MAGAZ INE
GROWTH THROUGH ATHLETICS: Inspiration from VP Jeff Mack, Jr.
PR I SON REFORM BLM &
NOVEMBER 2 0 2 0 They CALL JP Him
LOCAL RAPPER BIG FUSSY Talks Madison & Music
THE PEOPLE Behind the Protests
608 Magazine Jenna Moore 9.11.2020 In 2017, partnering with Aaron Perry, Patterson and Perry established the Men’s Health Education Center located in the shop. Making National News, this educational center o ! ers hands-on experience for Edgewood College’s nursing students and is supported by Dane County Public Health. They CALL JP Him Jeff Pa ! erson J e ! Patterson, better known in the community as JP, was born in North Chicago in 1971.Learning the trade fromhis grandfather, JP knew he wanted to become a barber from early on in his life. “ " ere were always clippers around and plenty of friends and family members to practice on growing up,” he says. A # er graduating from college in 1994, JP moved to the 608. Four years later, he opened JP Hair Design, a full-service barbershop, in May of 1998. An in $ uential member of the 608 community for over 20 years, JP gives back in so many ways and is an exceptional example of what it means to be an instrumental member of the community. In addition to teaching classes at Madison College, Mr. Patterson has served on the state C osmetology Examining Board and has also been Chairman to the state Barbering Advisory Committee. Coaching community teams, o ! ering free haircuts, mentoring apprentices in the shop, and creating the Back to School Event, which has been serving the community with back-to-school haircuts for over ten years. JP began teaching Barber and Cosmetology Apprenticeship " eory at Madison College in 2010- 2011. In 2016, he joined the Barber and Cosmetology ProgramatMadisonCollegewhere he currently teaches Men’s Haircutting, State Laws, Sales and Marketing, and Business Management.
When asked what he loves most about the 608 community? JP responded, “ " e Diversity. In the shop alone, we have barbers of all colors that come from diverse backgrounds. While we have had some struggles in the community recently, we are still a strong, diverse community. I feel safe. When people ask me where I am from... I claim Madison to be my home, but when I am in Madison and people ask me where I am from… I claim North Chicago/ Waukegan Illinois. I am grateful for the footprint that I have been able to leave on the 608 community.”
“...we have barbers of all colors that come from diverse backgrounds” - Je ! Patterson
(Mr. Patterson teaches a student fromMadison College techniques in one of his classes.)
Adding to his role as mentor and leader in the 608 community, JP wanted to shine some light on his mentor, Taylor “Smitty’ Smith and his long-time friend, Spencer Johnson. “Taylor “Smitty” Smith was the " rst black barber in Madison, Wisconsin. Smitty paved the way for all of the barbers inMadison. I was blessed to be able to work with Smittyfrom 1996-1998. I learned the true de " nition of a humble barber. Smitty never talked about money or how many clients he had. Smitty talked about servicing the community and making the community better. Smitty passed in January of 2016 and in his honor JP Hair Design has created a Scholarship in Smitty’s name. # e scholarship will pay for an individual to attend Madison College Apprenticeship Program. # e scholarship pays for tuition, barber equipment and permit fees.” - JP, Owner of JP Hair Design JP is a true leader and supporter for bettering the community rather than competing. Working as a business consultant, JP helps other shops in the 608 community prepare for state board exams, shares his business knowledge with best management practices and other tricks of the trade. By supporting his fellow barbers and apprentices, JP has enriched the 608 community with his philanthropy. “Spencer and I played football together in 1992 at UW- Whitewater and has worked with me for 21 years at JP Hair Design. It would not be right to not give big ups to my guy for branching out on his own and opening Barber Shop Studio in August. Spencer Johnson has been an in $ uential member of the JP Hair Design family and I wish him the best in all of his future endeavors.” - JP, Owner of JP Hair Design JP Hair Design has been awarded the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce Award in 2018 for Small Business Leadership and the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s 59th Annual Award in 2011 Featured Business.
“...we have barbers of all colors that come from diverse backgrounds” - Je ! Patterson
Visit: https://youtu.be/P6KCek81Xzw For more accolades/awards visit: https://madisonbarbershop.com/awards/
When asked how the recent pandemic has a ! ected business, JP explained that business has not only slowed down drastically but now with the additional cleaning practices needed to keep his clients and the community safe, fewer clients can be scheduled throughout the day because more time is required to disinfect the area. A once full barbershop, now only admits one client per barber. No waiting in the shop. For safety. Clients are able to wait outside or in their vehicles until the barber has an open chair. “Yes, there are a combination of factors that have negatively a ! ected my business: 1. With more people working from home, we have less workers coming into the shop because they are not being seen by the public as much. 2. People are saving because they have less money. 3. People are avoiding the risk of contracting Covid-19 by staying and self-isolating. 4. In order to keep our clients and community safe, we have increased service times to better disinfect the working stations. # is added time lessens the number of clients that can be seen per day, which directly a ! ects business.” - JP, Owner of JP Hair Design
A top priority of JP Hair Design is keeping everyone as safe as possible! In response to the pandemic, JP Hair Design has made the following modi % cations:
– Added plexiglass between each station. – Cleaned and/or disinfected all surfaces and implements.
– Added all new capes, new towels, and linens. – Removed any non-essential items throughout our business. – Appropriate personal protective equipment to be used at all times. – Retrained our sta ! on essential infection control and hand hygiene practices.
*Only 1 client per barber at a time in the shop. Feel free to ask any of us at any time about all that we do to provide for your safety.” - JP Hair Design Barber Family
Visit Website for Price List & Meet the Barbers!
www.jphairdesig n.com/our-team / And be sure to show your support by following JP Hair Design on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/jp.hairdesign/
SHOP HOURS: Sunday & Monday CLOSED Tuesday 7am-6pm Wednesday 7am-6pm " ursday 7am-6pm Friday 7am-6pm Saturday 7am-4pm
PRISON REFORM & With EXPO’s Jerome Dillard
Our lives’ paths are often created not out of youthful intention, but shaped by life experiences and laid out as we go. We use our backgrounds and our collective awareness to forge a way ahead, and hopefully leave our community a little bit better than we found it. Jerome Dillard, State Director of EX- Incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO), found his as a result of a tumultuous youth. “I was a hustler. I grew up around hustlers, and that was my norm. Having an opportunity to take the time to change P\ OLIH DQG WKLQN GL;HUHQWO\ DQG OLYH
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%RWK(;32DQG0U'LOODUG KDG WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR WDNH SDUW LQ WKH %ODFN Lives Matter protests happening in Kenosha. 6SHDNLQJDERXWWKH%/0PRYHPHQWDVDZKROH he says “I feel that it’s a crucial time in our nation with all who have been speaking out about %ODFN(TXDOLW\7KHFULPLQDOMXVWLFHV\VWHPKDV long been used to disrupt families. To ostracize individuals with criminal convictions... it lines up with what we’re doing because of the racial GLVSDULWLHVZLWKLQRXUFULPLQDO MXVWLFHV\VWHP especially here in Wisconsin, where we make up eight percent of the population but still are SHUFHQWRIWKHSULVRQSRSXODWLRQZKLFKKDV been for a very long time. Wisconsin is rated one of the highest per capita incarceration UDWHVRI$IULFDQ$PHULFDQVLQWKHFRXQWU\µ0U Dillard went on to speak about the disparities
LQ HGXFDWLRQDO RSSRUWXQLWLHV DQG HTXDOLW\ throughout the state, advocating for now to be a time of change. 0U 'LOODUG LV TXLFN WR SRLQW RXW WKDW WKH ÀJKW IRU SULVRQ DQG VHQWHQFH UHIRUP LV QRW a battle for men alone. EXPO formed FREE WR DGGUHVV WKH XQLTXH LVVXHV RI ZRPHQ ZKR have experienced incarceration. He notes “Women are the fastest growing population ULJKW QRZ LQ RXU FULPLQDO MXVWLFH V\VWHP 6R what we did was started what we call the FREE campaign, a female wing of our team of experts statewide. We have hired several women to be organizers and advocates on behalf of women in the state who have been impacted by the FULPLQDO LQMXVWLFH V\VWHP :H XVH FULPLQDO LQMXVWLFH EHFDXVH WKHUH·V QR MXVWLFH WKHUHµ
´,IHHOWKDWLW·VDFUXFLDOWLPHLQRXUQDWLRQZLWKDOO ZKRKDYHEHHQVSHDNLQJRXWDERXW%ODFN(TXDOLW\µ - Jerome Dillard
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LOCAL RAPPER
TALKS MUSIC & MADISON
L: What brought you from Milwaukee to Madison? B: My mom and dad, they decided to move to Madison because Milwaukee was like it still is- too hectic. It’s like Milwaukee’s almost like if you wanted to compare it, it’s almost like a smaller Chicago. It’s a lot of violence, a lot of crime activity, a lot of robberies, a lot of boarded up houses, a lot of drug activity. They moved us to Madison to get us away from that, basically for like a second chance. L: What’s your rap style like? B: So I’m more like a mixture. If you describe my rap, it’s more like a street street storyteller, almost, you know what I mean. I try to get what I’m speaking to get you to understand the life that I’m living in, where I’m coming from, where I’ve been and where I plan on going.
Big Fussy is a local, young rap artist in the Madison community
“Madison is more open. You know, it’s more like a free for all in Madison. You ECPFGƂPKVGN[ accomplish more out here.” }ÕÃÃÞ
L: Let’s talk a little bit about the differences in community between Milwaukee and Madison, kind of what impacts you differently between those two areas and where you grew up versus where you ended up? B: Milwaukee is segregated. You got the different sides of towns like you would in any city, but Milwaukee is more segregated, like a lot of a lot of black people kind of stick to the black people White people, we didn’t never really see like that in Milwaukee. They don’t go where we are from so we barely see them. It’s like one of the most segregated cities there is. Madison is not really like that. Madison is more open. You know, it’s more like a free for all >`ð9ÕV>`iwÌiÞ>VV«Ã ÀiÕÌ iÀi°
L: What else should we know about you? B: I’m real humble, I’m laid back. A lot of people see some of my videos and they think I’m cocky. You could come up to me, shake my hand, you could talk to me. You know what I mean? ‘m really doing it for my family. I’m trying to show my family something different. L: Where are you at in your career currently? I’ve got over 20 videos on YouTube. Another video I’m about to shoot and a couple of recording sessions lined up. So basically, it’s like I started ÕÌÌ>}Ì°ÌÜ>ÃÀii> LLÞ>ÌwÀÃÌ]LÕÌ now I’m taking it seriously,I’m in the process of getting all of my music registered. That way it can be distributed on all the major platforms. L:Howis theBlackLivesMattermovement impacting your community in Madison? B: The Black Lives Matter stuff, it’s like we’ve been dealing with that for 400 years. I’m surprised we are still going through that kind of stuff. That’s just showing you that people aren’t tolerating it as a race no more. You know, it’s more of a demand. Now, not we’re not asking nicely for respect and equality and stuff like that that we deserve. We demand it now. . &Q[QWTHGGNKPIUTGƃGEVKP[QWTOWUKE! B: I’ll try to talk about my life, but I try to stay away from the more touchy subjects.If I had the choice, I’d rather put out some music that I know everybody is going to love.
Find & support Big Fussy’s music on YouTube!
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ATHLE GROWTH
ormer Badger football player. Vice President of Private Banking. Real Estate Investor. Husband, father of 4, son and friend. All of these titles belong to Je ! Mack, Jr, but none begin to describe his dedicated, passionate commitment to his family and community. Je ! currently holds seats on boards with United Way, UWAthletics, St. Marys, FCI, and MAYDM - a local nonpro " t organization led by Winnie Karanja with a focus on helping girls and students of color " nd opportunities through STEM and coding. F
ETICS THROUGH Inspiration from VP Je ! Mack, Jr By Liz Astemborski
Even with his extensive and impressive resume, Je ! Mack, Jr is as humble as they come. While he spoke openly about his career with Park Bank and his experiences in football, it was his insightful, loving words about his hometown and public educa- tion that stood out the mostWhen speaking about community and education, he said, “I’m a product of public school. I grew up, went to Frank Alice Elementary School, I went to middle school, then went to West High School. I believe in public school and I believe in making sure that all kids have great opportu- nities and access to those opportunities to succeed. Whether it be health care, making sure kids are feeling good and feeling healthy enough to go to class and learn and take in the informa- tion, giving them the skill set to be able to develop and grow and succeed in life.”
“I believe in public school and I believe in making sure that all kids have great opportunities and access to those opportunities to succeed.” - Jeff Mack Jr.
“Everything that you go through, every experience you deal with is something that’ll make you or break you.” - Jeff Mack Jr.
He says- “I think in adversity, there lies opportunity. # ese are situations that are unprecedented. # ese are all things that come out of the blue. And that’s what life is. Life is a mixture of the wicked. What I mean by that is, you think you’ve got a path and then something comes in and just knocks about the box, right? And so you have to " gure out how to pivot. You have to " gure out how to then alter your course ...So to me, I look at these challenges as opportunities. Now, it’s really hard when you’re in an opportunity or when you’re in that situation of having to deal with adversity..it may not it may not seem like an opportunity at the time, but it truly is. Everything that you go through, every experience you deal with is something that’ll make you or break you. If you are goal-oriented and if you want to succeed in life,you have to take that challenge on and then you have to beat it. You can’t let it break you. “How do you push yourself when no one else will push you? I think it’s easy to have a coach. I think it’s easy to have teammates around you that someone else can be the leader and someone else can say, ‘hey, keep up with me. Hey, you get that extra rep in’. Now you have to do it on your own. I think that’s worth it. I think you’ll get a chance to see who you are and who you can become.”
Mack Jr. credits a lot of his hard work mentality to his athletic upbringing, particularly his time as a Raider, and to his parents. He says, ““I grew up with a dad (Je ! Mack, Sr, also former Badgers player and school football coach) who was very much “stick to a script, do the right things, do them well, move forward in life and always have a plan and a plan B”. I had a mom who was goal- oriented beyond belief. And so those are my two kinds of focuses on goal orientation. I think I’ve always tried to instill that into my kids.” He then went on to give advice to young athletes everywhere who are impacted by virtual schooling and shut downs. While directed to them, his poignant words can easily be directed to any facet of life.
Je ! Mack, Jr is VP of Private Banking at Park Bank. He lives in Madison with his wife Ti ! any, and his 4 daughters: Aviel, Kaiya, Elaina, and Samara.
No Turning Back
" I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t want to be 50 years old with nothing.” ! is was the realization that pushed the 49-year-old to move forward into a completely new stage of his life. Since he was 21, Jackie Morris had been to prison nine times. Morris, alsoknownas“JackieBoDean,”moved to Madison when he was 16 and attended West High School. But his younger years were " lled with troubles that would lead to later lessons. He started drinking at age 13, and those habits grew into him doing drugs well into his 20’s. His choices o # en le # him without permanent housing, and he found himself sleeping in hallways or in various shelters. ! e times he was arrested o # en made him contemplate his decisions and lifestyle. While serving one of his sentences, he decided to work to receive his high school diploma. “I was sitting up in prison thinking, ‘I’ve got to do better for myself,’” Morris said. “I didn’t want to be a statistic.” When he was released from prison, Morris moved in with his sister and got a job at Hardy’s. “It was a humble job, but I knew I needed something,” he said, knowing he had to stay sober. He later worked as a housekeeper at a hotel for two years. It was while he was working in this position that he met someone who would help him change his life even more. It was Michael Johnson, CEO of the Dane County Boys and Girls Club. “I met Michael Johnson through my uncle, who works for him. But he really helped set my life on a much better course,” Morris said. Johnson later helped him get a job at UW Hospital, where he’s been working for four years cleaning and reprocessing equipment. He continued his mentorship under Johnson and began learning about more of the drive that pushed him to be a consistent servant in
the community. “I was just watching Michael and how involved he is in the community, and I loved seeing his passion,” Morris said. He began following this passion and dedicated his time to also helping the community however possible. When Johnson one day asked Morris to pick up some food to distribute to a local organization, Morris knew this was a way he wanted to assist those around him. He soon started distributing food throughout the community every week. “I lost a lot of years doing wrong and bad things, but now I felt it was time for me to give back to the community,” he said. In 2016, Morris furthered this decision when he partnered with Johnson and others within the Madison community to found the Focus Interruption Coalition. ! e organization responds to violence in the streets and o $ ers support and mentorship to those involved in the altercations. “It was just all of the violence. ! ere seemed like there was no stopping it, so we wanted to get some people together to help change that.” Since its founding, the organization has gained support and respect from local police and is now placing more of a focus on mentoring youth. “I just have a love for this community and the people in it, and I want to see others make good decisions,” Morris said. In addition to working on the coalition, Morris is actively pursuing a career as the CEO of a wholesale company. He wants to sell a $ ordable clothes and other merchandise to the people of Madison. “ ! at’s a dream of mine. I know if I believe in myself like I have to get this far, I can de " nitely get there.” “I’ve got to do be ! er statistic. for myself, I didn’t want to be a
“ C H I L L ” W ! R "#$ t
more commonly known as “Chill”, owner of radio host and owner of Come Clean Empire, is a powerhouse modul in the Madison entertainment industry. His work has partnered him with major record labels and entertainers in the hip hop community both locally and around the globe. We sat down to talk with him about his career, what’s on the horizon, and his vision for the Madison music scene. W ! R "#$ t,
Liz: Tell me a little bit about your life and how you got started. Chill: I grew up in the Morgan Park area of Chicago in a musically inclined family. My father was a great jazz musician named Willie Jones. My mother was a jazz pianist. They were in the business for like 40 years.Taught me a lot about the music and about business. I then went and I did a lot of schooling in music and business, was involved in the Chicago Children’s Choir I was involved in all sorts of singing competitions three times state champion. As far as the business itself, I began actually as a concert promoter. That’s where I really got knee- deep into working with different managers from different places across the world, and different genres of music. I went away to the military in the Marine Corps, and I still did promotions while in the Marine Corps. Different clubs and stuff like that where the base was. When I got out, I ended up moving over to work in
Wisconsin...because I had a few buddies of mine in Wisconsin, one by the name of Rick Robertson. At that time, he managed Bone Thugs N Harmony -did management purely for Bizzy. I took my promotional skills and I started pushing out different acts in the Madison area- bringing them down, promoting different independent artists. I then went to Rick at the time and he asked me how would I feel about working more closely with him on a major level? So of course I said yes. And then I started working with him and I started getting a lot of different connections in the business and started doing a lot of traveling. That’s where I got deeper into saying, OK, I need to start doing management, running an entertainment entity as a whole. I was one of the pioneers back in the day with Gary Knowledge and a few of the other promoters out there in Madison. I veered away because I wanted to expand my horizons. So I started to set up in different markets around the country and overseas. I created Come Clean Entertainment, which actually is an acronym. L: And what does that stand for? C: CreatingOther Methods, EmpoweringChildren, LearningEveryAvenueNecessary. We went on and started working with a lot of people in the community, with the kids and with other entities, just trying to bring more of an industry to Wisconsin, bringing more of an overall sense of real musical family down here. L: Tell me about “Talk it Out” C: I have this segment called Talk about Tuesdays, but now it’s being called “Talk It Out”. We just changed it recently. It is a platform for independent artists as well as major artists, actors, activists, anyone with a message to come on there and push it and promote it through our platform, via the music or whatever it is. It will now be a 30 minute show, 5 days a week. As of October 17, we’ll be on Roku. As of October 6th, we are syndicating through CaribVision TV Network, which is broadcasted through all of the islands in the Caribbean.
A rtists need to take it more seriously - instead of it being a hobby, they need to look at it more as a business. “ ”
L: How did that come about? C: “Talk It Out Tuesday” was a concept that I came up with because of COVID. People couldn’t perform their music, they were limited as far as what they could do, how they could do it. What ended up happening is that it caught the attention of a lot of major artists because of my affiliation already with Jaz-O the Originator (Jay-Z Mentor) as his manager. I began to get different artists that came aboard and were really interested in interviewing. It’s mostly been a lot of music. I want to get more into business and politics, things of that nature. On this show, it’s myself and then I have three deejays that co-host the show DJ Double L out of Chicago, DJ Disspare out of Winnipeg, Canada and DJ K Twist. Who runs our team out in Africa. The rest of the “Come Clean Takeover Radio” show consists of my DJs, all of them doing their own thing, bringing and promoting and pushing artists from different parts of their world. Along with playing the mainstream music, you’ll bring in a couple of independents and put them into the mix so that they can be heard and they can get that exposure. L: Let’s chat a little bit about the Madison community. C: Our market has a huge opportunity to become an actual industry of its own. What needs to be done is that on a local level, we need to really buckle down and focus on education. With these people, with artists, with writers, with anyone involved in the industry itself, on any level, whether it be TV, music, whatever it is, whatever genre it is. We just need to have more seminars, more education. Artists need to take it more seriously - instead of it being a hobby, they need to look at it more as a business. In a business, you have to have a budget. And know where you’re going to place that budget and the purpose behind it, you know, so that other people can take you seriously outside of Madison. And you can go and help. Bring the industry to the 608, which is in essence my whole goal. Everyone wants to move out of the 608 to go and pursue the dream. But my whole thing is, why move? Why move?If everybody is moving we will never have nothing here. So why move? I was offered to move out to New York. Of course, it would be a lot easier. But I didn’t take it. And a lot of people are like why? And I look at them and I say, so that we can have life here. Why not bring the knowledge and the wisdom that I learned from other markets here and implement it properly so that we can start doing our own thing here, we can become our own powerhouse. I want it where we can say Madison and they will say, Yeah, I know about Madison. New York really got its name because of the music, then everybody wanted to go to New York to pursue their dreams. L.A., same thing, all of that. Why can’t Madison do the same thing?
L: What else is going on? C: I have a seminar that I do that I want to launch called the Grassroots Seminar and Showcase Tour, where we travel to different cities across the country. My problem with seminars is that they all ask and answer the same boring questions. The artist never really gives anything that they can really implement into their career and take advantage of and monetize from. You know, it’s like some of the people that are on these panels are scared to give away these “secrets”. Everybody is afraid that the next guy may take his place. Personally, I don’t care about that as long as it moves The Collective. That’s the major issue, that’s the major point, moving The Collective. If we as individuals thought that way to think of the whole versus ourselves, then we will be so powerful. So powerful, that’s I just want people to know that I’m here. There are a lot of people that lost their hope in the 608 on really establishing themselves and getting themselves out here. I just wanted to let the people know that I’m here and that I’m willing to help in any way which I can. I do a lot of consultation. That’s very important to me. Because people need to understand the why. You know, so that they’ll know exactly what they’re doing. So and understand the direction that they’re going. I have tons of different ways for you to do it nationally and internationally. I am connected with all of the major radio stations, I’m a part of major not only radio stations, but record labels, I work with all of the major dj coalitions. So getting the music out here on a national and international level is not a problem. I even deal with theater. I deal with all sorts of different things depending upon what the need is. So, you know, I’m here, I’m honest. On a personal note, last year I actually died and came how that’s how everyone separates us. L: What do you want readers to know?
back. The valve in my heart busted. I was rushed to UW. They went to work on me, and I went under and literally was gone. I heard some people call it a life after death experience. I had one of those, but I didn’t see a light at the end tunnel. My situation was that it was total darkness. And I was sitting at a table. And across from me was the Grim Reaper. And the Grim Reaper was shaking. While he was shaking, there was a commanding voice talking. The voice said a lot of different things, but one thing that I thoroughly remember that just sticks in my head was “Be still and know that I am God”. When I came to, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t walk. And that was difficult for me. My voice was messed up because they said I woke up twice in the middle of a surgery, literally while my chest was open. What ended up happening was that my body began to recover at an alarming pace. They had me go over to the VA for rehab and within I say thirty days, I was out of rehab. I literally was forced to sit back and look at my life for what it was at that time. I was under way too much pressure. I was doing too much. He started to remove certain things from my life and instill other more positive things in my life. I just thank God for it. That’s why I try to do what I can where I can for the community and people with my talents and what I know, because God gave me a second chance. I firmly believe that. Everyone deserves a second chance. Chill is also the program director for 95.5 in Madison. He is the Owner of Come Clean Empire, hosts the radio show Come Clean Take Over Radio and is the creator of Talk it Out. Chill owns Internet based Come Clean Radio station, is the midwest manager for Nerve DJs, and is an artist manager with Equity Distribution/Roc Nation.
W e are J u st Written by Liz OneLove As he checked in to his hotel on the way to a studio meeting, Rico Crowder made time to chat about old school stories and his band’s unique sound. His enthusiasm for music shined through the whole conversation as we talked about everything from Master P to Marvin Gaye, and what’s next for Sons of Funk. L : Tell me about how Sons of Funk was born and about Master P. Q & A with Sons of Funk ’ s Ri c o Crowder
L : What happened next? R : So fast forward we get to deal with P, we get all this money right. He gave us all a hundred thousand dollars apiece and I’m just like, I’ve never seen that much money in my whole entire life. P said, “I want you guys to come to L.A. and I want you to do the song I Miss My Homies.” So we boarded a plane. We’ve got to L.A. and we started doing I Miss My Homies. It turned out R : I always attribute myself to being like Forrest Gump. You know, it’s like I always ended up in these wonderful situations. When I was 13, I got my % rst record deal with Motown. I just happened to look out and this guy was playing the guitar across the street from my house in the park.I went over there and was like “Hey, man, can I play the guitar?” He’s like, “sure” and then “hey, you play pretty good for a little young guy.” I said I got a song I recorded...so I played it for him. I had a little cassette player and he was like, “is this really you? Hey, man, go home. I’m going to have Anna Gordy, Marvin Gaye’s wife, call you and get you a deal with Motown. And it actually happened. And the guy was Anthony Carmichael, the guy who actually produced Lionel Richie. He just happened to have some family that lived in my neighborhood. to be a really, really big record for all of us. L : Did you always want to be in music?
R : Sons of Funk is a group we all started from Richmond, California, and that’s where I met Master P. We were at a barbershop. I walked in and I saw, picture it- this guy and these other guys and they had these gold teeth. I was like, wow, who are these kids? So about % ve minutes later, Master P walks in. And he walks in and he has this bigger than life personality. He’s extremely hilarious, he really could have been a comedian because he’s this funny. So he had everybody laughing. He said (to me) ‘I saw you the other day at the Black Family Day in Sacramento. And you guys had everybody going crazy, like, man’. I said, thank you. He said, Hey man, if ever you make it, can you help me? And if ever I make it, I’ll help you. Now, at this point in time, I was as broke as the glass on the concrete and I was like, “Yo, I help you, brother.” And he said, “OK, I help you.” So he started really doing a lot of things. He started learning how to really market records and everything and looked around. He had a record deal.
L : What is your sound like now? R : I had taken the old school style with the new school music. RJ comes in with this beautiful voice- it’s like Chris Brown. But he has his own style. He sings it with a way that young audiences would subscribe to it. But then these hooks we’ve got are memorable and they make you think about the situation or whatever you’re doing at the time. But if you’re somewhere my age, you knew that we had songs that remind you of the prom and remind you of your % rst kiss. It reminds you, you know what I mean? And that’s the kind of music we have. It’s old and a new mix together. And it’s a beautiful gumbo. L : Let’s talk a little bit about what’s going on in the world. It’s a very chaotic time right now with politics, the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the virus, everything like that. How do you see your music being a ! ected by and contributing to it? R : It’s going to help because we have songs like I Woke Up Happy. Now this is like our song that was starting to go pop. We have another song called I Woke Up Happy, All you need is love. You know, we have a host of songs that are going to make people start to love again and be introspective. Look in the mirror and look at yourself and say, hey, you know what? We all just are people and we all are just one love and God is Love, you know? If God deemed it necessary and saw it perfect for all these di ! erent people to be on Earth, then why can’t we love the way he loved when he put us here? L : You’re down in Atlanta now to sign a record deal. How close are we to a new record? R : We’re more than ready to % re. We are more than ready. We so ready we don’t even know what to do. We are ready to be unleashed to the world. Sons of Funk’s music has evolved into a youthful sound with the mature, developed lyrics of old school vibes. New album out soon.
“we have a host of songs that are go i ng to make people start to love agai n . . . ” - Rico Crowder
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