Is Scooter Braun and he represents people like Justin Bieber and kayne west. If you would ask the 15 year old me how much money do you need to be happy, i already passed that number a long time ago. So my success, and i take pride, is showing people that i am a father to my son. That i am a good husband to my wife. That i can work with people like a carly coss. A Justin Bieber, a carly ray jep sen, kayne, and can i have a very, very good life. Rose daveed diggs and Scooter Braun, when we continue. Funding for charlie rose is provided by the following and by bloomberg, a provider of multinedia news and Information Services worldwide. From our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. Rose from the musical hamilton is nominated for a recordsetting 16, 16 tony awards. It founding father based on the biography of alexander hamiltonton. Is received a Pulitzer Prize for its creator linmanue miranda. Daveed is one of the performers up for a tony award. He plays la yeah la fayette and thom sas jefferson. Im very pleased to have him at this table. Welcome. Thank you. Rose it is about time you got here. I agree. Rose tell me how you ended up in hamilton. I so i have known linmanuel and tommee tommy for a long time. Rose tommy kail. Our director, through a group called free style love supreme which is a improvised rap concert that involves a lot of sort of sketch comedy elements too. And so i have been part of this group because i met another Founding Member of that group, because we were both called to substitute teach the same class in the bay area. Back in my substitute teaching days. So yeah, through this cler kal error i ended up in this group with lin. And we were performing at the super bowl in 2012, i think, whenever it was in new orleans, maybe 2013. And tommy kale was directing that event. And after it was over he tells me lin is writing this new thing, its a rap musical about alexander hamilton. I told him its with a terrible idea and to please send me the music. And he asked would i come to a reading at vasser. And i said, of course, i have no money. I will do anything that you ask me to do right now, particularly if there is a check attached to it. And he sent me the script and it was he spent me the script such as it was, you know, thus far. There was a first act and some scattered songs from the second act. And all the demos of lin singing every part of every song. And beats that he made i garage band, totally unfinished. And it was the most brilliant thing i ever heard. Rose what did they say. They said just come to vasser and do the reading. A and i did that i just kept showing up every time they showed me they were going do, i cancelled plan, took flights. I didnt want them to see anybody else because i wasnt actually qualified to do this. I had never done a musical before. I never saning in front of people before. I used to have to steal time with our music director outside of our rehearsal practice so he could actually teach me how to sing, you know. I was so uncomfortable doing everything except rapping. Which i have been doing for most of my life. So i was very comfortable doing that. But all of the other components of it, the danging, the singing, were so new to me. So fortunately everybody was very patient with me and decided to not replace me. Rose and you were always playing both characters, la yeah yet and jefferson. It was conceived that way. Lin always said it was because we have to meet these people refresh in the second act so you want to hopefully have the audience already fallen in love with the actor so you dont have to build up a relationship with a new character. You dont have to spend as much time doing that. Rose which is the harder character . They present different challenges. La fayette i think is physically ically more difficult, there is some jumping off tables, that is in the war so it is a more physical act. Jefferson is a little more vocally difficult for me. Rose in terms vocally in terms of the command and the speed of the song. Yeah, they both have a couple of fast moments. The speed isnt the problem with me, its really singing. What did i miss is still the most terrifying thing i do every night. It still scares me to death. Rose it s that is when you return. Jeffersons first entrance, just back from paris. So weve just la fayette just left for paris and jefferson comes back from par nis act two. Rose did you know it was going to be big when you started at the public theater. Well, there was a lot of attention, immediately, it was very popular. But also it is a 300 seat theater so you know, amazing people were coming. It was already very thrilling. But i dont think there was anyway to predict sort of how popular it would get. Rose you said you have seen a lot of your grandfather in Thomas Jefferson that you portrayed. Yeah. Yeah. There is this quality to our Thomas Jefferson where he has to be incredibly charismatic and also have this element of danger. My grandfather was always a hustler. And you know, hes the kind of person that would show up and disappear. But whenever he was around, he was the dude you wanted to be took a lot of that, and to be specifically i took the walk, the walk i use for jefferson is one i just remember my grandfathers gait. And i sort of remember how that gait is passed down to all of the men in my family. Have i sort of seen this. So i stole it. Rose you have also told me that the play, and when we did an interview on stage, it for the first time you felt like you owned your own history. Yeah. As an american, for sure. You know, you dont always feel particularly american growing up as a person of color in this country. And you certainly feel like parts of the process arent for you. You feel like you know, given being followed around in stores or whatever, you know, not seeing anybody like yourself represented in the political process, you dont feel like parts of it are for you. And all of a sudden here theres a bunch of people who look like me or people who i grew up with or people that i know playing. Founding a country. Founding it, creating the thing. And thats a very different kind of ownership. Thats important. Why these student matinees are available. It is the best. We just had our first one not too long ago. Rose just students. Yeah so one matinee a month, i believe, is dedicated entirely to 11 graders new York Public School 11th graders. And ten in the morning these kids are getting up on stage, representative groups from each school have been selected to present their final presentations of hamilton curriculum they have been doing on our stage. And so we all showed up early and watch them do these incredible pieces, where they are sort of using this style of storytelling to tell other stories about history. And it was the most inspired i have been in so long. It was incredible. Rose tell us about linmanuel miranda. You know, i mean yall know hes a genius. Hes certified. Rose hes got the credit. He got the cred but he really is in the best way. Hes so fascinated by the things he gets interested in, his mind, his mind works so fast. You know, when you free style with somebody you get to know them pretty well because you dont have time to put up walls, really. Like all your guard, the way to free style is to let everything drop and just exist in the moment. So and the way lirch work lin works is he can grab inspiration from anything and he retains information very well. Hes so, so fast, his mind moves so much faster than mine. But he is just really kind kind and generous and gets people and understands, you know, so much of this process was him sort of tailerring things to me, sort of seeing things that i like to do and being like o why dont we make jefferson do that you really like doing that, why shouldnt he do that. How long will this run in new york . Will it run forever . I dont know. They have got companies in preparation. But you will be there as long as you enjoy it. Yeah. I mean theres all of those discussions have to happen and but what is great is that the show is in really, really good hands. You know, i got to see it not too long ago for the first time ever. I had never seen the show. And i came back from my vacation and got to watch it, and was blown away. Its so good. Rose people have seen it five times, six times. Yh, yeah. Rose ron chernown has seen it a hundred times. Ronnie c, hes always there. And thankfully, i love seeing that guy and it is so great having him in the room too for the process. That was for someone like me who kind of reads slowly, to be able to have a question in the moment and go ask ron immediately. Rose about jefferson. Or la fayette, if he does that thing, does that break history, no,e can keep it in the show. Rose he pretty much gives you freedom. Yeah, at least, if are you taking a krieft liberty. Rose why is it so successful do you think . Obviously its brilliant and the characters are finely drawn, obviously the rap is perfect for what you want to do. Yeah, i think. Rose the choreography is great. Rye. Rose how does this change your life . Hamilton in all ways. I mean. Rose Everybody Knows you. Yeah, yeah. Thats very different. You know, i ive been an artist for my whole life. And so much of that is in figuring it out on your own and doing things with your friends and figuring it out. I have this team of people, my stylist found this coat for me. Rose did he really . You know what im saying. Rose i get it. And its fly. Like but its not just its not just that there are people around there. People who really, really get me and who care about my opinions and who understand and really want to help me kind of make the career that i want. And for somebody who has been doing it by themselves for so long, thats a crazy thing. But also, i live in new york all of a sudden. I was living in los angeles before this. Rose you can afford to live in new york well. Can i afford to live in new york for the moment. I dont count any chickens before they hatch. But yes, its going all right right now. And you know, the community of artists has opened up. Have i so many new collaborators and people to work with all over the place. Rose do you think of yourself first as a rapper and then as an actor . I have sort of always done both. And i you know, ive been doing plays since i was a kid. But i dont, musicals were never my thing. So thats why all of this feels so new to me. I really knew nothing about doing a musical. But is the velocity hard . Not for me. For me thats the easy stuff. You know, from the bay area, we tend to. Rose this is some of the fastest stuff weve seen since shakespeare. Yeah, in theater. Its like mid high tempo for rap music. Rose mid high. The twist but it is, you know, its up there. Its fast. But ive always rapped fast. Its always been a thing. I remember i was like i was working on my album, small things to a giant, the that album took me four years to make. I was recording a song and i was in the studio with my producer at the time, named wildman, what up, wildman. And were in the studio together and im doing take after take of this song and i just couldnt get it i had written this thing that i thought was really great, and it was so fast. And i couldnt wrap my mouth around it. We spent all day working on it and finally he was just like, well, maybe well just come back to this to i said you know, i think im just not good enough yet. I wrote a thing that im not good fluff to wrap yet. So lets record 10 or 15 other songs. And then ill come back to it. So it was literally like intentionally building the skill of rappingaster. Because i really wanted to be able to do it for a song i really liked that i had written. And eventually we came back to it and it was easy all of a sudden. So yeah, that kind of process for veg ot vell os sit something i am pretty comfortable with it. People are amazed it, not just rappers but watching this saying it is just incredible because its clear, we get it. It has the music and the beat and the rhythm there, and the melody. Yeah. I think another, i credit some of that clarity to bay area stuff too, we overenunciate there, it say thing that we do. Rose but lin grew up with show tunes in his house. That was the ticket for him. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. And thats, you know, the story telling is so solid. That is the crazy thing to me, to rap things, so for him to write something that are that sort of showoffy, that fast and also but also so direct and so focused and tell the story so well. Thats why you spend seven years writing it. Rose you spent a year writing one song. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tommy kale told him he had to write faster. Rose being the director. Wait for it is one of your favorites. What do you mean . Its so good. Its so gorgeous. Every night its gorgeous. And the way leslie sings that song just. Rose they call him mr. Silky. Yeah, silky. Yeah. I mean you know, i have the good fortune of being on stage but in the dark, in the back on the surround, on the level, on the upper level, sort of singing backups for him. And i listen that song every night. And it gets me every night. Its so and its something that i think as an artist, but really as everybody really relate to. This decision that now is not the time. Im going to wait for it. Rose how many tickets do you get. Theyre gone. Rose theyre all gone. Have i no more. Rose is that right . Have i no more. Rose so you had a bunch at the top. Yeah, no, it duntsness. Every friend. I brought as many people through as i could and now they are gone. Dont call me. I cant get you in to hamilton. Im sorry. I would love to. I cant do it. Rose but it is so in demand, isnt it. It is. Rose every six months, a year wait if you try to go through the normal circle. I guess, i dont know. But there is always the lottery which i think is. Rose thats great. Amazing. Rose you can come there, right before the theater. An you can do it online now too. And that whole front row, and thats so great, having the whole front row being people who 10 tickets and who are the most excited people to be there. Those are, i dont see very well without my glasses on so those are really the people i interact with most over the course of the show. You know, those are the friends, that is the friends and family section. Rose how did you see, as growing up in oakland, how did you see rap . Was it your music . Was it the only thing that spoke to you . Not the only. I mean ive been. But that was, that was the one that was mine, right. So my mom was a dj during the 70s and 80s. And so i sort of grew up lessening to funk music and pie dad what into that stuff and old jazz fusion so i loved all that stuff. They didnt love rap music so rap music was mine. It was the one i came to on my own and that my older cousin would play me two short songs when i was too young to be listening to them. There was something dangerous about it but also something that people in my neighborhood were making. Rose was it your ambition to be a rap star . I dont know about a star. You know,. Rose lets say a very good rapper. Yes, i wanted to be very good at rapping. Once i started rapping, which i was maybe a younger teenager, i immediately knew this was something i wanted to be very, very good at. So its a thing i work at. The idea of star dom always seemed sort of strange to me. Rose even now . Even now. I dont. Rose you elect fie the crowd when you come down those steps. Gaws because it shifts the pace of it, doesnt it. Ithifts the pace. Rose yeah. Jefferson is back from paris. Whats the line when he comes down . Yeah, you will be back. I mean gsh sorry, thats the kings song. Thomas jefferson is coming home is what everybody is singing as i descend the stair case, all of my slaves are singing as they are wheeling me around the stage. Rose is it different today than it was two years ago. The show . Rose or 18 months ago. Yeah. Rose how is it different . I mean other than the sort of song tweaks that we did, you know, when we transferred uptown. Rose to broadway. Bigger house, more people. Bigger house, more people. But also its just, its in a groove now. It feels the possibilities feel greater now. Every moment on stage, it feels like you can make any choice and its sprortd. Because we have been living with these characters for so long. Rose you can still take changes chances where you havent been before. It feels like it, yeah, it feels like there is no wrong answers any more. Doing a play is like figuring out a problem. Sort of the solving of a really complicated math problem. You are trying to solve it right every night. You meses up some wrsm you never get it right. If we ever got it right you wouldnt do it again. There is always something to fix. But right now it feels like theres so many things to try. Way more than it did when we first started. It used to feel like i better hit this mark exactly right. I better say this line exactly the same way or nobodys going to laugh or nobodys going to hear it. Rose there was a preciseness of it. Yeah, there was this sort of necessary precision and now it feels a lot looser. It feels lived in. We feel like people up there. So there is more of ourselves seeping in and blending with the characters as weve lived with them, i think, for a long time. And so we get to just exist a little bit more whraz is this day for you like . Well, i mean in the last 48 hours, its crazy. Ive been getk since the tony nominations, its been a little crazy. Rose congratulations on that, and 16. Yeah, yeah. Rose forget the press time. Right. Rose four of the tony nominations were selected. What was the day like . My favorite day is i get to write songs at my house. I get to sit down at my computer and try to work on stuff. That doesnt happen very often. Rose but are you still doing that, creating songs. Yeah, yeah, i have a bunch of collaborations. Rose what is clipping. So yeah, clipping is myself and two producers William Hudson and jonathan snipes. And we make rap songs. There are several sort of rules to the way we make music. I dont write in the first person, right. We dont have any first person narratives in the group. We also dont use drums. Thats another rule. So like the sounds that were using as drum sounds tend to be found sounds are or stuff that we have made from analog sin thesis. Sample breaking sunday irblocks or tapping on cans, or whatever. To make sounds that function exactly the same way that sounds do. This is sort of our attempt at combining sort of noise, music, and gangster wrap music. Rose so playing swreferson every night, for a second, the man who owns slave, brilliant, loves women, love fine things. Uhhuh. Rose helped create the republic. Right. Rose how do you see him . As somebody who has lived a privileged enough life to not be stressed out by his contradictions. I think a lot of us spend, me, spend, you know, i learnly, daveed spend a lot of time worrying about if i am if my actions are lining up with the kind of person i want to be or the kind you know, and i dont get the sense from Thomas Jefferson that that was a thing for him. Everything was always taken care of. And he was brilliant. And so he had the freedom to sort of be brilliant and not really worry about if it was good. This idea of good doesnt seem to come into place necessarily. There is what is right, what is going to make the country song. What is going to make me rich. What is going to allow me to keep this lifestyle. Rose because he died broke. Yeah. Rose and how about la fayette. La fayette is sort of the opposite. He left all of his wealth behind to come fight in the revolution. Rose because of a sense of adventure, because he wanted to test himself. I think that. I think he was from a military family and wasnt doing anything particularly involved with the military, right. So he was looking for that. But also i think because of this idea of what america represented. This idea of american democracy that, you know, the french would later sort of champion for their own, i think it was him learning about that. He felt called to come do that. When you read letters that layfayette wrote, that was a big difference for me, such a sweetness behind layfayette and none of that is really in jefferson. Both really smart guys but maybe that is just because hes translating from french, you know. But the writing is sort of sweeter. Its more beautiful. Its and i read a lot of letters back and forth between him and George Washington who he sort of thought of as a father figure. And those are, you know, they love each other so much. Rose layfayette and washington. Yeah. Rose does hamilton feel the same way about washington. Yeah, i think there is a lot of that there too. I imagine washington was a father figure to a lot of these guys. And there is also a lot of that between hamilton and layfayette. They were really the way we portray the sons of liberty, even though there are some liberties taken in, you though compressing time and when everything happened. Like having tm all meet in a bar at one time, that didnt happen. But this did there is this sort of mutual respect. I mean there a great letter that i got to handle the original copy of. Rose from the historical society. Yeah, that layfayette wrote to hamilton, sort of telling him that he had just written to washington saying look, he would be crazy not to make you a general. I told him that, he knows that, trust me, its coming. Because hamilton really wanted to fight. Rose he wanted to be a general. He really wanted to fight and washington sort of decided that he was too valuable. Rose valuable to him until the end. Right. Rose did jefferson, how well did jefferson know layfayette. They knew each other for sure. Rose but in their letters back and forth. And i dont know that they were paicularly close. I didnt get that sense but also like my research is limited to what i feeded to do for the show. Rose but you got really interested in this, you sound like you read a lot. Yeah, i read a lot for me. But i didnt read a lot for chris jackson, you know. Rose you mean like chris reads everything. Chris is a real he is also a history guy. Like that was his thing well before this. So like he, you know, when he got the opportunity to dive in, he had already been diving in. And he dove even deeper. Rose when you look at the casting, do you say to yourself, my god, linmanuel was a genius . It looks like that to us. Yeah, yeah. Rose because each of them is so, you know, and you we dont know any alternatives so we dont know what anybody else would look like. But they seem i mean chris looked Like Washington am he is the most imposing figure on the stage. Yeah, yeah,. Rose physically and every other way. That is what i thought when i first saw him. Like they got the dollar bill wrong thrk is what the dude looks like. Tanned made so much more sense, right, everything, history made so much more sense. So yeah, i think thats, you know, that is that is lin. Thats tommy, thats andy. That is everybody taking care to create a world. But its, i think, people look so right because they embody these characters. Because they found the people who are them, right. The way that, you know, the way oak acts off stage, he plays herk leases mulligan and james madison, right. The kind of energy he has even off of the stage, follows him on stage when he plays mulligan and thats why that character takes up so much space. Like hes a big guy but also hes a big personality. And he also has this crazy soft side. So when he transfers into mason and all of a sudden he is this huge man, shrinks into the back thasm stuff is amazing to me. He is massive and he can be both really big and very, very small. Rose lins gotten so much of the public credit but tommy kale. That guy is the captain of the ship. And i. Rose the captain of the ship. Yeah. And he yeah. And he is responsible for the atmosphere that was created that allowed this work to happen. That allowed us to feel so comfortable with each other, putting this group together, all of it, all of it. And making the rooms the way that they were. Where we didnt feel stressed. We actually, he was so good at blocking out all of the outside noise too, saying there were rumblings about there the whole time but we didnt hear any of that. We showed up at rehearsal and did the thing. We did our work. And he really, you know, i have never worked with anybody like that who could take all of these things and sort of focus everybody as well as tommy does. And make it feel like were not working. You know, it is always fun with him. And we play spades, is he a hell of a spades player also, i will admit that, tommy, are you a really good spades player. Rose are you good . Im not as good as him. Rose finally this. You talked about how it gave you some sense of ownership of your history. When young africanamerican kids come and see it, i mean tell me what you think they do. I hope. Rose because they have an africanamerican president. Right, right, i know. And that is, you know, for kids who are young enough that they have only grown up with an africanamerican president , right, i cant even get in that mindset thasm is a par dime shift i dont or at least where the only president they have been aware of, right. And thats amazing. Thats so amazing. So its really great to be doing this in the same time as a time when that could be true. But yeah, what i hope is that they are seeing themselves and people who they know, not just physically but culturally, culturally because were allowed to bring so much of our own family histories or this hiphop history that is sort of so interwoven into American History right now. Like so much of that is in the play. Its in the fabric of the play. So i hope it feels like home to them. And i hope that they can see themselves in every part of it, right. On stage with us, if you want to be a performer some day. Or represented in your government, if you want to be a politician some day. Or in some way responsible for creating the rules and regulations of this country, so that you feel free enough to speak up for them and change them if theyre not working for you. You know, thats a big thing too. If you feel like rules were created without you in mind, then you dont always feel like anyones going to listen to you if you have a problem with them, right . Exactly. But the way democracy is supposed to work, its here for all of us and we can affect this change. I hope that is a complicated thing and not as true often as we would like it to be. But i think it is important to believe some part of that. To believe that you have some agency. And i hope that seeing this show gives young black kids that. Rose thank you for coming. Thank you for having me. Rose great to have you. Daveed diggs, a tony nominee. Hamilton, jefferson, lafaiette am. Back in a moment, stay with us. Scootedder Scooter Braun sheer, the 34 year old music manager made his name after discovering a canadian preteen on youtube. His name was Justin Bieber. Braun helped turn justin into one the worlds biggest pop stars and guided him back from his very public down fall. Braun has made a name for himself beyond bieber. His company sb projects is involved in everything from successful Tech Startups like uber and spotify to the hit Cbs Television series scorpion. It was recently announced that braun has started comanaging another familiar name in pop music, kayne west. I am pleased to have him here at this table for the first time, welcome. Thanks for having me. Rose so you were a Party Planner in atlanta. Yeah, i was a kid who was walking by some nightclubs. And didnt like that, you know, i didnt have enough money to really party. And i walked by a nightclub. It was called chaos. And i stopped and i said, you know, if i can get some people here next week, would you give me any money. And i had really never gone to any night clufnlt he said sure how many people. I said i dont know, 800. He looked at me like i was crazy. And i went to kinkos, made flyers, you know, hit the whole campus. 800 people came the next week and the next thing you know i was a party promoter. So and that kind of lead into everything else. Rose what made you think you could do that . What made me think i could do it was that i was a freshwho freshman who had a High School Sweetheart so i wasnt trying to hit on the girls. I was failtful to my High School Sweetheart at the time. So i was friends with all the girls. And when are you in college, pretty of the whole campus likes to go to the club where the freshman girls are going. So me being friends, i was able to get them there and then the rest of the campus came. So i didnt really i always joke around throughout my entire career that when people say what made you think you can do that, because that comes up a lot. I always joke around, i probably am too stupid to think about it before i do it and i end up just doing it anyway. Rose so heres Mark Zuckerberg is connecting people through the internet on the harvard campus and are you in atlanta connecting people at parties. Yeah, and i inned up reaching out to him when facebook actually, one of the first eight schools was emory, where i was. And i reached out to mark which at the time was a simple harvard email address on the facebook. He put me in touch with eduardo. And i tried to become part of the original facebook team. Not realizing what they would become, just thinking this would be a good way fore not to have to flyer the campus. Rose good way to make a connection. We worked on it for four months and i will never forget, wrote myofeduardo loved saying would love to get you voferred, were launching 36 more schools, well come back to you and it became facebook. Never upset about it it made me realize, okay, i get that story can i now tell you. Rose you didnt take any stock at that time. I tried but he passed. And i didnt realize what he had passed on for me. But it is a fun story to tell now. And have i no regreat regrets. My life is pretty good. Rose when did you see the Youtube Video of Justin Bieber. I was 20, probably just 25 years old. I come back from a night out with some friends and i always couldnt sleevment i was an insomnia ak. And i came back to my apartment in atlanta and just started going through emails. And an theist named acon who i was friends with asked me to consult and look at an artist he was interested in and send me April Youtube clip. I started watching that artist and they were singing aretha flank lynn respect and clicked on one of the related videos thinking it was the same person, different view. What you wouldnt, baby i got it. And instead of being 292 year old singer, it was a 12 year old it was a different person, just happened to be singing. It was one of miss first six videos. And i watched every one of those videos. Instantly knew he was the kid i had been looking for and kind of tracked him down that night. Rose you knew he could become what . Its strange but in that moment, i you know, i worked at a place called records i was 20 years old when i took a vp job there. For three years i helped run that company and worked with a lot of very big artists. But i had all these ideas about social media. And my bogs at the time great guy gave me an opportunity but he didnt believe in these idea, necessarily. So i ended up leaving the company and i had philosophies of what kierched of artists i was looking for. One i furs first, and the second was the justin. An when i saw justin i instantly knew he was the artist i was looking for. And i knew, strange thing to say but i saw the plarch of how i could make him one the worms biggest pop stars, kind of instanltly. Rose what was the plan. Its very complicated what happened in my head but it was a combination of using youtube to build an audience, simple things like, i used to have justin record videos, people go look and watch any of his early Youtube Videos of him in his room, i would never let him say hi, my name is Justin Bieber. I would always just make him sing. I would say just sing. We would keep it very raw. So that to the outside person t didnt look like anything was being produced and by him not saying hi, this is Justin Bieber, the interaction they were having was more intimate. They felt like maybe im seeing something i shouldnt see. It was more exciting for them. That simple little difference made the engagement very, very different. Rose almost like eavesdropping on somebody. Exactly. I think when people talk about millions and billions of impressions that theyre trying to achieve, they dont realize that people are having one screen in fronts of them, and it is an intimate think thing. You have to think of how would i get people to move if it was oneonone. This was the video you saw on youtube. Here it is. You are still here. And im so sing about it. Why cant i turn off the radio. That was the one that pushed me offer the edge. That is because he was singing so sick by theyo, the soul in his voice is something you cant teach. For a little 12 year old kid to be singing that song w that kind of emotion, that is not voice lessons, thats real. Rose i would assume thats common to the biggest talent in the world. Yeah. Rose there is something, that you cant teach. Completely. Rose about who they are, what they do. Whether its fashion, music, theater, film. There is and it factor. Some of it it is for justin, you know there was a tone in his voice, that you cant teach. And then there is just this ability that you know, i was kind of everything. Hes a strong young man from the day i met him. He had the personality. He had the charm. He has a way of, you know, very early on, you know, we went from a water park show to four months later playing arenas. And. Rose four months. Four months. At first it was two years of developing online and building the audience. But once we had the audience and went with the music, it was like a sleeping giant. And i still remember playing at a water park and holding the quids back with the security, 60 kids. In upstate new york. And then four months later were playing our first arena in hartford civic center. Rose you said that he is a lot like you or vice versa. What do you think you share . He is restless like me. He has a ten asity. You know, you cant want it more than they do. And i think thats why, there was a point where i had to stop everything. Because i wanted to make sure that he still wanted this. Because i made a promise to him when he was a young man that if he couldnt sing, couldnt dance, couldnt do any of that, i would always be there. Rose you would be there for him. I remember exactly where i was. It was obamas first election. And i was in line to actually vote for the presidency. And he called me and he was very upset. He was dealing with some personal stuff. And i made that promise to him. I will never forget where i was. And i take that promise very seriously. Its not, you know, i feel like when you do this job, and you are in the Client Service business, at this level, whether it be justin or whether it be any of our clients, you have to really care about these people. Cuz youre stepping away from your life, to step into theirs and be a part of their journey. And you have to really give a. Rose when he selfdestructed though, do you feel like he doesnt want it because he must realize hes throwing it away. Or hes a young man going through it that was very confusing for me. You know, because im an adult. We have this huge operation that weve built. And i think ive given all the tools to this young man to be able to handle it. And what i learned was that every story sometimes has an arc. And you know, everyone who had been through it, they said look, teenage acts dont become adult acts, very rare, you have frank sin at ra, justin timer timberlake, elvis, certain ones make it through. Evenious tin timberlake and Michael Jackson both in groups as they made the transition. But no teenage ever made the transition while being disliked at that level where he was at the end there. and people just toll me to give up. And i said, you know, im not going to give up on a young man. Because i think in our society we have this tendency of telling young people, live your dreams. Become successful. And then the moment they become successful, we belittle those dreams because we say, you know, youre too young. Rose take a look at this. Roll tape, here it is. Maish at a certain point when you are surrounding yourself with people that arent conducive to what you should be doing, it can throw you into an area where you are just, y know, very reactive. And i think that now hes in such a good place, hes really focused and he is around really good people and guys like us that believe in him. And no matter what anybody says, hes one of the most talented people, one of the most talented people have i ever been in the studio with rrs i saw that intr view and were you surprised when i said that part. I think when people become pop stars, its popular music. And we wonder if theyre treully talented but you dont get to that level unless you are. Rose truly tral ented. Truly talented. To get to that level you have to be truly talented. Rose here is also an interesting question. Is it sometimes because the fame comes at such a young age, you never have time to find maturity . I think to a certain degree. But i dont think fame and wealth changes your character. I think it just amplifies whatever you are going to go through. Rose none of us know, these things flair up, you can see the difference in them and where he might have been. Here is my thing. It doesnt really happen any more. I think the biggest difference is for a year i get a lot of credit recently for the turn around. Rose right. And i think that is very nice. But for a year and a half i failed. And for a year and a half i tried everything. And i faid. And one day something happened, personal for him to tell the world. But he made a conscience decision that he wants to make a change. I got a phone call. We met. And he knew that we had been struggling with each other because i wasnt okay with it. But he knew he could turn to somebody who wasnt okay with it and wanted to change. He made a conscience decision to change. And once he did that, we put things in motion to help him go through that process. He came out on the other side. And i think that there is an arc to that story. There Jerry Weintraub passed away recently. I was having lunch and at the time i didnt understand it. And we met each other. And he said to me, he goes you know, scooter, you know i love everything you guys are doing. I love this client. I love this client. I said okay, cool am and justin. It was a rough year and a half. He said no it wasnt, it was a great year, youll see. I was like this guy is nuts. No it wasnt, i was mission miserable. I didnt sleep. Best thing that happened to me that year i met my wife. Best thing. But what i realized now is that he gave me that piece of wisdom that while you are in it, you cant see it. But every great story has an arc. And if you are willing to push throh and persevere through the struggle, something great can happen, it is what every great movie is made from. Rose dip lo and skillex. Dip lo wes and skillex sony are very good friends of mine. And justin had recorded this song with his cowriter poo bear, great name. Rose yes. And they wrote a song called where are you now. They wrote it with a piano an a sintd. I heard it and took the files. And i had just done a song with diplo and arianna grande. What ended up happening is i saw those guys and said do you have anything. I said actually have i this amazing vocal. And i knew we had to find a formula to this new music. Because we had turned the life around but we needed to get the music write. So i gave them the vocal and synth an piano and we started working on it together over three months. We didnt tell justin. So when it got to the point where the song was exactly where i wanted it, i made a deal for them to put it out first on their album. Hi justin come over to the office. I said i got to play you something. He goes what is it. I said remember the song where are you now, he goes yeah. I say this is the version produced by diplo and scrilex. He said man, i love this, i said good, its coming out in two weeks. He said what . And luckily it became a big hit and that actually is how we found the formula for this album. Where are you now that i need you . Girl, . How did you know . Rose so that is the bieber story of your life. Now there is kayne west. Yeah, different aspect of my life. Rose indeed. Are you ready for this . You know, so i have known kayne for about ten years. You know there were different points where we had talked about working together and i always shied away from it because i really enjoyed our friendship and i was nervous that if we went to the workplace it would ruin our friendship. And recently i reached out to him kind of just to say how are you. As a friend, checking in, seeing all the tabloid stuff, just kind of curious. And it lead to one conversation, a different conversation. He said look, youre doing this. You are coming in, you are going to be a part of this. And i need you to kind of step in an manage me. And i finally kind of agreed. And i can tell you, the one thing that is my goal with working with him, is i hope the world gets to see the guy that ive gotten to know. Rose who is that guy . Hes a guy alot of people have an a sump shin about him that he might be selfish or arrogant. Rose or selfobsessed. Completely. And the guy ive gotten to know, im learning to translate for others is someone who literally got himself into financial trouble because he would give the shirt off his back to help someone. He is literally one of the most giving human beings i ever met in my entire life. He doesnt know how to say no when someone needs help. And he feels like he can truly help everyone. An when he gets frustrated, its because hes not trying to make money or hes not trying to scs take as much wealth. Hes trying to say let me help, let me help, let me help. He is the definition of a true artist. But at his core he is one of the best people i have ever met. I think for me when i work with people, thats the starting point. I got to make sure i enjoy them. Because for me to step away from my wife and my son and dedicate that time away from them to somne else, i have to enjoy that experience. Rose so what do you want to do with him . Wel one, i want to help him take his journey to where he wants to go. Rose and where is that . Whether it be with apparel, whether it be with you know, the idea of creativity and putting stuff into the world that changes and shapes culture for a positive way. Thats his goal. He wants to really, you know, be a positive force in the world, in the most significant way upon. And culturally, he has shown to be that person. From the way. Rose because of his cultural reach. His cultural reach, how we see music shifting when he puts stuff out. How we see sneakers becoming the biggest selling sneakers out there and how fashion changes. I mean hes a very, very significant person. When you have intimate conversations with them, you cant help but walk away and feeling like wow, there is something extremely special there. Rose but you understand how he drives people crazy. I think he understands. Rose and is that the point . I can understand kayne to a certain point. I think only kayne can truly understand kayne. But i think that the point isnt to drive people crazy. You know, i think everything is art. When people say hey, everything he is doing is distracting from his music. Well, if you walk up to a master piece and you see one stroke, you might say why is all these other strokes around am i love this stroke. But if you take a few steps back, you will see the whole picture. I think with kayne it about taking a couple steps back and seeing the whom landscape that makes him so brilliant at what he does. And im working with him, and every day im learning and im being you were approximated. But at the same time, i am blatantly honest. And i have told him, you might not like all of my ideas, but youre going to hear them, otherwise i cant be honest with you. And i can tell you, hes not someone who doesnt listen. He is a great listener. And he is someone who takes pieces, you know, and putting them together beautifulfully. There are very special people. Hes one of them. Rose you are doing something right when you look at the clients you have and the businesses you have created. Give us a sense of scooters view of the world in terms of media and what is happening, in terms of mobile, in terms of social media, in terms of how media is intertwined now, you know, with the essence of how we communicate. I think everyone can be a creator. All the tools are there for them. But the best creations will still rise to the top. Rose right. I think what you will see through this is that truth will also se to the stop top. Will you see a lot of people who unfortunately journalistic integrity so many timesk im sure you of all people have been frustrated where it kind of the checks an balances of that integrity isnt there very much. But i think time is an amazing curator. But time is also the greatest teller of truth. And i think over time were going to see truth rise, great creation rise, cureation rise to the top. But i think that there wont be any more opinions blocking great creation. I think thats what is most exciting for me. That anyone who is a great creator, could be a kid sitting in his apartment in louisville right now. Rose there is a way to find an audience and a way for an audience to find you. Completely. Have i done it with my artists, i is can put stuff on line that reached every country around the world and break countries before i get there. And i have been able to find create greater creators to work with my clients because im able to go online and see stuff that i might have never even known that person in new zealand existed. And its a beautiful, beautiful thing. But i think that were going to see so much. This next generation can go through content so quickly. And i think that what we will see over the next 10 to 20 years is people are going to want more and more quality. There say misconception about what quality means. People think oh, you mean better cameras or, you know, better this. No, its the quality of the content, whether its raw, or whether its highly produced. Rose when you look at the future for you, you are building a business, that is what you are doing. What kind of business . So i got to meet one of my heroes. And i now know him, you know, and spend time with him. Its been a huge pleasure of mine, david geoffen. David gave me incredible advice. He said in a hundred years no one would remember me so they sure as well wont remember you. And what i responded to him, i was like yeah, but they will feel our impact. Because the truth is he is right. When im dead i am deadment i want to go to sleep at night and when that final sleep happens i want to know i did something significant. I made a difference so what i am trying to build honestly is a building where our mantra in the company is inspire the world to try. I want people to, you know, look at what we have built and say theres something i can go for it you know, were a selfmade company. I started this business with 1400 dollars from summer jobs. And you know, whether it be going in a film or television or tech or music, i just want to be able to do cool stuff and see where it goes. David has made more money in his investment thafn all the entertainment business he ever did. You were an early investor in spotify, investor in uber. Uhhuh. Are you going to make more money in how you invested in Silicon Valley than are you building your own business . So the answer is possibly, yes. And the reason why i love that i get to come on your show, is because this video will go out there and a lot of people will see it. Something that is more important, you say what am i building . There is a big miscon sengs with young people, that i speak a lot to because of who my client roster is, that that is what success is. That its how much is your net worth. How much money do you make. But the truth is if you would have asked the 15 year old me how much money do you need to be happy, i already passed that number a long time ago. So my success, and i take pride s showing people that i am a father to my son. That i am a good husband to my wife. That i can work with people like a carly coss, a Justin Bieber, a carly ray jep sen, kayne, any of those people and truly enjoy the people that they are and have a very, very good life. So have i invested in these things, yes. Will they do very well for me, yes. But when i die, thats what david meant, its not going to go with me. And i think that there is people usually find that stuff out later on in life. And have i been, what i have done is gone to people i respect who are older than me and say what is the end all be all, and every single one of them always comes back to me with the quality of your relationships is your true success. You know, and i think that if there is anything that i am trying to get across in my company and in my life is i want people to understand that that is how you become successful. Money will come, especially if you are quality. Because money starts showing up because people bring you in. Have i been brought into amazing businesses because have i great friendships and they say we want to show you this. And i think that if i had all the money in its world and i didnt have my son and my wife, i would be pretty damn mirsable. Rose Scooter Braun, thank you. Pleasure. Rose you have chosen david geoffen, great mentors. Thanks. Rose good to you have here. Thank you very much, i appreciate it. Rose thank you for joining us. See you next time. For more about this program and earlier episodes visit us online at pbs. Org and charlie rose. Com. Captioning sponsored by Rose Communications captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org rose funding for charlie rose has been provided by and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and Information Services worldwide. On tomorrows pbs newshour report from puerto rico and how debt has the island on the debt has the island on the economic brink. Man its like holy mother of comfort food. Ion. Woman throw it down. Its noodle crack. Patel you have to be ready for the heart attack on a platter. Crowell okay, im the bacon guy. Man oh, i just did a jig every time i dipped into it. Man 2 it just completely blew my mind. Woman it felt like i had a mouthful of raw vegetables and dry dough. Sbrocco oh, please. I want the Dessert First [ laughs ] i told him he had to wait