Speaker 1: R and B Money.
Speaker 2: We are.
Speaker 1: Take BLOCHI. We are the authority on all things R
Speaker 1: and D ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank Valentin
Speaker 1: and this is the rmy Money podcast. This sorry on
Speaker 1: no Things R N B Oh. Yeah? Is it in
Speaker 1: your soul?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Yeah? You feel it? Can you can you feel it?
Speaker 4: Can you feel it?
Speaker 3: Is you?
Speaker 1: Multi talented man? How can you write? Can you sing it?
Speaker 1: Can you act it? Is it jazzy? Is it?
Speaker 4: Can we tap.
Speaker 1: Into that to the renaissance? Yeah? Doesn't make you rise?
Speaker 4: Doesn't make you.
Speaker 5: Thank you?
Speaker 4: Man?
Speaker 1: You're like you're like so cool. Like your energy is
Speaker 1: like it's like the best energy in terms of how
Speaker 1: you make people feel welcome, how you make people feel
Speaker 1: like you care, how you make like it's like certain
Speaker 1: people have that, you know what I mean, where it's
Speaker 1: like this nurturing kind of instinctive like you're not it's
Speaker 1: just you, you know what I mean? Like like even
Speaker 1: your in your essence when you walk by and your smells.
Speaker 4: I dont want to hang out of her house.
Speaker 2: It does smell good.
Speaker 1: I'm like, what is that essence where I just kind
Speaker 1: of want to, you know, hang out of her house,
Speaker 1: Like it's some beads at your house. Yeah, there's a
Speaker 1: felt you know, there's a jaguar somewhere.
Speaker 2: There's definitely the palasanto and the candles.
Speaker 3: And.
Speaker 1: It's just for me, like that's how I was raised,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, And those things like kind
Speaker 1: of just defined my childhood from it being my grandmother,
Speaker 1: my great grandmother, my mother, my cousin, my uncle, my
Speaker 1: great all in all in one house. I felt that
Speaker 1: I felt that energy and that love and that spirituality,
Speaker 1: and you just you carry that with you everywhere.
Speaker 5: Thank you. That's listen, no.
Speaker 1: Matter what you got on jeans, right now, you got this.
Speaker 1: It's the whole.
Speaker 5: I also have a broken ail.
Speaker 2: I would like to start this whole thing by just
Speaker 2: admitting it so I don't have to hide my hands.
Speaker 5: I was thinking about doing the whole.
Speaker 2: Podcast because because the thing is that you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, or just to hit you with what I mean. No,
Speaker 2: I did, bro, that's so random to say that. I
Speaker 2: was literally with rants the other day and I'm terrible,
Speaker 2: I'm trash.
Speaker 5: He's like, you play.
Speaker 2: I was like, no, I was a ballerina, but you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, drop a little three you know
Speaker 2: what I mean.
Speaker 1: Drop a little ballerina that would drop a little tree.
Speaker 1: Listen the terminology lets you further know that's not really
Speaker 1: her thing. Yeah, I drop a little thing.
Speaker 4: Shot exactly down, mom.
Speaker 2: So no, no playing ball. That just they betrayed me today.
Speaker 2: So this is where we're at.
Speaker 1: So you said you you you're a ballerina.
Speaker 5: I was. Yeah, I danced for like twenty two years.
Speaker 6: I was. I danced for twenty two years.
Speaker 1: That's how talented people thought. I didn't. That's how talented
Speaker 1: people say. It's a miss stint in my life for
Speaker 1: a year. I doubt I don't. I don't understand that
Speaker 1: it is.
Speaker 5: A Fortnite the.
Speaker 1: London, England. They know who I am. Okay, fortnit it back?
Speaker 1: Do you use it?
Speaker 5: Do you you know? I have it for a while.
Speaker 2: But I actually did decide on this album cycle I
Speaker 2: do want to incorporate dance more. I miss it, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, Like it's like exercise regular for me.
Speaker 2: I enjoy it, but dancing is what it's still a
Speaker 2: passion of mine.
Speaker 4: I would love Yeah, I am definitely to.
Speaker 1: See you on stage doing that, Like I would love
Speaker 1: to see a performance with that incorporated. Like always like
Speaker 1: like like my daughter she modern, yeah, all of that,
Speaker 1: all of that from Harlem School of the Arts, professional
Speaker 1: for more or like all of that, she has all
Speaker 1: of that. I'm like, we have to use.
Speaker 5: All of it. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, like.
Speaker 1: Singing Pink on stage doing all of their so Lacey,
Speaker 1: it's crazy.
Speaker 2: So it's interesting too, because I think we're kind of taught,
Speaker 2: especially in music. It's like you have to do it
Speaker 2: a certain way. But I also feel like now it's
Speaker 2: like the wild West, you know what I mean. I
Speaker 2: look at even this album and like all the art
Speaker 2: and the stuff surrounding it, the activations, I look at
Speaker 2: it as like installations, right, our installations. So I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 2: of course you can incorporate dance, and it doesn't just
Speaker 2: have to look like this and be a routine with
Speaker 2: you know, certain costumes. It can be more interpreted, it
Speaker 2: can like play with the music a little more.
Speaker 5: So I agree.
Speaker 2: I think using everything is actually a lot more engaging
Speaker 2: and interesting for the I like stuff like that, So
Speaker 2: I want to like give that to people.
Speaker 4: You know what I'm saying, I'm gonna need you to do.
Speaker 5: Okay, chop you go ahead, because absolutely not Okay.
Speaker 1: I was going to say no to you. Don't have
Speaker 1: to say that.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 5: The energy and your big time.
Speaker 1: I would love I would love for you to dance
Speaker 1: in the piece.
Speaker 2: Yes for me, Yes, I definitely plan on doing that. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so you're going yes, that's a yes for sure?
Speaker 1: Yeah for for me? For me?
Speaker 2: Oh really, okay, I would do that. Yeah, that would
Speaker 2: be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: I think that would be crazy. I have just the thing. Okay,
Speaker 1: it's so opposite, but it would be so dope.
Speaker 5: Oh, I love that.
Speaker 2: I can see you visualizing it to be money.
Speaker 5: So I already knows what happened, gone, and.
Speaker 1: I got your permission already. He has all the dance
Speaker 1: sh it in his head. I can't my body.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, you can bring your elbows together.
Speaker 1: Even I didn't know either, just now, can you?
Speaker 2: I could definitely bring my albols together. I'm not buffing on. Yeah,
Speaker 2: pretty pretty tested.
Speaker 6: Okay, it's very easy.
Speaker 1: I didn't know I couldn't do it. Can you do it?
Speaker 5: That's crazy?
Speaker 1: These niggas.
Speaker 5: You feel bad?
Speaker 1: Right, there's no drug testing, R and B music.
Speaker 4: Okay, no rules.
Speaker 1: From trying to stay young. Let's do this. Let's go
Speaker 1: back to the beginning. I start thinking, let's go the
Speaker 1: beginning San Diego Southeast Southeast. That's so like, listen, listen, listen,
Speaker 1: it ain't sweet. I've been Nick Cannon is down, Mitchie
Speaker 1: Slick is the home I'm going on. Yeah, I'm surprised
Speaker 1: you can come in green today.
Speaker 5: No, look, there are a lot of colors out there though.
Speaker 5: For sure. That's definitely yes.
Speaker 1: So when when did you discover or when did someone
Speaker 1: discover just kind of identify that, you know, you had
Speaker 1: something something different.
Speaker 2: I mean I went I think actually when I was
Speaker 2: fairly young. I was like about six years old. I
Speaker 2: think I started dancing when I was like five, so
Speaker 2: that was first. But my parents discovering that I could sing,
Speaker 2: I was like six years old. I was just singing Whitney.
Speaker 2: I think I was singing a Whitney song and that
Speaker 2: just they told me. They just remember me singing the
Speaker 2: song and being like, oh, she kind of sound like
Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying, Like she's hitting the notes,
Speaker 2: she's doing you know what I mean. But my father
Speaker 2: actually has a really nice voice, and so does my mother,
Speaker 2: but my mom's too shy, and you know what I mean.
Speaker 5: My dad, he was in the service you know what
Speaker 5: I mean.
Speaker 2: So that was like the first time, and then I
Speaker 2: went to a performing arts school starting in the sixth grade.
Speaker 2: It was like six to two senior year actually, same school. Yeah,
Speaker 2: same school the whole time. It was actually really cool
Speaker 2: just because like you know, you use the word nurture,
Speaker 2: and they did. They really nurtured just the creative arts.
Speaker 2: It was a performing arts school, so we did shows,
Speaker 2: we did plays, you know, I learned I did jazz,
Speaker 2: vocal production, and classical and danced there as well too.
Speaker 2: So it was at a fairly fairly young age six
Speaker 2: and then really kind of dove into things when I
Speaker 2: was like around ten eleven.
Speaker 6: So did you decide to go or did your parents
Speaker 6: let you decide to go to performing arts school or
Speaker 6: was that something that was sought after?
Speaker 2: I think it was always So I went to it's
Speaker 2: what's called a feeder school. I went to a school
Speaker 2: called Valencia Park. Shoutout a VP, but I went to
Speaker 2: a feeder school. It was like a few feater schools
Speaker 2: in San Diego, Zamorano, Oak Park. Valencia Park was one
Speaker 2: of them. Oh fair well, and so it was just
Speaker 2: kind of always a known thing. I always loved dancing.
Speaker 2: I always loved performing and I heard I knew about SEPA,
Speaker 2: My parents knew about SEPA School for Creative and Performing Arts,
Speaker 2: and so it was kind of natural. I went to
Speaker 2: Valencia Park and it was a feeder school for that
Speaker 2: performing arts school. I did dance at VP as well too,
Speaker 2: and so it's always.
Speaker 5: Been a thing.
Speaker 2: I don't know, I can't really pinpoint a moment of
Speaker 2: like this is I'm gonna do this, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean? It just has always been always. My parents
Speaker 2: have always loved music, They've always loved the arts. So
Speaker 2: I just think like it was always there was never
Speaker 2: really a plan b EXCEP. For one time, I wanted
Speaker 2: to be a palaeontologist and then they were like you
Speaker 2: should keep singing, and I was like all right, I know.
Speaker 1: I just was.
Speaker 5: Dinosaurs. I was just like, oh my god, this is amazing.
Speaker 1: Do they have dinosaurs in San Diego?
Speaker 5: They have a great they have a great zoo.
Speaker 4: I was like, amazing zoo.
Speaker 2: They But did you know your mind, like when you're young,
Speaker 2: I'm idiotd my mind go on tangents. I'd be like,
Speaker 2: I'm a lawyer, you know what I mean. But and
Speaker 2: I just like dinosaurs. But then they were like, well,
Speaker 2: mainly you're just gonna have to dig through a bunch
Speaker 2: of dirt to find these skeletons. I was like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 2: you're right, I'm gonna just sing and I'm gonna singing dance,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: That's the only other thing you've ever wanted to do well.
Speaker 5: When I was that age, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2: Now I have, like there's a lot of companies and
Speaker 2: a lot of things that I'm doing and want to
Speaker 2: do so Andvies became one of those things, producing movies, writing,
Speaker 2: co directing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but you were in like it's like my daughter
Speaker 1: the same way, like getting this space where it's almost
Speaker 1: like early college where you're where you're like you're hyper
Speaker 1: focused on that thing. Like, yeah, I was supposed to
Speaker 1: go to a school, you know, uh performing our school,
Speaker 1: but they didn't have a football team.
Speaker 2: Mine didn't either. But because we didn't have a football team,
Speaker 2: you were allowed to play for other schools in the area,
Speaker 2: Like you could choose. So if I wanted to play for.
Speaker 1: In high school, yea and high school, yeah.
Speaker 5: That's like Lincoln Park, I could play for Lincoln.
Speaker 6: It was two man niggas walking around smoking cigarettes with
Speaker 6: church for me to go to school to the arts.
Speaker 2: I was like, I want to say, that's completely inaccurate, but.
Speaker 1: Right, I don't know what y'all doing.
Speaker 3: I was.
Speaker 4: No football.
Speaker 1: You can pick though, at least in California. I didn't know. Yeah,
Speaker 1: in California it's like Maryland.
Speaker 6: So if you go it was if you go to
Speaker 6: a school of the yards, the un lets, you pick
Speaker 6: what high school you want to.
Speaker 1: Play sports for everything.
Speaker 6: Yeah, so we'll still get the experience, okay, because you
Speaker 6: don't you know, you can't be with the band niggas
Speaker 6: and the hoop team.
Speaker 1: It can't be all. Yeah. I just needed a different experience.
Speaker 1: My high school was horrible, fire shooting. We played football
Speaker 1: in basketball was like y'all gated No, we was gated up.
Speaker 1: They had it was east Side High the front of
Speaker 1: the school, no front of we had. We had chains
Speaker 1: on the door so you can get out of one door.
Speaker 1: But you know what I'm saying, you knew what that was. No,
Speaker 1: it was different. But see I was also the church kid,
Speaker 1: so you know what I'm saying that all the people
Speaker 1: was like, you know they love me. You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying it was like blessings.
Speaker 2: That the one door.
Speaker 1: Protect right protector in these church that say protect They
Speaker 1: needed me because I was the prayer royer. So at
Speaker 1: what point do you say it should be a profession,
Speaker 1: because even as you're being groomed in this space, it's
Speaker 1: still just you know, it's still just love at this point,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, It's still just.
Speaker 5: It's still it's definitely love.
Speaker 2: But I think the school that I went to, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, it was singing at home, singing
Speaker 2: in church, singing in school, like and but it was
Speaker 2: such The school was amazing, honestly, you know, you really
Speaker 2: got familiar with putting on a stage show.
Speaker 5: It was Broadway focused. That was amazing.
Speaker 2: And I have friends, amazing friends. A good friend of my,
Speaker 2: Shandra Prophet, made it all the way to Broadway. She's
Speaker 2: in The Lion King, you know, and so so it
Speaker 2: was kind of really geared toward that. And you got
Speaker 2: to see the whole production, and you got to do
Speaker 2: the music and the dancing and you know, learn the lines.
Speaker 2: But the kids did also the production. They did behind
Speaker 2: the scenes, you know what I mean, They were the
Speaker 2: lighting tesests. Yeah, it was really it was really like
Speaker 2: all encompassing. So so the school kind of geared you
Speaker 2: toward doing that as a profession, you know. I think
Speaker 2: for me, it was just like do I want to dance?
Speaker 2: Do I want to do Broadway? Or do I want
Speaker 2: to And I think around the age of sixteen, I
Speaker 2: was really clear that I was like, now I really
Speaker 2: want to be a recording artist, Like I want to
Speaker 2: write my own music. I want to I like the
Speaker 2: idea of creating and kind of forging my own path,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. So, plus, I was like,
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna lie to you. I was like, how
Speaker 2: much do you get paid not being a principal on Broadway?
Speaker 2: I was like, I'm good. This is R and B money, right, Yeah, No,
Speaker 2: So it was cool. I love like it was just
Speaker 2: the passion of creating things, making things and just you know,
Speaker 2: I just loved, you know, the work of so many
Speaker 2: artists and that really inspired me. And so I'm like, okay, cool,
Speaker 2: they're writers, those people are making their music there, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, And that's that's what I want
Speaker 2: to do.
Speaker 6: This It was about like sixteen, any things that you
Speaker 6: were connected to in San Diego that kind of gave
Speaker 6: you an inkling of what the business was.
Speaker 5: M that's a good question.
Speaker 2: Things that I was connected to, oh you know, but
Speaker 2: again it was still more theater based. Like there was
Speaker 2: a there was a theater that I would do during
Speaker 2: the summertimes. It was called like Theatre Noir, and there
Speaker 2: was this director and he would just put on shows.
Speaker 5: He did Fame.
Speaker 2: I did Fame there, I did uh Boogie Knights, which
Speaker 2: is just kind of like a Medley show. I met
Speaker 2: some managers. I went to a few studios. I actually
Speaker 2: used to record with a few producers out there. Actually,
Speaker 2: if you know San Diego is on Peter pan Av
Speaker 2: If you don't Skyline, I don't know Peter. That's good, no,
Speaker 2: But uh yeah, so I don't know, you know, I
Speaker 2: don't know that there were things that gave me an inkling.
Speaker 2: I was just very I was obsessed with it, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean. So I feel like I was
Speaker 2: looking up stuff all the time.
Speaker 6: And because I asked you that, because going to school
Speaker 6: of the arts, right, and I think people feel as
Speaker 6: if from putting their kids in these types of schools,
Speaker 6: obviously you learn the arts, yeah, but then at some
Speaker 6: point you got to learn the business.
Speaker 2: Business Yeah, the business was definitely on the ground, like
Speaker 2: that was experience, you know what I mean. I feel
Speaker 2: like there were things in San Diego, but there were things.
Speaker 2: There was just some things that when you want to
Speaker 2: be a part of this your whole life, you know.
Speaker 2: But again, I'm looking at it from the other side, right,
Speaker 2: things are so different now. But it was like a
Speaker 2: record label is the best thing to have, and you've
Speaker 2: got to get a manager and you gotta you know
Speaker 2: what I mean. So it was like trying to find
Speaker 2: people in San Diego, and I had like a manager
Speaker 2: out there, but he was kind of an unofficial manager,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 5: And so I don't know.
Speaker 2: It's kind of funny because figuring it out on the
Speaker 2: ground kind of you have good experiences like I won't
Speaker 2: I feel like it made my skin a little bit thicker, sure,
Speaker 2: but then you also have experiences that you're like, I
Speaker 2: don't want my kids to go to and I don't
Speaker 2: want you know what I'm saying. Like, so, but that
Speaker 2: was it was just I always wanted it. So it
Speaker 2: was like wherever I have to go, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, and whatever I have to do. I would
Speaker 2: kind of try to get money together to travel up
Speaker 2: to La as much as I could, you know, to sing, and.
Speaker 5: You know, I was telling people.
Speaker 2: I was like the thing at a certain time was
Speaker 2: like you get into a party and then you got
Speaker 2: to meet somebody famous, so you can get them you're down,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, Like that's what you would think,
Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying, Or printing CDs and I
Speaker 2: would sell them on the beach in San Diego or
Speaker 2: like you know.
Speaker 5: So it's just whatever I did the whole thing, that's why.
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh yeah, definitely. And I put on like shows
Speaker 2: I did something at it's actually the Grove in Anaheim.
Speaker 2: I remember at the time I was opening for it
Speaker 2: was like San Diego. So I was opening for Polladanda
Speaker 2: and Baby Bash like that whole exactly.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So, and I had to put everything together, had to
Speaker 2: do the booking. I was kind of like my own
Speaker 2: promo person and was hoping to meet people through that.
Speaker 2: Put together the background singers and the show and the
Speaker 2: track and the all of the promo materials.
Speaker 5: And you know.
Speaker 2: So it's like it's really when I try to recap it,
Speaker 2: it's really like it's there's a lot of tentacles. It's
Speaker 2: really nebulous because it was just like, cool, if this good, I'm.
Speaker 5: Gonna go do that.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
Speaker 5: It's probably a long way around, but.
Speaker 1: Well no, it's it's actually like you didn't skip. You
Speaker 1: just didn't skip. No steps, no steps. Yeah, it's some
Speaker 1: little steps.
Speaker 2: Soon steps and then going to like you know, they
Speaker 2: used to have the like modeling agencies and the acting agencies,
Speaker 2: the John Robert Powers and what's the other one, what's
Speaker 2: the Casablanca or whatever.
Speaker 1: It's just a cattle call people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, when you're young, you just this is this. Every
Speaker 2: opportunity felt like the opportunity and the big shot.
Speaker 1: Did you ever go there?
Speaker 6: Yet?
Speaker 1: I got convinced. I got convinced to go to one thing.
Speaker 5: Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1: I stayed for five minutes. I was like, I hell no, broke.
Speaker 4: I did not close.
Speaker 1: I was just like auditioning, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: for for parts. But it's like like a couple of
Speaker 1: auditions I walked in to. You know, of course it's
Speaker 1: a big call, and I'm like when I see the
Speaker 1: big call and I see all these people, I'm like, no,
Speaker 1: I can take that. But then but then you see
Speaker 1: an a lister walk in, You're like, what you doing?
Speaker 1: I'm going on for that party? Like I remember, I
Speaker 1: can't remember who it was. They walked Oh my god,
Speaker 1: who was it they walked in and I walked out.
Speaker 1: I cannot remember who it was. It was. It was
Speaker 1: somebody though it was it was like why I wanted
Speaker 1: to get an autograph. I want to take a picture,
Speaker 1: but we're here for the same spot. So rather than
Speaker 1: like lose my cool, I'm gonna just get on out
Speaker 1: of here because I know, damn well, yeah. I think
Speaker 1: the thing I went to is like he supposed to
Speaker 1: be in the background of something, and I was eighteen.
Speaker 1: It was like, you're going to be in the background
Speaker 1: of some independent movie.
Speaker 6: We're gonna pay you forty dollars.
Speaker 2: I would go to these audition things are like great,
Speaker 2: now all you have to do is pay us seven
Speaker 2: hundred dollars for pictures.
Speaker 1: And I was trying to.
Speaker 2: Be like, I think I have seven dollars, Like it's
Speaker 2: just everybody. It's like again, when you're young like that,
Speaker 2: it's just like every opportunity seems but.
Speaker 6: It also separates who really wanted and who doesn't. I
Speaker 6: didn't want to be that, you know what. I mean,
Speaker 6: it was just another that at that particular moment for me,
Speaker 6: was just a hustle.
Speaker 1: I didn't want to sell more drugs. You know.
Speaker 6: Prison wasn't where I wanted to be. So I'm like, okay,
Speaker 6: I gotta stop selling dope. I'm gonna go out here
Speaker 6: and think I'm gonna be an actor in the back
Speaker 6: of somebody's movie.
Speaker 5: Right, that's real. And that was the thing at the
Speaker 5: time too, You're right. It was for modeling. Acting.
Speaker 2: That wasn't my focus. But I thought, well that could
Speaker 2: be a way into me. I can meet somebody and
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. So it's just all all connected,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean? But now, oh yeah, I
Speaker 2: wrote a song called is It Love?
Speaker 5: Is it love? That makes you feel this way? She
Speaker 5: love Love Love Love. Yeah, it was a song I wrote.
Speaker 6: I was.
Speaker 5: I was probably like I was, oh, you know what.
Speaker 5: That was the first solo song I wrote. I think.
Speaker 5: I was like, well, you were in sixteen. I was
Speaker 5: about to be seventy.
Speaker 2: When I was sixteen, I was in a group with
Speaker 2: like like a few homegirls in high school and we
Speaker 2: were called Intimate, Intimate, Intimate Yeah, now, yeah, so we
Speaker 2: had our little groups. We wrote some things together, but
Speaker 2: the main one I wrote was that that is it
Speaker 2: Love was the first one that I wrote, and I
Speaker 2: was also in actually very very briefly, but it was
Speaker 2: like they weren't really I think the group was kind
Speaker 2: of disbanding at the time.
Speaker 5: But I had auditioned that one of their members was
Speaker 5: leaving for the group. Remember the R and B group
Speaker 5: isis back in the day.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so they one of their members had had left,
Speaker 2: and so they were auditioning people and then I ended
Speaker 2: up getting the part. But we never really did anything
Speaker 2: because I think they were kind of disbanding at this point.
Speaker 5: But yeah, like I said, I was down. I was like,
Speaker 5: I was do it, you know what I mean, Like
Speaker 5: your first.
Speaker 1: Sound way better than mine. Your first song sounded.
Speaker 2: Great, that was definitely ABC.
Speaker 1: That is not giving a b C. That is like
Speaker 1: we should do that, now give it.
Speaker 5: But I didn't know. I wasn't in love. I was like,
Speaker 5: this feel right? Is in love?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 1: Yeah? I wasn't.
Speaker 4: Exactly.
Speaker 5: I was like, you know my favorite I'm gonna put
Speaker 5: this in here. Yeah you know.
Speaker 1: So yeah, so you're going through all these progressions, of course,
Speaker 1: not skipping any steps in anywhere to get it? When when?
Speaker 1: When is when it? Where's your discovery?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so that was I actually started working with this
Speaker 2: manager that which was I will I say names it
Speaker 2: was actually you listen.
Speaker 5: It was a terrible experience, but still some good things
Speaker 5: came from it.
Speaker 2: And so I won't I will say that, but I
Speaker 2: do say that because I always like to remind people
Speaker 2: like those experiences can happen, but they don't have to
Speaker 2: take you out, you know what I'm saying. So, so
Speaker 2: my my big break actually really came through Stevie Wonder
Speaker 2: that he's kind of like like I look at him
Speaker 2: as like my godfather when it comes to the business
Speaker 2: and singing.
Speaker 5: Yes, didn't get expensed.
Speaker 1: So you were in l A at this point though
Speaker 1: you no.
Speaker 2: No, no, I was still in San Diego at the time.
Speaker 2: I was just commuting back and forth, you know, It's like,
Speaker 2: and so I was working with this manager and he
Speaker 2: happened upon actually Kyle Miller Morris who was his wife
Speaker 2: at the time, with Stevens all the time, and they
Speaker 2: were just in a pastry shop, he says, And I
Speaker 2: had come up to La to sing. I was singing
Speaker 2: in front of a couple of songs that I wrote,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. It was kind of like
Speaker 2: a retro soul vibe to it, and I was singing
Speaker 2: a couple of songs I wrote at a rip mall
Speaker 2: and Malibu. I look, we was just still there and
Speaker 2: in front of like some shoe store, and so he
Speaker 2: just had some clips to that.
Speaker 5: So he played it.
Speaker 2: For her while she was in there, and then she
Speaker 2: revealed to him after she saw it. She was like, well,
Speaker 2: I'm actually Stevie Wonder his wife.
Speaker 5: I love this. I want to play it for him,
Speaker 5: you know.
Speaker 2: So she played it for him and he actually really
Speaker 2: liked it, and so they orchestrated a call, which I'm
Speaker 2: in San Diego.
Speaker 5: Let me tell you something.
Speaker 2: I'm in San Diego sitting my mother's entire apartment.
Speaker 5: It was definitely smaller than this room.
Speaker 2: I was like, I was like, it's about the size,
Speaker 2: and this would have been luxury lower the roof closing
Speaker 2: the walls. That's like my mother's spot. So I was
Speaker 2: sleeping on her futon and it was just like a
Speaker 2: tiny little apartment behind seven.
Speaker 5: To eleven, next to a dumpster, you know.
Speaker 2: And then I'm sitting there on the phone with Stevie
Speaker 2: Wonder like, hey, and he's like talking about a certain
Speaker 2: type of song he wants to write and asking me
Speaker 2: about my music. And he was asking me like detailed
Speaker 2: stuff like wow, you know, I think he loved that
Speaker 2: it had like the sort of retro soul and jazzy
Speaker 2: or feel to it, and so we would ask me
Speaker 2: things like how come they're only two minutes long? And
Speaker 2: I love that he clocked that because I loved some
Speaker 2: of the records that I love from Billie Holliday and
Speaker 2: people back in the day were sit order, you know
Speaker 2: what I mean, And I love it was just a taste.
Speaker 2: And then he talked about this song that he wanted
Speaker 2: to do with me. He also asked me what my
Speaker 2: sign was and went into that for a while. And
Speaker 2: then my mother was like, do the dishes, and I
Speaker 2: was like, I'm actually super busy right now, I'm on
Speaker 2: the phone with Stevie.
Speaker 5: So for me, yeah, no, I still.
Speaker 2: So she did not believe me, and right, yeah, and
Speaker 2: I got exactly but no.
Speaker 5: So that was really so.
Speaker 2: But to that point, it didn't end up working out
Speaker 2: at the time, and what I was told was that
Speaker 2: they didn't like you.
Speaker 5: You weren't good enough.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 5: The conversation wasn't good enough us? Okay, you know what
Speaker 5: the music?
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what I was told from the person I
Speaker 2: was working with at the time. So I didn't find
Speaker 2: out until a year later when my idea was up
Speaker 2: with that manager. They held onto my information, Kai and
Speaker 2: Stevie and they reached out to me again and were like, hey,
Speaker 2: we hope you're not still with this person, And they
Speaker 2: explained to me what happened, which is that he told
Speaker 2: them like they have to pay something like fifty thousand
Speaker 2: just to just to meet me in the studio, you know.
Speaker 5: What I mean.
Speaker 2: So I didn't know about that. I just thought I
Speaker 2: wasn't good enough, and it is what it is, you
Speaker 2: know what I'm saying. So I say that because that's
Speaker 2: why I say, like things like that don't have to
Speaker 2: be the end, you know what I mean. Like, so
Speaker 2: they actually introduced me to my producer who did my
Speaker 2: first record, and so that's the rest of us kind
Speaker 2: of like history from there. Yeah, so very grateful.
Speaker 1: God, Yeah, I just that's just that's the unfortunate part
Speaker 1: of this business. Just sometimes we just we go through
Speaker 1: things like that with people who just have very heartless
Speaker 1: individuals in this business, and you know, I attribute it
Speaker 1: to them just not having any talent, not having any gifts. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and so when it becomes a thing where you'll do
Speaker 1: anything for money, like you that's the thing, you'll do
Speaker 1: anything to people, Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2: And I think sphere, I think it's really truthfully, at
Speaker 2: the root of it is a fear based you know
Speaker 2: what I'm saying, Like you just don't you have to
Speaker 2: get yours by any means necessary, and you don't think
Speaker 2: you'll ever have something or you don't you got to
Speaker 2: hold on to it because you're scared if you lose it,
Speaker 2: and all this stuff as well. I think it's definitely
Speaker 2: like a fear thing, you know what I'm saying, Like,
Speaker 2: which I think is what kind of like makes me
Speaker 2: have empathy, you feel me Like, I go, all right, cool,
Speaker 2: I could sit and be mad at this person and
Speaker 2: be like but I'm like, you know what, You're just scared,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, And that's where you're operating from.
Speaker 2: So I hope you God willing, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 2: by his grace, I hope you find a way.
Speaker 5: Out of that, you know what I mean. Yeah, So I.
Speaker 7: Haven't take that however you want to.
Speaker 1: Squashing, I don't wish you well, that's a balance, I
Speaker 1: get it. That is our balance.
Speaker 5: That's why this works. I like exactly.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, understand you, right that. So
Speaker 1: they introduced your producer, who does your first single, your first.
Speaker 2: Album, first album? So that was Adrian Gerbitts was his name.
Speaker 2: He was a producer. He was a very unknown producer
Speaker 2: as far as I knew here out of London, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean. He was an English dude, and
Speaker 2: so it was just you know, he just he loved
Speaker 2: my voice. He was passionate about it, you know. And
Speaker 2: and then and so we did the record together. And
Speaker 2: then from there I was introduced. We did kind of
Speaker 2: the label circuit and we're like, you know, doing the
Speaker 2: kind of this meeting with the labels.
Speaker 5: Everybody was doing this with no no a lot of
Speaker 5: the time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know, he was. He was more hands on
Speaker 2: with this. But and then from there I was introduced
Speaker 2: to Rafael Sadik, who also like produced, So it was
Speaker 2: Adrian Gravitz and Rafael Sadek that produced my first record.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it was cool. It was you know, things
Speaker 2: were happening. I was like, okay, can you know what
Speaker 2: I mean after all this time, like.
Speaker 1: Rafael still ain't done no record for me.
Speaker 5: Let's okay, let's put it on wags right now.
Speaker 2: Ray, I would have really love to do a record.
Speaker 5: No, he's amazing. Yeah, he's really amazing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's so cool too, Like he's really He let
Speaker 2: me sit in there and mix the record too, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean. I had some people mixing it.
Speaker 2: But I can be huh. I can be quite controlling
Speaker 2: sometimes I'm working on me, but so I need there's
Speaker 2: just details that I wanted to hear. So he let
Speaker 2: me sit in there with his mixed engineers Jerry Bobby Campbell,
Speaker 2: uh Ari, and we just kind of mixed the record
Speaker 2: and worked together, and then he worked on songs with
Speaker 2: music weal two. So yeah, he's amazing. He's definitely someone
Speaker 2: I'm always gonna work with. He did music with billy
Speaker 2: billy music with musical too.
Speaker 1: And what was the call out from the first album?
Speaker 5: What was the first track? Yeah, oh, the first thing.
Speaker 2: Well, it was a song called rise Up Yeah.
Speaker 1: Put your Order in three Booth, which I would tell.
Speaker 2: You was not on the album originally, by the way,
Speaker 2: that was a very that was a last minute addition
Speaker 2: to the record.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I wrote that the album was done already.
Speaker 5: It was done, completely done.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and so, and I had been doing the whole
Speaker 2: I was actually really I think tired, Like you said,
Speaker 2: no skip steps, you know what I mean. So by
Speaker 2: this point I was just like, oh my, I'm with
Speaker 2: the label now and I'm going to these sessions and
Speaker 2: writing all these songs, but the album is done and
Speaker 2: I'm not loving what we're coming up with and all
Speaker 2: the things.
Speaker 5: So I forgot.
Speaker 2: I had done a session with this lady named Jendall
Speaker 2: Sevio and we did Rise Up. And so when I
Speaker 2: was in the meeting with Warner, they were like, hey,
Speaker 2: you know, we love it, blah blah blah, but we
Speaker 2: really want to play you a song. And I was like,
Speaker 2: they were like, you wrote it. I was like, well,
Speaker 2: let me hear it. Put it on the love put
Speaker 2: it on it. I mean, let me if you said
Speaker 2: I wrote I was right because I was like at
Speaker 2: this point, I was like side eye and everybody. So
Speaker 2: and they played it and I was like, oh, it
Speaker 2: like kind of just quieted the room for a second.
Speaker 2: I was like, yeah, no, it was just very very apparent.
Speaker 2: I was like, this absolutely has to be on the album,
Speaker 2: absolutely has to be the first single. They tried to
Speaker 2: go in and do do the drums remix and get
Speaker 2: the big DJs, the and all the stuff to put
Speaker 2: the stuff on there, you know, but I was just
Speaker 2: the whole time was just kind of like, ya, I
Speaker 2: think the song is like what it is, you know
Speaker 2: what I mean, Like, I think the song is like
Speaker 2: this is who I am, and so it just nothing
Speaker 2: ever worked, nothing ever sat properly. So it just what
Speaker 2: it what exactly what we made it to be is
Speaker 2: what ended up out there and what people heard.
Speaker 1: I have one question about it. Each other, Yeah, well.
Speaker 5: It just felt better. I mean, what what was the
Speaker 5: thing is that? Because I wanted to.
Speaker 1: Time it comes on, I'm like, you know what each other.
Speaker 2: I had this thing that I was really like, I
Speaker 2: wanted to play with vowel sounds, and I wanted to
Speaker 2: do I don't like the feeling of like no no
Speaker 2: either that or I was just like really like wold
Speaker 2: and but I just I like playing with vowel sounds,
Speaker 2: and so I'm like, you know what if I just
Speaker 2: twist this vowel a little bit, or twist certain things
Speaker 2: and it feels better like that. The other part is
Speaker 2: I'm like, if I really love the performance of something,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, like the feeling of the
Speaker 2: performance of it, and I'm like, I'll try to reapproach it. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but I'm like, it's probably just gonna have to have
Speaker 2: that mistake in there if I'm really like, I can't.
Speaker 2: I can sing it better, but I can't get that film. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I can't get that feeling.
Speaker 1: But that's not a mistake, that's feeling.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was a feeling, and I think at the time,
Speaker 2: so I was very much I was like, I just
Speaker 2: want to sing and things that sound weird, not that
Speaker 2: it's for weird sake, but just because, like you know,
Speaker 2: I just hate being limited, like this is how I
Speaker 2: sing and I have to sing this way. And I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 2: but I'm I'm feeling like changing the place I'm singing
Speaker 2: from or so I'm experimenting with stuff like that.
Speaker 5: Honestly. Yeah, I had to ask, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: So rise Up just goes crazy. Yeah, it just goes.
Speaker 1: It goes crazy. Like my daughter Jordan at her graduation,
Speaker 1: she that's the solo she sang for her graduating class.
Speaker 1: I cried a little bit, you know, I cried crazy,
Speaker 1: you cry crazy. I cried enough, But it was but
Speaker 1: it was just like the song and that the moment,
Speaker 1: like all of these things, the song is such a
Speaker 1: defining moment for so many moments, like not skipping the steps.
Speaker 1: Do you feel a sense of like finally, when when
Speaker 1: this record becomes because this is a different level of
Speaker 1: hit record.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, different level global.
Speaker 1: It's global, it's it's on TV. Yeah, it's American Idol,
Speaker 1: it's it's everywhere. Yeah, that's not a normal hit record.
Speaker 1: That is a phenomenon.
Speaker 5: Wow. Yeah I got the I got.
Speaker 1: The account to prove it.
Speaker 5: I really know.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yes I did. Actually Actually, to be honest with you,
Speaker 2: that's what I always tell people.
Speaker 5: I was like, I really you know what I mean.
Speaker 5: It's not just like fake humble tip.
Speaker 2: It's just like like we freestyled it right, which sounds like, okay,
Speaker 2: a flex But it was one of those things that
Speaker 2: I realized like like when we freestyled, not the whole thing,
Speaker 2: but like most of it, like rise up, do it
Speaker 2: a thousand times again. It was just she was playing
Speaker 2: these chords and it's like it's just simple chords, simple
Speaker 2: four chords, you know what I mean, repetition whatever. And
Speaker 2: I was like, I literally prayed. I prayed when I
Speaker 2: was in the car, and I was like, God, I
Speaker 2: don't even want to be here, to be honest with you,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. I was like, friend, it
Speaker 2: had been diagnosed with cancer, like you know, just weren't
Speaker 2: happening in the career, and it just felt like such
Speaker 2: a long time, and like I think it was the
Speaker 2: first time. I started to be like, is this not
Speaker 2: going to happen, Like, you know, I don't know what
Speaker 2: else to do. I don't know, you know. And so
Speaker 2: I just prayed and I was like, Lord, just you speak,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. I don't want just like
Speaker 2: you inhabit the space you speak and let whatever come out.
Speaker 2: So she started playing these chords and I just started singing,
Speaker 2: and a lot of the song I have it.
Speaker 5: I'll find it at some point, I'll find it. I'll
Speaker 5: send it to you.
Speaker 2: A lot of the song came out just in that
Speaker 2: first kind of like playing around take and so I
Speaker 2: would tell people, I'm like, yeah, I did write it,
Speaker 2: but like it was definitely you know, the moments where
Speaker 2: you're clear you're a vessel, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 2: And you're like, okay, so that's why you know the
Speaker 2: song doing what it did. I I will say, like, yes,
Speaker 2: it felt like yes finally, but it also felt like
Speaker 2: whoa that I didn't expect you know what I'm saying
Speaker 2: like that, I did not anticipate it. I didn't anticipate
Speaker 2: it doing what it does for people, or like being
Speaker 2: the anthem for Black Lives Matter. I didn't anticipate it,
Speaker 2: Like I'll put it like this, I didn't anticipate it
Speaker 2: being like life changing and saving. Like when we do
Speaker 2: tours and we do like meet and greets, right, I
Speaker 2: always tell my team because they'd be like, Andrew, you
Speaker 2: know what I'm saying, meet and greets, Like we got
Speaker 2: to get out of here. But I'm like, my nigga,
Speaker 2: who do I rush the nigga who's like parent was
Speaker 2: diagnosed with cancer or the nigga who just tried to
Speaker 2: kill herself, you know what I'm saying. Like, I'm like,
Speaker 2: so it's like I get a lot of that and
Speaker 2: it's amazing where you would think it would depress you.
Speaker 2: It just re reminds me of like the power of music.
Speaker 2: Which I believe is at its core. I believe it
Speaker 2: was designed to be healing. But I get people all
Speaker 2: the time it's like, wow, I was literally going to
Speaker 2: kill myself. I listened to your song. I did, and
Speaker 2: I'm like, wow, you know what I'm saying, Like, or
Speaker 2: I just or I was had the bottle of pills,
Speaker 2: or I had this, or I'm going through depression, or
Speaker 2: I lost a family member or I had one family.
Speaker 2: Say this woman she was diagnosed with cancer. We were
Speaker 2: on stage and we brought her up and so we
Speaker 2: just had the audience. We just prayed over her. You know.
Speaker 2: She did end up passing away, and then her family
Speaker 2: was like, oh, you know, her request is that you're
Speaker 2: there during her dying moment.
Speaker 5: And so it was like me, her and her family,
Speaker 5: and I.
Speaker 2: Was like, like, you know, it's one of those things
Speaker 2: that you're like, you guys, I really don't you know
Speaker 2: what I mean. I feel like this feels very intrusive,
Speaker 2: and I don't, but you're just reminded like it's not
Speaker 2: about you. They just want what they believe that spirit is,
Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying, like, And so I definitely
Speaker 2: did not anticipate it doing what it did, and I'm
Speaker 2: super super grateful.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, amazing record. Thank you.
Speaker 1: I was just when you said, like, who do I rush,
Speaker 1: It's like, yeah, rush, Yeah, I'm so connected.
Speaker 5: You're like, sorry, I'm busy. We have to you know
Speaker 5: what I mean.
Speaker 2: I'm like, spot, it's hard because this person has been
Speaker 2: waiting since they heard the song, you know what I mean,
Speaker 2: to come to this show for however long, the year, whatever,
Speaker 2: and has this heavy, heavy story and that's what they
Speaker 2: want to get off. And so it's hard to be like,
Speaker 2: I don't have time to hear your life change, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean. I'm like, it's you just got
Speaker 2: to make time. You gotta figure it out, you know
Speaker 2: what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: And I think because a lot of times we're on
Speaker 1: the other side of it, we're so we're so used
Speaker 1: to just just ring and bing the vessel and just
Speaker 1: doing what we're called to do that we never really
Speaker 1: get to stop and and kind of visualize and understand
Speaker 1: the effects of what we do, like to really have
Speaker 1: those conversations, like I really just I just make it
Speaker 1: a point to just just stop and talk to anybody,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, just see where it's going
Speaker 1: and it's like he said, some of the craziest conversations,
Speaker 1: some of the craziest connections. And then for me, like
Speaker 1: Jai'll tell you, like I've never met a stranger, I'll
Speaker 1: just treat connection.
Speaker 5: I can see that, and I like that.
Speaker 1: We'll just talk till we figure out some common ground.
Speaker 2: When I first met you all those years ago, that's
Speaker 2: I was like, you were so nice. It was actually
Speaker 2: me and Ed Sheeran. I don't know if you remember
Speaker 2: that night, no way, it was before he blew up.
Speaker 2: It was crazy, you know, he was docular. Yeah, he
Speaker 2: was doing his circular singing dah da dada, and all
Speaker 2: the ladies in the audience was like, oh my god,
Speaker 2: this white boy ginger. It's like my brawls off and
Speaker 2: throw it.
Speaker 5: It was crazy. Yeah, the night was nuts, and you
Speaker 5: were just so kind and so cool, and I.
Speaker 1: Believe it was that that was a time to We
Speaker 1: used to have a time at Army.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it was so fun. It was so fun. It
Speaker 5: got crazy when he went to the Key Club too.
Speaker 1: I remember so many nights. I remember we saying jeousy.
Speaker 1: One night, it was a Grammy night. I think it
Speaker 1: was we say the Grammy Knights, Lonnie, I think texts
Speaker 1: he Joousy. I remember when Brandy sang and all the
Speaker 1: dudes and was in the corner hugging each other like
Speaker 1: it was just like they were funning over Brandy, like Brandy,
Speaker 1: like Christopher Williams. You know what I'm saying, pull it
Speaker 1: up on the motorcycle. God knows what his book bag.
Speaker 1: You know, I said, don't touch my bag, nigga, shout
Speaker 1: out Christopher Williams. He is not a game. I gotta
Speaker 1: get here on it. But that time, it was like,
Speaker 1: you know what a time.
Speaker 4: And I said, one of the steps.
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying, It's one of the steps,
Speaker 2: Like I think that, and it's like very fond memories.
Speaker 2: So it was a long journey, but I'm they're all
Speaker 2: fond memories, you know what I'm saying. So like and
Speaker 2: meeting you for the first time too, because I was
Speaker 2: just a big fan of your voice and your music
Speaker 2: and it's like, wow, he's just so cool. You know,
Speaker 2: that felt like another step, This is my big opportunity,
Speaker 2: you know, Yeah, yeah, I know it was. It was
Speaker 2: actually that experience was amazing. So yeah, that was actually
Speaker 2: when I first met you is there.
Speaker 1: Tour after that? Is? Did we do we go straight
Speaker 1: on a world tour?
Speaker 2: Like after we after we dropped the album? Oh, actually,
Speaker 2: how fast? I don't remember how quickly. My memory is terrible.
Speaker 2: I don't remember how quickly we went on tour after that.
Speaker 2: I think it was fairly quickly. Actually after we released
Speaker 2: the Yeah, no, we started touring pretty immediately. But my
Speaker 2: first tour was opening actually for Lenny Kravitz, which I
Speaker 2: thought was just like, so, yeah.
Speaker 1: Some tequila.
Speaker 6: Listen, So it's gonna be it's gonna be one of
Speaker 6: the nights I'm gonna easy to just keep coming back, could.
Speaker 5: You right hand?
Speaker 1: Flat?
Speaker 2: No, it was actually, well, it's funny. Touring with Lenny
Speaker 2: was an amazing experience. A he was just really amazing
Speaker 2: and it was just like mister sir Kravitz.
Speaker 5: But yeah, it was great.
Speaker 2: Touring with him just because it was a great experience
Speaker 2: learning a lot watching him. Also what was really interesting
Speaker 2: too was just to see like his audience. You know
Speaker 2: what I'm saying, It's a really really I had no
Speaker 2: idea who was going to show up and who would
Speaker 2: be in the audience each city we showed up, you
Speaker 2: know what I'm saying, So it was like really interesting
Speaker 2: to be surprised by like the diversity and like the
Speaker 2: group of people in his audience. I was like, Okay,
Speaker 2: this is really interesting, Like you know, he's like tapped
Speaker 2: something here, and so it was just I mean, he's
Speaker 2: a legend, and so it was just great watching him
Speaker 2: how he manured with his band and with you know
Speaker 2: what I'm saying, like and he runs a tight ship
Speaker 2: in a great way, and then he puts on a
Speaker 2: great show because of that, you.
Speaker 5: Know what i mean.
Speaker 2: Like, but the first time, I'm not gonna lie to
Speaker 2: the first night I was tricked on that tour because
Speaker 2: the first night I got to it was Toronto. Toronto
Speaker 2: was the first date and that was the first time
Speaker 2: I had been to I think it was the first
Speaker 2: time I had been in Canada. But I get in
Speaker 2: my hotel room and I'm like, nigga, I opened the
Speaker 2: door and I close it back cause I was like,
Speaker 2: oh shit, like I accidentally opened the wine cellar, you
Speaker 2: know what I'm saying. I went, so I got to
Speaker 2: had to go back get the key and doll stuff,
Speaker 2: and they were like, no, that was your room. I
Speaker 2: opened it up. I was like, no, the wine cellar
Speaker 2: was just a huge middle section. My room was massive.
Speaker 2: I was like, this is the biggest thing I've ever
Speaker 2: been in in my life.
Speaker 5: It was so huge.
Speaker 2: It had multiple rooms with a pool table and an
Speaker 2: entertainment room and it had a whole wine nigga. I
Speaker 2: was like, is this Did they accidentally give me Drake
Speaker 2: sweet Like? I was like, this is so nigga. I
Speaker 2: was like, what is going on? And then we get
Speaker 2: to the first day of tour and they had this
Speaker 2: huge spread and they was like all of this charcouterie
Speaker 2: boards and seafood and you know what I'm saying, like everything.
Speaker 2: It was like so amazed. I was like, yo, tours
Speaker 2: lit like I don't know what Michael Jackson was talking about.
Speaker 5: That shit fire Like amazing. You know, I love tour.
Speaker 5: But next tour day I was like it was me
Speaker 5: in a roach in my time at the hotel.
Speaker 1: I was like, road, that's for you, bro.
Speaker 2: The first day had me up. I was like, I've
Speaker 2: some trouble right now. That second day was very clear.
Speaker 5: I was like, what is all.
Speaker 1: That I've been in rooms?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 2: I don't take my sweat, I'm not sleep standing up
Speaker 2: in the middle of the room. I stood like to
Speaker 2: be like, Jay, is the day room exactly. I was like,
Speaker 2: day room, but these bad bugs are gonna last for
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, I'm not sleeping in here.
Speaker 5: We're the same when the coups of that, oh, we're
Speaker 5: definitely I'll go back for that.
Speaker 2: Because they got a book hotels, Correc got a book
Speaker 2: hotel all the time, and I'd be.
Speaker 1: Like, I'm like, bro, it's fine, it's the days in,
Speaker 1: but it's the upgraded version, upgraded days.
Speaker 4: In the day.
Speaker 5: Wait, what's the days in? What's the upgraded days in?
Speaker 4: I don't know, hotel.
Speaker 5: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: So as you walk you just know it's chicken.
Speaker 5: I feel so bad. I feel bad.
Speaker 2: They walk into a room and they could look around
Speaker 2: and they look at me. They they'd be like, we're
Speaker 2: not staying here. Don't even drop a bag, We're leaving immediately.
Speaker 2: I just yeah, dirtiness, it's more you.
Speaker 5: Travel, you just be like, bro, niggas are dirty. Bro,
Speaker 5: planes are dirty.
Speaker 6: Some cities you go to they don't have free stars.
Speaker 6: You know, many times a promoter has said that to
Speaker 6: me on the phone. You're right, yeah, and I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 6: so how far is the nearest four.
Speaker 4: Or five stars city?
Speaker 6: Right, let's the contracts running four stars are better.
Speaker 2: So you were like, what's the nearest city so we
Speaker 2: can read route the day and give me a two
Speaker 2: hour commute time.
Speaker 5: Because I'm like, no.
Speaker 1: I remember plenty of nights where because you know I sleep.
Speaker 5: In the suv. I was sleeping the suv before I.
Speaker 1: Was big South.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, yeah, in two thousand, two.
Speaker 1: Thousand, and I remember many nights, God rest his soul brother,
Speaker 1: Window was sleeping in the chair in his room. In
Speaker 1: the chair. Yep, I can't get in that bed.
Speaker 5: I'm not doing it. No way, I'm not doing it.
Speaker 1: I'm not doing me. I'm but nig in sept I
Speaker 1: can't know there we got in the morning.
Speaker 5: I'm not mad at you, because that's why you sound
Speaker 5: the way you say.
Speaker 2: You prioritize sleep. I was like, they gonna get this
Speaker 2: twenty four hour no sleep performance. I was like, I
Speaker 2: am not getting in it because some things last a lifetime.
Speaker 2: You never know, you know what I'm saying. I'm like
Speaker 2: something some bikes. Yeah, I'm not mad at it.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't. I didn't get spoiled they.
Speaker 5: Would have started with the Roach Hotel, I would have
Speaker 5: been good. You know what I'm saying. But I was like,
Speaker 5: I know, but.
Speaker 1: I also started as the background singer too, so I
Speaker 1: wasn't part of the A group. I was part of
Speaker 1: the B group, So you know what I'm saying. It
Speaker 1: was definitely motel life where you just walk out of
Speaker 1: your room outside. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 5: You're right, You're right yet so.
Speaker 1: For me, it was just like, okay, this is no.
Speaker 2: There's a little bit of that in me too, because
Speaker 2: there are moments now that I think about it, I
Speaker 2: was like, yeah, there were moments like we just started out.
Speaker 2: I would literally be asleep on coats on the airport floor,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. So yeah, that's something I
Speaker 2: would never do that, would never do that. Now, I'm
Speaker 2: not gonna lie. I'm terrified, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: People's feet, but.
Speaker 5: Everyone has their everybody it has Yes, I don't know, like.
Speaker 1: Like you were a big questions give me.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 1: You dropped the bottom.
Speaker 5: I feel you a little bit. I feel you all
Speaker 5: that definitely.
Speaker 1: Okay, so you go crazy on tour. Is the movie
Speaker 1: next or the movie comes after your next project?
Speaker 5: Uh no, the movie came right after.
Speaker 2: So this is actually the album that we're releasing is
Speaker 2: only my second album, Like it's just been such a
Speaker 2: long time. So the movie actually came like after we
Speaker 2: did the whole album, so like, and we did a
Speaker 2: couple of tours too. I did a solo tour as well,
Speaker 2: and then we toured with Leon Bridges and so yeah,
Speaker 2: we did a few tours and festivals and we did
Speaker 2: the whole circuit, you know what I mean. It was
Speaker 2: an amazing experience, and it just because of the nature of
Speaker 2: Rise Up, it honestly just kept going and kind of
Speaker 2: does keep going.
Speaker 5: Like I tell people, this sounds so bad, y'all. I
Speaker 5: don't even know.
Speaker 2: I'd say this, but Rise Up is sometimes I feel
Speaker 2: bad because I'm like, Okay, I gotta, We're just we gotta.
Speaker 5: We just donate, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: And we gotta donate because I'm like, Rise Up will
Speaker 2: stream and it's amazing because the song has that power
Speaker 2: and it's oftentimes people are like I need this to
Speaker 2: get through this moment or yeah. But like during the
Speaker 2: Black Lives Matter movement in the march, if there's a
Speaker 2: huge crisis that happens. Oftentimes it was Skyrocket because it
Speaker 2: just becomes the song of them are feeling bad. I'm like,
Speaker 2: I feel like this is like a war weapon, like
Speaker 2: I need to do something with this. So it lasts
Speaker 2: kind of The Psycho lasted quite a long time. And
Speaker 2: then so once we kind of really finished, and I
Speaker 2: really decided in myself too, I was like, Okay, I'm
Speaker 2: grateful for this, but I really want now.
Speaker 5: I want to start working on new music.
Speaker 2: I'm in that place, you know, And what I wanted
Speaker 2: to do this time was like I wanted to produce
Speaker 2: more on this project, and I wanted to I loved
Speaker 2: my touring band, like they're my family. They've been with
Speaker 2: me since the beginning. And there's something about them, you
Speaker 2: know when you find those players that you're like, they're
Speaker 2: so genius, but you're also comfortable enough to like, yeah,
Speaker 2: you're connected, they understand you. It's instinct like, and you're
Speaker 2: comfortable enough to fail around them. Does that make sense?
Speaker 2: Like I always tell people I don't play. I wish
Speaker 2: I did. I want to learn. I'm working on it, actually,
Speaker 2: but I don't play, you know what I mean? So
Speaker 2: everything is guesswork for me? You know what you want
Speaker 2: to hear I do, so it's all my you know
Speaker 2: what I mean. And they're really like tapped into that.
Speaker 2: So I was like, okay. And then we know, like
Speaker 2: in the business, like we work in the music industry,
Speaker 2: and the people who are treated probably the worst are
Speaker 2: usually musicians, you know what I'm saying. So I was like,
Speaker 2: and dancers, absolutely, and so I'm like, well, I'm tired
Speaker 2: of kind of fighting for them, so I just want
Speaker 2: to bring them in the studio, make them producers, you
Speaker 2: know what I'm saying, because they all have great years,
Speaker 2: they're really visionary. So I was like, that's what I'm
Speaker 2: gonna do. I'm gonna just build this next record, and
Speaker 2: it's just gonna be us in the studio producing, doing
Speaker 2: what we do on the road, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 2: and like, and so it definitely took a lot more
Speaker 2: time than I had anticipated, but it was worth it,
Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: Like you're saying, this is going to be your second
Speaker 1: this is the second. Start counting the years, Yeah.
Speaker 2: It's been seven it's been since I released my last record.
Speaker 5: It's been nine years.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And we did we did do three movies in between,
Speaker 2: so it wasn'ttive.
Speaker 5: No, well you know what's so funny? So funny? No, no,
Speaker 5: I want no no.
Speaker 2: But when she do, you know, when she don't pull
Speaker 2: up on me, we will be right back here talking
Speaker 2: about it.
Speaker 5: But no, she's so.
Speaker 2: But it's funny because in the beginning of my career
Speaker 2: they asked me. They were like, you know, they ask
Speaker 2: you crazy questions. Who do you want to model your
Speaker 2: career after. I'm like, y'all, come on, bro, like just
Speaker 2: you know, like it feels like a weird question to answer.
Speaker 5: I don't know.
Speaker 2: Maybe I was just arrogant at the time, but I
Speaker 2: was like, I don't like that, you know what I mean, Like,
Speaker 2: let's just I can tell you artists I like.
Speaker 5: But they were like, we really need to know, we
Speaker 5: really need to talk. It's okay.
Speaker 2: So I was like, and one of the people I
Speaker 2: named was Shade, and they were like, well, she only
Speaker 2: releases some records like every seven years, every nine years,
Speaker 2: every whatever. And at the time I was like, no, no,
Speaker 2: we're going to release more records. I just you know,
Speaker 2: I like the vibe.
Speaker 5: I like, what no. Nine years later exactly, So it
Speaker 5: just happened that way.
Speaker 1: Is that. Of course, I know you take your time
Speaker 1: making music, but also is that kind of a testament
Speaker 1: of the success of that first record, Like you said,
Speaker 1: that record has not come to a close. And from
Speaker 1: a business standpoint, you've you you as a writer and
Speaker 1: a producer. If you know that language, you continue to
Speaker 1: do very well. So it's not like you have to rush. Yeah, thing,
Speaker 1: is that part of it?
Speaker 2: I think I think that. I definitely think that's a
Speaker 2: part of it. Like I said, the cycle was really long,
Speaker 2: and it does all right. Yeah, there's a little bit
Speaker 2: of like not feeling like I have to rush, like
Speaker 2: I want to take my time to and I'm like
Speaker 2: that I really I am a perfectionist, which is terrible sometimes,
Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying, because you can really self
Speaker 2: sabotage that you really can be in your own way,
Speaker 2: and that is a balance that I'm trying to learn.
Speaker 5: Like be precious but not too precious, you know what
Speaker 5: I'm saying.
Speaker 2: Because so it does afford you time, not as much
Speaker 2: time as I've taken, but but it does afford you
Speaker 2: to Also, I just have ADHD I get distracted.
Speaker 5: Everything's interesting, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: Everything I keep staying at that curtent. I'm like, why
Speaker 2: is that one different from the rest of them?
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, Well, we're still working on
Speaker 1: that right over.
Speaker 5: I was like, you know it turn over, but I
Speaker 5: like it. I like the variation, you know. No, so
Speaker 5: there was like taking at the.
Speaker 1: Track at all.
Speaker 2: I was like, I want to kidding right, no, but yeah,
Speaker 2: So it definitely does afford you time, but also the
Speaker 2: time in between the record because I'm so hands on,
Speaker 2: you know which, like I said, I'm really learning too
Speaker 2: in my life. I'm like, all right, cool, this is great,
Speaker 2: hold on to this. This is a detriment, like grow
Speaker 2: from it, move on, you know what I mean. But
Speaker 2: I'm also like it was also the movies, Like, so
Speaker 2: we I started the record, we started producing the record
Speaker 2: and writing in twenty seventeen, and then I got the call.
Speaker 5: I got the call.
Speaker 2: At the end of twenty seventeen about like, hey, we
Speaker 2: want you to do Billie Holiday.
Speaker 5: And I was like, the hell are y'all talking about?
Speaker 1: You just got the call?
Speaker 5: Yeah? They had, Like no, I hadn't at this point yet.
Speaker 5: I did.
Speaker 2: I ended up auditioning for it, but they just got
Speaker 2: a call to meet with Lee, you know, because his
Speaker 2: team and everybody was like, she's the perfect person for it,
Speaker 2: which makes me laugh so much to this day because
Speaker 2: my response was like, what are you talking about?
Speaker 5: I just love Billie Holiday. I'm not an actress, you
Speaker 5: know what I mean?
Speaker 6: Like they know about that, that that call you went
Speaker 6: on earlier, that that model.
Speaker 5: Saw my stuff on John Robert Powers on the pictures
Speaker 5: that I right, I pay some for the pictures. I
Speaker 5: was like, I'm gonna go another way.
Speaker 2: But yeah, so so I think that it took a
Speaker 2: long time because we ended up doing that movie and
Speaker 2: then we've shot i think two other movies on the
Speaker 2: in between, so that definitely took a lot of time.
Speaker 5: COVID hit, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: It's just like the timing of everything was crazy, and
Speaker 2: you're right, like Rise Up still does its things, so
Speaker 2: you know, it's definitely I'm looking at my team now.
Speaker 5: There's definitely more pressure. Now, my god, look can.
Speaker 1: Do you? I mean, I mean we just can't glance
Speaker 1: over you know, over Billy. It's hard to glance over
Speaker 1: that when you were nominated for an Oscar. You want
Speaker 1: to that golden globe that you you won that yeah,
Speaker 1: you won that Grammy Grammy. Yeah, uh, a celebration. Celebration
Speaker 1: of course you were, as you say, because I'm not
Speaker 1: an actor. As you just say, said that that is so.
Speaker 5: Wrong.
Speaker 1: It's not even close to not You're not you. I
Speaker 1: don't know what you were thinking at the time, but
Speaker 1: when you got in front of that camera, Jesus.
Speaker 5: Christ, thank you so much.
Speaker 2: Well at the time, I was not though. If they
Speaker 2: would have shot the movie at that time, you would
Speaker 2: have been like.
Speaker 1: Jesus, so, how long did you so you went to prep?
Speaker 2: I did, Yeah, definitely, so so I once I actually
Speaker 2: agreed to do it because Lee and I were both skeptical.
Speaker 2: You know, his team's telling him you got to meet
Speaker 2: with her. He's like, why would I meet with her?
Speaker 2: She's not an actress. My team's like, I mean, I'm like,
Speaker 2: I'm not an actress. Why But I was like, you
Speaker 2: know what, the long way around, not skipping steps to say,
Speaker 2: you know what, Lee Daniels is a good person to know.
Speaker 2: I should probably just meet him, you know what I mean, Like,
Speaker 2: definitely not going to do this movie, but why not?
Speaker 5: You know what I mean?
Speaker 2: If I want to do music or play some music
Speaker 2: or whatever, something like that let's just let me just
Speaker 2: chop it up with him real quick and just see,
Speaker 2: you know what he's talking about. So we met and
Speaker 2: it was just like, I'm such a huge fan of
Speaker 2: Billy Holliday, So I like that she's really probably one
Speaker 2: of my foremost inspirations and she is actually I'm just like.
Speaker 5: But so I really really love her.
Speaker 2: So meeting with him and his passion he was he
Speaker 2: was a fan of ladies sings the blues, that was
Speaker 2: his thing. And so once he discovered more about Billie
Speaker 2: Holliday and her fight with strange fruit, like most people's
Speaker 2: idea of her is that she was a godmother of
Speaker 2: jazz music, right, you know what I mean. She was
Speaker 2: probably the most famous jazz singer you know at the time,
Speaker 2: and and she was a tragic drug addict, which is
Speaker 2: not the case, you know what I mean. Those things
Speaker 2: were true in her life, you know, but she was
Speaker 2: hunted and so like I knew that as a study
Speaker 2: of her because I became familiar with her when I
Speaker 2: was like eleven years old, and I just was a
Speaker 2: huge fan of her. Like I said, the way she's sang,
Speaker 2: you know, I was trying to play with my voice
Speaker 2: more because I love her identity, and so I really
Speaker 2: love I sat with him and he was really so
Speaker 2: enamored and so passionate.
Speaker 5: About this story.
Speaker 2: He was like, people need to know this about her,
Speaker 2: And so he breaks down what he's gonna do and
Speaker 2: how he's gonna like, you know, just he's trying to
Speaker 2: vindicate really her legacy. He was like, I'm making this
Speaker 2: for black women, Like I'm you know, I want people
Speaker 2: to know she's a fier. I'm so moved by her
Speaker 2: story and by this song strench Fruit. He wasn't even
Speaker 2: really familiar.
Speaker 5: With the song and so.
Speaker 4: And so I was.
Speaker 5: I really loved that. I was like, I really love
Speaker 5: how passionate he is.
Speaker 2: But I'm excited for him and whoever he gets to
Speaker 2: do the movie.
Speaker 5: But I still yeah, because I was like, I love her.
Speaker 2: So I told people, I said, my biggest fear was
Speaker 2: like people would be like, oh, I love Billie Holliday,
Speaker 2: Oh my god, you remember the amazing you know, Diana
Speaker 2: Ross and Ladies Sings the Blues. Oh you remember the
Speaker 2: amazing Audrey McDonald on Broadway. Oh you remember when Andrew
Speaker 2: did it?
Speaker 5: You know what I mean? Like, I didn't want to
Speaker 5: be that.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh my god, like everybody, yo, bro.
Speaker 5: Yeah exactly, like wow, you are Prince Petty.
Speaker 1: That is our friend.
Speaker 2: So so yeah, so I was like I can't.
Speaker 5: So yeah. So I met with him and he introduced me.
Speaker 5: He was like, you know what, he didn't.
Speaker 2: What I love about Lee is he didn't just kind
Speaker 2: of throw me to the wolves and be like whatever,
Speaker 2: let's see. So before we even did the audition, he
Speaker 2: got me with Tasha Smith Smith, who was my acting.
Speaker 1: Coach, who is.
Speaker 2: An amazing director, actress coach. Like she's just all the
Speaker 2: things and a sister, you know. So he linked me
Speaker 2: with her and to prepare me for the audition. So
Speaker 2: I just thought that was really Like That's why I
Speaker 2: tell people. I'm like, you know, I'm grateful, and I'm
Speaker 2: grateful that people love the performance, but it would not
Speaker 2: have been that performance without eight I think there are
Speaker 2: very very few, and when I say a handful, I
Speaker 2: mean maybe like three fingers directors in Hollywood that can
Speaker 2: pull performances out of actors the way Lee does, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, There's just like very very few
Speaker 2: people of Scorsese's like that. Lee is like that, Like,
Speaker 2: so it was a combination of like her coaching, her
Speaker 2: believing in me even more than I did in the beginning,
Speaker 2: and him believing in me and his direction, you know.
Speaker 2: So he got me with her. And then he said
Speaker 2: he saw a little tape of He always when he
Speaker 2: tells the story, he says he saw a tape. She
Speaker 2: sent him a clip of me, just like going through
Speaker 2: the scenes, he said. And in that moment I knew.
Speaker 2: He's like, you weren't acting, you were just being you
Speaker 2: know what I mean? He was like, that was the
Speaker 2: moment I knew you were billying so so, and then
Speaker 2: they did this thing where like I was preparing for
Speaker 2: the role like a lot before before because I got
Speaker 2: it at the top of twenty eighteen and start filming
Speaker 2: until the very end of.
Speaker 5: Or did I get it twenty seventeen. I can't remember.
Speaker 2: We didn't start filming until the end of twenty nineteen.
Speaker 2: So I was kind of in her headspace changing for
Speaker 2: a long time. I started smoking cigarettes, I started drinking alcohol,
Speaker 2: started cussing for which I didn't do.
Speaker 5: It still hasn't gone away, but and you just went
Speaker 5: you just yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, what she told She trained me from a
Speaker 2: different thing, she said, But what you did, sis is
Speaker 2: you did what I trained you. But she also trained
Speaker 2: me to just do what you need to do to
Speaker 2: get it, you know what I mean. And so she
Speaker 2: trained me in this particular way and then she said,
Speaker 2: you also incorporated some method and so it was just
Speaker 2: like and then they we didn't get in and start
Speaker 2: coaching heavily until that was Lee's call. Lee was like,
Speaker 2: I don't want you to get with her until two
Speaker 2: weeks right before we go to film, and then intensively
Speaker 2: work with her because he really and it worked because
Speaker 2: he had this idea that he was like, I want
Speaker 2: the anxiety and because Billy would have that in her
Speaker 2: life during this.
Speaker 5: Period of her life.
Speaker 2: I want the anxiety and the nerves, and I want
Speaker 2: her to be super present and I want all that
Speaker 2: to work for her. And so it was a combination
Speaker 2: of all of my preparation those intense.
Speaker 1: Two weeks so smart.
Speaker 5: I was super grateful just it all came together, you
Speaker 5: know what I mean.
Speaker 1: You are absolutely amazing.
Speaker 5: Thank you. I appreciate it taking movie special that afforded
Speaker 5: me some more time.
Speaker 1: I just didn't like the way you left your band
Speaker 1: in the middle of it.
Speaker 2: No, yeah, it's exactly this fake turner. Nigga cocaine is
Speaker 2: a hell of a drug, Like you do some crazy things.
Speaker 2: Yeah right, it was like, come on, Billy, No, there
Speaker 2: were so many moments they were like working the script
Speaker 2: because she's super lovable, like when you read her biography
Speaker 2: and all the things. But she did crazy ship too,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. So, and she would do
Speaker 2: stuff that you would be like, wow, I really can't
Speaker 2: stand that. But for whatever reason, people still loved her.
Speaker 1: So they it was an artist.
Speaker 2: Yeah, she really was, and she was. She Also here's
Speaker 2: the thing about Billy. She was a woman of a
Speaker 2: different time, you know what I'm saying, Like, and you
Speaker 2: forget that like she was like her saying was like
Speaker 2: I didn't want to be nobody's I didn't want to
Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 5: She ended up working.
Speaker 2: She started working in a she was raped at ten,
Speaker 2: and then she started working in a brothel by the
Speaker 2: age eleven.
Speaker 5: I think with her mom, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: So, and she had women too, She ran girls like
Speaker 2: she was a She was a hard woman and she
Speaker 2: was from a different time and she had to survive.
Speaker 2: And so her saying was like I didn't want to
Speaker 2: be nobody's damn maids. So she used to like clean
Speaker 2: the steps of people's houses and like wealthy white people
Speaker 2: for like a nickel in Baltimore.
Speaker 5: Or you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: And so she just like she dealt with a lot
Speaker 2: of men who were super abusive, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: She was stolen from oftentimes, and you know, she was
Speaker 2: abused physically, abused sexually all the things. But she it
Speaker 2: made her hard and it made her very like you know,
Speaker 2: but truthfully, it also made her a fighter and made
Speaker 2: her who she was. You know, So like people forget
Speaker 2: like to be a black woman in the twenties and
Speaker 2: the thirties and the forties, it's way different.
Speaker 5: It's way you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: Like, so yeah, it's interesting. So yeah, she was, she
Speaker 2: was out there. You should read her biography if you
Speaker 2: haven't read, it's funny as well.
Speaker 1: You just did amazing. It's just tough to do. It's
Speaker 1: just it's just because, like you said, to be that
Speaker 1: to be that one person out of all the people
Speaker 1: who've come before you to not nail it, Oh my god, right,
Speaker 1: that that pressure is tersting.
Speaker 5: That was terrible.
Speaker 1: But for leaders say, let's use that.
Speaker 5: Yes, exactly. Use that anxiety.
Speaker 6: Use that anxiety, and that's why a part of it
Speaker 6: why she was using drugs.
Speaker 2: Absolutely well, and her people forget about that all the time.
Speaker 2: I'm like that she didn't just be like, oh, let
Speaker 2: me pick it up. And a lot of these drugs
Speaker 2: were planted on musicians, you know what I mean, This
Speaker 2: was put like that's like people, the drug war was
Speaker 2: not in the eighties. That started in like the thirties
Speaker 2: and the forties, you know what I mean with jazz musicians,
Speaker 2: particularly black jazz musicians.
Speaker 5: You know, so, and it's still and it's still.
Speaker 6: The thing is it's so you know, once again, we
Speaker 6: always we try to have moments as many moments on
Speaker 6: this podcast as possible to be informative.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, for me.
Speaker 6: I would just you know, to any young artist that's
Speaker 6: out there, understand when they're giving you these things is
Speaker 6: to control you, you know what I mean, because you're
Speaker 6: you're not on your dean at this point, you're not
Speaker 6: standing on your platform. They're knocking you off of it
Speaker 6: by telling you, oh, it's just gonna take the edge
Speaker 6: off or it's gone. Now you're on lean. Now you're
Speaker 6: smoking way too much weed. Now you're doing coke. Now
Speaker 6: you're doing whatever the.
Speaker 2: Thing is, Like, you look cooler. It's cool as an
Speaker 2: artist for you to do this thing. And that's the vibe.
Speaker 2: And that's all this stuff. Like I love that you
Speaker 2: bring it up too, because I tell like, you know,
Speaker 2: like I said, the drug world to me, when I
Speaker 2: go we talk, we can go back like chattel slavery right,
Speaker 2: you know, segregation right, Jim Crow, reconstruction, you know, lynching
Speaker 2: and America. The thing I believe as a community that
Speaker 2: took us out the most is drugs because it took
Speaker 2: our soul and our drive and our motivation. We went
Speaker 2: through chattle slavery, and we still became land on owners
Speaker 2: and community owners. Like when people go, oh, black people,
Speaker 2: we need invest in charice businesses, we have. We have
Speaker 2: done that over and over and over again. Every time
Speaker 2: you walk through Central Park, that was a thriving black community.
Speaker 2: Every time you go to these major lakes and enjoy
Speaker 2: the water, those were wealthy, thriving black communities, right. And
Speaker 2: so the drugs, I feel like, is the thing that
Speaker 2: I look back on that I'm like that that's a
Speaker 2: part of the institution and that's what took the soul
Speaker 2: and the drive, you know what I'm saying, like not
Speaker 2: that we are still going to thrive and we still
Speaker 2: get it back, but I agree with you. I definitely
Speaker 2: feel like the thing that you that's to control. You
Speaker 2: absolutely took the men absolutely.
Speaker 1: Which was absolutely that's the foundation.
Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely, what we were are.
Speaker 1: The strong men in our community. It's the fathers, the grandfathers,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, and all that being passed down,
Speaker 1: it started missing generations because yeah, they were either strung
Speaker 1: out or sit in jail.
Speaker 5: Right exactly.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, wow, Yeah, so you did amazing. You got
Speaker 1: two more movie. You did two more movies which helped
Speaker 1: you pass you know, the nine years. What's going on?
Speaker 5: I started buying property.
Speaker 2: It was like just small, like small things. We were
Speaker 2: filming the Lee and I did a movie called The Deliverance.
Speaker 5: I'm so excited about that.
Speaker 2: It was like and this was like Leah is so amazing,
Speaker 2: Like I honestly he has really just loved and supported
Speaker 2: me and put me in great positions. So like this cast,
Speaker 2: like to be able to lead a cast like you
Speaker 2: know of Oscar winners and nominated actors and actresses. It's
Speaker 2: like my castmates were Glenn Close, Monique Andrew Ellis, Caleb McLoughlin,
Speaker 2: Demi Singleton, Uh, Anthony Jenkins. Like it was just it
Speaker 2: was such an incredible cast of of of actors. And
Speaker 2: so when I was in Pittsburgh, I was kind of
Speaker 2: looking around at the market and I was like, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, Like it was like, there's a
Speaker 2: lot of new bills, there was a lot the disparity
Speaker 2: between housing prices was like pretty drastic because they're building
Speaker 2: so much. It was like a lot going on. So
Speaker 2: I was like, I don't know, let me just like
Speaker 2: dip in and just see, you know what I mean. So,
Speaker 2: I don't know, it's cool to me. Listen, when you
Speaker 2: think you're never going to be able to afford to
Speaker 2: buy a car and you are able to buy a property,
Speaker 2: I'm like, that's pretty it's pretty exciting.
Speaker 1: Give me two of those. It is a long way
Speaker 1: from the seven eleven, long way from eleven, I mean
Speaker 1: the first No, I'm gonna just hold them until to
Speaker 1: the time, you know, Cassandra, Yes the new album. Yes,
Speaker 1: Ladies and Gentlemen, please go get that. And I think
Speaker 1: I think you know, also, just on a on a
Speaker 1: serious note, before I get to this next segment. I
Speaker 1: just I just think you're needed. I think your talent,
Speaker 1: your gift, your energy, like that's something and it's a
Speaker 1: great time for you because because because of how things
Speaker 1: have turned and how they're now needing what we do.
Speaker 5: Yeah right, that's real.
Speaker 1: And it's refreshing that ship this whole time.
Speaker 6: You know, I didn't know she wanted the one.
Speaker 1: I thought it just saying south like get no, right,
Speaker 1: but you you need. I think I think you're just
Speaker 1: you know, you're You're a dope example of what I think.
Speaker 1: You know what I think young girls should be able
Speaker 1: to see and aspire to.
Speaker 5: Thank you. Wow, I really appreciate that. Thank you, Thank
Speaker 5: you that really does.
Speaker 1: That is that is a thing. Thank you to a
Speaker 1: specially talented moment in our god where I want to
Speaker 1: get into your mind. You've been inspired by so many,
Speaker 1: so many of the greats. You've been able to portray
Speaker 1: one of the crates. But we want to know right
Speaker 1: now as we vibe you'r we want to know.
Speaker 3: Top five, Yeah, your top five, top five, Your top
Speaker 3: five are the easing.
Speaker 6: Whatever.
Speaker 1: We want to know that we want to say nothing
Speaker 1: years your h.
Speaker 5: That was definitely one of my top five R and
Speaker 5: B performances. I love that. Can I say that?
Speaker 1: Yes?
Speaker 4: Okay, Andre d Yes, I was want to say go ahead.
Speaker 5: Somebody told me they were like, it sounds more expensive.
Speaker 5: I'm like whatever.
Speaker 1: When I go into my fortnight and Day, your top
Speaker 1: five R and B singers, Top five.
Speaker 5: Armhi, this is so hard.
Speaker 2: I saw that question, I was like, so are we not?
Speaker 2: Are we doing the all encompassing? Are we not including jazz?
Speaker 1: Whatever? Okay?
Speaker 2: I would have to say, Okay, there's two worlds I
Speaker 2: live in, so I would have to say, okay, I'm
Speaker 2: gonna do two top fives.
Speaker 5: Can I do that?
Speaker 2: Because they're like, okay, So we're gonna start with Whitney
Speaker 2: for sure. We're going to go to ooh, this is
Speaker 2: so hard, bro Okay, Whitney Aretha mm hmm. We're gonna
Speaker 2: also say so hard okay. We're gonna say Michael that's
Speaker 2: too and Shady and Anita Baker. Yeah yeah, but okay,
Speaker 2: so on the flip side, right, you know what I'm saying, Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's like a little the jazzier side. We're gonna say
Speaker 2: Billie Holliday, absolutely, yes, she's definitely. We're also going to
Speaker 2: say Ella Fitzgerald. For me, it's also Erica, Jill Scott,
Speaker 2: and Lauren Hill.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you see what I'm saying. I'm like, I kind
Speaker 5: of had to do like who do I leave out?
Speaker 5: You know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Mad Mike.
Speaker 5: I love. I was actually thinking about going with like
Speaker 5: should I do all women do all that? Because that's
Speaker 5: I'm like, bro, how do I leave out? You know
Speaker 5: what I'm saying? Luther and Stevie and Beyond. I love Beyonce. Yeah,
Speaker 5: so I was like, I have to hit him with.
Speaker 1: Those are those are two really crazy?
Speaker 5: Top five and jazzmine She's still absolutely I'm gonna say.
Speaker 1: Your top five R and B songs.
Speaker 5: Okay, top five.
Speaker 2: I know, Okay, top five R and B songs, hmmm,
Speaker 2: I'll just mix them all together. This is not this
Speaker 2: is missing so many songs, but okay, so I'll say
Speaker 2: to be quick, I'll say God Bless the Child. I
Speaker 2: love this song, which is more of a jazz but
Speaker 2: uh human nature Michael Jackson also, you know what I mean,
Speaker 2: Jesus songs.
Speaker 5: This is so crazy.
Speaker 4: Uh Oh.
Speaker 2: I love Erica's bag Lady too. I love bag Lady
Speaker 2: by Erica. That's one of my favorite. There's so many though,
Speaker 2: that's so hard to say. So I'm just gonna you
Speaker 2: just already know she's one of my favorites.
Speaker 5: What I say so far mm hmmmmmm mm hmmm. And
Speaker 5: angel Anita Baker m h.
Speaker 1: That's great.
Speaker 2: And then right now I'm just trying to I feel
Speaker 2: like you can pick any shady song, Like right now,
Speaker 2: I'm just trying to like pick which you will.
Speaker 5: But I'm like, how do I leave exactly? Like, oh gosh, yeah,
Speaker 5: we're going with that? There's I love.
Speaker 2: I love everything she's done. I love everything she's done.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I'm just gonna have to just say all
Speaker 2: I can't pick.
Speaker 5: I can't pick.
Speaker 1: I can't.
Speaker 5: M m my god, uh huh oh, you can't just
Speaker 5: be like vibe for day, Like.
Speaker 6: It's bigger than vibe. Like that word is that word
Speaker 6: is an understate. You learn at that theater in New
Speaker 6: War figured this.
Speaker 5: Let's tell you something.
Speaker 1: That was just.
Speaker 5: I had a home gro on a school named Jennison Class.
Speaker 1: Come on, man, where are you going? Yeah, come on,
Speaker 1: go down southeast.
Speaker 6: Some of that.
Speaker 1: I ain't saying no nick hey, I ain't saying no names.
Speaker 1: I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names.
Speaker 3: You was.
Speaker 1: What you did? Don't say she ain't saying.
Speaker 6: Is the greatest part, right, Okay, So yeah, we had
Speaker 6: a very very very important part of the show segment.
Speaker 6: That's card I ain't saying no names. Okay, tell us
Speaker 6: a story funny and fucked up? Are funny and fucked up?
Speaker 6: The only rule to the game is you can't say
Speaker 6: no name.
Speaker 5: Okay.
Speaker 1: And listen, You've been on tours and movie sets, a
Speaker 1: whole bunch of cool ship so much, so much cool
Speaker 1: in champagne much.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, you have all these stories and then
Speaker 2: you get in like on in the lights and in
Speaker 2: the camera, and my god, well yesterday I went to.
Speaker 4: Wait a minute.
Speaker 5: Okay, let's see. I do have a funny story.
Speaker 2: But bro, I don't know if I can even tell
Speaker 2: the story without y'all knowing exactly who it is. Okay,
Speaker 2: you can say the name, I let me see.
Speaker 1: You know, that's the story you want?
Speaker 5: Now, that's the what's the one? Which were you thinking of?
Speaker 5: Which one?
Speaker 1: Yep?
Speaker 5: Okay, So all right, y'all gonna know. But whatever it is,
Speaker 5: what it is.
Speaker 2: So I just remember, like you know, you meet people
Speaker 2: sometimes and you know, you meet some people that you're like,
Speaker 2: you know, you can tell from their artist persona, you
Speaker 2: can tell from everything You're like, that is a huge personality,
Speaker 2: super duper ego probably you.
Speaker 5: Know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: All the things that and then sometimes you meet people
Speaker 2: that you would think that and they're really sweet, they're cool,
Speaker 2: you know whatever.
Speaker 1: So I think.
Speaker 5: There was one artist entertainer Mogel.
Speaker 2: There was one person. No, no, there was one person.
Speaker 2: One time we were doing Essence best were you? There
Speaker 2: was this the one which Essence was it.
Speaker 1: Was I wasn't there.
Speaker 3: I was so no.
Speaker 2: I just remember there was one time we were in
Speaker 2: our dressing room and it was myself and a bunch
Speaker 2: of other artists, you know what I'm saying, that we're there.
Speaker 3: It was like.
Speaker 2: And I remember we were just kind of everybody was
Speaker 2: in their dressing room. It was like a common room.
Speaker 2: And then everybody was in their respective dressing rooms, you.
Speaker 5: Know what I mean.
Speaker 2: And this artist like kind of came in. They sent
Speaker 2: their team and or their security team in, you know
Speaker 2: what I mean, And they and they were like, this
Speaker 2: honestly is more funny than anything. But uh so they
Speaker 2: sent their security team and there was a common room.
Speaker 2: Each person had their dressing room. This person had their
Speaker 2: dressing room too, and then we had a common room
Speaker 2: and they were nice. Dressing rooms was nice. So everybody
Speaker 2: was in their dressing room and they send their team
Speaker 2: in and to go like kick everybody out of their
Speaker 2: respective dressing room. So it was like common area can't
Speaker 2: be used. And it was like and anybody and these
Speaker 2: are other artists, like people that you know, you know
Speaker 2: what I mean, And so they go in and they're
Speaker 2: just like, all right, this person wants to come in,
Speaker 2: so everybody has to get out.
Speaker 5: Everybody has to you know what I mean, whatever all
Speaker 5: the stuff, so you know.
Speaker 1: Out of this.
Speaker 2: We saw them kicking everybody out of the common room
Speaker 2: and we were like, all right, cool, and then they
Speaker 2: came in and started kicking everybody out their individual rooms,
Speaker 2: and so I was like, my god, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, so most people, including my team,
Speaker 2: were like, we're not gonna leave unless we feel like
Speaker 2: somebody official, you know what I mean, it's telling us this,
Speaker 2: you know, like, and so everybody kind of stayed in
Speaker 2: their dressing room. And then so the person finally came
Speaker 2: into the common area, and no one had left their
Speaker 2: dressing rooms, and they were like, all right, everybody, we're
Speaker 2: gonna pray.
Speaker 5: And I was like, oh my god, look at me.
Speaker 5: I had underestimated this person. They want to pray, my
Speaker 5: bad Jesus, let's go ahead and do it. I judged
Speaker 5: them that was totally wrong. Blah blah blah blah.
Speaker 2: So we all come out of our common dressing rooms
Speaker 2: and we all get in this massive circle and we
Speaker 2: start praying. Well, we all bowed our heads to start praying,
Speaker 2: and so it's like down my head, closed my eyes,
Speaker 2: I did the thing.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean? Were you still kind of
Speaker 1: looking but you're not.
Speaker 5: No, no, not at this point. We're not there yet
Speaker 5: at that part of the story. So I had my
Speaker 5: heads bowed, and then all of a sudden, I hear
Speaker 5: I woke up this morning and I.
Speaker 2: Was me and I was like, I was so I
Speaker 2: was like, and it was a whole thing, and I
Speaker 2: was like, by the time we were dead, I thought
Speaker 2: to myself, I was like.
Speaker 5: Did they make me pray to them?
Speaker 3: Look at that?
Speaker 5: Because I damn, I'm gonna go have to repent and be.
Speaker 2: Like, God, my bad.
Speaker 5: I ain't nobody else I know that God. I didn't know. God,
Speaker 5: I didn't know he was gonna do that, you know
Speaker 5: what I mean. So I had to go and be like, yeah,
Speaker 5: not me at the end of the prayer talking about
Speaker 5: and Jesus name. Okay, all right, thank you.
Speaker 3: No.
Speaker 5: So that was a really interesting story.
Speaker 2: That was probably my first experience with like something that
Speaker 2: was that random and that bizarre, but still funny and entertaining.
Speaker 5: Like I don't know, I like a good charismatic versus
Speaker 5: to me. Yeah, I was like I was, I was tricked.
Speaker 5: I ain't realizing until we said Amen.
Speaker 1: I was like to who, Lord, bless these people holding
Speaker 1: my hand?
Speaker 5: No, no, no, you did it wrong. It's me blessed,
Speaker 5: these peopeople holding Lord, just me bless me.
Speaker 1: I'm a blessed these people holding my hands. Wow, I
Speaker 1: know the way truth and the light. Oh my god.
Speaker 5: My whole team was cracking up, kind of like right
Speaker 5: there you go. Yeah, it was like that.
Speaker 1: Watch me work, watch me name name, watch me with
Speaker 1: with two whips, whip whip, watch me name.
Speaker 5: That's pretty much it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh wow, I'm just going down my
Speaker 1: mental rollerdecks of you know, a couple of people that
Speaker 1: I know are capable of that anyway. Andrew Day, you
Speaker 1: are just you're You're really really awesome.
Speaker 5: Thank you so much. I love this podcast.
Speaker 1: Thank you just to like, you know, just all you
Speaker 1: know inside and out, you know what I mean. And
Speaker 1: I think that you know, we need we need more
Speaker 1: of that. And I and I and I and I pray.
Speaker 5: Yea to yourself.
Speaker 1: I pray that you you you are, you are blessed
Speaker 1: to go in as many spaces as possible to be
Speaker 1: as infectious as you are.
Speaker 4: Thank you.
Speaker 1: I appreciate that your thing is just that it just
Speaker 1: becomes contagious and everybody can be more like you.
Speaker 5: Thank you so much. And I pray the same for you.
Speaker 5: Well you've already done it. You're already doing it.
Speaker 1: You know it's still still more work to do.
Speaker 5: Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: This is home for you, whatever, whenever, whatever you want
Speaker 1: to do.
Speaker 5: I love the aesthetic specific there. This is.
Speaker 1: Kick you out. You got two jags, ladies and gentlemen,
Speaker 1: And this is the Yrvey Money Podcast at the authority
Speaker 1: on all things R and B. And this has been light,
Speaker 1: This has been loved. This, this has been fairly man
Speaker 1: the most beautiful, the most Talented.
Speaker 2: And R and B Money.
Speaker 6: R and B Money is a production of the Black
Speaker 6: Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
Speaker 6: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 6: favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show,
Speaker 6: and you can connect with us on social media at
Speaker 6: Jay Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode,
Speaker 6: subscribe to YouTube dot com, forward Slash, R and B
Speaker 6: Money