 Yes, sir, my name is Eric Bellinger. What do you do right here on 85? Shawty back slam big she might drug she might fix and I'm all up in her Me she be mixing with the rich. She's a love she's in there. She's the one they caught a ghost She don't stress. She don't trip and she flow it on my bro. So I got a shoe someone it must be I guess I'm at the color bae I guess I'm at the color bae I guess she had to scream my night and every time She goes to the crib. I'm gonna break her back like I break that a I guess I'm at the color bae I guess I'm at the color bae I guess I'm at the color bae I guess I'm at the color bae It's the ball time. Yeah Gucci on all the time. Yeah Yeah And I'm all up in the mix. She'd be mixing with the reason she don't want to call it girl And she fuck it all my bros He is her Freddie never shady always a lady and you are watching Eric Bellinger on 85. Now one more box and make y'all is A drink for one of my favorite artists. I got a big fat crush on you Eric Bellinger The name of this drink is called the Bellinger I happen to know that his Starbucks order is a medicine ball with double So here's what I got for you Don Julio always you always start with a little bit of dawn because dawn makes everybody smile You know, he's a great man Then you add your lemonade Very southern, you know, cuz I'm a southern bear like they say Little ice tea because ain't nothing ever go wrong with having some ice tea My mommy used to call it the flip-flop, you know, the other people call it a honor palm Then you got to add you some agaves because nothing ever goes wrong with the guy who is lemon First we's lemon. I don't want to hear nothing about that lemon juice. No that I don't want that Go up in that kitchen and cut that lemon watch it first, okay Then you don't shake it up back to 85 Next song is called obsessions Yeah, just a reflection of things we both Like minutes already hours You ain't nothing like I thought you was you my left and right and don't take it wrong It's an upset. You just seen Eric Bellinger on the 85 with a tough regimen Man Compton, yes, we from yes, sir Let's get into it man. How the musical journey start just for the people When I think Compton and then you immediately say music I think of my musical experience is actually in Compton You know because of course you have You know when you start doing a thing you make it to an LA you go to sunset and you know, I mean That's when you say yeah, that's when you in like the big sessions But when I think back of the sessions in Compton, they was all like it was in a garage It was in the living room was saying everybody be quiet So man it to come now and to think back not knowing what the future would be It's a big big big big journey and of accomplishment victory in my eyes Music Thank you, bro making the best records Whenever like when did you realize like when you wrote something you was like, oh, hey Yeah, I can really do this. What was the first thing that you wrote like your first song that you wrote that was good You know the first couple songs. I didn't know if they was good or not, right? You know, I started off singing in church. So the voice part was just okay I knew how to sing. You know what I mean? So I can make pink burn jelly sound good You know, so writing the songs enjoying enjoying poetry and school and writing poems And combining the two I just didn't know if they was good or I just you know what I mean until later I was like, oh, they wasn't good Like you can't do no wrong, and I love your song Exactly, but I didn't have I didn't have too many people to say That's right. That's wrong. All right, right. So I just coasted, right? Developed until it was like what is that like? Oh, that's hard. Oh Okay, okay, just so are you like strict in the studio now? So like when newcomers come in you kind of hard on them. Are you kind of? No, I'm not hard on them and that's the notice wrong. Oh Notice Yeah, but I'm still showing such a gentle way that you're gonna be encouraged got you throughout. I'm not gonna bash I'm just gonna be like hey that was almost it try it like this, you know But I'm not way is the coach people when you tell him is not almost I Know what it is. I got the patience of Joe. My patience is crazy I just keep saying do it again. You're like, I'm the most optimistic. I'm the most like that's just how I was brought up You know me in a in a household of faith, you know me and I think it translated to every aspect Of my life, you know from it comes to me doing something right or even someone else and me encouraging them Like I'm I'm the most positive. It's crazy. Do you prefer to work alone or do you prefer the collaborations? It depends sometimes it's sometimes I like to do it by myself if I feel like I don't want to be interrupted And I know I got something that can't nobody really understand you get in your zone, right? Yeah Like to be alone I like to dark lights out, you know, I mean candles real real zen, you know I'm saying lasers in the room all everything you can get on Amazon And you know it comes in time though when it's when it's Necessary, you know to have more more people in the room, you know I'm saying like all right cool Which I think that's my idea, but I do like to get an idea across and present it You know I'm saying just to you know get opinions, but you know either way we can rocket I actually have a business question. So when you in these these groups, right? Do when you doing like splits with writers and everything do y'all come in and say because some people really be petty about that shit, bro Maybe like man look that 2.5 points is mine. Yeah, do it like everybody in the room. Just bust it down. Even I'll be Busting it down even as far as right inside. Yeah, I know it's a lot of people that You know do it different with 50% for the producers or 50% for the writers But some people just split it down the middle like if it's three people was 33 33 33 As opposed to if it's one producer getting 50 and the two writers getting 25 25, you know But everybody does it different me myself. I just separated the two Coming up more so on the right inside and I just got 50 to work with in my mind and the other producer You get the other 50 But you know that's some business that you got to know Automatically going in because if you're just going in there making bees and you know, you're not really too knowledgeable You can either get taken advantage of and not know it or you know How does that work do they come to you? I mean now that you know, but how did you get it out there? Was you making your own music and people just Hearing it and they wanted it or yeah, so I was so I started off immediately singing groups R&B group I was in like four Groups I would say before I was like That was back in my head give us like the time period it was the year Group that's like A lot Okay, you know what I mean I can sing and people was always like oh you gotta let's start a group You know like anybody around me if they can sing a tiny bit I Really only but I was cool because I use I grew up playing football. So I'm with the team energy I'm with the camaraderie of the brother. That's more comfortable So I feel like that was a nice transition from me to football to being in a group to where I'm not a solo artist So fast, you know, but then after that phased out and had his moment I just was songwriting first got into the songwriting and then when I was doing songs for other people It was to the point where people was like And ours that I'm sending it to for their artists like why you not dropping these Why you not putting out no mixtase or albums and I just was like, I don't know I'm just writing songs right and then I dropped the project born to sing 2010 Because that pipeline from a songwriter to actual artists is hard, you know, like so talk about Navigating there because you know, we only see a couple of artists that can really do that and make bomb music Cuz I know a lot of time look and we ain't gonna name Like man, this is a song where I love and then they drop music. I'm like, what the hell Yeah, yeah Transition of being a songwriter to an actual artist. Yeah, that's that's big You know because as a songwriter and artists is to totally different things like that's to totally different monsters And I feel like with the songwriting you can make a song you can be in your basement Nobody has to ever see you cool. You can write a hit. Thank you. We appreciate it But as artists is so many different Pieces to the pie Brand and people don't understand that and I look at it like if you just think you could drop something It's gonna go you you lying to yourself. You wasting your time the producers the engineers everybody around you Do you need your artwork? You're wasting everybody time on the lasers? You really you really have to to know okay, boom I need my photo shoots to not only be crispy, but Next level, right? I need the you know the the photographer I need the the the producers the engine it you have to have so many things and order marketing plans Artwork and the graphic and why is it look like that and why is that your color that you're going with? Yes, because the colors actually have meaning to you know So deep that people don't respect the game as much and it shows So even so a lot of that you had to learn on the way to because you were independent, right? So you were like independent with all still independent, right? Yeah, so talk about that decision, right? Cuz I know a lot of people don't have the They don't have the balls really what a hustle to stay independent cuz it take a lot, you know I'm saying what would you decide to go independent? Freedom do what I want. I make music a lot a lot a lot have so much and to To have to Go with someone else's vision. I think that would be damaging to the legacy that I will be leaving behind It's it can't be left up to man because it might be altered because of money You know I'm saying as opposed to the art Which lasts forever money doesn't So I do I want to talk about the Grammys for a little bit Yeah Because I feel like the way people kind of view Grammys now like growing up it was like oh my gosh This person has a Grammy and now how like it's kind of like split like half the industry is like Okay, it still means something to have a Grammy and the other half is kind of like oh it don't mean nothing Yeah, so how was it for you like after you got that Grammy win and how things changed for you and how you do the Grammys now Yeah, I look at the Grammys like they are the ultimate Achievement and prestigious music period Some people want to compete in the NBA and some is cool with the D Mm-hmm And if you don't care about it cool, but people like LeBron with that Kobe energy They just want it right you don't have to have anything whether it's the stellar award But that's just the highest that that we've deemed and I feel like My music is great enough to be there. I'm not gonna make no excuses for nobody Right play the game or don't and you know you can make an excuse and be like We don't care about the Grammys I get behind them. It's like you can't lie like y'all care about the Grammys like stop it. Stop it Everything Narrative Winner for comedy I like that we need that for When did he um so like recently did he did that that whole R&B you write his camp he was don't did you get to go there Yeah, yeah, I was that cuz you like with everybody really like the best of the best like the all-star team Yeah We have a mutual friend and she's in the industry and she told me about how writing camps are So I know when you walk in the room is different like people probably be like Like Eric here Like I want to be known for that even when I go to a camp and I lead a camp the people in me with the first day It's like so well, how do these things work like what should I say write the hardest Sorry, that's the hardest song here period and then everybody gonna be talking about your song And your name is gonna be promoted along with the song. So I'm going hammer. I'm swinging so hard I'm not going in there doing the normal shit that I do when I'm at this. I'm really giving you Yeah, I'm not playing No Do you feel like pressure though, are you just walking like oh this light work? No, did you see Steph shoot the ball from the bleachers and turn around? I'm not playing. I'm not playing. You know, I'm talking different when I'm talking about the pain Yeah, you know what I mean? You don't even see me going hard like this when it's about my heart is she I took it I feel like I'm a student. I gotta make sure like it's accomplishment is things I want to do But when it comes to writing, I just know like I'm telling stories that are given to me from above And I'm just spitting them out my vessel and now my melodic sense is automatically going to kick in from church singing at three My sensibility of street earth edge element is gonna kick in from grown-up and content It's like it's so many things and it's my also my knowledge of study and music study and Michael Jackson Prince Drew Hill Jacket edge Lauren Hill one 12 come on Started in the church and that's as of late. I've been starting to see that's it used to be the key You came real let me give you Fred Hammond. Let me give you a key key separate What they sang so when you listen to that it's your intake right your outtake is your intake Oh, that's a bar. He's still doing it The best writers seem like they have like the illest lives too because you do have to pull from life experiences, right? So do you like the studio rats that always stay in the studio and right? I feel like sometimes maybe they're not as good because they're not living so they don't have experiences to write about You agree with that? Yeah, I think so because you got to get outside you got to live You know a lot of my bars might come from being in a country that is normal over there And I don't even you know, I mean, we don't even know about it It's like, okay cool Let me just throw the cenote in the song and people like what's the cenote like you know the cenote is It's like, oh You Got me invited to different levels of life from writing for other Like for example like in Mexico I go to Dubai and the music is I My experiment experiment with something different, but I got the reference point of you know a catchy Fred Hammond song That's also spiritual, but I'm a pull from the melody like man. It's just my my mind So now it's easier How did you get artists to like trust you because I know sometimes y'all go in the studio They probably like Eric this ain't it and you be like, no, this is it. Yeah, it ended up being a smash Yeah, yeah, how did you build that trust with artists? You have to show improve I have to you know, I have to drop Chris Brown just drop fine China So they're coming to meet and they're gonna say I'm in the studio with my favorite singer ever all times Brandy. She's singing She asked me how was that? Incredible She does another thing a vocal. How is that? It can't get any better next Yeah, you gotta step out of ammo dog, right? I called you here because I love what you do, too You're in the building. Let me know if I'm flat. Let me know That shook me up and then it was You could get that a little better Challenge me and let me know so there's been life experiences, you know So I don't want to just give the now version the new this is the this is the best version of me that I've ever been Well, I'm giving you the answers are right now. We're a top tier everything period. There was a time When I wasn't so sure right and I feel like the experiences of success they're gonna hit they're gonna hit Now you can believe me. I can't just be like trust me. You gotta try you gotta say yeah, the last one I did Oh, yeah, the last one I did at the back is it was not a one hit wonder it wasn't a fluke I did it again and again. Now they can trust you now. I can create freely. There's no friction in the studio We're calling you because we want what you do, right? Anybody you had friction with or that was just I But the dude is probably the best singer in the world, you know, I mean like one of the craziest so when I was like saying it was good He was unsure if it was good or not You know I'm saying you just kept wanting to do it again And I think them was the longest session, but it was surprisingly with one of the most talented So that was a weird You just performed obsession Song is fire Amazing like it's like sometimes when you hear something you just know like this this the one So it was produced by hit make-up. Yeah, so since we get to the tea Oh Hitmaker produced obsession. Yes, so I was was on the ground and I see hitmaker and Hit boy going back and forth. Mm-hmm. They go on a little little, you know one, two with the means me and funny Yeah, so who is your favorite producer out of those two? Well, my favorite producer to work with is hitmaker. Okay I have a different type of working regimen with him like when we get in We soon right getting zing zong boom bomb Hit boy is my boy from back in the day. We grew up same city You know, I mean, it's family and I love what he does But we haven't got the same type of connection for whatever reason because it's about chemistry as well. Yeah, okay So, you know Never hurt you Fire Experiences but if I'm talking about the song that he done did out there, it's like Demo's is boys. Yeah, feel me like you ain't questioning that right? I mean, so it's just like yo They different type of producers like when you think about Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. They totally different, right? Like these two is totally different like hit boy gonna be on the keys. He gonna, you know, go crazy He gonna pull up a sound he gonna pull up a sample, but hitmaker gonna walk out that room You're gonna not know how magic happen. You're not gonna know I'm at the next studio, you know, they're totally different Yeah, the project is going crazy, too, what made you you did something I thought that was dope You made CDs for this project. What made you think they do that man? I thought that was dope Yeah, cuz we wanted to do like the energy of it all is 90s vibes It's like old-school throwback vibe. So we wanted to have some type of element, but not necessarily as far as vintage like, you know, I mean like cassette tapes of stuff But we wanted to still represent that, you know, I mean in the videos and in the photos. I'm doing leather. I'm leather down With or without fingers Oh That's what's kind of been missing man, so What made you is that is that what kind of what you came up on are you just like this is what R&B needs to get back to Yeah, a lot of people say is Missing you know, I don't think it's missing. I think it's a million incredible R&B artists out there going crazy But I felt like all right. I'm about to give it that element I'm really gonna go with the melodies like I'm gonna sing You know, I'm gonna it's gonna be visually what I what I would portray portray the evolution of classic Yes, sir, I'm gonna tell you the music Eric may Eric make memories young and you had an answer machine And you had Oh The new R&B like what are some new artists out here that you really like that you could like okay I'm co-signing now like they're making a good So I got this artist named Asia, okay, she called She got a project out. It's called therapy I'm one. Okay, she's in Detroit fire artists R&B artists and Yeah, I think she's one of them another one that I really like I'm trying to think upstairs He hard he from a he from Atlanta He's UPST Okay Well artists y'all got this y'all the new R&B. Yeah new R&B. I don't know. I need to be put on I'm gonna go check out. Okay. There wasn't all the old niggas for real. I'm stuck in the past like I'm the 90s type of nigga You know what I mean? Like cuz a lot of this I'm telling we said what the other guy the R&B niggas be trying to be rappers Yeah, I'm ready to hear some like that's why I said I love that song obsession. I want to hear about people being in love Yeah, I want to hear about I Want to hear about how like we need to get back to begging you want to be stopped Jones Like that's what we need to get back to because even rappers who was rapping about that back Hello doing it. You know I'm saying um, there's a new artist that I found her name is Jalen Josie She's opening for Artie Lennox right now and when I tell you she is so dope Like I love it. It's like it's crazy because you see these people and they're so good and they're so creative It's like how does the world not nobody? Yeah, but that just shows you how the the industry is now just in general with anything Creating any kind of entertainment because people want to be entertained really quick They want something and then it's like because you remember when artists used to drop music You have to wait three four years in between albums Now if an artist drop something three months later, they're like, okay, where's the next thing? They're not giving people time to really create magic. You know those two I think R&B is harder to push than what rat Yeah, you got to really work them reckies. Well, you gotta encourage people to like seek New artists, you know, they a lot of times R&B not getting that push is not getting to the forefront And you got so many people to sit around they complain about what they don't like But if you ain't actively checking out exactly like people want to complain about what's going on But never want to look for the shit they say they like yeah, it might be too much music to like even as a DJ I'm like man, I can't keep up with all this. It's hard What makes something pop out to you as a DJ like ooh, I'm gonna play this like with being flooded with so many people That is the hardest part But you know what like the hits always rise to the top You know what I mean like a lot of times or for me is work ethic Like sometimes it's like you'll hear a name like she said that artist name, right? If I hear that name again next week I'm on it. I'm like it got to be hot. Especially women like a few people don't realize like especially like in the clubs Women are the A&R's whether it's rapper R&B and anything So once the girls like a 22 year old girl is gonna tell me what's I'm not knocking him by saying this But he is strip club Elevating this in the city of Atlanta like you said the women like yeah They come to you and keep asking you about some shit you Know But the girls they always tell me what's hot first. That's why I think R&B is such a dope genre because Really, they won't even ask for that type of doesn't say like these younger girls. Mm-hmm. They want push ice Oh I'm R&B Stan, that's why I'm so glad that you said that Brandy Because that is a vocal god. Let's so when people try to play with Brandy. I'm like, oh, you don't really know Oh, you know that tone is different. Yeah, that that what she can do in the studio is different I remember I was probably like in college and this is when YouTube was like, you know pop in It started when I was in high school, but I remember she had recorded something What's his name with Poo Bear and they somebody have recorded on the camera? It was so grainy, but you could hear her singing. I was like just a raw Yeah, just the raw like so I'll say for a woman what we hear first is we hear melody Yeah Something that that we can feel like it's a vibe and like we don't care We hear the melody first then we're gonna go back and listen to the lyrics What is this person saying and we're like, oh shit this nigga just did this to me last week Like I'm about to cry right about but the melody is first if it's a catchy melody. Yeah, we're gonna write it So okay melody lyrics melody lyrics and then probably the beat the beat come first. I think for dudes a lot of Now if I can shake my ass to it I don't care I We can get your music of course they know what to get it, but what yeah, maybe looking out for me for right now Yeah, it's gonna drop with you in the future Okay We got more Grammys coming, you know, I stay in the studio always working and Yeah, man, I got more albums coming. I'm building my label, you know always entertainment always and Film and television. All right Okay, you say Asia Asia. Yeah, man. Asia upstairs man. Check them out bro dudes The bro dude We got the little YouTube channel boom That's all you be watching at home. It's other people right and I make Yo, you know we could do this right We just dropped the first episode on this birthday That is so cute man. We already film the next one. So part two gonna become a real soon. I like the blues. Thank you The name you came up with the theme song. He's eight years old. I said, yo, you like what's up? Use my YouTube I got 500,000 subscribers. I said, oh, you want to start over and do your own from zero I want to start over. Oh, yeah, he already Real I said, oh, well, let's go. So the Instagram is the bell. I mean the YouTube is the bellinger So check out the bellingers. It's like or at the bellingers and you can check out the bro dudes or the bro dudes Dot-com and yeah, man, Eric Bellinger dot com for anything me Instagram dot com slash Eric Bellinger YouTube Twitter dot com Eric Bellinger and yeah, man check out the music one eight hundred hit easy line, too it's the most recent and That's one of my favorite albums that I've ever released. So listen to it listen to the story from beginning to end And yeah, man Man look come back anytime Do not let this be your last time Before you go, I do have this question because you've worked with the greats the greats come on one artist You haven't worked with yet that you want to work with one one day real quick Kendrick Lamar Once again, I gotta give much love in the band though You know all my exes I tell you I would a ghost it's so sick I'm one of those kids show me love it be the simple things you do one But it's a two-way stream open up. You say you won't judge me. Hey, I can tell that thank God You let me to I ain't too proud to be even though I never do it I fly to the coast. No, it's high and human. I put you on the road crazy 45 minutes. I promise not to be lazy. No, you got me wilder trying to but don't say I should make you pay me, baby Closer I love when I feel it feel like it's posted. You know all my exes I tell you I would a ghost it Hey, it's so sick. I'm one of those kids show me love it be the simple things you do one But it's a two-way stream open up. You say you won't judge me. Hey, I can tell