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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast, a weekly

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Speaker 1: conversation about mental health, personal development, and all the small

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Speaker 1: decisions we can make to become the best possible versions

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Speaker 1: of ourselves. I'm your host, Dr Joy hard and Bradford,

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Speaker 1: a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information or

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Speaker 1: to find a therapist in your area, visit our website

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Speaker 1: at Therapy for Black Girls dot com. While I hope

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Speaker 1: you love listening to and learning from the podcast, it

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Speaker 1: is not meant to be a substitute for a relationship

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Speaker 1: with a licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, thanks so

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Speaker 1: much for joining me for Session two sixt or four

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Speaker 1: of the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast. Before we get

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Speaker 1: into today's conversation, I want to take just a moment

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Speaker 1: to check in with you about how you're feeling this

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Speaker 1: week following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn and Row

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Speaker 1: versus Weight. It's very likely you're having a variety of feelings,

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Speaker 1: perhaps angry, sad, helpless, rage, maybe even numb. Whatever it is,

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Speaker 1: it's valid. While there are ways to continue to fight,

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Speaker 1: and that too, is valid, I also think it's important

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Speaker 1: to make sure you give yourself space to feel all

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Speaker 1: of your feelings and when you're ready, make sure to

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Speaker 1: check out the show notes for ways you can get

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Speaker 1: involved in the continuing fight for reproductive justice. To close

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Speaker 1: out our celebration of Black Music Month this week, I'm

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Speaker 1: joined by Los Angeles based psychotherapist Sereda Butler. In her work,

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Speaker 1: Serena has partnered with renowned music label LVR in introducing

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Speaker 1: the first ever mental health and wellness department and program

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Speaker 1: within a music label. Serta coaches and trains music executives

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Speaker 1: to create a healthy mental and emotional environment for their

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Speaker 1: respective artists and employees. Our conversation explores the stressors that

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Speaker 1: are unique to the music industry, the importance of music

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Speaker 1: labels investing in the emotional well being of their staff,

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Speaker 1: and the ways that music labels and the music industry

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Speaker 1: can do more to protect black women. I have something

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Speaker 1: resonates with you. While enjoying our conversation, be sure to

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Speaker 1: share with us on social media using the hashtag TVG

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Speaker 1: in session or join us over in the Sister Circle.

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Speaker 1: To talk more in depth about the episode, You can

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Speaker 1: join us at community dot therapy for Black Girls dot Com.

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Speaker 1: Here's our conversation, so it feels really great to be

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Speaker 1: chatting with you during Black Music Appreciation Month. I love

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Speaker 1: to hear from you how black music has impacted your

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Speaker 1: mental health. Oh my gosh, but a little question. That's

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Speaker 1: how we started after joining. I mean, that's were be

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Speaker 1: starting at the top. We're starting at the top. Um. Oh,

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Speaker 1: the way that black music has impacted my mental health.

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Speaker 1: I'm grateful for black music. I'm grateful that we have

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Speaker 1: this thing called black music, and it spans such a

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Speaker 1: broad stroke. I mean from being the inventors of country,

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Speaker 1: to the architects and inventors of rock and roll, and

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Speaker 1: then the inventors and architects of jazz, and then the

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Speaker 1: adventures and architects of R and B and hip hop.

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Speaker 1: I have a very, very very eclectic palette for music,

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Speaker 1: but it always seems to come back to the soul

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Speaker 1: and being black. My namesake is a Black art Her

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Speaker 1: name is Serta Wright, and she was the great Stevie

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Speaker 1: Wonders muse. And so my first name is Rita, of course,

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Speaker 1: and my middle name is Patrese, which is after Patrese Russian.

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Speaker 1: I can't sing a lick, I can't hold the note.

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Speaker 1: But my mom in the womb cultivated this space in

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Speaker 1: me to love and be named after some beautiful voices

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Speaker 1: in the business. The way it has impacted my mental health.

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Speaker 1: Like music, it's been since the wound. It's been what

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Speaker 1: I've gone to and what I run to when I'm

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Speaker 1: any space, whether it's joy, whether it's pain, which is

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Speaker 1: a song by Frankie Barrowley. Like, I mean, we can

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Speaker 1: just keep going it but music, music is everything, It's

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Speaker 1: gotten every part of my life is literally a soundtrack

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Speaker 1: to my life. Yeah, I mean, it really feels like

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Speaker 1: you didn't have a choice, right, Like it sounds like

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Speaker 1: Mom really kind of birth this life for you that

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Speaker 1: you really just had to step into. Absolutely absolutely such

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Speaker 1: a mom, but she did right. So your background is

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Speaker 1: as a marriage and family therapist, but you are now

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Speaker 1: working at a record level at l b r N.

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Speaker 1: But I would love to hear a little bit about

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Speaker 1: that journey and like what is it that you do

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Speaker 1: as a therapist there? This is an idea that I've

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Speaker 1: had for quite some time, but I got a lot

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Speaker 1: of notes. So I've been circulating in the music industry

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Speaker 1: for some time, and I went to a couple of

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Speaker 1: different labels and they shared with me that my service

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Speaker 1: wasn't a service that they were necessarily interested in. And

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Speaker 1: then I was at a music festival and I met

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Speaker 1: some of the executives and co founders from Love Renaissance,

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Speaker 1: which is l b r N. I shared with them

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Speaker 1: what I did, and that was in October, and then

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Speaker 1: maybe in like December, they called me. It was like, hey,

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Speaker 1: we have an artist that we would love for you

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Speaker 1: to work with, and I said okay, and they brought

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Speaker 1: me to New York and I met with the artists

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Speaker 1: and I met with the executives and it has been

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Speaker 1: a beautiful relationship. So this was actually in twenty nineteen,

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Speaker 1: and then at January we said, you know what, let's

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Speaker 1: make this a thing. And by March we had signed

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Speaker 1: the paperwork and started. And then of course the world

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Speaker 1: shut down, and so it was a beautiful time to

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Speaker 1: come into the organization because we were in such influx

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Speaker 1: and there were so many unknowns that were happening in

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Speaker 1: the world that they were able to provide a mental

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Speaker 1: health services to not only their staff and not only

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Speaker 1: the artists, but also the executive. So my company, we uh,

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Speaker 1: we service everyone across the board. So I'm affectionately known

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Speaker 1: as the Windy Roads of music. If anyone knows the

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Speaker 1: Billions reference, that's how I wrote it's been beautiful. So

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Speaker 1: this was something that you kind of developed with your

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Speaker 1: brain child that you were then pitching to record labels

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Speaker 1: to try to bring your services to them. Absolutely, I've

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Speaker 1: been working with artists for many years and I was

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Speaker 1: noticing that there were things that were missing in the

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Speaker 1: label space and even in the management space and production space,

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Speaker 1: and I'm like, this is something that we we desperately need.

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Speaker 1: There's a lot of our artists that are struggling in

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Speaker 1: a multitude of ways, and to have this as a

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Speaker 1: space that they could utilize as though they're utilizing the

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Speaker 1: vocal coach, as they're utilizing their their choreographer, as they're

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Speaker 1: utilizing the dietitian, this is an addition to all of that.

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Speaker 1: So it was the brain child and it's still being

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Speaker 1: worked in currently. So what kinds of specific services are

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Speaker 1: you offering. It sounds like maybe some therapy, but it

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Speaker 1: also maybe just some other general wellness kinds of things.

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Speaker 1: Just be Consulting is the name of my company, and

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Speaker 1: we actually create and curate mental health and wellness programs

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Speaker 1: and departments for entertainment as a whole. The reason that

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Speaker 1: I speak about l b r N is because we

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Speaker 1: are on a more public platform where I have other

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Speaker 1: companies that are not as much, but we do the

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Speaker 1: same thing. Because of confidentiality and things, l b r

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Speaker 1: N is the company that I speak about. So we

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Speaker 1: do one on one mental health services. We also do

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Speaker 1: executive coaching for the executives. We also do a host

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Speaker 1: of wellness programs, and so we really work with the

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Speaker 1: company as a whole and really listen to what it

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Speaker 1: is that the staff and the executives need, and then

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Speaker 1: we curate our programs and our department to fulfill the

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Speaker 1: needs of the individuals. So you mentioned that you have

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Speaker 1: been working with a lot of artists even before doing

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Speaker 1: more formal kinds of programs like this. What kinds of

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Speaker 1: things did you notice, Like, were there specific themes that

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Speaker 1: tended to come up for them that you felt like

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Speaker 1: needed to be addressed. Oh yeah, the world of celebrity

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Speaker 1: or being an artist or being a creative. There are

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Speaker 1: many times that many of the things that they struggle

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Speaker 1: with are very similar to the things that people who

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Speaker 1: aren't in the industry struggle with. You know, I think

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Speaker 1: it's a baseline of just wanting to have love and respect,

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Speaker 1: compassion and empathy, but the way in which it shows

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Speaker 1: up can be a little different from maybe you r I,

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Speaker 1: especially given the fact that you have fame on top

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Speaker 1: of it, you have survivor's remorse on top of it,

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Speaker 1: you have money, you have access. So the things that

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Speaker 1: I think many of us struggle with, we don't have

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Speaker 1: to struggle with it and have access and money on

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Speaker 1: top of it. Some of the ways in which we

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Speaker 1: hope with things that are happening in our lives, we

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Speaker 1: don't have the money and access for it. But when

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Speaker 1: you're a celebrity or when you're an artist, a lot

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Speaker 1: of times you do, and so it exacerbates those hoping strategies,

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Speaker 1: whether positive or Next. Can you say a little bit

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Speaker 1: more about like the celebrity piece, because I think I

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Speaker 1: have a feeling what you're talking about. What would love

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Speaker 1: to hear like how the celebrity piece really create or

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Speaker 1: magnify any mental health concerns that might exist. Celebrity is

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Speaker 1: probably the most intoxicating drug in the most addictive drug

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Speaker 1: that I've seen by by far. If you've come to

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Speaker 1: being or becoming a celebrity. There's a whole host of

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Speaker 1: things that I've found with many of the clients that

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Speaker 1: I worked with that they are struggling with imposter syndrome,

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Speaker 1: feeling good enough, feeling like what they're doing in their

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Speaker 1: creative space is worthwhile. There's many things that, of course,

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Speaker 1: like I said, many of us try and fight through

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Speaker 1: and work through, and for them it is exacerbated because

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Speaker 1: we have social media, we have them being accessible and

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Speaker 1: not just accessible for the up but also accessible for

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Speaker 1: their ridicule. I don't know how we are just regular people,

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Speaker 1: if you will, even though they're regular as well, how

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Speaker 1: well we would do being under a microscope, and that

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Speaker 1: microscope of celebrity is really really difficult at times, especially

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Speaker 1: when you're attempting to grow up and make mistakes and

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Speaker 1: have that not done under the scrutiny of so many

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Speaker 1: eyes and so many opinions. How do you work with

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Speaker 1: somebody on that So people struggling with impox syndrome or

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Speaker 1: really getting caught up maybe in having access to so

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Speaker 1: many resources and different kinds of things, how are you

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Speaker 1: working with them to kind of manage some of them?

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Speaker 1: Many of the clients that work with it's about just

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Speaker 1: reaffirming that their artistry and who they are is enough.

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Speaker 1: And I think a lot of us can identify with that,

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Speaker 1: not feel like we're enough, not feeling like that we're

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Speaker 1: utilizing them in a way that brings joy to our lives.

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Speaker 1: And that's why I say the similarities between people who

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Speaker 1: are not in the public eye and people who are.

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Speaker 1: You know, we struggle with wanting to feel like people

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Speaker 1: love us and care about us and have empathy for us,

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Speaker 1: and it's the same with people who were in the

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Speaker 1: public eye. There's a lot of scrutiny that people find

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Speaker 1: themselves under, and it's really working to affirm who they are,

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Speaker 1: really getting to the root of how and why they

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Speaker 1: feel the way they do. My graduate work and much

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Speaker 1: of the work that I've done before just be too

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Speaker 1: Golf is a generational trauma. So for me, it's really

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Speaker 1: important to support the people that I work with with

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Speaker 1: understanding what is their burdens, what is their stuff, and

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Speaker 1: what is the stuff that has been put on the

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Speaker 1: from generations before, from their parents, from their parents parents

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Speaker 1: and so on, and so really starting to untether themselves

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Speaker 1: from the narratives that have been spoken about either them

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Speaker 1: or their lineage, whether it's from the public or in private,

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Speaker 1: and so really starting to untether I find is the

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Speaker 1: most pivotal and the most sacred space when working with anyone,

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Speaker 1: but in particularly artists. More from my conversation with Serita

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Speaker 1: after the Break, you mentioned also that you often see

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Speaker 1: people struggle with survivors remorse. Are you saying more about

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Speaker 1: what that looks like specifically with celebrities. Survivors remorse is

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Speaker 1: real and in life, and it can be exacerbated of

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Speaker 1: course from family members and friends who feel like just

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Speaker 1: because they've been on the journey with them from the beginning,

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Speaker 1: that they're meant to be in every part of their

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Speaker 1: journey moving forward. When I'm working with a client or

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Speaker 1: with an artist or a creative, they're having a really

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Speaker 1: hard time with setting boundaries and setting limits with people

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Speaker 1: in their lives, and it becomes really complicated when people

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Speaker 1: are asking things of them and they feel like, okay, well,

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Speaker 1: since I'm the one that has made it out or

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Speaker 1: the one that is successful, that I now I am

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Speaker 1: obligated to support or invest and so working with them

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Speaker 1: and helping them understand that that isn't the way that

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Speaker 1: you have to show up even though a person has

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Speaker 1: been with you since the beginning, you're not obligated to

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Speaker 1: show up in any particular way except for the way

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Speaker 1: that feels most authentic to yourself. And so I also

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Speaker 1: support people with setting boundaries because I think that oftentimes

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Speaker 1: when we have weaker boundaries, people take advantage of that,

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Speaker 1: and so helping them through that it's been really, really

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Speaker 1: transformational I've seen in the work. We've seen a lot

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Speaker 1: of artists, in particular, I think, be very public about

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Speaker 1: their struggles with both anxiety and depression. Can you say

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Speaker 1: a little bit about what that teends to look like

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Speaker 1: in the artist space. I think the way that it

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Speaker 1: looks like in the artist space is very similar to

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Speaker 1: the way it looks in everyday life. Social anxiety anxiety

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Speaker 1: in general is a huge part. I think many artists

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Speaker 1: find themselves to be introverts when they're creating, and they

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Speaker 1: are then acts to be a larger than life, or

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Speaker 1: acts to be very outgoing, and sometimes they get caught

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Speaker 1: in the space of wanting to be private, wanting to

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Speaker 1: just be and also having the expectations of the world.

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Speaker 1: So I think that's where the anxiety part comes up,

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Speaker 1: is having these two counterintuitive spaces that they're trying to

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Speaker 1: occupy at the same time, and then the depression that

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Speaker 1: I find is oftentimes from loneliness and not feeling a

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Speaker 1: part of community there is. Even though entertainment is a

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Speaker 1: really dynamic space, it can be a little isolating depending

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Speaker 1: on what part of the process and where you are

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Speaker 1: in your journey, and so I think oftentimes for artists

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Speaker 1: and creatives, they find it difficult to find their place

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Speaker 1: on where they fit, which I think many of us

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Speaker 1: can identify with, especially being a young adult, coming into

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Speaker 1: your own as an adult and then doing it in

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Speaker 1: front of people. Most of us have the luxury of

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Speaker 1: making our mistake and trying to find our way in

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Speaker 1: private where we're not under microscope. So I think that

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Speaker 1: microscope sometimes just enhances everything. It sounds like you've been

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Speaker 1: doing this for a while, and so I know at

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Speaker 1: least a lot of celebrities have talked about this struggle

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Speaker 1: with social media. Right it's kind of almost a part

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Speaker 1: of the job right there, that you've got to be

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Speaker 1: public and have stuff on Instagram and Twitter and all

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Speaker 1: these places. But I think it's also something that a

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Speaker 1: lot of people struggle with, and so I wonder, like

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Speaker 1: if across your career you have seen changes in the

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Speaker 1: way that people are impacted now having to be you know,

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Speaker 1: so popular, I think on social media. Social media is

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Speaker 1: a beautiful tool. However, it is a monster and it

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Speaker 1: will eat you up and spit you out, and I

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Speaker 1: think that it has to be met with a certain

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Speaker 1: distance or certain caution. And I think that's where many people,

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Speaker 1: whether they're creative or not, find their struggle is when

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Speaker 1: you start to develop your validation or find your validation

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Speaker 1: in these spaces and there's a home machine for creatives

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Speaker 1: in particular, that is, for lack of a better term,

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Speaker 1: forcing you to be a part of this world that

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Speaker 1: can eat you up and spit you out, and not

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Speaker 1: giving a lot of guidance or how to navigate it.

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Speaker 1: So people are just kind of going by the seat

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Speaker 1: of their parts and making mistakes in the process and

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Speaker 1: being built up to then be torn down. I feel

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Speaker 1: like that is the sadistic part of social media is,

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Speaker 1: especially for creatives and artists, is the We're going to

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Speaker 1: build you up. Everyone loves you, everyone all the lights,

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Speaker 1: and people will start to feel good because of the

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Speaker 1: lights and get their validation from the lights, and then

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Speaker 1: the monster rears its head, and then the chopping of

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Speaker 1: your self esteem, the hypocritical aspect. Creatives are already extremely

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Speaker 1: sensitive souls. That's why they're able to create such beautiful art,

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Speaker 1: because they're able to tap into spaces that many of

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Speaker 1: us can. And so when that part of them is

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Speaker 1: exposed or made vulnerable and it starts to be criticized.

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Speaker 1: If you don't have a foundation, that doesn't have to

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Speaker 1: do with the lights. If you don't have a foundation

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Speaker 1: of people who are grounding you, you can get swept

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Speaker 1: up and loss. And I think we see many, many

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Speaker 1: people and I'm putting everybody in there, but many people

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Speaker 1: fall prey to that. Mm hmm. So a lot of

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Speaker 1: artists also typically have this kind of like hustle story, right,

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Speaker 1: like they have been trying to like get their art

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Speaker 1: out there for a long time. It feels like there

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Speaker 1: tends to be like a very long grind. I'm wondering

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Speaker 1: if you can talk about the impact that that ben

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Speaker 1: has on their mental health. I have found myself and

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Speaker 1: moments in my life and my career being in that

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Speaker 1: hustle mentality and that hustle mindset. However, it is quite

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Speaker 1: counterproductive because we aren't meant as human beings to be

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Speaker 1: in such a grind, in such a space where we're

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Speaker 1: going all the time and being made to feel less

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Speaker 1: than if we want to take time out for ourselves

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Speaker 1: to practice radical self care, or to practice empathy, grace,

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Speaker 1: gratitude towards ourselves and not wanting to be out there.

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Speaker 1: I think that the hustle spirit, or the grind mode,

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Speaker 1: has put us in a mindset that rest is not

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Speaker 1: a part of the hustle, Whereas I would love to

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Speaker 1: introduce and welcome individuals, whether creatives or not, to recognize

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Speaker 1: that we are meant to rest, we are meant to

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Speaker 1: take a breath. We're meant to breathe, and not just

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Speaker 1: breathe for survival, but breathe for enjoyment, breathe for pleasure,

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Speaker 1: not just breathing shallowly from our chest, but really breathing

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Speaker 1: from our pillies. And when we don't do that, it

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Speaker 1: impacts our brain industry. Like we're all connected. So I understand,

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Speaker 1: in our respect, some of the essence of that hustle

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Speaker 1: grind space, but I also have seen firsthand where it

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Speaker 1: has truly, truly, truly been destructive to artists that I've

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Speaker 1: worked with, artists that I see that are just on

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Speaker 1: social media or wherever, and and people that I know.

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Speaker 1: So I would like for us to reframe it at

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Speaker 1: all what hustling means in the future. We talk a

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Speaker 1: lot about the strong black woman trope here on the

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Speaker 1: podcast that you have had that you have an aversion

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Speaker 1: I had Pearls Dr Joy. You have an aversion to him.

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Speaker 1: You know it shows up a lot of us, and

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Speaker 1: I can only imagine what that might look like in

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Speaker 1: black women artists. I'm wondering what it has looked like

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Speaker 1: for any artists that you've worked with, in what words

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Speaker 1: of advice or suggestions you might have for anybody who

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Speaker 1: maybe is in the music business now are interested in

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00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:19,200
Speaker 1: coming into that business that was heavy because it follows

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Speaker 1: us everywhere is strong black woman myth. And I think

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Speaker 1: the simplest offer that I attempt to give black women

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Speaker 1: that I worked with in the music industry, especially because

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Speaker 1: we all have our different plights. Whether you're an artist

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Speaker 1: and a creative, you know that strong black woman moniker

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Speaker 1: follows you. If you're a black woman executive, it really

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Speaker 1: really follows you. If you are a rising executive and

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Speaker 1: you're just kind of starting out you feel like you

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Speaker 1: have to present in a particular way and fall into

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Speaker 1: the traps of this strong black woman moniker to be

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Speaker 1: taken seriously. And what I attempt to offer, especially those

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Speaker 1: who I work with, is at least for an hour

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Speaker 1: a week or however often we interact with one another,

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Speaker 1: this is a space that you get to come and

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Speaker 1: just be. And that is the reason that I need

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Speaker 1: my company just be consulting, because I wanted everyone that

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Speaker 1: I come across, everyone that I support, to know that

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Speaker 1: no matter what it is you have to present to

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Speaker 1: the world, no matter how you get pulled or what

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00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:41,040
Speaker 1: you know that double consciousness that we have to fight

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Speaker 1: through as black folks, that here and the time that

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Speaker 1: we spend together, you truly, truly, truly get to just be.

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Speaker 1: And that looks a lot of different ways depending on

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Speaker 1: the moment. So if you need to come and it

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Speaker 1: and cress out somebody, you can do that. If you

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Speaker 1: just have to cry and lay your burdens down by

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Speaker 1: the riverside and just have someone hold the space for that,

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Speaker 1: you get to do that. If you've got a problem

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Speaker 1: solved and brainstorm and think through some stuff because you're

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Speaker 1: trying to figure out your exit to a certain particular situation.

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Speaker 1: We get to do that. But whatever it is, I

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Speaker 1: know that you have a person in a space that

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Speaker 1: you can come and just feed, which even though it

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00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,640
Speaker 1: sounds really simple, the feedback that I've gotten is that

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Speaker 1: we are now doing it radically, but the society hasn't

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00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:44,760
Speaker 1: created a space. We've had to make a space and

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Speaker 1: take charge of commanding that space to just feed. And

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Speaker 1: so I'm grateful for that. You have lots of great ideas,

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Speaker 1: and it sounds like you do incredibly impactful work with

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Speaker 1: the people that you work with. I'd love to hear

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Speaker 1: if you have some thoughts of like how labels and

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00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:03,960
Speaker 1: the music industry as a whole can do a better

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Speaker 1: job of creating safer spaces for black women and more

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Speaker 1: to actually protect black women in the industry. I say

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Speaker 1: call me because what we're doing is absolutely I'm a

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Speaker 1: black woman and it is my mission and the reason

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Speaker 1: now often tell people I didn't get license, I didn't

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Speaker 1: go through all the school that school and that we

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00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:33,879
Speaker 1: have to go through and the team hours of free

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Speaker 1: work that we have to give. I didn't do this

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Speaker 1: for me, I did this for us. I really am

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Speaker 1: clear on my mission which is supporting entertainment as a whole,

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Speaker 1: with providing a space that protects and serves the artists

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Speaker 1: and the staff members and the executives in which make

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Speaker 1: this machine. So I believe that music labels, production companies,

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00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:11,960
Speaker 1: management companies really really take a serious look, especially now

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00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:16,840
Speaker 1: with the pandemic and the uncertainty that's going around and

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00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,760
Speaker 1: all the residual impact that the last two and a

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00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,359
Speaker 1: half three years have given us, really really take a

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00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:29,000
Speaker 1: strong look in creating a budget for having many in

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Speaker 1: house mental health and wellness services because it makes a

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00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:37,320
Speaker 1: huge difference. And I know that many companies will say, well,

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00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:40,200
Speaker 1: we have it a part of our insurance package where

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00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:45,440
Speaker 1: people can utilize mental health and wellness services, which is beautiful.

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00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,879
Speaker 1: But there's something about being able to not have to

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00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:50,959
Speaker 1: go through the red tape that you have to go

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00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,480
Speaker 1: through when you're attempting to look for a therapists, but

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00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,040
Speaker 1: also having someone that you can call that you don't

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00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:01,880
Speaker 1: have to wait two weeks or to the following week.

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00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,440
Speaker 1: Myself and my team were really hands on and we're

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00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:09,119
Speaker 1: really accessible, and that's what the in house approach provides.

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00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,959
Speaker 1: It provides you that if you're having a moment, you

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00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 1: can give one of us a call because we worked

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00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:19,240
Speaker 1: collaboratively as a team and say hey, I'm having a

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00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:25,119
Speaker 1: moment and we're here. I go to the offices. I'm

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00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,840
Speaker 1: primarily on Zoom, so I can support as many people

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00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,320
Speaker 1: as I can. But when I go into the office,

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00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,080
Speaker 1: I'm able to say, hey, check it in on you,

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00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:38,320
Speaker 1: what's up, You're good? Cool. That's the reason I'm here

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00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,240
Speaker 1: and filling now is because I also travel and go

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00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:46,880
Speaker 1: on site with my clients. So I had four clients

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00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,800
Speaker 1: performing this weekend, and I was able to tap in

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00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,200
Speaker 1: with each one of them and say, yo, you're good.

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00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 1: It's those little things that make such a huge difference

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00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:04,399
Speaker 1: and unfortunate league when your therapists is an outside provider,

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00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,840
Speaker 1: they don't have that level of intimacy. I joke with

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00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:12,000
Speaker 1: people that I've done therapy and strip clubs. I've done

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00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,280
Speaker 1: therapy at the club, I've done therapy at the studio.

434
00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:21,080
Speaker 1: The breath of places that have become an office to

435
00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:25,320
Speaker 1: myself or my team. We can't get that in a

436
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:30,280
Speaker 1: outside provider or out of network provider, and so it's

437
00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:35,199
Speaker 1: really important and I really invite companies to start taking

438
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,800
Speaker 1: a look at in house, because it matters. It makes

439
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,640
Speaker 1: a difference for everyone involved. More from my conversation with

440
00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:55,440
Speaker 1: Serita after the break. So I'm curious Rita, because I

441
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:59,520
Speaker 1: know sometimes there tends to be some tension when services

442
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,479
Speaker 1: like this are brought in house. Right, so you are

443
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:05,840
Speaker 1: employed by the record label, and so are their concerns

444
00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:09,720
Speaker 1: around like how you set up like confidentiality and how

445
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,560
Speaker 1: do you navigate making sure your artists can trust that

446
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:14,800
Speaker 1: what they say stays with you as opposed to oh

447
00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,600
Speaker 1: is she reporting back to the manager? Like how do

448
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,680
Speaker 1: you navigate all of that? It's a conversation, and it's

449
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:24,400
Speaker 1: not just one conversation, it's an on fline conversation, and

450
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:29,880
Speaker 1: my team and I strive to help everyone involved understand

451
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,600
Speaker 1: what our role is and what our lane is. And

452
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:36,720
Speaker 1: so yes, I may wear multiple hats, but at the

453
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,280
Speaker 1: time that I'm speaking, it's who's in front of me,

454
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:42,920
Speaker 1: who was the person that I'm talking to. You are

455
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:49,880
Speaker 1: my client and for me, it's really important for artists,

456
00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:54,320
Speaker 1: staff members, executives, whomever to understand that what you say

457
00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,120
Speaker 1: to me, or what you say to one of the

458
00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:02,560
Speaker 1: therapists on my team, it's onlyly for us, and no

459
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,240
Speaker 1: one else will hear unless that is something that you want.

460
00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,080
Speaker 1: If that's your request, we can totally do that. And

461
00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,160
Speaker 1: what I attempt to do at the beginning is set

462
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:14,200
Speaker 1: the foundation and helping people understand like, yes, I may

463
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:18,880
Speaker 1: be paid through the label, but I am not an

464
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:25,360
Speaker 1: employee of the label. I work for myself and I

465
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,480
Speaker 1: am in service to you. What I will do and

466
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,480
Speaker 1: what I do make clear in the kind of get

467
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,240
Speaker 1: to know you and report building phase is that if

468
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,160
Speaker 1: I hear something or someone on my team here something.

469
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:41,000
Speaker 1: We call it the rule of three. If we hear

470
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:45,880
Speaker 1: something from someone that we're working with a client and

471
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:50,720
Speaker 1: it's consistent three times across the board, then we will

472
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:54,280
Speaker 1: bring it to say the executive team and say, hey,

473
00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:57,320
Speaker 1: we've heard this. I just want to let you know.

474
00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:00,920
Speaker 1: We're not disclosing who it comes from. And we don't

475
00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,960
Speaker 1: even disclose who we work with. We don't let the

476
00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:09,440
Speaker 1: label know, oh, we're working with this staff member. We

477
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:15,080
Speaker 1: assign everyone a number and it's like this is the number,

478
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:17,960
Speaker 1: and this is the amount of times in the month

479
00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:22,440
Speaker 1: that this number met with us. And so even being

480
00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:25,720
Speaker 1: able to keep the confidentiality of the label doesn't know

481
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:30,080
Speaker 1: who on the team we work with. That information never

482
00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:33,320
Speaker 1: comes from us, not even the artists, and so we

483
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:36,239
Speaker 1: just make sure that they know, Okay, everyone has an

484
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:38,760
Speaker 1: ID number and based on that I D number, that's

485
00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:42,200
Speaker 1: how we do our negotiations. So I love for you

486
00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:44,680
Speaker 1: to tell me anything else that you haven't shared about

487
00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:48,360
Speaker 1: your consulting agency. So did you start the consulting agency

488
00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:50,600
Speaker 1: after you started with L B R in or was

489
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,200
Speaker 1: it the other way around? It was definitely the other

490
00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:57,480
Speaker 1: way around. I probably went to, like I said, four

491
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:01,400
Speaker 1: or five different labels before you are end said yes,

492
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:04,360
Speaker 1: and thank goodness, some of those labels have circled back around.

493
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,680
Speaker 1: It was like, mmmm, let's re visit that idea that

494
00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:09,640
Speaker 1: you had that you brought to us, and so I'm

495
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:14,360
Speaker 1: grateful for that. But it was birth about five and

496
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:19,280
Speaker 1: a half six years ago. There were actually for deaths

497
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:24,080
Speaker 1: that really impacted me in the entertainment industry. One was

498
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:27,160
Speaker 1: a music executive by the name of Chris Litty who

499
00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:31,560
Speaker 1: was beloved in the music industry. And then the untimely

500
00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:35,920
Speaker 1: death of Whitney Houston really kind of shook me. Um

501
00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:38,480
Speaker 1: was like, what is really going on in this industry?

502
00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:41,480
Speaker 1: What's happening? And then any wine House was another one

503
00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,880
Speaker 1: that impacted me as well. And then the death of

504
00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 1: one of My Honey's mentors, Don Cornelius, when he transitioned

505
00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:55,640
Speaker 1: those for That's why I was like, there's something happening

506
00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:59,640
Speaker 1: in this industry and these are people, all four of

507
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:05,080
Speaker 1: them gave a tremendous amount to this industry, and what's

508
00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:08,080
Speaker 1: going on? What are we missing? And so that was

509
00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:11,600
Speaker 1: the battery that that was put in my back at

510
00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:14,760
Speaker 1: that moment. And then just be was born out of

511
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:18,760
Speaker 1: that and realizing that so many artists and so many

512
00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:25,880
Speaker 1: executives give so much of themselves two our entertainment to

513
00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:31,400
Speaker 1: a art form in a world that we love and

514
00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:34,600
Speaker 1: we cherish, and I felt like it was time for

515
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,120
Speaker 1: us to take care of them and see if we

516
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:40,960
Speaker 1: can minimize or reduce the amount of people that we

517
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,960
Speaker 1: lose in this industry that they love so much. Thank

518
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,440
Speaker 1: you for that. I appreciate you sharing the story behind it,

519
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:50,080
Speaker 1: so I know that this made me a difficult question

520
00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:52,880
Speaker 1: for you, given your very long history of low and

521
00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:56,640
Speaker 1: love for music. But since we're celebrating Black music appreciation move,

522
00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:59,760
Speaker 1: I'd love for you to share one song that you

523
00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:02,720
Speaker 1: feel like has eat it in your development and growth

524
00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:07,000
Speaker 1: as a black woman. That's actually easy. And I actually

525
00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:12,360
Speaker 1: want to give a beautiful shout out to my mentor.

526
00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:16,640
Speaker 1: She is actually one of the founders and architects for

527
00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:20,920
Speaker 1: Black Music Month. Her name is Diana Williams, and she

528
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:25,560
Speaker 1: has an extensive history in the music industry, especially here

529
00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:29,560
Speaker 1: in Philly. I'm so grateful to her because she has

530
00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:33,759
Speaker 1: paved the way for Black music to be appreciated as

531
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,120
Speaker 1: a month, but also has paved the way for the

532
00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:39,920
Speaker 1: work that I do. But the song that I would

533
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:44,879
Speaker 1: listen to every day in graduate school was Closer by

534
00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:51,560
Speaker 1: a Gappola, and the words to that song just motivated

535
00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:55,200
Speaker 1: me that I was getting closer to my dreams of

536
00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:58,680
Speaker 1: doing this work and being a really small part in

537
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:03,920
Speaker 1: healing the souls of black people. What a beautiful choice.

538
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:06,719
Speaker 1: That's one of my favorite songs too, So I appreciate

539
00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:10,960
Speaker 1: you sharing that with us. So, who's on your playing

540
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,359
Speaker 1: this right now? Like what black women artists are you

541
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:15,360
Speaker 1: listening to that you want to put on our radar.

542
00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:21,000
Speaker 1: I love Summer Walker's work, I love Snow and Lagos work.

543
00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:25,560
Speaker 1: I'm a huge fan of Jasmine Sullivan, huge fan of

544
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:30,319
Speaker 1: our Limits. I think They're really speaking to a lot

545
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:34,480
Speaker 1: of the things that we as black women are going

546
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:38,399
Speaker 1: through in different parts of our journey, and so I'm

547
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,960
Speaker 1: really grateful to them for their voices and then finding

548
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:46,360
Speaker 1: their voices in the world that has been not always

549
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:49,680
Speaker 1: kind to them. Well, those are great choices. So, I mean,

550
00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:54,480
Speaker 1: that's a pretty solid to play this. So where can

551
00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:56,920
Speaker 1: we find out more about all the incredible work that

552
00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,279
Speaker 1: you're doing, Serita? What is your website as well as

553
00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:02,120
Speaker 1: any social media handles you'd like to share. So my

554
00:36:02,239 --> 00:36:07,320
Speaker 1: website is just be Consulting and it's the letter B

555
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:13,319
Speaker 1: just to be Consulting a dot net. My instagram is

556
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:18,240
Speaker 1: sorta be also my initial my last name is Butler,

557
00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:22,799
Speaker 1: so sorta B m f T is my Instagram. So

558
00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:27,040
Speaker 1: that is my public page. Shout out to Theory Communications.

559
00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:30,560
Speaker 1: They tell me often like, Okay, it's great that you

560
00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,760
Speaker 1: have a private page, but you need a business page.

561
00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:37,800
Speaker 1: So I am truly an analog girl in the digital world.

562
00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:42,160
Speaker 1: So it is very, very very difficult for me to

563
00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:47,719
Speaker 1: thrust myself into the world of social media, but I

564
00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:51,879
Speaker 1: also understand the the benefits of it. I much prefer

565
00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,160
Speaker 1: to be in the background. That's what feels most authentic

566
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:59,000
Speaker 1: to me, but I also recognize the importance of having

567
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:03,600
Speaker 1: your voice be heard well right, right, Well, we're happy

568
00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:05,320
Speaker 1: you shared a little bit of it with us, so

569
00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:08,000
Speaker 1: thank you so much for that. Thank you for having

570
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:13,319
Speaker 1: me dr join. I'm so glad Serena was able to

571
00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:16,280
Speaker 1: share her expertise with us today. To learn more about

572
00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:18,560
Speaker 1: her and her work, be sure to visit the show

573
00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:21,480
Speaker 1: notes at Therapy for Black Girls dot com slash session

574
00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:24,080
Speaker 1: to sixty four, and be sure to text two of

575
00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:26,239
Speaker 1: your girls and tell them to check out the episode

576
00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:29,400
Speaker 1: right now. If you're looking for a therapist in your area,

577
00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:32,600
Speaker 1: make sure to check out our therapist directory at Therapy

578
00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:35,719
Speaker 1: for Black Girls dot com slash directory. And if you

579
00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,279
Speaker 1: want to continue digging into this topic or just be

580
00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:41,200
Speaker 1: in community with other sisters, come on over and join

581
00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:43,920
Speaker 1: us in the Sister Circle. It's our cozy corner of

582
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,960
Speaker 1: the Internet designed just for black women. You can join

583
00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:50,640
Speaker 1: us at community dot Therapy for Black Girls dot com.

584
00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:53,720
Speaker 1: This episode was produced by Freda Lucas and Alice Ellis

585
00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:57,120
Speaker 1: and editing was done by Dennis and Bradford. Thank you

586
00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:59,400
Speaker 1: all so much for joining me again this week. I

587
00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:02,000
Speaker 1: look forward to continue in this conversation with you all

588
00:38:02,239 --> 00:38:11,400
Speaker 1: real soon take it care what M