Coffee and Cabernet
Ever had some wine snob try to unsolicitedly explain the difference between champagne and prosecco to you? Or how about some coffee aficionado try to outclass you with their drink order? If you're tired of these know it all's and ready to see what the big fuzz about coffee culture & wine etiquette is all about, then this is the channel for you!
Welcome to Coffee and Cabernet where we take you on a journey to learn all things related to to wine and coffee, all while simplifying the sometimes overly pretentious concepts. If you're ready to explore your palate , smash the subscribe button and let us introduce you to the best way to start and end your day.
Coffee and Cabernet
The Art of Sound and Wine Sip with Abebe Lewis
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This is the episode where music and wine intertwine! We’re hanging out with Abebe Lewis, the mastermind behind Miami's Circle House Studios, as we uncover how to score luxury taste without blowing the budget. We’ll start by pouring a glass of 19 Crimes Cali Rosé and exploring the vibrant landscape of Circle House Studios, ONE OF THE BIGGEST recording studios in the country & the music mecca of Miami.
Our conversation takes an intriguing turn as we trace the evolution of music production, from the warmth of analog to the crisp clarity of digital soundscapes. Through a lot of laughs, we illuminate the pivotal roles of sound engineers, the sometimes unsung heroes who shape the beats we love. Miami’s rich cultural mix sets the stage as we look back on game-changing music moments and uncover the industry's hidden connections.
To wrap things up, we’re raising a glass to the art of networking, celebrating legendary collabs, and the marketing genius behind rap battles and their cultural ripples. Through it all, we’ll explore the connection between music and wine, showing how ambiance and experience shape every sip and every beat. Join us on this journey through taste and sound, where every moment and every vibe tells a story worth savoring. Cheers!
Wine Tasting and Studio Ambiance
Speaker 1I'm going to teach you how to find and pick out the wines that are maybe $100 taste-wise , yeah , but price-wise it's way undervalued and people might get that misconstrued . Mmm , I love that sound .
Speaker 1I'll be fine just drinking my wine , mmm , and if you motherfuckers don't drink wine , you start tonight it's time for coffee and cabernet the best way to start and end your day all right , everybody , welcome to another episode of coffee and cabernet the best way to start and end your day . My guest for today hold on , I've got to like build up the anticipation . This is a guy that you'll see casually rubbing elbows with some of the biggest stars in the music industry , with athletes . He's the man behind the beats and the head of the music mecca of miami circle house studios . Give it up for abibi lewis , everybody abibi abibi , I'm here , man .
Speaker 3I'm here , man . Thank you , danny , once again for having me on your show . It's very innovative . Coffee and cabernet it's a good concept . I never heard about the two mixing like that man right , right , right , but but am I wrong , though ?
Speaker 1like isn't it some of the best days they start , yeah , with coffee yeah and they end with some good wine , that's that's so true , man so that's what we're here to do . Today's episode is going to be centric around our wines . I I got some good selections for you definitely .
Speaker 3I'm ready , I hope'm ready .
Speaker 1I hope you're excited . I hope you're excited . All right , let's roll out our first wine . We're starting off with a 19 Crimes Cali Rosé , rosé , rosé , to which I got to tell you I know that you're a fan of Riesling yes , they say that the Rosé is the red equivalent of the Riesling , so I'm treating you nice here . Not only that , you got smooth dog on the whole on the front of the yeah , I've been seeing that .
Speaker 1I've been seeing that , yeah from a marketing perspective like that , that already to me is insane . With this wine you're looking at off it's fruity flavors raspberry , strawberry , cherry . It's nice , it's refreshing . It's my end , my end . It's hot , it's hot . So let's refreshing . It's Miami , miami , it's hot , it's hot , so let's toast Toast toast .
Speaker 3My brother Toast toast . See Danny teaching me the wine etiquette . Show me the glass the wine , all right . So first thing you want to do is hold it by the stem , hold it by the stem , hold it by the stem .
Speaker 1Okay , give it like a little swirl , a little swirl , a little swirl .
Speaker 3A little swirl cheers , my brother cheers . Yes , very nice , very nice went down . Very well , very well , crisp , crisp circle house studios .
Speaker 1Yes , you dub it the music mecca of miami . Yes , you hear it podcast and rap lyrics , all that stuff . Where do you think it ranks ? And I know you would know this better than I would like where does it rank in terms of , like , some of the bigger studios in the country ? Because I gotta say it's like , arguably like probably one of the biggest on the east coast ? Yeah , where would you say it ranks ?
Speaker 3you know . You know I'm a little biased . Yeah , I'm gonna say I'm gonna say top five .
Speaker 3You know I'm saying'm saying Because , like , every studio has like a different ambiance to it , right , it's like every wine or every coffee or every restaurant , you know . So you know when you come there it's like you come in there for a certain vibe , you come in there for a certain thing . Then you go to other studios . It's probably on the same level or as good , but just it creates a different mold , it creates a different mood , just like different wines . I'm sure if I just sit down and , like you know , sip this all day , the next day go red and I'll be like , oh , the different wines puts me in a different mood I like that you mentioned ambiance , because I think it says a lot to to an experience .
Speaker 1Yes , and . And I think when we're talking about wine tasting it's equal parts the product and the and . And I think when we're talking around about wine tasting it's equal parts the product and the experience . And I gotta imagine the same thing happens with music you might ? I don't know . I mean , I've been there before . You took us on a tour once .
Speaker 1Maybe there's not a whole edm going around there yeah but I I do feel like it's like some soulful , like real , like lyrical stuff . I mean , obviously , like the proof is in the freaking pudding right , we'll talk about that in a second . Uh , for those of us that don't know , like tell us a little bit about how , how that came about . How'd you become the person that runs one of the biggest music studios in the country ?
Speaker 3it just . It just happened , man , because before that studio my dad had another studio that was , uh , located in um , like originally 2 Live Crew came and a dancer artist called Super Cat and all that other stuff . Because my dad always was into saying , man , I'm working on so many projects at one time , if I go book some time it's going to kill me . So let's have our own studio so we can take our time and work on a lot of these projects . You know I'm saying and take our time with a lot of these projects , even the way they're recorded , because the first studio he had he was on reel to reel .
Sound Engineering & Wine Tasting
Speaker 3You know I'm saying I was 24 track analog tape . You know I'm saying quarter inch tape . Now you're into , like the pro tools and you're into all these other digital type of things .
Speaker 3So seeing the transition from that to this is really really big . It's a definitely a different sound . Back then it was like a fatter , thicker sound . Now it's like it's a looser . You know I'm saying airy type , you still got the body . But , man , if you hear some of those old tapes , like you know you listen to a bad boy . So you listen to like Bob Marley , you hear , you know what I'm saying . Like it's like taking up your entire car . The music was a little different sounding .
Speaker 1Because you have like that experience and I figured like not a lot of people do , I would compare some of the stuff you're talking about , like the transitions in technology , to what I saw in radio studios yeah even though I kind of didn't get to see like the stuff that I would hear about , like the tape and all that stuff would you say that it's kind of like you would compare it to how we hear music through vinyl .
Speaker 3Yes , yes definitely with that , because right there , when you go vinyl , you got the pink noise . So right there , that adds a whole different component to the sound of the actual vinyl , to the actual music production . You know what I'm saying . It's just a certain way you listen to music and it's just a certain thing with the ear Like you know what I'm saying A certain frequency , you know what I'm saying . And when you're able to manipulate those frequencies and you kind of know what sounds , go well , with high pitch to the low pitch . That's why people think it's just I'm gonna get a beat machine and I'm gonna go make a beat . Yeah , I'm gonna , I'm gonna do this . Like you know I'm saying you got to understand the manipulation of sound . That's why I always put forth the music engineer . You know I'm saying like I always highlight the engineer because he's the guy that's going to work along with the dope producer to formulate , to get that sound quality , to get that key , to get that stuff sound amazing across the board .
Speaker 1You know what I'm saying . They kind of fly below the radar and stuff like that . You know the artist is front and center , then you know the producer , depending on who they are like , they might be prolific . But you don't hear too much about the sound engineers you actually like take them into consideration , I really do because they are my superheroes .
Speaker 3You know what I'm saying ? Because the same way that someone's looking to work with a producer , they're looking to work with that engineer . The artist goes crazy over the producer , but the producer goes crazy over the engineer , like yo you got this guy , you got .
Speaker 3You got nigel . You got jess , you got this guy , you got these guys available , I gotta . You know I'm saying like you got engineers that are like pitch perfect . You got engineers that are just a good vibe when you're doing a beat . You know , I'm saying because a good beat vibe person can help . You know just the overall mechanics of the room just flows and to make a hit , yeah it could be a little drama , a little tension in the room , but when that vibe is flowing , man , you can make one song and change your life forever and there's definitely been a whole lot of that coming out of that studio , definitely for sure , for sure .
Speaker 1Yeah , I got . I gotta tell you like a quick , funny story , talking with you the first time . Yeah , I'll never forget it . I'm on the air and I can't remember what inner circle song was playing . We were playing . We were playing one of them and I believe it was in , it was in the mix .
Speaker 1It was like our dj that was playing the song and I get a phone call from the studio and it's like , hey , this is a bb lewis . I'm like , oh , what's up ? I'm thinking it's like a regular caller . Yeah , it's like , hey , man , uh , how'd y'all get a hold of that song , bro ? And I'm just like , and it was coming .
Speaker 1It was around a period where one of our djs had just gotten flagged for playing uh , bruce buffer , let's get ready to rumble . Yeah , and they find the station 10k and I'm like , in my second year or something like that , I was like , oh man , this is not going to be good . I just remember having the whole conversation with you , getting to know you , like , just off of that conversation , setting the bar in terms of how important it is to just take into consideration the people behind the scenes 100% , but then also know what it is to be leading the front and being the guy that needs to be the head of the scenes 100 , but then , also , like , know what it is to be leading the front on and being the guy that needs to be the head of the studio running the show , things of that nature . So so I definitely want to throw that in there , because that was intense .
Speaker 3It's all about just knowing miami and just knowing music and having people skills . A lot of people don't understand that people skills are number one . You gotta know how to to vibe like . I've walked into places where I don't speak spanish but I know a couple little poquito little words , okay , and I can make it in and out and order my food and go and they laughing with me and having a good time and giving me the great experience that I have .
Speaker 3So you just got to have the skills you know . I'm saying because those skills can take you a long , long way in this entertainment business you know I'm saying yeah , this one , this one was really good . Snoop , snoop , this is , this is good you know what's cool , what they're doing ?
Speaker 1they have , like , this app . Oh man , I feel like you and I , from a marketing perspective , talk about apps all 100 , just marketing like tech , tech , all like all day . And the app lets you put , uh , your camera phone in front of the bottle . Okay , and the bottle like comes to life , wow . So I'm gonna show you that later on and stuff , but it's , it's cool because you actually hear like snoops , like voiceover oh wait , unless it's ai , but it's like the bottle comes to life , he's like living the whole day and he's talking about , like you know , just promoting the product .
Speaker 1I think it's fantastic I said .
Speaker 3A lot of people say the way he got his wines a lot of different . You know , artists got their wines and stuff like that .
Speaker 1spoiler alert we actually got some of that going on later on , okay , okay , okay , let's jump into our next wine . I think we're ready . This one is a juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay . Wow , also from California . Okay , what I like about this wine is that it's fermented , like meaning the process to create the wine . Most of it , over 80% , is done traditionally , like traditional French oak barrels and stuff like that . What makes it unique is that the other percentage like 15% or so 14 , is done in steel tanks . Yeah , so it's to create this entire like different complexity with the body of the wine . So as you swirl it , you're going to get the aromas of lemon merengue pie . I don't know how they made that happen , but they did , but they did .
Speaker 1As far as taste , we're talking about apple , pears and vanilla beans . Cheers again , my brother . Little swirl there .
Speaker 3Very good , I'm not really like a Chardonnay person , but I can deal with this . Yeah , yeah , yeah , I can deal with this .
Speaker 1For me it's the body , and that's what I'm kind of like getting used to as I'm drinking wines . I'm a red guy myself , but I do appreciate like a good long body with some nice . Let me give you a little hack . Actually , no , I'm going to hold off on the hack . Let me give you a little wine fact . I can't let it all out on one episode . The wines that we're sipping , we've chilled them to perfection , wow .
Speaker 1And I think that a lot of people like don't really know how to do that , or they say well , you're not going to be able to accomplish that unless you have a cellar or things of that nature , or a wine fridge or things of that nature or a wine fridge . And actually there's ways to do it . If you just have a traditional fridge , what you're trying to avoid is having the wine be too cold . See , if you put it in a fridge , it's going to be too cold . It's too cold in there .
Speaker 1I think typical fridge refrigerators are chilling at under 40 degrees . The white wines that we're sipping today and the rose have been chilled at 50 and 55 degrees , wow . So you want to put it in the fridge ? Let's be clear , you don't want to have it chilling on , like you know , in a pantry or on a counter , anything like that you want to put in the fridge . But the trick is , before serving the wine you want to have it out of the fridge about 25 to 30 minutes and then it kind of like brings it to that level where you want it to be .
Speaker 3Don't just take it out of the fridge .
Speaker 1Don't just take it out the fridge .
Speaker 3I like that . See , I'm learning , you're learning .
Speaker 1There you go . We've been talking about two things . We've been talking about Circle House , we've been talking about a BB Lewis and how you got yourself started . I started . I'm gonna come at you first going back to to the studio , rubbing shoulders with all , with all these folks . Um , some of the biggest hit songs coming out of your studio . Yes , which was the most memorable song to you , and why ?
Speaker 3well , I think the most memorable one is the pharrell happy . You know that came out , yeah , it came out of circle house and wow , because you know I've always been a big pharrell fan , you know I'm saying , and to actually get to see him . You know I didn't really see him do the beat and all that stuff , but just to know that he's there and you know you're walking around , you rub , like you said , you're rubbing shoulders with him and just for him to create that . You remember the year . So it's on wikipedia . Though if you look at wikipedia and you google happy , it says the whole the year , the , where it was made and all that stuff like that . But it was just a such a monumental record because the other era was , um , bobby mcfarran , don't worry , be happy . So it's almost like it was a re-recognizing you know I'm saying student of the game .
Speaker 3Bro , damn the song and the song is just such a good vibe song . It's a song you could play at a birthday party , a wedding or at a kid's party . You could play it at Live on Sunday . You could play it anywhere .
Speaker 1I ask about the year because I feel that that was probably like prime Pharrell .
Speaker 3You know what I mean .
Speaker 1Like prime Pharrell doing doing his thing and it came out of that it's miami man .
Speaker 3That's like a miami vibe song saying because you could be mad at the world waking up in miami . But then when you go outside and that sun hits you , bomb you riding through you , seeing people going to the beach , you see the malls , you see . You see you like man , like like you can be mad , but why ? When I'm happy , you know what I'm saying . And then it's just . You learn so much . You see so much , man , the food is amazing , all the cultures are here . You can't we sipping wine . You know what I'm saying ? We can't . You know there's a lot of bad stuff happening in the world , but at the same time you got to be happy .
Speaker 1That's , that's so . I figured that that might have been a tough call
Music Industry Evolution and Networking
Speaker 1. Just thinking about some of the other songs I remember and I didn't know this until you said it but like Lauryn Hill , yeah , making music like that , definitely .
Speaker 3Definitely . I met Carlos Santana when he came to the studio to connect with her and he did a thing called X Factor and he was just , mr Santana , was just so humble , played his guitar , got a little guitar amp , you know , because some people they're very , very fussy with their music , I mean their type of amp . And you know he was like yo , this is a good amp , sounds good . I'm like , okay , plug it in , let's go . You know what I'm saying . But then you hear him says like it was no , like stress , and he just just man I mean like two takes , just a cool two takes .
Speaker 1It was done just like that and and again . You're talking about x factor . Well , in terms of like lauren hills had like an amazing career , like maybe a second act , yeah , so like not so prime , but like still like a big deal in the music game at that time and when that album came out .
Speaker 3That's when you got credits . If you look at the album you'll see assistant engineer BB Lewis . You'll see a lot of credits that I have like . On Trick Daddy's first album with the Diaz brothers I produced a couple records . You'll see a lot of the credits that I've done . But back in the days it meant everything when they opened the booklet . Right , there's no more booklet .
Speaker 1You . It meant everything when they opened the booklet . Right , there's no more booklet . Yeah , oh my god , I know what you're talking about .
Speaker 3Spotify there's no more like when you go buy the cd and you open the cd and it's page one . They tell you who the engineer was , the recording studio where you were recorded , who mixed it , who mastered it . Like you know , I'm saying like I think spotify got credits . I gotta look , but I think that's like for spotify premium . But back in the days you remember the CD , it had all the credits and a guy like me that's how I learned the business .
Speaker 3I was like , oh man , I love the sound of this song . I would look at the engineer , I would look at the producer who arranged strings , like with the violins , and oh man , he's an amazing string arranger . I want to use him for this . But now you got to kind of dig deep and it's not wrong because you got things like youtube you can still do your research on and stuff like that . But it was just different with that booklet .
Speaker 3You know I'm saying I also got to be in the studio a couple times when lauren was recording . You know I'm saying she . She recorded a song called um . You can get the money , you can get the power and keep your eyes on like a song . She kind of like rapped and I was like on the couch of the assistant engineer , and a guy named commissioner gordon was the engineer . Uh , because rohan marley was the guy who , kind of you know , brought lauren to our studio and and made those , made that connection right there , which is a great , great friend of mine , but I was , I was a kid , you know what ?
Speaker 3I'm saying so . I was there , I was the helper in the room , uh , patching the microphone , set up the microphone and doing all that stuff . But it was amazing seeing her , because that song she rapped she didn't sing right . So I was like yo , this is . You know , I'm saying this was like amazing and you didn't . You didn't really understand what was gonna happen 10 years from now , right , with the music . But you just learned a lot . You learned to be quiet in the room as the assistant . You learned to just pick up on things . You , you learn to like oh she's about to be done , let me get some water , let me get certain things prepared , even though she doesn't drink the water , let me have it here , just in case I can be one step ahead of everything . So she'd want me in the room every time , or that client or that that producer would want me around every time you know , I love that because it speaks to the evolution of a BB Lewis the man . Yeah .
Speaker 1So you mentioned something about like you're in it and experiencing raw talent as it's happening , yeah , and you don't really know what's going to happen 10 years like down the road , yeah . So I got to ask you for you going through those motions . So I got to ask you for you going through those motions . At what point did it become clear to you that you've arrived , that you're a BB Lewis the marketing ?
Speaker 3guru . I always say this funny story when I was a kid , just assisting engineering , and I'd be like people would walk in the room and be like yo , I'm going to pick up the phone , I'm going to call Clive Davis . This guy would be like , I'm going to pick up the phone , I'm going to call Clive Davis . This guy be like I'm going to pick up the phone and I'm going to call this person or that person and I would say to myself like yo , like , how does this person know all these people ? You know what I'm saying , but it's just timing . When I got to a certain age group and I started seeing the kids and the people that I came up with get bigger positions and being able to pick up the phone and just call Atlantic Records , head of A&R , call Interscope , call all these labels , I'm like yo , this is crazy , but those are the guys that I came up with . You know , I'm saying so . That's what I always say have your good networking skills , keep people close to you . Because that's when I felt I didn't feel like I made it , but I felt like you know , okay , now I can utilize these connections that I have to now keep it moving , but now it was so much stuff happening . Social media was just starting . It was MySpace . You know what I'm saying . It was like a whole , like right now they're in cruise control a little bit this generation , because they know the platforms . It's just tipper .
Speaker 3I was there before Instagram . I was there before a lot of those different things where you had to actually go to every club and give out flyers . You had to stay in the front , you had to wait for the DJ , the mixtapes out the trunk , the mixtapes . You had to sit there and like , if you do , if you do , the DJ got there . The doors opened at at 10 . You know the dj would get there at 8 . You would get there at 8 . Hey , you want a drink ? You hungry ? You're trying to cater to the dj because that was before the influencer actually came involved . And you know I'm saying different things . The dj was everything . Radio was everything . Now it's a lot of different choices . You got the podcast which we're doing . We're doing right now . You got Sirius Satellite Radio . You got so many other stations on the app to listen to . You can be in Miami listening to San Diego radio all day . You don't got to . You know what I'm saying . It's just so many choices .
Speaker 1The way you're talking about it has me thinking about something that I heard from a mentor of mine a long time ago . He said there's a difference between sight and vision . Sight is something that , like , you know , like you're , you're , you're currently within like grasp of it . You , you see it , you're working towards it , whatever the case may be . But vision , you know , you mentioned , like , the evolution of social media and something like clicked for you like I gotta jump on this . It speaks a lot to what you're doing now , because you'll be dropping gems on your . It speaks a lot to what you're doing now , because you'll be dropping gems on your , on your social media all the time . Real quick , we're gonna do it at the end of the episode , but let them know where they can follow you follow me at a bb lewis , right there in my um , my bios , my link tree .
Speaker 3It has everything in my link tree my youtube page , my facebook , my instagram . I do . I do a 15 minute free consultation with people just to hear what they got going on , because sometimes when you meet people , they got more stuff going on than me . You know I'm saying or they showing me something where I could do better or putting me in a better position , but I open myself up for networking . If I don't do it , I don't , I don't . You know , I'm saying it's almost like you got a song that came out . You're singing it in English , then you sing it in Spanish , then you sing it in Creole , then you sing it in another language . Now you got five songs . You know what I'm saying . So instead of getting two streams a day , now you're getting two , four , six , eight , ten streams a day because you have the song in different languages .
Speaker 1You know , in different languages . You know I'm saying it's just , it's just that understanding of the game and strategy . You know I'm saying , and it's so many different ways to work things nowadays , you know , going to strategy and talking about your social media . One of the gems that you dropped was , um , you mentioned how , in 2024 and moving forward is gonna kind of like steer away from streaming platforms , more about social media but artists , because the influencer now I heard somebody get upset but they , the rapper is a content creator .
Speaker 3Now , before they wasn't saying , like I'm a rapper , no , you're a rapper , content creator , youtuber , like you know , I'm saying because a lot of your money is gonna come from youtube , a lot of your money is gonna come from social media . It may not actually come from spotify , you know , I'm saying it may come from shopify , it may come from other type of platforms and the streaming is just utilized . So people hear your music and you know you stay relevant , you stay hot , but you're selling everything else .
Speaker 1I love that . A whole lot of gems on his social media . Let's jump into our next one , definitely definitely you're gonna be a tipsy . So we've been talking miami . I had to do this . I had to do this . Our next wine is a cabernet by . If we're talking miami , why not by mr duane wade ? Oh man d wade , so three by wade sellers cabernet we're gonna give it a little swirl on the nose . The aromas is black plum black berries with dried rose petals .
Speaker 1I I picture that oh I picture that fine tannins , so we're expecting some acidity here . It's coming from cali , so we're keeping it to the west coast , definitely , and the structure and the body balance , which I love when we're talking about Cabernet Cheers .
Speaker 3Definitely Shout out to Mr Wade Sr too , d Wade's father , my dog , delicious , very delicious . I'm not a red guy , but it's good , I actually got something for that .
Music Industry Marketing Strategies
Speaker 1I was telling you earlier that I have a hack for you and I feel what happens with the reds is people come off thinking it's something that you don't chill , and the truth is is that if you've ever seen a wine fridge , you'll see like there's two different dials , two different meters for two different temperatures . That's because you're supposed to have whites chilled at a certain temp and reds chilled at a certain temp . So , rather than having your reds sit on a counter or sit in a pantry room temp because it's a little too hot , again , we're in Miami . Ideally , this is the hack for the next time you're hosting a little something . Or maybe you got somebody coming through the studio and they like the wine . You want to chill the red wine ? Okay , for 25 , 30 minutes , put it in the fridge right before it's ready to serve and it's going to get it to that 60 to 65 degrees to where red wine is supposed to be chilled out , definitely so this is what we were aiming for .
Speaker 1This is what we were trying to do so that you could kind of like get the best structure out of it , because if it's too hot you're gonna get it syrupy , it's not gonna taste fresh and people that's why they kind of like steer away from um , from from the red wine I see the difference with the temperature , like you're saying , the wines all three wines have tasted better with the proper temperature and I can see what you see .
Speaker 3I'm learning now that's , that's some , that's some game right there when it comes to wine .
Speaker 1There you go there you go , there you go . That's the whole point of this show . Now , maybe , just maybe , I've been a little bit biased about this . Yeah , because , if you notice , up until this point and I decided to change it with our last wine we're going to get to that , but every wine that we've had up until this point has been West Coast California . One that we've had up until this point has been west coast , yeah , california . Who better than to ask you ? And it might not be as relevant by the time this airs , but it's definitely relevant . Now we're coming off of probably one of the craziest weekends , yeah , in rap history . Yes , who won the great rap war ? Who should have stepped up ?
Speaker 3yeah , and from a marketing perspective , give me your thoughts , bro I watched a lot of things and seen a lot of things , but I've seen something today that somebody put up and it says who won the rap battle ? You know who won the rap battle ? Guys , the record labels , the record labels won the rap battle . You know what I'm saying , because at the end of the day , when you look back at all the rap battles , like you know I'm saying you got naz and jiga , good friend , I seen 50 and fat joe hugging at the next game . You know I'm saying it all kind of reverts back towards . You know , good vibes at the end , but not while it's going on .
Speaker 3You know I'm saying but at the end of the day , who really won ? People were doing numbers like they have never done numbers in a long time , because it sent everybody back to Spotify . It sent everybody back to Apple Music and YouTube and I remember I heard Kendrick even didn't want his rights to the record , so the content creators could actually make money when they were dancing to it and putting the songs out Awesome . It was a game of rap , but it was also a game of strategy and at the end of the day , we know they're both great artists , both great lyricists and they're both great businessmen . You know what I'm saying . So the winners were the record label .
Speaker 1I love that . I love that and I was hoping . I was wondering . I was like damn , I want to see if he gets into it and tells me who he thinks . 100% , I would agree with you . I also think I heard I've been having these conversations all week and some people are like Team Drake , some people are Team Kendrick and somebody said it best , I feel , and they said the people won , the people won . And you talked about the content people behind the scenes that are making it happen too , putting it out there and it's evident .
Speaker 3Yeah , music won .
Speaker 3Music , the people music , the people , the record labels . Yeah , that's who really won , because it got back to people having those conversations on the corner . It got back to everybody . I don't care if you're black , you're white , you're Spanish , you're green , you're white . You was Drake . Drake . You know what I'm saying . You was King Drake . You know what I'm saying . You was Drake . You were vibing to those different things , because everybody has their one song that they listen to , even if they don't even listen to that language or listen to that thing . Everybody has that one record from each one of those guys .
Speaker 1That they love . You mentioned some of the older beefs . Things have definitely changed . Um , it's much more now about marketing . It's much more now it's like how do we serve the people ? They definitely freaking did that . Um , it makes me think about like , probably like did you ever have a favorite rap beef back in the day ?
Speaker 3I like jay-z and nob . That was good . That was good because those beats was crazy , like Ethel was crazy and all those different the beats was . You know what I'm saying . And then you know you had Summer Jam and then Jay-Z went on Summer Jam and , like it was , to me it was different back then . You know what I'm saying . To now , you know what I'm saying , but I'm not dissing now , but I'm just saying it was just different . It was different .
Speaker 1It was just different . It's definitely different . You know what I'm ?
Speaker 3saying , it was really really , really different , you know .
Speaker 1You mentioned them and I think let's be thankful for those times .
Speaker 3Yeah , because .
Speaker 1I think that they were maybe not even 10 years removed from the West Coast East Coast beef , which , if anything we talk about rap battles and rap wars , like that was probably like they were the martyr , they became martyrs , like hey , like this could get a little too crazy too crazy a little too intense .
Speaker 1Yeah , you gotta love it and I'm sure that that was a crazy . I was like way too young for that . Seeing it now for me , marketing wise , I loved like how some people started to piggyback off of it . I'm not a liar , miami , I'm miami raised like I . I oh man ross is gonna get in this okay let's go let's go , let's go and and and .
Speaker 1We're talking about , like , riding that wave , artists , labels yeah , you got , you got . You got to get in there . Yeah , get in there . Um , another thing I'll say from , from a marketing perspective , like metro booming , coming out with the beat yeah , what'd you think about that ? Like , oh , I'm gonna throw a free bead , just rap over this beat .
Speaker 3I thought that was crazy . Somebody so big as he , as him , everybody was coming out with great ideas and great things and all it did , really did , was like increase everybody's bookings . And it showed their minds . It showed how smart each and every one of them were , because they all smart future's a genius metrobuma is a genius . Ross is 100 of genius . Drake and his team genius , kendrick genius . It just shows you that the thinking capacity that these artists have , that just so , so , critical , so being able to drake putting a song on his damn instagram and it just spreading like that , that shows you the power of the platform . He didn't put it on spotify right away , he put it on instagram and from instagram it went to millions that's why I bring up that joke a little early .
Speaker 1I was saying like yo like , like , like social media platforms are gonna be the new wave as opposed to like the streaming .
Speaker 3Yeah they put it on instagram . From instagram , everyone grabbed it then rolled with it . Look how close to the fan the people can get to be able to get their music and and and get it out there . That's why you know , I'm saying , if you know what you're doing social media , you know what you're doing with content , you know what you're doing with podcasting , it's really nothing can stop you . You just got to be strategic . You can't just be doing stupid stuff . Do stupid stuff to have a result .
Speaker 1Make the stupid stuff equal to selling hoodies , to selling music , to , to something that is my uh , shameless plug-in moment , where I gotta let you guys know that you come to miami media school you have an opportunity to get some direction , build the strategy have some structure to your stuff , as opposed to just hitting uh record and just going yeah . So my school , shout out to them facts . All right , let's jump into our next one . Definitely , let's do it . This was good , though , yeah wait .
Speaker 3Shout out to you , sir , facts . All right , let's jump into our next wine . Definitely , let's do it . This was good , though , d-wade . Shout out to you , mr D-Wade , sir . Shout out to D-Wade Miami legend this was delicious .
Navigating the Music Industry's Social Dynamics
Speaker 3Shout out to Lenny man , the excellent pourer . I see him . He's pouring what's that ?
Speaker 1he's pouring it into With the wine tasting you want to have . I actually took him . I took him to go to a proper wine tasting . He's like yo , this is my first time doing this , man , you're treating me nice and stuff .
Speaker 1I thought I'm just used to drinking stuff out the bottle . I was like I got you , bro , I got you and during the wine tasting it was clear you want to have your pours between two and three ounces . So he's pouring , pointing into that . It's giving it a little bit of aroma too , like like airing it out . I should say he's airing it out , um , to avoid any ox oxidation and things of that nature . So we're going through a whole process . Don miguel , vintage 2022 90 points from a mr james suckling Okay , so that's like the guy we're talking about wine . That's the guy it's rated at 90 points to , if I'm not mistaken . To him that's an A- , okay , a- . So it's a good wine , and I haven't been doing this up until this point . This is like one of our early episodes . This wine is under 15 bucks Wow , but the rating . You got to pay attention to it and one of the things that he talks about is that look , man , like I'm gonna teach you how to find and pick out the wines that are maybe a hundred dollars .
Speaker 1Taste wise , yeah , but price wise it's way under value and people might get that misconstrued same way like you you are , you're expecting all right , I'm gonna pay something premium for this and it might not actually come across the way you thought that it would . Yeah , so , so that's . That's a guy that like live breathes and like dies by his wine , rating this in 90 points . Blackberry aromas , again mocha , so with dark fruit flavors going on . Here we got a little bit of licorice and chocolate . Wow , full body Malbec . Can't wait , cheers .
Speaker 3You heard the clean .
Speaker 1Very good , very good you did good on these selections , my brother . I knew you were coming .
Speaker 3I didn't taste no bitterness , not in one of those wines . Everything is like I could drink them like water . But you know , danny , trying to get me A little too , you know what I'm saying . We're having a good time .
Speaker 1We're having a good time .
Speaker 3Great time , great time .
Speaker 1We've been talking about All things marketing and record labels and artists Figuring out ways To like do their thing . You've had the experience that a lot of people don't get to go on and have you've seen artists come and go ? Yeah , so I gotta ask you for the youngins , the up and coming what have you seen that has been a downfall for artists in their career ?
Speaker 3the same person you see on the way up , you're gonna see on the way down and they're gonna remember how you treated them . You know , I got people that interned in my office that are now vice presidents of A&R record labels . That's dope . I got people that are CFOs of companies . I got people that manage some of the biggest and hottest rappers right now and it's the greatest thing to me now because I can pick up the phone and be like yes , bb , listen , you know what I'm saying because they know how I am . Yeah , but they know I mean well , and they know where they started and where a lot of them got their introduction to the game at . You know , I'm saying because it means a lot where you got your introduction . You know I'm saying or who introduces you , or they see you around Because one thing other companies when they see me working with somebody , they know the strain I'm going to put on that person and they know what that person can take and they kind of want that person because they know I don't play that , you know , and I'm going to show you every facet of the business as an engineer .
Speaker 3If there's a problem in the room , I'm teach you how to smile , but hey , I'll be right back , not freak out . You know I'm saying reasonable skills , personable skills . Yeah , the person in the room wouldn't even know that there is a problem . As an A&R , I'm gonna teach you how to deal with artists to get what you need out of them . I'm gonna without , without the manipulation aspect . You know what I'm saying . I'm going to show you how to be fair . I'm going to show you that it comes right back on you . In the end , it's knowing people and treating people with respect . You know what I'm saying In a certain manner , and not taking no disrespect either . You know what I'm saying Because I don't take disrespect , because they'll respect you even more . The fact that you didn't take the disrespect , you know what I'm saying . Some of my best people that work with me had started off with an argument . They had started off with a fight . They had started off with . You know what I'm saying .
Speaker 1Again , I go back to the funny story . Like you came across me like kind of crazy . Again , I'm on air and the typical phone call , oh my God . And it was like yo like what's up ? Oh , you're social media . Hey , you could be doing a little bit better than that . I was like who is this guy ? Until I got to know you and I was like that makes so much sense .
Speaker 3I don't mean bad , but I try to tell you in a way where it's going to benefit you . If you do listen , you know what I'm saying , because a lot of people like to mask the stuff . I don't like to mask , I don't like to hide . I like to tell you what's going on in the marketplace . Or when I was in a younger space and I was coming up , these things were happening . It was more opportunity , it was more artists being broke , it was more record deals happening , more on the urban scene .
Speaker 1You mentioned people , skills and I know you're no stranger to radio stations and then doing campaigns and things like that , and you're so right . There was an artist at the time . She's going to remain nameless , but I'll never forget she had this hit record on the station and it just had like this like you never really heard anything like that before , and it was . I don't even know where she was from . I think she was from Canada . Actually , when we got to finally meet her , I remember having the conversation like off the air with the people on the morning show that I was with and it was along the lines of like , like what's up with her manager ? Like what's going on ?
Speaker 1she showed up um hoodie like like not what the video was was portraying like super chill , nonchalant . She's new , new artist and it was like kind of like like she was shy , yeah , and it was like you could . Evidence of coaching , evidence of like yo , like you're very talented , but everybody could benefit from a mentor , could benefit from like understanding . There's a learning experience , definitely like lacking the people skills . Long story short , I think she had like one more hit record . If that , that was it . So you mentioned people skills and I think that was a big one . No , it's really big .
Speaker 3That was like a big one it's really , really big , because you can leave the music space and go to the acting space . Leave the acting space and go to the behind the scene directorial space . Yeah , but what you got to have is those people skills , because every type of people skill , you're going to utilize it in different ways as your journey occurs . You know I'm saying as a director , you're going to utilize it in different ways as your journey occurs . You know what I'm saying as a director , you're going to have to learn how to get the behind-the-scenes people moving . As an artist , it's the audience . So there's different ways that you know you let people into your world . You don't let people into your world but understand at the same time .
Speaker 3It is a business . A lot of people forget that it's called the music business and so the same time , you got to find a way to be do all that but still be profitable . And you're not in this game and you're sitting there and you're like what am I doing ? I'm not even getting no checks , I'm not getting no money for what I do , I'm not , no one's hiring me , I'm not around , and it's not even that too , because money could be money . But then you have sweat equity , where you can learn things and take those things you learn and those connections you learn to make money .
Speaker 1To me , my translation to that , or my version of that , is you could be making money right , Like royalties , whatever , like this , that , and the fifth like fantastic . But if you're not leveraging the platform , if you're not figuring out different ways to like okay , how do I capitalize on this 100 , especially like you . You see with athletes all the time like what athletes are , okay , they're getting that , that , that big boy check , yeah . But long term you start hearing like , okay , like then , how is it that eight years in the nfl , or a or or or throughout your career , not all of a sudden you're broke ? Yeah , because you didn't leverage . You didn't leverage .
Speaker 3While it was hot 100% , even like some of the WNBA you got those girls with the smaller salaries but they're signing $20 million shoe deals . You know what I'm saying . It's almost like utilizing , like I said , the music to now branch out into other businesses you know what I'm saying which is like the music would be like basketball for the women's basketball . They got the shoes , they got the clothes , they got the athletic gear , they have the dietaries , the supplements , the vitamins . It's how you go about utilizing the strength that you have to entrap people , because that may be a strength , but that may not be a moneymaker .
Speaker 1Your moneymaker may be something totally different super off topic , but I just figured like it's worth mentioning because , uh , we're talking about , like at the highest level , wmba , or whether you're you're a musician , an artist , like doing your thing , um , and it's always a learning process and understanding that , like there's , there's multiple ways of getting it . Uh , arnold schwarzenegger , of all people , mentioned that that throughout his career , or as he was on the up and up , he understood all right , like this is gonna take some time . I gotta learn this because this isn't my forte , but I'm willing to do go through the motions . And he said , even before he was arnoldzenegger , the famous actor , that we come to know he was rich off of real estate . Yeah , yeah , I watched it . Oh okay , you know what I'm talking about .
Speaker 3I watched it . Yeah , yeah .
Speaker 1On , which is a good segue , bb Lewis , as we're wrapping up next steps , projects , upcoming stuff for you , talk to me .
Speaker 3The documentary the book space , the movie space . That's where I'm going next because I casually I got my . I got my story . I know a lot of stories . I know you know my dad's story of inner circle . I know the story of miami , the music industry story . Um , I've been around and seen a lot of different knowledge and seen a lot of different people come , Like you said , a lot of people go . You know what I'm saying . So it's just figuring out what's next . And what's next is movies , man Movies , documentaries and books . You know that's really really what's next for me .
Speaker 1Fantastic . Hey , give it up again for my guy BB Lewis , thank you , thank you , Thank you . Give it up again for my guy BB Lewis , thank you , thank you , thank you one more time .
Speaker 3Let them know how they can keep up with you just go on my Instagram at BB Lewis and you can get all my information right there and vibe with me . We can set up a free 15 minute consultation . You can see what I got going on . You can see who I consult for . If you got a concept , an idea , come get with me . Man , I'm I'm into the app game . I'm into . Yeah , I'm looking for new artists . But listen , a lot of you new artists gotta have a plan and you gotta have some type of motion going on . I can't pick you up and just revive you . You gotta . You gotta kind of like , be a little bit of , have a little bit of movement and just you know as some advice keep good people . Just you know as some advice keep good people around you . You know what I'm saying . If you keep good people around you , there's no way nothing can stop you .
Speaker 1Amen to that . I think this wine , this wine is kicking in . Yeah , I see you , I see you . If I'm not , no , not just me , not just me . I think he said a 50 , a free 50-minute consultation .
Speaker 3Oh , 15 . 15 minutes , 15 minutes . All right , man , see , we're at the end of the thing now . So this is four glasses in man 50. , 50 .
Speaker 1If you came oh , I saw you on the Coffee and Cabernet podcast . We out .
Speaker 2Thank you for watching Coffee and Cabernet with Danny Doe . Make sure you subscribe and follow us at Coffee and Cabernet podcast .