My guest tonight is an entrepreneur
who started one of the first independent rap labels,
Rap-A-Lot Records.
He has a new memoir called The Art & Science of Respect.
Please welcome J Prince.
-♪ ♪ -(cheering, applause)
Welcome to the show.
Privileged and honored to be here.
It's so great to have you, because so many times
in conversations in and around hip-hop-- the culture,
the music and what it's created--
the name J Prince comes up.
Many people don't know
that you were the name and the inspiration
behind some of the greatest names in hip-hop
that, you know, that we know today.
But your story is what you talk about in this book.
When you... when you went into music,
when you started your company, you had a specific purpose,
and that was to change your life and your mom's life.
Why was that so important to you?
It was important because... (clears throat)
all of my life, uh, we lived in the projects,
and I would hear my mom, you know, wish for a home.
You know, "I want a home one day."
So, you know, my inspiration came from, you know,
watching her deal with poverty,
watching my grandmother deal with poverty,
and, you know, at the age of eight, nine years old,
I vowed that I was gonna be the one
to break the poverty curse on my family.
-Right. And... -(cheering, applause)
What I... what I really found, uh, you know,
insightful in the book is you talk about that curse
and how it can affect the community,
how it can affect the people.
You didn't go on to create just a record label,
you also went to make... you went on to make sure
that your company employed people
who couldn't get opportunities, people who had records,
people who had been caught up in the justice system.
That also, that seems like a risky proposition,
but you said: No, I'm gonna hire these "ex-cons"
that nobody wants to hire. Why?
Well, that meant a lot to me,
because I grew up with a lot of these guys,
and I witnessed, uh, the system not being willing
to give them a second chance.
And once I got in a position of power
and, you know, had an understanding with the guys,
and you told them, "You can't straddle the fence.
"If you're willing to change your life,
"then, you know, I will extend an invitation and opportunity
for you to do just that."
And, you know, we all came together and built
the number one independent record label of the year,
-you know, for years. Yeah. -Right.
You-you were behind a lot of the music
that came from the South-- a lot of what hip-hop is today,
people credit to J Prince.
In The Art of Science... The Art of Science & Respect,
um... there are a lot of conversations
in and around respect in hip-hop.
A lot of the times, that connotation comes from,
you know, gangs or violence-- people go like,
"Oh, the only way you get respect is by shooting"--
but J Prince, the one thing you always hear people say is:
No, J Prince, people respect the businessman,
people respect the work ethic.
Was that really important for you, you know, in your career?
Yeah, very important.
And it begins with giving respect.
You know, I come from a family, I come from...
114-year-old great-grandmother
who, uh, emphasized the importance of respect.
And I learned, and I carried it with me
in my business, in personal levels,
and I was able to, uh, you know, live off of those same standards
-that she left with... me with, you know, years ago. -Right.
And it works today.
You're, in many ways-- reading through this book,
what I loved about it is--
you're like the Forrest Gump of hip-hop.
Like, I'm serious.
There are so many amazing stories in this book
where you're like, you were there, and you were there,
and you were there, and you were there.
Like, I mean, I mean, it had a tragic ending,
but you spoke to Tupac and Biggie
about squashing their beef.
At a time when many people were like,
this is what hip-hop is about, you said to them
they need to squash their beef.
You even warned Biggie not to travel
to cities that didn't want him.
You talk about that in the book.
That seems counter to what people want hip-hop to be,
and yet you didn't want that. Why?
Well, you know, I feel like somebody
have to have some sense.
Somebody have to know how to think.
You know what I mean?
(cheering and applause)
You know, you-you get a bunch
of people that can't think together, and, you know,
a bad ending is gonna take place,
so I tried to separate myself
and think above and beyond, you know, the standards.
And, um, sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.
Right. And now a lot of people may not know this,
but the forward of this book was written by Drake.
And people go like, why would Drake write that forward?
But it was actually your son
who discovered Drake on MySpace,
and then it was yourself who put Drake together
with Cash Money and with Lil Wayne,
which is the reason we know Drake today.
Um, are the rumors true
that you were again, a force of peace
between Drake and Pusha T, where you stepped in and said,
"Hey. I don't think this beef needs to happen"?
Yeah, most definitely.
And, you know, I felt that way because I felt like
the beef crossed the lines of music.
You know, when you talk about one's mother, his father,
uh, and then you go on, and,
you know, his friend who is dying,
and I feel like that crosses the guidelines
-where music is concerned. -Right.
And once you do that, then that's how you have
a Tupac and a Biggie situation
because those guys have no brakes after that.
So, you know, I felt like, uh, I should speak up.
I did, because, you know, with Drake, we--
we are about a movement not a moment.
Right, right. It's a movement, not a moment.
Your life has been a movement,
moving from one place to the next.
An independent rap label that in many ways...
started everything we know as hip-hop today,
what people are experiencing.
Where does J Prince go from here?
What are you still trying to do?
Well, I'm-I'm having fun.
I'm enjoying life.
(laughter)
(applause)
And, um, you know,
-I'm talking to a lot of movie guys right now, -Right.
-because, you know, there is an interest in a movie
since I have put this book out.
And, uh, I think it's gonna be a pretty good movie.
Yo, man, as someone who's read it, I can agree with that.
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Meant a lot, bro.
The Art of Science & Respect will be available July 6.
J Prince, everybody.