WEBVTT - Janelle Monáe & Nate Wonder 0:00:15.476 --> 0:00:22.396 Pushkin. Janelle Mona's had a lot to smile about this 0:00:22.556 --> 0:00:26.316 year after a run of successful albums over the last decade, 0:00:26.436 --> 0:00:29.476 and June she released her fourth album, The Age of Pleasure. 0:00:29.956 --> 0:00:33.396 It's an important project. Not only was it just nominated 0:00:33.396 --> 0:00:36.036 for two Grammys, including the Album of the Year, but 0:00:36.076 --> 0:00:38.836 it's also signaled a big tone shift for Janelle, whose 0:00:38.876 --> 0:00:41.636 past albums have centered in part around a recurring character 0:00:41.756 --> 0:00:47.196 named Cindy Mayweather, an android who represents society's new other. Esthetically, 0:00:47.316 --> 0:00:50.556 Janelle has also always been pretty buttoned up. For her 0:00:50.556 --> 0:00:53.076 first few album releases, she made a point of always 0:00:53.076 --> 0:00:56.556 appearing in public in some iteration of a tuxedo. But 0:00:56.636 --> 0:00:59.036 for the Age of Pleasure, she literally stripped down to 0:00:59.156 --> 0:01:03.716 almost nothing, flanting a newfound freedom centered around black joy, pleasure, 0:01:04.036 --> 0:01:08.436 and acceptance. On today's episode on Poolside, having a conversation 0:01:08.516 --> 0:01:12.116 with Jenemo and her longtime musical partner Nate Wonder, who 0:01:12.156 --> 0:01:14.476 also co produced and co wrote this new record along 0:01:14.516 --> 0:01:17.356 with her others, We're after a creative home base in 0:01:17.396 --> 0:01:21.636 the Hollywood Hills called Wonderland. Nate explains how the Age 0:01:21.636 --> 0:01:24.516 of Pleasure album started with the simple conceit of wanting 0:01:24.556 --> 0:01:28.276 to make Janelle Monet smile. Jane also talks about why 0:01:28.316 --> 0:01:30.716 she decided to ditch your career in musical theater after 0:01:30.796 --> 0:01:34.516 college and how the Grace Jones ended up topless in 0:01:34.556 --> 0:01:41.996 Wonderland's now infamous pool. This is broken record liner notes 0:01:41.996 --> 0:01:45.836 for the digital Age. I'm justin Mitchman. Here's my conversation 0:01:45.996 --> 0:01:50.476 with Nate Wonder and Janelle Monette. Happy birthday, Thank you 0:01:50.756 --> 0:01:51.636 Rammy nomination. 0:01:51.956 --> 0:01:53.196 Yes, album of the Year. 0:01:53.636 --> 0:01:54.916 Yeah, it's like two in a row. 0:01:54.996 --> 0:01:57.316 Now, I know that's a big deal. I know it's 0:01:57.996 --> 0:01:58.636 a big deal. 0:01:58.796 --> 0:02:01.436 I'm still just so humbled, very big. 0:02:01.756 --> 0:02:04.676 Not just progressive R and B album, but like album 0:02:04.756 --> 0:02:06.636 of the year, Like that's some crazy. 0:02:06.436 --> 0:02:06.996 That's wild. 0:02:07.556 --> 0:02:07.916 Yeah. 0:02:07.996 --> 0:02:10.876 I watched a lot of my here get it and 0:02:11.076 --> 0:02:13.996 be on that stage, and like it's really a dream 0:02:14.076 --> 0:02:16.636 to be able to not just shine light on the 0:02:16.676 --> 0:02:19.356 work that I do. But you know, Nate's here as well. 0:02:19.396 --> 0:02:22.516 He worked heavily on the music and production and writing 0:02:22.556 --> 0:02:25.916 with me and everybody else who you know was a 0:02:25.956 --> 0:02:28.436 part of the album. They get recognized too. So that's 0:02:28.476 --> 0:02:30.956 the beautiful thing about being in that category. 0:02:31.076 --> 0:02:33.836 Yeah, no, absolutely, Yeah. I wanted to ask about the 0:02:33.876 --> 0:02:36.156 collaborative since I have the pleasure of both of you guys, 0:02:36.196 --> 0:02:39.316 which is it feels special to me. So I was 0:02:39.636 --> 0:02:41.916 curious about how you guys collaborate on it. I mean, 0:02:41.916 --> 0:02:43.716 you guys been working together a long time. 0:02:43.796 --> 0:02:49.236 First of all, every project, every album since my EPs, 0:02:49.396 --> 0:02:51.516 where I was selling them out of the trunk of 0:02:51.516 --> 0:02:55.796 my car in Atlanta. We've been able to have, you know, 0:02:55.836 --> 0:03:00.116 a creative bond and just like evolution together and it's 0:03:00.236 --> 0:03:03.396 just been really a fun ride. Lots of fun things 0:03:03.396 --> 0:03:09.516 happen in the studio. It feels like family, it feels intentional. 0:03:09.676 --> 0:03:10.276 Absolutely. 0:03:11.276 --> 0:03:13.716 Where were you both at when you guys first met 0:03:14.316 --> 0:03:15.036 in Atlanta? 0:03:15.556 --> 0:03:20.556 We met at Morehouse Janelle was she was living like 0:03:20.596 --> 0:03:20.996 in the. 0:03:21.076 --> 0:03:25.516 Area, Parson Street, Yeah, boarding house next to Club Woody 0:03:25.556 --> 0:03:27.516 in auc Club Woody is. 0:03:27.476 --> 0:03:28.436 The name of the library. 0:03:28.716 --> 0:03:30.836 Okay, you go there though, because it's in the middle 0:03:30.836 --> 0:03:33.796 of all three campuses, it's kind of like a club. 0:03:33.836 --> 0:03:37.356 You never know in Atlanta what that could be exactly. 0:03:37.636 --> 0:03:42.436 It's actually actually the university library. And she would throw 0:03:42.436 --> 0:03:45.716 shows on the steps. And I was just out of college. 0:03:45.876 --> 0:03:48.756 I had lost my scholarship in my junior year of 0:03:48.796 --> 0:03:54.356 college because I was writing music, And so after I graduated, 0:03:54.636 --> 0:03:56.636 like I could really take the time to focus on 0:03:56.636 --> 0:03:57.716 my music the way I wanted to. 0:03:58.276 --> 0:04:01.716 So in college you knew that like music was where 0:04:01.756 --> 0:04:03.436 you were focused, That's where your attention was. 0:04:03.436 --> 0:04:05.196 But why did you lose it? What happened? 0:04:05.236 --> 0:04:08.076 You need to tell him exactly a moment that will 0:04:08.156 --> 0:04:09.116 let you know how serious you. 0:04:09.236 --> 0:04:11.316 I mean, I had I had two full scholarships to school, 0:04:11.796 --> 0:04:15.836 and I lost both of them because I. 0:04:15.076 --> 0:04:18.636 How do you have to how do you get two. 0:04:20.036 --> 0:04:22.876 NASA gave me a scholarship and the school gave me 0:04:22.916 --> 0:04:25.796 a scholarship separately, and I just had both of them. 0:04:25.836 --> 0:04:28.476 I had one like as a backup, I guess idea. 0:04:29.356 --> 0:04:33.596 But I was in a math test and I was 0:04:33.636 --> 0:04:36.236 doing well on the test except for like in the 0:04:36.236 --> 0:04:38.116 middle of the test, I had this song come to 0:04:38.156 --> 0:04:43.876 me and I just felt compelled to get up, and 0:04:43.956 --> 0:04:46.116 I went to my dorm room and I wrote the 0:04:46.236 --> 0:04:49.156 song and I did not finish the test, and it 0:04:49.276 --> 0:04:52.036 caused my GPA to crater. 0:04:53.076 --> 0:04:55.196 And that's why I lost my scholarship. 0:04:55.676 --> 0:04:58.036 Yay was that And that's how we got to make music. 0:04:58.356 --> 0:05:02.196 I mean, thank god he lost his NaSTA and scholarship. 0:05:02.236 --> 0:05:05.116 I mean, in any other scenario, that's a tragedy. Yeah, 0:05:05.316 --> 0:05:07.356 but it seems to have been the right path. 0:05:07.476 --> 0:05:10.676 It tragic at the time too. After I realized that happened. 0:05:11.196 --> 0:05:12.996 In the moment, it felt like, this is what you're 0:05:13.036 --> 0:05:15.156 supposed to be doing. You need to just listen to this. 0:05:15.396 --> 0:05:17.676 Was that common for you to just up and leave 0:05:17.756 --> 0:05:19.956 whatever you were doing, wherever you were at, whoever you 0:05:19.996 --> 0:05:22.396 were with, YO, get an idea. 0:05:22.276 --> 0:05:25.836 Yeah, but not a test. It had not happened like 0:05:26.116 --> 0:05:28.396 that was something that cost me so much. 0:05:28.916 --> 0:05:31.356 Yeah, in the movie of your life was a pretty 0:05:31.396 --> 0:05:32.556 high stake, you know. 0:05:32.556 --> 0:05:34.876 What I mean, it was, and it felt like a 0:05:34.876 --> 0:05:38.036 big mistake afterwards. For a little while, it felt like, wow, 0:05:38.236 --> 0:05:39.036 that was crazy. 0:05:39.476 --> 0:05:44.036 Yeah. Yeah. My dad was like, you're crazy. You absolutely 0:05:44.076 --> 0:05:44.756 lost your mind. 0:05:45.036 --> 0:05:47.036 Were your parents academically folks, like, I mean, I don't 0:05:47.036 --> 0:05:48.396 know how you get a scholarship. 0:05:48.436 --> 0:05:49.716 My dad has a doctorate in music. 0:05:49.756 --> 0:05:54.156 Actually, wow, And he wasn't active in music in that 0:05:54.236 --> 0:05:54.636 kind of way. 0:05:54.676 --> 0:05:56.476 He's a professor, so he's yes, he's. 0:05:56.996 --> 0:05:59.956 Yeah, you grew up with a lot of theory and things. 0:06:00.116 --> 0:06:02.396 I grew up watching him write music composed and like 0:06:02.436 --> 0:06:04.956 he was writing operas and all that kind of stuff, 0:06:04.996 --> 0:06:07.316 and like, so I saw that growing up, and I 0:06:07.396 --> 0:06:09.796 learned a lot of instruments kind of I got introduced 0:06:09.796 --> 0:06:12.476 to a lot of instruments early on, and I got 0:06:12.636 --> 0:06:15.316 introduced to the idea of composition very early. 0:06:15.836 --> 0:06:18.516 But he was not. He was like that it is dumb, 0:06:19.396 --> 0:06:25.036 just so we could be clear, that's dumb. 0:06:25.116 --> 0:06:26.116 Did you know him at the time. 0:06:26.836 --> 0:06:28.396 I didn't know. You didn't know each other. 0:06:28.436 --> 0:06:32.836 That was you know, I met him after he probably 0:06:33.436 --> 0:06:38.236 did some healing from the traumatic experience of losing your scholarships. 0:06:38.316 --> 0:06:40.676 I learned how to focus. That's what I learned from that. 0:06:41.036 --> 0:06:44.996 I always hold that as like a lesson in focus 0:06:45.676 --> 0:06:46.636 what it takes. 0:06:46.436 --> 0:06:48.156 Focus on the thing at hand, or focus on the 0:06:48.196 --> 0:06:49.556 creativity that's taking away. 0:06:50.236 --> 0:06:52.676 Actually, you know, you know it's interesting, like it's just 0:06:52.916 --> 0:06:56.316 pick something and do that thing. So the idea of 0:06:56.316 --> 0:06:59.516 the multitasking and all that kind of stuff, I understood 0:06:59.636 --> 0:07:03.596 how detrimental that could be to whatever the dream that 0:07:03.676 --> 0:07:06.356 I had was. So if it was music, like I 0:07:06.796 --> 0:07:08.676 know that, Like the feeling I had when I was 0:07:08.716 --> 0:07:12.356 in the class asked, was, hey, you're not pursuing the 0:07:12.396 --> 0:07:14.636 thing that you're supposed to be pursuing right now, and 0:07:14.676 --> 0:07:17.156 you are going to feel sick about that at some 0:07:17.196 --> 0:07:18.916 point in time. Right now, you feel sick, so you 0:07:18.916 --> 0:07:21.956 need to go write that song. Later on, I felt like, okay, 0:07:22.036 --> 0:07:24.036 I but I made a commitment and so you know, 0:07:24.036 --> 0:07:28.676 it's about just commitment, focus not being distracted. And when 0:07:28.676 --> 0:07:30.956 I finished college, I was like, Okay, now I'm going 0:07:30.996 --> 0:07:32.956 to focus and I wanted to do that. 0:07:33.196 --> 0:07:35.716 You did finish, yes, and you paid. 0:07:35.876 --> 0:07:37.436 Yeah, I had to pay my last year. 0:07:38.436 --> 0:07:41.356 Yeah, that's what I'm saying. 0:07:41.516 --> 0:07:44.516 Hey, last year, I got a scholarship for part of it. 0:07:44.756 --> 0:07:46.396 I got a scholarship to go live in Spain, so 0:07:46.596 --> 0:07:47.356 they paid me to go. 0:07:47.636 --> 0:07:49.636 I did get another scholarship too, smart man, But I. 0:07:55.276 --> 0:07:56.276 And tell them what you know what? 0:07:56.316 --> 0:07:59.476 Tell them what you got that scholarship in Spanish, which 0:07:59.516 --> 0:08:02.636 I suck it. I failed Spanish high. 0:08:02.476 --> 0:08:05.596 School year, but major Spanish class. 0:08:05.676 --> 0:08:08.396 Major in Spanish. 0:08:08.476 --> 0:08:11.596 Yeah, did you study any music Spanish music while you 0:08:11.636 --> 0:08:12.196 were in Spain? 0:08:12.476 --> 0:08:12.716 No? 0:08:12.956 --> 0:08:16.516 I studied Spanish art and architecture actually, And so when 0:08:16.516 --> 0:08:19.036 I went to Spain, I was like, let me not 0:08:19.396 --> 0:08:21.636 pursue music right now, let me focus. I'm not going 0:08:21.676 --> 0:08:23.556 to bring any of my instruments, like I would never 0:08:23.636 --> 0:08:25.956 not have a guitar in my hand. And so I 0:08:25.996 --> 0:08:27.316 was like, I'm going to go to Spain. I'm not 0:08:27.356 --> 0:08:30.156 going to have any instruments. I'm going to focus and 0:08:30.236 --> 0:08:32.476 I'm going to just do what I'm here to do. 0:08:33.516 --> 0:08:36.356 And I went there, and what was crazy is that 0:08:36.396 --> 0:08:39.396 the place that I lived was directly next to a 0:08:39.476 --> 0:08:43.396 music conservatory. So I would wake up and this girl 0:08:43.436 --> 0:08:45.756 would play the flute every morning. It would wake me 0:08:45.836 --> 0:08:48.316 up every morning. I would hear musicians playing all day, 0:08:48.716 --> 0:08:51.716 and I was like, man, I got so I was there. 0:08:51.756 --> 0:08:53.556 I bought a flute and like taught myself to play 0:08:53.556 --> 0:08:55.116 the flute, but that was it. I was like, let 0:08:55.196 --> 0:08:56.436 me just that's small enough. 0:08:56.836 --> 0:09:01.876 Yeah, that's more of a hobby than a real pstick pursuit. Similarly, 0:09:01.916 --> 0:09:06.156 you early on were kind of like possessed by creativity, right, 0:09:07.196 --> 0:09:08.636 I like that possessed. 0:09:09.356 --> 0:09:13.036 Yes, there was never a time where I wasn't singing. 0:09:13.556 --> 0:09:19.756 I don't remember like singing, acting, partying, doing exactly what 0:09:19.796 --> 0:09:21.396 it is that I'm doing. I was talking to a 0:09:21.396 --> 0:09:23.396 friend and she reminded me, she was like, remember in 0:09:23.436 --> 0:09:26.316 sixth grade when we used to throw these parties and 0:09:26.396 --> 0:09:28.036 you would charge a dollar for people to get in, 0:09:28.076 --> 0:09:31.036 and I skipped school to hand out flyers. 0:09:31.476 --> 0:09:32.316 It was a whole thing. 0:09:32.756 --> 0:09:35.596 But at that same time, I was on every talent 0:09:35.676 --> 0:09:39.036 show stage in Kansas City, in every musical theater production. 0:09:39.716 --> 0:09:44.796 And you know, it's morphed into concerts now and the 0:09:44.836 --> 0:09:49.236 age of pleasure album and being driven by by just 0:09:49.236 --> 0:09:51.036 the things that I love. I'm so thankful that I 0:09:51.076 --> 0:09:54.236 still can do that. And for me when I went 0:09:54.276 --> 0:09:57.396 to school in New York after you know, after high school, 0:09:57.396 --> 0:09:58.956 went to school in New York, and I thought, oh, 0:09:58.996 --> 0:10:00.796 I want to do musical theater. As soon as I 0:10:00.876 --> 0:10:04.036 got out there and started going to sea plays and stuff, 0:10:04.036 --> 0:10:09.396 I was like, man, ugh, I'm not excited about any 0:10:09.436 --> 0:10:10.716 of the roles that they're offering. 0:10:11.036 --> 0:10:12.796 You know, people that look like me. 0:10:12.916 --> 0:10:14.476 What were you What kind of roles were you getting? 0:10:14.796 --> 0:10:17.396 Well, we couldn't really audition, but like there was no 0:10:18.076 --> 0:10:24.076 there was maybe one strong black woman leading something there 0:10:24.156 --> 0:10:27.796 was not right now, Broadway has changed, like it' it's 0:10:27.836 --> 0:10:29.836 it's a lot more diverse, a lot more stories, a 0:10:29.836 --> 0:10:33.516 lot more uniqueness. And the only thing, because I'm from Kansas, 0:10:33.596 --> 0:10:35.236 the only thing I think people saw me doing was 0:10:35.276 --> 0:10:37.676 the Whiz, and the Whiz wasn't on Broadway, and I'm 0:10:37.716 --> 0:10:39.956 just like, I love the Whiz, but where is the 0:10:40.076 --> 0:10:43.116 new energy, the new stories? And I had so much 0:10:43.156 --> 0:10:46.876 bubbling because I'm a writer as well, and I decided that, 0:10:47.036 --> 0:10:49.316 you know, I was going to quit. So I quit 0:10:49.396 --> 0:10:51.716 school in New York. Everybody thought I was crazy too. 0:10:51.716 --> 0:10:54.996 That was my like you're crazy moment, because coming from Kansas, 0:10:55.116 --> 0:10:56.916 such a small town, They're like. 0:10:56.916 --> 0:10:58.876 Wow, You're in New York. You're living the dream. 0:10:59.756 --> 0:11:03.116 And little do they know, I was sleeping in the 0:11:03.156 --> 0:11:06.196 same bed as my cousin because I could not afford 0:11:06.436 --> 0:11:09.036 housing there, and so I was commuting from like a 0:11:09.196 --> 0:11:11.396 hundred and forty of an Amsterdam the like seventy second 0:11:11.396 --> 0:11:14.516 and Broadway every single day, Monday through Friday. Wow, I mean, 0:11:14.556 --> 0:11:17.876 I learned a lot about surviving. And I was just like, 0:11:18.236 --> 0:11:22.356 you know, poor, but excited about the arts and excited 0:11:22.396 --> 0:11:27.156 about finally figuring out what did Janelle Robinson have to say? 0:11:27.156 --> 0:11:29.876 Because I wasn't even going by Janelle mone I had 0:11:29.916 --> 0:11:33.276 not tapped into the center the core of what I 0:11:33.396 --> 0:11:35.076 had to say because I was spending so much time 0:11:35.116 --> 0:11:36.956 singing everybody else's songs. 0:11:37.396 --> 0:11:40.116 Why the transition of Janell Moe then from Janelle Robinson. 0:11:40.116 --> 0:11:43.796 What about that felt more like the authentic place to 0:11:43.836 --> 0:11:44.436 create farm. 0:11:45.196 --> 0:11:48.196 Well, I knew about the painter mone and I always 0:11:48.196 --> 0:11:51.236 thought like, that's that's a great artist name, and it 0:11:51.356 --> 0:11:53.396 just so happens to be my real name. My middle 0:11:53.436 --> 0:11:57.556 name is none. My aunt actually she was like Janelle Monet, 0:11:57.996 --> 0:12:00.436 Janelle Monee. She calls me that all the time, like 0:12:00.476 --> 0:12:03.596 when she sees me, and it just it sucks. 0:12:04.316 --> 0:12:06.276 Even before, so it wasn't like I was a kid 0:12:06.516 --> 0:12:09.196 like your family and where you come from, none. 0:12:08.996 --> 0:12:12.876 Of I just thought Monnette felt like an artist's name 0:12:13.676 --> 0:12:16.396 and it was my name, and it was like, yeah, okay, 0:12:16.756 --> 0:12:19.996 I get to reinvent you know who, what I can be, 0:12:20.156 --> 0:12:21.796 how I can say it, how I see myself. 0:12:21.796 --> 0:12:23.116 And it was so great. 0:12:23.116 --> 0:12:24.836 So that's when I moved to Atlanta, and that's when 0:12:25.116 --> 0:12:28.076 I met Nate Rocket Wonder, I met Chuck Lightning, I 0:12:28.076 --> 0:12:31.156 met Michael Moore, who were all still working together. They 0:12:31.196 --> 0:12:34.276 were at Morehouse. They ran this arts collective called the 0:12:34.356 --> 0:12:38.156 Dark Tower Project, and they would bring musicians, poets to 0:12:38.236 --> 0:12:41.076 Morehouse and I was one of the people who performed 0:12:41.876 --> 0:12:44.356 that night, and I just saw this kind of black 0:12:44.396 --> 0:12:48.796 cosmopolitan in Atlanta, Like it was just this melting pot 0:12:48.836 --> 0:12:53.156 of just excellence and creativity and freedom of expression. I 0:12:53.156 --> 0:12:55.716 had never seen anything like it, and I wanted to 0:12:55.796 --> 0:12:58.356 be around that, and I wanted to make music for them. 0:12:59.076 --> 0:13:00.716 That's who I wanted to make music for. And so 0:13:00.836 --> 0:13:02.596 when I started to write, I would sit out, like 0:13:02.676 --> 0:13:04.796 Nate was saying, I would sit on the library steps 0:13:05.076 --> 0:13:07.436 of Club Woody and I would just play guitar, sing 0:13:07.436 --> 0:13:10.396 my songs. People will walk by, some would stop and listen, 0:13:10.436 --> 0:13:11.356 some would keep moving. 0:13:11.756 --> 0:13:13.036 I would go to dorm lounge. 0:13:12.836 --> 0:13:14.636 And sit on the couch and give before like to 0:13:14.876 --> 0:13:18.076 anybody that would listen. I was, I was like, I 0:13:18.076 --> 0:13:19.676 don't give a damn. I have to know. 0:13:20.436 --> 0:13:21.156 Is this for me? 0:13:21.516 --> 0:13:21.796 Yeah? 0:13:21.836 --> 0:13:23.636 Like, do you guys like what I have to say? 0:13:23.796 --> 0:13:28.396 Like can I make my purpose and passion and also 0:13:28.716 --> 0:13:29.876 career aligne. 0:13:29.996 --> 0:13:32.396 Yeah, that's a scary time because you don't you don't 0:13:32.476 --> 0:13:34.156 really know that. And we have the confidence to not 0:13:34.236 --> 0:13:37.156 necessarily care, but you don't at times don't really know. 0:13:37.716 --> 0:13:38.396 You don't know. 0:13:39.556 --> 0:13:42.196 Like one of the reasons why we really connected was because, 0:13:42.236 --> 0:13:45.236 like I know it sounds very basic, but. 0:13:45.956 --> 0:13:47.956 We love art. 0:13:48.316 --> 0:13:53.516 And I think that we were inspired by meeting other 0:13:53.516 --> 0:13:56.476 people who loved art, like really would just like fall 0:13:56.516 --> 0:13:56.996 in love. 0:13:56.836 --> 0:13:59.396 With art, you know, just be obsessed over it. 0:14:00.156 --> 0:14:03.556 Just sit up all day and think about something that 0:14:03.596 --> 0:14:06.196 they read or a painting that they. 0:14:06.116 --> 0:14:09.876 Saw, or just a song, just sit and cry to 0:14:09.916 --> 0:14:11.076 a song. And just like. 0:14:12.516 --> 0:14:15.956 I know that Janelle and I have a very spiritual 0:14:15.996 --> 0:14:22.036 connection that music, it really is like the catalyst for 0:14:22.156 --> 0:14:26.436 that and it catalyzes it all the time. It's something 0:14:26.476 --> 0:14:31.436 that I know that we can always tap into. Like 0:14:31.516 --> 0:14:34.876 besides being like good thought partners and like you know, 0:14:35.196 --> 0:14:38.076 there are wonderful myriad things about Janelle that make her 0:14:38.076 --> 0:14:41.516 a great like human being. But on a musical level, 0:14:42.236 --> 0:14:47.156 she is very passionate about music, Like if I play 0:14:47.276 --> 0:14:52.156 certain chords, it can make her cry. And that is 0:14:52.156 --> 0:14:54.316 something that also happens to me, Like I can hear 0:14:54.396 --> 0:14:56.636 certain songs certain chords, and it doesn't have to do 0:14:56.716 --> 0:14:59.796 it necessarily the lyrics. Always sometimes the lyrics, yes, and 0:14:59.836 --> 0:15:02.436 poetry is beautiful and that's another you know, but just 0:15:02.516 --> 0:15:08.276 like music and just being really just emotionally brought to 0:15:08.636 --> 0:15:14.516 your knee ease over how good music can be. And 0:15:14.556 --> 0:15:17.756 we've shared so many of those moments, and that was 0:15:17.796 --> 0:15:20.716 like the beginning of that time where we got to 0:15:20.796 --> 0:15:25.916 really just pass music back and forth and be shocked 0:15:27.036 --> 0:15:30.036 and just sit in awe with. 0:15:29.996 --> 0:15:32.436 Each other as we would just listen to what could 0:15:32.476 --> 0:15:33.076 be done. 0:15:33.596 --> 0:15:36.276 I think one of the things that I loved early on, 0:15:36.516 --> 0:15:38.956 and the reason why I think we've worked so well 0:15:38.996 --> 0:15:43.316 together musically, is because Nate is a student of music, 0:15:43.476 --> 0:15:45.796 and so when it comes to like anything that I 0:15:45.836 --> 0:15:49.236 want to do, there's nothing we can't do, from string 0:15:49.396 --> 0:15:56.636 arrangements to core progressions, horn arrangements, melodies, Like there's no genre. 0:15:57.356 --> 0:16:00.516 We've been genres with each album. You know, it's all 0:16:00.556 --> 0:16:03.876 about how do we create our own musical language. 0:16:03.916 --> 0:16:04.596 And I love that. 0:16:04.676 --> 0:16:08.556 I always have to feel pushed and stretched, and I 0:16:08.596 --> 0:16:11.516 think that's what is the exciting thing, because it's like 0:16:12.356 --> 0:16:18.636 we literally have the the mind and the student heart, 0:16:18.836 --> 0:16:20.116 Like we never stop. 0:16:19.956 --> 0:16:22.116 Being student, always at the beginning. 0:16:22.236 --> 0:16:26.436 Always it's always a new whiteboard, you know, the ideas 0:16:26.516 --> 0:16:27.556 ready to be put down. 0:16:27.796 --> 0:16:29.476 It sounds to me like you guys are just always 0:16:29.516 --> 0:16:34.276 creating things, regardless of like there's an album, dude, or 0:16:34.556 --> 0:16:36.196 you know, or it's been a minute or you know, 0:16:36.276 --> 0:16:39.076 it's like, it's just that's how you guys are inhabiting life. 0:16:39.116 --> 0:16:42.156 It's just creating every day or you know, the days 0:16:42.196 --> 0:16:43.516 that it feels right to do. Right. 0:16:43.956 --> 0:16:46.996 Yeah, I mean I didn't get into music because of 0:16:47.076 --> 0:16:51.396 awards or because of you know, recognition or anything like that. 0:16:51.476 --> 0:16:55.156 Music is truly healing. I need music like I need 0:16:55.196 --> 0:16:57.716 a song in my darkest hours. I need a song 0:16:57.756 --> 0:17:01.156 in my most celebratory stage. I need a song when 0:17:01.556 --> 0:17:04.036 you know, I want to communicate something that my own 0:17:04.076 --> 0:17:06.796 words can't say, and I need to be able to 0:17:06.836 --> 0:17:09.356 write when I'm feeling frustrated or when I'm like it's 0:17:09.396 --> 0:17:13.116 a way. It has helped my mental health so much, Yeah, 0:17:13.516 --> 0:17:14.196 so much. 0:17:14.436 --> 0:17:17.196 You know, when I was listening again for like the 0:17:17.276 --> 0:17:20.476 umpteenth time this morning on a wat to the Age 0:17:20.516 --> 0:17:23.796 of Pleasure, I was wondering listening to it, it might 0:17:23.796 --> 0:17:27.036 be a possible question to answer, but whether these songs 0:17:27.076 --> 0:17:30.836 were for you or for other people, because I in 0:17:30.876 --> 0:17:32.236 a way I've realized as I've been listening to it, 0:17:32.236 --> 0:17:35.196 I've been taking it as like you giving mantras to me. 0:17:36.716 --> 0:17:38.236 I love that, but it occurred to me to the 0:17:38.316 --> 0:17:40.556 I'm like, maybe you needed to write this for you too, 0:17:40.596 --> 0:17:43.436 and I don't know how you were approaching. 0:17:43.036 --> 0:17:44.836 That, but it's for all of us. 0:17:45.076 --> 0:17:47.036 It's for us, and that means a lot to hear 0:17:47.076 --> 0:17:49.756 you say that, because I think one of the most 0:17:49.796 --> 0:17:52.876 important things as an artist is your ability to communicate. 0:17:53.836 --> 0:17:56.996 And as much as I can, you know, say like, oh, 0:17:57.036 --> 0:17:59.516 I just want to do an album and I want 0:17:59.516 --> 0:18:02.156 this just for myself and I me to listen to it. 0:18:02.516 --> 0:18:06.276 That's not my truth. I actually want everybody to feel 0:18:06.476 --> 0:18:09.036 like this is their soundtrack to their life. This is 0:18:09.196 --> 0:18:12.076 curating their thoughts and their feelings. They are part of 0:18:12.116 --> 0:18:14.756 my community. We're a part of each other's community, and 0:18:14.876 --> 0:18:18.036 all of us are growing and healing and moving together 0:18:18.156 --> 0:18:21.716 and sharing something that they can tap into anytime they 0:18:21.756 --> 0:18:25.836 want to. And it's funny because you're here. This is 0:18:25.916 --> 0:18:30.356 exactly what inspired the album, this space, having this space 0:18:30.436 --> 0:18:34.916 filled with black and brown and you know, just beautiful 0:18:34.916 --> 0:18:39.396 people across the diaspora here, seeing them smiling, seeing the 0:18:39.516 --> 0:18:41.916 joy and their spirits and their hearts. During the time 0:18:41.996 --> 0:18:47.076 where everybody thought the world was ending, I mean every dayandemic. 0:18:49.076 --> 0:18:51.676 We created Wonderland West during the pandemic. It was one 0:18:51.676 --> 0:18:54.436 of the most scary things ever because I grew up 0:18:54.796 --> 0:18:57.356 my parents didn't own a home. We were either in 0:18:57.356 --> 0:18:59.636 like a duplex or you know, we live with my 0:18:59.716 --> 0:19:03.956 grandmother and they were working class, like making ends meet, 0:19:04.596 --> 0:19:06.356 but live in check to check. So when it was 0:19:06.396 --> 0:19:09.116 time for all of us to contribute and figure out 0:19:09.156 --> 0:19:13.276 where we were going to migrate with Wonderland, it was like, okay, 0:19:13.316 --> 0:19:15.916 are we ready to all? Am I ready to invest 0:19:16.316 --> 0:19:18.076 in our next creative endeavor? 0:19:18.516 --> 0:19:21.116 Yes? I am, But we're in the middle of a pandemic. 0:19:21.316 --> 0:19:22.236 What does that mean? 0:19:23.116 --> 0:19:28.916 And luckily we knew the person who was trying to 0:19:28.956 --> 0:19:32.676 sell the space, and they were just like, there's nobody 0:19:32.676 --> 0:19:33.996 else I want to have this space. 0:19:35.116 --> 0:19:39.036 And it worked out and it came right to you. Yeah, 0:19:39.196 --> 0:19:39.636 it did. 0:19:40.036 --> 0:19:41.596 But it was also scary because a lot of things 0:19:41.636 --> 0:19:44.316 were being canceled For me. My job is to go 0:19:44.396 --> 0:19:47.716 out into the world and travel and you know, try 0:19:47.756 --> 0:19:48.836 to heal people through music. 0:19:48.876 --> 0:19:50.116 But I couldn't do that. 0:19:50.556 --> 0:19:54.556 So you come from growing up a certain amount of insecurity. Yeah, 0:19:54.636 --> 0:19:56.756 and it's you know, the successful career you've had, it's 0:19:56.756 --> 0:19:58.716 hard to imagine that. But you know, as soon as 0:19:58.756 --> 0:20:00.596 you start to feel that a little bit insecurity again. 0:20:00.716 --> 0:20:05.236 I know from my own life, like all of a sudden, Yeah, 0:20:05.556 --> 0:20:07.156 I mean, where was your mind that? 0:20:07.276 --> 0:20:08.956 With all of that, I. 0:20:08.916 --> 0:20:12.156