Law Have Mercy!

Artist Cupid on his Love Affair with Music ["The Voice" Heartbreak, Parlaying a Pandemic into Global Success, Disrupting a Genre + an Exclusive Announcement]

• Chaz Roberts, AcadianaCasts • Season 3 • Episode 38

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You can connect with our guest, Cupid, on social media @OfficialNewCupid on
Instagram, Threads , & Tiktok

Stream Cupid's music including hits "Cupid Shuffle," & "Flex," on
Spotify, Apple & Youtube and don't miss BRAND NEW song "Down South Shuffle" on Spotify, Apple & Youtube 

Law Have Mercy! Romeo & Juliet better watch out! On today's episode of the Law Have Mercy! podcast, we're stepping into the modern-day love story of world-famous recording artist, Cupid-- mastermind behind the infectious "Cupid Shuffle" and self-proclaimed "Line Dance King"-- and his first love...MUSIC! 

The love story, as you'll hear, is packed with passion, heartbreak, and personal crisis. And yet, it has stood the test of time, spanning several decades, painting a picture of enduring love and dedication.  Ultimately, Cupid's journey and lifelong pursuit of reciprocity has led to his TV debut, radio humiliation and rubbing elbows with Hollywood's elite like Stevie Wonder and Cee-Lo Green, bringing a whole new meaning to term "star-crossed lovers."  
 
Tune in as Cupid unveils the genius of his creative process and the beats and passion behind his grass-roots global sensation, "Flex," and how the pandemic's silence gave rise to harmonies that captured hearts across the globe. Discover how Cupid's dedication to inclusivity in dance music not only brings together the most tentative dancers but also celebrates the independent triumph of his work, with "Flex" on the cusp of gold status.

Amid tales of rhythmic success, Cupid lays bare the gritty realities of the music industry, from the exhilaration and struggles of maintaining authenticity in the glare of the spotlight at NBC's "The Voice," offering an insider's perspective on the intricacies of the show and the tightrope walk artists must navigate to preserve their creative freedom. The episode also delves into the delicate art of balancing a fiery musical career with the cozy warmth of family life, and the importance of a sound mind and body to endure the marathon of artistic expression.

Finally, in spite of all this love and creative talk, we take some time to touch on legal talk, wrapping up with Cupid's heart-stopping account of a rodeo close call with a rogue bull, transitioning into the legal tangle

You can watch most full episodes of Law Have Mercy on YouTube!

For more FREE legal tips, check out our social channels:
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If you are in need of legal guidance, visit our website: https://www.chazrobertslaw.com/

This show is co-produced by Carter Simoneaux of AcadianaCasts Network, Chaz H. Roberts of Chaz Roberts Law and Kayli Guidry Bonin of Beau The Agency, and Laith Alferahin.

Speaker 1:

Hey, it's Chaz back with another episode of Law have Mercy. Today's episode, I bring on the line dance king, the one and only Cupid. You know him from the Cupid Shuffle. His latest song, flex, is blowing up nationwide. He talks about how the voice is really a scam. Stick around, it's a great episode. I Thank you. That's such a good song thanks, dude thank you. That's such a good song. Thank you, I mean, it's infectious bro man, it's science to that song.

Speaker 2:

I tell you it's some science to that song, but uh how'd you come up with it?

Speaker 2:

during. Well, so during covid you, we couldn't do much. So I had a little closet. I turned into a studio and, um, I was researching about harmonies and researching about, like, what are the most favorable sounds for people, because, you know, certain sounds make you feel a certain type of way. So I started fiddling with the harmonies. Fiddling with the harmonies, and I really was on some, like, I'm going to make a dance record, dance record. It ain't gonna have no verses. I ain't, finna, put any kind of like scientific words to it, we just gonna just flex. And um, when I finished it and I got to mix it, massive man shout out to mr fat man, that thing sound like sonically, it just does something to you. So, um, we put it out august 2020 and made a video dancing in my backyard to it.

Speaker 2:

Wow, and man, you came up with the dance as well, yeah, I, yeah, I always come up with all of the dances for my songs. I actually make the songs with the dance kind of like. So I'll make the dance up and then I'll put lyrics to to fit the dance. Um, that's super important when you're trying to make, like a line dance song, because you know you don't just want to say like jump to the right slide, levitate, you know, and like people don't know what to do. Um, and then too, man, there's a little kinesiology in it. Like man, your body moves in a certain type of way. So when you make a song, naturally, if I say step to the right, the natural thing to say next, or the natural direction to go, is going to either be back or to the left. So it's just kind of like a science to it. And then it kind of has to feel like I make music to where the most dance challenged people can still do it you know what I mean.

Speaker 1:

Yeah be one of those guys.

Speaker 2:

I give you specific directions. I try not to make it too complicated, because I think more people can't dance than can. So you know, as one of the people who really can't dance can get on the floor and join in man, that's what.

Speaker 1:

That's where the unity comes in yeah, but look, I see a lot of the videos that you repost from other people and it's like, look, some people kind of stiff and some people take it to a whole different level like levels, yeah, levels like all the way down, like I didn't think you could flex that hard the ground, like I mean pelvic injuries, uh, hip injuries.

Speaker 2:

I didn't see them all, man, in all those videos, but it's cool to see people just adding their own like vibe to it. Man all over the world. And and I think that's what makes those songs so unique is because you it has instruction, but it allows you that freedom. Like you know, I always give you an opportunity to get a little body roll in there.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and while it's a regional kind of sound, same with Cupid Shuffle, there's people in Japan doing this dance.

Speaker 2:

Oh, man, it's crazy. I toured Japan and the only two words I remember is kanpai. And what would they say? Uh, uh, it was uh. I forgot what they would say. Uh, to leave me. They're saying everything, but I know kanpai, because that was sake they were selling us to drink yeah, that's all I remember that part, but yeah, they didn't understand anything I was saying. But they to the right, to the right to the left and it's like it's crazy phenomenon crazy man.

Speaker 1:

So, as we sit here today like what? What has flex done?

Speaker 2:

sale wise, distribution wise well, flex is a different, is an interesting monster because it's independent. Like with shuffle, we we signed to atlantic and atlantic, you know, really took the reins and that's how we learned how the record business goes. But flex is only a couple of million streams away from going gold independently. And for me that's a big thing because I don't have anything tied to it as far as like any other entity pulling finances or we owe anybody anything to recoup. And that's one of the most spectacular things about it. And the coolest thing about it too, is it's still growing. You know there's not going to be a day where one day there's going to be a vote across America to say let's not listen to Flex anymore. So it's always going to be growing.

Speaker 2:

And with that, you know funny story I sang at LRCA and I'm watching fourth and fifth graders sing Flex. So you got to think that they're going to teach their kids. Who's going to teach their kids? Who's going to teach their kids? You know that old cliche, like what you know about that back in the day that we used to flex, y'all don't know about that. So to see that song and it impact, you know, becoming like as impactful as Cupid Shuffle is. It's crazy and it's just. It's a testament to what we went through with Cupid shuffle and we were able to do it again.

Speaker 1:

So, if my math is right, it took you four years to get to this point with flex, and it's just now. Not only has it been big, but it's just gaining real steam now man, it really is.

Speaker 2:

And it took us longer to get to gold with Cupid shuffle than it has with with flex, with Cupid Shuffle, than it has with Flex, because Flex is only a couple of million streams away from going gold and that's a good gauge. But again Flex, I don't want to say dinosaur age, but Cupid Shuffle came out in 2007.

Speaker 1:

That's insane Smartphones had just came out. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Like I had just switched from the Blackberry to a smartphone. It wasn't that smart at the time. Facebook was still for college students, myspace was king and there was no Instagram and TikTok.

Speaker 3:

Wow.

Speaker 2:

So there was a slower pace to it. But with this man I wake up in the morning every morning. I wake up and I look at my phone and it's like so-and-so, added you as a collaborator, and like they post this we did flex last night at such and such and such, so, um, it's just it's just watching.

Speaker 1:

It is just an amazing thing, man, just to watch from the back, your backside of it. You know what's the process, from like 2020, when the song, when you first dropped the song to now. How did you bootstrap it to this big and and how did you go from? Did you start just playing it live? Did you just release it? How did you catch steam? Did you start just playing it live? Did you just release it? How did you catch steam is what I'm trying to ask.

Speaker 2:

Well, the method to the madness is the people. You know, like I said, during 2020, there was two states that were really kind of against social distancing and staying in the house, and it was Mississippi and it was Texas. So we would go perform During COVID, we perform, and there would be big trail rides outside and people just having a good time and, um, it was that and in conjunction with man, the, the um, the internet, people were home all day long doing nothing. So all they were doing making TikTok videos, dancing, so it's like what's the new dance? And at that time, there were a lot of musicians who weren't putting music out, so the people who were were gaining an advantage.

Speaker 2:

Um, I I. What I would do is if somebody would send me a video and it had like a lot, a lot of views, I would cash app them. I'd be like shoot me a cash app. I sent him 100 bucks, 200 bucks, just thank you, like, wow, you know, I appreciate it because you don't know what you're doing for me, but you really like my promo team. So imagine you just chilling, you make a tiktok video. The artist hits you up, sends you two hundred dollars I'm making another one like yeah, like like let me get some more of the bag.

Speaker 2:

And like let me and you know, and and um, so that built like a network of people. So I have so many people in my phone they'll hit me up, but keep it. What's up, man? We just out here chilling. They'll be facetiming and it's cool. So that's what it was was like. I was able to connect directly with the people during covid and um. Those these four years is what's made flex. What it is and all the other things that I've been putting up um afterward is because you know people are anticipating it and they know they can reach out to me direct yeah.

Speaker 1:

Well, how critical is the actual dance to songs like cupid, shuffle and flex? How critical is the dance to the actual success of the song?

Speaker 2:

so when I started calling myself the line dance king, um, it was because there was a song uh, cha-cha slide right by mr c, uh, casper right. So, casper, he passed last year and a lot of people don't even know that. A lot of people don't even know that he made the song because he really didn't stand on his process. I feel like I'm creating a genre of music Not creating it, but being an advocate for it, because there's songs like Achy Breaky Heart that have a line dance to it, but it's not a line dance song. Like you can listen to achy breaky heart, there's no instruction, there's nothing that's telling you this is what this song's purpose is. There are songs like the cha-cha slide that's specifically telling you one hop this time, two hops this time, slide, and so on and so forth. So the biggest thing about it is that in order for it to be a line dance song, it has to have that dance element. That is just imperative to it.

Speaker 2:

And, um, you know, you, you have people who like strike lightning where, boom, uh, they'll make a song and somebody put a line dance to it or whatever. But for what I do, it's like the most important part, and that's one of the keys to why I'm one of the only people that can do that, because a lot of people don't understand that science. I've had people come up to me ask me for the formula. I've had labels ask me hey, how do you such and such? I'm like. I can't tell you. I could just do it because as an independent I can't give away the secret sauce because then it'll be a million of me. But there's a science to it and it's probably the most it's.

Speaker 1:

The key is to have a dance incorporating with the um, with the song, no doubt because people tie the good time that they had somewhere with that song, with that good feeling, and it brings back memories.

Speaker 2:

Probably, I would assume, it does, and you know it's funny because with radio you know you listen to the radio and you'll hear a song a hundred million times. But the reason why Cupid Shuffle and Flex and songs like that have so much longevity is you only hear it during these festive times. The times you hear it are times that have good energy involved. Like you don't hear you know you're not gonna. I mean, and I don't want to use this as like it might be a bad example but you don't hear Cupid shuffle at a lot of funerals. You don't hear it at a lot of like you know two dudes getting in a fight in the club when the shuffle came on.

Speaker 1:

That's not. The two dudes are going to stop fighting and start shuffling, yeah.

Speaker 2:

It don't have that kind of vibe. So you know, I've always it's why it never gets old Like certain songs you're like I don't want to hear this song. Oh, my God Right, this plays all the time on the radio and then it kind of like goes away. But with Shuffle, when you hear it, instinctively, you just kind of like, oh, what a party. Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2:

And Flex is becoming the same way. So that's what I think is another aspect of why my music does so well is just because it reminds you of those kind of times and that kind of feeling.

Speaker 1:

At any point in your career early on, after the Cupid Shuffle took fire and you were putting out music did you ever try to pull back from line dance and say I don't want to be known for that? Did you have that moment?

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, bro, absolutely. I mean, it was so bad I messed around and went on doggone voice, but you see, this is going to be deep. But a lot of times what we do, we'll pray for something and you'll get it, and then you try to play, pray past it. So I was like, look, I just want to be able to do music for the rest of my life. God, let this shuffle thing blow up. Boom, I get a record deal. This was December 21st. I had that specific little prayer and then January 3rd is when I got my first label call of 2007. It's 2006, 2007. Right now, the world has a weird way of like trying to make you switch up. What's working. They won't tell you oh, it's working, I hate it. They'll say, nah, try something else because you know you're cool at this. But nah, you really might be good at this.

Speaker 2:

And it's humans it's, it's just, it's weird. So it's kind of like yeah, cupid, you making these dance songs, yeah, whatever, but you really can sing. Why don't you sing ballads? And I'm like I could sing ballads all day. I used to sing them in talent shows when I was a kid, but that ain't what the lane that was carved out for me. So, um, you know, yes, there was like when the label was getting in my ear trying to get me to do all kind of stuff. So i'm'm like yo, I sing so good I can out-sing anybody Like, this ain't no talent show.

Speaker 2:

And I got a song that's carving its way through American culture and I'm kind of like, yeah, that's cool, but let me do this Just because people and bro, I hate the word people Like, that's a word that I hate, because who consists in the category of people? Like, when people say man, people say you need to wear a green shirt, who's who are you talking about? You know what I mean. And, um, I let that get to me at a point in my career, man, and it really almost broke me. And the turning point was when I went on the Voice, uh and that and that.

Speaker 1:

That was kind for me and um, but look, I can't, I can't blame you. You get an opportunity to be on nbc primetime television the voice. Who could say no to that?

Speaker 2:

but then the next day I was donkey of the day on the breakfast club. I was on every blog, complete, called a complete idiot. How did that come about? Let's talk about it, yeah, so. So during season one of the voice, there was a guy by the name of javier colon and he won the voice. He was signed to capital. So instinctively I said, well, man, this is my opportunity to go and sing. I was signed to atlantic. I had, I was off the label at the time and I got the email so I thought it was cool. Like I was like okay, cool, and I'm like there's no way I'm gonna go over there and sing these kids, can't you know what I mean?

Speaker 2:

right so I go and it's just, it's a fiasco. It's like crazy watching these kids stick their finger in their mouth throwing up to not gain weight so they could fit an outfit not going to sleep. And then it was crazy because when you get to the Voice, they set you up, they give you a roommate. You don't know these people from the man and the Moon and at the time they would take your cell phones.

Speaker 2:

It's like gaslighting, so you're there for like two weeks in a room with a person and basically they're like hey, if so-and-so does something, let us know. So you got people going against each other trying to get them kicked off the show, and I'm talking about young, adolescent kids. I'm older at the time, so I'm just looking at the craziness. Um, we get there.

Speaker 2:

You're a man at this time oh yeah, I gotta hit record, you know, and I'm like you know, I'm basically going on the show just to sing, that's my thing. Get on there, man. And they were like fortunately I snuck my phone in because I was contacting my attorney. I was like ah, what's going on? Get the contracts. They were like okay, cool, you can be on the Voice, here's what you do. Blah blah your catalog forward and backward. And I'm like so they get everybody together.

Speaker 1:

But most people don't have much to lose at this point right?

Speaker 3:

Oh, no, bro, nothing to lose, you can have it all.

Speaker 1:

You had stuff already in the pipeline. You already had the Cupid shuffle. You had a lot to lose you can have it all.

Speaker 2:

And so this is what they do. They put all the kids, everybody, in a room and they bring three lawyers out. The three lawyers. They sit there and they say, okay, make your presentation of why this lawyer should represent the group. Now, mind you, you got 200 people in a room. Nobody like the guy, like, hi, I'm so-and-so, I'm from so-and-so, I love pop music, blah, blah, blah, blah, thank you, right, and I'm sitting back like this is crazy. So naturally, all three of them work for the voice. It's just basically pick one of these guys. Then they say at the end of the meeting, meeting, they say there's a guy in here with a record, um, cupid shelf, where is he? Like me, who me, in the bag.

Speaker 2:

So, yeah, we want to talk about, you know, with this catalog, this song, you know I'm falling backward, you know, but hey, but hey, we can get you on the show. And I'm like texting my manager, like I mean my uh lawyer, like no, no way. So, long story short, the contracts come up. I, I don't sign mine, blind auditions come up. They like, are you going to sign? You going to sign? Like, ah, we still got to negotiate this. Everything is negotiable. I want to be on the show, I want to sing, but this backward part, no, we're not doing that. I get on there and in my mind, yo, I had practiced two songs Because, mind you, with the band, like the whole thing with the thing is the the band is not like, uh, like random, and they had licensed cupid shuffle, so I'd already got paid for that, which was crazy, so nothing's random it's all I'm thinking.

Speaker 2:

I'm thinking I'm gonna sing marvin gaye, right, because that was the song I practiced. But they told me, practice cupid shuffle, just for when I get, for later in the show, just in case, just in case. And then, to make matters worse, they're interviewing me and they're asking me hey, are you? Uh, so how do you feel if you don't make it? You know, to the next, to the voice, what happened.

Speaker 3:

I'm like.

Speaker 2:

I got a show next week, you know, and they're taking bits and pieces of it to create this whole sadness story. Right, I get on there, man, I start singing, shuffle y'all. You gotta know that it's my song. There's no other way it can sound, but the real way. You know, if we, if if whitney houston's on the voice and she sings you know her song you can't be like oh nah, how does no chair turn around, right?

Speaker 1:

right, it makes no sense and and like would. Would any other artist pick the cupid shovel? No offense to the cupid, shuffle right, but would any artist pick that to show their range?

Speaker 2:

that right. So I'm on there, though, man chad's, I'm zotty coin, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm hitting notes, I'm going crazy, right? No chairs turn around right at that moment, man, that was the moment and we're talking about what you were saying when I realized, man, I disrespected my blessing, I came on here and I really made it look like I didn't want to buy this song. And then, ceelo, you felt played, oh, I want to fight, yeah, I want to fight, like and CeeLo. I looked directly at CeeLo and he looked at me. He said Qubit, you're doing here?

Speaker 2:

right, I'm like yo, man, I just, I just wanted you know to show people I can sing. And so he did the ultimate, greatest thing ever. He said sing something else. Wow, and that's when I sung marvin gaye. And was that aired?

Speaker 2:

yeah, yeah yeah and um, basically you know he, basically he, they knew, he knew. But he was kind of like I'm gonna give you this opportunity to do what you came to do. Got on the plane, left and, um, after that, man, I never, ever, ever, ever talked down about Cuba. Shuffle again, wow, ever.

Speaker 2:

It took that moment to realize the curtain and you realize like it's all fake and phony and tv's tv, tv's tv, you know, and um, yeah, but that was, that was the. That was the day, you know like. I got on a plane and flew to vegas to perform with stevie wonder the next day, yeah, so it was like did the?

Speaker 1:

did the appearance help? Uh, streams or downloads or any of that stuff? It?

Speaker 2:

definitely did. But again it was so much negativity like they play spun it like I was an idiot. Why would I like I chose the song?

Speaker 2:

yeah um, people stop being walmart like man. Why would you do that? That's dumb, you know. I cut the comments. I started reading the comments and then, of course, of course, with the Breakfast Club, charlamagne, the guys like yo, donkey of the Day, q-bit, da-da-da-da-da-da, and that was tough, like 2012, bro I mean, it's 2024 now. This is 12 years ago. A lot of people I didn't know how to handle that, like I wouldn't come out the house.

Speaker 1:

Really.

Speaker 2:

And you know, all I wanted to do was CrossFit. I was like I don't want to talk about music.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

All I want to do is work out and just be away from it all, because that was like the most embarrassing. There's a difference between falling in the grocery store and doing something like that in front of millions of people. Like 8 million people watched that show that night.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

You know so.

Speaker 1:

Shout out to Jeremy that's probably where we met at Raging Fitness. Yeah, it is Raging Fitness now it is man from my hood.

Speaker 2:

You know what I mean. Jeremy used to play outside man. His grandma used to live across the street from us in the hood, so that's my boy man. That is my boy man. Got love for Jeremy all day.

Speaker 1:

Jeremy's awesome.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah. So I went to the Voice. Nobody turned around, and the next day I flew to Vegas and had a show with Stevie Wonder.

Speaker 1:

I think you really won that deal.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, man, steve Harvey, neighborhood Awards. Yeah, and it opened my eyes. It opened my eyes.

Speaker 1:

What is Cupid Shuffle today Like? Is it still streaming? Is it still going? What does that mean for you today?

Speaker 2:

Been in the top 200 download streamings for 20 years. Oh, that's insane. The number one played wedding song in the country.

Speaker 1:

Number one Did it pass Earth Wind Fire? It passed Journey. Wow, don't stop believing. I use Journey all the time because when I talk to my team and different people about the difference between amateurs and professionals, okay, so I consider myself a professional and professionals do things that they don't want to do, and so I always say you think Journey feels like that plane. Don't stop believing every night. But they do because they're professionals and I know you handle your business the same way. Do you ever get tired of playing the Cupid Shuffle?

Speaker 2:

Never, Never, Because I know what the reaction is going to be. I know, with all of the stories and the things that I've been through, I know what it is and to me, it's the foundation of the empire I've built. Every artist has a best song. Every artist has a best song. Your fans might know all your B-sides, but every artist has a best song. So if might know all your B-sides, but every artist has a best song. So if you run away from your best song, it makes no sense. Like I mean I'm talking about, like I'm a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan to the end of me and you can't tell me nothing about Under the Bridge. You can't tell me nothing about Under the Bridge, Nothing you can tell me.

Speaker 2:

One of my first CDs ever, man bro, like you know, you talk about TLC and we're going to talk about creep. I don't waterfalls might fight it too, but just song artists like that. So you know, journey, I'm sure at the end of the night they like man. This is the one that paid, that bought the boat.

Speaker 1:

This is the one that pays the bill right here. It's just a small town girl, it's right into it. Let's go and you handle your side.

Speaker 2:

If you're playing to a group of fourth graders for free, volunteer, you're gonna sing it with the same passion. You will a pack stadium.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, man, absolutely um the michael jordan effect right.

Speaker 2:

A lot of people don't get an opportunity to do what they love to do for a career, and I think that's where you know. I tell my son that all the time. One day he was like uh, dad, I was like what you want to?

Speaker 2:

do like I think I'm going to be an engineer. I was like, no, you don't. You don't do anything engineering in this house. You don't build. I don't see no, legos, I don't see, you don't do anything engineering. I don't like math, you know. Yeah, we fighting with math, I gotta get a tutor. But what do you like to do? So you're like, you know I like to shoot balls. Like well, how about maybe going into sports medicine? You know, know, you had an injury, you know how about learning about that? How about going into opening your training facility? How about going into coaching? I was like, cause, son, I'm telling you, one day you're going to say you don't want to ever say I hate my job, I, I, I did that, you know. And, um, so, yeah, like I think it's important, man, like that's why I sing the way I sing. Because, man, I, how can you, like I wake up in the morning and sing songs?

Speaker 2:

yeah, you know, I used to work at a call center right you know we're taking calls for seat for singular wireless, bro, like that was whack. You know perspective. I worked, dude, I promise you. I promise you, it's one, two, three. It's a bunch of people in here. I had more jobs than all y'all put together in my life. I would just get fired or just quit because I was like I don't want it. I would do it because I had to, but I didn't want to. And when I finally figured out, like, like singing, oh man, you gonna get the best of me every time yeah, well, I know you're such a passionate father.

Speaker 1:

how do you balance the touring, the recording, being a super present dad that you are? How do you balance that?

Speaker 2:

I do it with love. Love is the key to that man, because I love my family, I love my kids, I love music. So everything that I do it doesn't get tiring until it's time to go to. You know you have your times, but I enjoy doing music. The balance is basically you know, I can't do music if my family's not good, but I can't do my family stuff if my music's not good. You know, my wife, she's awesome, like as far as, like saying, hey, it's eight o'clock, you could put that phone down now, things like that. And with my kids, man, I realized, you know, that I only got one shot at raising these dudes, you know. So I can't, I can't drop the ball on that. You know I'm, I ran track in college.

Speaker 2:

You know I played football. I ran track in high school, so I love sports. So even if they, you know, my, my little, my little guy, he, he likes, um, he likes to sing, he can, he can really sing and he, um, he's into like, the, um, the arts school and stuff, um, cyt and all, uh and all of that. Just got to be present, man, because you don't, you know, you just don't get that time back. And when me and my my boy, mr fat producer man likes, like my best friend man. We talk about. The most precious, the most valuable element in this world is time. You know, it's the only thing you can't buy, you know. And so spending time with them is like my getaway from music and music is my getaway from them sometimes. So I put it right there in the middle and it always works out.

Speaker 2:

You know, I heard Steve Harvey say something real crazy one day. He was yeah, you know, people with money don't sleep. And I was like and they don't live long either. Like you gotta be able to balance all of them things, man. You gotta rest, you gotta have that family leisure time, you gotta have your work time, cause if you put too much into one, the other one's gonna lack. And I think I found a been able to find an interesting balance with that man. That's been helping, you know, keeping me young running around with them kids, keeping me young on the stage and still being able to be an old man and just sit back and kick my shoes off and watch them cut up.

Speaker 1:

You know Well you've had issues with stress and creeping up on you and affecting your health right.

Speaker 2:

Stroke man 2017,. I had a stroke, Yep.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and that was you know, believe it or not. Man, like if I'm stressing, man, I'm going straight to that cabinet, if I'm not busy, I'm just kind of doing that. And it caught up with me. Man caught a stroke. Man, uh, july, it was uh in july of uh 2017 and way too young to have a stroke bro. It was the scariest thing in my life, like I mean, like lost like 80 of my. My arm was just hanging and it was crazy. I had shows booked up. I lip-synced every last show.

Speaker 1:

Kind of flopped your arm around.

Speaker 2:

I didn't move Arm just there, bro. What happened was I? Started we can laugh about it now.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, man, no, it's all good.

Speaker 2:

It ended up hurting this show because I was off man and it was for anybody who's a stroke survivor, you know, like when you can't say, when you, you know you can't your tongue and you can't talk. So I thought I was done with music man, music man and um, you know, through the grace of God, and just you know, figuring it out, you know, again, the gym helps. The gym helped save my life, man, because I, um, because one thing about that I, you know, at the time I, you know, was going through the divorce situation and I didn't have many friends. So going to the gym was like where I found of another, like a family of friends who would like, were all trying to push, you know, for the greater good of your body, and it was just a good place socially for me, man. So, you know, that's why I say J my boy man, because like, that place saved my life genuinely. I mean, I went from a stroke to trying to, so say, compete, you know, but yeah, you did, you get after it man, oh man.

Speaker 2:

You compete, you know, but yeah, you did, you get after it.

Speaker 1:

Man, oh man. If you know, for old man it was how do I want to do my thing? Yeah, you know I that's the way I cope with stress I always got. I mean, we're at the ballpark every single night and that's after a long day right and and, and every single client is my boss. I have hundreds of bosses right, and so I run, I run or I work out, and I have to.

Speaker 1:

I think I work out seven days a week at some point even if it's just a four or five mile walk, I have to do it because that's my outlet, because it will stress, will eat you up and I, and I could feel it in my midsection. Bro, you know, you know what you're. That's where you get it. I get it right here my neck, neck, bro.

Speaker 2:

I'll be sitting down and feel like my neck about to like, like it's the way you feel fat in your face, or is it just look if? This little part gets going down like oh man, we gotta get some burpees, tighten it up, some double thunders, something for sure.

Speaker 1:

Yep, so another thing like you and I have had so many good talks and I was talking to you one time I said Q why you don't play more like big festivals around here in Lafayette? Why you don't play Festival International? How can you go play French Quarter Fest and all these places and you don't play right here in your hometown? And I think that you're a cultural ambassador, both in what you do, philanthropy wise and just being like you always put lafayette on. Your videos are filmed in lafayette like why aren't you playing more places here?

Speaker 2:

so there's two sides to that. The first side, I'm gonna say, is you know, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that you could probably see me at your local walmart or target or dollar tree, like and random times. And I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that you could probably see me at your local walmart or target or dollar tree, like and random times. And I think a lot of that has to do with my familiarity and longevity. Like most of the people that's on the festival board, I was doing cubit shuffle when they went high school, right, you know what I mean. You know, I've been at it so long. Sometimes it's kind of like all right, cupid, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

Now I would love the opportunity to be able to do at least one, but there's a second, another, another part to it. That's like you know they say, you know, a prophet may not be, you know, welcomed in his own town. Not to say that I'm a prophet by any means, but I just feel that sometimes you get more love out of town, you know, um, I feel, to be completely honest, I'm gonna play it like it's gonna get to a point where whoever the powers that be that are there aren't gonna be there and somebody's to take you know the realm and be like, oh, you know he has it.

Speaker 2:

You know we're gonna run out of people at some point, and when they do, I'm gonna make it the most memorable show ever.

Speaker 2:

But um, what I had to learn is that you know there's a hundred million other festivals yeah and I look at the times I go to these schools and the times that I go to these other places as festivals as well. Yeah, it might not be 10,000 people in Park International, but I'm impacting these people the same way. So my presence here isn't based on how many festivals I do. You know, when I do these schools, I don't go to the media. I don't say, oh come, you know, cover this, I just do them just cause I want to do them. You know they see the smiles on the community's face and I donate money.

Speaker 2:

I do a lot of stuff. I never, ever, ever, ever say who to where and why. So my presence here is felt, you know. You know, if I can't make them, book me me, but eventually it's going to happen. And until then, man, look, if you really want to see me, just come pull up. Two hours away. You know I'll be at French Quarter, I'll be at Jazz, I'll be at, you know, these other ones, and you know it's all good. Like I used to be real bitter about it because there was some little things that happened back in the past that just you know.

Speaker 1:

But I was like it was probably like a sliding cups with the like guess where the ball is on the cups. Like you probably get different excuses why you could. Well you'd bring a wrong crowd. Well you did this. Well, it was that one, it was the and then you see the jamaican band pull up and you're like wait a second.

Speaker 2:

I thought here's the worst. I'm gonna give you the part that makes me. That made me the word the maddest. The amore mark. Mad is not word. I'm over the most upset hearing cover bands play cupid chapel at festival. That was the part. I'm out there with my spinach bowl. I can't play it. I can't play it, so I'm just gonna go out and hang out. I got my spinach bowl to the the right to the right Wait To the right Wait.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Every and I'm like I don't get it.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

But that flex pressure is kicking in right now yes, yes so you know, it's going to get to a point where, like, okay, I mean because they used to, I used to have there was a promoter. I ain't going to say his name, but it was this one guy who would always try to book me for the Cajun Heartland State Fair and he would always try to say, well, hey, man, you got one song Right. And I'd be like, well, how many songs the Molly Ringwalls got.

Speaker 2:

Right how many songs the Chiwis got they other people's songs.

Speaker 1:

You can other people's songs you can't base, you can't do. But it was that, that mental thing of like you got one song, so that's why we're not gonna do it, or that's why we're not really gonna pay you that much or how many songs is the moroccan band?

Speaker 1:

that nobody ever heard of here man right, all right, because I can't understand a word they're saying, but it's entertaining, but cupid's also entertaining and he's probably gonna bring some artists from everywhere and put on an amazing show no, let's get the bag of donuts for the eighth time yeah, exactly, I'm so no offense and I love donuts man, they cool, but they they know, they know their deal and

Speaker 2:

we've come, we've had conversations with. I've had conversations with them where they're like, man, we don't get it either. But it's all good at the end of the day I'm, it's gonna all work itself out. But for me, that was the part that broke me the most was hearing cover bands sing, cubie, shuffle at the festival, because then I'm starting to feel that is hilarious, like it's toward me yeah and um again, you can't make people, you can't make people book you. You can't, you know, force your way up there. I'm gonna let the chips fall where they may keep dropping hits to where it's kind of like, okay, we gotta get them to get them. Cause one thing's for certain, two things for sure If, when I get on that stage, oh, it's all it's going, oh, oh, you're going to get your cameras out, Cause I don't think I'm going to bring everybody.

Speaker 1:

I might try to. Who knows, I might, who knows?

Speaker 2:

what artists I might try.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm not doing that, you have to say no to every other stage.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Prime time.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I got a prime time right before the sun go down. I need the horizon time. Whatever the daylight save, I need horizon time. That's when we need to be up there, man, that's party time.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and you know, I'm the very first person to shoot a music video at Park International. I shot Cupid Shuffle there in 2007, so that place was just a place like I mean, of course, it's what it is, but you know, my goal has always been to put lafayette on the map. Like you don't see me saying I'm from you know people?

Speaker 1:

new orleans. I'm from lafayette, my right, right I'm right.

Speaker 2:

Sure you could easily say new orleans, like some other people, you never said no man, I'm here, so so it's gonna happen, man and um, I just figured all the outside work that I do is going to eventually make it happen yeah, so you have something else coming on the horizon.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I do, that might get you there. I think that's for sure.

Speaker 2:

Tell us about that. So, um, I just signed a, a major deal with apg. Um, I have a song called the down south shuffle that's coming out. It's a country song. I was approached I was approached four months ago by this song, not knowing that beyonce was going to decide to put on a cowboy hat I was going to ask you about I had no idea, bro, at all.

Speaker 2:

And um, I'm like this is cool, but in the song they kind of do like a interpolation of cupid shuffle. So they were like this could be the cupid shuffle down to a cupid shuffle part two. Excuse me, of course they had a writer somewhere, wherever he was, and he sent me the song halfway done, so I had to fix it and make it right so it could be a line dance song, did the song? And uh, it'll be released on the 27th of March, but you know this is like no-transcript. I mean, I got the videos to prove it, it has a.

Speaker 2:

It's crazy. I've seen some yeah and so to have this and then have the machine behind it is going to be big for me, you know, to stand myself as the line dance king and I feel like getting to doors that I haven't been able to get in in the past.

Speaker 1:

What is the appeal with country music to some of the R&B artists or even a rap artist?

Speaker 2:

Like what's the appeal of country music?

Speaker 2:

Well, I feel like in Southwest Louisiana there's two types of country music. There's traditional country and then there's what I would consider like an urban country, and I think that would be kind of like the Zydeco, like the Chris Ardoins, the Keith Franks, the Lil' Nates, you know the Leon Chavises of the world, and I think that that they, you know, it's the same elements, it's the, it's the whole outdoor cowboy, you know, kind of vibe is just two different sounds. And let's be honest, you got hip hop rap. You have, you know, gangster rap. You got gospel rap, you got all these different types of derivatives of rap. You swamp pop, you got pop, you got k-pop, you got all of these things. So I feel like country music is, is eventually going to have like certain derivatives. Um, but with country music, man, it's, it's kind of like, truthfully, between I'd see, it's like I I don't know what the numbers are and I don't want to get killed for this on saying this on a podcast but I think country music might be bigger than hip hop.

Speaker 2:

I definitely know ticket sale wise they are right now I think so, you know, because of course hip hop isn't really that's a whole nother conversation with the labels and how they've done with that, the, the, the lack of work they've done to keep that genre strong. So naturally people are gonna gonna go and say, oh, what's the next thing? What's the next thing? Beyonce's from Houston, and last year I performed with Bun B at the Houston Rodeo for his Bun B takeover and I'm gonna tell you, I've never performed in front of 75,000 people with hats cowboy hats on, of all different races and genres. I'm up there with him with Juvenile. He brings out Erykah Badu. It's just crazy.

Speaker 2:

So we can't pigeonhole it, um, as far as what country music should sound like, but I do feel that, um, I do think that there's going to be room for derivatives and growth in it, you know. But shout out to the country music artists for, you know, for laying down the foundation. You know I'm learning a lot about it and this is my first. I'm just doing a line dance record in that genre, so hopefully it goes well. But country music is something serious, man. I see them numbers, garth and B Dawn and all them people and that's great.

Speaker 1:

Are you excited about country music? Do you like country music?

Speaker 2:

I do, I do, I actually do, but I'm a fan of just music. Music, like I listen to the weirdest stuff, like I was on the way here talking to Dobie D on the phone. I was talking about we was talking about Jamiroquai this morning, just random, but man, I love jamiroquai. Harley notes, um, uh, the bgs, yeah. Then I switch over to pj martin, then I might switch over to juvenile and I might switch over to chili peppers, then I might switch. Like I just think music is music yeah you know what I mean, like I could.

Speaker 2:

It's just music. So I'm excited about the country world because I feel like cupid shuffle has been so dominant in those country clubs and flex is becoming so dominant. It's like I want to say hi, I want people to know like hey it's me bad enough.

Speaker 2:

Most people don't even know how I look across the country. They know my music but they don't know me because I'm not one of those attention getters to where I'm doing everything to be like, hey, this is who I am, but I want to do the Nashville's, I want to do the Chattanooga's, I want to do the Boise Idaho's and I want to open up for the big artists and be on those stages. You know, those are things I haven't done.

Speaker 1:

It sounds like it'd be a natural fit, because line dancing is so important in the country, the country community. Right, and here you are, the line dance king. Let's get it.

Speaker 2:

I think it's gonna work I know, I know it's gonna work and I'm just excited man I've been, I've been finding some jeans that's a little tighter right you know working doing my squats my squats, man, and uh, you know, making sure that I'm I'm, you know I can get my clothes from express because you know if you're a certain size, you ain't shopping at express, right, it ain't happening. I trust me, I know, right, I was, I lived it. So I'm getting ready, getting my attire ready, because I know it's gonna be big man but don't start running like me, because you'll lose your ass.

Speaker 2:

That's the problem hey, man, my wife stay with the squat like that man, that's. That's the leg day queen. She writes, writes. She's a trainer Right, so she writes my workouts every day. First thing I see like 20 curtsy lunges. I'm like why? I just want to be a dude, let me bench. Gotta get them glute tubs.

Speaker 3:

Let me bench and do some crunches, but you, country music enjoys considerable popularity in the southern and midwestern regions of the united states, but people like morgan wallen are kind of also like bridging that gap between almost like hip-hop and country yes, man, yes, and I just my.

Speaker 2:

My prayer for that whole thing is that it just doesn't get out of hand. Yeah, you know, and I don't think the country music people gonna let it. The problem that be is not letting anybody just rap, right, you know? Pop that twerk on a country song like it's gonna be monitored, so, um, you know. But uh, at the end of the day, man it's. It's just cool to see where music is going man it's crazy.

Speaker 1:

well, the problem with country music is you might have to play some more smaller rodeos and you you got to watch out for stray bulls. Can we talk about this? Yeah, carter need the video. What year was this?

Speaker 2:

2016,. Bro, have you ever seen this?

Speaker 1:

Okay, so Cupid is performing at a rodeo.

Speaker 2:

Where is this Houston Humble Texas, oh, there, you see him Jump. Humble Texas, oh, they see him Jump over the barricade.

Speaker 1:

So there's a bull runs out 4-2. 4-2. Dude, I'm glad you ran track 4-2. That was a tremendous start. So a bull gets loose from the stall, jumps over and for some reason you look behind you and narrowly missed it. It narrowly missed you. There we go and then you sprint to the wall like is this from tmz? Yeah, there you go. What made you look behind?

Speaker 2:

if you don't look behind, you're dead man what made me look behind was that the crowd was cheering yeah, and then I heard him go and when I heard it, I, I, I, like you know peripheral, and I just saw like it coming yeah and um man so the question is, ladies and gentlemen, does he have a case?

Speaker 1:

and the answer would be yes if the bull hits him right, but also, did he injure himself once he had to run, if he pulls a hamstring or if he jumps in on the fence and hurts himself? Also yes, because he was doing that to avoid a tremendous catastrophe that would be the bull horn in your back. There's only one thing, though Does the venue have proper insurance and does the promoter have proper insurance? And I think in most situations, the answer to something that size is probably not.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, definitely didn't have insurance at all. It was a fight, it was a fight, it was a fight. I ended up kind of getting a little money from that situation, but the promoter laughed it off, right. He was like oh man, that's great. Oh man, well, I'm glad you're good. Well, I actually fractured my shoulder. Wow, because what you don't see is when I there was a fence about maybe 10 feet high, I jumped and grabbed the top of the fence and I had no idea if the bull was behind me or not and just flipped myself over.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And I landed on my head like on a big old thing of chairs, and landed and you know, adrenaline was pumping. I ended up going back out there and doing the show. Wow, yeah.

Speaker 1:

So the answer is does he have a case? The answer is definitely right, because you have a duty to protect the entertainers, just like you have a duty to protect the patrons and the guests there. Right, and we saw that during the Travis Scott situation. Even Travis Scott got sued and that whole deal. So that's kind of a cautionary tale to make sure, like, wherever you play, I want to see that insurance. I'm going to be that dude that asked for the insurance.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, man, and after that I stopped doing like clubs. And when I do rodeos I don't get out the truck, I stay in the little truck thing. But because of that, like you know, you get in these situations where you may do a concert at a place and it's a club, a nightclub or an event center, and something happens that has absolutely nothing to do with you. But if you on that microphone they can get you for enticing a riot. I mean you could be singing Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, yeah. But if that riot gets going, you know you can be held liable and you got to make sure that those people have event insurances, which a lot of them don't. They don't.

Speaker 2:

So I learned a valuable lesson from that. And you're right, man, I did have a case. I didn't think so at first because he kind of like no man. You know well, the bull didn't hit you.

Speaker 1:

Right. I'm like, okay, well, maybe I should have just stood there, yeah, your injury from the gate or the fins jumping it. But for the bull running at you, you would not have suffered that injury.

Speaker 3:

Exactly.

Speaker 1:

And so there is the causation there. No doubt I think if the bull hits you it's a traumatic case. It's well into the seven-figure case. Uh problem is you got to have insurance and these people don't all have insurance.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I mean you know, and okay, I have a question for you, like if a person doesn't have insurance, yeah, and let's first say I got hit right yeah, then then how do you? What happens?

Speaker 1:

chances are, they probably have an LLC and so you can sue them personally. But you're limited to the assets of the LLC, right. And then you got to try to break through that LLC and sue them personally and say that LLC really wasn't valid because they didn't do X, Y, Z, it wasn't in good standing, which is a dogfight in itself. And then when you break all the way through that and I say, Cupid, your case is worth $3.5 million. How much money do you think that promoter has?

Speaker 2:

That part.

Speaker 1:

How much money do you think that promoter has in his bank account?

Speaker 2:

That part.

Speaker 1:

And you could be like. I would be surprised, if he has $5,000 in his savings account, not to pick on that promoter or any other, but I'm just saying most people.

Speaker 1:

When we value cases, we look at the amount of insurance, because most people ain't got money, most people ain't got money, and then, even if they do have money, they can file bankruptcy. You get a big judgment against them. They can just file bankruptcy. It is wild. Well, cupid man, you've been very uh cool with your time. You answered a bunch of questions. My man, where can people find you?

Speaker 2:

I'm always on Instagram Always, until I got to turn my phone off. Am I official new Cupid on Instagram? I'm official new cupid on tiktok and I'm new cupid on x but I barely use that and cupid with the blue check on a on facebook. If it don't have the blue check, then it's not me, because somebody's gonna ask y'all for some money bitcoin join bitcoin mastermind I had one of my homegirls.

Speaker 2:

She was like hey, is this you? And she screenshot. And he was like hi, beautiful, how are you hope today's? Well, I love that you're my fan, she. So she commented in her best laugh yet voice ball ball. That's not cute. That's not cute, but ball. I know him personally. So, yeah, make sure it's verified, make sure it's me, but I'm always on social media. Um, I want to encourage everybody who's watching man, anytime you make you make a video, tag me on it, like dancing to any of my music, because I love to see it. I love to repost the good ones and that's how we build that community and that connectivity is by reaching out to me. I show y'all love back and we can continue to make this music continue to grow.

Speaker 1:

You talk about. God works in mysterious ways. We were at a Mexican restaurant here in Lafayette and. Flex came on and Beth turned to me and said you need to get Cupid on the show. And the next morning you texted me and said Chaz, I want to come on the show. And I said I got goosebumps telling that story. I was like you would not believe this.

Speaker 2:

Man, I was watching your content and kudos to you, man, because this little quick story man, you've been my boy. I'm in the gym doing them wall balls. It's crazy. And then, like again one of my lowest points, man, you came to me and directed me to somebody who really benefited everything that I was trying to do. You know, you directed me to the GOAT and she took care of me, man, but I want to thank you for that, man, it's just always being a hundred. We did. I still rock the T-shirt you gave me. You know what else we did?

Speaker 1:

We did something else You're in luck. I got another one. Oh hey, I hope you like blue.

Speaker 2:

Hey, these shirts make you look buff, so that's why they cut underneath the, you know. I don't give anybody, anything I wouldn't wear. And man, what was that thing we did? I came over the first time I came to the office.

Speaker 1:

One of your shows, I think the Miss UL.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes, we bought some VIP passes and gave them away. Yes've always been supportive, so keep doing what you're doing. Man and I just you know I want to see your numbers grow, but the information you're giving people is really awesome. Bro, and just being a, it's cool to be able to talk to a, to know an attorney that you could actually like talk, to talk to you know that back in the day, your attorney was like right the suit, the suit behind the desk.

Speaker 1:

Who's this dude? But?

Speaker 2:

yeah, it's cool man, I even picked up, I um, I even picked up on some of your running tips too. So like just low-key, like I just don't lose the butt, bro. I'm telling you, you gotta watch out for that hey, when my wife gonna see this, she gonna be like you.

Speaker 1:

Better not hey man, thank you for being an awesome human being, an ambassador in the community, your philanthropy work and my friend.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, my brother.

Speaker 1:

Appreciate you, brother.

Speaker 2:

Yes, sir.

Speaker 1:

Hey, it would mean the world to me if you subscribe to the podcast and leave us a five star review. It helps keep the show free and it helps us book better guests to provide more valuable content to you. Free and it helps us book better guests to provide more valuable content to you. None of the opinions expressed by my guests are that of my own, and nothing we talked about creates an attorney-client relationship or could be construed as legal advice. Hope you enjoy the show.

Speaker 3:

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Chaz Roberts

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