 And we are back here at the Backwoods backstage with none other than the man himself, him, him, the man who made it all possible, none other than Mr. J Carter. My brother. I'll have a little bit for that. Thank you. Thank you. What's that? 5,000. I appreciate it. Turn it up, man. Thank you all for being there. It's your first time here. We've been talking about this for a minute. Yeah, it was our first time having a lounge in here. Yeah. We didn't snuck into plenty of these. Yeah, we have been here. It's kind of flotto now, the way y'all got this thing kind of set up here. But this is all our first time, including one music fest in Piedmont, in the heart of the city of ATL. Like, that's lit. What does that mean for you and the whole entire festival to be putting it all in one of the biggest event spaces of Atlanta? Yeah, I mean, it is the biggest event space. I mean, if you do an outdoor, multi-stage festival, I mean, in Atlanta, your dream is to be in Piedmont Park, you know what I'm saying? I mean, it is the heart of Atlanta. I mean, it's the perfect landscape and canvas to kind of create an incredible experience, you know? So being here was always the vision, always a dream. So it's kind of surreal, just kind of seeing it all come together. And folks out there, beautiful, man. Having a good time, you know what I'm saying? Making new friendships, new connections. I got backwards here. I got 85, south here. Yes, yes. I mean, this is black culture at its best. We've literally been saying it all weekend, like it feel like a cookout. Like we had at our cousins' cookout or something. I'm not going to glad you brought that up because I was going to see, I know this is the last day for this one, but I need about 75 passes. 75. For old black men to set up grills throughout the spot. Only thing missing is the smoke. I almost, I got a gang of uncles who want to pull up out there with trucks and sell ribs, sandwiches, and chopped pork. We'll wrap about that later on. I got some ideas. I see the vision on your desk. You know what I'm saying? They got to have on the black socks and sandals. They got to have the whole look. Yeah, I see it. Towel on the shoulder. Come on now. Yeah. Now this is what's been really the biggest surprise to me. I know it's a lot of invited guests here, a lot of invited performers. But it's a lot of people popping up, a lot of special guests, a lot of people backstage. Man, have you seen anybody here that you was like, oh, it's my guy? Yeah. I mean, honestly, I only found out two days before it happened. But you know, J Cole coming and hopping on stage with Janet. J Cole was legendary. Yeah, that was one of those things that just kind of came together at the last minute. But do the security, man. Now we kind of know who's floating around back here. Word. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Word. I love how that security is, it looked like a Falcons game back here. Gotta keep us safe, man. It's not even just about, like, not just the safety, just the people who in positions, and they taking it real serious. There's a few ladies who won't let nobody go past where they stand. The women's security out here is not planned. That's right. Ain't nobody said nobody come back here. I don't care about the wristbands or none of that. You got a lot of crazy fans, man. So we got to make sure y'all safe back here, man. You know what I'm saying? I surely appreciate that. So we got to keep y'all secure. Now you've always held one music fest in Atlanta. And you've been here quite some time yourself, but you aren't necessarily an Atlanta native. You're from New York. Why did you choose Atlanta as a place to start one music fest and continue to make it its home? That's a good question. I mean, honestly, if you think about it, I don't think one music fest could have started anywhere but Atlanta. But I moved to Atlanta when I was in ninth grade. I mean, I went to Miller Grove and Renan. I used to go there. That's kind of Atlanta as you go. Yeah, that's cool. So I mean, I think Atlanta is a perfect backdrop, man. I mean, this is baby Wakanda, for real. You know what I'm saying? I mean, as you look at the black professionals, mayors, city council, you know what I mean? I mean, it breathes black excellence, you know what I'm saying? Could this have happened in New York? Honestly, probably not. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? I think this, I think Atlanta sets the perfect stage for one music fest and also a stage to let the world realize that black culture is bigger than what media depicts on television and everything else. Atlanta is just one of them cities, man. Like you said, the black excellence. That's right. You'll see a black man backing up a fire truck, like Cadillac, in the middle of the street. And you just feel like. Busting their legal uterine. Yeah. It's just beautiful, man. That blackness, ultimate blackness. Yeah. That Janet Jackson set last night was crazy. But she crushed it, bro. She crushed it, man. You know what I'm saying? I think she was also a little excited about being there, man. I mean, what you typically think about your standard Janet Jackson audience or crowd, it probably don't look like that, you know what I'm saying? I mean, when the last time we seen the Kodak Black fan club at a Janet Jackson show, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. So I think that's the other thing. It's the unity, man. How we just try to take different pockets of our culture and just bring them together in a safe space to feel celebrated. You know what I'm saying? Well, you know, people always ask you when you have things like this. It's like, did you ever see it this big? I'm going to be truthful. When we started building this thing out, I never limited it. You know what I'm saying? I never said how big it can go. I mean, I was inspired by Bonnaroo, by Lollapalooza, by Coachella, you know what I'm saying? The first one only had like 2,500 people, you know what I'm saying? We got 100,000 people this weekend, man. So can it go bigger? Possibly. I'd love to see it bigger, man. So I think too many times Black folks who put limitations on how big something can be and how far it can go, I never did that with this brand, man. So I think this is a good showing of don't limit yourself, man. Just keep going. It's truly amazing to see what you put together. I appreciate it. I see the trickle-down effect. So once Beyoncé went on tour with Renaissance, they created a term called a halo effect, meaning all the businesses that reap benefits because of this event being taken place here. So it's like, it's given opportunities to other business owners, entrepreneurs. Like artists, nail-takes, you know, stylists, all these people that are employed. But even specifically, I know that you yourself made it a point to do that with One Music Face in general. We partner with Black brands and other businesses. So tell us about like, what partnerships you made sure that you wanted to implement? No, that's another great question. But I mean, we got an entire market, Merchant Village out there with over 50 different Black owned brands. Majority of our food vendors and food trucks are Black owned as well. I mean, the economic impact to Atlanta is over $25 million that we just bring to the city. That's a big deal, you know what I'm saying? So that's hospitality. That's a valet. That's hotels. That's Airbnb. That's rent-a-cars. You see my boys out here hustling in the parking. Come on out. I don't want to interrupt, but I love that you literally got to come right through 4-4 to get over here. That's right. You don't pass through the hood coming over here. And that's so beautiful as an Atlanta native, like I was telling Los when we were riding over, like my mama grew up on Boulevard, you know what I mean? Little girl on the project. So just to be riding through to come to a Black owned event at this magnitude and to be as a creator, a Black creative, doing dope work with brands that see the potential and the value in us, it's a surreal moment. It is, absolutely. Even backwards being here, this was brought here by a Black owned agency, you know what I'm saying? Some of the other brands that we work with, we got Procter and Gamble out here. We got Coca-Cola and Sprite out here. The executives that's out here from those companies that understand the importance of this are Black. We've been pushing One Music Fest to brands for years. But the problem is the people that was in those offices that we were talking to don't look like us. So they don't understand the value. We set the trends, you know what I'm saying? From goddamn the TVs in your car. We was doing that before it was called the entertainment package. 20s, 20s is a start for us now, exactly. You want the factory package or you want the sport package? We started that, you know what I'm saying? So we set the trends, but we don't get credit for that. So certain executives understand our importance to the culture, to economics, to the economy. So they understand the points of what we're doing here in Black culture altogether. I think it takes other Black creatives like yourself that start ideas to make sure they're intentional about incorporating us and highlighting us in the best way possible the entire way through. And I know that you also have an HBCU background graduating from FAMU. So did that go into an HBCU ever shape your mind or thought process when it came to how you went about your business? I mean, shit, changed my life going to FAMU, you know what I'm saying? I mean, I grew up, my younger years I was in Harlem, and then coming to Atlanta, it still was a Black experience. But I ain't never seen nothing like FAMU at that age. I saw FAMU for the first time when I was like 15. I saw the campus, beautiful Black people everywhere, educated Black folks, palm trees. It blew my mind. You know, I was meeting Black folks from Portland, Black folks from London, Black folks from Toronto. You know what I'm saying? Delaware. Delaware. Folks you don't, you know? So understanding that the different cultures and energies of that Black experience in different cities, they're all culminating in one spot in Tallahassee, Florida. But you know what, it was very similar to one music fest. It was a safe place to win and a safe place to fail, and a safe place to collaborate with other Black folks, you know, like-minded Black folks. And I was really one of the reasons for one music fest as well. How do I bring us all together, you know what I'm saying? And kind of create that connectivity. And I just think so much powerful stuff comes from connectivity and that intersection of Blackness and culture. How hard was it to miss fam, you homecoming this year? Bruh. You got the one music fest the same weekend. Bruh. Yeah, I got a call from the university. They was really like, what the fuck are you doing? And I was like, oh, shit. But it was the only weekend that was available for P mom Park to do it. So my wife went to Spelman. They homecoming this weekend. Fam uses weekend. So yeah, I was getting it left and right, man. But yeah, but actually this is a homecoming, man. You know what I'm saying? You know, we got my kids, 11 years old running around out here. My mom's out here. Working. You know what I'm saying? Wilding out, you know what I'm saying? Smelling the, you know. Smelling the essence. Yeah, all the essence, you know, in the element. You know what I'm saying? And that's what a homecoming is. It's multi-generational. It's music. It's fun. It's food. And connectivity. Yeah. Now, who's doing the official merch for one music fest? Who's doing the official merch? Yeah, because I got this company that I want to pitch. Yeah? Yeah. I heard about them. No, I'm just letting you know. Yeah. We should figure that out. I'll connect you with my people. You got somebody. Yeah, I got a great team. Well, please connect us. We can figure that out. I'll connect you with them. Yeah, I heard you got some dope designers on your squad. Most definitely do. I love it. Yeah. Yeah, man, that's 100,000 people. That's a lot of bodies. We're missing out on some revenue. We can't be missing no revenue. Oh, yeah. That's the business, man. He's seen the numbers. You say the numbers, he's seen the numbers. Yeah, he's been visionary. Yeah, yeah. Now, this has been amazing. I think that it's just so dope just to, like, really, how does your family take it all in? Like you said, they're running around on here. They enjoying the party. Do your kids really realize the impact that you are having on a culture when it's an event like this? Or do they not really know you? I think it's like, I think when you were a kid, I think you were in certain environments and you know, it just feels special. So I know it, to them, it feels special. But representation is hella important, you know what I'm saying? So for them to see this at a young age, you know, black businesses, entrepreneurs, black talent and to see it in a safe environment like this, you know, I think it's important for them to see and experience, you know what I'm saying? We ain't, I mean, we ain't really having, I ain't had this as a kid coming up, you know what I'm saying? I was gonna say, even as adults, like me and my homegirl, she another host, radio personality. We stopped over here yesterday and we just stopped for a second and looked around. She was like, wow, everybody black. That I can see, like, everybody where I can see is black. This is dope. We get money and we have fun and we enjoy ourselves. We safe. So it's like, even as adults, like you said, because we didn't grow up with it and see it. We're like, man, this is amazing. And it really empowers us as people to know that we can because I think black businesses or events sometimes get such a bad rep with our customer service or if we have the logistics down all the way right the first time. But what advice would you give to other creatives or entrepreneurs that's starting and it's like, hey, maybe I don't got it all together right now, but I'm trying to figure it out because One Music Best didn't start at P-Mind. Nah, not at all. I would say persistence to keep going. You know what I'm saying? I mean, when y'all started the podcast, like how many listeners, how many streams y'all getting? Like that's a real question. Versus like, what we all at now? But I think the name of the game is consistency. You know what I'm saying? And you knew the end game. I don't know if you, that you's gonna be selling millions of dollars of merch. I'm saying a number, sir. I'm sorry. Let me not blow here. Security. We did all right. But y'all had no idea that it's gonna lead to tours. That it's gonna lead to the merch business. That it's gonna lead to having your own digital platform. You know what I'm saying? So I think it's consistency, man. I think it's, you gonna hit some bumps. You know what I'm saying? Y'all done changed the office, the location of the studios for whatever reason. We changed location for the festival for whatever reason. I mean, hell, we lost money the first five years. And if I were to stop, shit, we would be, obviously we wouldn't be sitting here right now. So I think it's just consistency. A lot of times we try to talk to people that's, I don't wanna say above us, but maybe more powerful and in a better position. More resources. More resources, but sometimes the resources are, it's just looking left and right. And that's what I had to do. Cause initially with the idea, you know what I'm saying? I went to a big ass company with this idea cause I knew I needed a lot of money to pull this thing off. And they was like, that shit ain't gonna work. I said, all right, cool. And these are folks that didn't look like us. And so I said, let me just go to the homies then. My homie over here, he's in the music industry. My homie over here owns a couple of venues. My homie over here has a transportation business. My homie over here understands lights and production. Well, hell, why can't we just figure this out together? We gotta pull together. We gotta pull together. My mayor black, let me call and get the permits from them and the license that I need. So I just use the resources around me. And I said, fuck it, we'll do it ourselves. And that's really what it was. It's just staying consistent and sometimes looking lateral instead of looking up all the time. So what's the next step? Are we gonna take this thing to the media? Are we gonna put One Music Fest on? Is it a TV show? Is it a live stream? Is it a live stream? What's the next step? That it, yeah. So definitely, so we got a few folks out here now that's kinda examining One Music Fest for the live stream experience. So I would say next year probably will be live stream. We're gonna do a spinoff event in the Southwest as well. And there's a lot of cameras out there. So there's a documentary being discussed and put together now as well, yeah. Would you be interested in doing like a One Music Fest like an old school type? An old school joint. Like an oldies one music. We just had elder bars. We had elder bars. I was jamming way on the bars. I'm not saying the whole joint. But like, that's something like Ozzy Brothers, just us. Classics. Patty. Classics. Yeah. Give me an example of the classics. That clean up, that Saturday morning clean up music. Like I'm telling you the people. Like you got the Jill Scott's, you got Patty LaBelle's. You got Diana Ross. You got elder bars. You got Ozzy Brothers. Like this, you know. I think so I do think that I think that exists to a point. I think that already exists. But I love the idea of having. Not the Jay Carter version though. But this is the Jay Carter version, right? So it is Janet Jackson. You know what I'm saying? I think that's the power of it, man. Like when you go to like a festival like at No Shade to roll in loud, you know what I'm saying? And ain't nobody even rollin' loud. Oh, they rollin' loud on that motherfucker. They rollin'. But it's young, right? Right. Like if I was to go there, I'd probably be like, man, give me the fuck out of this mosh pit. You know what I'm saying? But I think when you have, you know, an experience where you got a Semino fan base, a Megan fan base that also can pull up and enjoy somebody like an elder ball. Somebody like Janet Jackson. Somebody like a big daddy cane on the other stage. Like it almost feels like a Roman museum, a black culture. Right. You know what I'm saying? Like open these young minds up to like, yeah, that sample you heard on that track that you love, that Travis track. Yeah, that was elder ball as young cat. Yeah, that came from Brand Nubian, who just performed on that stage. So I think this... Yeah, I saw Brand Nubian out here yesterday. So yeah, Poo was just walkin' around. Just a dot X came over here. Oh, okay. Y'all grab him. Lord Jamar, that's how it came through. On his couch? Yeah, they came through. I love that shit. That was awesome. That's what it's supposed to be, man. Were you intentional about that from the start of it, though? Like I wanted to be all inclusive of hip hop. Absolutely. Okay. Yeah, the tagline from day one was unity through music. And I think there's so much more power that we gain from collaborative efforts. You know what I'm saying? So if I only move in certain spaces that I'm only gonna get what I'm gonna get from that group. You know what I'm saying? But now if I put y'all in a space with... Y'all got Procter & Gamble standing over here. Procter & Gamble is the biggest advertiser, not in America, in the world. In the world. Like they dwarf everybody in marketing dollars by billions of dollars. You know what I'm saying? Like, would you be in that space at a rolling loud? Probably not. Probably not. You need to tell them to come over here and holler at me. And sit on the couch. And bring me about $600 million. I got some stuff I need to advertise. You know what I'm saying? So I think it's being... I think getting out of what we're used to and being in different spaces is... Yeah, but like you said, we need the spaces to be able to do that. Absolutely. That's what it... No, it is that for sure. And I think you don't even realize how you do need it because as a creative myself and other musician, young musician, money long, we were over there watching Janet last night. Yeah, she got it too. And we were like, this is so amazing that we get to learn from... And she's telling me how she's learning as an artist right now watching her. And I'm telling her like, even as a creative, I'm learning from her performance and how she's engaging it. Other little things. So like you said, just bridging that gap even as on the creative side, like to bring older school and new school or just, you know what I mean? Wrapping it all together. That's really dope. I like how intentional you were throughout the entire process. Thank you. Thank you. Man, and after seeing how you rock and how you put stuff together, I hate that it's only one time that we get to come here and kick it out. Yeah. So do I, man. So do I. This need to be quarterly, man. It's a large undertaking, man. So it's hell just to put this one together. No. But we got another one coming. So we want to be one in the spring and then we want to have this in the fall. Okay. The double up. Yeah, absolutely. What you want to leave us with all day long. All day long, man. Yeah. So when you're going to turn off the mics, you just have fun, man. We do that in between guests. We working right now. Yeah. This is for the culture. We are documenting. Okay. And then it's not like we're sitting over here and we're not doing something important. This has to be done. I understand. Somebody has to be here, especially with the way that media is going. Somebody got to be here grabbing people, getting some tidbits, getting some drops and, you know, documenting this. I agree. They might look at this footage 50 years from now. That's right. And be like, man, Jake Carter is cool as hell. You see what he said on there? Yeah. I appreciate it. And it's not often that you get to have these type of talks with the people in charge. Behind the scenes. Behind the scenes. We can pull up. Yeah, man. So we're making history, too. Yes, we are. And you all are very important to the culture and history as well, man. And to media. And to media. We need these voices and these channels. Absolutely. Most definitely. Thank you all. We most definitely appreciate you pulling up to the Backwoods Lounge backstage. Yep. Thank you, brother. I appreciate you. And we out of here, man. 85 South Show. Bre Renee. Jake Carter. Backwoods backstage. We out.