Tandy Weems | - Lesson Learned By Being a A Trailblazer in Hip-Hop - Mick Unplugged [Ep 7]

This episode is brought to you by Netflix from the creator of Homeland. Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys star in the new Netflix series the Beast in Me. As ruthless rivals whose shared darkness will set them on a collision course with fatal consequences. The Beast in Me is a riveting psychological cat and mouse story about guilt, justice and doubt. You will not want to miss this. The Beast in Me is now playing only on Netflix.

This episode is brought to you by Buffalo Trace Distillery. Powerful, yet smooth. Contained, but never tame. Proudly going their own way, but never going alone. This is the spirit inside Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Made at Buffalo Trace Distillery, the world's most award winning distillery, Buffalo Trace is always perfectly untamed. Distilled, aged and bottled by Buffalo Trace distillery, Franklin County, Kentucky. 90 proof, 45% alcohol by volume. Learn more@buffalotracedistillery.com Please drink responsibly.

Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Myc Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary. So let's unleash your potential now. Here's Mick.

All right, everybody. Welcome to another exciting edition of Mick Unplugged. And I have to tell you, I am truly, truly excited about today's guest. Today, we're talking about hip hop. When I say we're talking about hip hop, we are talking to the most respected professional and thought leader in the hip hop industry. With over 25 years in the game working with the likes of the Notorious B.I.G. wu Tang, Mary J. Blige. I could keep going. Method Man. I could keep going. Red Man. I could keep going. Mike Tyson, ladies and gentlemen, we're talking no other than The Queen, the OG, the original Brooklyn's finest, Ms. Tandy Wink. Tandy, how are you doing today?

Wow, that was a great introduction.

It is all the truth.

I'm doing just fine. Thank you so much for having me on your show today.

Tandy, this is an honor. I have been a fan and follower of yours for many, many years. Like most of us grew up on hip hop. Hip hop is my jam. And I know a little bit of your backstory and I can't wait for this audience to hear it. All the things that you're doing, totally amazing. So truly honored and blessed to have you here on the show today. Thank You.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Yes, yes, yes. And in the essence of Mick Unplugged, right, Tandy, I like to challenge people to look deeper than their why. Like, to me, your why is superficial. Everyone knows your why. Like my why are my kids, my wife's, my mom, my wife, but why? Right? And so we get our listeners to focus on their because, right? If why is the question, because is your answer. Because is your reason. And I know you, right? Hip hop wasn't always mainstream. Hip hop was not always easy, right? Tell me about your because and what. What your because is, and then how that has resonated in your career.

My because for hip hop is because we were able to be our best selves at that time. There was nothing like being around young people with brilliant ideas, and we knew there was no limit to those ideas.

Right?

We supported each other. And because we supported each other, we created a worldwide trillion dollar industry without a dime.

Say that one more time. What kind of industry?

A worldwide trillion dollar industry without single dime. All we use was our genius, our togetherness, our unity and our best selves.

You. You got me going to church right now, Ms. Tandy. You know, right? I was looking, I was looking for a collection plate to my right. I was. I was reaching in my pocket, getting ready to put something in there. Getting ready to put. That's amazing. And I know that that road is not always easy, right? And one of the things that I love about you and when I read about you, you talk about re educating, right? Talk about re educated. Can you dive a little bit deeper into that piece for me?

Absolutely. Right now, a lot of our young people and a lot of us that's been in hip hop for a long time need to be re educated and re reminded exactly what the culture of hip hop is. We hear all about the music of hip hop, but hip hop is not just a music genre. Hip hop is a culture. And what we're seeing now is because we have taken the music away from the culture, the foundation, its roots. Hip hop is not only the five elements, dance, dj, emceeing, you know, art, but the most important is knowledge up here. That's right, knowledge. So if your music or your art don't possess knowledge, it's not hip hop as defined by those that created it, the African Americans that created it, and the communities that shaped it.

Right.

It's not intelligent to market death, destruction, and gun violence and drugs and crime to your community. So that's not hip hop.

That's not hip hop.

Right. And we need to stop calling that hip hop because we are doing a disservice to ourselves and to the word and the culture of hip hop.

That's right. And I'm not going to speak for the Queen. So what I'm about to say next are the words of Mick and Mick only. There's a lot of garbage out there right now. Don't call this garbage hip hop. That is not the essence or the core of what hip hop was founded for. Right, Ms. Tandy?

Absolutely. That's. Again, that brings us back to your first question. The re education. You know, money has corrupted just about everything in our society, has it not?

Right.

It has also corrupted hip hop. It also corrupted the culture. In searching for money and fame, we've forgotten what hip hop is, you know, what it can do. Years ago, it transformed not only our community, but the communities all over the world. Marketing, management, fashion.

Right.

Newspapers. We had our own media, we had our own artists, our own booking agents. We were this close. African Americans in this country to creating another upper middle class.

You know, every morning before I walk into a meeting, before I hit record on the podcast, before I lead a team, I start with one scoop AG1. Because leadership starts with energy, clarity and consistency. And that's exactly what AG1 gives me. A simple foundational habit that keeps me one scoop ahead of the chaos. It's not another supplement sitting on the shelf. It's a microhabit that sets the tone for my day. Inside that one scoop, superfoods, B vitamins, antioxidants, probiotics, and functional mushrooms that support your energy, focus and overall wellness. Especially in seasons like this. Travel long days and short nights. AG1 keeps me grounded. I don't chase health anymore.

I lead it.

If you've been looking for something to help you stay consistent, stay fueled and stay ready, AG1 is that move.

I use it.

You should too. Head to drinkag1.com Mick to get a free welcome kit with an AG1 flavor sampler and a bottle of vitamin D3K2 when you first subscribe. That's drinkag1.com Mick because great leaders don't just prepare for the day, they prepare.

Their body for it.

Steamer here, give me the dirt.

My mother in law is coming over.

Then your home must be spotless. We'll handle the carpets couched in rugs. You handle her criticism with baked goods. People complain less when they're chewing. Book your deep clean now@stanleysteamer.com it's by hip hop, right?

Right.

So we all need to Remember what that culture did for us and let it do the same for this generation. And we haven't done that. We haven't passed on the benefits of hip hop. We haven't passed on the lessons we learned when Biggie and Tupac was murdered.

Right?

And Jam Master J, you name it. Very, very few. So now here we are, my children watching. Not three or four rappers being killed like we did back then. Five, six, seven and eight a month. And 10 times that many young black males going to prison trying to emulate this energy that's going out.

Correct.

Music is an energy.

You know, you just brought up something with the emulation. One of the things that I always teach people and tell people is to be yourself because everyone else is already taken. Right. There's not another Tandy out there. Right. There's not another Mick. Like, be yourself because everyone else is taken. And you've worked with a lot of great artists and a lot of great influencers in the hip hop community. What are the top two or three traits that they all have in common? Like if you had to think back to a Biggie, if you had to think back to a young Method man. Right. That hungry. What are the traits that they all had in common?

They didn't strive to be famous. They strive to be excellent. Excellent in their writing, excellent when they out. Excellent when they took that stage. Excellent in the culture. It wasn't about being famous and making money. That came later on. Yeah, yeah. That was the infiltration.

Right.

To change the mindset. But they strive to be mob deep. The goal was to put out the best album with the best lyrics. That was the competition.

Right? Right.

And they took their time and put out their best work. Main source. It is so many. KRS 1, public enemy.

Yep.

You know what I'm saying? KRS 1 taught everybody about black history that we did not even know.

Right? Right.

Kumo D. Yep. Poor righteous teachers. Dead prayers. I can go on and on, you know, not careful. We'll never see that type of genius again.

And we're close to not seeing it. I don't know if you've listened to a lot of music today, Ms. Tandy, but yes. I can't do it. I can't do it.

That's why we need the World Hip Hop Awards.

So let's go there. Let's talk about this, the World Hip Hop Awards. Talk about that vision. Talk about where that came from. Where do you want it to go? I'm so enamored about hearing about the World Hip Hop Award now.

The Crazy thing about the World Hip Hop Awards. I wrote this show when I was working for Biggie.

Really?

I wrote this show when I was working for Biggie. I dreamed the show when I was working for Biggie. And I got up that next morning when I got behind my desk and just wrote it on a piece of paper and I protected the copyrighted and forgot all about it for over 10 years.

Wow.

Well, over 10 years.

Wow.

And it was when my brothers, you know, passed away and I was just kind of in a funk. I didn't know what I wanted to do. And Jada Pinkett did an interview because she was very angry that will did not win an award that year. And she said, begging for acknowledgement or even axing diminishes dignity and it diminishes power. And we are dignified people, so let's do us differently. When she said that, I got a chill and I remembered the World Hip Hop Awards because at the same time, everybody was screaming that we needed to have our own award show, right? And that's what I remember, that show. I ran to my desk, nearly knocking down furniture.

Go get them.

Digging this show up, pulling it up. And of course, everything had expired. And I just did all the work, got it back together, got the logo, built it so that they would come, took it to the next level. And the World Hip Hop Award is what everyone was saying that they want and what the culture need. It's the first hip hop award show where we'll see hip hop artists gathered from all over the world on one stage with iconic and inspirational hip hop artists here in America doing their own style of hip hop, right? Their own language, their own unique interpretation.

There it is.

Of the music and the culture. And one thing that I'm really proud of with the platform is we'll be able to highlight under the title of knowledge, amazing people doing amazing things for their community, for the planet, for the world. And this is going to be streamed all over the world.

Love it.

It's the platform we must have in order to unite and educate our young people on the true culture of hip hop. We must have a platform that celebrate artists that appear the true essence of hip hop, that honors family, culture, education, excellence, and having fun.

There we go. I love it. And having fun. So do we have a date chosen for this year yet for 2024?

No, actually, we don't. We're looking to do it in 2024, in September. We're still trying to get funded. We're trying to get Dave Chappelle and Queen Latifah to be a part of this event. There's no better Dream Team host than the both of them. We are talking to people in Dubai about 2025, but I really want to see it done in America the first time, you know, and I'm. And I'm still pushing for that, you know what I'm saying? For the first time. But if not, it may be the first time in Dubai.

No, we're going to make it happen this year.

I hope so. It'll be a shame if the first one is overseas.

Whatever I can do to help, you know, I'm gonna help, you know, whatever. The troops we need to rally, we'll rally the troops. It's gonna happen. Everyone listening. 2024 World Hip Hop Awards this September. We need to make that happen.

Absolutely. We want to do it in Vegas at the Beautiful Sphere. It'll be a total different experience.

That's right.

Total different experience. We've never seen anything like this on the stage. It's the most revolutionary event produced in hip hop thus far.

Can't wait. And I'm gonna be there. I'm gonna be there, too, so you better.

Front row. I got you.

There we go. So, Ms. Tandy, you talked about some of the traits that. Some of the best that you work with, that. Yes, we know when we see the best. There's probably 99 that never make it. Right. What are some of the things that you saw or have seen in artists where it's like, nah, you're not there. What are those bad habits that those.

That don't make it happen, they don't respect the art. They see it as a means, like I said, to make money or to get famous. They don't study the craft. Like right now, some of the artists, what they've done with hip hop, what they call hip hop, they've slowed down the beat to a crawl. They've taken all the soul out of the music. So is anybody's game.

Wow.

So back in the day, when it came to producers doing beats, they did their best beats. They studied different old school artists. Gap Band, James Brown is the most sampled artist in hip hop.

That's right.

You know what I'm saying? So we, we have the most amazing beats and amazing producers. They don't study the craft. It's all about making money, being famous. To me, it all sounds pretty much the same. Looks garbage. You know, I said it.

Tandy. Didn't say that.

I didn't say it. You said it.

But you know what you just said. Also plays out in other industries and walks to life, too. If you're a salesperson and you're not working on your craft, you're never going to be the top salesperson. If you're a leader, if you're a manager and you're not honing in on your skills, if you're not doing the things behind the scenes when people aren't paying attention. Right, you're never going to be there. If you're an athlete and you're not working hard and you're not training, when people aren't paying attention, you're never going to be the best. That was one. And I have my pen and paper right here, so I just wrote that down. You've got to work on your skill and hone your craft because you're never going to be the best. You're never going to be a Biggie or Method man who relentlessly work at being the best, at every little thing that they did.

Absolutely.

You don't have that in you. You're not going to make.

Absolutely. A lot of the artists today, if you make it, you'll probably just end up being an artist that they'll give you your name, they'll give you your image, they'll give you your clothing, they'll give you your lyrics. Just a puppet making money for the machine.

Right? Right.

You know what I'm saying? And then you'll always be off balance because you know, if you don't do, say, or whatever is told you, on to the next. So in order to be an artist, a true artist, you gotta study the craft. You gotta study those that went before you that you. And you could tell those that have done that, you know what I'm saying, that really respect what they're trying to do. And that's what we want to do with the world Hip Hop Awards re educate, reintroduce the culture, not just hip hop as a music genre.

Right.

We need to bring the music back into the culture, back to its roots, to inspire a new renaissance in the music and the culture.

There we go.

Worldwide.

Worldwide. That's right. So let's talk about you or ask you a question, Ms. Tandy. What was that defining moment in your life that took you from here? And for those that are listening, I'm using, like a little bar. Those that took you from here to here. Do you remember that. That moment in your life when you were like, I'm going to be great. What was that like for you in.

In hip hop?

Yes.

When. When Mark Pitts, who's Now CEO of RCA Records, hired me to work with him at By Storm Entertainment. And out of nowhere, I was working for him. Biggie Smalls, Changing Faces and Faith Evans. And just before that, I was working with Angelo Elaby. I knew nothing about pr, but he saw something in me that I didn'. He calls me in his office and he goes, I have a client and I want and he's throwing a party. I'm like, okay, who was the client? Mark Pitts. He was throwing Biggie Smalls Platinum party.

Okay.

I was fortunate enough, out of nowhere, I was the executive, you know, for that party. And Mark hired me to work for them after I threw that party. It was a huge success. It was huge score.

The perfect gift at Dick's Sporting Goods. Start your wish list with top picks from Nike, Jordan, FP Movement and more. Shop trending shoes, golf gear, water bottles and more of this year's hottest gifts. Need it fast? Stop by your local store or use the Dick's app for quick pickup or delivery. Visit dicksportinggoods.com to shop this year's best holiday gifts at Dick's.

Hello, friends. Guess who? That's right, it is I, the replacer. Once again, I've been called on so you can play the new Call of Duty Black Ops 7 with three expansive modes, 18 multiplayer maps, and the tastiest zombie gameplay you've ever freaking seen.

Available November 14, pre order Call of.

Duty Black Ops 7 now rated M for mature.

So once that happened, I knew, all right, I'm here now, now what am I gonna do? And I knew what I had to do. My best work.

There it is. So if you could describe yourself in five words, what would those five words or those five adjectives be?

Passionate, honest, dedicated, spiritual, and a go getter.

That's what I'm talking about. Those are the key success factors right there. So being a go getter, how is that taking you to new heights in.

Your career, combining all of those?

Okay.

Because there's different ways you could get there, you know, and you have to choose the way you want to get there.

That's right.

You know, and one thing that I've fortunate to do in working for a lot of CEOs and I was fortunate to be the right hand to a lot of made men, as they call it in the industry. And like I said, you want to study your craft. I taught myself with the help of a lawyer, entertainment lawyer Stuart Levy, who's now ahead of a major entertainment law firm now, how to read and write contracts. Okay, so I Can read and interpret and compose contracts just like a lawyer.

Wow.

So that may be really, really essential to a lot of people in the industry. I got so good at it. I was selling legal documents. I will get a producer, the artist and go, tell me, tell me what the deal is and I'll come back with a 12 page contract, you know, see, that's that.

Go get it.

Yeah. I studied my craft, I studied marketing, I studied management, I studied branding, legal and made sure that I understood all those areas of the business so that I would be essential. And then I genuinely care about people. So it was easy to bond with artists and make sure they were taken care of properly and then take care of the business as well. So I was always known as someone that if I do the job, don't worry about it, it's going to get done, it's going to be done properly, Paper gonna be where it's supposed to be. So I was always a buffer between sometimes my guy and the record label. So I can go in the room with the guys and talk that lingo, put on the heels in a briefcase and go to the record label. That was really the, the decided to do it and keep my integrity in doing it. It was never for sale. It was never changed.

That's it. That's it. I'm gonna unpack something that you just said. You talked about making yourself essential. In today's world, where AI is almost taking over, some people are starting to realize they were not as essential as they thought they were. I think the key to success in today's world is what you just said. You've got to make sure that you are essential, that you are relevant and that you've got plan. If you don't do that, I will never say technology or AI will replace you. But you're going to make it easy for somebody to control it.

Exactly.

Easier for someone to control it. What do you think about that as far as how do you make yourself essential in your life and then in your career?

Well, you have to have a combination of both. You know, you have to understand what exactly happening with new technology, understands it benefits and the limits to it.

Right.

They can talk about AI all they want, but I know one thing. Human consciousness, they will never be able to recreate that. And don't let them fool you.

That's right.

You know what I'm saying? That they can and that's what they're really trying to do. You know, I think people are planning on or want to do some really evil things that they Want to blame on a machine?

Absolutely.

You understand what I'm saying? No. Because you still got to program that machine. It's just a machine. There you go with, with information you put in it.

That's it.

So I think that we should never ever get to the point that we give up our intelligence, our gift, our genius, and think that something someone else created, that don't even possess that.

That's right.

Create something better than you.

Amen.

Nobody creates better than the God. You know what I'm saying?

That's right.

I think with that understanding, continue to grow your own inner self, grow your skills. Because you can use AI, which I do for looking at grandma when I'm writing a letter. That's what I use it for. But do I let it do my thinking for me? Absolutely not. Do I let it do my creating for me? Absolutely not.

That's right.

Stay your authentic self. Stay your genius self. Nothing is better than that.

That's right. Because the fifth part of hip hop is what? Knowledge.

Absolutely.

All right, Ms. Sandy, two things I'm gonna get you out of here. Number one, what is your most proudest moment in hip hop? For hip hop, like if you were to look back at the 20 plus years, and I know you started when you were 1 years old in hip hop, so.

Barely too. Yeah, exactly.

What's the one moment that you're proud of?

The Biggie Platinum party.

Okay.

When I was on that stage with them and everybody was at that party, Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Whitney, everybody, that was anybody in the game was at that party.

Okay.

And watching Biggie put on that crown and be celebrated that way. And then working with my idol, Mike Tyson, and that was. Yeah, that was bestowed upon me by Jimmy, Jimmy Henchman. I worked as his right hand woman at his company, Czar Entertainment. He put me in charge of that account working with Mike Tyson, Mary Ben Ari, who was at the time called the hip hop violinist. And Mike was my hero. Yes. Those are the moments that were really the greatest. There's so, so many more, but those are the ones that come to mind right now. Working Biggie and Mike Tyson. Yeah.

Okay. All right. And for the listeners out there and those that are watching, what's one thing you want the world to know about the World Hip Hop Awards and how they can help?

What's the one thing that World Hip Hop Awards is? FUBU is for us, by us. And if we want to save our communities, save our culture and stop the killing of all these young black men that are emulating Things that they shouldn't emulate. Then you need to support the World Hip Hop Awards. Not just the community, but the celebrities and all the brands that hip hop created and supported and the black community created and supported. They need to support the World Hip Hop Awards. And I'm not for banning any type of music, I really am not. But what I am for is bringing balance back to hip hop.

There we go.

Too much of anything is not good.

That's right. Too much anything is not good.

It's not good. We got too much not good.

That's right. That's right. Well, that is awesome. So, Ms. Tandy, where can we go to to find you, to follow you? Where can we go to support the 2024 World Hip Hop Awards? Where can we find.

We definitely want artists all over the world to nominate artists that they would like to see on the World Hip Hop Awards on our website at www.worldhiphopawards.com as well as support us. Tag Queen Latifah, tag Dave Chappelle and tell them you want them on this event and your favorite hip hop artist and tell them to get on over here and make this happen. And it's for brands. If they're interested in partnering with us and we definitely funding and we do need partnerships, they can reach that at info@worldhiphopawards.com and you can find me Tandy@Worldhiphopawards.com as well.

I love it. Ladies and gentlemen, the OG Brooklyn's finest, Ms. Tandy Weems. Tandy, thank you so much for being on the show.

No, thank you. I really appreciate it. I'm humbled. Thank you so much.

There you go. You got it. And as always, your because is your superpower. Unleash it. Until next time.

Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on YouTube at MC Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, prepared and stay unplugged.

Hey, new to TikTok, here's a gift just for you. Join TikTok today and claim your $20 no minimum spend voucher completely free. Simply download the TikTok app, search for get tick, that's G E T T I K and your voucher will be ready to use right away. Spend it freely on TikTok show shop, fashion, gadgets, beauty and more. Don't wait. Download TikTok today and grab your $20 voucher now.

Okay.

Only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line.

But first. There, the last one. Enjoy a Coca Cola for a pause that refreshes.