DJ Sir Daniel: Greetings and welcome back to another episode
Speaker:of Queue Points podcast.
Speaker:I'm DJ Sir Daniel
Jay Ray:and my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my government
Jay Ray:as Johnnie Ray Kornegay III.
Jay Ray:And, Sir Daniel, we are about to have a spooky conversation.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: That's right.
Jay Ray:You know, it's that time of year and the phantoms and ghouls are hiding out and
Jay Ray:the ghost writers are hanging out as well.
Jay Ray:That's right.
Jay Ray:Ghost writing.
Jay Ray:Ghost writing is a recurring topic in hip hop circles, Jay Ray.
Jay Ray:And I have a theory.
Jay Ray:As to why you want to hear it.
Jay Ray:yes.
Jay Ray:Let's hear your theory first.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: All right.
Jay Ray:So check it.
Jay Ray:The early days of hip hop were not built on commercial success, right?
Jay Ray:In other words, album sales.
Jay Ray:Yes.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: MCs got the notion to pick up the mic and start battling
Jay Ray:each other, it was about showmanship.
Jay Ray:It was about crowd control.
Jay Ray:Mm hmm.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Um, and building your reputation around the way, around the hood
Jay Ray:as like the best party, rocking MC ever.
Jay Ray:And at that time, the only way you could garner that type of respect
Jay Ray:was to write your own rhymes.
Jay Ray:And so the forefathers and foremothers were not educated on the
Jay Ray:ways of the business of music and that songs often have co creators
Jay Ray:that was not their, their goal.
Jay Ray:They didn't know nothing about that.
Jay Ray:So it was just all about who could rock the party the best and
Jay Ray:come up with their own rhymes.
Jay Ray:And that's where, that's what fuels this idea of if you're not writing
Jay Ray:your own rhymes, you're not a real MC.
Jay Ray:You know, you're absolutely right.
Jay Ray:Um, and for, for, for the longest time, hip hop was kind
Jay Ray:of considered a man's game too.
Jay Ray:And, you know, men, it's all about competition, right?
Jay Ray:of that idea of writing your own rhymes is also who's the best MC.
Jay Ray:It becomes like a whole thing.
Jay Ray:so you're absolutely correct.
Jay Ray:Um, but what's really interesting about.
Jay Ray:idea is from the inception of hip hop as a commercial entity.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Yep.
Jay Ray:There have always been always y'all other writers and creators on songs.
Jay Ray:So the most famous example, and this is at the very beginning,
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Yep.
Jay Ray:I'm going to read the lyric quote, check it out on the and.
Jay Ray:The O V A and the rest is F L Y Kaz.
Jay Ray:it's a Grandmaster Kaz line.
Jay Ray:Famously, as the story goes, there's a missing notebook somewhere.
Jay Ray:of a sudden this Kaz line ended up in Rapper's Delight.
Jay Ray:This is the first official hip hop commercial hit, right?
Jay Ray:So at the very beginning, now Kaz was an unwilling ghost writer, right?
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Right.
Jay Ray:Be clear.
Jay Ray:no check off of, off of writing this rhyme, right?
Jay Ray:He only knew that this happened because the song came out.
Jay Ray:so at the very beginning, there was always kind of this idea of.
Jay Ray:No, you just need to have a clever rhyme and whoever is going to make the best one
Jay Ray:of that, you get to have that joint on the song and somebody else can say it.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: That's right.
Jay Ray:And you know, you made a great point.
Jay Ray:You brought up the idea of manhood and being able to flex your manhood,
Jay Ray:uh, on the mic and that, you know, creates another dichotomy within hip
Jay Ray:hop because of course men weren't the only ones rapping, you know, women
Jay Ray:came along and we're doing their thing.
Jay Ray:Um, a lot of times.
Jay Ray:A lot more vicious on the mic.
Jay Ray:And of course, you know, we all know the, the mythology and the folklore of Roxanne
Jay Ray:Shantae being this young dynamo, 12, 13 years old, taking out the neighborhood.
Jay Ray:Emcees one by one battling one by one, and she garnered that reputation so soon.
Jay Ray:She became
Jay Ray:Real talk before, as we get into that too, I think it's also important
Jay Ray:to note in what you just said, battle rapping and writing a song are different
Jay Ray:things and rappers talk about that.
Jay Ray:So Shantae is an absolute beast.
Jay Ray:Let's be really clear.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: be clear.
Jay Ray:But battle rap and writing a song are two different kinds of skillsets.
Jay Ray:So that's when
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: That's correct.
Jay Ray:That's correct.
Jay Ray:And she's been, she's gone on the record as saying that being in the
Jay Ray:studio was not her favorite thing.
Jay Ray:She was dead.
Jay Ray:She definitely came from the era of being live on stage, being live in front
Jay Ray:of people and improvising on the spot.
Jay Ray:Her and Biz Markie, you know, that song, um, you crew was completely
Jay Ray:improvised, was completely improvised.
Jay Ray:Um, the, uh, her, a lot of her early singles were completely
Jay Ray:improvised, like queen of rocks.
Jay Ray:And even her answer to the rock to Roxanne, Roxanne was improvised.
Jay Ray:They, and it was later transcribed and she even had to rerecord her verses
Jay Ray:because they were off the top of her head.
Jay Ray:So with that in mind, as she's growing in this.
Jay Ray:Industry, the industry now of, um, music business of the recording industry.
Jay Ray:And she's coming upon, um, releasing her second album.
Jay Ray:You know, things have changed.
Jay Ray:The landscape has changed.
Jay Ray:We're in the early nineties.
Jay Ray:And, um, as the story goes, you know, there was a celebration
Jay Ray:for women in hip hop called, um, sisters in the name of rap.
Jay Ray:Which was the very first pay per view rap, um, it wasn't the first,
Jay Ray:it was Rap Mania came first and then Sisters in the Name of Rap.
Jay Ray:It's supposed to be all women in rap, um, pay per view event.
Jay Ray:I was so excited, my mother was not giving up that 9.
Jay Ray:99 or whatever it was to pay to see.
Jay Ray:for view.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Hey preview, baby.
Jay Ray:So she was not willing to do that.
Jay Ray:So I was watching it and listening to it on scrambled.
Jay Ray:I can, I can hear it, but I couldn't see it cause it was scrambled.
Jay Ray:You y'all, y'all come on.
Jay Ray:Y'all
Jay Ray:feel me.
Jay Ray:You know, if you old enough, you remember how that was.
Jay Ray:So anyway, as the, the, the legend goes, um, shiny was seeing how all of
Jay Ray:these women were behaving towards her.
Jay Ray:We're acting like they were better than, and she was like, Hmm.
Jay Ray:You know, I, I gave birth to all of the, these MCs, you know, I mothered these,
Jay Ray:these girls, you know, to, to, to, to, to coin a phrase, I mothered all of y'all.
Jay Ray:And so that sparked this moment between her Chante versus everybody.
Jay Ray:And at that time she was working.
Jay Ray:Directly with, uh, uh, another, um, legend by the name of granddaddy, IU,
Jay Ray:who was also her label mate, uh, a juice crew member, and they've gotten that
Jay Ray:studio and produced probably one of the most scathing disc records ever.
Jay Ray:And we've talked about it on this show.
Jay Ray:Called big mama and granddaddy.
Jay Ray:I, you is credited with writing this most vicious, this record.
Jay Ray:He wrote it like, I'm pretty certain they, they, you know, ideas were
Jay Ray:bouncing off the walls and, you know, he was feeding off of her energy and,
Jay Ray:you know, the, the, the recalling the stories being backstage, like, This
Jay Ray:one wants a better dressing room.
Jay Ray:I gave birth to all of them MCs and that becomes a line in the record.
Jay Ray:But granddaddy, I, you, as a man has written this verse, this,
Jay Ray:this record for this woman.
Jay Ray:Yes.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: you see a lot of that happening in hip hop where men are penning
Jay Ray:rhymes for women, Herbie most famously has written a lot of these records for
Jay Ray:salt and pepper and so on and so on.
Jay Ray:And so it's just, I think it's just amazing that in this art called hip
Jay Ray:hop, uh, where, you know, male bravado is, is King and is, is put, um, center
Jay Ray:stage all the time that when women come on the mic, a lot of times, They're
Jay Ray:not, when it comes to the put presenting a record, they're not even allowed to
Jay Ray:put up, put on, write their own verses.
Jay Ray:Like there's a dude in the camp that says, you know what?
Jay Ray:Let me write this for you.
Jay Ray:This sounds better, even though I'm pretty certain they had their own
Jay Ray:ideas and during the session, a lot of these records got written by most
Jay Ray:of the dudes, probably because they.
Jay Ray:They Bogart their way into getting that credit and saying, nah,
Jay Ray:this sounds better say this way.
Jay Ray:Going back to that idea of, you know, the craft of a song, is different,
Jay Ray:but I do think some of it is, you know, that natural male desire of wanting to
Jay Ray:have control, especially then, saying, in hip hop, but, um, the idea of.
Jay Ray:The ghost writer, um, is one that I do remember Sir Daniel,
Jay Ray:and I know you remember this as well being like a, a, a, no, no,
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: A no, no.
Jay Ray:Wanted to be accused of somebody else writing your rhymes,
Jay Ray:even though in a lot of cases we could tell by certain people's flows
Jay Ray:that like, sounds like so and so Oh, they're in the same crew together.
Jay Ray:Oh, that rhyme was probably written by whoever, whoever.
Jay Ray:And it's funny how we've evolved.
Jay Ray:I think we've evolved as listeners.
Jay Ray:Um, but yeah, when I was young, like, it was like, no, like you, you
Jay Ray:have to write your own rhyme, right?
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: was a no, no.
Jay Ray:And so many people said it so often that they forgot that we could read the credits
Jay Ray:and even the ones that were pro professed that they wrote their own rhymes.
Jay Ray:A lot of other co writers would show up in the, in the line of notes for their rap.
Jay Ray:So it was like, Okay, sure.
Jay Ray:You know, you wrote a lot of your stuff, but it's okay.
Jay Ray:You have a collaborator.
Jay Ray:And you know what?
Jay Ray:Um, this, this topic comes up so much.
Jay Ray:Remy Ma addressed this topic on ghost of ghost writing on an episode of
Jay Ray:the math Hoffa show back in 2022.
Jay Ray:And, and in that moment, she kind of, she deaded it.
Jay Ray:Now, Remy Ma, she was, she's always been one to say, I write my own rhymes.
Jay Ray:Can't nobody say it for me better than me.
Jay Ray:And she still believes that, but she says, but she says plainly in this
Jay Ray:interview, that it's really not that important in the grand scheme of things.
Jay Ray:She said, it's not important.
Jay Ray:She used the, um, the example of Trina,
Jay Ray:Mm hmm.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: she said, not Trina.
Jay Ray:Trina is may not be known for being lyrical, but Trina is Trina in the, in hip
Jay Ray:hop, Trina is Trina in the music industry.
Jay Ray:She's a, she's a goldmine.
Jay Ray:She is respected.
Jay Ray:She's an, she's a legend in the game because she is Trina.
Jay Ray:So with that being said, Trina.
Jay Ray:In the grand scheme of things, writing your own rhymes is not that important.
Jay Ray:It's not that important.
Jay Ray:It's, you know, we're, we're beating a dead horse here by keep, by still
Jay Ray:continuing to say, and to profess that, you know, I don't have ghost
Jay Ray:writers as is, as if it's a badge of honor in this day and age.
Jay Ray:Um, we wanted to take some time and talk about three, um.
Jay Ray:Three confirmed ghost writers, but
Jay Ray:that they've written are we really don't know like a lot of these a couple of them.
Jay Ray:I think we're like pretty sure of but we wanted to just take some time and
Jay Ray:talk about three folks who you may or may not know and the songs they
Jay Ray:may or may not have ghost written
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Hmm.
Jay Ray:the background.
Jay Ray:Whoo.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: They are in the background.
Jay Ray:Um, so if I say the name, Anthony Peaks, it probably won't ring a bell.
Jay Ray:Right?
Jay Ray:But you definitely know who Apache is.
Jay Ray:Oh, I need a gangster with my gear.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Uh, the, a New Jersey native Apache was one of the
Jay Ray:foundation members of the hip hop collective known as the flavor unit.
Jay Ray:Yes.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: unit is best known for legends, including Mark 45 King,
Jay Ray:like him Shabazz naughty by nature.
Jay Ray:And of course the princess of the posse queen Latifah.
Jay Ray:So as part of the crew, Apache honed his skills as an MC and eventually landed his
Jay Ray:own record deal with Tommy boy records.
Jay Ray:And so he gifted us with.
Jay Ray:With his classic and controversial hit gangsta bitch,
Jay Ray:which, um, J Ray was singing
Jay Ray:hmm.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: probably unaware of listener is that not only was Apache's
Jay Ray:queen Latifah's, um, bodyguard and roadie on a tour roadie, was
Jay Ray:also a writer of two, not one, but two of her most prolific songs.
Jay Ray:Just another day.
Jay Ray:And ladies first, both songs juxtaposed to his hit gangsta
Jay Ray:bitch are day and night.
Jay Ray:They Ray in tone and, uh, and subject matter.
Jay Ray:And it's like, it takes major talent to embody both masculine and feminine
Jay Ray:energy and rap lyrics, and to make people feel inspired and motivated because.
Jay Ray:Just Another Day is a, is a wonderful narrative about a
Jay Ray:day in the life in the hood.
Jay Ray:And, but the tone is very soft, is very melodic, and Queen Latifah brings most
Jay Ray:of that, most her energy into that song.
Jay Ray:But I would have, Never guess that, you know, Apache was the one behind that
Jay Ray:because the tones are so different, but that's what makes you, that's what makes
Jay Ray:somebody a dope writer and ladies first.
Jay Ray:I mean, come on, come on.
Jay Ray:Would you ever think in a million years that a man wrote that?
Jay Ray:You collaborated in the writing of that
Jay Ray:absolutely.
Jay Ray:I would not have, um, but of course, you know, of course, knowing hip
Jay Ray:hop, not at all surprising, but yeah.
Jay Ray:Um, Apache is absolutely a legend and another legend.
Jay Ray:Um, so the name is Donnie Shaquan Lewis.
Jay Ray:Shaquan,
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: That's
Jay Ray:know him as Mad Skillz, who now goes by Skillz,
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: right,
Jay Ray:primarily, but born in Detroit, um, raised in
Jay Ray:Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Jay Ray:This is important raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, but spent his high
Jay Ray:school years in Richmond, Virginia.
Jay Ray:So Skillz this interesting mix of experiences, but was really reared by
Jay Ray:the school of run DMC as like a rapper.
Jay Ray:So interesting thing is I think Skillz might have the quintessential
Jay Ray:nine mid to late nineties flow.
Jay Ray:In hip hop.
Jay Ray:Like, I feel like when you go back and you listen to Skillz, you're like, Oh, this
Jay Ray:is the perfect version of what hip hop in the 1990s sounded like on the East coast.
Jay Ray:Right.
Jay Ray:a perfect encapsulation of cadence and flow, et cetera.
Jay Ray:I say that to say, because.
Jay Ray:It's ubiquitous.
Jay Ray:So when you think about the songs that Skillz is alleged to have ghost written,
Jay Ray:you're like, Oh, I can't hear that.
Jay Ray:I can't hear that.
Jay Ray:So Skillz, um, before we get into the two songs, um, that I want to
Jay Ray:mention, um, Skillz is super famous.
Jay Ray:Um, for a couple of things, the year in wrap up,
Jay Ray:was doing for like many years, but also in 2000, On raucous sidebar, we need to
Jay Ray:do a raucous, I think show at some point.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: That was moment for sure.
Jay Ray:a moment in 2000 on raucous.
Jay Ray:He released a song called ghost writer.
Jay Ray:Now he doesn't name any MCs in the actual song, right?
Jay Ray:But there is an uncensored version where he was live does name names.
Jay Ray:So here's the names that Skillz mentions that he's written for.
Jay Ray:Diddy.
Jay Ray:Of course, he says Puff Daddy, then Foxy Brown, Mace, Will
Jay Ray:Smith, and Jermaine Dupri.
Jay Ray:Now, he doesn't say any of this in the song.
Jay Ray:You can find it in a live version where he mentions this.
Jay Ray:And this is all alleged.
Jay Ray:This is a rapper.
Jay Ray:It's bravado.
Jay Ray:We don't know if any of this is true, but there are two songs.
Jay Ray:There are two people in this list that folks are pretty
Jay Ray:sure, like, no, no, no, no.
Jay Ray:I definitely wrote those.
Jay Ray:I need a girl part one.
Jay Ray:Diddy from his first record and then, uh, lost and found, which was
Jay Ray:the title track from Will Smith's.
Jay Ray:I think this is like a 2005 album.
Jay Ray:Um, and if you listen to both of those records, you can actually
Jay Ray:hear Skillz as flow in them.
Jay Ray:What's dope about Skillz is he is highly respected.
Jay Ray:He's an industry veteran.
Jay Ray:There's a new picture of him and Q tip together at the rock and
Jay Ray:roll hall of fame, uh, induction ceremony for tribe called quest.
Jay Ray:Um, so there's tons and tons of interviews of him.
Jay Ray:So I suggest folks go and check it out because this is a man who has
Jay Ray:literally been able to have a career in hip hop being behind the scenes
Jay Ray:for most of it, being a ghost writer.
Jay Ray:Sidebar.
Jay Ray:He spent some time on the road with Missy Elliot and his skill with Missy was, he
Jay Ray:was like, yo, Missy was a studio rat.
Jay Ray:She didn't enjoy doing shows.
Jay Ray:So she would take me out there because I could remember lyrics.
Jay Ray:It's like, Missy couldn't remember the lyrics.
Jay Ray:So Missy would do part of the song and then she would cue it to Skillz to like
Jay Ray:finish the rap, because he was like, he was like off the top of the dome,
Jay Ray:he could remember stuff really easy.
Jay Ray:So.
Jay Ray:toured with Missy, um, uh, when she was out doing shows in the
Jay Ray:like late nineties and early two thousands for like a long time.
Jay Ray:So for those of you that saw Missy back then, you probably saw with her.
Jay Ray:Mm hmm.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: doing it.
Jay Ray:Um, most recently I saw him with LaKali 47 a couple of years ago on
Jay Ray:her, um, tour and doing the same thing.
Jay Ray:So you're absolutely right.
Jay Ray:Um, there's so much overlap within the industry.
Jay Ray:So Skillz wrote for Diddy
Jay Ray:Mm
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: and there's another well known rapper
Jay Ray:who's written a lot for Diddy.
Jay Ray:he?
Jay Ray:Yes.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: And this gentleman, and it's so funny, like he, I'm talking
Jay Ray:about Jason Terrence Phillips, but you all know him better as Jada, Jada kiss.
Jay Ray:You know, um, Jada kiss is like, and arguably one of the nicest.
Jay Ray:when you hear those arguments of top five dead or alive, Jadakiss
Jay Ray:is always in that argument because, I mean, the man is dead nice.
Jay Ray:Like that, that Lox versus, um, Dipset
Jay Ray:Mm
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: just I mean, that if that didn't solidify his place on the
Jay Ray:Mount Rushmore of MCs, I don't know what else will because he completely
Jay Ray:obliterated that moment with, um, cadence, with breath control, with
Jay Ray:The punch lines was immaculate.
Jay Ray:It's just, you know, the freestyle game is wild, but Jada
Jay Ray:is not just a freestyle rapper.
Jay Ray:Jadakiss is nice with that pen
Jay Ray:Jay Ray, you know, a lot of the songs that we danced to in the mid nineties,
Jay Ray:a lot of bad boy hits specifically were penned by your boy Jadakiss,
Jay Ray:Yes.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Senorita,
Jay Ray:Yep.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: um, Diddy's verse on victory.
Jay Ray:Um, He's alleged to have co written both biggie and mason's verse on more money
Jay Ray:more problems Like he's done it all he's done quite a bit for that label and so
Jay Ray:that makes me understand why like they were Really vehement about getting their
Jay Ray:money over there because it's like I built this house on the lyrics I wrote.
Jay Ray:Absolutely.
Jay Ray:Um, I don't want to also underscore to that.
Jay Ray:This is not the case for Jadakiss, but for some MCs, you know, the
Jay Ray:industry is different, right?
Jay Ray:You know what I'm saying?
Jay Ray:And it gravitates to certain personalities in a different way.
Jay Ray:And I think it's dope when you have the combination of the two where a
Jay Ray:person is like, no, no, no, no, no.
Jay Ray:I can also write and I can be out front.
Jay Ray:And I want to be out front.
Jay Ray:The thing about Skillz is he's always been really clear.
Jay Ray:He's like, I'm not real.
Jay Ray:He was not real dead set about being the artist at the center
Jay Ray:of the stage on the mic.
Jay Ray:He could do that, but that wasn't like the main thing.
Jay Ray:Jadakiss on the other hand is interested in that and was good at doing it.
Jay Ray:So I also understand that concept as well of, for many folks who write, this
Jay Ray:is the way that they earn a living.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Yes Right
Jay Ray:be able to feel like they could sell it.
Jay Ray:Right.
Jay Ray:But if you're a talented MC and you can write this idea of ghost,
Jay Ray:this idea of writing for other people might be a way to make money.
Jay Ray:Here's the problem though.
Jay Ray:The problem though, is that short term money, right?
Jay Ray:Unless your name is on the record and you are actually getting
Jay Ray:publishing from that song.
Jay Ray:And in many cases, these ghost writers names are nowhere to be found on a record.
Jay Ray:You don't know that they ghost wrote it.
Jay Ray:So if that's true, You may not be getting paid on the back end, right?
Jay Ray:So it's a wonderful thing to keep folks working for some folks that need to be.
Jay Ray:But I also question, um, you know, folks, names not being on the record.
Jay Ray:And we should also note real quick, as we, we, we wrap that this is not exclusive.
Jay Ray:To hip hop that famous example we share from uh, uh, Andrea martin who
Jay Ray:basically ghost wrote show me love right
Jay Ray:The they was like yo We'll give you what three hundred dollars or something
Jay Ray:crazy to be like yo If you could come up with a melody like she's just doing
Jay Ray:the demo If you could come up with a melody and if you could come up with a
Jay Ray:verse We're gonna give you some extra money right her name ain't on that song
Jay Ray:But she basically ghost wrote that song
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: and sang the reference track and which is,
Jay Ray:and I think that's the, um, I guess the, the, the reckoning that's
Jay Ray:happening now is that demo tracks and reference tracks are leaking.
Jay Ray:So it's like people are hearing, oh, That's such and such.
Jay Ray:Oh, so they did write that.
Jay Ray:They actually sang the reference track for your favorite hit record.
Jay Ray:And, um, I want people, I want folks to go back and listen to our episode with
Jay Ray:Brian Patrick Davis, when he describes what it's like being in the studio
Jay Ray:and how you can safeguard yourself in these instances of collaboration.
Jay Ray:And making sure that you do get credit.
Jay Ray:Now, some, a lot of these people didn't get credit because of the person they
Jay Ray:were working with, um, just omitted their names because they could, because
Jay Ray:they, they were scrupulous unscrupulous and had that kind of power, but then
Jay Ray:there are these other instances where you're collaborating, there needs to
Jay Ray:be split sheets created in that moment.
Jay Ray:And all of that, you can find out in that episode with Brian Patrick
Jay Ray:Davis on our wonderfully large.
Jay Ray:Repertoire of shows here at Queue Points podcast, but real quick,
Jay Ray:as we wrap up, Jay Ray, um,
Jay Ray:can hip hop music release the stigma of ghostwriting and
Jay Ray:fully embrace collaboration?
Jay Ray:I think so.
Jay Ray:I think we are in an interesting moment where, um, folks have.
Jay Ray:More of an appreciation for the importance of collaboration.
Jay Ray:So I do think it can, I think what it's going to come down to is can, em, MCs will
Jay Ray:have to find a new, another dig right now.
Jay Ray:It can still be a dig.
Jay Ray:If I might run, if I write my rhymes and you don't write your
Jay Ray:rhymes, that can be a dig, right?
Jay Ray:You know what I'm saying?
Jay Ray:But that person who doesn't write their rhymes also needs to
Jay Ray:be able to, to respond to that.
Jay Ray:I think at the end of the day, like Remy was talking about,
Jay Ray:I don't think it matters
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah,
Jay Ray:it hasn't stopped making hits since the beginning.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: that's right.
Jay Ray:had it.
Jay Ray:I think it's actually more important that we acknowledge ghostwriters so
Jay Ray:that they're not ghostwriting at all.
Jay Ray:need these people's names on the credits so that they're them.
Jay Ray:Today and their families are reaping the benefits of the hard work that they did.
Jay Ray:And if we keep this idea of ghost writers alive, we keep this music industry, uh,
Jay Ray:in the same perpetual cycle that it's in where people are dying penniless and
Jay Ray:they don't need to, because guess what?
Jay Ray:You wrote a hit song.
Jay Ray:You need to have your name on that song.
Jay Ray:So I feel like that's the fight.
Jay Ray:Like the fight is no, no ghost writers.
Jay Ray:Everybody gets credit.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Come to find out.
Jay Ray:Everybody ate.
Jay Ray:I don't think there's anything left to be said.
Jay Ray:Like Jay Ray, you, you really stuck a pin in that.
Jay Ray:Um, thank you all for checking out this episode of Queue Points podcast.
Jay Ray:Jay Ray, just let the folks know how these ghost writers over here
Jay Ray:can, can survive and keep Putting out these, um, this wonderful
Jay Ray:project called Queue Points Podcast.
Jay Ray:Yo, y'all.
Jay Ray:So if you can see our faces, if you can hear our voices, thank you so much.
Jay Ray:We appreciate you.
Jay Ray:Hit the subscribe button wherever you are.
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Jay Ray:know when Queue Points drops.
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Jay Ray:We really appreciate it.
Jay Ray:You can buy us a coffee.
Jay Ray:We would really, really dig that.
Jay Ray:You can get additional content.
Jay Ray:On our Patreon.
Jay Ray:Visit our website at Queue Points.
Jay Ray:com where you can sign up for our newsletter and read our blog.
Jay Ray:Thank you so much.
Jay Ray:We really appreciate y'all.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Oh, like I say, at the end of every show in
Jay Ray:this life, you have a choice.
Jay Ray:You can either pick up the needle or you can let the record play.
Jay Ray:I'm DJ Sir Daniel,
Jay Ray:My name is Jay Ray y'all.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: and this has been Queue Points Podcast, dropping
Jay Ray:the needle on black music history.
Jay Ray:We'll see you on the next go round.
Jay Ray:Peace.
Jay Ray:Peace y'all.