00:00We're back, and the West Coast All-Stars brought the heat.
00:04Yes, they did.
00:05Oh, my goodness.
00:06Yes, they did.
00:07E40, everybody just feels so good.
00:10Yes, it is.
00:11Seeing all them legends, it just feels good, man.
00:13The best of the music you grew up on, you see it, you get a connection with yesterday.
00:17It's just everything.
00:18And speaking of legends, this one needs no introduction.
00:22So what happened?
00:23You called Essence this year.
00:25You were like, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.
00:27The South got something to say.
00:28Hey, we about to take over this weekend.
00:31No, not really.
00:31I didn't really have much to do with that.
00:33I think that, you know, I did speak to Rich a while back, and it was just like, you know,
00:39if y'all gonna celebrate hip-hop, let's make sure that the South doesn't get, that we don't
00:46miss out on doing it the right way that it's supposed to be done.
00:49And, you know, I know a lot of people was, like, mad that they didn't see my presence
00:53at BET, but I feel like I got so much music, and I'm a part of so many different elements.
00:59I can't just come up there for 30 seconds and do that.
01:02You don't get your peace with doing it.
01:04Even here, I don't feel like we have enough time here, but we're gonna do our best.
01:08You know, we're gonna do what we gotta do.
01:10You know what I love?
01:11I just love all the things you did for hip-hop.
01:13I'm gonna give you a major love and shout-out for your contribution to hip-hop, and you
01:17always was on the forefront letting people know the South is here.
01:20We're not going nowhere.
01:21We're gonna make a lot of noise, and you're gonna love this.
01:24And from then to now, the South is still all that, but you was one of the brothers
01:28that really broke it, so I just want to salute you for always putting it down and always
01:32waving that flag.
01:34Welcome to Atlanta.
01:35Yeah, thank you.
01:35When we talk hip-hop, we're talking 50 years of hip-hop.
01:40How did you fall in love with hip-hop, JD?
01:42And when you think about showfounders, because I've had this argument with Nas.
01:46I'm like, I'm sorry.
01:47I ain't listening to who you listen to.
01:49I listen to a whole different group coming up from the South.
01:52So who did you listen to, and who was your inspiration in hip-hop?
01:56I mean, I was a baby of everything.
01:58I kind of listened to everything, because in Atlanta, it was slower.
02:03We didn't get the opportunity to hear the music the way we're supposed to, and I was
02:06fortunate to go to Philly.
02:09I told, I was telling Walo this before, I was fortunate to go to Philly in 92 to do the
02:14Kris Krush record.
02:15And that opened me up to Steady B, you know, the Tough Crew, Cool C, the Hilltop Hustlers,
02:23a bunch of stuff that we weren't listening to in Atlanta.
02:25And it just made me start, you know, trying to find more rap than what I was actually
02:31listening to.
02:31So I actually became a sponge and started listening to everything.
02:34But I know exactly what you're talking about.
02:36All right.
02:36We got to wrap you, but I cannot let you leave without saying something about the birthday
02:41girl, Missy Elliott, headlining the show tonight.
02:44What does Missy mean to you?
02:45And just, what does she mean to hip-hop at the end of the day?
02:48Missy means inspiration, creativity.
02:51She is a fire starter.
02:53She's actually a leader of creating, just creating, just the word in itself.
02:59She doesn't go into anything without creating and making sure that you understand that she's
03:04not what you've been looking at.
03:06I love it.
03:07Happy birthday, Missy.
03:08That's right.
03:08Now, let's check out the Essence Fest daytime experience with the cast of ABC Avid Elementary.
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