Speaker 1: And then I saw Michelle and she's like, Keisha, come
Speaker 1: over here. I need you to meet my husband. And
Speaker 1: I was like, is this the moment? And so then
Speaker 1: she introduces me.
Speaker 2: To Barack and he was like, I heard you were
Speaker 2: on the My wife was on your show.
Speaker 1: And he's like, my daughters.
Speaker 2: Yeah, He's like, and my daughters are big fans of
Speaker 2: you in the show. And you know, Michelle thinks she's
Speaker 2: really cool, but I have to ask.
Speaker 1: You, is she really that cool?
Speaker 3: That was Keisha Chante, award winning singer, TV host and
Speaker 3: one of the few women to transition from teen stardom
Speaker 3: to lasting success on her own terms. In this episode
Speaker 3: of My Legacy, Keisha sits down with her mentor who
Speaker 3: helped shape her path, Stephen Hill, for a conversation about reinvention, resilience,
Speaker 3: and knowing when to walk away from what no longer
Speaker 3: serves you. It's a masterclass and how to stay grounded
Speaker 3: while rising, and how the right mentor can change everything.
Speaker 3: This is My Legacy. This show is built on connection,
Speaker 3: on showing up authentically, and on reminding each and every
Speaker 3: one of us of what really matters. If that resonates
Speaker 3: with you, Subscribing is the easiest way to support what
Speaker 3: we're all building together and help us bring more of
Speaker 3: these uplifting conversations into the world.
Speaker 4: Welcome to My legacy. For our new listeners and viewers,
Speaker 4: this isn't your typical celebrity solo interview. This is a
Speaker 4: show where remarkable people pull back the curtain and bring
Speaker 4: along the one person who's seen their story unfold to highs,
Speaker 4: the heartbreaks, and everything in between. And today's guest has
Speaker 4: been a powerhouse in music, in TV, and entrepreneurship since
Speaker 4: her teens. From an award winning R and B singer
Speaker 4: to popular television hosts, to interviewing icons like First Lady
Speaker 4: Michelle Obama to powerfully advocating for inclusion and mental health.
Speaker 4: Kisha Chante is a true trailblazer, and keeping with the
Speaker 4: spirit of the show, she's brought along someone who's played
Speaker 4: a special and meaningful role in her life. And so, Kisha,
Speaker 4: would you do us the honor of introducing to us
Speaker 4: your plus one, your guest, the person who knows you
Speaker 4: so well, who are interviewing and sharing with our audience today.
Speaker 2: Yes, the man, the myth, the legend, mister Stephen Hill.
Speaker 2: Stephen and I met when I was very young. I
Speaker 2: was sixteen, actually I think a little younger than that. Yeah, sixteen,
Speaker 2: and he's seen me along the way, So I felt
Speaker 2: like he would be the perfect person to be here
Speaker 2: as my plus one, because not only is he a mentor,
Speaker 2: but he's a dear friend. He's incredibly intelligent and creative
Speaker 2: and has been a trailblazer in his career and in
Speaker 2: his craft, and he just constantly inspires me.
Speaker 1: So and everyone loves him.
Speaker 3: I do want to start with Keisha, because I know
Speaker 3: that you were raised in a multicultural home. If if
Speaker 3: I understand correctly, your mom is Portuguese, your dad is Trinidadian. Yeah,
Speaker 3: how would you say that that experience shaped you as
Speaker 3: you were going out into the world.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean so, I was born in Ottawa, the
Speaker 2: capital of Canada, a very political city but a really
Speaker 2: beautiful place to grow up in. My mom's family immigrated
Speaker 2: from Portugal. They're also Hispanic as well, they're mixed, and
Speaker 2: then my father's family immigrated from Trinidad and Tobago. And
Speaker 2: just even the school that I went to, nobody really
Speaker 2: looked like me. The only people that I really related
Speaker 2: to were my family at home. But when I went
Speaker 2: out into the world, nobody looked like me, and it
Speaker 2: was odd. I remember feeling, you know, at home, for example,
Speaker 2: my mom and dad would be like, we love your hair,
Speaker 2: and you know, they'd point out things about me.
Speaker 1: But I'd go to school and they'd be like, what's
Speaker 1: wrong with your hair? Are you tanned? Why are you
Speaker 1: not like? You know, So there were a lot of
Speaker 1: shocks that went into play.
Speaker 2: But my parents are so incredibly loving, affectionate, support, very
Speaker 2: honest with me. They had conversations with me very early
Speaker 2: on that you know, I don't think parents usually have
Speaker 2: with their kids. They kind of wait until they feel
Speaker 2: it's a safe time to do so.
Speaker 1: But also being an only child, there's a different.
Speaker 2: Magnification, so to speak, on every move that I made,
Speaker 2: because you are raised with pride, but you're also raised
Speaker 2: in a sense where you really want to make your
Speaker 2: mom and dad proud. So I just felt like I
Speaker 2: wanted to be the best at school, the best at home.
Speaker 1: I just wanted to make them proud all the time.
Speaker 2: But just at home, it was just always full of music, family,
Speaker 2: good cooking, singing, dancing, and.
Speaker 1: A lot of inspiration.
Speaker 3: But home was my safe place, so it sounds like
Speaker 3: they were both, but particularly your mom was very deliberate
Speaker 3: because what you just said, and I don't want to
Speaker 3: skim over it, you know, to point out, oh, I
Speaker 3: love your hair, I love your so that you already fortified.
Speaker 3: What she was doing was fortifying you because she knew
Speaker 3: more than you, that little keishaself, what you were going
Speaker 3: to face into the world. And so that's the beautiful
Speaker 3: gift of deliberate intention.
Speaker 5: That she offered you.
Speaker 3: I know she also, you said, gave you some tough love.
Speaker 2: Oh yes, my mom especially she's my biggest fan but
Speaker 2: also my biggest critic. So when I told her I
Speaker 2: wanted to sing, she said, anything you want to do
Speaker 2: in life, you can do it, and you can be
Speaker 2: amazing at anything, but you have to be willing to
Speaker 2: do the work. And even if you're naturally good at
Speaker 2: a particular talent, you still have to work for it.
Speaker 2: Don't just expect it to come to you. As long
Speaker 2: as my grades were good, she would support me. So
Speaker 2: if I wanted to sing, she said yeah, But at
Speaker 2: the same time she would record me performing and force
Speaker 2: me to watch it back.
Speaker 1: And in those days it was VHS. The pausing and
Speaker 1: then the breakdown.
Speaker 2: Of like that note was off, let's discuss why it
Speaker 2: was off, and then having to rewind it, and then's
Speaker 2: a little and sitting there and then and then starting
Speaker 2: it over again. It was a lot. Okay, as a
Speaker 2: six year old, it was a lot. But you know what,
Speaker 2: it's good to be. It's good to be able to
Speaker 2: see yourself.
Speaker 5: Six year old as a six year old. That is
Speaker 5: a early that's given feedback you.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, she was like, oh, you want to do it. Okay,
Speaker 2: let's do it for real. Then it wasn't I couldn't
Speaker 2: just it wasn't at my leisure. It was if you
Speaker 2: make that decision, you're being intentional, then you have to
Speaker 2: be great at it or else nothing else.
Speaker 5: By the way, that was such an interesting window. I
Speaker 5: appreciate being so open and so candid and talking about that. Okay,
Speaker 5: So you said that Stephen is one of your mentors. Okay,
Speaker 5: So let me turned to Stephen just for a quick second.
Speaker 5: Here you cut your teeth as a radio host, yes, okay,
Speaker 5: and then you move over to be et. You became
Speaker 5: pretty iconic and shaping some of the key moments there.
Speaker 5: So you are one of her mentors. But let's actually
Speaker 5: take it back to your mentor, Stephen, Can you share
Speaker 5: with us a mentor in your life.
Speaker 6: Absolutely, el Roy arc Smith, who is a legend in
Speaker 6: American radio who was worked in Boston, Dallas, Chicago.
Speaker 7: He was the first person.
Speaker 6: Who really believed in me as I when I when
Speaker 6: I was cutting my teeth as a weekend person on
Speaker 6: the on the air. He found me and brought me
Speaker 6: to w I L d AM in Boston, and he
Speaker 6: was just.
Speaker 7: So immersed in radio he did.
Speaker 6: So when you were mentioning what your mom did to you,
Speaker 6: that's what Elroy did to me. After shows we'd go through,
Speaker 6: I'd I'd take my shows, I'd go into the office
Speaker 6: with Elroy and Elroy would would push it would push
Speaker 6: the pause. But like, here's how you could have done
Speaker 6: that better. Here's like what were you thinking when you
Speaker 6: did that? And so they're called air checks, and we
Speaker 6: did them with you when you were when you came
Speaker 6: to bed. But it's the way you get better is listening,
Speaker 6: is is being forced to critique yourself and always remembering try.
Speaker 7: To make yourself better. So Elroy, Elroy Smith.
Speaker 6: Was really my my biggest mentor. Even when I got
Speaker 6: to got to TV. I just learned from from him.
Speaker 6: It's always about the audience.
Speaker 5: And I love how you're both pulling back the curtain
Speaker 5: here because you know, people see you global superstar now, Kisha.
Speaker 5: But to realize at six your mom was hitting or Stephen,
Speaker 5: you know, incredible, world famous producer, but to pause and
Speaker 5: realize someone had to lean in and literally hit pause
Speaker 5: and give you that tough love feedback, like it isn't
Speaker 5: by accident that both of you ended up as successful
Speaker 5: as you are. And I love that you are just
Speaker 5: being so honest and so vulnerable and sharing that with
Speaker 5: everyone who thinks they have the poster on their wall
Speaker 5: or they aspire with the street Zaber. They don't understand
Speaker 5: all the work that takes to get to both of
Speaker 5: where you are.
Speaker 1: And the amount of reflection always.
Speaker 3: That's one of the things I'm already hearing in your
Speaker 3: stories too, is that to really take the.
Speaker 1: Time and reflect.
Speaker 3: Now, when you were a little you didn't know how
Speaker 3: to do that, but your mom, you know, made sure
Speaker 3: that you were reflecting, and you know your mentor. And
Speaker 3: I think that there's a space for all of us
Speaker 3: in our lives to reflect on what can we improve.
Speaker 3: Let's let's look at that. So that's one of the
Speaker 3: things I'm already taking away from.
Speaker 5: Martin Zotti's head, going, yeah, does someone else give you
Speaker 5: feedback in your life? Every now that I know my
Speaker 5: wife does.
Speaker 8: Oh yeah.
Speaker 5: So I'm gonna say say it would love.
Speaker 8: Cause you when you first started out, there were barely
Speaker 8: any radio stations in Canada that actually played the music
Speaker 8: that you've sang. Yeah, now when doors weren't initially opening
Speaker 8: for you as an artist? Yet, what helped you to
Speaker 8: to actually move forward and continue to want to develop?
Speaker 1: Great question. I always remain a student.
Speaker 2: I remember being thirteen years old and being discovered and
Speaker 2: having to go to the record label, and there were
Speaker 2: a few people that really believed in my talent as
Speaker 2: a singer and wanted me to make R and B
Speaker 2: music and go in the studio and record these songs.
Speaker 2: But then we'd go in these meetings and the labels
Speaker 2: at the time were like, there are really no thirteen
Speaker 2: year old artists and we don't have R and B
Speaker 2: radio stations, and like what are we gonna.
Speaker 1: Do with her? And shouldn't she be in school? Like
Speaker 1: where's her chaperone?
Speaker 2: It was like a lot of red tape, and I
Speaker 2: felt like I had to very much audition for my contract.
Speaker 1: So I remember my first day at the record label.
Speaker 2: For example, Deborah Cox walked in and she happened to
Speaker 2: be there that day. I sang for her and she
Speaker 2: was like, you can do it. It's gonna be hard,
Speaker 2: but if you really want it, you can make it happen.
Speaker 2: And seeing her gave me this glimmer of oh, I
Speaker 2: could do it too, which was really nice to see
Speaker 2: that representation because there wasn't much of it. And then
Speaker 2: I just felt like I needed to remain a student.
Speaker 2: So I would sit in the office at business affairs.
Speaker 2: I would sit with the radio team, the marketing team,
Speaker 2: the street team. I wanted to know every single DJ
Speaker 2: in the country, from college radio to the radio stations
Speaker 2: that weren't playing my music. And at the time it
Speaker 2: was vinyls, So you know, we'd get in the car
Speaker 2: and we would go. I would hand deliver it after
Speaker 2: school with one of my best friends, Jennifer Hyland. We'd
Speaker 2: drive to the DJs and I would give them the
Speaker 2: Vinyls and I just.
Speaker 1: Felt like, this is the grid of it all.
Speaker 2: But I was told as a little girl that I
Speaker 2: literally could have anything in the world if I worked
Speaker 2: for it. So the idea of no, even to this day,
Speaker 2: like no doesn't exist. There's just another way to ask
Speaker 2: that sounds like mark.
Speaker 7: True.
Speaker 2: So we definitely it was a lot of fighting. It
Speaker 2: was a lot of fighting. And then I remember the
Speaker 2: first record it got.
Speaker 1: Picked up by the DJs.
Speaker 2: The DJs were playing it on radio shows at radio
Speaker 2: stations that did not play R and B, and they
Speaker 2: would mix me in yeah slowly and then people would
Speaker 2: request it, and then eventually it ended up I think
Speaker 2: like number one or number something like, Yeah, it was
Speaker 2: number one.
Speaker 1: Or about what age At this point, I.
Speaker 2: Was thirteen, thirteen years old and Shante's my middle name,
Speaker 2: so I was still going back to class and no
Speaker 2: one knew Keisha Shante was the student sitting in their
Speaker 2: class cause I kept it a secret for as long.
Speaker 2: There was no music video for that single, so no
Speaker 2: one knew what I looked like at the time. But
Speaker 2: I remember being in our little cafeteria and someone actually
Speaker 2: was playing the song.
Speaker 1: And I thought it was a setup.
Speaker 2: I was like, do they know, are they gonna like
Speaker 2: harass me or tease me or something?
Speaker 1: But they didn't know. And then yeah.
Speaker 2: I was like, okay, well we got to keep, you know, advocating,
Speaker 2: And I think, I just it's just relentlessness.
Speaker 3: You would think that at that age you would have
Speaker 3: been shouting and running up and down the hallways at
Speaker 3: school to say, hey, I have a record. You know,
Speaker 3: I'm fascinated about this because our daughter a lot of
Speaker 3: times at school, like she will go and speak in
Speaker 3: front of almost a million people literally and then go
Speaker 3: to school and be like this, well, what you did
Speaker 3: this weekend I saw in an indoor pool. And she's
Speaker 3: the only child too. Were you intentionally not sharing with
Speaker 3: your classmates?
Speaker 2: I think, and I don't want to speak for all
Speaker 2: only children, but at least from what I can take
Speaker 2: from it, when you are an only child, you feel
Speaker 2: separate from everyone, You don't feel a part of the group,
Speaker 2: and you have a lot of alone time. I say
Speaker 2: this a lot with only children. Like when you have
Speaker 2: siblings and your sibling touches the cookie, takes the cookie
Speaker 2: out of the cookie jar, you see it, you visually
Speaker 2: see it, and you're like, oh my god, Mom's gonna
Speaker 2: yell at him or her right, and you know it's
Speaker 2: gonna happen.
Speaker 1: When you're an only child. You don't have any visuals
Speaker 1: of that. You only know what it feels like.
Speaker 2: You're taking the cookie and then you get yelled at,
Speaker 2: but you don't have anyone else to compare anything to.
Speaker 2: You're just kind of figuring it out on your own.
Speaker 1: It is.
Speaker 2: It's only like ten percent of the population I think
Speaker 2: are only children.
Speaker 1: So there's that.
Speaker 2: But I found it almost embarrassing, like not shy, because
Speaker 2: you can put me on a stage and I would perform,
Speaker 2: and I used to go to the principal's office and
Speaker 2: be like, can I host a coffee show and talent show?
Speaker 1: And can I sing?
Speaker 2: I wanted to sing as much as I could in school,
Speaker 2: but once there was that kind of attention, it was
Speaker 2: I'm like, am I not going to be accepted? Am
Speaker 2: I going to be separate? Am I I don't want
Speaker 2: to act differently? And then people not.
Speaker 1: Want to include me, or while I get bullied or
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think you just you just don't
Speaker 1: want to be separate. You just want to You want
Speaker 1: to blend it.
Speaker 3: As much as fascinating is helpful to me as as
Speaker 3: a mom of a only child. Yeah, and another thing
Speaker 3: as a mom that I appreciate. Is that your music
Speaker 3: is always age appropriate? Yes, and so is that something
Speaker 3: that you are intentional in doing well?
Speaker 2: As a little girl, you could not get me to
Speaker 2: sing any lyric that wasn't real, Like all the lyrics
Speaker 2: were like at school, met a boy at the mall,
Speaker 2: like very young, but also having my mom at the
Speaker 2: time as my mom and Jeremi, my mama does not play.
Speaker 1: She is a force.
Speaker 2: So she was with me every day and she was
Speaker 2: very much like, she's not wearing those heels and no,
Speaker 2: she can wear a little tracksuit, thank you.
Speaker 1: Like is that skin? No, she's not doing skin.
Speaker 2: So I had her always there and that was good
Speaker 2: for me to have that. But I've always been very
Speaker 2: like vocal about what I.
Speaker 1: Think is right.
Speaker 2: So it's a little girl, I would tell you right away, like, no,
Speaker 2: that lyric doesn't register with me.
Speaker 1: We're gonna change that line. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Coming up on my Legacy, Keisha takes us back to
Speaker 3: the show that shaped a Generation one oh six in
Speaker 3: part if you Know you Know, and how she went
Speaker 3: from watching every day after school to stepping on the
Speaker 3: stage as a host. If you remember the countdown days
Speaker 3: hit like follow and share this with your crew and
Speaker 3: please subscribe so we can keep bringing you these joyful
Speaker 3: conversations that remind us all of what's possible.
Speaker 5: Now back to my legacy occasion.
Speaker 9: You've had an incredible, incredible career. I mean just looking
Speaker 9: back at the fact that I believe fourteen you recorded
Speaker 9: your first single. At sixteen, you were opening up for
Speaker 9: Destey's Child.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 9: Wow, what was that like?
Speaker 2: It was insane because as a little girl I used
Speaker 2: to sing Destney's Child because I had no siblings. I
Speaker 2: was Beyonce Kelly, which which song?
Speaker 1: Which song was like your go to emotions? Okay, but
Speaker 1: I would run during the chorus, I would run and
Speaker 1: try to change my outfit and the next part. So
Speaker 1: doing that show was so cool.
Speaker 2: We had the same publicist at the time, which was
Speaker 2: like a huge honor, and it was a forty five
Speaker 2: minute show by myself with my dancers and minutes by
Speaker 2: myself I had to do.
Speaker 5: So that.
Speaker 3: Was longer than what's average, right stea where.
Speaker 1: I hadn't.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but that was their last show as a group
Speaker 2: on tour, so it was emotional for them and then
Speaker 2: I got to meet them.
Speaker 1: They were in there, they.
Speaker 9: Were and they were young when they started, so what
Speaker 9: did you learn from them in the process.
Speaker 1: I just think that.
Speaker 2: Their attention to detail, their professionalism, their obsession with the craft,
Speaker 2: like they go out there and it's one hundred percent.
Speaker 2: But even just over the course of my career, you know,
Speaker 2: meeting them and even Brandy Monica Aliyah, they inspired me
Speaker 2: a lot to TLC.
Speaker 1: But from them it was just their work ethic.
Speaker 3: So, Stephen, with all of these young artists that we're
Speaker 3: talking about, right, so Destney's child, Brandy Aliyah, what you've
Speaker 3: worked with young artists before? What what advice would you
Speaker 3: give to young young people, young artists in particular as
Speaker 3: far as integrity and authenticity as they are wanted to
Speaker 3: break into the business.
Speaker 6: So as you ask that question, I'm thinking whether I
Speaker 6: gear my answer to the artist or to the artist's parent,
Speaker 6: because the common theme is at least one parent who
Speaker 6: is meticulous about making sure that the child is protected.
Speaker 6: I think that's the most important part. Don't lose your childhood.
Speaker 6: There's things you're gonna have to do that you're you're
Speaker 6: going to have to work very hard in a way
Speaker 6: that other people don't, but don't lose the playful side.
Speaker 6: And parents should not should not allow that playful side
Speaker 6: to be lost, like it can't be.
Speaker 7: It can't be just just the business.
Speaker 6: The people I've seen who are most successful have are
Speaker 6: able to strike that balance. Sometimes the artist wants to
Speaker 6: be kind of more focused than than the parent, and
Speaker 6: it doesn't want that time away, but it feels it
Speaker 6: just feels like there's a need for playfulness, and some
Speaker 6: who don't, who haven't had it, regret it later in life.
Speaker 1: That problems.
Speaker 5: I like that you're not in your.
Speaker 2: Head any regrets, you know, my regrets, Like I didn't
Speaker 2: go to prom, I would say, not being able to
Speaker 2: go to college because I was on tour, and I
Speaker 2: mean my career was I was, it was a successful time,
Speaker 2: so it didn't make sense to stop living my dream
Speaker 2: career to go to school.
Speaker 1: But I wish I did. I still I'm still going
Speaker 1: to go, but it just it got so busy that
Speaker 1: I missed that.
Speaker 2: Because again, being an only child, that's the only community.
Speaker 1: Of people your age you're really going to have.
Speaker 2: So I felt like I was kind of separated really young,
Speaker 2: Like thirteen is when I started to be busy going
Speaker 2: on tour and whatnot, but also traveling a lot, still
Speaker 2: turning in my grades where I eventually got homeschooled, but
Speaker 2: I just missed like going to class and having recess.
Speaker 2: And I still to this day I feel very childlike.
Speaker 2: Like a lot of my friends are like, you're such
Speaker 2: a big kid, and I'm like, yeah, well, when your
Speaker 2: childhood gets snatched away, I mean I chose it.
Speaker 1: Though I chose it. My mom used to say every day,
Speaker 1: are you sure you sure you want to do.
Speaker 2: This, because you know, like the other kids are doing this,
Speaker 2: And I'm like, yeah, but I will think about the
Speaker 2: possibility of the if if I don't, you know, get
Speaker 2: a chance to do it.
Speaker 9: You didn't go to prom, but did they play your
Speaker 9: song at prom?
Speaker 1: They did.
Speaker 5: I started at twelve, so I totally appreciate what altern
Speaker 5: of high school, the whole journey. So I totally get that,
Speaker 5: Like I understand that I can at a very young age.
Speaker 5: I get the responsibility aspect because you know, like by
Speaker 5: fifteen sixteen, we had dozens of staff. By that point
Speaker 5: we had a global operation. Say yeah, it was an
Speaker 5: unusual childhood. Also wow, so very much can relate and
Speaker 5: you had to step into a business role also at
Speaker 5: a really young age's like famously Taylor swift as we
Speaker 5: recording her master's Now, yeah, but you were fighting for control.
Speaker 2: He is not done so many songs, but at sixteen.
Speaker 5: You were fighting for control of your master's. Like you
Speaker 5: gotta take us back a little into the mentality, like
Speaker 5: where does that vision come from? And that kind of
Speaker 5: ownership mentality which is not always the norm among artists.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well I come from like my grandfather when he
Speaker 2: immigrated from Trinidad.
Speaker 1: He was the one that he owned the only like.
Speaker 2: Restaurant club in the city that was like Caribbean food.
Speaker 1: My grandmother was cooking.
Speaker 2: He ran the business in Ottawa and there was nothing
Speaker 2: like it at the time. So seeing my grandfather do that,
Speaker 2: and he had multiple businesses over time, and he you know,
Speaker 2: had a taxi company. So I would be like ten
Speaker 2: for Roger that I try to do all the dispatching
Speaker 2: when I was like eight. But seeing that kind of spirit,
Speaker 2: like oh, you could be your own boss was something
Speaker 2: that I found very fascinating. But then also as a
Speaker 2: student being at the record label, I used to go
Speaker 2: into business affairs and I would befriend everyone at business
Speaker 2: affairs and I would ask, you know, what can I
Speaker 2: learn and they would say read this book about you know,
Speaker 2: entertainment law, or they would let me see contracts that
Speaker 2: they weren't supposed to let me see, and I'd be like, what.
Speaker 1: Are mechanical royalties? And like what are what is this publishing?
Speaker 7: Like?
Speaker 2: I was very curious about all these things, and they
Speaker 2: would give me the real tea on what all of
Speaker 2: it meant. And then I got enamored and fascinated with
Speaker 2: the law aspect of the music business. And then I
Speaker 2: realized that all my work was really just it would
Speaker 2: be in vain if I didn't have some sort of
Speaker 2: ownership of it.
Speaker 1: So I got kind of fixated on this.
Speaker 5: Well you say your own company up at sixteen.
Speaker 1: Yes I did.
Speaker 2: I did, yeah, because I started to think like, well,
Speaker 2: we're employing people, but how are we having more like
Speaker 2: control over the details, and how do I feel more
Speaker 2: safe in what we're doing if I don't own a
Speaker 2: company that does that. And I also thank my grade
Speaker 2: six teacher, mister Pratt, because he was the only black
Speaker 2: teacher in our school, but he was very who He
Speaker 2: would sit me down and be like, listen, the world
Speaker 2: is this type of place. I need you to be
Speaker 2: armored and geared up, and the one thing no one
Speaker 2: can take away from you is your education. So I
Speaker 2: need you to take that seriously because you can lose
Speaker 2: everything in life, but as long as here has it.
Speaker 1: You will get it back again. And yeah, that was
Speaker 1: my school of thought. Would you say he taught English
Speaker 1: teacher English? Yeah?
Speaker 8: Amazing. And Stephen, looking back over your incredible career, what's
Speaker 8: the decision you made that felt like a major risk
Speaker 8: in the moment but ended up opening doors for your patn.
Speaker 1: Wow, I feel like there's a lot.
Speaker 6: There's a lot, so there's to spin the wheel. The
Speaker 6: new Edition story was something a lot of people thought
Speaker 6: was going to be was risky. It was at the
Speaker 6: time we did it twenty sixteen, fifteen sixteen, it was
Speaker 6: a large undertaking. There hadn't been a h a biopick done.
Speaker 7: At BT before. There was some belief that.
Speaker 6: That, uh, the target audience would not be served by
Speaker 6: a by a by a biopic of of like all men,
Speaker 6: because we were very women focused. But then we all
Speaker 6: came to realize, oh, that's that's a new addition's entire audience,
Speaker 6: and it's really I have this whole thing once once.
Speaker 7: Once you're a child or you're a teen.
Speaker 6: Idol, you will you Will Live and Eat Forever. Right
Speaker 6: Backstreet Boys in Sync had gone on tour New Kids
Speaker 6: in the Block still every two years goes out and
Speaker 6: does arenas, and so that was that new edition was
Speaker 6: our was ours But it was a risk because it
Speaker 6: was it was it was a large amount of money
Speaker 6: and uh, we didn't know how it would come out.
Speaker 7: We didn't really to.
Speaker 6: Be stars in it, but it turned out to be
Speaker 6: an absolute blockbuster.
Speaker 3: Will So also you actually did you you created one
Speaker 3: O six in park.
Speaker 6: I was, I was, I was in the room where
Speaker 6: it happened. The show was always constructed to be uh,
Speaker 6: to be entertaining, but uh, but but give information.
Speaker 7: At the same time, it was the hosts were were uh.
Speaker 6: Were well read, educated and of the culture. So it
Speaker 6: was really important because at that point in time you
Speaker 6: could not you did not see uh black youth on
Speaker 6: TV every day or even regularly. So it was important
Speaker 6: we took our role and in doing that, really we
Speaker 6: knew we were leading culture, but we also wanted to
Speaker 6: make sure we were reflecting culture as well.
Speaker 3: Is that because you were, Because as we've learned from
Speaker 3: your story today, you were already impacting young people kind
Speaker 3: of mentoring them. So did you then when you were
Speaker 3: thinking about at the when the show was being created,
Speaker 3: did you intentionally bring that aspect to.
Speaker 7: Absolutely?
Speaker 6: I mean AJ was AJ and Free were the first host.
Speaker 6: AJ I knew. I wanted someone who had gone to
Speaker 6: an HBCU like and it was, and that was it's
Speaker 6: a it's a it was. AJ was a great find,
Speaker 6: like a needle in a haystack, very personable, but you know,
Speaker 6: brought Howard with him wherever wherever you went. I thought
Speaker 6: it was really important to have on one of six
Speaker 6: and Park HBCU everywhere to make sure that education, education,
Speaker 6: education is always being put out there in between the
Speaker 6: job rule and a Shott video right so so so
Speaker 6: so yes, you know, doing the right thing by young
Speaker 6: people always a part of what I six of.
Speaker 5: Park was supposed to be well in this is an
Speaker 5: amazing host of one O six and Park, one of
Speaker 5: them is sitting here of course watching it to coasting
Speaker 5: it insane like pinch yourself. Was there a moment that
Speaker 5: you realized your dream had no come true?
Speaker 1: Absolutely?
Speaker 2: As a little girl, one O six of Park was
Speaker 2: all I had, like it was the little slice of
Speaker 2: culture I could get where I was living. I couldn't
Speaker 2: get it anywhere else, so I remember being like, especially
Speaker 2: where we lived at the time, we didn't even get
Speaker 2: the channel. So I had to like go to a
Speaker 2: friends and see if I could figure out how we
Speaker 2: got the channel. It was a whole thing, but one
Speaker 2: O six in Park was the slice of just you
Speaker 2: felt represented, and you felt seen and heard, and you
Speaker 2: felt like you were a part of the community. Like
Speaker 2: it was just I can't explain it, but it was
Speaker 2: really such an important part of my school days, like
Speaker 2: my weekdays. It was five days a week, so important
Speaker 2: to me. And then to get the call to do
Speaker 2: it absolutely insane and only Canadian, but I.
Speaker 1: Remember Canada was so excited. But at least for me,
Speaker 1: I just I.
Speaker 2: Every day I would get on set, and what people
Speaker 2: don't realize is there's a live audience who are allowed.
Speaker 1: As heil.
Speaker 2: Okay, There's a DJ who is playing loud music during
Speaker 2: commercial break.
Speaker 1: You got your in ear people talking to you.
Speaker 2: You have the teleprompter that sometimes is being retyped live
Speaker 2: as you're reading this line, and you see the bottom
Speaker 2: is changing live.
Speaker 1: The audience is loud, the DJ is crunk.
Speaker 2: You're literally like, oh my gosh, it is you feel
Speaker 2: like you're hosting in a nightclub for kids.
Speaker 1: It was insane.
Speaker 2: It was insane, and then somewhat like guess that would
Speaker 2: come like they would blow my mind.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: There was one of the most insane days of my
Speaker 2: life was I came into my dressing room and there
Speaker 2: was a letter from the White House and it had
Speaker 2: like the White House stamp and the name and everything.
Speaker 1: And I remember I was in my dressing room trying
Speaker 1: to listen to.
Speaker 2: See if bow Wow got it, because he walked in
Speaker 2: his room and he didn't say anything.
Speaker 1: So I was like, ooh, I think it's just me
Speaker 1: that guy.
Speaker 2: So I was like, let me open So I opened
Speaker 2: it and it was like not a QR code, but
Speaker 2: it was one of those things you scan it and
Speaker 2: then it's Barack and Michelle Obama saying, Hi, we're so.
Speaker 1: Excited to welcome you to our White House Christmas Party.
Speaker 2: And it's going to be on this day. I hope
Speaker 2: you can attend. And I spent the entire day. I
Speaker 2: didn't tell anyone. I didn't want bow to noecause I
Speaker 2: didn't want him to be left out right, So but
Speaker 2: I was so excited and I also remember like all
Speaker 2: these men in suits going through our drawers and our
Speaker 2: closets and I didn't know, and then they just like, oh,
Speaker 2: Michelle Obama's coming tomorrow.
Speaker 1: That was secret Service checking.
Speaker 2: Out in your room.
Speaker 1: They just didn't tell you you'd find out the.
Speaker 2: Day before you'd have like the biggest star on the show.
Speaker 2: So it kept you on your toes. But sidebar I
Speaker 2: did end up going to the Christmas party, and how
Speaker 2: was it?
Speaker 1: Well?
Speaker 2: When I arrived, Babo texted me and was like are
Speaker 2: you here?
Speaker 3: Ah, He's like I have no one to go with.
Speaker 1: Can we go together? And I was like, so you
Speaker 1: were invited as well. But we had the best time.
Speaker 1: And then I saw Michelle and she's like, he should
Speaker 1: come over here. I need you to meet my husband.
Speaker 1: And I was like, is this the moment?
Speaker 2: And so then she introduces me to Barack and he
Speaker 2: was like, I heard you were on the my my wife.
Speaker 1: Was on the show.
Speaker 2: And he's like, my daughters, yes, and my daughters are
Speaker 2: big fans of you and the show. And you know,
Speaker 2: Michelle thinks she's really cool, but I have to ask you,
Speaker 2: is she really that cool?
Speaker 1: And I was like no, everyone loved her she's the
Speaker 1: coolest ever.
Speaker 2: And he's like, she's I And I'm like, did the
Speaker 2: President just say I.
Speaker 1: I love here? And I was like, anyway, this is
Speaker 1: bowow y'all love him. I always tease him, but yeah, no,
Speaker 1: it was that was for me.
Speaker 2: That was a huge moment for me and also was
Speaker 2: so inspiring.
Speaker 1: And then to interview Michelle, Yes, I mean you don't.
Speaker 5: You can't get any more.
Speaker 1: There's no inspiring than that. Now, the two of.
Speaker 9: You, I mean, you guys have been the White House
Speaker 9: dozens of dozens of times. Is there one moment especially
Speaker 9: from uh, from your experience the White House? So you
Speaker 9: want to share that?
Speaker 3: I do think like one of the most special ones
Speaker 3: for for me was when we had the opportunity to
Speaker 3: bring Yolanda into the Oval Office to meet with President Obama.
Speaker 3: So of course we had been with him many times
Speaker 3: before he invited us into the into the Oval Office. Wow,
Speaker 3: to see the bust that he had had placed there
Speaker 3: of her grandfather, Martin's father, So it was it was
Speaker 3: particularly interesting just to be there and to you know,
Speaker 3: to see them interact and together. And we we had
Speaker 3: said to elimd okay, Elanda, you can r you're gonna
Speaker 3: meet with the president, you know, maybe you would want
Speaker 3: to think about what you're going to say. And so
Speaker 3: she asked him about the fact of, you know, mister President,
Speaker 3: what are you gonna do about these guns? And then
Speaker 3: you know, he started from a political you know, he's
Speaker 3: wonderful man, of course, and he was saying, well, you know,
Speaker 3: you don't have to be afraid, you know, like a
Speaker 3: like a father, and you know, because of this, and
Speaker 3: she gave him like that that you know kind of
Speaker 3: stare at Correta Scott Kings there, you know, and he
Speaker 3: really wanted, you know, to policies and you know things
Speaker 3: with her, and so it was just really wonderful to
Speaker 3: really think.
Speaker 1: About not only that moment in the White House and in.
Speaker 3: The Oval Office and what he represents, but to be
Speaker 3: there with that bust and also to see you know,
Speaker 3: him taking the intentional time to talk policy, you know,
Speaker 3: with a with a little one but.
Speaker 1: Funny story speaking of only only children.
Speaker 3: It was a bit of a negotiation to get her
Speaker 3: to go on that trip. That same day, her school
Speaker 3: class was taking a field trip to go to the
Speaker 3: capitol here in Georgia. So she was she was like, oh,
Speaker 3: but Mom, they're gonna ride the train, public transportation, and
Speaker 3: they're going to meet they maybe even meet with the governor.
Speaker 1: So she was trying to decide should.
Speaker 3: She take this is a true story, So she take
Speaker 3: Marta for those of us in Atlanta, and take Ma.
Speaker 3: Didn't go with her class to you know, to the
Speaker 3: capitol which we live here in Georgia, you know, because
Speaker 3: wanting to be a part right, she wanted to be
Speaker 3: a part of her class, so that to her and
Speaker 3: belonging was more important than going to meet with Barack
Speaker 3: Obama in the Oval office. But she ultimately chose, she
Speaker 3: chose to go.
Speaker 9: And asked him a really good question.
Speaker 5: Yes she did.
Speaker 1: Yes, Yes she is.
Speaker 9: She's a powerhouse.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Coming up on My Legacy, Keisha shares what makes Steven
Speaker 3: such a powerful mentor and why everyone needs someone like
Speaker 3: him in their corner. If you're looking to step into
Speaker 3: that role or find your own person, keep listening and
Speaker 3: if someone's been that kind of support for you, subscribe
Speaker 3: and share this episode with them as a way to
Speaker 3: say thank you. Now, back to My Legacy, I want.
Speaker 9: To ask you you said this even believed in you
Speaker 9: before anybody quote unquote really knew your name. What was
Speaker 9: some advice or one major piece of advice that he
Speaker 9: gave you? And with humility did you listen to it? So, Steven,
Speaker 9: you have to hold her accountablet here.
Speaker 2: Oh boy, Well, the way we met was interesting. I
Speaker 2: was already seeing success in Canada, but not really stateside.
Speaker 2: It was like you were getting a little, like little
Speaker 2: remnants of it. But the dream was always to be
Speaker 2: on BET. But at the time, it wasn't really common
Speaker 2: for Canadian acts signed to Canadian labels to be on
Speaker 2: American television. So at the time I the song was
Speaker 2: on it was bad Boy, the song was on the radio.
Speaker 2: We had a music video was doing well on the
Speaker 2: network and a different network and not BET.
Speaker 1: It was a Canadian network, not yet.
Speaker 2: And I was It was the Urban Music Awards in
Speaker 2: Canada and I was nominated for things.
Speaker 1: But I still had this feeling of like isn't there
Speaker 1: more to do?
Speaker 2: Like we're doing it here in Canada, but where there's
Speaker 2: a whole world out there. And then I met Steven
Speaker 2: and I remember he walked up to me at the award.
Speaker 6: Show because I had come up from BETBT it's yeah
Speaker 6: VT Canada, and I was up doing some press that day,
Speaker 6: and I went to a radio station and they played
Speaker 6: bad Boy, and I was obsessed with that song. I
Speaker 6: simply loved how it moved, how she sounded. I had
Speaker 6: never heard it before. I asked him to play it
Speaker 6: again on the radio. They did, yeah, And so it
Speaker 6: was really just by fortune they played that, and then
Speaker 6: I somebody pointed her in the audience when I was
Speaker 6: at the Urban Music Awards and I walked.
Speaker 2: Down and he walked up to me and was like,
Speaker 2: I've been hearing your name and hearing your song, and
Speaker 2: I love the song and I would love to have
Speaker 2: you know, the video come on to BET. But his
Speaker 2: belief in me sparked the label to spend more money
Speaker 2: and get you know, Major Little X the director. Now
Speaker 2: he's Director X, but at the time he was iconic
Speaker 2: doing every music video you could think of. To do
Speaker 2: these music videos for Beet to be played on BET,
Speaker 2: and then not only did he put it into like
Speaker 2: heavy rotation, but he gave me rated next and it
Speaker 2: was an honor because he allowed me and my mom
Speaker 2: to visit him at his office and play him unreleased
Speaker 2: music and get his opinion. And as a little girl,
Speaker 2: you know, I'm like, Wow, he's such a huge deal.
Speaker 2: He makes the shows that I need every single day
Speaker 2: after school, and he has a belief in me. You know,
Speaker 2: every piece of feedback he gave about every song and
Speaker 2: every anything.
Speaker 1: I was like sitting there as a little girl, like
Speaker 1: we must do it. I go back to the label.
Speaker 2: I'm like, guys, we have to we have to do
Speaker 2: that whatever he says, we're doing.
Speaker 7: Poise. Poise.
Speaker 6: Poise is what you call somebody who is there but
Speaker 6: really beyond their years and has a calmness and an
Speaker 6: understanding of the world that that that is uh, that
Speaker 6: feels like they shouldn't have it at this young age.
Speaker 6: So I felt about Keisha Chante. I remember the first time.
Speaker 6: I can tell That's why I can tell you exactly
Speaker 6: where it was.
Speaker 7: She had.
Speaker 6: A confidence and so everyone told you meet somebody like, oh,
Speaker 6: they've been here before. There there's there's a there's a
Speaker 6: there's a feeling there.
Speaker 7: They acknowledge that.
Speaker 6: They shouldn't that they shouldn't have and that that that
Speaker 6: word poise And she's continued to exhibit that as she's
Speaker 6: as as she's grown. I had no I knew exactly
Speaker 6: who I wanted when there was an opening for one
Speaker 6: O six in part I knew exactly was we went
Speaker 6: through a whole bunch of visa.
Speaker 7: Issues and could talk about that now because visas are
Speaker 7: a thing.
Speaker 2: But.
Speaker 5: So and we will be ending the segment.
Speaker 4: Stephan.
Speaker 9: After leaving be et, you started your own production company,
Speaker 9: incredibly successful. Of course, what does success mean to you today?
Speaker 6: Success is the people that I poured into, especially when
Speaker 6: I was in the corporate world, having them flourish, right,
Speaker 6: having Keisha flourish. There's so many people who work behind
Speaker 6: the scenes at BT on one Park who are now
Speaker 6: lead producers. They're running Tyler Perry's Unscripted, their award Emmy
Speaker 6: Award winning directors, and so.
Speaker 7: Even my current.
Speaker 6: Success is in the success of people who who I
Speaker 6: got to work with at the beginning of their careers.
Speaker 6: And success is also kind of being able to go
Speaker 6: to the beach when I wanted.
Speaker 5: That sounds like a balance, Lie, That's what I love
Speaker 5: about the show is we get to really peel back
Speaker 5: the laters. And I love in the mentorship relationship because
Speaker 5: you showed it didn't happen accident, and I love the
Speaker 5: honesty of both of you sharing the mentorship that you've
Speaker 5: had for each other, and so I just want to
Speaker 5: encourage any of our listeners or our viewers to reflect
Speaker 5: on the mentors on in their life, to reflect how
Speaker 5: they can be great mentors, to share this with their mentors,
Speaker 5: or share this with their mentors, to have that relationship.
Speaker 5: And deeply grateful to both of you for living your
Speaker 5: legacy and sharing your legacy with us.
Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you, and I'm grateful to all of you. First,
Speaker 2: you two creating the WE organization. I have to tell
Speaker 2: you that was my first time ever being on stage
Speaker 2: talking about my mental health in front of a huge audience,
Speaker 2: and it was such a beautiful place to do it,
Speaker 2: and I was so supported that it genuinely made me
Speaker 2: feel safe and comfortable to continue speaking about that. And
Speaker 2: then getting to finally meet the both of you doing
Speaker 2: the Selma March for the sixtieth anniversary yesterday. I wasn't
Speaker 2: expecting to be.
Speaker 1: There were so many emotions.
Speaker 2: I was like fired up, I was happy, I was
Speaker 2: so I it was an honor to have that moment
Speaker 2: with you guys, and just you four are incredibly inspiring
Speaker 2: in what you do every single day, and you do
Speaker 2: it at a level that is just incredible.
Speaker 1: So I want to walk that walk and I will.
Speaker 2: Be harassing all of you and then my mentor Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean I I drive him insane, and but he
Speaker 2: he is the reason why I got into television.
Speaker 1: It's his belief in me that even allowed me.
Speaker 2: Didn't know that was something I was going to do next,
Speaker 2: and it's been an incredible career.
Speaker 1: So I am very grateful to use one conversation. Thank
Speaker 1: you for joining us.
Speaker 3: If you enjoyed today's conversation, subscribe, share, and follow us
Speaker 3: at my Legacy Movement on social media. New episodes drop
Speaker 3: every Tuesday, with bonus content every Thursday. At its core,
Speaker 3: this podcast honors doctor King's vision of the beloved community
Speaker 3: and the power of connection. A Legacy Plus Studio production
Speaker 3: distributed by iHeartMedia creator and executive producer Suzanne Haywood co
Speaker 3: executive producer Lisa Lyle. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or wherever.
Speaker 1: You get your podcast.
Speaker 3: Until next time, may you find inspiration to live your legacy.