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Speaker 1: Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. Ladies and gentlemen,

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Speaker 1: Welcome to Quest Love Supreme. Neil's Quest five. We have

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Speaker 1: Teams Supreme with us. This is a morning episode of

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Speaker 1: Quest Love Supreme. So it would be very interesting to

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Speaker 1: see how the energy is this morning, because you know

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Speaker 1: how you doing.

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Speaker 2: Tries you ready to go?

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Speaker 3: That's an instant Jiff right there.

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Speaker 1: I think it's Kiff. It's not Jif. Steve is Jip.

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Speaker 1: Jip is a peanut butter bro yo man before Money died.

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Speaker 3: Before he passed, he told me it was Jiff.

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Speaker 4: Hey man, it's just like the thing.

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Speaker 2: Come on, man, draw draws.

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Speaker 1: I get it all right, all right, I'll roll with

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Speaker 1: the mob.

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Speaker 5: Call the creator of the gift.

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Speaker 1: The creator of the gift, like he was one of

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Speaker 1: the early people to die in the pandemic. But the

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Speaker 1: last thing we did together some awards thing, and I

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Speaker 1: asked him.

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Speaker 3: I didn't even ask him, he says Jim.

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Speaker 1: I was like, how do you know? I was going

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Speaker 1: to ask you? Like I get asked this one hundred

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Speaker 1: times a day. But then he also said I should

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Speaker 1: have said.

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Speaker 3: Gift, but yeah, or used a jay if he wanted it.

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Speaker 1: I get it.

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Speaker 3: It's above him now, so you know he's not here,

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Speaker 3: so he's.

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Speaker 2: Above us now.

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Speaker 1: He's oh god, all right, So Bill, how you doing? Man?

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Speaker 6: I just I just googled it said. He called it

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Speaker 6: a gift with a soft g. Choosy developers, he said,

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Speaker 6: choose Jiff. This was, of course, a play on the

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Speaker 6: peanut butter brand Jeff's line.

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Speaker 2: Choosy mothers, choose Jeff. That's all.

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Speaker 6: And the Internet never lies, So I'm going gift. I'm fine,

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Speaker 6: by the way, thank you very much for asking.

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Speaker 3: Well, and thank you and Steve. Yes, I'm good, Fante.

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Speaker 4: I'm good, Man, I'm good. Been working. Men just did something,

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Speaker 4: but it said, yeah, what are you working on? I

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Speaker 4: don't know how much I'm a livinged to say, so

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Speaker 4: I let William Bill.

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Speaker 1: I'll explain what it happened once. Tell us.

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Speaker 6: What it happened was Sponte and his producing partner Zoe

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Speaker 6: have created a jam for the children that will air

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Speaker 6: sometime in September by very famous, fantastic artist on this

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Speaker 6: films today. But we're not allowed to say who that

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Speaker 6: person is other than it's gonna be awesome.

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Speaker 1: Wait, Fante wrote an Elmo jam.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I've been right, I've been writing.

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Speaker 1: Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, I will say that our guests today,

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Speaker 1: what's an understatement to say that she is a monster talent,

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Speaker 1: as talented as they come. Uh, she's an unworldly singer,

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Speaker 1: one of the you know, there's there's people that ooze

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Speaker 1: with charisma, and I mean I've probably have been. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think we're our careers are borderline neck and neck.

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Speaker 1: So since the Roots have been.

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Speaker 7: Years older, but that's okay.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, but like I just started late.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so our guest started when she was two years old, Okay, anyway, Yeah, no,

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Speaker 1: I'll say that, even if my memory serves me correct,

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Speaker 1: whenever the Roots would come to the Bay Area, I

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Speaker 1: believe that this person has been kind of a presence

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Speaker 1: in the entirety of my career. And even from the

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Speaker 1: first moment we've laid eyes on her, like just absolute charisma,

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Speaker 1: Like she owned the stage and that's that's something that

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Speaker 1: you can't find anywhere pretty much in entertainment.

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Speaker 3: Like that's a special gift.

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Speaker 1: As of now, as we speak, her eleventh album, entitled

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Speaker 1: Good Life, has just been released. By the time it

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Speaker 1: gets on the air, it should have been out by then.

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Speaker 1: So in addition to a Grammy Award winning music career

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Speaker 1: in multiple genres, he's also an actress of stage screen,

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Speaker 1: don't forget, an author, an educator, and an advocate for others.

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Speaker 1: And this is a long time coming. So welcome to

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Speaker 1: q LS today we have let usy welcome to question.

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Speaker 7: Thank you so much. What that means a lot just

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Speaker 7: hearing you talk about me because I see you DJing

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Speaker 7: all the time. You know, I would always go to

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Speaker 7: your shows. That's like one of my favorite things.

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Speaker 1: I know. This is the thing. As long as we've

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Speaker 1: known each other, like, we've never had a moment to

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Speaker 1: really just chop it up like in every real way.

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Speaker 1: So this is almost like our first real in depth conversation,

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Speaker 1: even though you know, again it's it's been several decades

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Speaker 1: and you know this is a long time coming. Uh well,

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Speaker 1: I'll ask you because you know today's is the what

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Speaker 1: I say, the birth day of your new album. Do

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Speaker 1: you still get excited about these things as if it

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Speaker 1: were like your children out in the world, or like

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Speaker 1: you still get like butterflies and anticipation and excitement of

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Speaker 1: presenting it to the world.

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Speaker 7: I am so nervous right now, but I really every

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Speaker 7: single time, but I think this one even more so

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Speaker 7: because of the growth. I never chase relevancy. It's not

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Speaker 7: my thing. I love growth and perseverance in history more

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Speaker 7: than anything, and so me, I'm always adding colors to

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Speaker 7: my version of whoever I am in that era and

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Speaker 7: hoping for people to see another side of myself that

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Speaker 7: I never get to show. So this is another side

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Speaker 7: and kind of full circle, coming back to the root

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Speaker 7: of feel good music, like when I started, you know,

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Speaker 7: so this one, I'm kind of grown and I don't

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Speaker 7: care what people think anymore. I just want to put

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Speaker 7: feel good out there. I think we needed it. I

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Speaker 7: needed it, And what I'm nervous about is, after three

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Speaker 7: years of work, is it enough? You know?

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Speaker 1: Yes, I'm so glad you said that, because right now

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Speaker 1: we're going through a cycle. I mean, you'll be maybe

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Speaker 1: the fourth or fifth artist that we've interviewed in which

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Speaker 1: their product is kind of a direct result of whatever

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Speaker 1: they learned from the pandemic. This restart thing, like it

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Speaker 1: happened with Brittany, with Brittany Howard and also with Green

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Speaker 1: Bailey Ray.

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Speaker 7: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Like you're seeing these artists who kind of had

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Speaker 1: either a pivot or a transformation, or they got to

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Speaker 1: know themselves better. They have a lot of self work

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Speaker 1: and the creativity that normally went on their product before

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty is not the same way as it is now.

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Speaker 3: So would you say that for you? That's also the case.

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Speaker 7: I think I'm a chameleon every album, though I've always

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Speaker 7: been different every project. I think I did a complete

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Speaker 7: pivot by doing Lettucey sings Nina when I'm an R

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Speaker 7: and B. You know me as an R and B artist,

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Speaker 7: but I've seen classical and opera and in French and Italian,

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Speaker 7: but I never get to show that in R and B.

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Speaker 7: So to me, it's like for me, it's how I feel,

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Speaker 7: And a lot of it has to do with ownership,

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Speaker 7: being my own under my own label and doing my

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Speaker 7: own thing, so I've never had that. The pandemic only

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Speaker 7: pushed me forward to be more active in socially active

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Speaker 7: online and talking to people. Before I was more like

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Speaker 7: just putting stuff out and going away. This is new

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Speaker 7: for me, actually talking to people more.

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Speaker 1: Wait, so you're not an engager, No, I try to be.

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Speaker 7: I've gotten better. Twenty twenty taught me that I have

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Speaker 7: my own podcasts. I started talking more to my friends privately,

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Speaker 7: but then I'm like, I might as well put this

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Speaker 7: out and show people that I'm talking. You know, no

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Speaker 7: one knows and knew anything much about me, but you

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Speaker 7: seeing me around, you know what I mean. I'm like

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Speaker 7: the the oh let Usy said the show, what is

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Speaker 7: she doing here?

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Speaker 5: You know what I mean?

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Speaker 3: Well, you know what, I would have thought the opposite,

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Speaker 3: because when you're on.

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Speaker 7: Stage, that's another thing you do.

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Speaker 1: But when you're on stage, you do this like zero

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Speaker 1: to one hundred in two seconds. And you know, I'm

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Speaker 1: not even trying to blow smoke up your ass or anything,

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Speaker 1: but literally like charisma, connecting with the audience, talking to

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Speaker 1: the audience, engaging them, telling jokes, yeah, talking about your life.

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Speaker 1: Like that's a hard thing to do. Like I avoided

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Speaker 1: it all costs, you know what I mean. I hide

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Speaker 1: behind a drum set. I hide behind turntables and the

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Speaker 1: internet and all these things like where you have to

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Speaker 1: be out there. And I just naturally thought there was

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Speaker 1: one show I saw where I was like, I will

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Speaker 1: be none surprised if you know, you get an OPRAH

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Speaker 1: platform just the way that you were doing one on

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Speaker 1: one with your your audience. But that's weird to hear

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Speaker 1: that in your personal off stage life that you're you're

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Speaker 1: saying you're an introvert sort of or worth I'm a little.

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Speaker 7: Bit of both, but more so introverted, really shy stage though.

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Speaker 7: It's I think of the audience more so. I don't

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Speaker 7: think of myself. I think of them and making time

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Speaker 7: and moments to come to the show and entertain them

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Speaker 7: and be honest and authentic because I wouldn't want to

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Speaker 7: pay for that and then put myself in their position.

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Speaker 7: But what would I if I'm sitting out there watching

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Speaker 7: you guys? I want to be like this, you know

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Speaker 7: what I mean. I want feel something. So if I'm

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Speaker 7: standing there like glue, just letting it dry, just boring.

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Speaker 7: So I always think of put myself in the audience's position.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, so if you are shy in your personal life.

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Speaker 1: And this is something I'm just discovering maybe in the

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Speaker 1: last two or three years and talking to artists like

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Speaker 1: on this platform and also just interviewing them in general.

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Speaker 1: I think a lot of the general public is rather

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Speaker 1: shocked that some artists might have anxiety, social anxiety, that

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Speaker 1: sort of thing. And so I'm often finding out that

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Speaker 1: they have to sort of psyche themselves up, like a

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Speaker 1: half hour before going on stage or like transform into

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Speaker 1: a new character, that sort of thing like so what

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Speaker 1: is your process to get out of your social shyness

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Speaker 1: of non stage life into like what is your process

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Speaker 1: like an hour before the before showtime?

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Speaker 7: A lot of breathing High Hills does it for me.

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Speaker 1: I love wearing, so you become a new character that

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Speaker 1: I love.

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Speaker 7: High heels, I love makeup. I just love this becoming

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Speaker 7: grown woman like energy. It's so good for me. It

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Speaker 7: says I belong, It says I'm worthy, it says power,

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Speaker 7: and inside my heart is racing. I'm still afraid. But

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Speaker 7: I recycle the fear into win and gather tell them

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Speaker 7: about who you are, where you come from, the music,

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Speaker 7: the root, everything, it's not it's bigger than me. But

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Speaker 7: all of that gives me power to just execute the stories.

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Speaker 7: We're storytellers, we're creative, so we gotta It's not about us,

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Speaker 7: It's about what we're trying to ignite and inspire other people.

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Speaker 7: They want to feel something. So I go back to that,

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Speaker 7: and but the high Hills six it ashow hold. I

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Speaker 7: can get it off even one.

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Speaker 6: Keeping clothes again the first the first guest to go

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Speaker 6: and grab their shoes.

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Speaker 7: I will fight you.

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Speaker 5: That is not a way.

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Speaker 8: What that is my uncles, all your ankles, so much fun.

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Speaker 7: That's a whole performance and notes. Yeah, yes, ma'am ninety's

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Speaker 7: Warrior ninety minutes. I love a good hell. It makes

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Speaker 7: me taller. I'm five five. I need some y'all are

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Speaker 7: tall short, all.

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Speaker 1: Right, so noted, I will be writing crocks for.

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Speaker 7: I have some nice make her some nice high crocks.

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Speaker 2: Me.

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Speaker 7: You have some heels with cracks.

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Speaker 1: They actually have platform crocks.

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Speaker 5: But yeah, have some, but they don't.

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Speaker 3: They don't go beyond size fourteen.

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Speaker 7: So you know, I don't know. I need.

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Speaker 1: I love it.

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Speaker 3: It's happening, but I'll produce it.

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Speaker 7: Down in two years as well. Do it as long

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Speaker 7: as I can watch those hips.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, let to see.

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Speaker 1: I thought you were born in the Bay Area, but

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Speaker 1: I found out I was wrong. He tell us where

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Speaker 1: you were born.

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Speaker 7: I'm originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, and my family comes

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Speaker 7: from the Holly Grove area. I don't have an accent

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Speaker 7: because I moved when I was twelve years old to

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Speaker 7: the Bay Area. So it's raised in Oakland, East Oakland.

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Speaker 7: But when I get mad, my accent comes out really

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Speaker 7: nicely bit bad. It gets round.

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Speaker 5: A new Ornan's accent.

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Speaker 8: Wait, can I ask the question of mirror that I

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Speaker 8: feel like we might have to skip because I.

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Speaker 5: Need to know where lettu see ane by Day came from.

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Speaker 7: It's a year, but where my mom named me. It

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Speaker 7: comes from a o'chosea song a year, but word god,

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Speaker 7: my mom loves year of a music and would sing it.

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Speaker 7: And that's where the name. It means to bring forth

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Speaker 7: is let us see and aniba day means to bring luck,

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Speaker 7: so bring forth, bring luck. And so that's my real name.

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Speaker 7: My mom and dad named me. They were kind of

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Speaker 7: hippies and uh that was their thing, you know. So

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Speaker 7: that's where my name comes from.

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Speaker 1: Do you remember what was your first musical memory.

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Speaker 7: My mom would sing at this park across the street

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Speaker 7: with her band, and she had this big afro and

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Speaker 7: bell bottoms, blue jeans, bell bottoms in a green shirt

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Speaker 7: and some big hoops, and she had this tambourine but

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Speaker 7: she would hit it with her hip all the time,

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Speaker 7: and I just love every time her hip would move

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Speaker 7: her she'd sing the audience would just I just saw

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Speaker 7: them go crazy. I didn't know what that meant, but

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Speaker 7: the sound of her voice always would do something here.

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Speaker 7: So that memory always, I always remember that before I

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Speaker 7: go on stage. But that was my one of my

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Speaker 7: first memories of music. The other one is the A track.

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Speaker 7: The band would record to the A track and it

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Speaker 7: would sit in our room. We had a shotgun house

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Speaker 7: to just go straight ahead and in the living room.

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Speaker 7: The band would record in the living room and my

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Speaker 7: mom would record her vocal part with the A track

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Speaker 7: in our bedroom, which was the next room. So I

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Speaker 7: would stare at the A track and watch my mom

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Speaker 7: record on the edge of the bed, and then when

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Speaker 7: they pressed play and her voice came out of it,

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Speaker 7: I was just blown away. And that's when I like

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Speaker 7: those two memories. That's when I wanted to sing.

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Speaker 2: Did your mother does she like make records of you're

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Speaker 2: recording artists? Or did she just sing?

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Speaker 7: And she was a recording artist. She had her own

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Speaker 7: band called car Nova in New Orleans. They had their

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Speaker 7: own band. It was interracial race bass player guitar. My

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Speaker 7: stepdad played drums. That's why I started on the drums.

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Speaker 7: That's why I love watching drummers. That's why I became

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Speaker 7: a fan of me. And I would watch the way

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Speaker 7: drummers set up their snares. It slanted, is it low?

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Speaker 7: Is it below their knees? Like every little technical thing.

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Speaker 7: So I started on the drums and I would watch

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Speaker 7: them perform rehearse in our bedroom. But we were too

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Speaker 7: young to go in the club, so they would have

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Speaker 7: the car close to the side door so that my

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Speaker 7: mom can babysit while performing, so she would do double duty.

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Speaker 7: So I'm a kid from that kind of era where

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Speaker 7: they did a lot of performing and recording at the

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Speaker 7: same time. But she had her own band lead singer,

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Speaker 7: and her and the bass player would write songs together

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Speaker 7: all the time.

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Speaker 1: Wow, I know you're probably obsessed with Darry Jones if

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Speaker 1: you're trying to figure out drummer angles, because I'm still

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Speaker 1: trying to figure that out out right.

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Speaker 7: That's set up.

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Speaker 1: It's crazy, Okay, are you still drumming now?

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Speaker 2: Like?

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Speaker 7: Do you can paradiddles on a pad when I get

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Speaker 7: nervous or things like that? But not Nah. The band

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Speaker 7: always trying to make me play, but I won't play it.

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Speaker 7: I told you, I get a little nerdy on certain times.

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Speaker 7: And that's one of them. I don't want to play

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Speaker 7: in front of it. I know, like an African beat

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Speaker 7: and a James Brown beat. That's all I know right now.

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Speaker 3: You don't think your audience would go crazy if you

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Speaker 3: just suddenly started.

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Speaker 5: It was a little especially for afrobeats.

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Speaker 7: Let's go. You think I can do it?

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Speaker 1: I mean I know you can do it. You know

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Speaker 1: you can do it.

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Speaker 7: I'm in practice. If you're there, definitely not doing it.

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Speaker 1: Do you own a drum set?

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Speaker 7: No, I think when we get a bigger house, i'll

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Speaker 7: get one. But right now, I'll wait, I have a

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Speaker 7: I have a road. It's right there.

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Speaker 1: I'm sending you a drum set.

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Speaker 7: Really what?

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Speaker 1: Well, yeah, you're also helping me because you know I'm

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Speaker 1: a hoarder. And yeah, the less less boxes I have.

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Speaker 7: Well, if you send it, I'll practice and then i'll

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Speaker 7: play and record.

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Speaker 1: I'm not bullstitting you. I'm trying to get rid of

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Speaker 1: these boxes. I'm giving you a drum set.

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Speaker 7: So well, thank you. I appreciate it. I love the doms,

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Speaker 7: you know what, My monitor's mirror, the rim shot, the

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Speaker 7: snare and the kick and my vocal. That's it. That's

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Speaker 7: all I have in my my monitor ears. Everyone's like,

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Speaker 7: you're crazy. I'm like I need to beat Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I know this, no, this, this is great. I encourage

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Speaker 3: this highly. I encourage What was the first album that

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Speaker 3: you owned?

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Speaker 7: First album? My own Thriller, Purple Rain was there? Those

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Speaker 7: two was what I had, But.

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Speaker 1: Thriller was allowed to listen to Purple Rain.

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Speaker 7: I snuck it in, Okay, I'm just gonna say, sneak

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Speaker 7: it in.

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Speaker 1: I think I think we've had one guest on the

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Speaker 1: show that was like freely allowed to listen to Prince

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Speaker 1: in their childhood, Like Prince wasn't contraband after the.

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Speaker 7: Movie, they let it go because we had saw the movie.

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Speaker 7: It's a rap, you know. The Thriller was the one

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Speaker 7: that was the that.

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Speaker 3: Was okay, what about your first content?

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Speaker 7: I didn't you know my during my time, we couldn't go.

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Speaker 7: It was run DMC, a fresh vest. It was, yes,

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Speaker 7: we couldn't go. I couldn't go. My parents wouldn't let

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Speaker 7: us go. So I have my little General Electric radio

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Speaker 7: and I would just play the cassette on the porch

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Speaker 7: and just listen like that and pretend like we were there.

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Speaker 7: But I didn't go to a concert until I was

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Speaker 7: in college and the first concert, yes did never had

354
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Speaker 7: never been a concert. My first concert was Dian Reeves

355
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Speaker 7: opening for George Benson in Sonoma somewhere. It was a date.

356
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Speaker 7: This guy took me on a date. That's I got

357
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Speaker 7: to go to a concert. Crazy, right.

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Speaker 1: It's funny you said that because for some reason three

359
00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:17,760
Speaker 1: days ago, what was the song about Grandma Better Days? Yeah,

360
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Speaker 1: I don't know why I had this need to hear

361
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Speaker 1: that song, like it was always on radio when I

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Speaker 1: was in high school.

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Speaker 5: Really, oh god.

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Speaker 1: That was like I forgot there was a time in which,

365
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Speaker 1: like Diane Reeves had like the number one song on

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Speaker 1: Power ninety nine, like and that was the thing that also.

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Speaker 4: Likely record and also kind of a Piano in the

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Speaker 4: Dark by.

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Speaker 7: Brenda Ronda Russell.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, e well that still gets played on like

371
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Speaker 1: Piano the Dark has this travel to well I don't

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00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,000
Speaker 1: call it yacht rock radio, but whatever, like yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: wherever when you're in CVS at three in the morning.

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Speaker 8: That's one of the best albums of all time, the

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Speaker 8: Russell album.

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Speaker 1: It is tell us about your your musical development, Like

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Speaker 1: do you have any siblings or is it just you?

378
00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,239
Speaker 7: I have an older sister, a younger sister, and on

379
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,399
Speaker 7: my dad's side, I have I have eleven and I

380
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,520
Speaker 7: think I'm twelve. I'm twelve in there in that mix.

381
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,320
Speaker 7: I know you're interviewing, but I wanted to ask you

382
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Speaker 7: about when we did the VH one Anita.

383
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Speaker 1: I'm gonna get to that. I'm gone, I'm sorry. That

384
00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:34,920
Speaker 1: is all right, all right, let's just have it now,

385
00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:40,439
Speaker 1: all right. I'm trying to rap up to this. You know,

386
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,240
Speaker 1: the thing for me is, as an artist, the two

387
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,879
Speaker 1: things that I look forward to most in life is

388
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:54,480
Speaker 1: when someone puts me onto an album that will later

389
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Speaker 1: like change my life and all that stuff. So, I mean,

390
00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,720
Speaker 1: I've had that a few times, you know, like Jill

391
00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:04,879
Speaker 1: handing me her record, Oh shit, Fonte handed me his

392
00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:09,040
Speaker 1: you know, the the Little Brother album or record blow

393
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Speaker 1: or whatever. But the only thing that tops that for

394
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:19,919
Speaker 1: me is when I witnessed a star is born moment

395
00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:25,359
Speaker 1: and to see what transpired that day. Now we're doing

396
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:31,679
Speaker 1: VH on'es uh, it's not women who rockets, it's is

397
00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:33,080
Speaker 1: a divas. Was it Divas?

398
00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,800
Speaker 7: I think I can't remember. Yeah, I think it was

399
00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:39,119
Speaker 7: Divas R and B Divs.

400
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:44,040
Speaker 1: And I've told many stories of whenever I'm put in

401
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,040
Speaker 1: those situations in which you got to curate a bunch

402
00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:47,760
Speaker 1: of artists.

403
00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:49,200
Speaker 3: That's the first.

404
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,280
Speaker 1: Time, like, but even before Hip Hop fifty, that's the

405
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,560
Speaker 1: first time I had to learn that it's not just

406
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:59,040
Speaker 1: about music, but you also have to manage artists in

407
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:04,320
Speaker 1: general personalities, personalities which I didn't know. Now the first

408
00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:07,040
Speaker 1: half of the story kind of isn't mine to tell

409
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,160
Speaker 1: all the pieces of the jinga fell down with seconds

410
00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:13,600
Speaker 1: left on the clock and or when I say seconds

411
00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,359
Speaker 1: left on the clock, I mean, you know, in TV world,

412
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:22,720
Speaker 1: one should at least thoroughly kind of you know, at

413
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:26,480
Speaker 1: least have three a minimum of three hours of working

414
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,000
Speaker 1: out kinks and whatnot. I mean, we probably had all

415
00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:34,600
Speaker 1: of twenty seven minutes before we started taping, and you know,

416
00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:39,240
Speaker 1: we have a giant, gaping hole of space left that

417
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:43,399
Speaker 1: needed to be filled, which is who's gonna now sing

418
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,680
Speaker 1: sweet Love? You know you did it in such Now

419
00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:49,919
Speaker 1: I realize that, Yeah, you're telling the truth about your

420
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:55,400
Speaker 1: shyness because you kind of very don't. Was Sondra there

421
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,760
Speaker 1: as well or was it just you?

422
00:23:57,760 --> 00:23:59,760
Speaker 7: No, it was me and Sindra, Yeah, because I had

423
00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:02,000
Speaker 7: done a tribute ever on television.

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Speaker 1: That was like, right, first, first, correct me if I'm wrong.

425
00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:09,800
Speaker 1: What were you initially there for Aaron Jones, Karen Jones. Yes,

426
00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,280
Speaker 1: what I do remember was I didn't go to you first.

427
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:14,880
Speaker 1: I think I went to Sundra.

428
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,640
Speaker 7: No, Marcia, right, Oh, you went to Sundra to talk

429
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:19,840
Speaker 7: to her?

430
00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:22,440
Speaker 1: Yes, right, I mean, well she was there in proximity

431
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,280
Speaker 1: because she was also like, were you there to watch

432
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:26,119
Speaker 1: the rehearsal?

433
00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,320
Speaker 7: Yeah, we were trying to watch rehearsal, and then we

434
00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:32,720
Speaker 7: got kicked out of a room and we went back

435
00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:35,359
Speaker 7: to our dressing room and stayed out of the way,

436
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:36,919
Speaker 7: which is what I love to do.

437
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,600
Speaker 3: Because I'll wait all I'm going to say.

438
00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,800
Speaker 1: The only thing I'm going to say, I don't know

439
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,000
Speaker 1: if I ever shared this part of the story. So again, yes,

440
00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:50,399
Speaker 1: the initial plan for that moment was in motion, like

441
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,520
Speaker 1: both artists were on stage and verse and the parts

442
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:54,080
Speaker 1: and whatnot.

443
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,800
Speaker 3: And then this is the craziest.

444
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,240
Speaker 1: Real moment of all time I've ever witnessed an artist

445
00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:00,720
Speaker 1: due and.

446
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,200
Speaker 3: I'm respectfully recapitulating the story.

447
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:05,119
Speaker 8: So you are so respectful right now, I can't even

448
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:06,800
Speaker 8: understand the story.

449
00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,080
Speaker 1: Look after I'm losing my mind.

450
00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:10,879
Speaker 5: I'm like, I need to get a less respectful remix.

451
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:13,960
Speaker 1: Yes, story, I know that we're about that, but I've

452
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:20,399
Speaker 1: already been roasted by another artist, by her other group members,

453
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:22,600
Speaker 1: I was the wicked boy, and I had nothing to

454
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:23,439
Speaker 1: do with it. You know.

455
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:25,359
Speaker 3: Again it's it's above me.

456
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,000
Speaker 1: But anyway, the whole point was that there was a

457
00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:32,760
Speaker 1: moment right after the bridge in which the song started

458
00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:36,679
Speaker 1: to go rogue, and Anita Baker decided that this moment's

459
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,920
Speaker 1: not going to go down. She literally like, so go

460
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,760
Speaker 1: after the bridge of Sweet Love, like, and she's walking

461
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,040
Speaker 1: down the stairs. She's singing. Then she puts her cote

462
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,679
Speaker 1: on and she's still singing the song, and then we

463
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,200
Speaker 1: get to the chorus and she's putting a pocketbook on

464
00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,919
Speaker 1: and then she's like walking down to the audience. You know,

465
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,439
Speaker 1: we're camera blocking and all that stuff. Yo, She sang

466
00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:03,760
Speaker 1: the last of those ad libs, walked out the door,

467
00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:09,520
Speaker 1: hailed the cab and it went straight to the airport.

468
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,439
Speaker 1: Like but that was rehearsal though, right, that was I mean,

469
00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:15,520
Speaker 1: it was it was camera blocking for a show we

470
00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,440
Speaker 1: were gonna shoot in two hours. Like the average person

471
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,919
Speaker 1: would have been like, hey, stop the song. Guys, I

472
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,040
Speaker 1: appreciate this, but I cannot do this. I'm leaving goodbye.

473
00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:28,600
Speaker 1: She didn't do that, like she literally sang the song

474
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,359
Speaker 1: and then like the way mister Rogers like puts a

475
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:33,639
Speaker 1: sweater on, and she put her coat on.

476
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:35,520
Speaker 5: You see, did you see?

477
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,320
Speaker 7: No, I wasn't in the room. We were kicked We

478
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,160
Speaker 7: were kicked out way before the song even started.

479
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:42,760
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a lot of drama.

480
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:47,920
Speaker 1: And but seriously, when I think at what point she

481
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,560
Speaker 1: ye had govern her mouth like this, like she put

482
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:54,399
Speaker 1: her pocketbook on and all that stuff, and but still

483
00:26:54,520 --> 00:27:00,600
Speaker 1: doing it for Bata swing and and she was like

484
00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,840
Speaker 1: in the vest of you. She left the theater still

485
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,080
Speaker 1: singing with the microphone in the rest of you. And

486
00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:10,720
Speaker 1: then she walked out of the hammersteam Ballroom, and I'm

487
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,640
Speaker 1: looking at Nelson George like, wait, what's going on here?

488
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,440
Speaker 1: But the way she left, I've never seen a person

489
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,920
Speaker 1: with a cordless microphone.

490
00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:20,480
Speaker 2: Walk out the building, start on.

491
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,400
Speaker 3: The stage, walk in the audience, then walked the rest

492
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 3: of you.

493
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:25,960
Speaker 2: Like that's wow.

494
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:32,000
Speaker 7: It sounds accurate though, Yeah, m.

495
00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:38,280
Speaker 1: H James James James Boys and hang on, hang on,

496
00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 1: wait wait, Dame Steak James Yes, were you with us

497
00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:48,560
Speaker 1: for VH one Divas Anita shut up?

498
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,800
Speaker 2: Uh, I think I do something from old man brain.

499
00:27:57,119 --> 00:27:59,280
Speaker 1: I think you know, James that you're just afraid to

500
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:04,719
Speaker 1: I think I remember hearing about this.

501
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:05,159
Speaker 5: Was that.

502
00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,280
Speaker 3: Not playing keyboards? Who else would play keyboards?

503
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:10,680
Speaker 1: Yeah?

504
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:12,240
Speaker 7: I don't know either. I can't.

505
00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:14,960
Speaker 3: He wasn't in the loop like that. It was you

506
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:15,640
Speaker 3: were definitely there.

507
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:16,520
Speaker 5: It was a long time ago.

508
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:17,320
Speaker 1: Maybe it was Omar.

509
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:20,040
Speaker 2: Yes, Oh yeah, I do remember that.

510
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:24,199
Speaker 1: Wait what I feel like I'm having. I'm feeling like

511
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,800
Speaker 1: I'm having a little boy that cried wolf moment. I'm

512
00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:29,600
Speaker 1: king him the way that you would need.

513
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:30,840
Speaker 3: A baker left the stage.

514
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:35,440
Speaker 1: I've never seen someone walk off the stage still singing.

515
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,360
Speaker 3: Grap her coat, still singing her pocket book.

516
00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:42,560
Speaker 1: She WoT a stick of gum and literally ad libbed

517
00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:46,160
Speaker 1: herself into a cab. Went to the airport, and I

518
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,640
Speaker 1: asked Nelson George, I'm like, wait, what happened?

519
00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:51,800
Speaker 3: And he was like, she went home? And I'm like,

520
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:53,160
Speaker 3: she was a luggage like.

521
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:56,800
Speaker 2: She literally I do remember that. I do. I do

522
00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:58,560
Speaker 2: remember that when you.

523
00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:02,640
Speaker 7: Asked when they said, the room started buzzing around that

524
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,960
Speaker 7: she left. Yes, and we were backstage, going what's going on?

525
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:11,120
Speaker 7: And they were like, no, Anita Baker left. I was like, what,

526
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,200
Speaker 7: I wanted to meet her? Why did she leave? She

527
00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:14,040
Speaker 7: coming back though?

528
00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:14,320
Speaker 2: Right?

529
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,520
Speaker 7: They were like, no, she's not coming back. They're trying

530
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:22,200
Speaker 7: to call her. So I and when you came to

531
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,800
Speaker 7: my room to ask me about singing it. When you

532
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:28,400
Speaker 7: finally showed up, I was like, why is chues Love

533
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:29,640
Speaker 7: coming to my room? What I do?

534
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:31,720
Speaker 1: And I thought it was trouble. I was.

535
00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,680
Speaker 7: I didn't do anything, and then you came in and explained,

536
00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:39,160
Speaker 7: we need But this is the thing I didn't tell

537
00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:43,360
Speaker 7: you is that after you asked me, I called ab

538
00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:48,160
Speaker 7: Queen Anita Baker and said, can you police come back?

539
00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:50,560
Speaker 1: We would love it.

540
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,640
Speaker 7: Even after you asked me, because I felt, you know,

541
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,960
Speaker 7: I love honoring our grades no matter what. And if

542
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,360
Speaker 7: you asked me to do their song, I always call

543
00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:03,680
Speaker 7: them and say, hey, I'm gonna be performing your song.

544
00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:06,800
Speaker 7: That's just something I do. But I felt weird a

545
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,520
Speaker 7: little bit, so I called her and said, hey, are

546
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,600
Speaker 7: you all right? Just checking on you. She was like,

547
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:19,240
Speaker 7: I'm fine, going home? I was. She didn't she didn't

548
00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:22,920
Speaker 7: tell me what went on. She didn't say anything. She

549
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,320
Speaker 7: just said, baby, I said, well, they're asking me to

550
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,320
Speaker 7: sing your song and I was hoping you would sing it,

551
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,880
Speaker 7: and I thought you were singing it with another artist.

552
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,920
Speaker 7: I would love for you to she and I hope

553
00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,000
Speaker 7: she wasn't thinking that you put me up to that.

554
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,360
Speaker 7: That was just saying please come back because it's VH

555
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:45,640
Speaker 7: one and it was you know, and she was like,

556
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,880
Speaker 7: do a great job, honey, You're gonna be great.

557
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:51,840
Speaker 1: But I do.

558
00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:54,680
Speaker 7: And that's all I heard. And I didn't ask her

559
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,239
Speaker 7: what went on. It was none of my business to know.

560
00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,480
Speaker 7: My job was trying to get her to come come back.

561
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:03,960
Speaker 7: And because I knew a whole nother generation wanted to

562
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,240
Speaker 7: see that because she hadn't been on television along and

563
00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,800
Speaker 7: it was a big event to see that.

564
00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:13,560
Speaker 8: So hey, ps, just real quick because I know he's

565
00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:14,920
Speaker 8: going to try to get out of here like Peter

566
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,280
Speaker 8: on The Family, Guy, James Poyser, can we get your

567
00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:20,640
Speaker 8: commitment to being a guest on Quest left the premium

568
00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:21,240
Speaker 8: the next two months?

569
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:22,920
Speaker 1: Please she meet Homer Simpson.

570
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:28,560
Speaker 8: Homer Simpson, I'm sorry, you're right wrong, guy.

571
00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:41,280
Speaker 1: How much your pain? James do an episode already?

572
00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:45,360
Speaker 2: Fred Havin, he was he was in his sam ash basement.

573
00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:50,480
Speaker 2: Remember I love you? Let us.

574
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:52,080
Speaker 1: Wait?

575
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:54,200
Speaker 2: Can I ask a question about the needed Baker thing?

576
00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,000
Speaker 6: Were James at any point did the band look at

577
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,200
Speaker 6: each other and be like, where the need a go?

578
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:02,400
Speaker 2: Was that? Or it is just like it didn't matter.

579
00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:03,520
Speaker 2: It was just she was gone.

580
00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:05,240
Speaker 3: No, I'm gonna tell you why.

581
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,920
Speaker 1: Because the thing is the way that the stage was

582
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,000
Speaker 1: built kind of like a pyramid thing, and I'm at

583
00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:15,760
Speaker 1: the top, and what was supposed to happen is these two,

584
00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:19,800
Speaker 1: these two were supposed to saunter down these long ass

585
00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:28,080
Speaker 1: stairs left and right, singing together. There's this sort of

586
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:30,400
Speaker 1: rosy ending to this thing. And the whole thing was that.

587
00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:34,160
Speaker 1: When I think Sondra was next to me and I asked,

588
00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,640
Speaker 1: I see Sondra, I think she said, or someone from

589
00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,680
Speaker 1: your team was like, oh, let's you knows that song

590
00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:42,760
Speaker 1: like the back of her hand. She will kill that

591
00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:44,160
Speaker 1: Baker fan.

592
00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:47,600
Speaker 7: She's also one of my greatest mentors and friends. I

593
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:51,760
Speaker 7: love it. Maybe there might be things, you know to me,

594
00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,560
Speaker 7: every artist has a thing, they had, their cork and

595
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:57,600
Speaker 7: what they need and require to be comfortable. I don't

596
00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:01,760
Speaker 7: know what the situation was. I'm just saying and everybody

597
00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:03,440
Speaker 7: got a thing, they got quirks.

598
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:05,960
Speaker 5: You know, you wasn't even going there with this conversation.

599
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:07,880
Speaker 5: What was your I.

600
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:11,080
Speaker 7: Wanted to know for Emir doing that kind of show,

601
00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,760
Speaker 7: the mass it was so massive with so many women,

602
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:17,840
Speaker 7: like it was R and B and soul that night,

603
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,240
Speaker 7: you know what I mean. It was huge for me

604
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,600
Speaker 7: and I wanted to ask him, having that control over

605
00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,840
Speaker 7: that kind of playlist and all these artists in one room,

606
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,960
Speaker 7: what was that like for you? Well, you answered it,

607
00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,560
Speaker 7: But that's why I wanted to bring it up, like,

608
00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:36,720
Speaker 7: because that was the first time I said, come out

609
00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:41,240
Speaker 7: of being the drummer to being like a conductor, run

610
00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:42,000
Speaker 7: whipping bag.

611
00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:45,800
Speaker 3: You want to know something funny though, Well, to know

612
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:46,479
Speaker 3: something funny.

613
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:50,560
Speaker 1: That was the second most stressful moment of a night

614
00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:58,800
Speaker 1: because I had another situation backstage with a Mota legend whom,

615
00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:02,400
Speaker 1: like drummers will all always get no pun intended the

616
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:06,200
Speaker 1: short end of the stick, mainly from singers who now

617
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:12,120
Speaker 1: I understand that if there's certain insecurities lying under, usually

618
00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:17,440
Speaker 1: when a person wants to micromanage tempo or that's not right,

619
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:23,040
Speaker 1: there's another issue at hand. You know that that's not

620
00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:26,320
Speaker 1: about the song's too fast or you're playing it too slow.

621
00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:29,279
Speaker 1: So you know, I was dealing with another drama with

622
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,960
Speaker 1: a motown legend that she browbeat me, and she did

623
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:37,640
Speaker 1: it something so smooth, like I'm drumming behind her and

624
00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:41,600
Speaker 1: at one point she's so on. She sings something, sings

625
00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:45,799
Speaker 1: the chorus and turns around says kill you.

626
00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:51,680
Speaker 7: Oh no, a mirror R and B is a whole

627
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:56,200
Speaker 7: nother beast. It has you know this samir is so different, right.

628
00:34:56,680 --> 00:34:59,160
Speaker 1: So no, just to let you know that, like that

629
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,480
Speaker 1: situation with the needle was sort of like that was

630
00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:04,560
Speaker 1: in second place. There's something else I was dealing with.

631
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:06,680
Speaker 1: It taught me to be careful what you asked for.

632
00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:10,160
Speaker 1: And also I'll say that surviving that prepared me for

633
00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:13,359
Speaker 1: hip hop fifty.

634
00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:12,919
Speaker 6: Yeah.

635
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:16,440
Speaker 1: You know I've told our listeners that, uh, you know,

636
00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:19,640
Speaker 1: I've lost the body part uh because of the stress

637
00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:23,040
Speaker 1: of that. But that's also that's also me not you know,

638
00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:27,799
Speaker 1: advocating for myself and volunteering to be a whipping boy.

639
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:28,279
Speaker 1: But I.

640
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:32,239
Speaker 5: Said, that's what I said.

641
00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:38,960
Speaker 3: The main one I told you all my tooth fell out.

642
00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:43,400
Speaker 5: We all smoke and drink, so we'd be forgetting the

643
00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:49,239
Speaker 5: camera you know, with our brother. But you know, we

644
00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:54,040
Speaker 5: just still.

645
00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:54,680
Speaker 1: And we can put this to bed. Let me put

646
00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:59,719
Speaker 1: the cheery on top and say that you came out

647
00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:01,520
Speaker 1: with twenty seven minutes left.

648
00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:03,440
Speaker 3: You ran through that song.

649
00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:08,400
Speaker 1: And it was the most beautiful thing ever, even to

650
00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:12,040
Speaker 1: the detriment of not seeing that magic moment happen. What

651
00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:15,400
Speaker 1: that taught me was one I said to myself, like, wow,

652
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:20,279
Speaker 1: like I rarely see an artist that's like ready for

653
00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:24,040
Speaker 1: their close up, And for me, that was the stars

654
00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:29,319
Speaker 1: born moment, because like you were trending number one when

655
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:31,960
Speaker 1: that aired, and it was a whole nother comment. It

656
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,239
Speaker 1: was as if people just discovered you for real, and

657
00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:37,439
Speaker 1: it was such a moment where I was like, that's

658
00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:38,560
Speaker 1: that's the way it was meant to be.

659
00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:44,120
Speaker 7: Honestly, I was scared to death, and I because I

660
00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:49,200
Speaker 7: didn't have time to do what I normally do, prepare, overthink,

661
00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:54,879
Speaker 7: I know, overthink, and I just did it. Marcia Ambrosius

662
00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:57,719
Speaker 7: did it too, and I was happy to have her

663
00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:01,200
Speaker 7: there as well to help sing part of the other part.

664
00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:05,040
Speaker 7: But you were like so happy. I was honored to

665
00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:08,080
Speaker 7: finish out what you had started and do my best,

666
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:10,960
Speaker 7: but I was freaked out, but I did try.

667
00:37:10,719 --> 00:37:11,919
Speaker 5: To get a B back.

668
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,120
Speaker 7: I did. I didn't know what was going on. I

669
00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:16,319
Speaker 7: was out the dark, out of the room. Still don't

670
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:18,040
Speaker 7: know what happened, but I'm just.

671
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,160
Speaker 3: Having euros up here.

672
00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,719
Speaker 7: Your face though that night, well that's why I wanted

673
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,880
Speaker 7: to ask why it was. So how was it for you?

674
00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,680
Speaker 7: Because your face was you wore out.

675
00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:33,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, I didn't know about meditation.

676
00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:33,959
Speaker 2: Job.

677
00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:36,400
Speaker 7: You did a wonderful job. I have to.

678
00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:39,000
Speaker 5: Say, y'all, is this the BT Award twenty eighteen?

679
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:40,359
Speaker 7: Oh it was VH one.

680
00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:42,200
Speaker 5: So you didn't say Anita Baker sweet love?

681
00:37:42,239 --> 00:37:44,319
Speaker 7: A couple of times I did, but I didn't do

682
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:46,479
Speaker 7: I did it first with a mirror.

683
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:48,719
Speaker 8: That was making sure because I know people are listening,

684
00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:49,640
Speaker 8: They're like, how which one is?

685
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:50,239
Speaker 5: I want to find it?

686
00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:53,160
Speaker 7: Not that So that was the first tribute I had

687
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:55,680
Speaker 7: ever done. I do a lot of tributes, but that

688
00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:59,080
Speaker 7: was the first one on a big platform like that.

689
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:02,400
Speaker 7: It was all R and B people, soul, R and B.

690
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:06,520
Speaker 7: The lineup was incredible. I couldn't believe I was there.

691
00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:07,800
Speaker 5: I was still RMB Davis.

692
00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:11,160
Speaker 1: Yeah, So did you notice a paradigm shift after that moment?

693
00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:12,440
Speaker 7: Absolutely?

694
00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:16,480
Speaker 1: Tell me about it because I still maintained that, you know,

695
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:20,520
Speaker 1: one you trended the entire night it was on and

696
00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:24,640
Speaker 1: just reading all the comments, like people were really engaged

697
00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:26,560
Speaker 1: with how you handled it, and they loved it.

698
00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:29,040
Speaker 3: So what happened after that moment?

699
00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:35,760
Speaker 7: They were my shows got bigger, more people started wanting

700
00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:38,400
Speaker 7: to know more about me. But I wasn't really social,

701
00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:41,239
Speaker 7: like I said earlier, we didn't have enough of that.

702
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:43,839
Speaker 7: I didn't even know what trending was. I was too

703
00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:48,280
Speaker 7: busy surviving as independent artists, you know. But I noticed

704
00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:51,640
Speaker 7: in the club environment more people were coming out to

705
00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:54,520
Speaker 7: my shows after that, and there was a level of respect.

706
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:58,080
Speaker 7: But I also got called to do more tributes, so

707
00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:01,040
Speaker 7: it kind of opened the door for that, which I

708
00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:02,200
Speaker 7: was like, what is going on?

709
00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:06,839
Speaker 1: Yeah, You've done a lot besides Anita Baker, Who are

710
00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:10,040
Speaker 1: your north stars in terms of you know, who you

711
00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:14,000
Speaker 1: look to as far as like your your vocal idols.

712
00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:16,560
Speaker 7: Or like I wanted to be an opera singer. So

713
00:39:16,719 --> 00:39:22,320
Speaker 7: Leontine was one of the biggest uh Dinah Washington because

714
00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:26,120
Speaker 7: there would be no Aretha without Dinah. She was a

715
00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:31,360
Speaker 7: big influence for Aretha and then of course Aretha Franklin

716
00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:36,560
Speaker 7: because she could sing. She sunk sung everything, and I

717
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:40,480
Speaker 7: love uh. My mother was a huge influence. It starts

718
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:44,720
Speaker 7: at home for me. She had the most beautiful soprano voice.

719
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:48,920
Speaker 7: And when she had cancer in the throat, and she

720
00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:51,399
Speaker 7: survived and and won, but she her voice got lower.

721
00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:53,759
Speaker 7: She was worried and said, Mama, you gonna sing. You

722
00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:56,680
Speaker 7: could sing an out good old alto and tenna. You'll

723
00:39:56,719 --> 00:39:59,440
Speaker 7: be fine, you know so. But she's one of my

724
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,600
Speaker 7: biggest inspirations is my mother, because without her, I wouldn't

725
00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:05,799
Speaker 7: have been introduced to all these other vocalists. And I

726
00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:11,400
Speaker 7: love Patsy Kaine. She's another big voice, storyteller. We forget

727
00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:15,239
Speaker 7: country is like not that everybody's having that country talk.

728
00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:17,440
Speaker 7: I've been on it. My mom listened to Willie Nelson

729
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:19,640
Speaker 7: and Bob Dylan. I was like, Mom, why they can't

730
00:40:19,719 --> 00:40:23,680
Speaker 7: really sing. She's like, it's the stories, you know. She's like,

731
00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:26,640
Speaker 7: the stories are the thing. So I was the nerdy,

732
00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,480
Speaker 7: weird kid that liked all the opposite. I didn't start

733
00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:33,160
Speaker 7: at the church. I got the church stuff later when

734
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:35,759
Speaker 7: we moved to Oakland and I met the Hawkins and

735
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:37,239
Speaker 7: Darryl Coley and.

736
00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:38,600
Speaker 3: Learned that church.

737
00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:42,120
Speaker 7: My mom did. She was in their choir, so we would.

738
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:44,320
Speaker 7: I would visit here and there. But I wasn't a

739
00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:47,000
Speaker 7: church I'm not a church girl. I loved the nerdy.

740
00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:50,560
Speaker 7: We were raised Catholics, so we were Mama me more.

741
00:40:51,239 --> 00:40:54,240
Speaker 7: You know, we didn't do all the squalling. I learned

742
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:56,800
Speaker 7: all of that because Tremaine said, come on, baby squall.

743
00:40:56,840 --> 00:40:59,760
Speaker 7: And my mom grew up Baptist, so I heard her voice.

744
00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:01,759
Speaker 7: That's where I got it from. Do you know what

745
00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:05,680
Speaker 7: I mean? I'm the Yeah, she taught me how to

746
00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:08,960
Speaker 7: do my first squaw She was in the studio. You

747
00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:16,200
Speaker 7: go like this a squaw all that you asking? And

748
00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:17,279
Speaker 7: I ain't doing that now.

749
00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:19,480
Speaker 3: But wait, if you know what, Jamaine, have you ever

750
00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:21,080
Speaker 3: met Lynette Stephen Hawkins?

751
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:23,439
Speaker 7: Oh, absolutely met her as well.

752
00:41:23,719 --> 00:41:26,200
Speaker 1: She like, man, like, just listen to all that records,

753
00:41:26,239 --> 00:41:28,920
Speaker 1: like you never see pressed on any of them.

754
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:31,880
Speaker 7: So she had her own church. So they're really quiet,

755
00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:35,359
Speaker 7: you know, they're nerds like well, I can't say like us,

756
00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,879
Speaker 7: but yeah, I guess they like us, right you can, yeah,

757
00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:43,319
Speaker 7: I can't, okay, but yeah, they're really quiet. But you know,

758
00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:46,959
Speaker 7: people who were love the music and they keep it there.

759
00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:49,920
Speaker 7: They love being private as well, not all of us

760
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:51,799
Speaker 7: like to be in the front.

761
00:41:52,080 --> 00:41:54,320
Speaker 1: I'll say that the number one scene that I really

762
00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:58,879
Speaker 1: regret that I had to drop what in Summer Soul was?

763
00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:02,360
Speaker 1: I mean, yes, they taught me off the ledgend I

764
00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:07,440
Speaker 1: put O Happy Day in, but really there was there

765
00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:12,799
Speaker 1: There was a solo between uh Tremaine Walter and Lynette

766
00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:16,520
Speaker 1: when they were teenagers, when they were you know, like.

767
00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:21,000
Speaker 3: Nineteen years old. So that's one of the scenes I

768
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:21,560
Speaker 3: had to drop.

769
00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:24,160
Speaker 7: You know what I wanted to say about someone's soul,

770
00:42:24,719 --> 00:42:28,120
Speaker 7: Luther Vandross is a huge influence. Why didn't you put

771
00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:30,880
Speaker 7: Luther such a good question?

772
00:42:31,239 --> 00:42:35,600
Speaker 1: Because Luther was ace an eighteen year old.

773
00:42:35,719 --> 00:42:40,360
Speaker 8: Nobody air quotes, nobody taped it, didn't it a little.

774
00:42:40,239 --> 00:42:42,960
Speaker 1: Singer And they were like, well, we're running out of tape.

775
00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:47,399
Speaker 1: So you know that that local Harlem band with Luther

776
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:53,080
Speaker 1: Vanros and Phonsie Thornton and practically Luther's whole entire crew

777
00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:58,280
Speaker 1: from listening to my brother oops, they yeah. They also

778
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:00,560
Speaker 1: the weird thing was the same the same people that

779
00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:04,560
Speaker 1: shot A Summer of Soul, we're also the same people

780
00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:08,640
Speaker 1: that shot the pilot of Sesame Street. And so to them,

781
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:12,240
Speaker 1: Luthor was just like Luther was the first musical guest

782
00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:15,120
Speaker 1: on Sesame Street because of the band he was in

783
00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:19,359
Speaker 1: singing about the number twenty. I searched Tying Low. There

784
00:43:19,719 --> 00:43:22,560
Speaker 1: was no good footage of Luther at all. The last

785
00:43:22,560 --> 00:43:25,680
Speaker 1: time we had a singer of your caliber or your

786
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:30,480
Speaker 1: vocal prowess, I'll say that's one of the unfortunate episodes

787
00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:37,120
Speaker 1: in which the audio didn't work. Are that you're talking about, Well,

788
00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:41,880
Speaker 1: you're saying it. I was just finally, So I'm gonna

789
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:46,839
Speaker 1: ask again. I want you to not not to spell

790
00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:50,520
Speaker 1: a myth, but the way that singers have these very

791
00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:56,239
Speaker 1: specific requirements for their their vocal to be open. I'm

792
00:43:56,360 --> 00:44:00,960
Speaker 1: very cynical, and I believe that's psychosomatic. But I've heard

793
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:05,520
Speaker 1: like Fante clap back every now and then by saying like, no,

794
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:06,000
Speaker 1: that's real.

795
00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:10,080
Speaker 3: But he explains me what is the deal.

796
00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:12,600
Speaker 1: With like with the artists that are you know, they

797
00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:16,319
Speaker 1: can't have air conditioning on because they're voice up.

798
00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:21,600
Speaker 7: This is real it Your vocal cords will clam up

799
00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:25,560
Speaker 7: from the cold air. I have gotten sick. I remember

800
00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:28,640
Speaker 7: singing what was it called Biscuits and Blues in New

801
00:44:28,719 --> 00:44:31,840
Speaker 7: York whatever that is where.

802
00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:39,240
Speaker 1: I want some biscuits and blues, but it's closed now.

803
00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:44,720
Speaker 7: I literally the air conditioning was right here, blowing into

804
00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:48,640
Speaker 7: my face as I'm opening my mouth. It just dried

805
00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:52,040
Speaker 7: my vocals out, and you can hear as I'm singing

806
00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:57,640
Speaker 7: the show my voice slowly go away cracks. Everything I said,

807
00:44:57,760 --> 00:44:59,680
Speaker 7: can you turn the air off? They wouldn't turn it

808
00:44:59,719 --> 00:45:02,759
Speaker 7: off because it was too It was underground. It was

809
00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:05,799
Speaker 7: a club in New York on Broadway, but I can't

810
00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:08,960
Speaker 7: remember the name of it. But it's gone now. It

811
00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:11,240
Speaker 7: just took my vocals out and we had to stop

812
00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:15,719
Speaker 7: the show. It's better when it's warm, it keeps it fluid.

813
00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:17,840
Speaker 7: I don't want to sound gross, but you need it

814
00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:22,320
Speaker 7: to be in there. You need water, you need moisture,

815
00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:25,799
Speaker 7: you need you need your vocal courts. They're really thin

816
00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:27,719
Speaker 7: and they have to flap. You should know that.

817
00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:29,840
Speaker 3: Come on with the I don't sing.

818
00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:35,400
Speaker 7: You yell yeah, I've heard you many times.

819
00:45:36,400 --> 00:45:39,600
Speaker 3: No, but it's just I don't know.

820
00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:44,600
Speaker 1: There's certain I'll look at the writers of singers and

821
00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,920
Speaker 1: you know some things I'll know like, okay, well they

822
00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:51,160
Speaker 1: need lemon and honey and da whatever.

823
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:54,160
Speaker 7: But yeah, I get it too.

824
00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:56,920
Speaker 1: So do you have a warm up process before you

825
00:45:56,960 --> 00:45:59,120
Speaker 1: get on stage or yeah.

826
00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:01,560
Speaker 7: I don't talk it all. I do the Celine Dion thing.

827
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:05,560
Speaker 7: My room is at eighty eighty degrees like Luther and.

828
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:07,840
Speaker 5: The sweat stole.

829
00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:13,279
Speaker 7: Yeah, the sweat is good. I sing all the high notes. Knows,

830
00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:16,720
Speaker 7: he knows. It just feels good. It makes you ready

831
00:46:16,719 --> 00:46:16,960
Speaker 7: to go.

832
00:46:17,040 --> 00:46:19,040
Speaker 8: It's funny, funny they do be sweating, and it'll be

833
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:20,880
Speaker 8: hot when I go see him sing on stage, that

834
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:21,239
Speaker 8: might be.

835
00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:26,080
Speaker 7: And then I have a steamer. I steam my vocal cords.

836
00:46:26,080 --> 00:46:29,840
Speaker 7: See that's heat, and it's making it loose and everything opens,

837
00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:31,160
Speaker 7: all your chests. It's kind of like when you put

838
00:46:31,239 --> 00:46:34,160
Speaker 7: vapor rub all over and it goes. That's how you

839
00:46:34,239 --> 00:46:36,680
Speaker 7: want your vocal cords to stay open. So it is

840
00:46:36,719 --> 00:46:39,399
Speaker 7: a real thing for me. The good ones, the real

841
00:46:39,440 --> 00:46:44,359
Speaker 7: singers do that kind of stuff. The one that sing

842
00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:47,480
Speaker 7: like classical, they don't like all that because by the

843
00:46:47,520 --> 00:46:50,440
Speaker 7: time you're on the stage too, it's freezing cold, so

844
00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:54,400
Speaker 7: you might as well stay warm. So that's what I do, okay,

845
00:46:54,840 --> 00:46:58,880
Speaker 7: And I don't drink a lot of liquids, and I yeah,

846
00:46:59,040 --> 00:47:02,640
Speaker 7: the steaming is incredible. I also opera singer turned me

847
00:47:02,680 --> 00:47:06,680
Speaker 7: onto the CITRONTI that's really good. But I love that.

848
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:15,120
Speaker 6: You transitioned to theater like all your theatrical work, both

849
00:47:15,160 --> 00:47:17,200
Speaker 6: in solo shows and kyliner change and.

850
00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:20,480
Speaker 2: Blah blah blah blah. What was the impetus behind that? Why?

851
00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:21,279
Speaker 2: So why go there?

852
00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:26,360
Speaker 7: To survive? To pay bills? In the Bay Area, Before

853
00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:28,720
Speaker 7: I became an artist, that you know is let us see,

854
00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:32,120
Speaker 7: I was waiting tables and working at a place called

855
00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:35,160
Speaker 7: Beach Blanka, Babylon where you wear these big hats. I

856
00:47:35,239 --> 00:47:37,440
Speaker 7: auditioned when I was eighteen years old, right out of

857
00:47:37,480 --> 00:47:40,320
Speaker 7: high school, and I was going to college at the

858
00:47:40,360 --> 00:47:43,920
Speaker 7: same time working in theater. And luckily with theater, I

859
00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:47,759
Speaker 7: learned how to reach past four rows and not just

860
00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:51,399
Speaker 7: perform right here. Now I can fill the whole room

861
00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:54,239
Speaker 7: with my voice and all that because of theater. But

862
00:47:54,280 --> 00:47:57,160
Speaker 7: I had to do it to pay bills, to survive.

863
00:47:57,239 --> 00:47:59,759
Speaker 7: I was waiting tables at the same time. After my

864
00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:02,600
Speaker 7: thea gig, I leave at eleven thirty and go rush

865
00:48:02,680 --> 00:48:06,000
Speaker 7: to my gig. That everybody would go see me underground

866
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:08,520
Speaker 7: at Cafe Denor with one hundred people in the room,

867
00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:11,000
Speaker 7: so they would wait for me for two hours, and

868
00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:13,920
Speaker 7: I would rush there after doing the theater gig with

869
00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:17,319
Speaker 7: full makeup on, so that I can pay bills, do

870
00:48:17,360 --> 00:48:18,839
Speaker 7: what I love and do what I need to do

871
00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:19,719
Speaker 7: at the same time.

872
00:48:20,360 --> 00:48:21,680
Speaker 5: So did you finish school?

873
00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:22,760
Speaker 7: Huh?

874
00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:23,680
Speaker 5: Did you finish school?

875
00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:24,480
Speaker 1: No?

876
00:48:24,560 --> 00:48:24,880
Speaker 7: I did not.

877
00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:25,920
Speaker 5: Where'd you go?

878
00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:30,080
Speaker 7: I went to cal State Heyward and I studied at

879
00:48:30,239 --> 00:48:34,280
Speaker 7: UC Berkeley in the summers during high school. So because

880
00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:38,719
Speaker 7: like I said, I'm a nerd, loved all that classical

881
00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:42,359
Speaker 7: music there. That's where I studied. But yeah, I never

882
00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:44,520
Speaker 7: finished because I had to survive, had to pay bills

883
00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:47,239
Speaker 7: and be I left home at eighteen. Like I said,

884
00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:50,960
Speaker 7: I left home at eighteen and took care of myself

885
00:48:51,520 --> 00:48:55,399
Speaker 7: and school and waiting tables. But theater was I love

886
00:48:55,520 --> 00:48:58,319
Speaker 7: acting because I did it in high school and to

887
00:48:58,360 --> 00:49:01,759
Speaker 7: be able to do cabaret shows. And then I was

888
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:04,480
Speaker 7: going to quit the music industry because I had been

889
00:49:04,520 --> 00:49:08,360
Speaker 7: in it for as independent artist for two years and nothing.

890
00:49:08,440 --> 00:49:10,759
Speaker 7: I just kept spending all my money and when I

891
00:49:10,800 --> 00:49:13,320
Speaker 7: was quitting, I only had two suitcases in a house

892
00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:16,560
Speaker 7: that I got a commercial off of doing a Sprint commercial.

893
00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:20,360
Speaker 7: At the time when Sprint existed all Sprint it hasn't

894
00:49:20,400 --> 00:49:23,160
Speaker 7: Sprint back in the day. But I the same time,

895
00:49:23,239 --> 00:49:26,560
Speaker 7: I miss on my side and I got you, Hello,

896
00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:31,239
Speaker 7: what year was this? It was like around two thousand

897
00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:35,080
Speaker 7: and man, was it two thousand and two?

898
00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:36,080
Speaker 1: Oh?

899
00:49:36,080 --> 00:49:37,239
Speaker 2: Okay, okay, thousand and.

900
00:49:37,280 --> 00:49:39,919
Speaker 7: Two or three after two thousand and three. Yeah, because

901
00:49:39,960 --> 00:49:41,719
Speaker 7: Feeling Orange had came out after that.

902
00:49:43,360 --> 00:49:45,080
Speaker 8: You didn't have to audition for that. They found they

903
00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:46,560
Speaker 8: just knew you, they knew your voice, and they were like,

904
00:49:46,719 --> 00:49:47,000
Speaker 8: I was.

905
00:49:46,960 --> 00:49:50,880
Speaker 7: Still I was teaching during the day sometime middle schools

906
00:49:51,080 --> 00:49:54,640
Speaker 7: and going carrying instruments around. I mean, I was trying

907
00:49:54,640 --> 00:49:57,479
Speaker 7: to make money. You're on your own. But I would

908
00:49:57,480 --> 00:50:02,600
Speaker 7: also audition for voiceovers to do children's books and children things,

909
00:50:03,239 --> 00:50:06,239
Speaker 7: and I ended up getting that Sprint commercial that way

910
00:50:06,320 --> 00:50:09,279
Speaker 7: through someone who, hey, what a friend of mine needs

911
00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:11,040
Speaker 7: a voice for this. I didn't know what it was for.

912
00:50:11,120 --> 00:50:14,359
Speaker 7: I just sang it, and then the little check start

913
00:50:14,440 --> 00:50:23,719
Speaker 7: rolling in. I was like, oh, I know there, you

914
00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:26,480
Speaker 7: know that's that's that's how I mean. My living was

915
00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:31,480
Speaker 7: teaching and waiting tables and it's crazy and doing gigs

916
00:50:31,560 --> 00:50:33,239
Speaker 7: late at night and cabaret shows.

917
00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:34,960
Speaker 8: People act like the first time they saw you on

918
00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:38,160
Speaker 8: screen acting was the I want to say the Nina

919
00:50:38,239 --> 00:50:43,640
Speaker 8: short that you did the women, Oh yeah, yeah right,

920
00:50:43,760 --> 00:50:46,600
Speaker 8: with a shout out to Lisa Cortez and Gaby Sabe.

921
00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:49,880
Speaker 5: Right who were behind it before years Yeah, talk about that.

922
00:50:49,920 --> 00:50:51,239
Speaker 8: I wanted you to talk about that because I was like,

923
00:50:51,239 --> 00:50:53,520
Speaker 8: did that come first? And then the Nina album? Like

924
00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:55,480
Speaker 8: you and Nina got some things going on?

925
00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:56,160
Speaker 2: Well?

926
00:50:56,200 --> 00:51:00,000
Speaker 7: The first uh, Gabby was inspired by my Nina Simone

927
00:51:00,160 --> 00:51:03,160
Speaker 7: tribute that I did with Black Girls Rock. So that

928
00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:06,520
Speaker 7: was the second time I ever been on television, was

929
00:51:06,560 --> 00:51:08,960
Speaker 7: doing another tribute and I came in saying I want

930
00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:11,799
Speaker 7: to be Peaches. I was like, I gotta do the

931
00:51:11,840 --> 00:51:14,920
Speaker 7: Peaches part. And they could have kicked me out, you

932
00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:16,760
Speaker 7: know what I mean, But I was like, I knew

933
00:51:17,200 --> 00:51:19,840
Speaker 7: what part I wanted to sing, and it was me,

934
00:51:19,960 --> 00:51:24,600
Speaker 7: Jill Scott, Marsha Ambrosius, and Kelly Price. So I sang

935
00:51:24,680 --> 00:51:28,520
Speaker 7: Peaches and then Gabby said the writer and Gabby and

936
00:51:28,560 --> 00:51:30,600
Speaker 7: a couple of producers they were saying they were inspired

937
00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:33,719
Speaker 7: by that and they wrote me into that short and

938
00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:37,279
Speaker 7: they always wanted me to play that role. Later and

939
00:51:37,520 --> 00:51:42,359
Speaker 7: years later, I would meet Gabby just in passing with

940
00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:45,360
Speaker 7: Lee Daniels hanging out and she said, I got a

941
00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:49,400
Speaker 7: part for you, and that was the role in the

942
00:51:49,719 --> 00:51:54,040
Speaker 7: four Women short that we did. It was amazing. Gabby's

943
00:51:54,040 --> 00:51:55,520
Speaker 7: the great director.

944
00:51:55,200 --> 00:51:57,040
Speaker 5: That debut too at a black Star shout out to

945
00:51:57,080 --> 00:51:58,520
Speaker 5: me or too Dope.

946
00:51:58,800 --> 00:51:59,359
Speaker 7: I loved it.

947
00:52:00,040 --> 00:52:03,240
Speaker 1: So, speaking of which, can you talk about the moments

948
00:52:03,239 --> 00:52:07,200
Speaker 1: that led up to you playing Maheleia Jackson and remember

949
00:52:07,280 --> 00:52:08,400
Speaker 1: me and what that was like?

950
00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:13,040
Speaker 7: By the way, thank you. I said no to that

951
00:52:13,200 --> 00:52:16,200
Speaker 7: role a couple of times, but the I.

952
00:52:16,120 --> 00:52:17,960
Speaker 3: Love Why did you say no?

953
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:21,319
Speaker 7: Initially because I had did it in Selma, you know,

954
00:52:21,680 --> 00:52:25,080
Speaker 7: the little snippet I did, and I wanted to so

955
00:52:25,160 --> 00:52:27,439
Speaker 7: many other people were doing it, so I didn't want

956
00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:31,920
Speaker 7: to be a part of that, you know, the Mahela thing,

957
00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:36,759
Speaker 7: because I already did it, and uh, I wanted there's

958
00:52:36,800 --> 00:52:39,640
Speaker 7: another role I wanted to do one day. So I

959
00:52:39,680 --> 00:52:42,879
Speaker 7: was just waiting for a bigger debut, you know. But

960
00:52:43,120 --> 00:52:49,000
Speaker 7: I love the director so much, Erica, Erica, the producer

961
00:52:49,200 --> 00:52:53,520
Speaker 7: to I mean, the whole team, Erica is amazing. I

962
00:52:53,600 --> 00:52:56,719
Speaker 7: just wanted to be a part of it. After I

963
00:52:56,800 --> 00:52:59,000
Speaker 7: met them, we met on a zoom and I said,

964
00:52:59,040 --> 00:53:02,879
Speaker 7: that's it. I got do it, and ended up doing it.

965
00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:06,680
Speaker 7: It was amazing to dive into Mahelia. We had so

966
00:53:06,800 --> 00:53:11,439
Speaker 7: much in common, like being from New Orleans but transported

967
00:53:11,520 --> 00:53:15,320
Speaker 7: into another city and then coming trying to come back

968
00:53:15,480 --> 00:53:19,160
Speaker 7: to pour into New Orleans. And it was just amazing

969
00:53:19,239 --> 00:53:22,440
Speaker 7: role to sing, but it was it was enormous because

970
00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:24,680
Speaker 7: you have you have to sing gospel music and they

971
00:53:24,680 --> 00:53:28,600
Speaker 7: don't play at all, you know what I'm saying. So

972
00:53:29,440 --> 00:53:32,080
Speaker 7: it wore me out. And then I had to gain

973
00:53:32,120 --> 00:53:34,480
Speaker 7: a little weight because the director wanted me a little

974
00:53:34,960 --> 00:53:37,320
Speaker 7: you know. She said, Mahellya, it was bigger. And when

975
00:53:37,520 --> 00:53:40,360
Speaker 7: I saw Summer and Soul, I said, oh wow, I

976
00:53:40,400 --> 00:53:45,640
Speaker 7: had never seen her like you know that you gave

977
00:53:45,719 --> 00:53:48,920
Speaker 7: us her. And I was and I was so happy

978
00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:51,880
Speaker 7: my heart. I was like, there she is. And I

979
00:53:52,080 --> 00:53:55,880
Speaker 7: before I did even sell my visitor a grave, like

980
00:53:55,920 --> 00:53:58,759
Speaker 7: I said, I told you I honored ancestors. I was

981
00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:00,839
Speaker 7: in New Orleans. I said, I want to know more

982
00:54:00,880 --> 00:54:03,480
Speaker 7: about her, was researching and I went to a grave

983
00:54:03,520 --> 00:54:06,880
Speaker 7: and visitor and thanked her. And then that's when I

984
00:54:06,920 --> 00:54:10,920
Speaker 7: got Selma and here she is again. Like the answers

985
00:54:11,040 --> 00:54:13,960
Speaker 7: is to me, they call I, let stuff happen to me.

986
00:54:14,400 --> 00:54:16,239
Speaker 7: I just do the work and get out the way.

987
00:54:17,040 --> 00:54:19,879
Speaker 7: That's why I got Nina. That's why I got all

988
00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:22,279
Speaker 7: these tributes. They just happened, and I don't ask for them.

989
00:54:22,320 --> 00:54:26,080
Speaker 7: I say no to all the time. I say no, no, no,

990
00:54:26,760 --> 00:54:29,440
Speaker 7: and then you have to do the work. Finish, finish.

991
00:54:29,520 --> 00:54:31,719
Speaker 5: The work is their favorite experience.

992
00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:33,880
Speaker 8: I just wanted to know, because you did mention a

993
00:54:33,920 --> 00:54:36,600
Speaker 8: couple of times that you've been called to honor a

994
00:54:36,600 --> 00:54:38,920
Speaker 8: few times. But I just got to know, like, was

995
00:54:38,960 --> 00:54:41,600
Speaker 8: there a favorite experience and why.

996
00:54:41,960 --> 00:54:47,080
Speaker 7: My two favorite tributes I've ever done is Shaka and

997
00:54:47,120 --> 00:54:53,000
Speaker 7: it It. It's still Shaka, that Shaka tribute. People are

998
00:54:53,040 --> 00:54:54,719
Speaker 7: still talking about it. You can go online now.

999
00:54:55,239 --> 00:54:57,200
Speaker 5: No, I've seen it live. I just forgot because I smoke,

1000
00:54:57,280 --> 00:54:57,520
Speaker 5: but I.

1001
00:54:57,440 --> 00:55:01,800
Speaker 7: Got it that that was years ago and it's still amazing.

1002
00:55:02,920 --> 00:55:05,480
Speaker 7: That was my favorite only because she was the first

1003
00:55:05,520 --> 00:55:10,000
Speaker 7: person to bring me back out of quitting the business,

1004
00:55:10,239 --> 00:55:13,440
Speaker 7: meaning she was the first, one of the first artists,

1005
00:55:13,440 --> 00:55:16,279
Speaker 7: her and Rachelle Farrell. But Shaka let me open for

1006
00:55:16,360 --> 00:55:19,319
Speaker 7: her and gave me a gig, and that's what made

1007
00:55:19,360 --> 00:55:22,840
Speaker 7: me want to come back after meeting her, cause she's like,

1008
00:55:22,880 --> 00:55:25,480
Speaker 7: you can't quit, there's no quitting you know what I mean?

1009
00:55:25,680 --> 00:55:28,200
Speaker 1: Just pussy talk about that real quick, Like, what was

1010
00:55:28,239 --> 00:55:30,319
Speaker 1: the decision that led up to that?

1011
00:55:30,920 --> 00:55:33,600
Speaker 7: Well, the industry kept saying, you're not pretty enough, you're

1012
00:55:33,640 --> 00:55:36,799
Speaker 7: not good enough, You'll never make it. Then I went

1013
00:55:36,840 --> 00:55:39,920
Speaker 7: ahead and did it myself. But I was spending so

1014
00:55:40,040 --> 00:55:42,440
Speaker 7: much money and didn't have the knowledge that I needed

1015
00:55:43,280 --> 00:55:44,520
Speaker 7: and we didn't have internet.

1016
00:55:44,560 --> 00:55:47,880
Speaker 4: Then, to elaborate more on that, like being an independent

1017
00:55:48,120 --> 00:55:51,520
Speaker 4: R and B artist, like speak about because R and

1018
00:55:51,560 --> 00:55:53,160
Speaker 4: B generally, I mean, anybody you know R and B

1019
00:55:53,280 --> 00:55:55,399
Speaker 4: is a money game, you know what I mean? Talk

1020
00:55:55,480 --> 00:55:58,040
Speaker 4: more about just independently, Like what was it like being

1021
00:55:58,040 --> 00:55:58,920
Speaker 4: an R and B artist.

1022
00:55:59,160 --> 00:56:02,640
Speaker 7: I came out at a time where you know, it's

1023
00:56:03,040 --> 00:56:04,840
Speaker 7: about who you know and who's going to give you

1024
00:56:04,880 --> 00:56:08,600
Speaker 7: the leg up. I didn't have a leg up. I

1025
00:56:08,640 --> 00:56:12,480
Speaker 7: would do Black Lily here and there. People would come

1026
00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:13,960
Speaker 7: out and see me, and they didn't like the way

1027
00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:18,880
Speaker 7: I look. Industry people. Yes, I did back Lily and

1028
00:56:18,880 --> 00:56:21,239
Speaker 7: invited a couple of industry people. They said, well's just

1029
00:56:21,440 --> 00:56:21,960
Speaker 7: the start.

1030
00:56:23,120 --> 00:56:26,680
Speaker 8: I remember when you came to those phrenology sessions too.

1031
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:30,160
Speaker 7: I went, I hung out with a mirror in the

1032
00:56:30,200 --> 00:56:32,440
Speaker 7: studio that was so much fun. You know what I

1033
00:56:32,520 --> 00:56:36,000
Speaker 7: learned from you a mirror. I learned from you about

1034
00:56:36,040 --> 00:56:40,680
Speaker 7: simplicity and more about what hip hop does, why the

1035
00:56:40,719 --> 00:56:43,879
Speaker 7: space is so important. And I never forget it. I said,

1036
00:56:43,880 --> 00:56:47,600
Speaker 7: Amir said less do less, just more, this is more

1037
00:56:47,680 --> 00:56:51,080
Speaker 7: And when that was my first time hearing that, and

1038
00:56:51,200 --> 00:56:53,640
Speaker 7: uh and I carried it. I still carry it with

1039
00:56:53,680 --> 00:56:56,440
Speaker 7: me today. But anyway, those things, I would hope to

1040
00:56:56,520 --> 00:56:58,920
Speaker 7: meet people and they would help me or do a

1041
00:56:58,960 --> 00:57:02,400
Speaker 7: gig with me, or for me, or endorse me. But

1042
00:57:02,600 --> 00:57:06,080
Speaker 7: really I just had to keep endorsing myself. I had

1043
00:57:06,080 --> 00:57:10,520
Speaker 7: to spend my own money to get a publicist, and

1044
00:57:10,640 --> 00:57:14,359
Speaker 7: my own money to word of mouth. I would chop

1045
00:57:14,440 --> 00:57:17,320
Speaker 7: up flyers back in the day when we had Kinko's,

1046
00:57:17,360 --> 00:57:21,120
Speaker 7: I would do programs and make up my own flyers

1047
00:57:21,160 --> 00:57:23,880
Speaker 7: and pass them out. Because we didn't have internet. I

1048
00:57:23,920 --> 00:57:25,840
Speaker 7: would go to the flea markets. I would go to

1049
00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:29,000
Speaker 7: the record stores when they had record stores, Please take

1050
00:57:29,040 --> 00:57:32,280
Speaker 7: my CD on consignment. That's what I was doing. Me

1051
00:57:32,320 --> 00:57:35,439
Speaker 7: and Sundra we would call and beg people, Hey, give

1052
00:57:35,520 --> 00:57:38,440
Speaker 7: us a leg up, help us out. That's what I

1053
00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:41,400
Speaker 7: had to do. Now you get to go online sing

1054
00:57:41,400 --> 00:57:44,720
Speaker 7: a song if they like you and you have enough followers,

1055
00:57:45,000 --> 00:57:49,240
Speaker 7: then boom, you're relevant. That's why I stopped chasing that game.

1056
00:57:49,760 --> 00:57:52,080
Speaker 7: The long term for me is if I can get

1057
00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:55,120
Speaker 7: five people, I'm happy. If I get ten people, I'm

1058
00:57:55,160 --> 00:57:59,800
Speaker 7: happy more and more or artists, I got all the legends,

1059
00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:03,960
Speaker 7: they're on my side. I gracefully. I did it in

1060
00:58:04,040 --> 00:58:07,320
Speaker 7: God's timing and not trying to push things to happen,

1061
00:58:07,880 --> 00:58:10,600
Speaker 7: because every time I pushed it wouldn't happen. But I

1062
00:58:10,640 --> 00:58:13,160
Speaker 7: always had to honor them first and say thank you.

1063
00:58:13,440 --> 00:58:16,120
Speaker 7: Here's let me sing the song and honor you, and

1064
00:58:16,160 --> 00:58:19,240
Speaker 7: then it brought more people in. That's the only way.

1065
00:58:19,360 --> 00:58:21,800
Speaker 7: And all the things you saw me on is because

1066
00:58:21,800 --> 00:58:24,760
Speaker 7: somebody believed in me. It'd be one person in the room.

1067
00:58:25,720 --> 00:58:27,280
Speaker 5: In a should be here.

1068
00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:31,160
Speaker 7: The only person knew me on Black Girls Rock For

1069
00:58:31,320 --> 00:58:35,520
Speaker 7: That for Women was Faverly Bond and Kim Verse all

1070
00:58:35,560 --> 00:58:37,840
Speaker 7: the other people. They didn't have a clue of who

1071
00:58:37,920 --> 00:58:41,360
Speaker 7: I was, but they knew me from being an independent artist.

1072
00:58:41,720 --> 00:58:43,360
Speaker 7: And I know a lot of artists I'm gonna be

1073
00:58:43,440 --> 00:58:46,360
Speaker 7: honest here that saw me and could have helped me,

1074
00:58:46,400 --> 00:58:47,040
Speaker 7: and they didn't.

1075
00:58:47,280 --> 00:58:48,600
Speaker 8: I was about to ask you how you do How

1076
00:58:48,640 --> 00:58:51,200
Speaker 8: did you maintain your not being angry? Now these people

1077
00:58:51,240 --> 00:58:53,120
Speaker 8: are singing your praises and they're like, yeah, I've been

1078
00:58:53,160 --> 00:58:54,120
Speaker 8: known that it was great?

1079
00:58:54,200 --> 00:58:55,080
Speaker 5: How do you do that?

1080
00:58:55,640 --> 00:58:57,320
Speaker 3: Is this also why you advocate?

1081
00:58:57,320 --> 00:58:59,080
Speaker 1: Because I know that you work with Naris and the

1082
00:58:59,080 --> 00:59:02,680
Speaker 1: Grammys or artists and you play a major role into that.

1083
00:59:03,240 --> 00:59:07,160
Speaker 1: You've had a hand in these new categories. People don't

1084
00:59:07,240 --> 00:59:10,320
Speaker 1: know like you're behind that. Is this why you also

1085
00:59:10,400 --> 00:59:11,160
Speaker 1: into that area?

1086
00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:15,560
Speaker 7: Because the Recording Academy came out saw my independent show,

1087
00:59:16,520 --> 00:59:20,360
Speaker 7: said why aren't you a member? Come be on a

1088
00:59:20,400 --> 00:59:24,720
Speaker 7: panel for Grammy You the Youth. I saw that they

1089
00:59:24,720 --> 00:59:31,280
Speaker 7: were helping the elders with advocacy with a Grammy museum,

1090
00:59:31,720 --> 00:59:34,440
Speaker 7: and I was blown away because I didn't want to

1091
00:59:34,480 --> 00:59:37,320
Speaker 7: be the industry thing. I didn't even want to be

1092
00:59:37,480 --> 00:59:40,280
Speaker 7: signed to a label. I did it to survive because

1093
00:59:40,320 --> 00:59:43,440
Speaker 7: I was gonna quit. But when I did, it opened

1094
00:59:43,440 --> 00:59:45,800
Speaker 7: another kind of door. So when I went in the

1095
00:59:45,840 --> 00:59:48,880
Speaker 7: Recording Academy, all I focused on, not the Grammy. I

1096
00:59:48,920 --> 00:59:52,840
Speaker 7: focused on the youth. I went to Grammy Youth, did

1097
00:59:52,880 --> 00:59:59,160
Speaker 7: all the panels and talked about my journey rejection, recycling,

1098
00:59:59,280 --> 01:00:03,280
Speaker 7: rejection and fear into winning just complete your work and

1099
01:00:03,320 --> 01:00:05,600
Speaker 7: do your best work. And if you get five people

1100
01:00:05,640 --> 01:00:09,080
Speaker 7: loving you, those five will talk about you and it'll

1101
01:00:09,080 --> 01:00:12,880
Speaker 7: bring more people. And I told them about focusing on

1102
01:00:12,920 --> 01:00:15,800
Speaker 7: their craft and all that. I love advocating because that

1103
01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:19,000
Speaker 7: was me. That's how I got to study classical music.

1104
01:00:19,320 --> 01:00:22,880
Speaker 7: My mom couldn't afford the violin or the piano lessons

1105
01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:26,560
Speaker 7: or the classical lessons. She had to Someone came to

1106
01:00:26,640 --> 01:00:31,160
Speaker 7: our school said we have free programs, and that's why

1107
01:00:31,440 --> 01:00:34,680
Speaker 7: I joined. So I'm that person now, you know.

1108
01:00:35,360 --> 01:00:38,120
Speaker 8: Let me go back to my question originally, So have

1109
01:00:38,280 --> 01:00:40,320
Speaker 8: you always been that person? Or did that take some

1110
01:00:40,560 --> 01:00:44,320
Speaker 8: self work because that moment and knowing that you've done

1111
01:00:44,320 --> 01:00:46,480
Speaker 8: all this work and now, like I said, people are

1112
01:00:46,480 --> 01:00:46,920
Speaker 8: now like.

1113
01:00:47,560 --> 01:00:49,400
Speaker 5: Let us see, I've been known, I've seen you. I say,

1114
01:00:49,480 --> 01:00:51,000
Speaker 5: you there like you know, like.

1115
01:00:51,160 --> 01:00:52,200
Speaker 3: Being hose didn't want me.

1116
01:00:52,240 --> 01:00:53,480
Speaker 2: Now I'm hot holes all on me.

1117
01:00:53,680 --> 01:00:55,080
Speaker 5: There we go tell me about that.

1118
01:00:56,840 --> 01:00:59,320
Speaker 7: See, this is the part why I love being from

1119
01:00:59,360 --> 01:01:04,000
Speaker 7: New Orleans because we are prideful people. We know we're dope,

1120
01:01:04,240 --> 01:01:07,440
Speaker 7: but we don't have to brag about it. We remember

1121
01:01:07,520 --> 01:01:09,760
Speaker 7: what happened, but we don't have to bring it up

1122
01:01:10,320 --> 01:01:12,840
Speaker 7: because what we do is just take the energy and

1123
01:01:12,880 --> 01:01:18,480
Speaker 7: refeel it. It's a faith thing. It's a honor your

1124
01:01:18,520 --> 01:01:19,200
Speaker 7: parents thing.

1125
01:01:19,480 --> 01:01:24,600
Speaker 8: Don't cut up embarrass them exactly.

1126
01:01:25,280 --> 01:01:27,440
Speaker 7: Come on, Miror you know I, me and your sister

1127
01:01:27,480 --> 01:01:30,880
Speaker 7: are good friends. So it's like we we just do

1128
01:01:30,920 --> 01:01:34,080
Speaker 7: our classy work. I just follow the lead of the ancestors.

1129
01:01:34,160 --> 01:01:36,919
Speaker 7: But on the side, yeah, we talking, but I don't

1130
01:01:36,920 --> 01:01:38,360
Speaker 7: want to talk about it in here.

1131
01:01:40,640 --> 01:01:41,720
Speaker 5: With human in that way. I'm sorry.

1132
01:01:42,200 --> 01:01:47,360
Speaker 7: I am very human you too, But a lot of

1133
01:01:47,400 --> 01:01:50,000
Speaker 7: people could have helped, but they didn't. But it wasn't

1134
01:01:50,040 --> 01:01:52,040
Speaker 7: for them to help. That's how I look at it

1135
01:01:52,080 --> 01:01:56,240
Speaker 7: every now that I to see it unfolding. It's supposed

1136
01:01:56,240 --> 01:01:59,600
Speaker 7: to happen this way. I'm supposed. I have so many

1137
01:01:59,680 --> 01:02:03,320
Speaker 7: strong relationships advocating than I do in my own industry,

1138
01:02:03,800 --> 01:02:06,600
Speaker 7: just being an artist, from artists to artists, when you

1139
01:02:06,680 --> 01:02:11,480
Speaker 7: do be of service, it's the best gift for your

1140
01:02:11,520 --> 01:02:12,640
Speaker 7: career ever.

1141
01:02:13,040 --> 01:02:14,880
Speaker 2: Ever, So it comes back to you.

1142
01:02:15,800 --> 01:02:17,240
Speaker 5: Mm hmmm mm hmm.

1143
01:02:17,760 --> 01:02:18,480
Speaker 7: Absolutely.

1144
01:02:18,800 --> 01:02:22,800
Speaker 4: I was as you about one of your you know,

1145
01:02:22,880 --> 01:02:24,479
Speaker 4: people that haven't helped, but just one of the people

1146
01:02:24,480 --> 01:02:28,520
Speaker 4: that has a rex rideout, Yes, one of your on

1147
01:02:28,600 --> 01:02:30,400
Speaker 4: all your albums. I just see him as like, you

1148
01:02:30,440 --> 01:02:32,680
Speaker 4: know someone you've always worked with, and I just want

1149
01:02:32,720 --> 01:02:35,000
Speaker 4: to talk about you guys creative partnership and how it

1150
01:02:35,040 --> 01:02:36,360
Speaker 4: was developed over the years.

1151
01:02:36,920 --> 01:02:39,200
Speaker 7: Well, when I was gonna quit, we were outside his

1152
01:02:39,320 --> 01:02:42,160
Speaker 7: garage talking and I said, that's it. You know. We

1153
01:02:42,240 --> 01:02:46,400
Speaker 7: met on doing My Sensitivity with Bonnie James. Verve had

1154
01:02:46,440 --> 01:02:50,880
Speaker 7: a tribute for Luther Vandross they were doing and that

1155
01:02:51,080 --> 01:02:54,000
Speaker 7: was the one song that Bonnie James had agreed to

1156
01:02:54,040 --> 01:02:56,560
Speaker 7: have me sing on and he was actually telling me

1157
01:02:56,640 --> 01:02:59,680
Speaker 7: how to sing, which was trippy, but I did whatever

1158
01:02:59,720 --> 01:03:02,280
Speaker 7: he asked because that was the session. And when they

1159
01:03:02,320 --> 01:03:04,880
Speaker 7: found out they came to when Rex came to a

1160
01:03:04,920 --> 01:03:07,400
Speaker 7: live show, He's like, oh my god, I'm so sorry.

1161
01:03:07,440 --> 01:03:12,520
Speaker 7: We were telling you how to say. But then we started.

1162
01:03:12,600 --> 01:03:15,960
Speaker 7: I told him, you know, in private, I'm quitting. This

1163
01:03:16,080 --> 01:03:18,400
Speaker 7: industry is too hard and I don't think I fit

1164
01:03:18,440 --> 01:03:22,320
Speaker 7: in with everybody. I'm gonna go teach and be comfortable there,

1165
01:03:22,440 --> 01:03:24,960
Speaker 7: get a freaking health insurance, you know what I mean.

1166
01:03:25,120 --> 01:03:28,080
Speaker 7: Chill out. And he was like, don't quit. You know,

1167
01:03:28,240 --> 01:03:32,680
Speaker 7: I'll help you with better signing with a label, just

1168
01:03:32,760 --> 01:03:36,760
Speaker 7: to get in and start somewhere because they are interested

1169
01:03:36,800 --> 01:03:39,520
Speaker 7: in you. Verb was and here's a jazz label at

1170
01:03:39,520 --> 01:03:42,280
Speaker 7: the time interested in the R and B singer. I said,

1171
01:03:42,280 --> 01:03:47,240
Speaker 7: I'll only do it because I'm like anti be entrepreneur,

1172
01:03:47,480 --> 01:03:50,439
Speaker 7: you know, own your stuff. But I was like, well,

1173
01:03:50,520 --> 01:03:54,040
Speaker 7: I gotta survive. Okay, I'll try it. He said, just record,

1174
01:03:54,400 --> 01:03:57,360
Speaker 7: just record, So we started recording together. We did a

1175
01:03:57,400 --> 01:04:01,520
Speaker 7: whole bunch of songs, and verb went crazy and wanted them.

1176
01:04:01,560 --> 01:04:03,720
Speaker 7: And the first song that I wrote was all Right.

1177
01:04:04,680 --> 01:04:08,160
Speaker 7: When I was on doing Carolina Change. I wrote it

1178
01:04:08,560 --> 01:04:11,080
Speaker 7: and I was recording in this box on my bed

1179
01:04:11,200 --> 01:04:13,640
Speaker 7: with my microphone because I didn't have anything to cover

1180
01:04:13,720 --> 01:04:16,560
Speaker 7: the mic. So it was singing this life get mad,

1181
01:04:16,760 --> 01:04:19,400
Speaker 7: you know what I mean, trying to brit on the bed.

1182
01:04:19,640 --> 01:04:24,360
Speaker 7: I was such a techy because I interned there's a yeah,

1183
01:04:24,400 --> 01:04:29,600
Speaker 7: exactly techy. So I was trying to record it right

1184
01:04:29,680 --> 01:04:32,160
Speaker 7: for Rex, so I would send him my vocals and

1185
01:04:32,240 --> 01:04:36,440
Speaker 7: all that, you know, back in the day, and all Right,

1186
01:04:37,040 --> 01:04:40,400
Speaker 7: blew up. Just it was the first song that came

1187
01:04:40,440 --> 01:04:43,480
Speaker 7: out that people got it. I told the truth. I

1188
01:04:43,560 --> 01:04:46,120
Speaker 7: don't know if I this is rough out here, you know.

1189
01:04:46,680 --> 01:04:48,760
Speaker 8: I was wondering that if people walk up on you

1190
01:04:48,800 --> 01:04:51,479
Speaker 8: and ask you because you you talk about relationships and

1191
01:04:51,560 --> 01:04:53,280
Speaker 8: self love and strengthen so much.

1192
01:04:53,280 --> 01:04:55,000
Speaker 5: And I'm like, do people walk up on you a lot?

1193
01:04:55,040 --> 01:04:55,480
Speaker 5: And is that?

1194
01:04:55,720 --> 01:04:57,880
Speaker 8: Is that a lot of pressure to how do you?

1195
01:04:58,760 --> 01:05:01,000
Speaker 8: I just I didn't need them advice quick girl, because

1196
01:05:01,080 --> 01:05:02,200
Speaker 8: I'm in a situation.

1197
01:05:02,720 --> 01:05:02,920
Speaker 1: You know.

1198
01:05:03,920 --> 01:05:05,120
Speaker 5: No, they don't do that.

1199
01:05:05,240 --> 01:05:07,600
Speaker 7: But they do tell me how a song has gotten

1200
01:05:07,840 --> 01:05:08,560
Speaker 7: gotten them through.

1201
01:05:08,880 --> 01:05:11,760
Speaker 5: Okay, that's a little easier, all right.

1202
01:05:11,920 --> 01:05:16,080
Speaker 7: It is the one they love those songs the women.

1203
01:05:16,240 --> 01:05:19,880
Speaker 7: I gravitate towards women a lot. That's just what it is.

1204
01:05:20,440 --> 01:05:23,840
Speaker 7: But yeah, that's I don't get the therapy questions.

1205
01:05:23,920 --> 01:05:29,720
Speaker 4: Okay, good speaking of therapy. Nice segue.

1206
01:05:30,760 --> 01:05:32,360
Speaker 2: What was she like in real life?

1207
01:05:32,440 --> 01:05:35,440
Speaker 4: Because I watched y'all Love Fixed My Life and well,

1208
01:05:35,640 --> 01:05:36,600
Speaker 4: I mean it used to come home.

1209
01:05:36,720 --> 01:05:39,520
Speaker 7: He is who she is on that show in person

1210
01:05:40,160 --> 01:05:43,960
Speaker 7: direct and I met her. She was the first time

1211
01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:45,800
Speaker 7: I met her, she said, oh, you have daddy issues.

1212
01:05:45,840 --> 01:05:50,400
Speaker 7: You need to fix that.

1213
01:05:50,440 --> 01:05:51,760
Speaker 5: Hello. I just said hello, I.

1214
01:05:51,760 --> 01:05:52,120
Speaker 2: Just said he.

1215
01:05:55,960 --> 01:05:57,840
Speaker 7: But in front of a whole group of people. That's

1216
01:05:57,880 --> 01:06:00,960
Speaker 7: just how she is. She's direct, you know, and she's like,

1217
01:06:01,000 --> 01:06:05,120
Speaker 7: you got to fix this and that.

1218
01:06:06,920 --> 01:06:11,280
Speaker 4: I love her, and also I want to ask you

1219
01:06:11,280 --> 01:06:14,200
Speaker 4: as well, doing Black Love with your husband? What was

1220
01:06:14,720 --> 01:06:18,480
Speaker 4: Oh no, yo, yeah, what was the experience like?

1221
01:06:18,520 --> 01:06:20,680
Speaker 5: What was the aftermath y'all did Black Love?

1222
01:06:21,280 --> 01:06:21,520
Speaker 2: Yeah?

1223
01:06:21,560 --> 01:06:24,600
Speaker 7: Man, that was We did it during the pandemic. I

1224
01:06:24,600 --> 01:06:26,960
Speaker 7: always been a fan of the show. They've always asked

1225
01:06:26,960 --> 01:06:31,480
Speaker 7: me to be on it, and I didn't respond because

1226
01:06:31,520 --> 01:06:34,240
Speaker 7: I feel like, you know, those parts of my life,

1227
01:06:34,600 --> 01:06:37,720
Speaker 7: like I said, I'm private, I love, I want to

1228
01:06:37,760 --> 01:06:39,360
Speaker 7: stay married. I don't know about y'all.

1229
01:06:39,960 --> 01:06:45,560
Speaker 8: You know, Coston, Philly though he is from Philip He's

1230
01:06:45,680 --> 01:06:49,440
Speaker 8: amazing too. But I'm glad we did Black Love because

1231
01:06:49,560 --> 01:06:51,760
Speaker 8: you know, people got to see another side of me,

1232
01:06:52,160 --> 01:06:55,160
Speaker 8: you know, and uh and see who I'm with and

1233
01:06:55,200 --> 01:06:55,800
Speaker 8: it was great.

1234
01:06:56,200 --> 01:06:59,960
Speaker 7: But there I love Tommy. Tommy is incredibly good people,

1235
01:07:00,560 --> 01:07:03,640
Speaker 7: good people. So yeah, we did that show. And that's

1236
01:07:03,640 --> 01:07:04,800
Speaker 7: all I'm gonna say.

1237
01:07:05,640 --> 01:07:07,240
Speaker 1: Tell us to the plans for the Good Life Tour

1238
01:07:07,280 --> 01:07:08,720
Speaker 1: that's coming up that you're about to do.

1239
01:07:09,280 --> 01:07:13,800
Speaker 7: Yes, I'm going on the twenty seventh city tour with

1240
01:07:13,920 --> 01:07:16,919
Speaker 7: the great Raheem Devine is coming with me the Good

1241
01:07:16,920 --> 01:07:20,280
Speaker 7: Life Tour BJ the Chicago do it a couple of

1242
01:07:20,360 --> 01:07:24,080
Speaker 7: dates when Raheem can't do it, And I'm just looking

1243
01:07:24,120 --> 01:07:27,560
Speaker 7: forward to it the band. We did our final rehearsal

1244
01:07:28,160 --> 01:07:32,120
Speaker 7: last night and it just sounds so good and it

1245
01:07:32,160 --> 01:07:36,320
Speaker 7: feels good. So I'm excited about it. I hope. I'm

1246
01:07:36,400 --> 01:07:38,280
Speaker 7: trying to see if these hills gonna work, but we

1247
01:07:38,480 --> 01:07:39,040
Speaker 7: that's the ones.

1248
01:07:39,120 --> 01:07:40,920
Speaker 2: I want to.

1249
01:07:40,440 --> 01:07:42,960
Speaker 7: See what happens. But I'm looking forward to it. I'm

1250
01:07:42,960 --> 01:07:45,560
Speaker 7: gonna do a lot of a mixture of the old

1251
01:07:45,600 --> 01:07:48,800
Speaker 7: and the new, the well my classics and the new,

1252
01:07:48,960 --> 01:07:51,040
Speaker 7: a lot from the new album, so I'm really looking

1253
01:07:51,080 --> 01:07:51,640
Speaker 7: forward to that.

1254
01:07:51,800 --> 01:07:54,560
Speaker 8: I feel the thing I was gonna say the single

1255
01:07:54,600 --> 01:07:56,760
Speaker 8: delt too oh you like Yeah, I love it.

1256
01:07:58,720 --> 01:07:59,200
Speaker 5: Good Life.

1257
01:07:59,320 --> 01:08:01,280
Speaker 7: That was a great project to work on.

1258
01:08:01,360 --> 01:08:04,400
Speaker 8: It was hard, but I'm happy it's out and uh

1259
01:08:05,160 --> 01:08:06,000
Speaker 8: again with Rex.

1260
01:08:06,040 --> 01:08:09,000
Speaker 7: I got DJ Camper on it again. I'm working with

1261
01:08:09,080 --> 01:08:12,480
Speaker 7: Camper and the sell You No Dreams new producers No

1262
01:08:12,560 --> 01:08:16,320
Speaker 7: Dreams God and Joshi. I've never worked with them before

1263
01:08:16,360 --> 01:08:19,000
Speaker 7: that I think one of them is from London.

1264
01:08:19,080 --> 01:08:22,840
Speaker 2: And also w Brown Butcher Brown.

1265
01:08:22,960 --> 01:08:26,400
Speaker 7: We did a song called quality Time that I wrote with.

1266
01:08:28,040 --> 01:08:32,400
Speaker 8: Corey there that's what I was thinking.

1267
01:08:32,240 --> 01:08:36,719
Speaker 7: To and I wrote quality Time together on the Butcher

1268
01:08:36,720 --> 01:08:39,160
Speaker 7: Brownton I've been always wanted to work with her We've

1269
01:08:39,200 --> 01:08:41,600
Speaker 7: known each other for about five six years, but we

1270
01:08:41,680 --> 01:08:44,200
Speaker 7: never could find a song. So I got one. I

1271
01:08:44,200 --> 01:08:46,240
Speaker 7: think this is the one we should get together. I

1272
01:08:46,280 --> 01:08:49,639
Speaker 7: love writing with songwriters. I love sharing on this show too.

1273
01:08:49,640 --> 01:08:51,840
Speaker 7: I love our little Quest Love Supreme Extensions. I know

1274
01:08:51,880 --> 01:08:53,200
Speaker 7: we got to go on here.

1275
01:08:53,840 --> 01:08:56,880
Speaker 3: Thank you for doing this with us, Thanks.

1276
01:08:56,600 --> 01:08:59,000
Speaker 7: For having me. Thank you, I finally get to talk

1277
01:08:59,040 --> 01:08:59,240
Speaker 7: to you.

1278
01:08:59,560 --> 01:09:04,559
Speaker 1: I know a right longtime company on behalf of Aya

1279
01:09:04,880 --> 01:09:09,479
Speaker 1: and I'm Baby Bill, Chudie, Steve and Froon, Tigelow and

1280
01:09:09,560 --> 01:09:12,680
Speaker 1: the Great Letter see Quest Love. We're signing off and

1281
01:09:12,760 --> 01:09:15,080
Speaker 1: we'll see you on the next go round of Quest

1282
01:09:15,120 --> 01:09:17,040
Speaker 1: Love Supreme. Thank you for your support.

1283
01:09:19,000 --> 01:09:20,559
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to Quest Love Supreme.

1284
01:09:20,680 --> 01:09:23,360
Speaker 6: This podcast is hosted by a Mere Quest Love, Thompson,

1285
01:09:23,680 --> 01:09:27,200
Speaker 6: Liyah Saint Clair, Fante Coleman, Sugar, Steve Van Dell, and

1286
01:09:27,240 --> 01:09:31,439
Speaker 6: myself unpaid Bill Sherman. The executive producers are Meir just

1287
01:09:31,439 --> 01:09:35,320
Speaker 6: walked into the Goddamn Room, Thompson, Sean g and Brian Calhoun.

1288
01:09:35,800 --> 01:09:36,880
Speaker 1: Produced by Brittany.

1289
01:09:36,640 --> 01:09:40,200
Speaker 6: Benjamin, Jake Payne and Liah Sainclair. Edited by Alex Conroy.

1290
01:09:40,280 --> 01:09:43,920
Speaker 6: I know Alice Conrad, producer for iHeart by Noel Brown.

1291
01:09:45,439 --> 01:09:52,200
Speaker 1: West Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio. For

1292
01:09:52,320 --> 01:09:55,439
Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app,

1293
01:09:55,640 --> 01:09:58,880
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.