Episode 12: The Making of CRB Media Plus: A Voyage through Clarence Blackmon Life

© 2023 Raw Material Entertainment
Hosted by: The Global Zoe, Eric Biddines & Drego Mill

Are you curious to learn the secrets behind turning adversity into a source of empowerment? Brace yourself for an enlightening conversation with Clarence Blackmon, the man who transformed his life from DVD rentals to becoming an entrepreneurial powerhouse in the tech industry. His infectious zest for learning led him on a path to master computer skills, which laid the foundation of CRB Media Plus – a business famed for its exceptional services in CD duplication, computer repair, and printing in the Palm Beach area.

Journey with us as Clarence unveils his transformative personal story. From his early encounters with drugs and alcohol to becoming a part-time counselor for domestic violence and anger management, he has much wisdom to share. His take on how we can harness anger constructively to establish boundaries in our lives is truly thought-provoking. As we delve deeper, Clarence fascinating thoughts on the intersection of life experiences and the culture of rap and hip-hop music promise to captivate your mind.

Steer through the discussion as we navigate the confluence of technology, music, and entrepreneurship. Clarence transition from cooking to the CD business, his understanding of the wholesale market, and the narrative behind his successful knife sharpening business offer valuable insights. He discusses the impact of technology on the music industry, jobs, and innovative ways artists are making money while juggling his role as a father to seven children. On this voyage, you are guaranteed to glean wisdom and insights from a man who has transformed adversity into opportunity and success. Tune in to this enriching discussion and prepare to be inspired.

➣ Episode Chapters:

• 0:00 - The Story of CRB Media Plus
• 5:00 - Self-Taught Computer Skills and Overcoming Adversity
• 20:35 - Anger and Boundaries
• 25:00 - Life's Journey
• 38:43 - From Cooking to CDs
• 55:10 - CD Duplicating Business and Wholesale Market
• 1:02:33 - Raising a Rapper and Technology Evolution
• 1:16:08 - Technology's Impact on Music and Jobs
• 1:27:38 - Choices, Personal Growth, and Gratitude
• 1:38:11 - Expressing Gratitude for Life-Changing Impact

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

What's going on? Y'all, I be your boy, the global zoe, and I'm with the gang.

Speaker 2: 0:04

Eric Biddens.

Speaker 1: 0:06

And today we got a special invited guest, the one and only. Some people call him clearance. Some people call him mr C. Oh, you might know him as crb media plus. He is in the building.

Speaker 3: 0:25

Clans. What's going on? Hey, not much, man, mr C.

Speaker 1: 0:28

Clans? Which one you, which name do you prefer? Number one DJ's, number one promoters for show from Palm Beach.

Speaker 2: 0:52

It's exposed. That's why it opened up.

Speaker 3: 1:07

I mean it, mr C. I've grown fond of mr C.

Speaker 1: 1:11

Okay, people call me by mr C, it doesn't matter.

Speaker 3: 1:15

Whatever you know me by, you know always you don't call me outside of my name. You know I'm good with it good, good, good.

Speaker 1: 1:23

How you feeling today?

Speaker 3: 1:24

I'm doing quite well I'm I'm quite Quite. Frankly, I'm feeling very blessed.

Speaker 1: 1:29

Good, you know good and.

Speaker 3: 1:31

I'm honored to be invited to, you know, to what you all are presenting now I see you guys are, and this thing is taking off.

Speaker 1: 1:42

I appreciate it already caught my. Appreciate it.

Speaker 2: 1:45

Thank you.

Speaker 1: 1:46

We've been just putting in the work and, um, it's interesting that, uh, a lot of people who sat in the seat that you're in also has mentioned you, so it was kind of like makes perfect sense to actually even have you on so we can get some of the backstories. See where you are now. So, as I talk about, when I think about crb media plus, I think about cd duplication, I think about duplicators, I think about Fixing computers, whether it's a mac or windows. You think about thumb drives, you think about t-shirts. You talk about flyers. Did I forget anything? T-shirts, yeah.

Speaker 3: 2:23

We're covering all the printing aspects. You know, right now if it needs to be printed, we we can do it. You know a lot of people you know going back to the cd duplication. You know that's what we were pretty much known from. You know the neighborhood people around Riviera Beach. They knew us as computer repair and, right frankly, amongst other things that we were doing. You know, I don't know if we want to mention that?

Speaker 1: 2:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I understood.

Speaker 3: 2:58

Yeah, but for the most part, you know. Uh, when I started the, we were under C Blackman video express corp, so my, my main thing was trying to uh, I wanted to do it uh. A dvd store, a neighborhood dvd store. Okay, at the time dvds were booming. You know, renting dvds were just one of the things, you know. Block westers, um, but there was you know, room for the neighborhood dvd rental.

Speaker 3: 3:31

So after doing some investigation and and um, I started to go a different way and I got into computers back in 1998. I don't know actually was 97 during the 98 craze. So if you're around computers during that time you know a lot of people didn't even. You know, not a lot of people didn't have computers in their home.

Speaker 3: 3:52

Right right you know, during 98 transition people started getting computers in their home. So you know, at the time I didn't. I didn't really know Much about computers at the time but I it was just something that intrigued me. So after buying one I remember here's the story here I remember my wife I, you know I have seven kids she wanted a computer for the kids and I was like you know, we don't really need a computer at the time. They were really expensive. You know I was working, you know Pretty much a full-time, part-time job and you know it was just tough taking care, you know that many kids and just making sure things were being met and imagine.

Speaker 3: 4:44

I was just totally against the computer, but you know why if he wants it, she gets it you know, hey smart man.

Speaker 3: 4:53

You know, I went up getting it and for Roughly two weeks it sat in the box, you know, and I said, well, let me figure this thing out before we opened it. You know, mind you, we did. You know I Computers were just a mystery. You know, if you wouldn't, if you didn't work on one in in the school, you really didn't know anything much about a computer. Yeah, so I opened the box, I went in, went to reading and the more I understood, the more, the more I began to try to understand what made it work. So that's pretty much how I got into computers, trying to figure out the ins and outs, the mechanical aspects of it.

Speaker 3: 5:36

And I remember at that time ebay was pretty starting to get you know it was actually already established, but ebay was the go-to place for just about everything you wanted. So, lo and behold, as I began to understand computers better, I would buy Fixer ups and I would buy one fix it up. And you know, try to sell that hustling who best way I could wait, how did you just?

Speaker 2: 6:02

you just brush past the skill of learning, how to fix up, of just reading, oh, okay.

Speaker 3: 6:08

Just reading, you know you you'd be amazed what reading and getting into the forms. So if you had a problem you know mainly software it got to the point I would call tech support. You know, and they didn't know Anymore than I did.

Speaker 4: 6:29

Wow.

Speaker 3: 6:31

So I was like. You know, this is a waste of time 1 800 numbers the online for the next 30 minutes to an hour. You don't get answers, so you read you know you get into. You, look at the forms you know, type in the problem you're having and you find a list of people having the same problems back then. Forms were, you know, still this pretty big.

Speaker 3: 6:53

Yeah but you get into it, you start reading the forms put in your input and it was amazing the information that I gathered and I just began to retain it and it was just intriguing. You know, it was just like you know any other thing you're trying to learn and you become more interested in learning and understanding and that's just the way it happened. I'm self-taught, you know basically.

Speaker 1: 7:16

So did you have a 95 before you picked up you? You bought the computer for the house, so you had a 95? Oh, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 7:21

I well, I was. I was a cook at Denny's. I worked for Denny's and I was working as a part-time counselor for um parent and child center. I worked in um domestic violence. I still work in domestic violence. I've been working in domestic violence roughly since 1995 1995 I've been teaching and Counseling in domestic violence and anger management.

Speaker 1: 7:52

What made you pick that up? Is that something? Yeah, that's just through the history of my life drug abuse, you know.

Speaker 3: 7:59

So for. You know getting Getting knocked to a rough start in my life. Okay you know, coming out of high school, middle school and high school, I was very musically inclined to play the horn, you know, and um, I could have went to any school in America and it it wouldn't have mattered Berkeley, juilliard.

Speaker 4: 8:23

You know, any university.

Speaker 3: 8:25

I was pretty much just that good, you know, and life got got up to me, you know, having the, having a good set of friends, the valedictorian and salutatorian, to talk, you know One, two percent of your class, and then you know the guys that you know got down and did what he had to. Right right right, I you know struggle just straddled that fence.

Speaker 3: 8:50

Yeah you know, and they just caught up with me. You know, and um, going through a series of up and downs and drug addiction. You know, even before I even got it got out of high school, you know, I was, um, I was never on the streets.

Speaker 4: 9:07

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 9:07

I want to put that. You know I don't have any street credit but but being on the streets in the struggle of, you know, drugs and alcohol On that aspect you know it was tough, wow and coming Coming off that I was able to, you know, get into the Drug abuse and and uh, alcoholic counseling, as well as domestic violence and anger management which you know I found that going through that program helped me Develop the type of person that I am today Awesome.

Speaker 4: 9:45

Ask me that again. That's good and be able to help people.

Speaker 3: 9:49

Even, even, to this very day, nice you know I, you know, that's a whole another chapter and look at that.

Speaker 1: 9:54

That's not something you, I'm sure you know. You know, you ain't, you ain't throwing it out there, but we had no idea. Right, we see you today and you know, in other eyes they see a successful man, a business man, you know, doing this thing, raising the family, you know, and knowing that you can overcome to get to where you are now. That's amazing.

Speaker 3: 10:13

Yeah, yeah, that's it. Yeah, that's a story. Yeah, that's a story, awesome so if you're ever arrested for domestic violence, you may get me in the class.

Speaker 2: 10:22

You're a teacher. I hope, hopefully, we never see you.

Speaker 3: 10:25

I work with a program called knowledge is power and I work with TLC counseling. You know Today we do anger management in the bachelor's class.

Speaker 2: 10:36

Now your knowledge is um power. Uh course, it's a course.

Speaker 3: 10:42

That's a program.

Speaker 2: 10:42

It's a program, do you? Do you have to be in trouble to get involved in that?

Speaker 3: 10:48

but, like this, 98 percent of our clients are in trouble for some thing or another when it comes to domestic violence and anger management, and if you, if you just by chance, if you don't have you know anything pending, that means you probably have been either given an ultimatum.

Speaker 3: 11:11

Um to to take a course. Something has transpired in your life when you've established you know there's been some type of consequence. Can it be volunteering? Yes, it can, but yeah, over the years I've found that many people are not in there voluntarily. Um, it's usually some impact, you know, from some type of relationship, or you know something happened on the job. We get anger management cases where, um, something's going on in the community on the job.

Speaker 3: 11:44

Um, even going back further, um, I work with the adolescents and for um department's human injustice. You know what middle school kids, high school kids, where they were, you know, just in trouble in school Diversionary programs you get, you know, the benefit of coming through a 12 week program like our program, getting some life skills, going over to bank of management issues and so forth and graduating and Hopefully overcoming. You know If it came to uh Battles in the venture program, typically those are generally the cases where police came out, you were arrested and, um, you were given an opportunity for a diversionary 24 week program and when you were coming to a program like ours, where you're giving that 26 month program and once you complete that program then chances are they're removing from your record, wouldn't be a Counted as a conviction, so to speak?

Speaker 1: 12:52

Is there a case that's more common, like a certain dispute that happens, that's more common, that comes across your way that we could avoid? Like, is there something that's like a it was just easy as maybe walking away or not saying well, well, this is a very in-depth conversation because it's it's not one thing when it comes to domestic violence for example, domestic violence is not about anger management.

Speaker 3: 13:19

That's a misconception. Most domestic violence is is is about police systems. So it's based on the way you're raised, what you were taught. It's inherently In in grained, in who you are, what you think Right versus wrong, good versus bad. We're talking about morals. We're talking about values, more than values, sort of conflict with one another.

Speaker 3: 13:49

Okay for example, good, good versus bad, right versus wrong, right versus wrong. Wrong is morals. So quite often values conflict with morals. For example, you may know something is wrong to do, but at the time it may be you may feel like it's better for you to do it. Your value at the time Says you know, forget what my morals say about it. What I'm valuing at this time is the opportunity to either say or do something that I know I will regret, but at this time this is a it's serving for me as a benefit.

Speaker 4: 14:32

Gotcha.

Speaker 3: 14:33

So when you begin to challenge yourself, to look deeper inside, you have to begin to challenge your belief systems in terms of what you have established You're wrong versus right and challenging also your values your good Versus bad and allowing those to align. And when they don't align, then you end up with Getting involved in you know, serious issues, making the wrong choices at the time.

Speaker 3: 15:01

So we don't do anything that our belief system don't support. So when someone say I snapped, I lost it, I say bullshit. You know there's no such thing as snapping and losing it. That means at some point in your life you've established it as a choice. It may be a last resort, but it's not. And something where I snapped early, which gives the impression that I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't have any control of what I was doing. We're always in control, because nothing happens without a thought. Everything's established is based on a thought. So, unless we're talking about reflex and we're talking about involuntary reflex, and that's, that's something that's uh, that's medical, scientific, but not our behaviors.

Speaker 3: 15:59

Our choices are not Based on some type of involuntary Right Action. It's a behavior, that is a choice, and things just because it happens quick, you know, someone says someone, something, something bad to you and punch them in the mouth. That happens within a quick second. You're on, you're on the ground, you're fighting. Of course that happened fast but you didn't snap. That was a, that was a choice that you established at some point in your life.

Speaker 3: 16:34

Someone gotta say one more word to me, so you call me out of my name and I'm giving the business.

Speaker 1: 16:40

That's it, yeah, yeah, and that's an excellent belief.

Speaker 3: 16:43

So when it's challenged that way, it gives your belief system of giving you the permission to do that. That has nothing to do with anger.

Speaker 2: 16:54

I have a question. Yeah good now. Now could those be conditioned?

Speaker 3: 17:00

Yeah, it's conditioning, yes, it's conditioning. So you got to think that repetition and you guys are artists, so repetition becomes a multiple skill. Okay, anything you do over and over, you get good at it Right. So, whether it's good or bad, you still good at you're still good at it. Yeah, we've gotten good at doing some really fucked up things in our life. Yeah, yeah you know, making bad choices becomes fundamental to you know what we, what we do in our lives right.

Speaker 3: 17:34

Why we can't get it right, because we haven't challenged ourselves enough to say you know what, enough is enough and and start from the ground up and start re Reestablishing healthier patterns and behaviors. Again, from thought when I think. When I think something, I think in it, in existence. So in order for me to change that, I have to be a, I have to monitor my thoughts, I have to be more Cognitive of what I'm thinking, not just what I'm thinking, but why I'm thinking it. Okay, got you. So I mean no, no.

Speaker 1: 18:16

No, no, I mean there's a bodybuilder I followed, named Ty Green. He always says his are saying is thought become things. And the more I've been following them, I really been thinking that way too I'm always. You know I try to think more positive and only take in more positive. Just because I feel like you will act on. Whether it's a negative or whatever you're thinking, you are eventually either act on it or looking for.

Speaker 3: 18:39

You're looking, their thoughts drive feelings, emotions. So Um the more you think there's. I don't believe in negative feelings, negative emotions. Some psychologists and counselors, they swear by it Um, there's negative thoughts, in other words, negative self-talk. The more you feed yourself negative information, the more the emotion drives towards that thought process.

Speaker 3: 19:07

So, you can be disappointed about something and something that just happened to you in life, and then now you start dwelling on it. You started feeding that more energy. Now, before the end of the day, you're, you know, you're, you're pissed, you know now your.

Speaker 3: 19:23

Your responses is based on not Not just you know what happened to you, you know earlier that day, but a culmination of what happened to you throughout the day. But because your emotions were Were escalating, so you left out the house, someone cut you off. You're pissed about that. You're already pissed before. You left the house, got a bad phone call. Now you pissed, and now someone you know your job is actually to do something that you know you're not responsible or blamed you for something you didn't do. So it's a culmination of your totality, of your whole day.

Speaker 4: 20:00

Now you feel like you know you don't have any control of what you're saying and doing, which is it's just like the, the same thing that happened over the news on, if you heard it, with the guy and, um, the kid's mother, he just, he just punched the lady. He said, if you say something one more time, he just. Well, I don't want to say snap, but he did he warned there and say you say something one more time.

Speaker 3: 20:21

It was in grain and this is bling. I mean it's about the Chicago.

Speaker 4: 20:25

Yeah, the Chicago situation in Chicago.

Speaker 3: 20:27

That had nothing to do with anger. You know we, you know anger is blamed for everything that's bad, goes wrong in our lives. And that's not true. Angers are healthy, one of the most healthier emotions that you're gonna have. It's a more, it's a, it's an identity emotion. It tells you, it alerts you, what's good and bad in your life Thing.

Speaker 3: 20:46

It allows you to establish boundaries for yourself you know um, people that don't allow themselves to to Uh, absorb their anger. Then they sort of become sort of you know, go for anything, you know right, and then it's not that they don't feel it is that he stuff it. You know they don't and it doesn't mean you don't feel it because you're stubborn, that you're not addressing and you're not talking about it. Hey, you know, can I borrow your car? You all know you can't borrow my car. Instead of giving you the key, you know I wasn't going to do what you're going to do on the car all the time, I just said no. So it helps a lot.

Speaker 3: 21:30

Anger is what allows you to have healthy boundaries in your life and it establishes you to alert you to things that are good or bad in your life. You know people that mistreat you, for example. Yeah, take advantage of you. For example. Anger is that feeling that allows you to know that this is not right. Something is not right, it's going on. So if you're not feeling that, if you're sort of stuffing it, then pretty soon it's going to be.

Speaker 3: 22:01

So it's not anger that causes us to do things. It's our belief system and our thought process, along with our emotions and our escalation and not being able to, not understanding and have the skill set in responding in a way at an elevated emotion so I can respond. I can be furious and respond still and tell you that I'm furious because this is happening and not curse you out. I don't have to throw up my hands, I don't have the point, I don't have to call you all type of efforts and bids and this, and that I don't have to respond, but I can tell you how furious and disappointment, disappointed that I am based on, whatever the situation is, because I have the skill set in dealing with that emotion versus the person that you know, based on what they know about being angry, you know, established a whole different, other behavior pattern.

Speaker 1: 23:03

And did I miss it? Did you ask if we could attend the class?

Speaker 2: 23:07

Yeah, because it feels as though it would be a greater benefit to communities to have these courses before you get in trouble. And you see most of them are in trouble. So at first I was like I hope we never see you running to them.

Speaker 2: 23:27

But then I'm like no, I was like my kids to go to something like this without them having to be in trouble before they realize, just like it's people that learn most of their knowledge once they went to prison and they go in there and they're enabled, but then you come out you're like, well, where is all that sourcing being fed to us in the community? Because you talking all this stuff? My next question was going to be like, after knowing all this, how did you feel hearing the music you started observing also being digested into people?

Speaker 3: 24:10

Well, the culture is what the culture is you know your environment is what your environment is, the art of rap and hip hop and what have you. It's only telling the story of what you're experiencing and what you're seeing, or telling the story about whatever the environment that you've seen or experienced or heard about. Too often, what's happening in the music is people are not exactly experiencing that, they're just talking about the subject matter because it sounds good. But the reality is, is that because you're experiencing that? That doesn't make you hopeless, to understanding how to deal with issues in your life? You know too often you know we rate people based on you know, the way they were raised, you know, and that doesn't determine your success or you're not. You know because you were raised with you know, to keep you know one parent, or in a foster home, you know, or with you know ten different siblings with you know, sharing, you know, the same bathroom and even the same clothes. That doesn't make you less successful, as the person that you know has a. They grew up with the world without the have everything. You know. It's just a story of you know I didn't. You know I don't.

Speaker 3: 25:43

Really I love hip hop, I love rap, I love everything about it, you know. But then there's a. There's a. There's a line that you have to understand, listening to it and absorbing it and knowing how to separate it from now, your life in terms of making choices. Okay, I, I hear and see what the possibilities are in terms of making the bad choice, so I know what that side looks like. You know, I know what you know. I know what making bad choices look like. You know walking around with guns. You know getting in fights, hanging out with clubs I don't do clubs anymore. You know I stopped drinking many, many years ago. I'm 30 plus years now sober.

Speaker 1: 26:33

Congratulations on that.

Speaker 3: 26:35

I actually 1992, I got sober 92. So right now, this is with 31 years for me. So when I gave up that life, I didn't get. I didn't give up having fun, I didn't give up hip hop, I just gave up. You know certain aspect of that life that allows me to lead to a dangerous path, to now overindulge myself into a life of crime and choices that I don't want to be involved in, you know definitely unhealthy and do you feel that because what you went through, do you feel like it's?

Speaker 1: 27:13

I want to say, maybe you're more relatable or, in the field that you're in your like, do you can someone do what you do you think is effectively, if they didn't experience what you experienced?

Speaker 3: 27:23

I don't think so, because I, you know, in the music world people call me Mr C and, out of a sign of respect, and people have called me pop. You know, old timer, but I'm young. Yeah, I'm pretty young, I'm 53 years old, oh yeah.

Speaker 3: 27:59

You know, but the experience that I've had is the experience of a 70 year old Before I. You know I was on, you know I did. I was on drugs before I turned 17. And this goes, this goes back before we're talking about. We're talking about 80s. You know I was, I was on drugs in the 80s and smoking marijuana at 12,. You know, 11, 12 years old. So I mean I don't know what, I don't know what they got now, but you know it does bear. Yeah, but I was doing all that stuff as a young boy growing up, you know.

Speaker 1: 28:51

Can I ask why, like that's a young age to be? You know around that that's a whole another story.

Speaker 3: 28:58

But the reality is my, my, my older cousins kept me.

Speaker 4: 29:04

Okay.

Speaker 3: 29:04

Okay. So having that, you know why my mom went to work. My older cousins kept me, so I was. I was shooting guns in in Pampas. This is these. These are the stories I've heard. Okay, you know, the worst weapon I got from my mom is, you know, you know, shitting in my diaper when I when I was out shooting guns in my Pampas. If I could shoot guns, and you know, then I can, I can say I got to go to bathroom, that's what.

Speaker 1: 29:35

I'm saying hey, that, that's a story. That's a story, right now.

Speaker 3: 29:44

I can see them in the diaper. Yeah, be raised with older cousins. You know I got exposed to these things when I was early on. But you know I didn't. You know, like I say I was, I didn't get on the wrong road early on. I started when I was about 16, when I was, when I was 16 years old, I experienced a death. My oldest cousin died and I was already doing, you know, smoking, weed, but I was doing what I needed to do in school and so forth, drinking. But then I just went a whole nother path. I started doing more of it, you know, and doing more of it, you know. I got to the point where, you know, I just didn't just in Mary anymore Before I turned 17, that year I was exposed to cocaine.

Speaker 3: 30:53

Cocaine took me in a whole nother direction in my life, you know. So from the time from then, so from 17 to 22, I experienced a whirlwind of various things in my life. I was arrested 32 times. I got over 34 charges in my life. I was at one time considered a high bet, you a curma. So you know you X, b, o and Y got into the field.

Speaker 4: 31:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 31:28

Part of this is that backstory of the Y.

Speaker 4: 31:32

Okay, okay.

Speaker 3: 31:33

So you know which you know in retrospect. You know I wish I had never went down that course, but it's also helped me develop in, in and have a mindset that I don't know if I would have that experience I understood. You know I can't rap with a link, but I lived a life.

Speaker 1: 32:01

You know what's good. I'm sure you got a year.

Speaker 3: 32:04

I've been in every little drug hole, from from from Lake Worth to the River Air Beach, when Stony Brook was really Stony Brook.

Speaker 1: 32:15

I've been talking about that.

Speaker 3: 32:17

When Rosemary was Rosemary. You know, you know all the, all the little holes when Eda Avenue S Avenue, when they were real jumping, that was, you know, I was, I was in it when the White House was the White House.

Speaker 2: 32:32

You had to go to everyone.

Speaker 3: 32:35

Well, I lived in. Well, we lived in the White Houses for a short time in my family you know I was. It goes back into 89-ish, around that time, 89-90. 89-90, I was in the White House. I stayed in the White House as your mother. I had a good year. Okay, yeah, entire project.

Speaker 1: 33:02

And you weren't married and had kids at between the 17 and 22,. This is after.

Speaker 3: 33:07

I met my wife when when I was 19. We've been together since I was 19. Wow so just take that, you know, and that's the other portion of the domestic violence and management portion of it. Okay, so I was, I was 19 when I well, I was turning 19 on, or I just turned 19 when I met my wife, so I was on a sober tip.

Speaker 1: 33:35

Okay.

Speaker 3: 33:35

You know doing. You know, if you're on drugs or established drug drinking, you go through a series of relapses. So I was. I was getting sober at the time and I met her when I was sober. And once I met her, I was sober, maybe about three or four months after that and you know and behold, I was back off to the races. She stuck by me. You know, you know, that's a, that's a that's a conversation for a longer conversation.

Speaker 1: 34:10

Yeah, but no, that's amazing.

Speaker 3: 34:12

She stuck by me. That's amazing, and you know we end up from, like I said during that time, 1989, 90, 91, 92,. I got sober in 92. And then even after I got sober, you know I still was. I was still very sick. It's a guy that's just getting sobered and know the first thing about really having how to have a family or be a family man.

Speaker 4: 34:39

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 34:40

You know. So I was, I was in training.

Speaker 3: 34:47

I was sober in training I took. I took that same mentality what it is to be a man you know, that same type of mentality where you go okay, I'm the man, now I'm sober, you know. This is where it's going down and, quite frankly, in that whole attitude, that thinking like a man, acting like a man syndrome is what establishes a lot of domestic violence and outsourcing. So what your, what's your true idea of what it is to be a man, you know? And that comes along with what we call male privilege, along with a bunch of different belief systems that embeds, and if you have that belief system, then pretty soon what's going to happen is bitch you know, all these you know, there's a number of series of things that can happen Exactly.

Speaker 3: 35:45

You know. So that happened and I, lo and behold, I got arrested in 93. First time I had been arrested was sober.

Speaker 4: 35:55

Damn.

Speaker 3: 35:55

You know, before all those charges I told you about that was doing my time going through drugs, in most of which it was death related burglary, armed robbery, strong armed robbery. But I went to jail on the Simpson, barrett sober and that never. There was a different experience for me. Like damn, let me jail, fuck this shit.

Speaker 1: 36:21

This shit about you got any siblings. No, you got any siblings, brothers or sisters.

Speaker 3: 36:26

Yeah, well, yeah, that's all. That's all. There was not around.

Speaker 1: 36:30

I mean, I got one brother that I grew up with.

Speaker 4: 36:33

Okay.

Speaker 3: 36:35

And he went to prison when I was 12. He was robbery. I'm robbery and second degree murder, and I have another set of siblings that I didn't grow up with.

Speaker 4: 36:58

Okay.

Speaker 3: 36:59

That I matter of fact, I found them when I was introduced to domestic violence and I started teaching and I did an article in the paper and one of my siblings seen the article and then they contacted the post to try to find out. You know, if they would give them my contact information, so I would unite it with, or reunite it with, a set of siblings I had never met.

Speaker 4: 37:34

Okay.

Speaker 3: 37:34

That was on my dad's side.

Speaker 4: 37:36

Okay.

Speaker 3: 37:38

So from there, you know, we established a relationship and there's a whole seven of us on that side.

Speaker 4: 37:45

Okay, I hate to go back, but White House, what is? What is that?

Speaker 3: 37:51

a seven streets oh seven seven seven street and Australian that's some Palm Beach lingo.

Speaker 2: 37:58

I figured it was something like that. I didn't know.

Speaker 3: 38:03

Seven Street. You know seven street and I strayed that project. Okay.

Speaker 4: 38:07

Okay, you got Dunbar.

Speaker 3: 38:09

Village. Okay, it's just an area project okay okay, seven street, so seven streets, you got something.

Speaker 2: 38:19

No, I didn't know where you was going. I want you to get back on track.

Speaker 3: 38:23

I know we're in a different area. No, no, no, no, yeah, yeah, but it built up. No, it's all good, it built up too.

Speaker 1: 38:29

I guess I'm, you know, here in the back store and all you've been through. So where does CRB Media? Because when I met you in the location you're on Australian and Blue Heron- I was on Australian and this is what you know coming up.

Speaker 3: 38:43

I've always thought that if I could, you know I was cooking, I was doing part time as a counselor and I always wanted my own business. Okay, so as a cook for Denny's, I started a business, so a knife sharpening service.

Speaker 4: 39:05

Is this after the computer, after you learned?

Speaker 3: 39:07

Well, this is doing that same time.

Speaker 4: 39:10

Okay.

Speaker 3: 39:12

You know, because I hadn't did anything with computers other than doing friends and family couple things on e-bays and it went no big deal. But I started this knife sharpening service where when I because at the time I was I was cooked and they came in manager wasn't there that day they got me to sign a ticket. I forget what the price was, but I think we're like 80 bucks or something. I was like fuck, 80 dollars for a knife or something there was something right near that figure. I said, I can do this shit.

Speaker 3: 39:47

But I didn't know. It was for the month at the time. But when I started investigating I said, well, all I need to do is just get some knives. You know I started looking at other knives and the equipment to get it. So I went to the. You know they liked me. I was one of the certified trainers that you know. I went around the different stores where people came to store. I did the training and I asked the district leader okay, if I get these knives, which I'll get the service for me. I said, oh, yeah, sure. So I bought the knives with a income tax check, the power of the income tax and I was at events.

Speaker 3: 40:30

I bought the knives with an income tax check. I bought the sharpener and I started doing their knives and you were going, you switch them out, you buy enough so they have a set. You keep a set and then you switch it out and go around. And then my mom worked for the school board. She said son, she said we, she was a cook. So she said we always need sharp knives. So we got to go out to the school and, sure enough, I went out there, put on a nice, nice tie, went to the school board and they said oh yeah, we've been looking for someone like this. So they allowed me to come get their contract to sharpen knives at the Palm Beach County School Board and I think it was like 130, some schools at the time.

Speaker 3: 41:16

I could go around to any school, as long as they wanted me to the service.

Speaker 4: 41:21

I can go in the shop and the service.

Speaker 3: 41:24

I started cooking and counseling and you know Mark's other thing. So I took two days, my two off days, and I went down around this, all the schools and that covers many schools I could, and it was great, and then I ended up getting sick and that's a. But I did that successfully for two years. But once I left the I went through a sickness at the time and I was down for about eight months I lost it. I couldn't get anyone to pick up that. So when I came back, my mind was somewhat different.

Speaker 3: 42:06

You know, I started looking into computers more so again and when, when it came around again, I started looking at this DVD thing. But we're talking 90. We're talking Now. We are already in 2003, 2004. Start looking at doing DVD store and that that started sort of developing. I was able to save some money and so forth, and I got in. Something else happened where I was able to get a location. So I say, well, we'll start here. We'll start doing computer stuff at the time. Now this is the story of how CRB me was birth.

Speaker 1: 42:58

OK.

Speaker 3: 43:00

So we got the store on Australia and that was. I figured, ok, I'm not going to do the DVD rental, but at this point, ok, I can do computers. So we start doing the computers. And I remember one of the People, some couple guys that befriended when I was doing some things, bottom line, I was selling CDs and on the CDs I was selling DVDs on the streets. So I met a few people in and when I got the store, so when they start coming around, I figured, ok, well, if I can bring the supplies here in Palm Beach From Fort Lauderdale, they can start. People can start buying supplies for me. I can do computers, I can sell supplies, I can do computers. I'm not even thinking about doing CDs at this time. Cds was just, you know, I hadn't even considered. So couple of guys say, well, see, you're here, why don't you just do do the case of CDs for us? Because at the time they was hustling their own music.

Speaker 2: 44:21

So, rappers, what year this is? What year this is?

Speaker 3: 44:24

We're talking. We're talking two thousand Five At the time. So two thousand five, I got the store. Yeah, in two thousand five I already had. There was a core group of guys that I had already knew that were out there huffling their CDs, their music and, at the time, dvd, the movie stuff was banging.

Speaker 1: 44:55

We want to get on that back in. We're going to. That would never be on camera.

Speaker 3: 45:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah, ok, ok, yeah, ok. But but I, you know, we, we got to where you know we would see each other at certain locations. You know, at round, at the, at one of these stores we're talking seven eleven, parking lots, server station, whatever. So finally I got a store and I figured if I could sell the DVDs and the CDs supplies along with doing computer work, then that would be a start.

Speaker 2: 45:43

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 45:44

And sure enough. And then a couple guys said can't you just burn some CDs for us? Ok, fine.

Speaker 3: 45:52

And I started burning CDs and they come and get 50 or 100. And I started researching the duplicators at the time because I wanted to find out what it, what it would cost to. You know. They started circulating and try to figure out how many I can do at one time because these guys, they were hustling their pretty good yeah To the flea markets, for you know it, they were running through 52, I know their name right there.

Speaker 1: 46:19

Yeah, once you say the flea market, it was 2005. You had a top five artists from the flea market who were very popular and was, I would say, making a living making a pretty good right right right at the flea market.

Speaker 3: 46:33

And, matter of fact, they, they kept me, you know, kept me in great spirits like this is really working.

Speaker 4: 46:40

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 46:41

You know I'm making money, I'm doing this, I'm doing that, I'm being busy, but I'm saying thing. I was starting to research how to really do it on a bigger scale and I went down to Fort Lauderdale and tried and they were doing they were doing something totally different than what I was doing. They were actually printing on the disk. So when I seen that I was like damn, this is interesting, here I can get the machines and I can start printing the information on the disk. So I figured out how much money I need and I got my first few duplicators to start doing the CD stuff and I got one printer. I started doing doing that and, sure enough, it started working. And the guys, the flea market guys, they kept me busy. And the more and more I started looking at that that side, the more I got more contact. So people were starting to. You know, artists were starting to tell all the artists to come here to get your stuff done, they spread all the way to their area.

Speaker 3: 47:54

And this was well before he was there, because by the time it got out popular I was pretty established. By the time most you guys knew me, I was well established. I had enough stuff in place, but as it grew I wanted. I was trying to figure out how to become, how to really brand the place, because I didn't want to. I didn't want to be that. I wanted to be more than just a place that you came to do CDs from, because at the time it was, it was more or less like let me just say it plain I didn't want to be groped out by the police because I was the guy in the neighborhood doing CDs.

Speaker 4: 48:46

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 48:49

So I was thinking well, let's figure out how to brand this thing. So I started looking at sponsorships. So somebody told me OK, you ought to advertise on X102. So I started getting an advertisement on X102. And that's how I met DJ Daddy Fats. And when we met each other he invited me to the functioning, to head downtown, and that really gave me legitimacy in terms of the company. I wouldn't, I wouldn't some guy doing doing CDs. It was a company CRB Media was doing CDs. So that helped establish our brand and it just grew and grew and grew. And as we grew we began to get more contacts and Palm Beach kept me busy, but Broward they, they gave me the checks.

Speaker 1: 49:57

So can I, and I can let me name drop a little bit. And you, you can tell me yes or no, slip and slide.

Speaker 3: 50:03

Slip and slide.

Speaker 1: 50:04

MMG.

Speaker 3: 50:05

MMG.

Speaker 1: 50:06

We the best. We the best Universal records.

Speaker 3: 50:09

Universal records. Okay, yeah, wow. So so the story you know, we had we had gotten so big where we needed so much equipment and I started investing in equipment and machines to do the printing, the robotics and so for. So we had first. We at first got our contact and I'll tell you I'm mentioning them by name because that, if that's he was, he was entering instrumental and getting me to Palm Beach layout. But one person that was really instrumental and getting me down in in Broward was Klee.

Speaker 4: 50:49

Klee.

Speaker 3: 50:52

Klee that the time shot out of Klee, you know, I'm not a Klee Klee put my name in in down in Miami and with Khaled. I remember Fat Boy, one of his guys that you know, your fat boys. I don't know his real name, we just know about Fat Boy. He was doing a lot of street team work for a lot of the labels we the best Bo Boy and whoever put street team together and getting him out. So he gave me my information and from there he said a meet, conversation with Khaled and then we got our first runs with Khaled and then started doing a lot of Khaled singles and Khaled got his label going in. Right before that I was working with AD dollars and deals yeah.

Speaker 3: 51:50

And I met and that's a very interesting story I met AD. Ad used to do the same thing I was doing at the time. He was printing in and do became CDs and he had the contract to do the first Ply's push before it flies album.

Speaker 3: 52:11

Yeah he did a promotional push. That contract was 400,000 CDs and at the time AD didn't. Just he didn't have enough machines to do that kind of work and the people that we get our machines from said that they couldn't get him a machine in time enough to complete his project. So then they gave him my information. They said the only person that's around that could possibly help you is this guy here in Palm Beach. That's how I met AD and doing that, doing that work, and before I knew it looked up.

Speaker 1: 52:49

Wait, hold on a minute On that story. So 100,000 CDs. I did 50,000 at the time. Oh, wow so what's the largest amount of CDs you have done on a?

Speaker 3: 52:59

project On a project. It's hundreds, hundreds of thousands. So just so far you got to look. You got to look so at one time at one time, probably 150 for one artist at one time. Okay.

Speaker 1: 53:27

Our last 150,000.

Speaker 3: 53:30

Yeah, Our last project we did for Mike Smith. That was actually the last big project I did.

Speaker 1: 53:37

Mike Smith put out 130, 135,000 CDs recently.

Speaker 3: 53:43

The last time that. That was when he first got on slip with seven side, first sign here. We did 135 CDs, 135,000 CDs for him. So that was the last push. But when I was doing, when I was working with Khaled and MMG and we were doing quite a bit, I mean there was nothing for them guys to do 50 to 100,000.

Speaker 1: 54:09

CDs. So give me an idea in 50,000 CDs, how much can hours or days? Well, we had.

Speaker 3: 54:16

We had build up to a level where I have purchased. At that time I had 15 duplicators that can do 15 at one time. I had 10 robotic machines that could print, you know. At the same time. So we were putting out anywhere. You know, if we were hustling, I had enough staff. We were putting out anywhere from 10 to 15,000 CDs a day and that's what she did and that's the thing that made us so different than any other, any other people in the state.

Speaker 3: 54:53

We were actually at the time, we were the largest facility that could print in that type of volume with the turnaround that was demanded.

Speaker 4: 55:05

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 55:06

That the you know artist. They put unrealistic.

Speaker 2: 55:10

And I have to tell you the quality too, because you was, you was I don't know the name of the ink, but you was, you was printing. Yeah, the thermal ink directly to the, to the disc and I remember the quality because I think I went through someone else and sometimes it appeal off or the CD, the plastic in the CD appeal off on the other side and it'll go through and it just the quality wasn't there. Your quality was real good and you didn't charge for text.

Speaker 4: 55:45

He didn't charge for text.

Speaker 1: 55:47

It was, it was times I didn't deserve.

Speaker 2: 55:49

You said what's the name of the group. You put the name on it and you get it. There was other people would charge an additional fee for that.

Speaker 2: 55:57

They didn't charge for the sleeves they was putting it in the in it to didn't charge extra for that. Other people was charging for that. It was just so convenient and I didn't even know you was doing scale that big, because there was a few times we went and it was like emergency. Well, this was our version of emergency. We need like 200 CDs, like in two days and y'all would have it like the week or come the next day to get it on emergency and sometimes late night and you, you appreciate it so much you said wow, they care how much this is important to us, just to put out 200 CDs. Meanwhile you got you probably just stopping the machine real quick. Man, you know, he got a dream right here. Let's print this out real quick Right there and go through. It's just so beautiful how it was ran. I always had the best service. I thought it was unbelievable because we didn't have that idea.

Speaker 3: 56:56

I was. I was a disruptor. I found out what was the average cost and I dropped it. That's what I did when I came in the game on that going in that my bro and date area Because they wanted volume, but they wanted the volume at the price that made sense to them. Yeah, okay. So I just say you know what, here's what I'm going to do. I think the going rate was like 50. 50 cents. I said I'm going to do this shit with 35. 35 cents done Because the way I looked at it and already I invested it in the machines and equipment, so it was. It was somebody told me once before I got it this way Tire man at the end of the day, he got tires. Car man at the end of the day he got cars. I was CDs man At the end of the day.

Speaker 1: 57:51

I got CDs.

Speaker 3: 57:53

So I'm putting out CDs. I can, I'm eating, breathing, living. I'm doing CDs. So I invested money in CDs. So we would go down and we were about pallets of CDs, pallets.

Speaker 4: 58:07

How much is on a?

Speaker 3: 58:09

pallet A pallet is. You know, after 80,000 CDs you really got a pallet of CDs. So you know we would have pallets of CDs.

Speaker 3: 58:19

We'd go by two, sometimes two, three pallets you know of CDs, and so I not only that, and that was a whole nother infiltrating the wholesale market was big, because I'm just some black guy coming in wanting a good price. So I had to prove that I wasn't, you know, just somebody looking for a good deal, that I was ready to spend money. So, okay, how much is it? You know what I need to spend? Well, you need a minimum of 25,000. Okay, we'll find what you want, that we don't check money or work out what do you want. So that's what we were doing. We were sort of impacting in a way where we were having the people, the wholesalers force, and say we want your business, so it wasn't just one place I can go.

Speaker 3: 59:12

I learned that there were six different wholesalers down in Miami and everybody wanted my business because I was considered a no nonsense type person. You weren't giving the price. I appreciate it, but I'll see you, thank you. Oh, no, no, no, no. You already said you couldn't meet it. That's fine, and I've learned that everybody couldn't meet your price on every different product, but they could. I didn't.

Speaker 3: 59:40

I never burn a bridge, but I kept that bridge open to, because every there's times that your supplier may not have that product. So you keep that. You know. Beat that source, you know available and in good standards. I never burn a source and I learned that everybody, just because they can give you a good price in CDs, they may can't give you a good price on packaging, you know, or or a certain brand. So I learned all the ins and outs of the Miami wholesale market. You know, when it came to supplies and that's how I come out I was able to put supplies down there, you know. So, whether I was selling supplies or doing the project, I was making money and the way I looked at it. That you know. And I have people that would someone say well, you're not scared to. You know they're going to learn this and you know, take your business. I said, don't matter if they're buying supplies or I'm doing it, I still get a piece of whatever you're doing.

Speaker 1: 1:00:41

Right, because you're right, because I bought. I got three duplicators at the house, but I still got to come back to you every time for. Cd.

Speaker 3: 1:00:48

And you know, yeah, yeah, it didn't matter, it didn't it didn't, it didn't matter to me, you were doing your stuff, okay, I'm happy. So, whatever that, whatever that price, that that profit margin is that's mine Right, whether it's.

Speaker 1: 1:01:04

Clarence, they'll be honest with you. Even with the duplicate, it ain't no one trying to get to the rack. Take the CD out, sleeve it, put the next set of eight six in. It's still work.

Speaker 2: 1:01:13

Especially at the speed yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:01:16

You still would. The official steel was amazing.

Speaker 3: 1:01:19

We had a staff mainly family, but we understand. At one point we were up to about eight people that worked at that place, Wow, and all of which was family. All but red. Red is the mascot of the store.

Speaker 1: 1:01:32

Oh, red, oh, he was always at the door. There you go. He was at a. He was storytelling up there. Oh yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:01:40

Red was I just befriended red and red just. He's the cat that won't stop coming around.

Speaker 1: 1:01:47

I like them, man, amazing guy yeah. He made the spot where it was man.

Speaker 3: 1:01:53

But yeah, the way it came for me, doing CDs I had never, it was never on the agenda, it just sort of I just stummet into it. The guys just asked me if I could do it, okay, fine, and that became the pivot you know, pivot of the point of our business.

Speaker 1: 1:02:09

You know, CRB is mainly developed from CDs, and at that time, I guess the CDs will be your main source of income, although, you had the computers you had the flyers, you did everything else. T-shirt design. I feel like you could call Cleans for anything man.

Speaker 2: 1:02:24

Yeah, At that time, you ever thought about in those times like actually doing a label?

Speaker 3: 1:02:33

I, my son, my son. He started rapping, so I seen it. It was very challenging, I felt like, and I bought him all the equipment for the studio and that was just challenging it was just too, it was.

Speaker 3: 1:02:54

It was, it was different side of the brain. Yeah, couldn't focus on it. And at the time, itoldestson on Dipteroma수ik YouTube channel and, to be honest with you too, I didn't want to be around that type of crowd and it's not to speak to because I have it's hard to speak plainly. The rap community, all those there's some fake rappers that's spitting lyrics. There's some actual rappers that's living that life and I just didn't want to be mixed up in trying to figure out where you really are you really got to ooze in there?

Speaker 3: 1:03:52

And people running up, in and out of your spot. How much drugs did you really get apart of?

Speaker 2: 1:03:57

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and my lifestyle had changed.

Speaker 3: 1:04:02

I didn't really want to be, you know, being up in it. I wanted to be a part of it, but not with a boundary. So and I knew what type of crowd that that would draw, that would have to be in close proximity with me on the regular basis or in the shop.

Speaker 2: 1:04:24

I wanted to. I know we I'm stepping back to the computer part because we got the other story of like, yeah, can I say psychological knowledge? Okay, did you, when you start working on computers because you can build a computer as well did you ever started connecting the mechanics of the computer and how the mind operated?

Speaker 3: 1:04:55

Well, yes, you know, because the mind and the computer are much alike. You know the processor. We start looking at the processor. You know, processor really is a computer portion of how you, how you, basically compute information, your thought process. A hard drive is a storage. So your memory bring you know, you know what you're, what you're actually retaining, information and knowledge you're retaining and I think that has a lot to do with the way we develop and hoard information what becomes more important to us versus what's not.

Speaker 3: 1:05:38

You know, when you begin to store information that is unhealthy for you, too much information that is unhealthy for you can be harmful. However, not having that information can be is also harmful. So, whereas the balance is you know and that's and that's, and it's not bad to have it right. But when you use it in a way that's challenging in terms of reacting sporadically, without without thinking about consequences of what's next for you in life, who does it affect, how does it affect me or the other person Then it becomes something that is just so, it's so irrational, but it's good to know. So when I'm challenged with it or see it around me, I know that this is unhealthy for me. This is not something I want to deal with. So, having it is good, you know, storing it is good, but also knowing and storing much information that's healthy and helpful for you not just for you, but the people that are around you.

Speaker 3: 1:06:46

So in terms of your family. So I have seven kids, you know. You know, and I've tried to be a better person in terms of the way I early on things that I've learned and I've and I've sort of hoarded the information that I know I've tried to not show them that side of me. You know, they don't know that side. All they've heard is different stories. But they've never seen their dad in jail, you know. They've never experienced.

Speaker 3: 1:07:28

You know the dad on drugs or even drinking. You know my oldest is 36, you know, at the time I was, I was, I was 30 or 36. She don't have any memory of me drinking. You know I was sober by the time she was three years old, three or four years old. When she was four, I was getting sober. She don't have any memory of me drinking. She don't have any memory of me smoking. So that side of me that that I don't want them to experience, I've tried to be a better person to them. I've given them that knowledge and information, those roadblocks and the stumbling blocks that you're going to face in life, you know. You know, don't make the same mistakes that daddy made. Well, daddy, you ain't made no mistakes. Well no, your daddy's made some bigger mistakes.

Speaker 4: 1:08:26

I never saw it.

Speaker 3: 1:08:27

I think you know the daddy's just green, your daddy's green.

Speaker 1: 1:08:36

That's a good one have you have you built any gaming computers?

Speaker 4: 1:08:40

Oh yeah, I mean computers.

Speaker 3: 1:08:41

you know what Computer came during that? Two 99, 2000,. Building computers 99, 2000,. It was just a boom and I was able to take advantage of that During that time. Building computers was amazing, I mean, it was something new. It was just phenomenal, man. It was just great to be able to build a computer that I did that you know, and to be something of so significant and so important. I think it was great and that was great for a while. But you know, then we had laptops Game around and that sort of not computers, yeah. And then now with with phones, nobody want my own computer.

Speaker 4: 1:09:27

Are you into the phone game? Are you into the phone? No?

Speaker 3: 1:09:31

it's something I never said, Several things I didn't transition to. I thought about it, you know, and I didn't. I guess that's one of the regrets I have is I didn't transition when you know, I seen the curve I was going to ask.

Speaker 3: 1:09:48

I seen the CD curve, you know. So when I I was trying to get an actual time and date where things that started sort of derailing, I think, 2015. From 15 to 17,. The curve was happening on the, on the downward spiral, and we seen it in the wholesale market too, but it was really happening in with the artists because by the end the C codes were out, you know, and people started looking at that and you know, printing the C code on the fly, handing it out, along with social media, was starting to pop real good Spotify you know cities that sort of began to diminish.

Speaker 4: 1:10:39

I think it was MP3 players that started hurting MP3 players, that's what it was the iPod and so forth.

Speaker 3: 1:10:48

So, things that music has started to change. I think you know I used to do a lot of four things that were diminishing. I was really printing a lot for MMG. Shout out to Lex Promotion. He's an amazing guy, lex Promotion. He was keeping me busy and you know he said man, you're one of the biggest payoffs in my checkbook Because I'm printing for the whole label. I mean all this. You know everybody on the label from Ross to beat me up to gunplay and you know, the whole label, you remember, you know the whole label Shout out to Bill there.

Speaker 1: 1:11:31

You know what I mean. Vee on.

Speaker 3: 1:11:33

Yeah, yeah, I'm getting their whole work and you know. But you know I've seen that curve happening because he was starting to print less and less and less. He went from printing, you know, tens and tens and tens of 20,000 CDs to, you know, 5,000 to 500, you know the point where you know, now I got none.

Speaker 4: 1:11:59

I think, the change for me when it came to CDs is if they were, if they were a CD player, not in a car. That's where I think it's important.

Speaker 3: 1:12:07

That's been most recent you know, in the last five years you know, in the last five years they've taken CD players out of the car, but I'm still doing CDs and I'll say this much about CDs.

Speaker 4: 1:12:17

Okay.

Speaker 3: 1:12:19

Even though, for some people think this, I wouldn't be caught. If I'm an artist, I still would be caught without a CD, that's if you're going from town to town, if you're still doing shows from town to town. You know it's a business card, it's nothing else. You know it's got your information on it. You know I'm still printing CDs because it's still lucrative.

Speaker 1: 1:12:47

I mean, I go to Haiti frequently, you know what I mean. And CDs is still king.

Speaker 2: 1:12:51

They still print, they still got the CDs, they listen to radio a lot, but they still love a CD man.

Speaker 1: 1:12:57

They value CDs still.

Speaker 3: 1:12:58

And it's that physical, tangible thing that Dave's gotten from an artist.

Speaker 3: 1:13:04

You know, I would say, 50 CDs, you know if you take 10 to an event, you know at least you got them, you know. For whoever, whatever you know, I would say keep you know, don't throw it away altogether. But I think it's going to be around until there's a a a total shift, and it's and it has to happen across the world, because as long as we have countries that are, you know, not activated to the Wi-Fi, you know, in every area, if you go to somebody's house where you say you got what, where's the Wi-Fi, pay you know, every house, so we got Wi-Fi.

Speaker 3: 1:13:44

That's not this case in a lot of these countries. You know they're still getting now with physical CDs. So you know where, until there's Wi-Fi everywhere and people can enjoy streaming readily in the realm of those, cds are not going anywhere. There's going to always be a market where there's CDs, is going to be always somewhere that you may need to have a CD, or maybe good to have it, even if you don't, because you know if you're, despite what you may think about yourself, once you, once you leave, once you leave for me and you telling me to look you up on Facebook and IG and this and that's all these links, I'll be like okay, all right, and within 10, 20 minutes walking away, I'll be like damn what, what did I say?

Speaker 2: 1:14:40

Now only you remember.

Speaker 3: 1:14:42

Only you remember. But if you got physical, if not, you know card or whatever. But you need something tangible. You know it's just me still having a heart for CDs and I don't think that's going to ever go away, but but I still think it's still still something that artists should consider. You know to have you know you got to go crazy with it, but it's still something I think it's it's it's important to have in your you know, at least you know in your arsenal of your material.

Speaker 1: 1:15:11

Yeah, I still got. I always do a small run. I feel like it's just important, man. What's funny is much as a streaming has taken over, I still get caught in certain places to your point or something. I mean, you ain't going to give me a mixtape like that. That's what they want, I'm like. But it's you can go listen on, but it's like no man, I missed the mixtape. Like somebody still wants a mixed CD. I used to do a lot of collages with DJs and that was very popular and I still got people asking me for that kind of inspired me to want to do a new, a new mixtape and have those handy.

Speaker 3: 1:15:42

Yeah, I'm hearing people, even even with people like this because of the CD game has has been diminished on, a lot of artists are not making money anymore. And that's that's the reality of it.

Speaker 1: 1:15:58

That was that real deal Direct.

Speaker 3: 1:16:00

Because I hear people are not getting money on streaming.

Speaker 1: 1:16:03

No, it's, it's it's very hard, it's pennies. I think I share with the boys and the sexes. Yeah, like one of my biggest records. Surprisingly, the numbers are phenomenal. You're looking, say man. It's made the most money, although I recorded it in 2012. I put it out in 2022, this particular song, and it's been it's my number one streaming record today.

Speaker 1: 1:16:27

So it's just a, and Eric was like what did you do? I'm like just put it out to that point. You know I'm constantly dropping music. But you look at the dollar amount and I'm like, man, it would have looked better If it was four times the amount, though it's a lot harder.

Speaker 3: 1:16:43

So I think CDs because you know what's happening in our technology has taken away money from your average artist. You know that is, you know, I'm sorry, rick Ross and all these other names and also names that you know everybody's won't be. That, I'm sorry, he's just and it has nothing to do with your ability, is just the way the world works. There's not going to be so many Bill Gates and Warren Buffets, you know the price of CDs were what?

Speaker 4: 1:17:13

$9, $10, right In a store.

Speaker 2: 1:17:16

I mean it used to be like 18 in the circuit city going at this circuit city. No, no, no, what what yeah, circuit city.

Speaker 1: 1:17:24

I remember I bought a BG album for like 18 or 1999.

Speaker 2: 1:17:27

I bought a 36 mafia album for like $12. That's on the back, lower days I'm telling you first when it had the plastic thing around it like you could carry it yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:17:39

Like it was up, it used to be up there, yeah, and just like tech, you know tech is, you know. I am just saying tech is his own worst enemy. Technology, we've, tech, we've teched our way out of jobs, and you know, and it adds an extra convenience. But in adding that convenience, what have you taken away? You know?

Speaker 3: 1:18:05

sure you may be able to do things easier, but it sure was better when I could just, you know, do this than another. Or I had a job. Look at, you know how little it's a pain going through. It's much better going through the turn pipe now where you got no, you know. But it's what about all them jobs that they took and taken, all them total away from the turn pipe?

Speaker 2: 1:18:28

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:18:29

And I'm just using that example. But you know, it's great to have technology, but you're you're losing jobs.

Speaker 1: 1:18:36

Self checkouts taking over.

Speaker 2: 1:18:37

Self checkouts A lot, somebody who lost some jobs, even on the flip end.

Speaker 1: 1:18:41

you got people who don't want to come to work too. Yeah, On the flip end.

Speaker 2: 1:18:45

They, they. I feel like they also slowing things down. I have friends that work like on the corporate side of things and there's a software that can do a lot of the counting. You kind of don't need a human to be typing and pressing buttons at this point, but for the sake of it it's taking care of so many people, putting people kids through colleges and things like that to go buy a program that could run all your accounting affairs and other other back end stuff that humans are doing.

Speaker 2: 1:19:22

It's like now we kind of have to slow, like fake some of the steps and just keep it there for the sake of people having jobs. But then now on the other end we're seeing a lot of inconveniences because you're realizing wait, if I want to go get this done, I gotta go through one, two, three, four steps and wait for the process. Just for an example to get a job you have to go through so many. Even they could say you hire but you gotta go through so many other steps that it's like all right, technology could solve that, but you got. A lot of people would be out of jobs if we allow technology to step in and save our convenience. So it's an uncomfortable time in that regard. Thinking of it that way.

Speaker 3: 1:20:14

But I really think it's a fact that music, in a very negative way for the small artists, for the small artists, is trying to get up their money, bring up their bag, because I know over the years I've always admired artists, the monies that they spend, but I know they find ways to get it back. In one of those ways we're just getting that, you know, out there doing the CD house, getting that CD house. It wasn't free. Some people were given, you know, some people were given the majority of CDs away, but you put a thousand CDs they kind of I can get five dollars. Beat that five thousand dollars man.

Speaker 2: 1:20:57

Clarence giving it to you for 50 cents, you making a $9, 50 cent profit. I used to be like I said we made $200, we could get another hundred away. We don't care yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:21:10

So I think in that regard it's taking a lot of money away from the artists, from that developing artists. You know if you got a deal, you know and that's a whole subject matter too how they don't route people on these deals and so forth. But there ain't no more promotion checks there. You gotta be done. Done your own promotion, your footwork.

Speaker 1: 1:21:34

So when you really think about some of the numbers you just shared with us and you think about some of us locally, what we were doing, we were barely scratching the surface.

Speaker 4: 1:21:43

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:21:43

If you think about a?

Speaker 1: 1:21:44

hundred a hundred and fifty thousand CDs and you do a 500 run. I mean it's good, you're doing something, but man.

Speaker 4: 1:21:52

They was flooding the streets. You know a lot of these guys were doing.

Speaker 3: 1:21:55

I mean, even I've got some great numbers but it was a consistency of guys coming back. You know I had guys doing a hundred a day. You know, in a matter of weeks they've done, you know, anywhere from you know 500 to a thousand CDs a week. When you start looking at it that way, their numbers are up. And I had one guy say well, I had one of the guys in Fort Lauderdale, another company, because the guy went to him to do CDs. I said, well, you give him that price. But he said, but that's a. I said, man, I'm telling this guy's gonna print like crazy. So I give him the price that I would print if he were doing a thousand, because this guy is printing. This guy is printing well over, you know, five thousand a month. He's been five thousand CDs a month by a hundred.

Speaker 3: 1:22:46

Yeah, Local artist. He's been five thousand CDs a month. This guy's still printing, even today. I got a guy that's printing, you know, almost two thousand CDs a month. I got a guy to write now.

Speaker 1: 1:23:01

That's awesome.

Speaker 3: 1:23:02

Two thousand CDs a month, and it's to the point where you know, because I'm not purchasing CDs like that anymore.

Speaker 4: 1:23:10

Right.

Speaker 3: 1:23:11

So I find myself damn, I gotta go get CDs.

Speaker 1: 1:23:15

I feel like in that conversation I remember you saying some reference, something like that yeah, I got to go get.

Speaker 3: 1:23:20

CDs. I got to get this ordered, you know. But CDs I think they're gonna still be a portion of part of my life, you know, to the point where you know it's collectible. You know like they're doing that. You know, with the LPs, you know. But all in all I appreciate having been a part of you know what's, you know, palm Beach, brown and Dade and even across. You know I did CDs all over Florida and even out of the state, but mainly, you know, big upstair Tri-County area. If it wasn't for, you know, palm Beach, brown and Dade, you know I wouldn't have survived so long and I just think I just thank God of how people that you know I didn't know, just you know in many cases took me under their wing and just gave me the business you know and some of the labels. Mainly most of everybody paid the bills and so forth. But for the most part I didn't have any problems with people, with paying and maintaining their you know their commitment to paying us, paying us on time.

Speaker 1: 1:24:40

That's what's up.

Speaker 3: 1:24:41

That's what's up you know I made a lot of money doing it. You know and you know I did a lot of good things. I don't have all that money anymore, but we did make a lot of money. But running a business of certain magnitude is, you know, you spent a lot of money.

Speaker 1: 1:24:57

Absolutely.

Speaker 3: 1:24:58

You know, and you know, I just think it was great. I mean being a part of being a part of this community. I do, I do, you know, even now, you know if anybody needs anything else going on as far as CDs or any type of print material. I would just hope that they would still look us up. Oh, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 1:25:20

I'm still sending people to the. Yeah absolutely.

Speaker 3: 1:25:24

One by one, I shall appreciate the business. We're not where we were. We're not at nowhere near the you know levels of doing jobs like we used to be, but you know it's still something that we offer. Website is I'm not a social media guy. I'm on there but you know I don't really do the social media aspect and that would be another regret that I regret. I didn't sort of acclimate to being able to know how to navigate the social media and promote, but you know You're still young.

Speaker 1: 1:26:03

Clarence, Whenever you need it. We got you yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:26:06

Like you said, you're still young.

Speaker 1: 1:26:07

Yeah. We can make it happen. You already know, you can call me, you already know that.

Speaker 4: 1:26:12

Believe it or not, I still think you got a leg in the game. Like you know, it's another curve, but it can definitely get it done.

Speaker 3: 1:26:19

It ain't. It ain't Rat Lane. They ain't shown yet. All right.

Speaker 1: 1:26:28

So now, clarence, we want to play a little game. It's a rapper fire question, so I'm going to ask you a few questions and there's two options, so you just choose the one that you would like the best out of the four as far as your response is concerned. All right, so it's called exposure trivia. I'm going to shoot off, let's see what we get off at, all right, so first one work or play.

Speaker 3: 1:26:52

Work or play work love or friendship. I think money or happiness.

Speaker 1: 1:27:03

Cat to dogs, summer or winter.

Speaker 3: 1:27:10

Oh summer.

Speaker 2: 1:27:15

All right.

Speaker 1: 1:27:20

Morning or evening. I'm an evening guy All right, saw to your sweet, sweet One episode at a time or binge the whole season. I'm a banger, I love it Shower at night or in the morning.

Speaker 3: 1:27:36

At night.

Speaker 1: 1:27:38

Rather fly or super strength?

Speaker 3: 1:27:40

Fly or what.

Speaker 1: 1:27:42

Super strength Fly or super strength.

Speaker 3: 1:27:46

Yeah, having a super oh, okay. I'd rather fly.

Speaker 1: 1:27:54

All right, find your dream job or win the lottery.

Speaker 4: 1:27:59

Yeah, that's a good one, that's a really good one.

Speaker 3: 1:28:04

You know, I would say find my dream job.

Speaker 1: 1:28:08

All right, and last one, introvert or extrovert?

Speaker 3: 1:28:12

Extrovert.

Speaker 1: 1:28:13

All right, all right, all right, that's it. That's it. That's some good stuff right there, man, but, man, you don't drop the lot on us. Man, I kind of just came in thinking CRB, duplication and all the hustles you have, and we learned a whole lot from the counseling and to the back story and what got you here today. That's an amazing story and I really do appreciate you sharing and being vulnerable with us and giving us some insight. Right, you know, I would definitely come to a class before anything will ever happen. I would be there and I think, like Eric said, that would be something dope to have in our community.

Speaker 3: 1:28:49

Yeah, I would love. I've always wanted to be a part of something that had nothing to do with something punitive, you know punitive, what they were mean punitive?

Speaker 1: 1:29:03

I want to know exactly how you said it, but what exactly does it mean? Consequence?

Speaker 3: 1:29:08

Punitive is consequence. So you know a lot of things. A lot of things happen. You want to get it before it happens. So the only reason that you're doing this? Because it's punitive.

Speaker 4: 1:29:19

Yeah, it's punishment.

Speaker 3: 1:29:23

So the only reason you're changing and being open for information, because it's punishment. I always say consequence only take you, but so far so when you're doing things based on consequence, there's no real motive behind it and, in many cases, there's no sincerity, because the consequence, it's a, it's a direction. However, it's not a motivator. It doesn't motivate you to change. What motivates you to change is character. Who you are is the motivation behind, because, at some point, consequence I don't give a fuck who you call Bitch, I'll fuck you up, right.

Speaker 4: 1:30:14

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:30:16

I already know the consequence. Yeah, yeah. So, consequence is not really a foundation for change.

Speaker 1: 1:30:28

Character is that was a gem of the day too. I was going to give advice to your younger self or someone coming up, but that's an awesome gem of the day.

Speaker 3: 1:30:42

I mean consequence won't take you. But so far you know it gives you some restraint. Yes, it does. But if, again, if your police system overrides your consequence, then consequences out in the window. You want to call the police? I'll call them for you 911, give me the phone. Eat your ass before they get here.

Speaker 2: 1:31:08

That sound like a tick tock voice over.

Speaker 1: 1:31:14

It just might go on there. Oh man, it's crazy.

Speaker 4: 1:31:18

you say that we spoke on it on the last episode. Again, the question was where have you learned being an adult at this age? And I said patience. So, that being patient means a lot.

Speaker 3: 1:31:32

Change has to become who you are. So it's that concept. You can't see the forest because of the trees, so as you begin to walk and change, it becomes absorbed in who you are. So at what point you change into one person, into another?

Speaker 3: 1:31:48

is the portion of your character. So I don't do it because that's not who I am, that's not what I believe and I don't know at what point it changed, because change is ongoing. So change when it comes to human behavior is never permanent. It's situational. But it's also conducive to what your belief system and how it lines up in every scenario.

Speaker 3: 1:32:16

So if I'm dealing with you in the public shopping center, if I'm dealing with you at the red light or at home, is it lining up with my core values? So it doesn't matter where I'm at in my life is that if change is who I am, it doesn't matter what the situation is and where I'm in. What I'm at, I'm going to respond based on my core value of who I am in that moment and it doesn't matter what the situation is. If there's another alternative that is helpful to me and helpful to you, then that's the alternative I want to do. So you know it's just one of those things. You know you got to be able to understand that and motivate yourself, not just through consequence but through the value of who you really want to be in your life.

Speaker 1: 1:33:19

And, mr Seif, all the viewers out there that want to get at you CRB Media Plus on Google. It'll take them to Instagram, facebook.

Speaker 3: 1:33:28

Or CRBprintingcom. Okay. That's actually the website CRBprintingcom. Okay so, or you know, if you look up CRB Media Plus, it's going to send you some type of information, but we've actually changed the name to CRB Printing and More.

Speaker 4: 1:33:47

Okay.

Speaker 3: 1:33:48

Yeah, I don't you know. Crb Printing and More. You can find us that's, I think that's our Instagram, but I know that the website is CRBprintingcom.

Speaker 1: 1:34:04

So we're going to put that on the bottom of the screen and link it in the bio for people watching on.

Speaker 3: 1:34:10

YouTube yeah, crbprintingcom Okay, and you can look at the products and services that we have phone numbers on there. But you know I prefer that you reach out to me at social media DMs. I still don't quite understand what a DM is. I don't know and, quite frankly, if you DM me, my wife may get it. So I don't know what the DM going to do in terms of my relationship.

Speaker 2: 1:34:39

Please don't DM me, okay. Oh man, oh no, he said DMs closed. Oh no, that's, that's hilarious, you can call me yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:34:51

Or text me there you go, there you go.

Speaker 1: 1:34:53

Or text me, I just want to say thank you for you know, your contribution to, I mean, I'm going to say the region man, since I've met you, whether I needed memory on my computer, whether I need dimensions on the flyer meeting me halfway in Lake Worth for the CDs, without an easy or it's like, don't worry, I'll meet you in Lake Worth, meeting up in our usual spot. And just your insight man, you've always, you're always giving knowledge and you don't charge for that. I feel like you should have a consultant fee just for explaining and helping others. It's not about getting over on somebody. You always did it be like what you trying to do, fat boy, I know that totally. Like what?

Speaker 2: 1:35:31

you trying to do?

Speaker 1: 1:35:32

All right. So if I was you, this is how I would approach it and you've always been there and I know you affected so many of us and even Eric and and Drago's getting to know you. He was a producer and so he wasn't on the artist side, but thank you, we appreciate you. I appreciate you, we appreciate you and just continue doing what you're doing. You know exposure. We're here for you. Whenever you want to come out again and talk about updates on counseling or your new venture, please reach back out. We're here for you, all right.

Speaker 4: 1:35:59

Yes, If us a little mini counseling that was good to take in.

Speaker 2: 1:36:02

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:36:03

Got some sauce. I want to highlight is in on camera too how important what you brought to the community, especially to the young men who, if it wasn't for your distribution, for us to express ourselves and distribute music out, it could have been so many other things and I've seen myself peers that was that was in situations where they could have been releasing their frustrations in negative ways, but instead, due to your platform, for us to have a place to go and get what we need and go out. They spend a time in a day's doing this and not getting in trouble and even down to law enforcement recognizing it and seeing that, hey, these kids are out here, they just sharing a music, they doing things. So many of us could have gotten so much other trouble and if you, if you take that away, it was going to be a whole nother other scene. That wouldn't really benefited us. So we felt all of us shift together in unison because us as peers and just knowing each other, everybody knew where they was getting these CDs from everybody. We kind of follow suit and looking back I can see how much that was important and it saved us and in many times it wasn't even about the money or anything else as we need it, you express it.

Speaker 2: 1:37:51

You still got people just giving out, still doing CDs thousands a month and it becomes something very, very therapeutic to just you get the CDs, you open the box, you looking at. It's a moment, it's a memory that we'll never forget. So I extremely thank you for what you built. I don't know if you know you didn't even predict doing CDs, but it was meant for you to do it. It was very important. I promise. It saved lives. It changed impressions, directions on what a lot of us would have been doing and needed to do in alternation. And once you gave us the background of the other stuff you knew about and did and continue to do, I'm like, man, that makes sense. I didn't even know that part and I kind of a little bit pre-rehearse what I was going to say, but now I really know it makes sense. I'm like, oh, this is a very special person for us.

Speaker 2: 1:39:03

More important than I think we may have a plaque or anything to give or a statue or a billboard to say we don't at this moment, don't have that voice to really champion those in a large way who help guide us in how we are turning out and directing ourselves. But you definitely played an important role and I'm happy to just be here.

Speaker 1: 1:39:32

Yes, sir.

Speaker 4: 1:39:34

Oh, again, I feel like you know, I took in some message and sat down. Of course, you gave us a mini counseling. I think that we all deserve not just us, but everyone actually, because everyone go through those situations.

Speaker 1: 1:39:48

I think that was that was well said I like that and also give a shout out to Bella and Vion exposure's official drink of choice. No matter what the convenience, no matter what you got going on, drink up. Yeah, tuned into another episode of exposure. And we have Mr C aka Clarence, aka CRB media plus, and we are more than just the podcast.