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♪♪ >>> ONE THING I KNOW IS THAT LIFE IS SHORT, SO LISTEN UP, HOMEBOY, GIVE THIS A THOUGHT.

HI, EVERYBODY, THIS IS "CHAT BOX," I'M DAVID CRUZ.

IF YOU KNOW THAT LINE, YOU KNOW OUR GUEST THIS WEEK.

HE'S FROM HOLLIS, QUEENS, ORIGINALLY, AND HAS TRAVELED THE WORLD SINCE CHANGING THE FACE OF MUSIC AND BECOMING A HIP HOP ICON.

HE LIVES IN JERSEY NOW AND HAS A NEW KIDS' BOOK OUT.

HE IS THE KING OF ROCK.

THERE IS NONE HIGHER.

WE WELCOME TO "CHAT BOX," DMC, DARRYL McDANIELS.

HEY, MAN, GOOD TO SEE YOU.

>> GLAD TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU.

THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE.

>> YES.

IN PREPARING FOR TODAY, I WAS NOTICING HOW SOME OF THOSE EARLY HIP HOP PIONEERS ARE ESTABLISHMENT NOW.

YOU, RUN, ICE CUBE, LL, ICE T, SOME OTHERS.

IS THIS SOMETHING THAT LITTLE DARRYL MAC EVER DREAMED OF?

>> NO, NOT AT ALL.

NOT AT ALL.

I NEVER EVEN WANTED TO BE IN SHOW BUSINESS.

I NEVER WANTED TO MAKE RECORDS.

I WAS A SHY LITTLE KID.

I DIDN'T WANT TO BE IN FRONT OF PEOPLE.

BUT I GUESS IT WAS THE DESIRE TO HAVE THE THINGS IN MY IMAGINATION COME TRUE THAT ALLOWED THOSE THINGS TO MANIFEST.

I WAS A SHY KID, STRAIGHT-A STUDENT, AND VERY PROUD OF IT.

BUT I WASN'T THE KID THAT WANTED TO SIT UP IN THE FRONT OF THE CLASS.

I DIDN'T WANT TO GET UP AND READ THE PARAGRAPH TO THE WHOLE CLASSROOM.

I SAT IN THE BACK, ALONE, DID MY HOMEWORK, WENT HOME, READ MY COMIC BOOKS, AND DIDN'T MESS WITH ANYBODY.

>> WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE?

DID YOU HAVE AN IDEA?

IF IT WASN'T GOING TO BE IN ENTERTAINMENT, WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE GOING TO BE?

>> A SUPER HERO.

I MEAN, AS A LITTLE KID, I WAS IN KINDERGARTEN WHEN I SAW MY FIRST BATMAN COVER, AND IT WAS JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THE ART.

THE ARTWORK STOOD OUT.

AND THE BOLD LETTERS AND THE TITLE AND THE LABELING, AND SOMETHING IN ME SAID, I GOT TO HAVE THAT.

I GOT TO BE THAT.

SO, I REMEMBER I GREW UP, MY FIRST COMIC BOOK IN KINDERGARTEN.

THE ONLY PLACE THAT I SAW PEOPLE I COULD RELATE TO WAS IN COMIC BOOKS, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, IN EVERY GENERATION, BEING A GOOD, POSITIVE, EDUCATED, SMART KID IS NOT CONSIDERED COOL.

SO, THE ONLY TIME I SAW GEEKY, NERDY, AWKWARD PEOPLE WHO WERE SUPER BAD WAS IN THE COMIC BOOKS WHEN I LOOKED AT PETER PARKER.

I SAW MYSELF.

WHEN I LOOKED AT CLARK KENT, I SAW MYSELF.

YOU KNOW, THESE WERE CLUMSY INDIVIDUALS TRYING TO MAKE IT THROUGH LIFE, BUT PETER PARKER IS SPIDER-MAN, AND CLARK KENT IS SUPERMAN, AND BRUCE WAYNE AND REED RICHARDS AND PROFESSOR X, SO IN MY WORLD, IF YOU WASN'T IN A GANG, IF YOU WASN'T IN THE STREET, IF YOU WASN'T PLAYING HOOKY, IF YOU WASN'T STEALING THE BUBBLE GUM AND THE WATER PISTOL, YOU WASN'T CONSIDERED COOL, SO I DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A PLACE IN THIS WORLD, SO I THOUGHT AT THE TIME.

>> LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUNG DMC.

HE IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR NEW BOOK, "DARRYL'S DREAM," WHICH TELLS THE STORY OF A KID WHO'S BULLIED AND PICKED ON FOR NOT BEING LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.

LET'S JUST SAY UP FRONT THAT DARRYL IS YOU, YEAH?

>> YES.

YES.

IT'S DEFINITELY BASED ON ME.

I GOT TEASED, BULLIED AND PICKED ON BECAUSE I WORE GLASSES.

I MEAN, I HAVE CONTACTS NOW, BUT I GOT TEASED, BULLIED AND PICKED ON BECAUSE I NEEDED TO WEAR GLASSES.

BECAUSE I WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER KIDS.

I GOT TEASED, BULLIED, AND PICKED ON BECAUSE I WAS THE KID THAT DID MY HOMEWORK AND PUT MY HAND UP TO ASK QUESTIONS.

I LISTENED TO MY MOTHER AND FATHER AND OBEYED THE RULES.

I GOT TEASED, BULLIED, AND PICKED ON BECAUSE I WAS READING CORNY COMIC BOOKS AND ALL OF THAT.

SO, THAT LITTLE KID IN THE BOOK REPRESENTS EVERY KID FROM EVERY GENERATION, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, BUT THE BOOK IS WRITTEN TO SHOW KIDS THIS.

YOU ARE PERFECT JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, AND BECAUSE YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE, AT THIS POINT IN LIFE, THOSE CHARACTERISTICS, THOSE QUALITIES, THOSE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU YOU WILL ALLOW YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT WHATEVER YOU DO.

FOR INSTANCE, I GOT TEASED, BULLIED AND PICKED ON BECAUSE I WORE MY GLASSES.

MY WHOLE LIFE, HEY, FOUR EYES.

HEY, BINOCULARS, BLIND AS A BAT.

KIDS WOULD PLAY JOKES.

THEY WOULD HIDE MY GLASSES SO NOW I GOT TO SIT THROUGH THE WHOLE GLASS, I CAN'T SEE THE BLACKBOARD.

BUT IT DIDN'T STOP ME FROM LEARNING.

IT DIDN'T STOP ME FROM PERSEVERING, REGARDLESS OF ALL THE OBSTACLES.

NOW, FAST FORWARD TO WHEN I GOT TO MAKE MY FIRST RECORD, I REMEMBER EVERY KID THAT EVER SAID SOMETHING THAT WASN'T COOL ABOUT -- SOMETHING ABOUT ME THAT THEY THOUGHT WASN'T COOL, SO, Y'ALL REMEMBER, MY FIRST RECORD, I STOOD IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE WORLD NOT BEING ASHAMED OF ME BEING DIFFERENT OR NOT BEING ASHAMED OF BEING DARRYL, AND I SAID, THE "D" IS FOR DOING IT ALL OF THE TIME, "M" IS FOR THE RHYMES THAT ARE ALL MINE AND "C" IS FOR COOL, COOL AS CAN BE, AND MY PARTNER, RUN, WOULD ASK ME, WHY YOU WEAR THOSE GLASSES?

AND I PROUDLY PROCLAIMED TO THE WORLD, SO I CAN SEE.

AND THAT WAS SO POWERFUL.

THAT WAS SO POWERFUL, ME NOT BEING ASHAMED.

I NEED TO WEAR GLASSES TO HELP ME SEE, AND YOU THINK SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT.

BY ME NOT BEING ASHAMED OF IT WAS SO POWERFUL THAT PEOPLE THAT DON'T NEED GLASSES WANT TO WEAR THEM NOW.

I WANT KIDS TO SEE THOSE QUALITIES, YOUR FRECKLES, YOUR RED HAIR, YOUR FUNNY SHOES, THE CLOTHES THAT YOU WEAR, THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN, EVEN DOWN TO THE FUNNY FOOD THAT YOU LIKE, YOU'RE PERFECT JUST THE WAY YOU ARE.

>> YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING YOU MENTION THAT, BECAUSE THE NICKNAME FOR ME WHEN I WAS A KID WAS "BLIND-O" BECAUSE I HAD POOR VISION WHEN I WAS YOUNGER.

>> SEE?

>> AND I HAD TO ACTUALLY STAND UP CLOSE TO THE BLACKBOARD TO TAKE NOTES.

>> TO WRITE.

WOW.

>> YOU KNOW?

>> SEE?

>> BUT THOSE THINGS, THEY CAN EITHER BREAK YOU OR -- >> OR MAKE YOU.

>> MAKE YOU INTO THE PERSON THAT MAKES YOU A WORLD RECORD HIP HOP ARTIST WHO CHANGES THE WORLD.

>> YES.

YEAH.

AND WHAT CHILDREN NEED TO UNDERSTAND, A LOT OF THE EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS CHILDREN HAVE AT A YOUNG AGE, SOMETIMES WE TELL THEM, YOU'RE TOO YOUNG TO BE THINKING ABOUT THAT.

I BEG TO DIFFER.

NO, LET THEM EXPRESS HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THESE THINGS.

>> YEAH.

>> BECAUSE IF THEY EXPRESS THESE EMOTIONS AND UNDERSTAND THAT THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO BE WITH THEM NOW, WHEN THEY GET OLDER, AS THEY GO INTO ADOLESCENCE AND TEENAGE AND YOUNG ADULTS, THEY WILL HAVE THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO DEAL WITH IT.

ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK IS, SEE, OUR WORLD IS OUR CAREERS, THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, OUR FRIENDS, OUR FAMILY.

YOU KNOW, YOU'RE THERE AT WORK BUT THEN YOU GO HOME, YOU'RE INTERACTING WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILIES.

IT'S IDENTICAL TO THE UNIVERSE OF THE CHILDREN, EXCEPT THEIR WORLD IS THEIR HOUSEHOLDS, THEIR BACKYARDS, THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, THEIR CLASSROOMS AND THEIR SCHOOLYARDS.

AND IN THOSE SCHOOLYARDS AND CLASSROOMS, EVERY -- ALL THE STRESSES THAT WE HAVE AS ADULTS, THEY GOT ADVERSITY, THEY GOT ANXIETY, THEY GOT SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES, THEY GOT CONFUSION, THEY'RE AFRAID.

WHEN I SPEAK TO KIDS, I SAY, I'VE BEEN IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS FOR 40 YEARS.

I STILL GET SCARED BEFORE I GO ON STAGE.

AND NOW THEY LOOKING AT ME, OH, IT'S OKAY TO BE NERVOUS.

YES.

EVERYBODY GETS NERVOUS.

IT'S OKAY TO BE AFRAID.

AND I ALSO TELL THEM, THE REASON WHY THE BULLY IS PICKING ON YOU IS BECAUSE THE BULLY'S GOING THROUGH SOMETHING, AND THE BULLY'S ASHAMED TO TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT IT AND LET PEOPLE KNOW HOW HE OR SHE FEELS.

AND THEY LOOK AT ME, LIKE, REALLY?

I SAY, HE'S PICKING ON YOU BECAUSE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT THE BULLY DON'T LIKE ABOUT THEMSELVES.

SO, MY WHOLE THING IS, TO REMOVE THE GUILT AND THE SHAME FROM THE PICTURE, AND LET THE CHILD -- LET THE CHILD EXPERIENCE THESE EMOTIONS NOW SO THEY DON'T GROW INTO MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES WHEN THEY GET OLDER.

>> AND PARENTS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE HERE.

JUST TELLING KIDS THAT IT'S ALL RIGHT TO BE INSECURE.

IT'S ALL RIGHT TO BE AFRAID.

IT'S ALL RIGHT TO BE DIFFERENT.

>> YES.

YES.

AND IN THE BOOK, IN THE BOOK, HE SIGNS UP FOR THE TALENT SHOW TO SAY HIS POEM, SO OF COURSE KIDS IS GOING TO BE LIKE, OH, YOU WANT TO SAY YOUR CORNY POETRY AT THE TALENT SHOW.

SO, BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT THE THING HE WANTS TO DO, HE TAKES HIS NAME OFF THE TALENT SHOW LIST.

BUT AS SOON AS HE DO THAT -- AND YOU KNOW, ME AND YOU, GROWING UP, WE DO THINGS AND AS SOON AS WE MAKE A DECISION, WE FEEL THAT DECISION MANIFEST IN US.

SO, AS SOON AS HE TAKES HIS NAME OFF THE TALENT SHOW SIGN-UP SHEET, HE FEELS REAL BAD ABOUT IT.

BUT TO FRONT AND IMPRESS HIS FRIENDS, HE WALKS AWAY LIKE HE'S CONFIDENT.

BUT THEN HE GOES HOME AND TRIES TO ACT LIKE AIN'T NOTHING WRONG AND PICKS HIS MOTHER'S BRAIN.

HE SAYS, MOM, WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WANTED TO DO SOMETHING BUT EVERYBODY ELSE THOUGHT IT WASN'T COOL BUT YOU STILL WANTED TO DO IT?

WHAT DOES SHE TELL HIM IN THE BOOK?

HONEY, YOU GOT TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND YOU GOT TO DO WHAT'S IN YOUR HEART.

THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.

SO, HE HEARS THAT FROM HIS MOTHER.

HE STILL AIN'T WITH IT BECAUSE HE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE KIDS SO ADAMANT THAT DOING THE POEM IN THE TALENT SHOW IS SO NOT COOL.

SO, HE GOES TO SLEEP AND HE HAS A DREAM ABOUT IT.

AND IN THE DREAM, HE REALIZES, I DON'T WANT TO DO WHAT THESE KIDS ARE.

I WANT TO BE MYSELF.

SO, HE RUNS BACK TO SCHOOL AND PUTS HIS NAME BACK UP ON THAT BOARD.

SO, IT'S ALL ABOUT GIVING THE KIDS THE CONFIDENCE TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES.

IT'S ONE THING THAT WE TELL THEM THAT.

BUT THEY GOT TO EXPERIENCE SOMETHING THAT WILL GIVE THEM THE CONFIDENCE TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES AND WHAT THEY DO IN SCHOOL, AND IN THE SCHOOLYARD AND THE CLASSROOM, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME THING WHEN THEY GET A CAREER AND THEY GOT TO GO TO WORK, BECAUSE IF YOU THINK THERE'S BULLIES AND KNUCKLEHEADS AT SCHOOL, YOU'RE GOING TO MEET THEM AT WORK TOO.

SO IT'S BASICALLY GIVING THEM THE TOOLS TO DEAL WITH ADVERSITY AND OBSTACLES.

>> WAIT UNTIL YOU START TALKING TO MANAGEMENT, RIGHT?

>> EXACTLY.

YEP.

YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET.

EXACTLY.

>> IT'S NO STRUGGLE THAT YOU -- IT'S NO SECRET THAT YOU STRUGGLED WITH DEPRESSION AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE.

YOU WROTE ABOUT IT IN THE BOOK "TEN WAYS NOT TO COMMIT SUICIDE."

BUT YOU FOUND YOUR WAY BACK TO HEALTH THROUGH MUSIC, RIGHT?

BUT NOT THROUGH RUN DMC, PER SE.

>> WELL, IT WAS SARAH McLACHLAN'S SONG.

YOU KNOW, I WAS IN -- DOWN IN THE DUMPS OF DEPRESSION WITH, YOU KNOW, OH, I'M THE ONLY ONE -- AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO JUST BE DEPRESSION.

IT COULD BE ANYTHING THAT SOMEBODY'S STRUGGLING WITH.

YOU FEEL ALL ALONE AND DOWN IN THE DUMPS LIKE YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE.

AND IT'S ALL ABOUT FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS AND FINDING SOMETHING THAT RESONATES WITH YOU, SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN RELATE TO, SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN SAY, OH, ME TOO.

OR, I FEEL LIKE THAT.

BUT YOU FEEL SO ALONE.

SO, IT WAS SARAH McLACHLAN'S SONG, "ANGEL," THAT WHEN I HEARD THE PIANO AND THAT VOICE SINGING, IN THE ARMS OF AN ANGEL, THERE WAS SOMETHING IN IT THAT MADE ME SAY, THAT'S ME.

THAT'S THE EXACT VIBRATIONS AND EVERYTHING THAT I'M FEELING RIGHT NOW.

AND WHAT WAS POWERFUL ABOUT THAT IS, I KNEW OF HER.

BUT ONCE I HEARD THAT SONG, I LISTENED TO EVERYTHING SARAH McLACHLAN FOR A WHOLE YEAR.

>> YEAH.

>> AND THEN I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO CLYDE DAVIS'S GRAMMY PARTY IN L.A. AT THE END OF THAT YEAR, AND I DIDN'T WANT TO GO.

BUT MY MANAGER AND MY PUBLICIST FORCED ME TO GO TO THE CLYDE DAVIS PARTY, BUT WHEN I GOT TO THE PARTY, GUESS WHO WAS THERE?

SARAH McLACHLAN.

AND WHEN I MET HER, I SAID, MS. McLACHLAN, THE NAME OF THE SONG IS ANGEL, BUT YOU SOUND LIKE A ANGEL BUT YOU'RE NOT A ANGEL TO ME.

YOU'RE MY GOD.

I LISTENED TO YOUR SONG 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK, AND IT'S THE REASON WHY I'M ALIVE TODAY.

SHE LOOKS AT ME AND SAYS, THANK YOU, DARRYL.

THAT'S WHAT MUSIC IS SUPPOSED TO DO.

AND THEN I REALIZED THAT ALL THE TIMES IN MY LIFE THAT WHEN PEOPLE -- YO, D, YOUR MUSIC GOT ME THROUGH SOME OF THE TOUGHEST TIMES IN MY LIFE, I REALIZED THAT RUN DMC, WE ALWAYS MADE THAT POSITIVE, UNIVERSAL MUSIC THAT WOULD ALWAYS MOTIVATE, INSPIRE, AT THE SAME TIME WE WERE ENTERTAINING PEOPLE.

BUT IT WAS THE MUSIC THAT HAD A PURPOSE.

SO WITH THE BOOK, NOW, THERE ARE TWO EDUCATORS THAT CONVINCED ME, D, YOU NEED TO WRITE A BOOK.

IT'S GOOD THAT YOU VISIT SCHOOLS AND GO IN-PERSON TO VISIT KIDS, BUT WITH A BOOK, YOU CAN REACH SO MANY MORE KIDS, AND I WAS LIKE, REALLY?

D, IT'S THE SAME THING YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN DOING WITH YOUR MUSIC.

SO, MY MUSIC CAREER PREPARED ME TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THIS YOUNGER GENERATION WITH MATERIALS AND SITUATIONS THAT THEY CAN RELATE TO.

DMC IS THE MIGHTY KING OF ROCK WHO WALKED THIS WAY AND IN HIS ADIDAS WITH AEROSMITH AS HE TOLD THE WORLD HOW TRICKY IT WAS TO BE ALIVE.

NOW I CAN TALK ABOUT THIS DMC GUY, YOUNG KIDS, IT WAS THE SAME WAY FOR ME IN THIRD GRADE AND FOURTH GRADE.

SO, IT'S KIND OF LIKE A FULL CIRCLE.

BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, YOU GOT TEASED AND BULLIED AND PICKED ON BECAUSE OF YOUR GLASSES.

SO WE ARE SIMILAR AND BOTH ME AND YOU ARE PROOF THAT, YES, THERE'S GOING TO BE OBSTACLES, THERE'S GOING TO BE ADVERSITY, THERE'S GOING TO BE PEOPLE THAT DON'T LIKE YOU, BUT THAT DOESN'T STOP YOU FROM BECOMING THE PERSON YOU WERE PUT HERE TO BE, REGARDLESS OF YOUR SITUATION.

AND ESPECIALLY REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE BULLIES THINK.

THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOMEBODY AGAINST YOU, AND LIKE DARRYL'S MOTHER IN THE BOOK SAID, HONEY, YOU GOT TO BE FOR YOURSELF AND ALONG WITH YOURSELF, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE RIGHT THERE FOR YOU TOO.

>> YOU WERE ABOUT 20 OR SO WHEN YOU GUYS HIT IT BIG, AROUND 11984, RIGHT?

I THINK?

>> 18 YEARS OLD.

>> 18 YEARS OLD.

>> RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL.

YEAH.

>> AND SO, THAT, YOU KNOW, IS -- YOU'RE ON TOP OF THE WORLD, AND YOU'RE JUST A KID, TRYING TO LIVE THIS DREAM, REALLY.

THEN YOU BECAME A PARENT.

HOW DID BECOMING A PARENT AFFECT YOU AS AN ARTIST OR AS JUST A MAN?

>> FIRST OF ALL, IT MADE ME UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING MY PARENTS AND ADULTS WAS TELLING ME WAS TRUE.

YOU KNOW, YOU THINK YOU KNOW IT ALL, AND YOU THINK THAT, OH, THEY'RE OLDER, THEY DON'T KNOW NOTHING, BUT THEN YOU REALIZE, OLDER PEOPLE ARE THE ELDERS ARE NOT OLD PEOPLE.

THEY'RE LIVING, BREATHING EXPERIENCE.

SO, EVERYTHING THAT I DID IN -- EVERYTHING I DID WRONG THAT I ALLOWED TO GO WRONG THAT MY PARENTS TOLD ME WOULD GO WRONG, I REALIZED THERE'S SO MUCH TRUTH AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT MAY NOT BE EASY, BUT THERE'S PEOPLE PUT IN YOUR LIVES TO HELP YOU GET WHERE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GO, AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG, EVEN WHEN I HAD MY MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, I WAS A LITTLE -- I HAD RESERVATIONS ABOUT COMING OUT AND TALKING ABOUT, I NEED HELP.

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG ABOUT BEING CONFUSED, UNSURE ABOUT YOURSELF, AND THE MOST POWERFUL THING THAT YOU CAN DO IS ASK FOR HELP.

SO I'M REALIZING, I WAS FORTUNATE NOT TO BE IN JAIL.

I'M FORTUNATE NOT TO HAVE OVERDOSED ON ANY DRUGS.

AND I'M VERY FORTUNATE TO STILL BE ALIVE BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN MY BUSINESS OR IN THIS ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS, WHETHER IT'S DRUGS, SUICIDE, OR OVERDOSES, THEY'RE NOT HERE ANYMORE.

SO NOW, BECAUSE OF MY POSITIVE EXPERIENCES, JUST LIKE MY MOTHER AND FATHER WAS TELLING ME, I GOT TO BE AN EXAMPLE AND A HELP TO MY SON.

SO, YOU REALIZE THAT YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER AND YOUR AUNTS AND UNCLES AND YOUR GRANDMOTHERS AND GRANDFATHERS AND ALL THOSE TEACHERS, THE GUIDANCE COUNSELORS, THEY WERE TELLING YOU THOSE THINGS FOR A REASON.

AND THANKFULLY, ME AND YOU, WE'RE STILL HERE TODAY TO PUT OUR TWO CENTS AND SAY, YES, YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT'S GOOD, WHAT'S HONEST, AND ALSO DOING THINGS THE RIGHT WAY WITHOUT CHEATING, LYING, AND STEALING.

BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHILDREN IN MY CHILDREN'S BOOK, THE VERY THING THE BULLIES THOUGHT WASN'T COOL, WHEN DARRYL SAID HIS POEM IN THE AUDITORIUM IN FRONT OF ALL THE KIDS, HE GOT A STANDING OVATION, THE BULLIES THEMSELVES REALIZED THEY WAS MISSING SOMETHING AND AT THE END OF THE BOOK, CHARLIE THE BULLY COMES UP TO DARRYL AND SAYS, OH, YO, YOU'RE SO COOL.

CAN YOU TEACH ME TO DO POETRY LIKE YOU?

AND DARRYL SAYS, HOLD UP.

I WILL TEACH YOU, BUT YOU CAN'T DO IT LIKE ME, CHARLIE.

THE ONLY WAY I'LL TEACH YOU IS IF YOU DO IT LIKE YOU YOURSELF.

YOU KNOW?

SO, AS A PARENT, WE ARE HERE TO USE OUR EXPERIENCES AS PROOF TO TELL -- TO GUIDE OUR CHILDREN.

>> YOU GOT NEW MUSIC OUT NOW, "GHETTO METAL," WHICH HARKENS BACK TO THE KING OF ROCK SOUND A LITTLE BIT.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIP HOP TODAY?

YOU'RE THE GUY WHO RAPPED, WE LIKE TO STAMP OUT PIMPS WITH DIAMOND RINGS.

>> EVERYTHING THAT IS DOMINANT IN CONTENT, CONCEPTS, IN IMAGERY IS THE VERY THING WE CREATED HIP HOP SO THE KIDS WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH.

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THERE IS A HUGE LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY AMONG THE ARTISTS AND ALSO THE RECORD LABELS PUTTING THIS MUSIC OUT.

THEY DON'T REALIZE HIP HOP HAS A DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRESENTATION AND RECEPTION THAN OTHER ALL FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT.

BECAUSE HIP HOP DICTATES WHAT THEY SMOKE, WHAT THEY DRIVE, HOW THEY ACT, HOW THEY WALK, HOW THEY DRESS, HOW THEY TALK.

WHAT HIP HOP HAS FORGOTTEN ABOUT, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF IT, THEY PUT ALL THE POSITIVITY, THEY PUT ALL THE INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY AND THEY'RE USING, JUST LIKE POLITICS DOES AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE FORCES OF EVIL THAT EXIST IN THE WORLD, YOU KNOW, FROM OUTER SPACE TO HERE ON THIS PLANET, HIP HOP IS USING NEGATIVITY AS A FALSE SENSE OF POWER.

EVERYTHING THAT THE YOUNG BOYS AND GIRLS WHO WERE GANG BANGERS AND DRUG DEALERS AND WHO WERE KIDS IN POVERTY CREATED SO THAT OUR WONDERFUL GENERATIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE AS A CHOICE, IT'S NOW BEING PUT ON THE RECORDS AND PUT ON THE VIDEOS.

THAT BEING SAID, YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ALL THE FUN THAT WE HAD GETTING INTOXICATED AND SMOKING THE LITTLE WEED AND GETTING YOUR LITTLE DRINKS ON.

BUT IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN HIP HOP OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS, MAC MILLER, LITTLE BUMP, JUICE WORLD, ALL THESE GUYS THAT ARE NOT OF MY GENERATION THAT I DON'T LISTEN TO THEIR MUSIC, BUT WHAT HURTS ME IS WHEN I HEAR HOW MANY OF OUR YOUNG BOYS AND GIRLS ARE DYING.

YOU KNOW, FROM OUR GENERATION, AS SOON AS IT WAS A PROBLEM, SELF-DESTRUCTION, THEY'RE HEADED FOR SELF-DESTRUCTION, DON'T SHOOT, DON'T GANG BANG, DON'T OVERDOSE, DON'T DO THE DRUGS, SAFE SEX.

HIP HOP WAS CREATED TO USE OUR CREATIVITY AS A FORM OF INFORMATIVE GUIDANCE SO THAT WE WOULDN'T DIE, DESTROY EACH OTHER, OR HURT OURSELVES.

I REMEMBER IN 1986, WHEN WE FIRST WENT TO JAPAN, WE WAS LIKE, WHOA, THEY LIKE OUR MUSIC IN JAPAN?

WHEN WE GOT OFF THE PLANE, THE KIDS HAD ON THEIR ADIDAS SUITS AND RUN DMC GLASSES AND HATS, AND THEY UNDERSTOOD IT WASN'T ABOUT, YOU CAN'T BE ME BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT FROM NEW YORK CITY.

WHEN YOU SAW RUN DMC OR WHEN YOU SAW DE LA SOUL OR WHEN YOU SAW TRIBE CALLED QUEST, WE ALWAYS GIVE YOU SOMETHING THAT WOULD INSPIRE YOU WHERE YOU WAS AT AS YOU WERE NOW.

NOW, THERE'S SO MUCH OVER PROMOTION AND MARKETING OF CURSING AND GANG BANGING AND THUGGING AND FIGHTING AND BEING IGNORANT.

SO, WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IS WE NEED TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS LIKE ME AND YOU ARE HAVING NOW.

WE NEED TO HAVE DIALOGUE, AND THEN WEE NEED TO, IF I CAN'T DO IT WITH MUSIC, I'LL PUT THE DMC GUIDE AS THE GREATEST OF ALL RAPPERS IN A SITUATION WHERE THAT KID IN THIRD, FOURTH, AND FIFTH GRADE CANNOT SEE MY GREATNESS BUT SEE HER OR HIS OWN POTENTIAL.

SO, THERE'S A LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY WITH THE CONTENT THAT WE ARE PUTTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA, THAT WE ARE PUTTING ON THE RECORDS, AND THAT WE ARE PUTTING IN THE VIDEOS.

>> YOU'VE ALWAYS HAD REALLY BROAD MUSICAL TASTES.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO NOWADAYS?

>> WELL, I DON'T LIKE THE TERM "CLASSIC ROCK," MEANING OLD.

>> RIGHT.

>> I LISTEN TO A LOT OF -- CLASSIC MEANS BETTER THAN EVERYTHING THAT COMES AFTER IT FOR ETERNITY.

>> SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE OLD MAN.

>> YES, EXACTLY.

AND I LISTEN TO CLASSIC ROCK, PROBABLY ALL THE WAY -- AND ROCK AND PUNK ROCK, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, MY CUTOFF POINT IS PEARL JAM, AUDIOSLAVE, GREEN DAY AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

BUT THE REASON WHY I WAS SO ATTRACTED TO ROCK IS EVEN THOUGH THESE GUYS WERE ICONIC, FAMOUS, SO-CALLED CELEBRITIES, THEY TOOK TIME OUT TO WRITE ABOUT THE ISSUES AFFECTING THE PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE, FROM JOHN LENNON DOING AN "IMAGINE," FROM JOHN FOGERTY WRITING "FORTUNATE SON," FOR NEIL YOUNG, WHEN THERE WAS A SHOOTING AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, HE DIDN'T WAIT.

HE RAN TO THE STUDIO AND RECORDED "OHIO."

SO, FOR ME, I LIKE LISTENING TO FOLK ROCK, YOU KNOW, DYLAN, JONI MITCHELL.

THEY TALK ABOUT THE EVERYDAY, EVERY SECOND EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS AND SITUATIONS THAT WE ALL GO THROUGH AS PEOPLE.

OF COURSE, THEY MADE THE FUN RECORDS, BUT MOST OF THE FOLK ROCK, THE CLASSIC ROCK, AND YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE EARLY HIP HOP WASN'T ABOUT, YOU KNOW, RUN DMC, WE MADE GREAT RECORDS ABOUT HOW GREAT WE WERE ON THE MICROPHONE, BUT WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE ALIVE, TO SURVIVE, TO ASPIRE TO BE BETTER AND TO SHOW THE POTENTIAL IN OURSELVES TO CHANGE.

SO JOHN LENNON, NEIL YOUNG, JIM CROCE, HARRY CHAPIN, JONI MITCHELL AND JANICE JOPLIN IS ALWAYS IN MY PLAYLIST, AND IF YOU LISTEN TO "GET GHETTO METAL," I SHOUT OUT MY INFLUENCES, JIMI HENDRIX, SLASH FROM GUNS N ROSES, WE USED THEIR MUSIC TO CREATE THIS THING CALLED HIP HOP.

SO, WITHOUT THE MUSICIANS AND THE SONGWRITERS TO TEACH ME HOW TO CARRY MYSELF ALONG IN THIS BUSINESS, AND NEVER FORGET, I'M PUT HERE TO HAVE A LOT OF FUN, BUT I HAVE A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY.

SO IT'S CLASSIC ROCK AND ROCK AND ROLL THAT IS IN MY PLAYLIST EVERY MINUTE OF THE DAY.

>> ALL RIGHT.

THE BOOK IS "DARRYL'S DREAM," THE NEW SINGLE IS "GHETTO METAL."

HE'S THE SON OF BYFORD AND THE BROTHER OF AL, DARRYL McDANIELS, THANKS FOR COMING ON.

>> THANK YOU.

THIS DEFINITELY WAS THE PLACE TO BE.

>> THAT IS "CHAT BOX" FOR THIS WEEK.

YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER, @DAVIDCRUZNJ, AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO GET MORE EXCLUSIVE CONTENT.

I'M DAVID CRUZ.

FROM EVERYBODY HERE, THANKS FOR WATCHING.

WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.

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