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Speaker 1: I just said to you, is your actual name Blessing Offer.

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Speaker 1: I mean, like with the name like that, you better

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Speaker 1: come into this world with a purpose. My mom did it,

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Speaker 1: so props Moman. Thanks Mom. She's the goat um. And

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Speaker 1: you know, it's funny because my sister's name is Mercy

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Speaker 1: and I have another sister named Peace, So like these

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Speaker 1: are that's just my parents, you know? Yeah? Are they

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Speaker 1: are they in music or they do anything? They are?

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Speaker 1: I mean they're entrepreneurs. They both live in Nigeria, they're

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Speaker 1: both retired. They both owned and started businesses of their

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Speaker 1: own back home. So yeah, well, I think most people

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Speaker 1: probably know you from season seven of the Voice, but

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Speaker 1: we in Nashville are like you have enough to know

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Speaker 1: you as this major up and coming arnest here that

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Speaker 1: I've actually been able to work with you recently a

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Speaker 1: lot with the styling me looking so good fresh um.

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Speaker 1: But anyway, I wanted to when I first the first

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Speaker 1: gig I ever did with you, actually I was told

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Speaker 1: part of your story and I literally thought to myself,

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Speaker 1: I have to have this guy on the podcast. And

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Speaker 1: so you and I connected on that the last time

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Speaker 1: we worked together, and I was just saying to you

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Speaker 1: that we have these monthly themes and this month our

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Speaker 1: theme is acceptance and how to go forward in our lives.

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Speaker 1: Have thought of a better time to have you on

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Speaker 1: to tell part of your story, and I think that's

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Speaker 1: what we just want to do today with the listeners,

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Speaker 1: is just tell them who you are, um, how you

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Speaker 1: got to where you are now or you're really just

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Speaker 1: kind of blowing up musically and um, yeah, you mentioned Nigeria,

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Speaker 1: so why don't we Well, once upon a time I

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Speaker 1: was in small town in the southeastern portion of Nigeria,

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Speaker 1: and uh, it's funny. My grandmother was the first one

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Speaker 1: to be like, huh, Blessing is only king at someone

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Speaker 1: through the right through his right eye. So my grandma

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Speaker 1: actually first noticed that my like, my visual perception was

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Speaker 1: not what it should be. So she brought that to

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Speaker 1: somebody's tension and eventually they were like, oh wow, so

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Speaker 1: he's actually born he's blind and his left eye because

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Speaker 1: everythday they would cover up my right eye and I'm like,

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Speaker 1: freak out, you know what I mean? Um, So I

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Speaker 1: was born blind in my left I had vision in

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Speaker 1: my right eye. I was born with congenital black homa,

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Speaker 1: which is a very fancy word to say a lot

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Speaker 1: of pressure in your eye. Um, and so, as you

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Speaker 1: can imagine, medical treatment in Nigeria is less than awesome.

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Speaker 1: And so uh we had. My dad's younger, youngest brother

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Speaker 1: was already in America on a soccer adventure. He's a

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Speaker 1: he was a professional soccer player for the Nigerian national

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Speaker 1: soccer team. Played for a bunch of colleges out here.

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Speaker 1: He's kind of a big deal, you know. Um, so,

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Speaker 1: as as luck would have it, he was like, well,

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Speaker 1: he was living in new Haven, Connecticut at the time.

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Speaker 1: Um and new Haven if and if, if you don't

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Speaker 1: know your listeners, Yale new Haven Hospital and College is

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Speaker 1: all right there. So he was able to get me

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Speaker 1: here to go to Yale to to get some medical treatment.

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Speaker 1: So you move, your parents, let you go. As I think,

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Speaker 1: I read a six year old. I came when I

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Speaker 1: was six. I mean I as a parent, Like, thinking

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Speaker 1: about being a parent and letting my six year old

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Speaker 1: go to an entirely different country sounds stressful. You know,

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Speaker 1: I don't have kids, But I also go, how did

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Speaker 1: they do that? I have no children, But I'm just

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Speaker 1: like I wouldn't do it. Shoot, but like, don't you

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Speaker 1: think that in and of itself, Like that thought I

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Speaker 1: wouldn't do it, I've come to realize as a selfish thought, right,

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Speaker 1: because it's like, we wouldn't do it because we want

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Speaker 1: them near us, and like we're like, I don't want

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Speaker 1: to let my kid to go, but like my parents

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Speaker 1: were like, wait, we don't want to let him go,

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Speaker 1: but this is what's best for him. Right. It's actually

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Speaker 1: one of the most selfless. Oh God, the older I get,

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Speaker 1: the more I realized that, because I'm just like, how

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Speaker 1: did you guys do that? And my dad always goes, well,

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Speaker 1: you needed it, you needed to be there. Yeah, so

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Speaker 1: we love you, but we also knew what you needed,

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Speaker 1: and like that's what parents do theoretically, the good ones anyway, Right,

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Speaker 1: So you moved to America with the hopes of going

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Speaker 1: to Yale to get medical help to get your sight

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Speaker 1: back in that eye or or so, the left eye

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Speaker 1: was born blind. The right eye had vision, so the

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Speaker 1: hope was to maintain the vision in the right eye

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Speaker 1: so we could see in the right The left eye

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Speaker 1: was going the optic nerve was dead, so the goal

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Speaker 1: was always to like keep the good vision, you know,

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Speaker 1: So Yale be Yale. They did great. They stabilized the vision. Uh,

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Speaker 1: glaucoma tends to be like a progressive thing. So it

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Speaker 1: was all like they were like, we can keep this

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Speaker 1: going probably for very you know. Um. But then you ready,

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Speaker 1: I got shot in the eye with a water gun

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Speaker 1: like uh ten the good eye like ten so and

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Speaker 1: then it detached the retina in the good eye. Wow.

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Speaker 1: Just a regular old water gun. It was a fairly

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Speaker 1: large super soaker, so to its credit, it was it

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Speaker 1: was big. Oh my god. So you are here thinking, okay,

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Speaker 1: we're doing all this work to you know, maintain the

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Speaker 1: vision in my right eye, and then you're just a

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Speaker 1: kid playing in the backyard and you get the water

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Speaker 1: gun and you lose your vision in your right eye.

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Speaker 1: So it was progressive. But for about three smadd years

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Speaker 1: it just went slowly and then it got to the

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Speaker 1: point where like a little bit, I would lose a

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Speaker 1: little and they do surgery, try to you know, get

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Speaker 1: some back. I'd lose a little, do another surgery, and

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Speaker 1: eventually this doctor his name is Dr Bruce Shields, wonderful

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Speaker 1: guy lives in North Carolina now or South Carolina, and

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Speaker 1: he goes, you know, it wasn't why don't we stop

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Speaker 1: doing these surgeries before we really like get to zero, Like,

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Speaker 1: you know, why don't we keep the optic nerve alive

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Speaker 1: because down the road there might be something that will

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Speaker 1: be more successful than us literally poking in the back

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Speaker 1: of your eye hoping for the best, you know what

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Speaker 1: I mean. So there's been enough vision loss that he

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Speaker 1: was like, if we do anymore, we'll get down to zero.

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Speaker 1: So he was like, let's he and I both I

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Speaker 1: remember just the conversation of like, we could keep doing this.

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Speaker 1: Do you want to keep doing this? And I was like, no,

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Speaker 1: I just want to be and go live, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean. So, to his credit, whereas most doctors

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Speaker 1: I think just want to keep doing things just to

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Speaker 1: say they're doing things, he was like, let's stop this

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Speaker 1: because then there's hope still, you know what I mean.

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Speaker 1: So he and I are friends and we talk all

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Speaker 1: the time, and I was like, how did you How

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Speaker 1: are you so opprescient? And he goes He'll say to

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Speaker 1: me something like, well, I wouldn't I wouldn't be doing

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Speaker 1: you know, I wouldn't be honoring my oath to do

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Speaker 1: no harm if I kept doing things just because I

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Speaker 1: could do You know what I mean. Props to doctor Shields. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and I do think you're right. In the medical world,

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Speaker 1: sometimes it's like even doctors just want to show off

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Speaker 1: their new tricks, so they're like, let's try this surgery,

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Speaker 1: and we really have to know our own bodies and

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Speaker 1: our own selves and trust the process. Like you're saying,

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Speaker 1: but so what was that? Like? I can't quite imagine

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Speaker 1: being able to see things and then all of a

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Speaker 1: sudden not like or or seeing them less goods okay,

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Speaker 1: as in my case, what frustrating? Like that's the first

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Speaker 1: emotion that comes to my mind. Frustrating one thousand percent frustrating,

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Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So like when I when

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Speaker 1: I meet people and they and I always try to

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Speaker 1: make the point to be like listen, there's uh, there's

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Speaker 1: cheap joy, right, and then there's like really really good

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Speaker 1: uh like forget me. There's cheap happiness right where you

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Speaker 1: just pretend everything was okay, and then there's like deep

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Speaker 1: joy where you like you can still be like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: this is hard, but it's okay, right. So I hate

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Speaker 1: making it seem like I'm like, well, right, Like it

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Speaker 1: was very frustrating and it was very like ah, like

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Speaker 1: my my headspace. At thirteen, I was like, I just

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Speaker 1: want to run around keep dunking baskets on my friends,

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Speaker 1: like we were just doing eight minutes ago. What happened?

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Speaker 1: You know what I mean? And and so there's this

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Speaker 1: like part of my thirteen fourteen fifteen where I was like, whoa,

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Speaker 1: who am I? Now? You know I'm not. I'm not

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Speaker 1: Blessing that was like super athletic, and everybody wanted to like, sorry,

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Speaker 1: I'm getting rid of allergies, and everybody wanted to like

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Speaker 1: wanted them on their basketball team. I'm like Blessing that

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Speaker 1: can't see enough to do that stuff anymore, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean. But then right around then, we got

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Speaker 1: the piano in the house. Um, I've been playing piano

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Speaker 1: on it off for a while. Um, And but I

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Speaker 1: had all this time, and I was like, whoa, the

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Speaker 1: piano is pretty great. So then I started taking piano

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Speaker 1: seriously because I just had time, you know, um. And

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Speaker 1: I mean it's just one of those things where you

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Speaker 1: never you never see where the story twists, right, But

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Speaker 1: like third grade, I always tell this story. My third

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Speaker 1: grade girlfriend was playing piano and I was like, well,

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Speaker 1: if she could do it, I'm gonna do it right,

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Speaker 1: there's always a reason. Oh yeah. I was like, I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna hang out with with her, like. So part of

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Speaker 1: the reason I started piano was because her name is

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Speaker 1: Rachel Hurwitz and she I've told her this story, so

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Speaker 1: she's like, oh my god, I'm part of the story.

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Speaker 1: So I was like, where do you take pianalyst? And so,

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Speaker 1: but I never took it seriously, right. I was always like, uh,

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Speaker 1: if I may, to be honest, I was always like

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Speaker 1: musical and maybe just like I had a knack for it.

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Speaker 1: But I was also like eight nine ten, and I

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Speaker 1: was like, oh my god, look at this, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean, Like some commercial on TV just came right,

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Speaker 1: So you get distracted, heavily distracted. Yeah, right, But like

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Speaker 1: I would always be picking out songs on piano and

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Speaker 1: like singing things, and so everybody was like, oh, he's musical, obviously,

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Speaker 1: but I didn't really think twice about it. And then

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Speaker 1: when all this happened, I just had nothing but time

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Speaker 1: to do the thing, you know. So Catch twenty two

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Speaker 1: piano came to the house, lost a ton of vision,

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Speaker 1: had a bunch of time to sit with the piano,

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Speaker 1: fell in love with the piano. So here we are.

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Speaker 1: I love that you just brought up the part of

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Speaker 1: the are just a part of life in general where

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Speaker 1: it's like we can't see the bigger picture. You're in

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Speaker 1: the midst of a painful situation. I think it's oftentimes

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Speaker 1: so defeating and that's why a lot of us can

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Speaker 1: slip into depression. And just like all the process of

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Speaker 1: grief in general is a lot you know, Yeah, there

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Speaker 1: is always something and that's like there's something that we

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Speaker 1: can't see and not God gives us pain. God's trying

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Speaker 1: to punish us, but in this way of like just

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Speaker 1: more like you may have never looked into the piano

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Speaker 1: or really focused all of your energy there, or even

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Speaker 1: notice your talent. I don't know. You know, we don't know,

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Speaker 1: but who Honestly, I think it's the most all across

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Speaker 1: the board everybody. I've had these kinds of conversations with

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Speaker 1: it dawns on me that we just hate not knowing,

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Speaker 1: Like we're all uncomfortable saying I don't know until people

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Speaker 1: were like why did people? And you know, on all

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Speaker 1: these big questions and it's like, well, I can tell

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Speaker 1: you what I think, but you know what, who knows?

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Speaker 1: And like you just there's got to be a piece

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Speaker 1: about going. I don't know. I think people people get

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Speaker 1: People get silly when they try to perfectly rationalize everything,

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Speaker 1: like like we're supposed to Like if God doesn't fit

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Speaker 1: into our logic brain, he sucks, you know what I mean? Really,

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Speaker 1: if you could understand God, God would not be very big.

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Speaker 1: He would just be another friend you could understand, you

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Speaker 1: know what I mean? And you can't even understand your friends.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, I think saying I don't know is I'm

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Speaker 1: coomfortable for most people. God, it's so true. Well go ahead.

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Speaker 1: I was gonna ask where you were you singing at

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Speaker 1: that point too, or had you not discovered your voice.

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Speaker 1: It's funny because I was always singing, but I was

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Speaker 1: always singing kind of in secret. Like I'd be in

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Speaker 1: my um in my bedroom getting ready for school, and

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Speaker 1: I'd be playing these records and I'd be I could

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Speaker 1: be boys two men, right, and I'd be like that,

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Speaker 1: oh yeah, And I remember going on that's not want

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Speaker 1: to like trying to learn all these runs and um,

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Speaker 1: I was like, man, I think I can do them.

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Speaker 1: But I was like nine or ten, and I was like,

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Speaker 1: that's weird. I don't want to do that in front

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Speaker 1: of people. But then again, back to middle school, I

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Speaker 1: had all these had all these friends, and I'd be like,

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Speaker 1: can I use on boys the man and you can

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Speaker 1: tell me if the chunge right? Maybe, I guess. So

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Speaker 1: I would always test it out all my friends, and

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Speaker 1: it was always like some girl, you know what I mean,

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Speaker 1: Like do you want to get pizza after this? Let

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Speaker 1: me go to Peppi's. So that was always the secret weapon,

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Speaker 1: was like singing some boys the men see if they're

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Speaker 1: hungry for pizza, move that so that the piano complain

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Speaker 1: that did that and yeah for sure got it. Okay,

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Speaker 1: So once you got to the piano, you were already

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Speaker 1: kind of understanding that you loved music. Loved music. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, you know, it's funny because back in Nigeria,

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Speaker 1: we all sang. We all you know, we all went

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Speaker 1: to grow up in church, you know what I mean.

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Speaker 1: But like no one in Nigeria says, oh, you could

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Speaker 1: be a musician when you grow up, you know what

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Speaker 1: I mean, Singing is just the natural thing we all did. Um.

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Speaker 1: And it was only when I got to the States

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Speaker 1: where I was like, wait, people do this for a

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Speaker 1: living and make money. So yeah, so then it was like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: well the universe just knew. Maybe he's just we keep

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Speaker 1: focusing on playing basketball and we need him to go

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Speaker 1: sit in front of the pianis. Yeah, we need we

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Speaker 1: need this to happen. Like it's funny again, like back

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Speaker 1: to the analogies. When you work out, you're actually tearing muscle, right,

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Speaker 1: You're hurting yourself just enough right to then build back stronger.

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Speaker 1: So it's like, oftentimes I'll say to people like, you know,

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Speaker 1: because the question is are you mad at the kid

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Speaker 1: that the waters Like, yeah, well hey he was also

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Speaker 1: a ten. It's not like he like went let me

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Speaker 1: blind him, but you know what I mean, he was

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Speaker 1: just like it's a hot day. Yeah, I mean, so no,

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Speaker 1: I'm not mad at him. That's that's silly. But also like,

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Speaker 1: if this is going to be heavy, uh, if you can,

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Speaker 1: for instance, if someone could take me back in time

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Speaker 1: and to like eight seconds before that accident happened, and

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Speaker 1: the same thing was going to happen, everything the same,

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Speaker 1: I would literally go where do I stand to catch

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Speaker 1: that shot? Really? Yeah, because the person that's let me

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Speaker 1: become is worth that frustration and pain of that time

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Speaker 1: if you if that makes sense, it makes so much

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Speaker 1: sense that you want to cry, yeah, because we can't

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Speaker 1: become like I know me, like I'll just cruise right

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Speaker 1: in life. Life Life is hard, and so it's like

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Speaker 1: once you get to a certain place, you're like, I

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Speaker 1: just want to cruise and I just enjoy this. But

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Speaker 1: I would never grow as a human if I did

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Speaker 1: not hit the rough patches like mine has come from relationships,

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Speaker 1: dysfunctional relationships. But every time I'm coming yeah, Like it's

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Speaker 1: just like when I'm coming out of those situations, they're

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Speaker 1: so incredibly painful, and it's like I am bumping up

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Speaker 1: against myself in those relationships in such an atrocious way,

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Speaker 1: like I hate abcam, you know. Um. But then when

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Speaker 1: I'm getting through the pain, eventually it's like, oh my gosh,

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Speaker 1: all of that pain and all of that darkness, all

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Speaker 1: the things that I've learned have helped me to become

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Speaker 1: such a better version of myself. Right Like, and at

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Speaker 1: the end of the day, it's like what you hopefully

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Speaker 1: pick up along the way. It's that old cliche like

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Speaker 1: everybody's going through it, right like every be kind for

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Speaker 1: everyone you meet is fighting a great battle right. So

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Speaker 1: it's like you never you walk by so and so

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Speaker 1: and you're like, God, why is that guy such a jerk?

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Speaker 1: Like you didn't even apologize from bomping end and like

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Speaker 1: you have no idea what some that guy's head right, right?

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Speaker 1: And so oftentimes I think all of this really has

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Speaker 1: only made me think, uh and almost reflexively. Two things

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Speaker 1: is like thing number one is like I wonder what

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Speaker 1: that person is going through. M h that makes them

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Speaker 1: such a jerk, lack of that, you know, that makes

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Speaker 1: them such a bless their heart, you know what I mean?

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Speaker 1: What are they doing through? What is going on in

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Speaker 1: their life that they can't even be present enough in

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Speaker 1: their humanity to see that they're hurting people? Right? And

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Speaker 1: then the second thing is is that on some level,

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Speaker 1: like you know, listen, I'm blind, right, So I into

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Speaker 1: a room and I go, hey, will you guys help

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Speaker 1: me find such and such? I can't see people? Oh

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Speaker 1: my God, of course, like jeeus, yeah, what do you need? Right? So,

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Speaker 1: like or if I bump into someone and they see

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Speaker 1: me using a cane, they're like, oh God, no worries,

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Speaker 1: sorry about it. And then but like you know, for me,

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Speaker 1: I think, man, I kind of have it easy. I

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Speaker 1: know what's wrong, you know what I mean, Like, I

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Speaker 1: see terribly right, that's that, that's the that's the that's

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Speaker 1: where it at. That's where it's at. But everybody does

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Speaker 1: you know, we all have quote unquote disabilities, right whereas

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Speaker 1: I know what mine is. Most people walking around are

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Speaker 1: under the delusion that they are normal or fine or

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Speaker 1: whatever fill in the blank, and they look at me

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Speaker 1: and go, oh god, it must be sorry. He's like

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Speaker 1: he can't see anything. Meanwhile, I'm like, bro, you don't

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Speaker 1: even know what's wrong with you, Like, how am I

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Speaker 1: going to even start to try to help you? You're

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Speaker 1: so unaware of your own, uh, you know, disability, Like

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Speaker 1: you can't even go, hey, I'm sorry. Like someone really

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Speaker 1: hurt me when I was a kid and it makes

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Speaker 1: me a jerk, like, oh, I'm so sorry. Like my

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Speaker 1: dad said a really mean thing to me and it's

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Speaker 1: been stuck in my head and it's made me do

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Speaker 1: nothing but try to prove him wrong for my entirely,

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Speaker 1: you see what I'm saying. So like, yeah, the like

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Speaker 1: most people aren't even aware of those things that make

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Speaker 1: them difficult to deal with sometimes, if that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I hear so much acceptance and like, well,

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Speaker 1: this is your journey in this lifetime. It's just like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: I know what it is in my eyesight is not

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Speaker 1: going to be my strongest quality. But how else can

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Speaker 1: I lean into this journey? And? Um, what can I

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Speaker 1: bring to people I do? I'm like, you have to

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Speaker 1: have bad days though, right, like the rest of my God.

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Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, here's the thing, like, yeah, seriously, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I would be silly. I'd be like a psychopath, you

350
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Speaker 1: know what I mean. That's the thing is like to

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Speaker 1: to to pretend you don't have bad days just makes

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Speaker 1: you like a dirty round liyer know right, Um, I

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Speaker 1: would say that. Um. Being from Nigeria and dealing with

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Speaker 1: like the annoying annoyances of blindness has made it so

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Speaker 1: that when I have a bad day, I go, all right,

356
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Speaker 1: put this in perspective, what's really wrong? You know what

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Speaker 1: I mean? So there's this like what's really wrong thing

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Speaker 1: that I always go through my head because a bad day,

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Speaker 1: it's probably not as bad as it seems. Again, it's

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Speaker 1: not to say it's easier or like reflexively, but like

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Speaker 1: at the end of the day, woke up probably you know,

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Speaker 1: I live in my apartment, like there's food, there is

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Speaker 1: a there's a sense in my head where I'm like,

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Speaker 1: I've been through pain and all this stuff, and a

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Speaker 1: bad day in the grand scheme of things is just

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Speaker 1: a bad day. I think we tend to blow things

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Speaker 1: out of proportion, like oh, so and so didn't call

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Speaker 1: coffee spilled traffic is bad. I never understand people that

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Speaker 1: put so much energy into how frustrated they are. It's like,

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Speaker 1: what is that doing for? You know? I like your

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Speaker 1: point though of like what's really going on? Because it's

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Speaker 1: never really about the traffic, right, Yeah, And again it's

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Speaker 1: like if you could see, if you knew enough of

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Speaker 1: yourself to know what's really hurting you, then that bad

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Speaker 1: you know, the bad day tends to be a symptom

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Speaker 1: of the deeper thing. And most people don't know enough

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Speaker 1: to ask about the deeper thing, you know, they're just

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Speaker 1: like everybody is a terrible driver, and you're like, what's

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Speaker 1: what hurts you know? What I mean? God, I love that.

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Speaker 1: I Mean, that's the whole reason I even want to

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Speaker 1: do this podcast, ever, is because I like to help

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Speaker 1: people get to like what's really going on and like

383
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Speaker 1: why are we doing what we're doing to each other

384
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Speaker 1: because we're not loving each other or loving life or

385
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,200
Speaker 1: loving ourselves. Like there's something going on, there's some block.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, it's not traffic. I'll tell you that it's not.

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00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:04,560
Speaker 1: That's your next book. It's not traffic. It's not the traffic. Okay,

388
00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,760
Speaker 1: it's it's really not. And like watching people put energy

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00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:14,040
Speaker 1: into quote unquote the traffic is like, because interesting, I

390
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,520
Speaker 1: can't teach someone that it's not traffic. I'm you know,

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Speaker 1: I know because I've had to figure it out in

392
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Speaker 1: myself by going through some things, you know what I mean.

393
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Speaker 1: But I feel like there are people who want to

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Speaker 1: find peace and not but they don't want to go

395
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Speaker 1: through the turmoil it takes to really get there, you

396
00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:36,840
Speaker 1: know what I mean? Like, you know, they're like, how

397
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Speaker 1: are you so happy? I'm like, well, I lost my vision?

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Speaker 1: Do you want to know the rest that stops some

399
00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:48,320
Speaker 1: people in their tracks? Okay? Do you really want to?

400
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:51,119
Speaker 1: You know it? But someone else is going to go,

401
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,480
Speaker 1: how are you so happy? And someone's gonna go nine

402
00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:58,560
Speaker 1: like how are you so happy? Well? Uh, my parents

403
00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:00,320
Speaker 1: didn't look you know what I mean? Like in order

404
00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:04,919
Speaker 1: to figure out what happiness is. I defy anybody to

405
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Speaker 1: tell me how to do it without having experienced some

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Speaker 1: very heavy things, you know, I would say that, yeah,

407
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Speaker 1: without the true pain, you can't feel true joy unfortunately. Okay, Kelly,

408
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Speaker 1: are you ready when it hits you? Ready? I'm a

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Speaker 1: I'm a nerd philosopher named Albert Camu. I've had so

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Speaker 1: many opportunities to throw this quote out. It every time,

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Speaker 1: Albert Cammo says, m h, Grief carves a canyon so

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Speaker 1: that joy may overflow it. Oh my god, all right,

413
00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:48,040
Speaker 1: Merry Christmas. Yeah, I just got really chipped up. Grief

414
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Speaker 1: carves a canyon so that joy may overflow it. So

415
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:59,560
Speaker 1: like the deeper the grief, the greater the joy has

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Speaker 1: to be to not only fill it, but then overflow it. Yes,

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00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:08,960
Speaker 1: that is the best thing I've ever that. It's I'm

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00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:13,359
Speaker 1: like speechless right now. That is so perfect, Albert Kemball.

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Speaker 1: So now that we know, I mean, I see now

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Speaker 1: what you're journey is, and I see like that you

421
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,040
Speaker 1: could turn to music if you had to say, like,

422
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Speaker 1: what is something that I mean? Is this something like joy?

423
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:31,679
Speaker 1: Is that what you want to bring to people with music?

424
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:37,000
Speaker 1: Or what do you feel like drives you with music

425
00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 1: and people communicating first and foremost, I love people ideas,

426
00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:49,280
Speaker 1: so first and foremost, I just love being around people

427
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:55,240
Speaker 1: and talking to people. And I think that, um, we're

428
00:24:55,280 --> 00:25:00,199
Speaker 1: always listening learning something right, and music in particular like

429
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:06,160
Speaker 1: a powerful instrument of powerful means to communicate, right, And

430
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,320
Speaker 1: if joy was the only thing I wanted to communicate,

431
00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:12,119
Speaker 1: would be a very one dimensional character. Right. But I

432
00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:15,840
Speaker 1: can talk to you about pain, right, I can talk

433
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,639
Speaker 1: to you about sadness. I can talk to you like

434
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,840
Speaker 1: I'm I'm fluent in all of those things, versatile, fluent

435
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:25,760
Speaker 1: in all of those things. So it's like, at the

436
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,600
Speaker 1: end of the day, joy is there, right, But I

437
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,040
Speaker 1: want to really more or less say to somebody that

438
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:36,240
Speaker 1: wherever you are, someone's been there, and someone's gotten out,

439
00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:41,240
Speaker 1: and you're gonna get out, right, So like whatever moment

440
00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:44,919
Speaker 1: you find yourselves in, it's not about jumping to joy immediately,

441
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,000
Speaker 1: because that's you know, It's like when someone tells you

442
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,880
Speaker 1: all the time like everything right, at some point you go, hey,

443
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:55,640
Speaker 1: I don't need that right now, right okay, right now,

444
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:58,439
Speaker 1: and it's okay that it's not okay. So it's like

445
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:03,240
Speaker 1: it's never just about like you're that's horrible in the

446
00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:07,880
Speaker 1: wrong moment, right, Yeah, but it is about like being

447
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,439
Speaker 1: where you are and being okay with where you are, hey,

448
00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,679
Speaker 1: and then starting the process of looking around to find

449
00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:19,959
Speaker 1: where joy starts. You know. So that's it, Yeah, I mean,

450
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,600
Speaker 1: and that makes so much sense because honestly, even as

451
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:26,040
Speaker 1: you were talking, I'm thinking, well, if blessing is telling

452
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:28,879
Speaker 1: me about sadness and pain, like, I believe it way

453
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,359
Speaker 1: more than you know, Josh moo, who just needs to

454
00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,560
Speaker 1: talk about the good stuff, because I know your story

455
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:36,520
Speaker 1: and I know you've been through hard times and I

456
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,080
Speaker 1: know that you're being a life now that I'm sure

457
00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:43,240
Speaker 1: you bump up against hard times. Oh yeah, we can,

458
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:47,639
Speaker 1: we can compare stories. Yeah, but when you talk about

459
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,359
Speaker 1: the journey or the feeling, like I just believe it

460
00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,359
Speaker 1: automatically even more. Is that what draws you to songwriting?

461
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,359
Speaker 1: You know? I think that's what draws me to artistry,

462
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:03,800
Speaker 1: is like, like it's easy to be like, don't worry bad,

463
00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,560
Speaker 1: I think because everything right, Like it's easy to write

464
00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:10,479
Speaker 1: those songs, very true songs. But if you have a

465
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,760
Speaker 1: full record of those songs, like then no one's going

466
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,800
Speaker 1: to turn on your music when they are not feeling that, like, like,

467
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:20,840
Speaker 1: if it's all about sadness, then you never need to

468
00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:26,880
Speaker 1: write like you know, you know shiney, right, because that's

469
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:32,359
Speaker 1: also yet that's good. I was a little flat anyway.

470
00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:41,720
Speaker 1: But but it's like every human emotion is worth sitting in,

471
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,680
Speaker 1: being with. It's not about running away from it. It's

472
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:49,360
Speaker 1: about like looking at it, right, Like the most millennial

473
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:55,159
Speaker 1: statement ever. My therapist sounds right. My therapist got me

474
00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 1: to realize that, like, like, sitting with yourself is a

475
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,359
Speaker 1: very powerful thing, but it goes a lot of what

476
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,560
Speaker 1: people do is try to They run into uncomfortable feelings

477
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,080
Speaker 1: that are like to escape this, this is terrible, and

478
00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:10,920
Speaker 1: then they do self destructive things as opposed to being

479
00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:18,880
Speaker 1: like I am sad. Let's just let's been there, okay, right,

480
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,359
Speaker 1: it's okay to be sad. Sadness doesn't hurt you. It's

481
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:25,720
Speaker 1: just a feeling, even if it's uncomfortable, it's just a feeling, right,

482
00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,720
Speaker 1: And being in the feeling is half the battle because

483
00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:31,359
Speaker 1: when she can just sit in it, your body eventually

484
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:35,640
Speaker 1: goes okay, cool now, look totally. It's the only way

485
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,360
Speaker 1: to get through it. The only way out is through Yes,

486
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,000
Speaker 1: as a culture too, we're also sort of obsessed with

487
00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:45,560
Speaker 1: feeling like we have to be happy all the time,

488
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:50,640
Speaker 1: that you know, even even when you know you're I

489
00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:53,800
Speaker 1: just read a book called Toxic Positivity, and it talked

490
00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:56,360
Speaker 1: about like, you know, when your friend loses a job,

491
00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,400
Speaker 1: not to say things like well, you know, think about

492
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:01,080
Speaker 1: all the free toile and you're gonna have like, don't

493
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:05,640
Speaker 1: go immediately to the positive, say things like hey, I

494
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,600
Speaker 1: know this sucks. I'm here for you if you want

495
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,000
Speaker 1: to talk about it and let them and let people

496
00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:14,120
Speaker 1: feel those feelings, because otherwise it's it mutes the joy

497
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,200
Speaker 1: when it's true joys. God, the pendulum is gonna fling

498
00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,520
Speaker 1: both ways. If you don't let the the canyon get carved,

499
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:24,680
Speaker 1: if you don't like grief do its work, then you're

500
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:28,400
Speaker 1: never gonna every every joy you feel will always be shallow. Right.

501
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:33,680
Speaker 1: So it's just like, yeah, like it's not coming from Africa, right,

502
00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:37,360
Speaker 1: coming from a place where things are not settled, and

503
00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:41,920
Speaker 1: the stories we get told aren't that you deserve. Blink

504
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,760
Speaker 1: right In in third world countries, no one's going saying

505
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:48,200
Speaker 1: to you, of course you're supposed to be happy. They're

506
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:52,360
Speaker 1: going you know, the narrative is, yeah, listen, life's hard, right,

507
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,560
Speaker 1: Look around you, life is hard right. In fact, however,

508
00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:58,640
Speaker 1: we love you. They love you, this is your community.

509
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,680
Speaker 1: You're happy, you're you woke up this morning, like you know.

510
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,200
Speaker 1: So there there is a there's an inherent I guess

511
00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:11,960
Speaker 1: idea that we deserve something. That is again, I've lived

512
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:13,880
Speaker 1: here since i was six, so I'm not even immune

513
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:17,120
Speaker 1: to it myself. It's just like we think we deserve

514
00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:21,760
Speaker 1: worldly comfort. We think it's due us. We think we

515
00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:26,120
Speaker 1: are owed it, right, we expect it, it's ours. Why

516
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,280
Speaker 1: would I'm not. We think we're do like good health,

517
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:33,680
Speaker 1: right right. We think we deserve so many things when

518
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:40,320
Speaker 1: really says, who who told you that? Right? Yeah, that's honestly,

519
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:44,080
Speaker 1: like we're just grown up or like I was gonna say,

520
00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:48,560
Speaker 1: born thinking, but I think we're taught at age. Yeah, yeah,

521
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,239
Speaker 1: like you're taught that, like you know, if you do

522
00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,200
Speaker 1: all the right, there's nothing baddling around and that that

523
00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,720
Speaker 1: is is not true. And what that really does is

524
00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:02,680
Speaker 1: it sets people up for such pain, right and disappointment

525
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:06,800
Speaker 1: when they run into real life, which doesn't care like

526
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,560
Speaker 1: life just does. The girl that does my hair, she

527
00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:15,640
Speaker 1: goes listen, listen, life be life and sometimes life be life,

528
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:25,320
Speaker 1: and just like that's it, that life be life and right,

529
00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:28,440
Speaker 1: like she's just like listening life be life and sometimes

530
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:34,120
Speaker 1: and like that's it right, life just is life, right,

531
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:38,920
Speaker 1: And if life catches you in a good moment, you celebrate.

532
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,360
Speaker 1: If life catches you in a bad moment, okay, cool,

533
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:44,520
Speaker 1: it's a bad moment. But like no one says you

534
00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:47,920
Speaker 1: like you didn't have to wake up this morning, right,

535
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:50,840
Speaker 1: Like you were not in control of whether you woke

536
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,360
Speaker 1: up or not. So like the fact that we're just

537
00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:59,280
Speaker 1: up talking and not you know, sick, not in the hospital,

538
00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:03,320
Speaker 1: not a green Like we're doing so well. And most

539
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:07,320
Speaker 1: people that are having the traffic days, like they don't

540
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:10,160
Speaker 1: even know how well they're doing, right, and they're letting

541
00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:12,360
Speaker 1: the silly things get to run. It's like, now that's

542
00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:17,840
Speaker 1: not important. Life, life and life so much. We always

543
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:21,640
Speaker 1: say life on life's terms. But I love that life.

544
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:28,320
Speaker 1: And yeah, my dad texts me in the morning every

545
00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:30,720
Speaker 1: morning and he says, the sun came up. And it's

546
00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:32,920
Speaker 1: just this like really simple reminder, like we get a

547
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:37,440
Speaker 1: whole hard day, you know, sun came up, Sun came up.

548
00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:39,160
Speaker 1: I have a wake up and I have a roof

549
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,320
Speaker 1: over my head and I have food in my refrigerator,

550
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:44,680
Speaker 1: And yes, does that mean that I don't have pain?

551
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:48,680
Speaker 1: Absolutely not, but like they're just things that are going

552
00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,320
Speaker 1: to happen in life. And you're so right about our country.

553
00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:53,560
Speaker 1: I went to Bali this summer and one of the

554
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,440
Speaker 1: main things I left with was like, they don't live

555
00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:59,600
Speaker 1: in excess, nor do they like they like, do I

556
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:08,000
Speaker 1: have what I needles? Just just to uh not moderate,

557
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:11,880
Speaker 1: but just to speak to that America is awesome. We

558
00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:14,160
Speaker 1: come to America because it's awesome. So it's like both

559
00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:16,640
Speaker 1: things can be true. Yeah, when I say this, I

560
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:21,480
Speaker 1: always go this is that or a Western hate fest?

561
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:24,400
Speaker 1: Like there's some dope stuff out here. We love it.

562
00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:30,000
Speaker 1: I love it, you know what I mean? The um

563
00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:35,120
Speaker 1: the with every good thing, I guess there's a cautionary tale, right,

564
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:38,000
Speaker 1: And the cautionary tale is just the idea that part

565
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:41,040
Speaker 1: of having so much, part of being as wealthy as

566
00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:45,480
Speaker 1: we all are here, is the the expectation that's inherently

567
00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:49,280
Speaker 1: built in that it's yours and belongs to you, and

568
00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:53,080
Speaker 1: it's due to you, and it's like owed to you.

569
00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,880
Speaker 1: I think that's the danger which I think we've all

570
00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:58,680
Speaker 1: fallen into. It is like, oh, yeah, this is I

571
00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:01,160
Speaker 1: deserve this, you know what I mean. And I think

572
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 1: that's really what the issue is. Whereas in Bali and

573
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:08,719
Speaker 1: Nigeria and most of the parts of the world where

574
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:12,440
Speaker 1: we don't have there are not as many feature comforts.

575
00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:19,799
Speaker 1: All you are brought up to think is gratitude for everything, right,

576
00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:24,759
Speaker 1: gratitude Forever the sun came up, rights it grateful, you

577
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:29,279
Speaker 1: woke up grateful, you know what I mean. It's just

578
00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:33,440
Speaker 1: this exercise that I have to remind myself to practice,

579
00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:36,360
Speaker 1: you know, and we forget to practice. Here is just

580
00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:39,200
Speaker 1: like and again it's like it sounds cheesy, but just

581
00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:43,160
Speaker 1: like the art of realizing that you're not in control.

582
00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:48,279
Speaker 1: Because listen, the Queen of England just died all her

583
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:55,839
Speaker 1: majesty and money and billions and power. Yeah, it turns

584
00:34:55,840 --> 00:35:01,000
Speaker 1: out life sometimes even to the queen, even to the queen,

585
00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:07,960
Speaker 1: and she came succumbed to the age old enemy that

586
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:12,120
Speaker 1: is time and death all of us that we all

587
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:17,879
Speaker 1: will really perspective and gratitude is all it is. Yes,

588
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,720
Speaker 1: it's so good. This is exactly the reminders I've needed

589
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,880
Speaker 1: about the like if then's which you kind of touched on,

590
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:29,319
Speaker 1: like if I do all this, then I deserve X,

591
00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:31,920
Speaker 1: Y and C. Like that's a really big one. I

592
00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,320
Speaker 1: get stuck in and it's just again, I do think

593
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,920
Speaker 1: that even if you know, because we are so blessed,

594
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,600
Speaker 1: we have to remind ourselves about gratitude a little more often,

595
00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:45,040
Speaker 1: the answer is always there because no matter what is

596
00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:47,439
Speaker 1: falling apart in my life, which you know, I think

597
00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:48,920
Speaker 1: for a lot of us in the last couple of

598
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:55,880
Speaker 1: years has been multiple exactly, but here we are and

599
00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,480
Speaker 1: like we're alive, and we're you know, able to have

600
00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:04,080
Speaker 1: this converse station just like you said, and um, I'm

601
00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:06,760
Speaker 1: sitting here in the studio making you have a guitar

602
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:09,839
Speaker 1: in your lap, like I mean, you got your hair did?

603
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:13,759
Speaker 1: It looks so good? We have an amazing shoot next

604
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:15,960
Speaker 1: week that we're going to rock out. Like there's just

605
00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,799
Speaker 1: all this fun stuff and great stuff in everyone's life.

606
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,279
Speaker 1: If you really like take a moment, I'm sure you

607
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:24,040
Speaker 1: can find something. I always like tell people look for

608
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,080
Speaker 1: five things. But even if you can just find two,

609
00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:29,440
Speaker 1: like I might bring recy, I might bring my hairstyles.

610
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:42,480
Speaker 1: Please do I love it? I would nuggeting, she's got stories. Man. Okay, well,

611
00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:45,560
Speaker 1: we are obviously shooting next week, which I just mentioned,

612
00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:46,920
Speaker 1: and I know that's because you have a lot of

613
00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:48,560
Speaker 1: new music coming out. So let's talk a little bit

614
00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:51,520
Speaker 1: about music before we have to go. Tell us, like,

615
00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,920
Speaker 1: what were your what's your biggest inspiration musically from when

616
00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:58,080
Speaker 1: you were a kid? Man? I so I came to

617
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,600
Speaker 1: the States at six, and I grow with my uncle,

618
00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:05,560
Speaker 1: who was obviously significantly older, and he would play you know,

619
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,920
Speaker 1: motown needles, like every good music, gospel jazz, right, So

620
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:11,799
Speaker 1: I grew up on all that stuff and being that

621
00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:15,280
Speaker 1: I didn't really I wasn't born here, I didn't realize

622
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:17,520
Speaker 1: that it was old music. So like I would go

623
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:19,359
Speaker 1: to third grade and my friends would be like, oh

624
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:23,000
Speaker 1: my god, I knew what I think and I'd be like,

625
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,000
Speaker 1: I got very white, and I'd like pull out a

626
00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:28,239
Speaker 1: Verry White record and they'd be like, what is wrong

627
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 1: with you? I had no idea that that was like

628
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:35,520
Speaker 1: really weird and old to be like eight and listening

629
00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:38,640
Speaker 1: to Barry White. So I'd like this guy right here,

630
00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:40,319
Speaker 1: and it's just be like a picture of Barry White

631
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:44,680
Speaker 1: and a trench coat, like what what exactly, and I

632
00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:46,480
Speaker 1: was like, eventually I was like, oh that's weird. I

633
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:50,239
Speaker 1: can't do that anymore. We should stop. But I grew

634
00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:53,160
Speaker 1: up on so much, so much, so much music that

635
00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:57,160
Speaker 1: it was just you know, but the commonality between everything

636
00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:00,600
Speaker 1: I grew up on is that it said something worth hearing, okay,

637
00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:03,279
Speaker 1: and worth keeping into in your head, even if it

638
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:06,520
Speaker 1: was just like you know, you're gonna be fine. I

639
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:08,480
Speaker 1: love you, Like every song is really just trying to

640
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:11,120
Speaker 1: We're all trying to say the same things over and over, right,

641
00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:14,560
Speaker 1: So it's like, you know, every every kind of music

642
00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:18,840
Speaker 1: I love leaves you after you listen to it, feeling

643
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,719
Speaker 1: something in your heart. Yeah, you know. And that's really

644
00:38:21,719 --> 00:38:23,840
Speaker 1: all I want to do is just like make the

645
00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:25,960
Speaker 1: kind of music that you can turn on at any

646
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:31,560
Speaker 1: given point of life. Right. Yeah. So it's that's what

647
00:38:32,080 --> 00:38:35,040
Speaker 1: every time I've ever read you, you know, being interviewed

648
00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:37,640
Speaker 1: or anything, You're like, my biggest goal would be to

649
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:42,600
Speaker 1: have at number one in every genre, like correct, Yeah,

650
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,320
Speaker 1: genre is a is a is a construct? Yeah you

651
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:48,319
Speaker 1: are a lot of musicians say that. I think it's

652
00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:50,320
Speaker 1: do you all feel this? I don't know. Chip is

653
00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:52,200
Speaker 1: like way more in touch with this than I would be.

654
00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:55,080
Speaker 1: But do you feel like they're sort of going away

655
00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:59,040
Speaker 1: a little bit? Just by sheer? Go ahead, Chip tell us, Well,

656
00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,520
Speaker 1: I was just gonna say, I think the iPod, you know,

657
00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:03,960
Speaker 1: which is not it's not new any you know, it's

658
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,040
Speaker 1: been around for twenty plus years at this point. But

659
00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:10,120
Speaker 1: the iPod was the beginning of the end of genre.

660
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:13,080
Speaker 1: I mean, there's always there's always going to be people

661
00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:15,239
Speaker 1: that need things put in boxes, so we do that

662
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:20,160
Speaker 1: for them. But I think the the avid music consumer

663
00:39:20,239 --> 00:39:23,520
Speaker 1: doesn't They color outside the lines. They listen to everything.

664
00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:29,440
Speaker 1: You know. I have my Ratchet play list, don't we all?

665
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:32,879
Speaker 1: I have Ratchet right, it's in it right? Yeah, Well,

666
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:35,000
Speaker 1: you know, and I think I think the damage that

667
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:38,040
Speaker 1: genre does too is it causes certain things to not

668
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,959
Speaker 1: be discovered, you know, like I think in some parts

669
00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:45,120
Speaker 1: of the world country country is a dirty word to

670
00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:49,160
Speaker 1: some people, Christian music is a dirty word. And um

671
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:52,000
Speaker 1: and you know I was, I spent all day listening

672
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:56,600
Speaker 1: to your music today and and I wouldn't normally, I

673
00:39:56,640 --> 00:40:01,040
Speaker 1: wouldn't normally go for spiritual music. But like miraclely it

674
00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:04,839
Speaker 1: was I know what you're saying, but there it's there's

675
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,880
Speaker 1: double entendre in it. It can be listened and not

676
00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:13,799
Speaker 1: in a sexual double entendre way. Like it is as

677
00:40:13,880 --> 00:40:17,480
Speaker 1: secular as it is religious. Because the way that you

678
00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:22,440
Speaker 1: wrote the lyrics, Um, it could it could mean anything

679
00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:24,840
Speaker 1: to anyone. You know, there's a lot of just hope

680
00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:28,719
Speaker 1: in it, um and you know, so to me it

681
00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:32,439
Speaker 1: was like an example of genre getting in a way.

682
00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:35,399
Speaker 1: You know, how something is classified so that it ends

683
00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:39,799
Speaker 1: up on certain playlists or get certain listeners. Um. And

684
00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:42,520
Speaker 1: I think it's important as music fans for us to

685
00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:46,480
Speaker 1: be part of breaking down those walls. And honestly, when

686
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:50,839
Speaker 1: I got with Capital Um, I literally said, hey guys,

687
00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:53,320
Speaker 1: they said what do we? What do we? What's your genre?

688
00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:55,439
Speaker 1: And I said, if if you call it anything less

689
00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:59,680
Speaker 1: than pop, I'll be really upset, right because pop just

690
00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:02,680
Speaker 1: means popular, right. And I remember when Adele came out,

691
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:07,280
Speaker 1: she was like adult contemporary, right, Because when when Chasing

692
00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:10,440
Speaker 1: Pavements and all these songs came out before it got huge,

693
00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:13,360
Speaker 1: it was like they were like NPR records, right, it

694
00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:16,279
Speaker 1: was like, oh that's kind of nice. Is this British girl?

695
00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:21,040
Speaker 1: She's singing really really like kind of thinky earthly songs

696
00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:23,120
Speaker 1: and it was like, oh, that's the the hip like

697
00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:29,720
Speaker 1: sub underground thinking person's record, right, And they kept calling

698
00:41:29,719 --> 00:41:33,000
Speaker 1: it pop music and they had They kept telling the

699
00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:36,400
Speaker 1: music universe like no, this is pop, No, this is pop, No,

700
00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:38,000
Speaker 1: this is about And then Rolling in the Deep came

701
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:39,879
Speaker 1: out and they were like, oh it's pop. Okay, got

702
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:43,120
Speaker 1: it right. But like Adele doesn't sound like any other pop.

703
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:46,359
Speaker 1: You know the thirty record that just came out, it's

704
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:49,080
Speaker 1: got all ballads in it. Yeah, you know what I mean.

705
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:54,759
Speaker 1: And so it's like genre will encompass anything you tell

706
00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:57,000
Speaker 1: it to. You just have to tell it enough, right,

707
00:41:57,120 --> 00:42:01,040
Speaker 1: Like there is room and pop I mean, top goes

708
00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:06,560
Speaker 1: from Ed Sharon two Katie Perry to uh, you know

709
00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:09,960
Speaker 1: what's like the young Blood what's his name? Young? Is it?

710
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:17,719
Speaker 1: Young Blood? To to not um little Nazacks like it's

711
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:22,399
Speaker 1: a who who knows anymore? You know? And my goal

712
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:26,960
Speaker 1: for my music is always accessible to whoever. Like you know,

713
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:30,799
Speaker 1: I make lyrical choices on purpose, right, Um, you may

714
00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:33,160
Speaker 1: have not have never attended church. So I say to myself,

715
00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:36,480
Speaker 1: I know what I want to say, but if I

716
00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:41,200
Speaker 1: say Jesus, because I'm not wanting to do the extra

717
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:45,160
Speaker 1: work of finding another word. I've made the choice to,

718
00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:51,120
Speaker 1: um say, to somebody who might not have been the church,

719
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:55,799
Speaker 1: I don't want you to listen to this. I grew

720
00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:58,440
Speaker 1: up in church. I know Jesus, right. But if if

721
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:01,439
Speaker 1: I write a song and just sit with myself and go,

722
00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:04,120
Speaker 1: if someone has not been a church in a while, what,

723
00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:08,120
Speaker 1: how could I still give them this hope? Right? And

724
00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:10,759
Speaker 1: then just kind of decide in my mind that I

725
00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:16,000
Speaker 1: want to be inclusive in my music. Ah, then you

726
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:17,800
Speaker 1: know people are gonna hear it and hear the words

727
00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:20,160
Speaker 1: that in whatever life experience they may have had just

728
00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:22,239
Speaker 1: turns them off or shuts them down, and they're gonna

729
00:43:22,239 --> 00:43:27,239
Speaker 1: be next Yeah. Or I can say I think they

730
00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:30,319
Speaker 1: need this, and if that means I for this song,

731
00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:33,480
Speaker 1: for this album, for the you know, modify this to

732
00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:36,279
Speaker 1: be open to more people, I think I really like that.

733
00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:40,120
Speaker 1: And that way Chip listens and goes, huh, I didn't

734
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:42,080
Speaker 1: think I would like, but I like, I don't I

735
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:45,279
Speaker 1: like this, right, So it's just it's a it's a

736
00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:50,200
Speaker 1: conscious separate on my part. Two. I think people need hope,

737
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:55,359
Speaker 1: and I think that sometimes language gets in the way

738
00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:59,440
Speaker 1: of hope, you know, UM, not not to say that

739
00:43:59,480 --> 00:44:02,120
Speaker 1: there aren't where I'm like Jesus, that's that's not the problem.

740
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,239
Speaker 1: It's just like you know, to say to someone, hey,

741
00:44:04,239 --> 00:44:07,200
Speaker 1: there's gonna be right days. Yeah, that's a statement that

742
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:11,320
Speaker 1: is good for chip, good for blessing, good for someone

743
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:16,200
Speaker 1: in church, good for someone you know. Not to be blasphemers,

744
00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:18,399
Speaker 1: but like in going through something as horrible as what's

745
00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:21,400
Speaker 1: happening in Ukraine, you know what I mean, it's it's

746
00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:24,840
Speaker 1: it's there for us all and I love that. I

747
00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:29,600
Speaker 1: was also thinking, um that you said that language could

748
00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:32,719
Speaker 1: get in the way of hope. I wonder language could

749
00:44:32,719 --> 00:44:34,680
Speaker 1: also get in the way of connection, you know, like

750
00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:37,919
Speaker 1: if we say that you said that was your goal

751
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:42,839
Speaker 1: with music is to connect, and if we do put

752
00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:46,520
Speaker 1: ourselves in boxes, sometimes you're right, Like everyone has had

753
00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:49,120
Speaker 1: a different life experience. But if you were born in

754
00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:53,000
Speaker 1: a place that you know, practices Buddhism and not Christianity,

755
00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:55,279
Speaker 1: like there's all these different things, and so how do

756
00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:59,319
Speaker 1: you connect with the most people by still giving hope? Right,

757
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:03,799
Speaker 1: And it's it's just a matter of realizing that there

758
00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:07,960
Speaker 1: are just these common human experiences that we all have, right,

759
00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:11,160
Speaker 1: no matter no matter what you grew up believing or

760
00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:15,160
Speaker 1: not believing. You're gonna hurt, You're gonna feel sadness, you're

761
00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:19,160
Speaker 1: gonna feel loneliness, you're gonna feel joy if if you're lucky,

762
00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:22,600
Speaker 1: you're gonna We're all humans, We're all here, We're all

763
00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:26,719
Speaker 1: trying to get through it, right. I think I've discovered

764
00:45:26,760 --> 00:45:29,080
Speaker 1: some things that helped me get through it. I'm going

765
00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:31,919
Speaker 1: to share them with you. Uh, and maybe you'll share

766
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:34,919
Speaker 1: with me some of your things. And that's that's human

767
00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:38,839
Speaker 1: and that's life. Yeah. I love that. Well, we are

768
00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:42,239
Speaker 1: big fans. And if you guys about Blessings music, I

769
00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:44,960
Speaker 1: really encourage you to do so is you can sing

770
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:49,880
Speaker 1: your booty off and write amazing Rris and as Chips

771
00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:53,160
Speaker 1: said earlier, I mean it's just you can connect on

772
00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:57,600
Speaker 1: all different kinds of levels. Really great. So you guys

773
00:45:57,680 --> 00:46:00,520
Speaker 1: go check out Blessing. Blessing, tell us what you have

774
00:46:00,680 --> 00:46:03,440
Speaker 1: coming up. I know there's new music coming out. Like

775
00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:05,880
Speaker 1: I said to tell us everything, there's a ton of

776
00:46:05,880 --> 00:46:08,279
Speaker 1: new music coming out. There's a I'm on the road

777
00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:12,879
Speaker 1: with Lauren Davil for a few dates, a gentleman named

778
00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:16,120
Speaker 1: Brandon Lake for a few dates this fall. Nice Um

779
00:46:16,360 --> 00:46:20,720
Speaker 1: there's some there's some TV, there's you know, uh, some

780
00:46:20,719 --> 00:46:23,760
Speaker 1: some songs that I'm featuring on coming out, So please

781
00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:28,520
Speaker 1: just follow along. Blessing Offer. Offer is spelled R so

782
00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:34,839
Speaker 1: it sounds like the word offer, but it's spelled A four. Yeah,

783
00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:40,720
Speaker 1: so don't pronounce it. That's not it. But yeah, you guys,

784
00:46:40,719 --> 00:46:44,160
Speaker 1: just please please join join the journey. Yeah, and you're

785
00:46:44,239 --> 00:46:48,440
Speaker 1: blessing author on Instagram right at blessing Offer on Instagram,

786
00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:51,400
Speaker 1: Blessing Offer on Twitter. I think on Facebook, we're on

787
00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:54,839
Speaker 1: On TikTok, we're blessing off for music, but otherwise it's

788
00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:57,279
Speaker 1: always one of those are you tick talking a lot?

789
00:46:57,360 --> 00:47:03,279
Speaker 1: Tell me about this can get up the ban of

790
00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:07,120
Speaker 1: every artist existence. We are. We are tiktoking as much

791
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:11,600
Speaker 1: as we need to because that's how life goes. Now.

792
00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:16,800
Speaker 1: Apparently TikTok is the place. I mean, it does, it does,

793
00:47:17,280 --> 00:47:22,920
Speaker 1: it moves music, but it is artists. It's like I

794
00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:25,080
Speaker 1: just had to buy a thing to learn to like

795
00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:30,719
Speaker 1: sing duets. I'm just like, what, oh, yeah, you need this.

796
00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:33,319
Speaker 1: I ring that like plugs your phone into a thing

797
00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:37,640
Speaker 1: and so you can I'm like, I'm a singer. That

798
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:43,000
Speaker 1: real good? Can we go there? Right. Well, if you

799
00:47:43,040 --> 00:47:45,080
Speaker 1: guys want to check out Blessing on TikTok. It sounds

800
00:47:45,080 --> 00:47:50,080
Speaker 1: like a journey over there, sounds Blessing. Thank you so

801
00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:52,160
Speaker 1: much for being here with us today and sharing your

802
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:54,399
Speaker 1: story with the listeners. I feel like you gave so

803
00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:56,360
Speaker 1: many good nuggets. I know, I feel like we just

804
00:47:56,400 --> 00:48:04,759
Speaker 1: did therapy right now. So the takeaway, guys, life be life, alright, life, Well,

805
00:48:04,760 --> 00:48:10,120
Speaker 1: obviously we know the name of this podcast, all right, Blessing,

806
00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:12,040
Speaker 1: thanks so much for being here. I will see you

807
00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:19,440
Speaker 1: next week. I cannot wait for listening, all right,