[Music]
[Applause]
what’s up everybody first of all this is
just dope
Justin what’s going on with red eye and
TED Talks and watch this is amazing I
think this is this is brilliant
I’m just going to take you through a
little bit of my story and hopefully it
will inspire motivate you all here today
but before we start how many musicians
artists singers writers any in the music
industry in the room
cool
how many into sports okay well it all
works hand in hand so hopefully this
will inspire you
so let me tell you about myself so when
I was in high school and I was a junior
in high school I come from a town called
Lamech City New Jersey in Atlantic City
there was no outlet for music no
recording studios it just wasn’t a place
where you could be heard you could be
discovered nothing cool about music in
Atlantic City and so when I was in high
school as a junior I was known as the
kid in school that always had a bat a
backpack or a book bag and I had my
books in it but I also had a little drum
machine in it and I will take this drum
machine and I would always make beats
whether it was in lunch you know anytime
I had a chance to sit down and make a
beat I would do it so people knew me for
that so I had this one teacher it was in
11th grade
my history teacher her name was mrs.
blank I’m not gonna say it and mrs.
blank but it was more so like you know
my focus was a lot on my music and not
on history
[Music]
and I had my bag and I’m walk-in and she
says come up to me and I go to her she
gives me this newspaper clipping and the
newspaper clipping said black people
will be extinct by the year 2000 and I’m
looking at the paper like what and then
she says so you need to stop making
music because you’re not gonna be that
anyway you want you you won’t make a
career out of this
anyway and I’m just like I’m floored
hearing him a young student hope I’m
looking for people to inspire me to
motivate me to push me into greatness
not to put me down I remember leaving
her class and going to my guidance
counselor and telling showing him the
paper and him saying she really gave you
this and say yes she gave me this and he
was floored and I walked back into the
class later on after class is over and I
crumble up the paper this isn’t a month
of January my junior year I crumble up
the paper I throw it in the trash and I
looked at her and I said not only will
we be here in the year 2000 I said but
in fact I won’t even be in this class
this April listen from my mouth to God’s
ears
I said head and I had no plan nothing
going on I just nothing came out of my
mouth
fast forward to April I write this
cheesy letter to her in our executive in
New York and I had a cassette tape and I
put the music on the cassette tape and I
set it off now anybody in the music
business village you’re not supposed to
send any unsolicited material or they
just take it and they throw it in a
garbage can
from for months I used to catch buses to
New York City and give a NR as my
cassettes and they were just throw it in
a trash can right in front of my face
all the time
but for some reason I don’t know I had
faith I had hope and I gave this I sent
this letter with this cassette and the
guy by the name of James Jones jr. who
worked at Uptown records at the time of
town records was responsible for like
notorious b.i.g and mary j blige and
that hope that’s that whole nineties
uptown New York movement and when I sit
this table all I had was faith and this
guy press play and he listened he read
the letter and he called us and he said
I normally don’t do this I usually just
throw the music away but I heard
something in this music and I want you
to come to New York tomorrow to meet
with me so me and my father went to New
York long story short I moved in with
him in April in April so if you guys
missed the story of the part where I
said I would be out of that class in
income I was home-schooled from that
point on and I was literally living in
Hackensack New Jersey and now I’m
working for uptown records and the
journey began and what I learned from
that experience was the most important
thing from that experience for me was
was faith I know I had the ability I
knew that I had a gift I know I had a
talent but I couldn’t just sit down and
watch my potential chill out I can’t
even if that’s me over there if that’s
me nobody I think just sitting me like
man you got something special you’re
really good what are you gonna do with
it can’t do that and when I look in this
room I can tell this I when I look at
people’s eyes you see special you see
potential you see things and sometimes
you just need to go go with what you
feel a lot of times what we want to do
is we want to make excuses we want to
say well there’s no outlet you know I
live in a city where it can’t happen I
live in a town where it can’t happen
listen you have the ability to be
whatever you want it you want to be you
have the ability to do whatever you want
to do you just gotta go get it it’s not
gonna come it’s not gonna come to you
it’s not gonna be here it is so so a
silver platter take it no we have to go
get it and the reason why you have more
than ever now is because technology
because the technology you have it now
more than ever
listen I’m talking to you about cassette
tapes half it half the people in this
it’s true how many in this room have
owned a cassette tape in their life you
actually under the set team they’re also
liars you never want to consider you saw
one man if you did though that’s kind of
cool so we’ve progressed in our in our
world very quickly and technology has
made it possible now for us to be able
to have a different type of impact and
rapid speed so think about it from this
standpoint I had to catch the bus I had
to get a job at the local diner making
somewhere around 36 bucks take that
money invest it into a $23 bus ticket do
it again and again to catch the bus to
New York stand outside of like your
company is hoping to get discover if
someone would take my cassette tape and
play it but they were just throw it in
the garbage but now because of
technology I had the opportunity to be
able to see talent here talent right
because technology there was a guy about
two years ago who could make every
excuse in the book he leaved he lived in
a city where he had no opportunity but
he was an incredible musician and guess
and I was I was like water says this is
this guy is really good so I got ahold
of this guy I said we need to bring him
to California I want to meet him
flew him out to California I said man
you want to come do some work say man
you have no idea in his first years he
made six figures
no one cannot tell me that we do not
have the opportunity to progress quicker
than ever
with the potential that we have why
because we have technology at our
fingertips we have mobile phones you can
build apps you can you can post things
now and get discovered we have all of
this at the Fed our fingertips but we
have to have the drive and the
willingness to want to be great
it’s funny because when you when you
think about driving past a graveyard
site and you look at a grave and you
think to yourself man the potential
that’s in this grave it could have been
the next president it could have been
the next Facebook it could have been the
next TED Talks
but a lot of people don’t take that
opportunity to tap into into their
potential and it’s all because of fear
so how do we stepping out of fear and
Interfaith how do we step out of fear
and interfaith well I think it starts up
here it’s all in the mind it’s all in
the mind
right my son is 10 years old and he’s a
golfer and a history major ok I can stay
in history but he loves history right
and he’s a golfer so we have an event
he plays in the u.s. kids tour and we
have an event so this is huge tree right
in front of them and I say RJ go over
that tree and he looks at me he goes I
can’t negative that word cannot be used
if you want to step into any part of
greatness the word can’t cannot exist
I can’t daddy what do you mean you can’t
RJ hit the ball over the street I can’t
well what are you gonna do RJ I’m gonna
play it to the left go steps up hits the
ball to the left the ball goes over the
fence out of Bounce I look at that as
man if you want to try to go over the
tree and you didn’t succeed you will
still be in better shape than losing the
stroke cuz they went over the fence
fast forward a year later I’ve been
working on him working with him on
confidence and conquering and having
faith but faith can allow you to achieve
things that you can’t even see or
believe
so we go back to play a course and what
happens he’s on fire
the day is gone great birdie he had
three birdies in a row to start to stop
the day off from like whoo it’s one of
those days we get to the fifth hole and
there’s this tree and this tree is huge
and I looking at RJ and I said RJ
what are you gonna do he said what the
David in the Bible do it’s a 10 euro
telling me he was mine at that time so
what the David in the Bible anybody know
what David did he conquered a girl
conquered Goliath and that she was his
Goliath so I said RJ go over the tree
picks up his club he has to 200 yard
drive right over the tree nine years old
at the time 200 yards right over the
tree birdie that whole faith will take
you places it will allow you to have an
imagination that you don’t even think
you have you see things differently
because of faith because what happens is
it shrinks the opposition it makes that
obstacle come down so when he’s looking
at the tree now the tree that appears to
be 60 70 80 feet I don’t know how high
that tree was as high as the ceiling
Nana because of faith now because he has
faith in he doesn’t have fear it now
looks like a little bush and now it
looks this small and that’s the same
thing in life once we have that faith
and we start putting together all the
things that we are able to do whether
it’s being a musician whether it’s be an
artist a singer a songwriter so on
intech someone who wants to start a real
estate company whatever it is once you
add the component of faith into your
life everything that seemed difficult
that seemed hard it shrinks it becomes
so much smaller so here you got a little
boy you got this little boy named David
right and he’s looking at this big giant
called Goliath he’s like yo
and everybody fix of Goliath as this big
old creature that David is not gonna be
able to conquer
but how did David’s in this how David
saw check this out David sees Goliath oh
man I could actually turn around and I
could take this little rock go like this
cuz he’s so big I can’t miss him he’s so
big I can’t listen I can conquer him
with my eyes closed he didn’t see him as
that huge obstacle anymore because of
faith he’s shown it as oh that’s a big
target that I can’t miss and that’s how
it’s supposed to be in life no matter
what we want to do in life you put your
mind to it
and fate to it and then you accomplish
it the same teacher who told me so give
up what you’re doing anyway I won think
I’ve just turned 20 years old four years
later this but you know why because the
faith was activated in my life the very
thing that someone told me that I would
not be able to do I’m good but I’m not
that good she told me I’m not gonna make
it she told we’re not gonna exist no I
used it as fuel to say I’m destined for
greatness cuz if someone is telling you
you’re not gonna make it
believe me when I tell you God has
another plan for your life
take all of the things that you have all
of the greatness that you have inside
inside of you and activate faith faith
is not seeing
it’s knowing that you have the ability
to conquer anything that’s in front of
you and be all that you can be and be
great at anything you want to be my time
is up
I want to thank Justin redeye TED talks
city of watts and all your people for
allowing me to share the stage for this
moment [Applause]
[Applause]
what’s up everybody first of all this is
just dope
Justin what’s going on with red eye and
TED Talks and watch this is amazing I
think this is this is brilliant
I’m just going to take you through a
little bit of my story and hopefully it
will inspire motivate you all here today
but before we start how many musicians
artists singers writers any in the music
industry in the room
cool
how many into sports okay well it all
works hand in hand so hopefully this
will inspire you
so let me tell you about myself so when
I was in high school and I was a junior
in high school I come from a town called
Lamech City New Jersey in Atlantic City
there was no outlet for music no
recording studios it just wasn’t a place
where you could be heard you could be
discovered nothing cool about music in
Atlantic City and so when I was in high
school as a junior I was known as the
kid in school that always had a bat a
backpack or a book bag and I had my
books in it but I also had a little drum
machine in it and I will take this drum
machine and I would always make beats
whether it was in lunch you know anytime
I had a chance to sit down and make a
beat I would do it so people knew me for
that so I had this one teacher it was in
11th grade
my history teacher her name was mrs.
blank I’m not gonna say it and mrs.
blank but it was more so like you know
my focus was a lot on my music and not
on history
[Music]
and I had my bag and I’m walk-in and she
says come up to me and I go to her she
gives me this newspaper clipping and the
newspaper clipping said black people
will be extinct by the year 2000 and I’m
looking at the paper like what and then
she says so you need to stop making
music because you’re not gonna be that
anyway you want you you won’t make a
career out of this
anyway and I’m just like I’m floored
hearing him a young student hope I’m
looking for people to inspire me to
motivate me to push me into greatness
not to put me down I remember leaving
her class and going to my guidance
counselor and telling showing him the
paper and him saying she really gave you
this and say yes she gave me this and he
was floored and I walked back into the
class later on after class is over and I
crumble up the paper this isn’t a month
of January my junior year I crumble up
the paper I throw it in the trash and I
looked at her and I said not only will
we be here in the year 2000 I said but
in fact I won’t even be in this class
this April listen from my mouth to God’s
ears
I said head and I had no plan nothing
going on I just nothing came out of my
mouth
fast forward to April I write this
cheesy letter to her in our executive in
New York and I had a cassette tape and I
put the music on the cassette tape and I
set it off now anybody in the music
business village you’re not supposed to
send any unsolicited material or they
just take it and they throw it in a
garbage can
from for months I used to catch buses to
New York City and give a NR as my
cassettes and they were just throw it in
a trash can right in front of my face
all the time
but for some reason I don’t know I had
faith I had hope and I gave this I sent
this letter with this cassette and the
guy by the name of James Jones jr. who
worked at Uptown records at the time of
town records was responsible for like
notorious b.i.g and mary j blige and
that hope that’s that whole nineties
uptown New York movement and when I sit
this table all I had was faith and this
guy press play and he listened he read
the letter and he called us and he said
I normally don’t do this I usually just
throw the music away but I heard
something in this music and I want you
to come to New York tomorrow to meet
with me so me and my father went to New
York long story short I moved in with
him in April in April so if you guys
missed the story of the part where I
said I would be out of that class in
income I was home-schooled from that
point on and I was literally living in
Hackensack New Jersey and now I’m
working for uptown records and the
journey began and what I learned from
that experience was the most important
thing from that experience for me was
was faith I know I had the ability I
knew that I had a gift I know I had a
talent but I couldn’t just sit down and
watch my potential chill out I can’t
even if that’s me over there if that’s
me nobody I think just sitting me like
man you got something special you’re
really good what are you gonna do with
it can’t do that and when I look in this
room I can tell this I when I look at
people’s eyes you see special you see
potential you see things and sometimes
you just need to go go with what you
feel a lot of times what we want to do
is we want to make excuses we want to
say well there’s no outlet you know I
live in a city where it can’t happen I
live in a town where it can’t happen
listen you have the ability to be
whatever you want it you want to be you
have the ability to do whatever you want
to do you just gotta go get it it’s not
gonna come it’s not gonna come to you
it’s not gonna be here it is so so a
silver platter take it no we have to go
get it and the reason why you have more
than ever now is because technology
because the technology you have it now
more than ever
listen I’m talking to you about cassette
tapes half it half the people in this
it’s true how many in this room have
owned a cassette tape in their life you
actually under the set team they’re also
liars you never want to consider you saw
one man if you did though that’s kind of
cool so we’ve progressed in our in our
world very quickly and technology has
made it possible now for us to be able
to have a different type of impact and
rapid speed so think about it from this
standpoint I had to catch the bus I had
to get a job at the local diner making
somewhere around 36 bucks take that
money invest it into a $23 bus ticket do
it again and again to catch the bus to
New York stand outside of like your
company is hoping to get discover if
someone would take my cassette tape and
play it but they were just throw it in
the garbage but now because of
technology I had the opportunity to be
able to see talent here talent right
because technology there was a guy about
two years ago who could make every
excuse in the book he leaved he lived in
a city where he had no opportunity but
he was an incredible musician and guess
and I was I was like water says this is
this guy is really good so I got ahold
of this guy I said we need to bring him
to California I want to meet him
flew him out to California I said man
you want to come do some work say man
you have no idea in his first years he
made six figures
no one cannot tell me that we do not
have the opportunity to progress quicker
than ever
with the potential that we have why
because we have technology at our
fingertips we have mobile phones you can
build apps you can you can post things
now and get discovered we have all of
this at the Fed our fingertips but we
have to have the drive and the
willingness to want to be great
it’s funny because when you when you
think about driving past a graveyard
site and you look at a grave and you
think to yourself man the potential
that’s in this grave it could have been
the next president it could have been
the next Facebook it could have been the
next TED Talks
but a lot of people don’t take that
opportunity to tap into into their
potential and it’s all because of fear
so how do we stepping out of fear and
Interfaith how do we step out of fear
and interfaith well I think it starts up
here it’s all in the mind it’s all in
the mind
right my son is 10 years old and he’s a
golfer and a history major ok I can stay
in history but he loves history right
and he’s a golfer so we have an event
he plays in the u.s. kids tour and we
have an event so this is huge tree right
in front of them and I say RJ go over
that tree and he looks at me he goes I
can’t negative that word cannot be used
if you want to step into any part of
greatness the word can’t cannot exist
I can’t daddy what do you mean you can’t
RJ hit the ball over the street I can’t
well what are you gonna do RJ I’m gonna
play it to the left go steps up hits the
ball to the left the ball goes over the
fence out of Bounce I look at that as
man if you want to try to go over the
tree and you didn’t succeed you will
still be in better shape than losing the
stroke cuz they went over the fence
fast forward a year later I’ve been
working on him working with him on
confidence and conquering and having
faith but faith can allow you to achieve
things that you can’t even see or
believe
so we go back to play a course and what
happens he’s on fire
the day is gone great birdie he had
three birdies in a row to start to stop
the day off from like whoo it’s one of
those days we get to the fifth hole and
there’s this tree and this tree is huge
and I looking at RJ and I said RJ
what are you gonna do he said what the
David in the Bible do it’s a 10 euro
telling me he was mine at that time so
what the David in the Bible anybody know
what David did he conquered a girl
conquered Goliath and that she was his
Goliath so I said RJ go over the tree
picks up his club he has to 200 yard
drive right over the tree nine years old
at the time 200 yards right over the
tree birdie that whole faith will take
you places it will allow you to have an
imagination that you don’t even think
you have you see things differently
because of faith because what happens is
it shrinks the opposition it makes that
obstacle come down so when he’s looking
at the tree now the tree that appears to
be 60 70 80 feet I don’t know how high
that tree was as high as the ceiling
Nana because of faith now because he has
faith in he doesn’t have fear it now
looks like a little bush and now it
looks this small and that’s the same
thing in life once we have that faith
and we start putting together all the
things that we are able to do whether
it’s being a musician whether it’s be an
artist a singer a songwriter so on
intech someone who wants to start a real
estate company whatever it is once you
add the component of faith into your
life everything that seemed difficult
that seemed hard it shrinks it becomes
so much smaller so here you got a little
boy you got this little boy named David
right and he’s looking at this big giant
called Goliath he’s like yo
and everybody fix of Goliath as this big
old creature that David is not gonna be
able to conquer
but how did David’s in this how David
saw check this out David sees Goliath oh
man I could actually turn around and I
could take this little rock go like this
cuz he’s so big I can’t miss him he’s so
big I can’t listen I can conquer him
with my eyes closed he didn’t see him as
that huge obstacle anymore because of
faith he’s shown it as oh that’s a big
target that I can’t miss and that’s how
it’s supposed to be in life no matter
what we want to do in life you put your
mind to it
and fate to it and then you accomplish
it the same teacher who told me so give
up what you’re doing anyway I won think
I’ve just turned 20 years old four years
later this but you know why because the
faith was activated in my life the very
thing that someone told me that I would
not be able to do I’m good but I’m not
that good she told me I’m not gonna make
it she told we’re not gonna exist no I
used it as fuel to say I’m destined for
greatness cuz if someone is telling you
you’re not gonna make it
believe me when I tell you God has
another plan for your life
take all of the things that you have all
of the greatness that you have inside
inside of you and activate faith faith
is not seeing
it’s knowing that you have the ability
to conquer anything that’s in front of
you and be all that you can be and be
great at anything you want to be my time
is up
I want to thank Justin redeye TED talks
city of watts and all your people for
allowing me to share the stage for this
moment [Applause]
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