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00:00Our moderator has been practicing psychology for over 15 years.
00:16He holds his PhD and his master's in clinical psychology for the University of North Carolina,
00:22UNC the House, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
00:26He received his bachelor's and, of course, he's doing it big right here in New Orleans.
00:31Of course, University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the building as well.
00:35Ladies and gentlemen, without any further ado, please welcome your moderator.
00:39Come on, y'all. Let's get ready and make some noise for your moderator, Kendall Jasper, PhD.
00:46Wearing that platinum shit when all y'all chicks started with silver and shit.
00:51I got a little bit of a pioneer in this shit. Bottom line.
00:55What you got to do?
00:59Hello, hello, hello. How's everybody doing?
01:02Everybody doing good? This afternoon, so this is the Kingmaker's Blueprint.
01:09I have, obviously, several kings, you know, here today, but these three men, I just want to say there is a before and after.
01:22Obviously, there's the before, what gets us to what we see, the club, the gallery, the barbershop, and then there's the after.
01:32So this is an attempt to talk about that before, that during and that after, with gentlemen who don't mind being very distant from the limelight, but understanding what it takes to get to that point.
01:49So without further ado, the first gentleman that I want to introduce, the gentleman's name is Cortez Bryant.
01:56He's the CEO of the Blueprint Group, responsible for Lil Wayne and Drake, currently manages Lil Nas X.
02:05So Cortez, come on out, my brother.
02:10My man.
02:15Next, we have Kanan Jasper.
02:19He is the CEO of Bridge Intelligence Group.
02:23He's been a staple in the industry for years, with programming, activation, and more affectionately, shameless plug, he's my big brother.
02:35So he's played a role in my kingship, so to speak.
02:40What up?
02:42Yeah.
02:43Now, where my music at now? I want some music.
02:46Last but not least, my other big brother, Jamil Spencer, CEO of Rightful Place.
02:54Again, another staple in the industry.
02:57Out here with those incredible shorts on today.
03:01Mid-thigh showing.
03:03Mid-thigh shorts.
03:05What's going on, fellas?
03:06What up?
03:07Good, baby. Good, good.
03:08Hey, so I want to start with a quote.
03:10My quote says,
03:12Faith is taking a step, even when you don't see the staircase.
03:19And I felt like that was appropriate for this conversation, because before we get to sort of the ingredients of making a king,
03:30let's talk a little bit about you all's faith associated with how you go about your life, your philosophy,
03:39and then getting into how that translates into you being able to see vision, talent, motivate other individuals.
03:51So I want to start with you first, Tess.
03:53Talk to me a little bit about your journey, that faith, your philosophy.
03:58I mean, for me, faith is literally what is my battery that drives me every day and would let me on the journey that I was in.
04:08You know, even though I had, Wayne and I were friends before I was his manager and before I got into the music business,
04:17I had never desired to be in the music business.
04:19You know, I went off to college, Jackson State, had a job set up at CNN.
04:23It was my senior year he called me and was like, you know, Tess, you know, I never had a manager before.
04:31I trust you, we best friends.
04:33I was, you know, I prayed on it at that point and got my first calling that I was supposed to be there to protect him.
04:39You know, so ever since then, you know, so we jumped out on A Leap of Faith because I had no experience in the music business, period.
04:45And as far as the business side, so I had to take that leap of faith and that's literally what guided me 18 years in this business.
04:55So, K?
04:58Oh, wow.
05:00So, faith, faith and spirituality, faith is within spirituality.
05:07And I think your spirituality is your guide.
05:11That's what you lean on.
05:13That's what you're going to have to draw from when times get a little questionable.
05:17You know, and personally, I think for me, and, you know, Kendall, you know this more than others, I had a fork in the road where I could have went way left.
05:31I was already left.
05:32I could have went way left or I could have came back to where the people that really loved me wanted me to go.
05:39So, even though I was unsure about it, I made the choice and I said, look, this is the way I'm going to go.
05:46I'm going to start living in a better place and I'm going to set up some pillars for me.
05:50I'm going to set up where my spirituality is going to lie, where my health is going to lie, where my economics is going to lie, and where my education was going to be.
06:00And those was my four cornerstones and say, no matter what, if I'm thorough in all of those things, then I could overcome anything.
06:11So, I took the step and said, I'm going to leave all my friends that would lead me down a bad way alone, and I'm going to come this way, the way I'm supposed to be.
06:19I'm going to step into my rightful place as I pass this right to my men.
06:23That was good. I'm going to pay you for that, actually. I need that sound bite.
06:29I meant similar, right? So, to me, faith, spirituality, the same thing, right?
06:34Like that notion of right and wrong, good or bad, and just trying to live in your purpose and be disciplined, right?
06:42Like discipline is a big part of just life and being successful in general.
06:46And then also, like, the confidence that comes with that faith, right?
06:52Because you know that you put the work in. You know that your heart is in the right place.
06:56You know you're doing it for the right reasons.
06:59You know that the reflection of what you're giving off is going to shine the right light on yourself, right?
07:05Because when you don't hit somebody with some bullshit, then the bullshit shouldn't come back at you, right?
07:10I'm always going to be positive and have the right approach to things, right?
07:14I'm not even paying attention when you're coming back to me with negativity.
07:17So, you know, my whole existence is about spirituality, faith, discipline,
07:24and just knowing that I'm investing the time and energy to make people feel a certain way
07:29because that's what I want to do for people. That's why that's my purpose in life.
07:32And you're right. Like, if we don't lean into our superpowers as human beings, then the world does without, right?
07:40And so if you were to go, if you had to go on left, left, think of all of the things.
07:46By the way, this moment right here is not happening, right?
07:49Absolutely.
07:50This exact moment. I've known you before I had kids.
07:54So I've known you for 30 years, right?
07:56So this moment right here is not happening if you make that one choice, that one selfish choice.
08:03Right.
08:04And so faith is just the belief in that as you keep on showing up and putting in the word that you had the confidence
08:10that it's going to turn into what you needed to turn into.
08:15Perfect segue, right? So how does that work, right?
08:19We're talking about faith, we're talking about spirituality, but we're also talking about relationships with other people, right?
08:25And investing in other people.
08:27So how does that translate into that relationship?
08:31How does that translate into those discussions?
08:34You know, I think that people may not necessarily understand.
08:38They kind of hear rumblings, but they may not get that there's a lot there, there.
08:43A lot of conflict, a lot of struggle, a lot of issues with confidence, a lot of tough times before you get to that stage
08:52and the lights go on and everybody's screaming that king's name.
08:57So how does that faith, that spirituality, that moral compass, how does that guide you in that relationship, in that process?
09:07I'll take that because the key word there is relationship, right?
09:13And relationships need to be mutually beneficial, right?
09:16Because if they're not mutually beneficial, then it's not a relationship.
09:19And it shouldn't be transactional.
09:21It should be like we're both showing up and we're bringing something to the table.
09:25I've had the luxury and been super blessed to have worked alongside of some of the most powerful and amazing people in culture, right?
09:33But I feel confident that I gave them just as much as they gave me.
09:38And you'll see a lot of people around these types of folks, right?
09:41Who, when they get away from that person, they're no longer that guy anymore, right?
09:46If you're not working with Wayne, then you're not Cortez no more, right?
09:50But no, but you stood on your own.
09:52You brought something to the table.
09:54And that's what it's all about.
09:55And I think that you get, you're respected a lot more.
09:58Your opinion, the way you show up, your point of view is way more acceptable when it's mutually beneficial, right?
10:06When it's not like I'm just coming, like I'm just happy to be around you, right?
10:09That guy right there don't add a lot to this.
10:11Yeah, I call those people CBJs.
10:14They cool by job, right?
10:17I'm like, when you don't work here anymore, you know, can you still move the needle, you know?
10:23Where's your investment?
10:25So, for me, I, you know, I look at the terrain.
10:28I play, I look, every situation I play it like a game of chess.
10:31I know it sounds a little cliche, but I do.
10:34I look, I look at the strategy, I look at the board and I say,
10:38okay, this piece would fit best here.
10:41This piece would fit best here.
10:43But you gotta look at the entire board and understand the science of what you're trying to accomplish, right?
10:48That way you put people in a position where they definitely can maximize their capability.
10:52The last thing you want to do is have just your idea of something and not understand the terrain
10:59and not understand how they best work.
11:02So, there's a lot of commitment before things hit the surface.
11:06I call it the boredom before the blessing, right?
11:09Because people don't understand the many nights that you stay up figuring these things out
11:15before it reaches the surface.
11:17And then when it looks great when it comes to the surface, you know, they don't know the mud, the worms, the fertilizer, all of this, the tending of it.
11:26All they see is the beautiful flower and they don't know there was a gardener making that shit happen, you know?
11:33But that's where the confidence lies.
11:35Be like, yo, I'm good with gardening.
11:36I'm good with making sure I can grow another flower and another flower and another flower.
11:41You know?
11:42Before you know it, you got a whole field.
11:45Yeah, and I think that that's probably my biggest strength.
11:49You know, having that faith for my artist as a manager, that has been my strength.
11:55You know, branding, A&R, listening to great music, all those things is great.
12:00But I think my artists look more to me to be, you know, sometimes it's hard to be a superstar.
12:07The music is hard.
12:08The music business is hard.
12:10It's hard to, that grind is real, you know?
12:13And at the end of the day, those artists are still human beings and have to endure that, especially now with social media.
12:19So at some points, you know, it gets tough and the faith I stand on allows me to be that listening ear, that protector, that body.
12:28So all the things that a lot of people don't see in the background, I think those are the things that my artist may appreciate from me
12:37more than the brand strategy I'm putting out there, the map of how we're going to roll out songs, picking singles, putting shows together.
12:45I think the time where they can lean on me knowing that I stand in faith and understanding that I'm that ear that they can come to lean on when they're down,
12:55because they're human beings, they get down.
12:57I think that's the strength and the power that I possess more than anything.
13:00So let me ask this, where does all of this start to test your humility, right?
13:07So where does the, I need some credit.
13:13I want credit.
13:15Is that ever a decision?
13:18Is that ever a statement?
13:19It is.
13:20Is there an internal struggle that exists that says, I helped to create this.
13:25I built this.
13:26I built this.
13:27And I don't think that I'm getting the recognition that I deserve.
13:30Or is it, I love what I do.
13:33I don't need credit necessarily for it.
13:36The credit for me is intrinsic and I need nothing else from anybody.
13:42You know what?
13:44I mean, that's a great question, but I think that you have to have some comfort in knowing what your purpose is, man.
13:54Like, yo, a lion don't need credit for being a lion.
13:58I don't need credit for being who I am.
14:00I know what I am.
14:01You know, and having that confidence and being able to see it even if nobody else does.
14:07And to do it your way.
14:09You know, again, I had to change certain things.
14:13I had to learn how to speak better.
14:15Because I was straight slang, whatever, whatever.
14:18You know, but a lot of people don't know I'm an electrical engineer too.
14:24I just didn't speak like one.
14:26Like the one's supposed to be.
14:28Right?
14:29So, if you know your purpose and say, this is what I'm here for, you can go out and you could line up against the best of them.
14:37And you gotta believe that shit when nobody else believe it.
14:40You know?
14:41You know?
14:42And it still happens.
14:43It's an everyday thing.
14:44And your reward should be in your self investment.
14:49I know what I did.
14:50I know the kind of father I am.
14:52I know, you know, I probably could have been a better husband.
14:56You know what I'm saying?
14:58But, you know, but, you know, you're human.
15:03That's a different show.
15:04I know.
15:05Absolutely.
15:06That's a different panel.
15:07This is not Divorce Court, brother.
15:08Not that panel.
15:09We are Kingmaker's Blueprint, brother.
15:11Kingmaker's Blueprint.
15:12Truth.
15:13Truth talk.
15:14No, listen.
15:15I think...
15:16Who out here can be a better husband?
15:18Come on.
15:19That's a different show.
15:20It's a different show.
15:21That's Maury.
15:22We doing Maury.
15:23I think the notion of credit is really interesting though.
15:26Because being okay with not getting credit is a mature thing, right?
15:30That takes some experience and seasoning, right?
15:33It was a time in my life where I was going to my kid's school
15:37and I was holding the door for somebody
15:39and they never said thank you.
15:40And it bothered me.
15:42But then I got to the place where I realized,
15:44I was like, man, I ain't really holding the door for her.
15:46I'm holding the door for me because that's who I am, right?
15:49So there's a level of like being comfortable in your skin
15:52and understanding who you are and what your purpose is, right?
15:54But that nuance is going to be just inherent to who we are as human beings, right?
16:00Because human beings are the only species that have gone from being prey to hunters, right?
16:09We were once preyed on by animals and then we figured out how to make weapons
16:14and then we started hunting animals, right?
16:16But we never get rid of that trauma and that fear of like being hunted.
16:22So that moment where you're not sure, that anxiety, that lack of confidence,
16:26that's just inherent to who you are as a human being.
16:29If you don't have that, you are a different type of human being, right?
16:33And so it's healthy, but it's also like, it's a nuanced thing.
16:38And I think that once you get the fact that the credit that you get doesn't have to be what you're seeking, right?
16:45The credit comes in other ways.
16:47And I think that comes over time.
16:48I think you realize that the investment that you've made in the culture
16:51and how you've done things, you know, I'm one of those people that don't hardly ever give myself credit.
16:56But every now and then I find myself in those moments where I'm like, yo, I fucking did that, right?
17:03Yep.
17:04I did that.
17:05And so I just think it's an ongoing journey.
17:08You know, I don't think, I think anybody that walks around always giving themselves credit
17:11probably really ain't as good at shit, right?
17:14But yes, it's a very delicate balance, I'd say.
17:19Yo, I just started laughing.
17:21When I saw you, I just started laughing.
17:22It's one of the funniest shit.
17:25What up, King?
17:27Yeah.
17:28I mean, that same sentiment I feel.
17:32The only thing I had to add to that is what I did understand later on, because I'm that same person.
17:40I'm behind the scenes.
17:41Most people in this room probably didn't know half the things I've done, you know?
17:45What I had to understand as I got older though, especially as a manager behind the scene,
17:50we're talking about building brands and building my own personal brand to do a lot of other dope things.
17:56I've had to learn this recently, literally within the last couple years, because I've been so much behind the scene and living for purpose.
18:03But I understand now, you know, what God has taken me now with helping reaching back and the things that I'm doing that, you know, I've never been a flash guy.
18:13I've never been on panels.
18:14So now I'm being more receptive to, okay, let me start talking, let me start doing these things, because this is only going to help me with this next journey in reaching back and building the next black executive and so on and so forth.
18:25So I think there's a time when, you know, outside of your careers, investing in your personal brand, because that becomes value, you know, that becomes value in whatever you're doing in whatever endeavors you're trying to do.
18:42Here's an interesting question.
18:44Do you have to be a king in order to make another king?
18:50No, you absolutely do not have to be a king. Queens make kings all the time.
18:57I'm going to say that again. Queens make kings all the time.
19:02We all got a belly button, right? We know how we got here, right? Queens make kings all the time.
19:08So you don't have to be a king to make one. That's number one.
19:13But once you become, once you become aware that a king is present, even if it's not you, there's still kingly behavior pushing somebody forward into a place that you can't go.
19:29Like, honestly, Tess can't rap like Wayne, but he could push Wayne to be the best version that he could be, you know?
19:38But his humility is there, because when he wants to start another business, like he wanted to get in a liquor business, he called me immediately.
19:46Yo, Kay, I need to know X, Y, Z. And all the information is his for free, because I know that he has a conduit that can even push it further.
20:01Go ahead. This is what you do. This is what to look out for. This is whatever, whatever. You hit that roadblock, call me when you hit that roadblock. I got you then, too.
20:09And that's how it is. And you, I mean, dude, we've known each other more of our lives than we have not known each other.
20:17I've become, I've literally became an adult. We became adults together. We became fathers together. We became husbands together.
20:24We, you know? So we share tons of things. When vulnerable moments come, yo, I just need to know X, Y, Z, my dude.
20:34So, nah, you don't have to be a king to make one, but you definitely better be aware when a king is present, and when somebody's having a royal moment, you better support that, because that's going to benefit everybody.
20:47Here's a question for all three of you. So, ingredients. We're talking about the ingredients of a king. If you could give me one thing, one ingredient you're looking for in that process of saying, I can make this person, this man, a king in this space, what would be that one ingredient?
21:14Start with Jamil.
21:18I'd say authenticity, right? If you, if, if you, if it's real, like, like, if somebody say something about your child, right, the level of anger that you get is so deep, because that's how much, because you never loved anything like you love your children, right?
21:37So, like, authenticity, like, something that's fucking real, that you're willing to fuck, that you would do for free, that you're willing to die for, like, I just think that if it's who you are, then it will manifest itself in all facets of how you show up.
21:52And I, and I, and I, and I notice that about people. Like, I, I connect with people without knowing who they are, where they came from, anything. I, like, very quickly, like, because I have a, a, a spiritual energy about myself that I'm putting out, and if your shit is vibrating back at me, then I know that we, that we supposed to, we would, like, God intended for us to intersect in, in this exact moment, right?
22:13So, I'd say my, my, my, um, one of my, my ingredients is, would be authenticity. Okay. Canaan?
22:21For, for, for me, uh, my, go ahead, Tash.
22:25Well, um, differentiation, how you gonna separate yourself from the pack, and, uh, what sets you apart? Um, for me, as a, in music, it's a lot of people, um, that could put words together, that could rap words, you know,
22:43um, but what's gonna separate you from everybody else that's trying to do the same thing that you're doing? And it doesn't necessarily have to be lyrics. It doesn't have to be, um, um, um, you know, it could be how you look. It could be, you know, a lane that you own.
22:59Um, and I'll give you an example. When I got Drake, you know, when I first saw Drake, um, he was singing and rapping. That's the first thing that attracted me to him. Before I even saw his face, before we flew him in, you know, his clarity in his music was dope, you know, but I was like, damn, nobody's really singing and rapping in this way. I had never heard that before.
23:20So that was enough to know I could build off of that. When Nicki came, you know, we was going to get Nicki, you know, there was no other female MCs like Eve and, and, and, uh, Kim and Latifah that was doing television. Foxy had lost her voice, you know, so Nicki had a lane of her own that literally was there to be captured, you know?
23:41So, so that's what I look at. You know what I'm saying? I look at those type of things, even currently with Lil Nas X, you know, we never had no gay rapper that on the level that, that, um, he's at right now, you know?
23:51So that's what I look at. That's the first ingredient, the main part. How are you going to differentiate yourself, differentiate yourself from the back?
23:59We'll, we'll end with you, Kay.
24:01Uh, for me, it's, I believe the word is education, right? Rooting out of the Latin word educe.
24:08That means to bring out of one, what one doesn't know. So you have to have some investment and you have to be, you know, you have to be observational about the terrain.
24:20So education and then instruction is aligned with that.
24:28Well, you can receive a box and it comes with a set of instructions. You don't have to follow it.
24:34You can put the shit together based on a picture, but when that shit falls apart, it's because you didn't follow the instruction.
24:44So instruction is a suggestion.
24:46So if, as you speak about relationship and it's a, it's a reciprocal thing, if I say, based on my experience and my study, my education on this topic,
24:57I'm giving you these sets of instruction. It's a suggestion. If you are able to follow them or add to them, then we can be successful, right?
25:09And let's, let, and I'm going to end on this. Let's understand what success means. Success does not mean positive.
25:17It just means whatever happens most in succession. So you can be a successful fucker.
25:25So your, your practice, your practice has to be in the investment, in the education and in your execution.
25:34It's just a suggestion, homie. I'm just trying to tell you, I've been there and the bridge is out there.
25:39So I don't want us to go that route. If you can't follow it, then we can't grow. Period.
25:43Hey, great, great answer. Great conversation. Fellas, I want to thank y'all. Give it up for them.
25:53Amazing brothers. Easy. Okay. And I'm up here with my bro. Absolutely. Yeah.
26:01Houston, Atlanta, Vegas. So when did you fall in love with him?
26:03I am on a 24 hour champagne diet. Spilling while I'm sipping. I encourage you to try it.
26:13I'm probably just saying that. Cause I don't have to buy it. The club owner supply it.
26:19Boy, I'm on that fly. I am with everybody in my past.
26:23Don't want me to be. Guess what? I made it.
26:25I'm the mother, man. I just want you to see.
26:27Come on.
26:27Go on.
26:28Go.
26:33Go.
26:35Go.
26:37Go.
26:37Go.
26:38Go.
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