Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: and I had gotten off at the Western train station in these.

Jay Ray: My old 

DJ Sir Daniel: Timberland are old stomping grounds and you know, trumping, um, t trooping around in these big ass Timberland boots. And I thought I had them laced up. I don't know what it is about me and Boots, but there was a moment where I stepped off the curve in the middle of the, um, of the west end, like right there on Fair Street and I forget, and, um, Ralph David Abernathy, where the, where the brothers are selling the bean pies.

And I'm trying to get down to campus in a hurry. I step off of that curve. My foot went, this went one way and the boot went the other way. And next thing 

Jay Ray: I'm sorry. 

DJ Sir Daniel: I spilling in the middle of the streets, like in a movie it's the most embarrassing thing. My ankle is on fire. And I promise you, from that day forward, I vowed never to wear another pair of boots.

Period, whether it was Timberland or whoever, just cannot function in boots and hats off to everybody that used to be able to do that and C and pull off that look. But your boy couldn't, can't do it and won't do it anymore.

Jay Ray: I haven't owned a pair of Timberlands and Lord knows how long it may, it may be going on. What year is this? 2023. It might be 20 years . 

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah. 

Jay Ray: I did own a pair of, uh, really hot Timberland sneakers, um, that I really liked, destroyed them at house in the park. Um, if I ever find them again, I will definitely get another pair.

But, um, yeah, the, the fashion, the music, the machetes, the nine millimeters, it was a lot going on y'all. But Roll With the Flavor was a moment in time and uh, it gave us Ja and, um, we definitely have to talk about that record, which eventually showed up in 1994 and became a huge hit.

DJ Sir Daniel: Monster Hits.

Jay Ray: Um, and is one of those, it, it was one of those albums that defined the 1990s.

If we think of Brandy's first album, we think of John a's debut album. These were like records You still play today?

DJ Sir Daniel: Absolutely. 

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: down. Wow. 

[01:12:54] Closing Thoughts and Cuepoint Insights
---

DJ Sir Daniel: Well, thank you also so much for joining us on this trip down memory lane. You know, We hope that you weren't scared on this journey 

Jay Ray: It's a lot of machetes. 

DJ Sir Daniel: the, and our hoodlum antics with machetes and, you know, dressed like, um, maintenance men. But listen, Jay Ray, let the people know how they can keep up with us.

Just one more time

Jay Ray: Oh my God,

DJ Sir Daniel: that they can catch up with us for however, comma. 

Jay Ray: yes. 

DJ Sir Daniel: the next episode and for the next episode after that, cuz we really got it going on for, it on for, um, hip hop's 50th anniversary as well as 1988.

Jay Ray: Absolutely. So you listen, y'all make sure that you stay in touch with Cuepoint. You definitely want to go ahead and visit our website, cuepoint.com and subscribe. If you are not a uh, Cuepoint Insider member, you should be, um, because one, you are getting some additional content, but. You are also helping us to keep the Cuepoint lights on so you can subscribe by becoming a member on our website.

I'm gonna put a link in the chat, but you can just go to cuepoint.com, click on subscribe. If you are like, listen, I really like these dudes, I just wanna give them a little bump. You know, leave them, leave them a little something. You can give us a tip and you can also buy stuff like this. Stop tweeting, start wrapping mug.

Boom, boom, boom. You can buy that over in our Q point store. You can buy, you can't buy queue up the vote, but next year when it's time to vote, you going queue up. The vote is coming back. So get ready for queue Up the vote, which DJ Sir Daniel is rocking tonight. Um, but yes, keep up with us on our website and make sure that you go on ahead and visit, uh, the Queue Points magazine and you can subscribe so you can get our newsletter and get the latest and greatest updates from Queue Points.

DJ Sir Daniel: And there you have it, folks. Jay Ray, my brother. Let's do this. What do I always say? Every week in this life, you have a choice. You can either pick up the needle or you could let the record play. I am DJ Sudani.

Jay Ray: My name is Jay Ray.

DJ Sir Daniel: This has been Queue Points, dropping the needle on black music history. We'll see you on the next go round.

Peace.