WEBVTT - Why Hard Work Will Always Exceed Talent with Emily Bear (Composer + Songwriter) 0:00:04.040 --> 0:00:08.119 Big things happen when you're pretty, pretty bold, pretty clever, 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:12.360 pretty strong. I'm Danielle Robe and each week my guests 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.640 and I have conversations that put a new spin on pretty. 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:22.040 This is pretty smart. Hello. Hello, I hope you are 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:26.600 having a beautiful day and a beautiful week. I'm coming 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.200 to you from Chicago. Actually, I came here to hang 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:32.080 out with my brother for the weekend. It's the first 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:34.920 time I've ever done that. He lives in the city 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:39.200 and I've been staying with him downtown and it's actually 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:43.239 been really special. But before this, I was in New 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:47.920 Orleans for Halloween. I can't think of a spookier place 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:53.600 to be. It was really fun. I truly cannot eat 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.680 any more food from New Orleans. I felt so stuffed 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:00.800 every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but everything's so delicious there. 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:04.160 I had the Cafe Dumont Beignet's with coffee in the 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:08.520 morning and I'm still daydreaming about them. Anyways, I'll be 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:12.920 flying back to LA today And I realized looking at 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:17.080 the date that we have fifty five days until the 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:20.759 new year, and that means we have eight thursdays until 0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:23.600 the new year. We're gonna have a new episode every week, 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:26.440 but I'm actually flying to New York next week to 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:29.440 record with two celebrities that I'm bringing on the pod. 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:32.800 Two people I think you're really actually I know you're 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:36.479 really gonna like them. One of them is absolutely hilarious 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:41.720 and the other has a pretty smart story that it's 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:44.120 just it's very us. I know you guys are gonna 0:01:44.120 --> 0:01:46.880 want to support her and we'll connect to her story. 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:51.840 So let's dive into today's episode. I guess before I 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:54.960 start the intro, I should tell you that Emily, who 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.480 is our guest today, Emily Bear has become a friend 0:01:57.480 --> 0:01:59.680 of mine and I met her through work via Hello 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:04.680 Sune and when we met at an event, we connected 0:02:04.960 --> 0:02:07.640 right away and I felt like I had known her 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:09.960 for years. But I also felt like she was maybe 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:12.200 a little younger than me, but probably around my age. 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:17.280 And it wasn't until she came to record Pretty Smart 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:20.040 that I realized she was just twenty three years old. 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:22.520 I was ten years older than her, and I had 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:26.320 no idea because she is so just beyond her years 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:30.040 and people have been telling her that for years. I learned, 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:34.920 so I'll explain what that means in a second. Let's 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:40.160 just dive in. You know, there's a lot of gifts 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:43.160 that you can have in this life, but having musical 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:46.800 talent has to be one of the most alluring for me. 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:49.919 Every time I'm in the presence of live music, my 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:53.160 first thought is what does it feel like to be 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:58.960 able to insert verb, sing, play strum like that? Have 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:00.720 you ever been to a party where someone picked up 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.760 a guitar or at a karaoke night where someone steps 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:07.720 on the mic and just blows everyone away. It changes 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:11.080 the whole vibration of the room, Like I feel it 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:14.400 in my body. When I look at live performers, I 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:19.400 just I marvel in amazement. Do you all feel that way? 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:21.679 I don't know if it's just me. It's like this 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:25.680 skill that you know what. It's not a skill, it's 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:30.680 a gift, and it's not a talent. It's a calling. 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:36.440 Our guest today has a true calling. Composer and musician 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:40.320 Emily Bear is used to her skills being center stage. 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:43.600 She's been making music since she was four years old, 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:46.000 and I don't mean four years old walking and singing. 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:48.320 Mary had a little lamb like maybe some of us were. 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:51.080 I mean she was featured on The Ellen Show at 0:03:51.120 --> 0:04:01.320 six for being a piano prodigy. She's gone on to 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:06.080 become a Grammy and Emmy winning composer, producer, a ranger, pianist, 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:09.200 and singer songwriter. She's worked with some of the greatest 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:12.200 musicians of our time. She toured with Beyonce on her 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:16.640 Renaissance tour and counts Quincy Jones as her mentor. This 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:20.520 was recorded a few weeks before Quincy Jones passed, and 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:23.560 I think it's important to note that. I also think 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:28.080 it's worth mentioning how instrumental Quincy was. He lived his 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.919 life like a symphony, a conductor of culture and an 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.920 architect of timeless sound. From the vibrant days of big 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:39.839 band jazz to the electrifying energy of pop, Quincy touched 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:43.440 almost every corner of music, and he left an indelible 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:47.559 mark on so many people's lives. He was notoriously kind 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:50.120 and generous with his time. He went out of his 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:53.640 way to mentor people he believed in, people like Emily, 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:56.360 and in watching videos of the two of them together, 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:58.880 one of the things that stuck out to me was 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:02.400 how he talked about her work ethic. It'd be easy 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:05.160 to look at Emily and think that her success is 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:08.640 rooted in sheer talent. But what Quincy pointed out, and 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:11.000 what I so quickly picked up on in our conversation, 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:16.640 is Emily's relentlessness and grit. I think Emily realized pretty 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:19.839 quickly that when it comes to longevity in her career, 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:23.400 hard work was going to trump talent every single time. 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:26.880 Whatever natural talent I had is only going to last 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:29.760 me so long, like I need to keep learning otherwise 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:32.600 I'm just gonna again fizzle out once the spectacle is gone, 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:34.479 and I won't have anything to show for it afterwards. 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.640 I have this James Baldwin quote printed on my whiteboard 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:42.279 in my kitchen. It reads, talent is insignificant. I know 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:45.960 a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:53.279 usual words, discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance. 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:54.880 And as I was. 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:58.040 Talking to Emily, I kept thinking about that quote on 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:03.760 my whiteboard in my kitchen. Emily has endured, and today 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:07.920 she gives us her unofficial guide to breaking barriers, how 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:11.760 she found the magic in creating her own opportunities, plus 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:15.719 why creating your dream life will inevitably come with some 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:17.159 night marriish moments. 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:20.279 Anyone who's at the top of their game in medicine 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:23.520 or science or acting or whatever, Like anyone who's there 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:28.400 has put so much shit into getting where they are, 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:30.600 and it's not always fine. It's gonna be hard, it's 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:33.000 going to be terrible, but you do it because you 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:33.400 love it. 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:37.680 At just twenty three years old and maybe the wisdom 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.360 of a forty something year old, but at just twenty three, 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:44.839 Emily's life has been a blend of big wins, tough lessons, 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:48.400 and moments that make her stop and say, wow, that 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:52.800 really happened. Today, she's taking us behind the scenes from 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:55.839 her early days when her grandmother noticed her gift to 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.520 her biggest challenges in an industry that still has a 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:00.960 pretty long way to go recognizing women. 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:05.159 Every musician grows up every year you watch the Grammys 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:06.880 and you're like, oh, I want to be up there. 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:09.960 Oh that'll be me one day. But there's no way 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:12.480 that's never gonna happen. There's no way. So then like 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:14.760 it happens, I'm like, WHOA. 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:18.840 Emily Bear isn't just an artist, She's a revolutionary voice 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:22.280 for the next generation of composers. And I don't say 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:24.800 that lightly. Those of you who listen weekly know that 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:29.880 I don't use the words revolutionary or iconic even as 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:32.560 a joke. I mean it when I say she's the 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:34.520 type of person you're going to tell your friends about 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:37.200 and say, oh my god, I listened to an interview 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.760 with her I'm Pretty Smart a few years ago. I 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.520 really can't wait to see where Emily's calling takes her. 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:56.280 This is her story. Let's buckle up, Emily Bear. Welcome 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:57.320 to Pretty Smart. 0:07:57.600 --> 0:07:59.560 Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited. 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:03.080 It's my first podcast, So your first podcast. 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:05.520 I want the full story today. 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:09.560 All right? Yeah, I see all these note cards and 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:11.880 I feel like you're very well educated, So I'm excited 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:12.720 it's gonna be. 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:15.240 I cried preparing for your interview. 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:17.600 Which blows my mind, but it means a lot. 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:18.800 Why does it flow your mind? 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:20.720 I don't know. I just I feel like I have 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:26.880 a very like detached perspective on my life. It's like, yeah, 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:29.520 I see everything that I've done, and to me, like 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:32.280 it almost doesn't count because I was little. But it does. 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:34.160 But it doesn't. I don't know. 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:37.200 It's I want to get into that more. 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:38.679 So. 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:41.760 You said, I always find that when I'm saddest, all 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:44.280 I want to do is write music. When I'm happiest, 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.160 all I want to do is write music. How did 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:48.800 music become that outlet for you? 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:52.800 I honestly don't even remember a time where music wasn't 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:55.040 like the biggest part of my life. Yeah, because I 0:08:55.080 --> 0:08:56.960 started so young, and so I don't I don't know 0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:01.280 what life looks like without this, So I don't know. 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:02.920 But people used to always ask me when I was 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:04.839 growing up because as a kid, everyone's like, well, is 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:08.120 it fun? And now, as an adult doing this full 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:10.760 time as a job, It's like, no, it's not always fun. 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.439 But in any field that you want to be successful in, 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:17.760 it's not gonna always be fun. Like anyone who's at 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:20.320 the top of their game in medicine or science or 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:24.720 acting or whatever. Like anyone who's there has put so 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:28.560 much shit into getting where they are, and it's not 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:30.560 always fun. It's gonna be hard, it's gonna be terrible, 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:33.720 but you do it because you love it. And I 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:36.720 want to do this because I would rather put the blood, 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:38.800 sweat and tears into something that I can't live without 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:41.120 and something that I love and I'm so passionate about 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:42.440 than somebody else. 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:44.520 You know what, instruments do you play? 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:47.920 I play piano and I sing, and I can fuck 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:51.120 around a little bit on like a couple other that 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:53.199 don't even really count because I'm so bad at it. 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:56.480 But I write for everything, so I write for orchestra, 0:09:56.600 --> 0:09:59.160 so I can write for everything, but I can't play everything, 0:09:59.200 --> 0:09:59.880 if that makes sense? 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:03.680 Of course, who discovered your talent? 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:07.240 Like we used to always joke because I have two obviously, 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:09.160 I have two grandmas, but one is like a piano 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:13.679 teacher and one is a crazy Moroccan. And the crazy 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:16.120 Moroccan is the one who like first was like what 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:18.600 the fuck is going on with this baby? And she 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:22.160 was as a baby as a baby, yeah, and. 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:23.400 Were you doing as a baby? 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:27.360 I guess I would just like go mess around on 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:29.560 the piano when she was watching us when my parents 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:31.680 were out of town, and she's like, why is the 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:35.600 baby playing the piano? Obviously I don't remember any of 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:37.480 this because I was a child, but she was the 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:41.880 first one who was like what and I she called 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:45.120 my parents while they were on vacation and was like 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:49.079 wigging out and my parents were like, I don't know 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:50.480 what do you want? Like do what do you want 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:53.480 us to do? She's two. Yeah, but then my other grandma, 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:55.400 it was it was kind of like found by committee. 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:58.960 Incredible because there's videos of me when I was like 0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:02.040 dressed up for Thanksgiving to go to my grandma's house 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:04.920 and I would be like two or three years old, 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:08.160 sitting like standing on the piano bench and doing scales. 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:10.840 Obama called you baby Mozart. 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:12.760 I have no comment. 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:18.440 So you were considered a child prodigy. Do you lean 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:20.439 into that term or does it make you cringe? Like, 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:21.520 how do you feel about it? 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:23.800 I mean it still makes me cringe a little bit 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:26.800 because I hated it so much growing up. I truly 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:30.240 hated being called a child prodigy because I feel like 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:33.000 a lot of the child prodigies and I think it's 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:35.360 it's less now than it was back in the day, 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:38.400 but like it was very much like a dancing monkey 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:42.080 situation where it was like, wow, look at her hands 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:44.200 go like she can play the piano so fast for 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:47.079 a five year old, and it was just like very showy, 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:48.839 and I hated it, and I always wanted to be 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.640 taken seriously even from a young age. Plus, I didn't 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:53.800 feel like I related to the child prodigy thing. I 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:56.040 didn't feel like I was any different from like a 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.600 kid who was super competitive at soccer and was like 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:01.000 traveling all over the world as like you know, in 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:03.440 middle school to go on that track. I was just 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:08.000 doing it with music, So I just never wanted to 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:11.240 be judged based off of like, wow, that's really great 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:14.320 for a blank year old instead of like it's just 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:14.960 good music. 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:17.839 I'm going to use the word one more time. I'm 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:18.360 sorry to make it. 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.800 I'm fine with it now because I'm kind of proud 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:25.480 of my past. I think it's cool, especially now that 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:28.120 I feel like I've gotten past the hump of like 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.160 because I feel like a lot of child prodigies also 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:35.400 fizzle out once they become adult, because like the spectacle 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:39.320 is gone, so there's nothing left. Like they're just you know, 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:41.400 one of a million again instead of like one of 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:45.400 a hundred. And honestly, with the Bridgeton thing, I feel 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:48.000 like I'd gotten past that hump because I was judged 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.360 purely based off of work that I was doing as 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.440 an adult, and no one even knew anything I'd done before, 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:55.080 and then they found out later it was like what 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:57.600 she was the girl I watched on Ellen, and I 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.040 was like, that's cool. This is cool. So now I 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:04.600 I love my past. I think it obviously has shaped 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:07.320 who I am as a musician and a person. Yeah, 0:13:07.360 --> 0:13:10.520 and I'm proud of it. But like the word prodigy, 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:11.160 I'm still. 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:17.160 Like, so I read about child prodigies to prepare for 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:20.400 this interview, okay, and a lot of them said that 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:24.319 music flows naturally within It's an intuitive language that they 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:28.559 understand even before they grasp technical aspects of it. I 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:30.800 kind of compare it to how walking would be for 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:33.160 any of us, like we have the instinct to want 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:36.000 to walk, even though we don't know how. Other people 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:38.480 have described it as a creative force that they channel. 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:41.640 Some describe it as a language, and then some just 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.360 say it's otherworldly, it's mysterious. They don't even know how 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:46.839 to describe it. Yeah, how do you think about it? 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:48.560 What did it feel like within you? 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.560 I mean, obviously I can't really talk about how it 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:56.040 felt as a kid, because I don't really remember. But 0:13:57.360 --> 0:13:59.080 I do think it is kind of like a language. 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.680 But then sometimes it's also weirdly mysterious, because even now 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:04.760 I'll get things that I wrote a couple years ago, 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:06.480 and I'm like, how the fuck did I I don't 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:08.600 like abiol and I feel the same way too. It's 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.480 like sometimes we write something and it's flowing and it's 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:13.760 like the greatest feeling ever, and then afterwards we're like, 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:14.360 how did that have? 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:16.440 How did it come out of me? 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:20.280 But I use tools just like we do with language, 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:22.760 and like any skill that we have. It's like I 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:25.040 have a toolbox that I can pull from and things 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:27.800 that I know work. And the more tools you have, 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:30.880 the greater the thing you know you can create. 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:33.960 Do you mean tools like inspiration or like I. 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.600 Mean inspiration, yes, but also like skills. So like I 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:40.960 studied a lot and I learned a lot, and I 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:45.040 tried really hard growing up to always push forward and 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:49.200 always learn more. Because I don't remember who told me this, 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:50.840 but it was like a really big mantra for me 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:55.720 growing up. Hard work always exceeds talent, So like whatever, Yeah, 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:58.480 it's like whatever natural talent I had is only going 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.280 to last me so long, Like I need to keep learning, wow, 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.240 otherwise I'm just gonna again fizzle out once the spectacle 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:05.880 is gone, and I won't have anything to show for 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:06.960 it afterwards, you know what I mean? 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:11.760 So I think every great composer has a signature. What's 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:13.200 the Emily Bear signature. 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:16.400 I think that's a TVD thing. I feel like that's 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:21.120 something that you acquire over many, many years of writing, 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:23.720 and like once you look at a whole body of work, 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:26.400 you can like understand what your signature is. I mean, 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:31.200 I feel like personally my signature is that, like I 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:33.080 I mean one, I love orchestra, so I'll use that 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:37.040 in everything, but it's not really a signature. I just 0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:40.840 love to make people cry, like I love that sweeping 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:43.240 you do well with music. 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:46.480 Because if I like making people cry with my interviews, yeah, 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:46.960 like if. 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.720 I make someone feel something so strong that they're moved 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:54.880 to tears, then I've done my job. So think about 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:57.200 music that I love so much and that always just 0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.760 keeps me going. It's like that feeling when you hit 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:01.320 like a peak of a song, or you hear the 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:04.960 strings swell and you just feel something and you don't 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:06.480 know what that feeling like, I don't know what it is, 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:09.040 but like when I hear the strings play like a 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:13.320 beautiful note and it's like that climactic part and you're 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:14.720 just like, oh my god, this is a feeling that 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:18.200 I can't find anywhere else. That's what I love, and 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:22.720 I love epic, lush, beautiful soundscape. So maybe that's my signature. 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:24.240 I don't know. I feel like someone else has to 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:26.000 tell me what my signature is. I can't tell. 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:30.000 Do you cry when you compose your own music? 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:31.080 No? 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:32.760 Interesting? 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:36.600 No, Yeah, that's weird. I've never thought about that. 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:41.160 Yeah, I do think that's probably your signature. Yeah, you 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:42.280 move people to tears. 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.840 I would like to if I have again, I've done 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:47.240 my job. 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:52.120 So there was this amazing documentary about you when you 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:55.760 were six years old. So your mom in that doc says, 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:58.120 my goal is for her to be happy, to have 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.600 good values, to have peace in her heart, and to 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:01.960 be a really good grown up. 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:05.200 She my mom. It's funny that you mentioned that quote 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:07.800 because last week we were on the phone and she 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.800 starts cryingcause she's like, remember that thing I used to 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:12.240 always say when you were a kid. I feel like 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:15.119 it's come true. Like I see everything you're doing in 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:16.960 the way you handle yourself and blah blah blah, and 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.600 it's like I feel like I've done my job and whatever, 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:21.720 and I'm like, huh. 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:24.400 So she like, I know that your mom cared about 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:27.560 your dream of music, but in that dock. It seemed like, oh, 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:29.840 like she just wanted you to be a good adult. 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:32.560 Yeah, And I feel like that was a really important 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:35.679 thing for my parents is to like a lot of 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:38.960 the times, especially with the child prodigies, it can become 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:41.800 a cash grab and it's like, how can we get 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:44.439 the most amount of exposure in the quickest amount, like 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:47.520 in the quickest time possible before this shit goes away? 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:52.560 And that was never our goal. And they kind of, 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.000 you know, drilled some good values into my brain. 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:57.479 What were the ways that you think they were the 0:17:57.480 --> 0:17:58.600 most supportive of you. 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:03.840 I certainly didn't have like a normal childhood. I moved 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:06.760 out when I was sixteen, I graduated high school early. 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:11.000 They allowed me to come to LA and like my 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:14.960 mom visited a lot more back then. But like they 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:18.400 were always really supportive. Like I just if I had 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:21.680 been born to different parents with a different circumstance and 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.520 a different view on like what a life is supposed 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:27.240 to look like, I would have never I would never 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:27.640 be here. 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:30.920 Like they were open minded and trusting. 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:34.080 It sounds they always believed in me, probably a lot 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:36.720 more than I believed in myself, And so I think 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:39.520 that's a very valuable in Priceless Gift. 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:44.200 Quincy Jones is your mentor. How old were you when 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:45.480 you met him? And how old was he? 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:48.480 Oh? I don't know how old he was, but I 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:50.439 met him when I was like eight, and then he 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:53.120 became a very big part of my life. And now 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.960 he's ninety one, so he. 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:56.720 Was in his eighties. 0:18:57.760 --> 0:18:59.800 I think he was not eighty yet. I think he 0:18:59.880 --> 0:19:03.440 was like late seventies, okay, which is crazy because I 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:05.080 remember a couple of years ago I was at his 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:06.960 birthday party and we were talking about how he's known 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:09.040 me for over half my life, and I'm like, that's weird. 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:10.640 It's unbelievable. 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:11.160 It's weird. 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:13.919 Yeah, because here's the thing I'm watching this doc. You 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:17.800 meet Quincy Jones, he quickly wants to become your mentor. 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:22.240 You can tell he's in his late seventies. You're eight, yeah, 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:27.879 and he is twenty seven Grammys and he produced your CD. 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:31.600 He hadn't produced a solo record since Michael Jackson. 0:19:31.720 --> 0:19:33.680 It was it was wild, man. I mean I think 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:35.840 when I first met him, like I knew who he 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:37.480 was and I knew what he had done, but it 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:40.880 didn't quite I didn't quite understand, Like I didn't grasp. 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:41.639 Of course it. 0:19:42.640 --> 0:19:47.120 But again, like his love and passion for the craft 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:51.800 of music always shone through, and so like when we 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:53.720 would talk, it wasn't like I was talking to a 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:56.080 seventy five year old. It was like just two people 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:59.120 who loved music. And I think that's why he has 0:19:59.160 --> 0:20:02.760 such an incredible legacy and why he's decided to to 0:20:02.880 --> 0:20:05.800 mentor people at his stage of life, Like he doesn't 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:08.280 need to be doing this shit, like he he's done, 0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:11.760 he's done the most, He's done everything any musician could 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:13.640 ever want to do. But now he chooses to spend 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:17.679 his time helping young people and people that he believes in, 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:23.520 you know, yeah, learn about the business and music and everything. 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:27.040 So it's just I think people that really truly have 0:20:27.119 --> 0:20:30.600 passion for their craft, like age doesn't matter, like it 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:33.320 just falls away. As I've gotten older, I've heard more 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.680 stories about Quincy, you know, in Quincy being Quincy. 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:39.000 But I just but you got a different version. 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:41.119