May 20, 2025 • 41 mins
She’s a chart-topping R&B singer, award-winning TV host, and a trailblazing entrepreneur, but Keshia Chanté’s story is so much more than what you’ve seen on screen.
In this candid and uplifting episode of My Legacy podcast, Keshia and her plus one – her long-time mentor, Stephen Hill – sit down with co-hosts Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, Marc Kielburger, and Craig Kielburger, and open up about the sacrifices of early fame and the relentless work ethic that fueled her path. From performing at 13 to interviewing Michelle Obama, her journey is one of grit, grace, and groundedness.
Unforgettable lessons from this episode include:
- What it takes to stay true to yourself in an industry built on image
- Why mentorship is a two-way street—and how to be a great mentee
- Why protecting your childhood can be the key to long-term success
- How to build confidence in rooms where you feel like the only one
Whether you're an aspiring artist, a mentor, or someone navigating your own path to purpose, this conversation is a masterclass in passion, perseverance, and the power of being seen.
Creator and Executive Producer: Suzanne Hayward
Co-Executive Producer: Lisa Lisle
Editor: Duane Fogwell
Post-production Producer: Tina Pittaway
A/V by: A. Britton Dream Production Co.
Produced in partnership with iHeart Podcasts and Executive Producer Gabrielle Collins
Like our podcast? Visit http://youtube.com/@mylegacymovement to see full episodes.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
And then I saw Michelle and she's like, Keisha, come
over here. I need you to meet my husband. And
I was like, is this the moment? And so then
she introduces me.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
To Barack and he was like, I heard you were
on the My wife was on your show.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
And he's like, my daughters.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, He's like, and my daughters are big fans of
you in the show. And you know, Michelle thinks she's
really cool, but I have to ask.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
You, is she really that cool?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
That was Keisha Chante, award winning singer, TV host and
one of the few women to transition from teen stardom
to lasting success on her own terms. In this episode
of My Legacy, Keisha sits down with her mentor who
helped shape her path, Stephen Hill, for a conversation about reinvention, resilience,
and knowing when to walk away from what no longer
(00:52):
serves you. It's a masterclass and how to stay grounded
while rising, and how the right mentor can change everything.
This is My Legacy. This show is built on connection,
on showing up authentically, and on reminding each and every
one of us of what really matters. If that resonates
with you, Subscribing is the easiest way to support what
(01:14):
we're all building together and help us bring more of
these uplifting conversations into the world.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Welcome to My legacy. For our new listeners and viewers,
this isn't your typical celebrity solo interview. This is a
show where remarkable people pull back the curtain and bring
along the one person who's seen their story unfold to highs,
the heartbreaks, and everything in between. And today's guest has
been a powerhouse in music, in TV, and entrepreneurship since
her teens. From an award winning R and B singer
(01:42):
to popular television hosts, to interviewing icons like First Lady
Michelle Obama to powerfully advocating for inclusion and mental health.
Kisha Chante is a true trailblazer, and keeping with the
spirit of the show, she's brought along someone who's played
a special and meaningful role in her life. And so, Kisha,
would you do us the honor of introducing to us
your plus one, your guest, the person who knows you
(02:04):
so well, who are interviewing and sharing with our audience today.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yes, the man, the myth, the legend, mister Stephen Hill.
Stephen and I met when I was very young. I
was sixteen, actually I think a little younger than that. Yeah, sixteen,
and he's seen me along the way, So I felt
like he would be the perfect person to be here
(02:29):
as my plus one, because not only is he a mentor,
but he's a dear friend. He's incredibly intelligent and creative
and has been a trailblazer in his career and in
his craft, and he just constantly inspires me.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So and everyone loves him.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I do want to start with Keisha, because I know
that you were raised in a multicultural home. If if
I understand correctly, your mom is Portuguese, your dad is Trinidadian. Yeah,
how would you say that that experience shaped you as
you were going out into the world.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yeah, I mean so, I was born in Ottawa, the
capital of Canada, a very political city but a really
beautiful place to grow up in. My mom's family immigrated
from Portugal. They're also Hispanic as well, they're mixed, and
then my father's family immigrated from Trinidad and Tobago. And
(03:24):
just even the school that I went to, nobody really
looked like me. The only people that I really related
to were my family at home. But when I went
out into the world, nobody looked like me, and it
was odd. I remember feeling, you know, at home, for example,
my mom and dad would be like, we love your hair,
and you know, they'd point out things about me.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
But I'd go to school and they'd be like, what's
wrong with your hair? Are you tanned? Why are you
not like? You know, So there were a lot of
shocks that went into play.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
But my parents are so incredibly loving, affectionate, support, very
honest with me. They had conversations with me very early
on that you know, I don't think parents usually have
with their kids. They kind of wait until they feel
it's a safe time to do so.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
But also being an only child, there's a different.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Magnification, so to speak, on every move that I made,
because you are raised with pride, but you're also raised
in a sense where you really want to make your
mom and dad proud. So I just felt like I
wanted to be the best at school, the best at home.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
I just wanted to make them proud all the time.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
But just at home, it was just always full of music, family,
good cooking, singing, dancing, and.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
A lot of inspiration.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
But home was my safe place, so it sounds like
they were both, but particularly your mom was very deliberate
because what you just said, and I don't want to
skim over it, you know, to point out, oh, I
love your hair, I love your so that you already fortified.
What she was doing was fortifying you because she knew
more than you, that little keishaself, what you were going
to face into the world. And so that's the beautiful
(05:06):
gift of deliberate intention.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
That she offered you.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
I know she also, you said, gave you some tough love.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Oh yes, my mom especially she's my biggest fan but
also my biggest critic. So when I told her I
wanted to sing, she said, anything you want to do
in life, you can do it, and you can be
amazing at anything, but you have to be willing to
do the work. And even if you're naturally good at
a particular talent, you still have to work for it.
(05:35):
Don't just expect it to come to you. As long
as my grades were good, she would support me. So
if I wanted to sing, she said yeah, But at
the same time she would record me performing and force
me to watch it back.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And in those days it was VHS. The pausing and
then the breakdown.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Of like that note was off, let's discuss why it
was off, and then having to rewind it, and then's
a little and sitting there and then and then starting
it over again. It was a lot. Okay, as a
six year old, it was a lot. But you know what,
it's good to be. It's good to be able to
see yourself.
Speaker 5 (06:13):
Six year old as a six year old. That is
a early that's given feedback you.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Oh yeah, she was like, oh, you want to do it. Okay,
let's do it for real. Then it wasn't I couldn't
just it wasn't at my leisure. It was if you
make that decision, you're being intentional, then you have to
be great at it or else nothing else.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
By the way, that was such an interesting window. I
appreciate being so open and so candid and talking about that. Okay,
So you said that Stephen is one of your mentors. Okay,
So let me turned to Stephen just for a quick second.
Here you cut your teeth as a radio host, yes, okay,
and then you move over to be et. You became
pretty iconic and shaping some of the key moments there.
So you are one of her mentors. But let's actually
take it back to your mentor, Stephen, Can you share
(06:55):
with us a mentor in your life.
Speaker 6 (06:57):
Absolutely, el Roy arc Smith, who is a legend in
American radio who was worked in Boston, Dallas, Chicago.
Speaker 7 (07:07):
He was the first person.
Speaker 6 (07:09):
Who really believed in me as I when I when
I was cutting my teeth as a weekend person on
the on the air. He found me and brought me
to w I L d AM in Boston, and he
was just.
Speaker 7 (07:21):
So immersed in radio he did.
Speaker 6 (07:25):
So when you were mentioning what your mom did to you,
that's what Elroy did to me. After shows we'd go through,
I'd I'd take my shows, I'd go into the office
with Elroy and Elroy would would push it would push
the pause. But like, here's how you could have done
that better. Here's like what were you thinking when you
did that? And so they're called air checks, and we
did them with you when you were when you came
(07:46):
to bed. But it's the way you get better is listening,
is is being forced to critique yourself and always remembering try.
Speaker 7 (07:55):
To make yourself better. So Elroy, Elroy Smith.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
Was really my my biggest mentor. Even when I got
to got to TV. I just learned from from him.
It's always about the audience.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
And I love how you're both pulling back the curtain
here because you know, people see you global superstar now, Kisha.
But to realize at six your mom was hitting or Stephen,
you know, incredible, world famous producer, but to pause and
realize someone had to lean in and literally hit pause
and give you that tough love feedback, like it isn't
by accident that both of you ended up as successful
as you are. And I love that you are just
(08:27):
being so honest and so vulnerable and sharing that with
everyone who thinks they have the poster on their wall
or they aspire with the street Zaber. They don't understand
all the work that takes to get to both of
where you are.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
And the amount of reflection always.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
That's one of the things I'm already hearing in your
stories too, is that to really take the.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Time and reflect.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Now, when you were a little you didn't know how
to do that, but your mom, you know, made sure
that you were reflecting, and you know your mentor. And
I think that there's a space for all of us
in our lives to reflect on what can we improve.
Let's let's look at that. So that's one of the
things I'm already taking away from.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Martin Zotti's head, going, yeah, does someone else give you
feedback in your life? Every now that I know my
wife does.
Speaker 8 (09:09):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
So I'm gonna say say it would love.
Speaker 8 (09:16):
Cause you when you first started out, there were barely
any radio stations in Canada that actually played the music
that you've sang. Yeah, now when doors weren't initially opening
for you as an artist? Yet, what helped you to
(09:37):
to actually move forward and continue to want to develop?
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Great question. I always remain a student.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
I remember being thirteen years old and being discovered and
having to go to the record label, and there were
a few people that really believed in my talent as
a singer and wanted me to make R and B
music and go in the studio and record these songs.
But then we'd go in these meetings and the labels
at the time were like, there are really no thirteen
year old artists and we don't have R and B
radio stations, and like what are we gonna.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Do with her? And shouldn't she be in school? Like
where's her chaperone?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
It was like a lot of red tape, and I
felt like I had to very much audition for my contract.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
So I remember my first day at the record label.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
For example, Deborah Cox walked in and she happened to
be there that day. I sang for her and she
was like, you can do it. It's gonna be hard,
but if you really want it, you can make it happen.
And seeing her gave me this glimmer of oh, I
could do it too, which was really nice to see
that representation because there wasn't much of it. And then
(10:43):
I just felt like I needed to remain a student.
So I would sit in the office at business affairs.
I would sit with the radio team, the marketing team,
the street team. I wanted to know every single DJ
in the country, from college radio to the radio stations
that weren't playing my music. And at the time it
was vinyls, So you know, we'd get in the car
(11:04):
and we would go. I would hand deliver it after
school with one of my best friends, Jennifer Hyland. We'd
drive to the DJs and I would give them the
Vinyls and I just.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Felt like, this is the grid of it all.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
But I was told as a little girl that I
literally could have anything in the world if I worked
for it. So the idea of no, even to this day,
like no doesn't exist. There's just another way to ask
that sounds like mark.
Speaker 7 (11:33):
True.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
So we definitely it was a lot of fighting. It
was a lot of fighting. And then I remember the
first record it got.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Picked up by the DJs.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
The DJs were playing it on radio shows at radio
stations that did not play R and B, and they
would mix me in yeah slowly and then people would
request it, and then eventually it ended up I think
like number one or number something like, Yeah, it was
number one.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Or about what age At this point, I.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Was thirteen, thirteen years old and Shante's my middle name,
so I was still going back to class and no
one knew Keisha Shante was the student sitting in their
class cause I kept it a secret for as long.
There was no music video for that single, so no
one knew what I looked like at the time. But
I remember being in our little cafeteria and someone actually
(12:23):
was playing the song.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
And I thought it was a setup.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
I was like, do they know, are they gonna like
harass me or tease me or something?
Speaker 1 (12:31):
But they didn't know. And then yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I was like, okay, well we got to keep, you know, advocating,
And I think, I just it's just relentlessness.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
You would think that at that age you would have
been shouting and running up and down the hallways at
school to say, hey, I have a record. You know,
I'm fascinated about this because our daughter a lot of
times at school, like she will go and speak in
front of almost a million people literally and then go
to school and be like this, well, what you did
this weekend I saw in an indoor pool. And she's
(13:04):
the only child too. Were you intentionally not sharing with
your classmates?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
I think, and I don't want to speak for all
only children, but at least from what I can take
from it, when you are an only child, you feel
separate from everyone, You don't feel a part of the group,
and you have a lot of alone time. I say
this a lot with only children. Like when you have
siblings and your sibling touches the cookie, takes the cookie
(13:29):
out of the cookie jar, you see it, you visually
see it, and you're like, oh my god, Mom's gonna
yell at him or her right, and you know it's
gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
When you're an only child. You don't have any visuals
of that. You only know what it feels like.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
You're taking the cookie and then you get yelled at,
but you don't have anyone else to compare anything to.
You're just kind of figuring it out on your own.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
It is.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
It's only like ten percent of the population I think
are only children.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So there's that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
But I found it almost embarrassing, like not shy, because
you can put me on a stage and I would perform,
and I used to go to the principal's office and
be like, can I host a coffee show and talent show?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And can I sing?
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I wanted to sing as much as I could in school,
but once there was that kind of attention, it was
I'm like, am I not going to be accepted? Am
I going to be separate? Am I I don't want
to act differently? And then people not.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Want to include me, or while I get bullied or
I don't know. I think you just you just don't
want to be separate. You just want to You want
to blend it.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
As much as fascinating is helpful to me as as
a mom of a only child. Yeah, and another thing
as a mom that I appreciate. Is that your music
is always age appropriate? Yes, and so is that something
that you are intentional in doing well?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
As a little girl, you could not get me to
sing any lyric that wasn't real, Like all the lyrics
were like at school, met a boy at the mall,
like very young, but also having my mom at the
time as my mom and Jeremi, my mama does not play.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
She is a force.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
So she was with me every day and she was
very much like, she's not wearing those heels and no,
she can wear a little tracksuit, thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Like is that skin? No, she's not doing skin.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
So I had her always there and that was good
for me to have that. But I've always been very
like vocal about what I.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Think is right.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
So it's a little girl, I would tell you right away, like, no,
that lyric doesn't register with me.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
We're gonna change that line. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Coming up on my Legacy, Keisha takes us back to
the show that shaped a Generation one oh six in
part if you Know you Know, and how she went
from watching every day after school to stepping on the
stage as a host. If you remember the countdown days
hit like follow and share this with your crew and
please subscribe so we can keep bringing you these joyful
(15:58):
conversations that remind us all of what's possible.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Now back to my legacy occasion.
Speaker 9 (16:11):
You've had an incredible, incredible career. I mean just looking
back at the fact that I believe fourteen you recorded
your first single. At sixteen, you were opening up for
Destey's Child.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (16:21):
Wow, what was that like?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
It was insane because as a little girl I used
to sing Destney's Child because I had no siblings. I
was Beyonce Kelly, which which song?
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Which song was like your go to emotions? Okay, but
I would run during the chorus, I would run and
try to change my outfit and the next part. So
doing that show was so cool.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
We had the same publicist at the time, which was
like a huge honor, and it was a forty five
minute show by myself with my dancers and minutes by
myself I had to do.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
So that.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Was longer than what's average, right stea where.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
I hadn't.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, but that was their last show as a group
on tour, so it was emotional for them and then
I got to meet them.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
They were in there, they.
Speaker 9 (17:16):
Were and they were young when they started, so what
did you learn from them in the process.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I just think that.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Their attention to detail, their professionalism, their obsession with the craft,
like they go out there and it's one hundred percent.
But even just over the course of my career, you know,
meeting them and even Brandy Monica Aliyah, they inspired me
a lot to TLC.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
But from them it was just their work ethic.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
So, Stephen, with all of these young artists that we're
talking about, right, so Destney's child, Brandy Aliyah, what you've
worked with young artists before? What what advice would you
give to young young people, young artists in particular as
far as integrity and authenticity as they are wanted to
break into the business.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
So as you ask that question, I'm thinking whether I
gear my answer to the artist or to the artist's parent,
because the common theme is at least one parent who
is meticulous about making sure that the child is protected.
I think that's the most important part. Don't lose your childhood.
(18:25):
There's things you're gonna have to do that you're you're
going to have to work very hard in a way
that other people don't, but don't lose the playful side.
And parents should not should not allow that playful side
to be lost, like it can't be.
Speaker 7 (18:37):
It can't be just just the business.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
The people I've seen who are most successful have are
able to strike that balance. Sometimes the artist wants to
be kind of more focused than than the parent, and
it doesn't want that time away, but it feels it
just feels like there's a need for playfulness, and some
who don't, who haven't had it, regret it later in life.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
That problems.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
I like that you're not in your.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Head any regrets, you know, my regrets, Like I didn't
go to prom, I would say, not being able to
go to college because I was on tour, and I
mean my career was I was, it was a successful time,
so it didn't make sense to stop living my dream
(19:26):
career to go to school.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
But I wish I did. I still I'm still going
to go, but it just it got so busy that
I missed that.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Because again, being an only child, that's the only community.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Of people your age you're really going to have.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
So I felt like I was kind of separated really young,
Like thirteen is when I started to be busy going
on tour and whatnot, but also traveling a lot, still
turning in my grades where I eventually got homeschooled, but
I just missed like going to class and having recess.
And I still to this day I feel very childlike.
(20:03):
Like a lot of my friends are like, you're such
a big kid, and I'm like, yeah, well, when your
childhood gets snatched away, I mean I chose it.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Though I chose it. My mom used to say every day,
are you sure you sure you want to do.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
This, because you know, like the other kids are doing this,
And I'm like, yeah, but I will think about the
possibility of the if if I don't, you know, get
a chance to do it.
Speaker 9 (20:23):
You didn't go to prom, but did they play your
song at prom?
Speaker 1 (20:26):
They did.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
I started at twelve, so I totally appreciate what altern
of high school, the whole journey. So I totally get that,
Like I understand that I can at a very young age.
I get the responsibility aspect because you know, like by
fifteen sixteen, we had dozens of staff. By that point
we had a global operation. Say yeah, it was an
unusual childhood. Also wow, so very much can relate and
you had to step into a business role also at
(20:51):
a really young age's like famously Taylor swift as we
recording her master's Now, yeah, but you were fighting for control.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
He is not done so many songs, but at sixteen.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
You were fighting for control of your master's. Like you
gotta take us back a little into the mentality, like
where does that vision come from? And that kind of
ownership mentality which is not always the norm among artists.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Yeah, well I come from like my grandfather when he
immigrated from Trinidad.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
He was the one that he owned the only like.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Restaurant club in the city that was like Caribbean food.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
My grandmother was cooking.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
He ran the business in Ottawa and there was nothing
like it at the time. So seeing my grandfather do that,
and he had multiple businesses over time, and he you know,
had a taxi company. So I would be like ten
for Roger that I try to do all the dispatching
when I was like eight. But seeing that kind of spirit,
like oh, you could be your own boss was something
(21:49):
that I found very fascinating. But then also as a
student being at the record label, I used to go
into business affairs and I would befriend everyone at business
affairs and I would ask, you know, what can I
learn and they would say read this book about you know,
entertainment law, or they would let me see contracts that
they weren't supposed to let me see, and I'd be like, what.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Are mechanical royalties? And like what are what is this publishing?
Speaker 7 (22:13):
Like?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
I was very curious about all these things, and they
would give me the real tea on what all of
it meant. And then I got enamored and fascinated with
the law aspect of the music business. And then I
realized that all my work was really just it would
be in vain if I didn't have some sort of
(22:35):
ownership of it.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
So I got kind of fixated on this.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Well you say your own company up at sixteen.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Yes I did.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
I did, yeah, because I started to think like, well,
we're employing people, but how are we having more like
control over the details, and how do I feel more
safe in what we're doing if I don't own a
company that does that. And I also thank my grade
six teacher, mister Pratt, because he was the only black
teacher in our school, but he was very who He
(23:04):
would sit me down and be like, listen, the world
is this type of place. I need you to be
armored and geared up, and the one thing no one
can take away from you is your education. So I
need you to take that seriously because you can lose
everything in life, but as long as here has it.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
You will get it back again. And yeah, that was
my school of thought. Would you say he taught English
teacher English? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (23:28):
Amazing. And Stephen, looking back over your incredible career, what's
the decision you made that felt like a major risk
in the moment but ended up opening doors for your patn.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Wow, I feel like there's a lot.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
There's a lot, so there's to spin the wheel. The
new Edition story was something a lot of people thought
was going to be was risky. It was at the
time we did it twenty sixteen, fifteen sixteen, it was
a large undertaking. There hadn't been a h a biopick done.
Speaker 7 (24:04):
At BT before. There was some belief that.
Speaker 6 (24:06):
That, uh, the target audience would not be served by
a by a by a biopic of of like all men,
because we were very women focused. But then we all
came to realize, oh, that's that's a new addition's entire audience,
and it's really I have this whole thing once once.
Speaker 7 (24:25):
Once you're a child or you're a teen.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
Idol, you will you Will Live and Eat Forever. Right
Backstreet Boys in Sync had gone on tour New Kids
in the Block still every two years goes out and
does arenas, and so that was that new edition was
our was ours But it was a risk because it
was it was it was a large amount of money
and uh, we didn't know how it would come out.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
We didn't really to.
Speaker 6 (24:47):
Be stars in it, but it turned out to be
an absolute blockbuster.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Will So also you actually did you you created one
O six in park.
Speaker 6 (25:02):
I was, I was, I was in the room where
it happened. The show was always constructed to be uh,
to be entertaining, but uh, but but give information.
Speaker 7 (25:13):
At the same time, it was the hosts were were uh.
Speaker 6 (25:18):
Were well read, educated and of the culture. So it
was really important because at that point in time you
could not you did not see uh black youth on
TV every day or even regularly. So it was important
we took our role and in doing that, really we
(25:38):
knew we were leading culture, but we also wanted to
make sure we were reflecting culture as well.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
Is that because you were, Because as we've learned from
your story today, you were already impacting young people kind
of mentoring them. So did you then when you were
thinking about at the when the show was being created,
did you intentionally bring that aspect to.
Speaker 7 (25:59):
Absolutely?
Speaker 6 (26:00):
I mean AJ was AJ and Free were the first host.
AJ I knew. I wanted someone who had gone to
an HBCU like and it was, and that was it's
a it's a it was. AJ was a great find,
like a needle in a haystack, very personable, but you know,
brought Howard with him wherever wherever you went. I thought
it was really important to have on one of six
(26:22):
and Park HBCU everywhere to make sure that education, education,
education is always being put out there in between the
job rule and a Shott video right so so so
so yes, you know, doing the right thing by young
people always a part of what I six of.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
Park was supposed to be well in this is an
amazing host of one O six and Park, one of
them is sitting here of course watching it to coasting
it insane like pinch yourself. Was there a moment that
you realized your dream had no come true?
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
As a little girl, one O six of Park was
all I had, like it was the little slice of
culture I could get where I was living. I couldn't
get it anywhere else, so I remember being like, especially
where we lived at the time, we didn't even get
the channel. So I had to like go to a
friends and see if I could figure out how we
got the channel. It was a whole thing, but one
O six in Park was the slice of just you
(27:17):
felt represented, and you felt seen and heard, and you
felt like you were a part of the community. Like
it was just I can't explain it, but it was
really such an important part of my school days, like
my weekdays. It was five days a week, so important
to me. And then to get the call to do
it absolutely insane and only Canadian, but I.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Remember Canada was so excited. But at least for me,
I just I.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Every day I would get on set, and what people
don't realize is there's a live audience who are allowed.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
As heil.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Okay, There's a DJ who is playing loud music during
commercial break.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
You got your in ear people talking to you.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
You have the teleprompter that sometimes is being retyped live
as you're reading this line, and you see the bottom
is changing live.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
The audience is loud, the DJ is crunk.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
You're literally like, oh my gosh, it is you feel
like you're hosting in a nightclub for kids.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
It was insane.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
It was insane, and then somewhat like guess that would
come like they would blow my mind.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
You know.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
There was one of the most insane days of my
life was I came into my dressing room and there
was a letter from the White House and it had
like the White House stamp and the name and everything.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
And I remember I was in my dressing room trying
to listen to.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
See if bow Wow got it, because he walked in
his room and he didn't say anything.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
So I was like, ooh, I think it's just me
that guy.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
So I was like, let me open So I opened
it and it was like not a QR code, but
it was one of those things you scan it and
then it's Barack and Michelle Obama saying, Hi, we're so.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Excited to welcome you to our White House Christmas Party.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
And it's going to be on this day. I hope
you can attend. And I spent the entire day. I
didn't tell anyone. I didn't want bow to noecause I
didn't want him to be left out right, So but
I was so excited and I also remember like all
these men in suits going through our drawers and our
closets and I didn't know, and then they just like, oh,
(29:19):
Michelle Obama's coming tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
That was secret Service checking.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Out in your room.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
They just didn't tell you you'd find out the.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Day before you'd have like the biggest star on the show.
So it kept you on your toes. But sidebar I
did end up going to the Christmas party, and how
was it?
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Well?
Speaker 2 (29:38):
When I arrived, Babo texted me and was like are
you here?
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Ah, He's like I have no one to go with.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Can we go together? And I was like, so you
were invited as well. But we had the best time.
And then I saw Michelle and she's like, he should
come over here. I need you to meet my husband.
And I was like, is this the moment?
Speaker 2 (30:01):
And so then she introduces me to Barack and he
was like, I heard you were on the my my wife.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Was on the show.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
And he's like, my daughters, yes, and my daughters are
big fans of you and the show. And you know,
Michelle thinks she's really cool, but I have to ask you,
is she really that cool?
Speaker 1 (30:20):
And I was like no, everyone loved her she's the
coolest ever.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
And he's like, she's I And I'm like, did the
President just say I.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
I love here? And I was like, anyway, this is
bowow y'all love him. I always tease him, but yeah, no,
it was that was for me.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
That was a huge moment for me and also was
so inspiring.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
And then to interview Michelle, Yes, I mean you don't.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
You can't get any more.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
There's no inspiring than that. Now, the two of.
Speaker 9 (30:50):
You, I mean, you guys have been the White House
dozens of dozens of times. Is there one moment especially
from uh, from your experience the White House? So you
want to share that?
Speaker 3 (30:58):
I do think like one of the most special ones
for for me was when we had the opportunity to
bring Yolanda into the Oval Office to meet with President Obama.
So of course we had been with him many times
before he invited us into the into the Oval Office. Wow,
to see the bust that he had had placed there
(31:20):
of her grandfather, Martin's father, So it was it was
particularly interesting just to be there and to you know,
to see them interact and together. And we we had
said to elimd okay, Elanda, you can r you're gonna
meet with the president, you know, maybe you would want
to think about what you're going to say. And so
(31:41):
she asked him about the fact of, you know, mister President,
what are you gonna do about these guns? And then
you know, he started from a political you know, he's
wonderful man, of course, and he was saying, well, you know,
you don't have to be afraid, you know, like a
like a father, and you know, because of this, and
she gave him like that that you know kind of
stare at Correta Scott Kings there, you know, and he
(32:05):
really wanted, you know, to policies and you know things
with her, and so it was just really wonderful to
really think.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
About not only that moment in the White House and in.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
The Oval Office and what he represents, but to be
there with that bust and also to see you know,
him taking the intentional time to talk policy, you know,
with a with a little one but.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Funny story speaking of only only children.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
It was a bit of a negotiation to get her
to go on that trip. That same day, her school
class was taking a field trip to go to the
capitol here in Georgia. So she was she was like, oh,
but Mom, they're gonna ride the train, public transportation, and
they're going to meet they maybe even meet with the governor.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
So she was trying to decide should.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
She take this is a true story, So she take
Marta for those of us in Atlanta, and take Ma.
Didn't go with her class to you know, to the
capitol which we live here in Georgia, you know, because
wanting to be a part right, she wanted to be
a part of her class, so that to her and
belonging was more important than going to meet with Barack
Obama in the Oval office. But she ultimately chose, she
(33:18):
chose to go.
Speaker 9 (33:21):
And asked him a really good question.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Yes she did.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Yes, Yes she is.
Speaker 9 (33:25):
She's a powerhouse.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Coming up on My Legacy, Keisha shares what makes Steven
such a powerful mentor and why everyone needs someone like
him in their corner. If you're looking to step into
that role or find your own person, keep listening and
if someone's been that kind of support for you, subscribe
and share this episode with them as a way to
say thank you. Now, back to My Legacy, I want.
Speaker 9 (33:58):
To ask you you said this even believed in you
before anybody quote unquote really knew your name. What was
some advice or one major piece of advice that he
gave you? And with humility did you listen to it? So, Steven,
you have to hold her accountablet here.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Oh boy, Well, the way we met was interesting. I
was already seeing success in Canada, but not really stateside.
It was like you were getting a little, like little
remnants of it. But the dream was always to be
on BET. But at the time, it wasn't really common
for Canadian acts signed to Canadian labels to be on
(34:37):
American television. So at the time I the song was
on it was bad Boy, the song was on the radio.
We had a music video was doing well on the
network and a different network and not BET.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
It was a Canadian network, not yet.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
And I was It was the Urban Music Awards in
Canada and I was nominated for things.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
But I still had this feeling of like isn't there
more to do?
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Like we're doing it here in Canada, but where there's
a whole world out there. And then I met Steven
and I remember he walked up to me at the award.
Speaker 6 (35:14):
Show because I had come up from BETBT it's yeah
VT Canada, and I was up doing some press that day,
and I went to a radio station and they played
bad Boy, and I was obsessed with that song. I
simply loved how it moved, how she sounded. I had
never heard it before. I asked him to play it
again on the radio. They did, yeah, And so it
(35:37):
was really just by fortune they played that, and then
I somebody pointed her in the audience when I was
at the Urban Music Awards and I walked.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
Down and he walked up to me and was like,
I've been hearing your name and hearing your song, and
I love the song and I would love to have
you know, the video come on to BET. But his
belief in me sparked the label to spend more money
and get you know, Major Little X the director. Now
he's Director X, but at the time he was iconic
(36:08):
doing every music video you could think of. To do
these music videos for Beet to be played on BET,
and then not only did he put it into like
heavy rotation, but he gave me rated next and it
was an honor because he allowed me and my mom
to visit him at his office and play him unreleased
music and get his opinion. And as a little girl,
(36:29):
you know, I'm like, Wow, he's such a huge deal.
He makes the shows that I need every single day
after school, and he has a belief in me. You know,
every piece of feedback he gave about every song and
every anything.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
I was like sitting there as a little girl, like
we must do it. I go back to the label.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
I'm like, guys, we have to we have to do
that whatever he says, we're doing.
Speaker 7 (36:53):
Poise. Poise.
Speaker 6 (36:54):
Poise is what you call somebody who is there but
really beyond their years and has a calmness and an
understanding of the world that that that is uh, that
feels like they shouldn't have it at this young age.
So I felt about Keisha Chante. I remember the first time.
I can tell That's why I can tell you exactly
where it was.
Speaker 7 (37:15):
She had.
Speaker 6 (37:17):
A confidence and so everyone told you meet somebody like, oh,
they've been here before. There there's there's a there's a
there's a feeling there.
Speaker 7 (37:26):
They acknowledge that.
Speaker 6 (37:27):
They shouldn't that they shouldn't have and that that that
word poise And she's continued to exhibit that as she's
as as she's grown. I had no I knew exactly
who I wanted when there was an opening for one
O six in part I knew exactly was we went
through a whole bunch of visa.
Speaker 7 (37:44):
Issues and could talk about that now because visas are
a thing.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
But.
Speaker 5 (37:59):
So and we will be ending the segment.
Speaker 4 (38:04):
Stephan.
Speaker 9 (38:05):
After leaving be et, you started your own production company,
incredibly successful. Of course, what does success mean to you today?
Speaker 6 (38:10):
Success is the people that I poured into, especially when
I was in the corporate world, having them flourish, right,
having Keisha flourish. There's so many people who work behind
the scenes at BT on one Park who are now
lead producers. They're running Tyler Perry's Unscripted, their award Emmy
(38:31):
Award winning directors, and so.
Speaker 7 (38:36):
Even my current.
Speaker 6 (38:36):
Success is in the success of people who who I
got to work with at the beginning of their careers.
And success is also kind of being able to go
to the beach when I wanted.
Speaker 5 (38:50):
That sounds like a balance, Lie, That's what I love
about the show is we get to really peel back
the laters. And I love in the mentorship relationship because
you showed it didn't happen accident, and I love the
honesty of both of you sharing the mentorship that you've
had for each other, and so I just want to
encourage any of our listeners or our viewers to reflect
on the mentors on in their life, to reflect how
(39:11):
they can be great mentors, to share this with their mentors,
or share this with their mentors, to have that relationship.
And deeply grateful to both of you for living your
legacy and sharing your legacy with us.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Thank you, thank you, and I'm grateful to all of you. First,
you two creating the WE organization. I have to tell
you that was my first time ever being on stage
talking about my mental health in front of a huge audience,
and it was such a beautiful place to do it,
and I was so supported that it genuinely made me
feel safe and comfortable to continue speaking about that. And
(39:45):
then getting to finally meet the both of you doing
the Selma March for the sixtieth anniversary yesterday. I wasn't
expecting to be.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
There were so many emotions.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
I was like fired up, I was happy, I was
so I it was an honor to have that moment
with you guys, and just you four are incredibly inspiring
in what you do every single day, and you do
it at a level that is just incredible.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
So I want to walk that walk and I will.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Be harassing all of you and then my mentor Yeah,
I mean I I drive him insane, and but he
he is the reason why I got into television.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
It's his belief in me that even allowed me.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Didn't know that was something I was going to do next,
and it's been an incredible career.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
So I am very grateful to use one conversation. Thank
you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (40:45):
If you enjoyed today's conversation, subscribe, share, and follow us
at my Legacy Movement on social media. New episodes drop
every Tuesday, with bonus content every Thursday. At its core,
this podcast honors doctor King's vision of the beloved community
and the power of connection. A Legacy Plus Studio production
(41:05):
distributed by iHeartMedia creator and executive producer Suzanne Haywood co
executive producer Lisa Lyle. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or wherever.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
You get your podcast.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
Until next time, may you find inspiration to live your legacy.
And then I saw Michelle and she's like, Keisha, come
over here. I need you to meet my husband. And
I was like, is this the moment? And so then
she introduces me.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
To Barack and he was like, I heard you were
on the My wife was on your show.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
And he's like, my daughters.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, He's like, and my daughters are big fans of
you in the show. And you know, Michelle thinks she's
really cool, but I have to ask.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
You, is she really that cool?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
That was Keisha Chante, award winning singer, TV host and
one of the few women to transition from teen stardom
to lasting success on her own terms. In this episode
of My Legacy, Keisha sits down with her mentor who
helped shape her path, Stephen Hill, for a conversation about reinvention, resilience,
and knowing when to walk away from what no longer
(00:52):
serves you. It's a masterclass and how to stay grounded
while rising, and how the right mentor can change everything.
This is My Legacy. This show is built on connection,
on showing up authentically, and on reminding each and every
one of us of what really matters. If that resonates
with you, Subscribing is the easiest way to support what
(01:14):
we're all building together and help us bring more of
these uplifting conversations into the world.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Welcome to My legacy. For our new listeners and viewers,
this isn't your typical celebrity solo interview. This is a
show where remarkable people pull back the curtain and bring
along the one person who's seen their story unfold to highs,
the heartbreaks, and everything in between. And today's guest has
been a powerhouse in music, in TV, and entrepreneurship since
her teens. From an award winning R and B singer
(01:42):
to popular television hosts, to interviewing icons like First Lady
Michelle Obama to powerfully advocating for inclusion and mental health.
Kisha Chante is a true trailblazer, and keeping with the
spirit of the show, she's brought along someone who's played
a special and meaningful role in her life. And so, Kisha,
would you do us the honor of introducing to us
your plus one, your guest, the person who knows you
(02:04):
so well, who are interviewing and sharing with our audience today.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yes, the man, the myth, the legend, mister Stephen Hill.
Stephen and I met when I was very young. I
was sixteen, actually I think a little younger than that. Yeah, sixteen,
and he's seen me along the way, So I felt
like he would be the perfect person to be here
(02:29):
as my plus one, because not only is he a mentor,
but he's a dear friend. He's incredibly intelligent and creative
and has been a trailblazer in his career and in
his craft, and he just constantly inspires me.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So and everyone loves him.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I do want to start with Keisha, because I know
that you were raised in a multicultural home. If if
I understand correctly, your mom is Portuguese, your dad is Trinidadian. Yeah,
how would you say that that experience shaped you as
you were going out into the world.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yeah, I mean so, I was born in Ottawa, the
capital of Canada, a very political city but a really
beautiful place to grow up in. My mom's family immigrated
from Portugal. They're also Hispanic as well, they're mixed, and
then my father's family immigrated from Trinidad and Tobago. And
(03:24):
just even the school that I went to, nobody really
looked like me. The only people that I really related
to were my family at home. But when I went
out into the world, nobody looked like me, and it
was odd. I remember feeling, you know, at home, for example,
my mom and dad would be like, we love your hair,
and you know, they'd point out things about me.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
But I'd go to school and they'd be like, what's
wrong with your hair? Are you tanned? Why are you
not like? You know, So there were a lot of
shocks that went into play.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
But my parents are so incredibly loving, affectionate, support, very
honest with me. They had conversations with me very early
on that you know, I don't think parents usually have
with their kids. They kind of wait until they feel
it's a safe time to do so.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
But also being an only child, there's a different.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Magnification, so to speak, on every move that I made,
because you are raised with pride, but you're also raised
in a sense where you really want to make your
mom and dad proud. So I just felt like I
wanted to be the best at school, the best at home.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
I just wanted to make them proud all the time.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
But just at home, it was just always full of music, family,
good cooking, singing, dancing, and.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
A lot of inspiration.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
But home was my safe place, so it sounds like
they were both, but particularly your mom was very deliberate
because what you just said, and I don't want to
skim over it, you know, to point out, oh, I
love your hair, I love your so that you already fortified.
What she was doing was fortifying you because she knew
more than you, that little keishaself, what you were going
to face into the world. And so that's the beautiful
(05:06):
gift of deliberate intention.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
That she offered you.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
I know she also, you said, gave you some tough love.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Oh yes, my mom especially she's my biggest fan but
also my biggest critic. So when I told her I
wanted to sing, she said, anything you want to do
in life, you can do it, and you can be
amazing at anything, but you have to be willing to
do the work. And even if you're naturally good at
a particular talent, you still have to work for it.
(05:35):
Don't just expect it to come to you. As long
as my grades were good, she would support me. So
if I wanted to sing, she said yeah, But at
the same time she would record me performing and force
me to watch it back.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And in those days it was VHS. The pausing and
then the breakdown.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Of like that note was off, let's discuss why it
was off, and then having to rewind it, and then's
a little and sitting there and then and then starting
it over again. It was a lot. Okay, as a
six year old, it was a lot. But you know what,
it's good to be. It's good to be able to
see yourself.
Speaker 5 (06:13):
Six year old as a six year old. That is
a early that's given feedback you.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Oh yeah, she was like, oh, you want to do it. Okay,
let's do it for real. Then it wasn't I couldn't
just it wasn't at my leisure. It was if you
make that decision, you're being intentional, then you have to
be great at it or else nothing else.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
By the way, that was such an interesting window. I
appreciate being so open and so candid and talking about that. Okay,
So you said that Stephen is one of your mentors. Okay,
So let me turned to Stephen just for a quick second.
Here you cut your teeth as a radio host, yes, okay,
and then you move over to be et. You became
pretty iconic and shaping some of the key moments there.
So you are one of her mentors. But let's actually
take it back to your mentor, Stephen, Can you share
(06:55):
with us a mentor in your life.
Speaker 6 (06:57):
Absolutely, el Roy arc Smith, who is a legend in
American radio who was worked in Boston, Dallas, Chicago.
Speaker 7 (07:07):
He was the first person.
Speaker 6 (07:09):
Who really believed in me as I when I when
I was cutting my teeth as a weekend person on
the on the air. He found me and brought me
to w I L d AM in Boston, and he
was just.
Speaker 7 (07:21):
So immersed in radio he did.
Speaker 6 (07:25):
So when you were mentioning what your mom did to you,
that's what Elroy did to me. After shows we'd go through,
I'd I'd take my shows, I'd go into the office
with Elroy and Elroy would would push it would push
the pause. But like, here's how you could have done
that better. Here's like what were you thinking when you
did that? And so they're called air checks, and we
did them with you when you were when you came
(07:46):
to bed. But it's the way you get better is listening,
is is being forced to critique yourself and always remembering try.
Speaker 7 (07:55):
To make yourself better. So Elroy, Elroy Smith.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
Was really my my biggest mentor. Even when I got
to got to TV. I just learned from from him.
It's always about the audience.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
And I love how you're both pulling back the curtain
here because you know, people see you global superstar now, Kisha.
But to realize at six your mom was hitting or Stephen,
you know, incredible, world famous producer, but to pause and
realize someone had to lean in and literally hit pause
and give you that tough love feedback, like it isn't
by accident that both of you ended up as successful
as you are. And I love that you are just
(08:27):
being so honest and so vulnerable and sharing that with
everyone who thinks they have the poster on their wall
or they aspire with the street Zaber. They don't understand
all the work that takes to get to both of
where you are.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
And the amount of reflection always.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
That's one of the things I'm already hearing in your
stories too, is that to really take the.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Time and reflect.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Now, when you were a little you didn't know how
to do that, but your mom, you know, made sure
that you were reflecting, and you know your mentor. And
I think that there's a space for all of us
in our lives to reflect on what can we improve.
Let's let's look at that. So that's one of the
things I'm already taking away from.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Martin Zotti's head, going, yeah, does someone else give you
feedback in your life? Every now that I know my
wife does.
Speaker 8 (09:09):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
So I'm gonna say say it would love.
Speaker 8 (09:16):
Cause you when you first started out, there were barely
any radio stations in Canada that actually played the music
that you've sang. Yeah, now when doors weren't initially opening
for you as an artist? Yet, what helped you to
(09:37):
to actually move forward and continue to want to develop?
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Great question. I always remain a student.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
I remember being thirteen years old and being discovered and
having to go to the record label, and there were
a few people that really believed in my talent as
a singer and wanted me to make R and B
music and go in the studio and record these songs.
But then we'd go in these meetings and the labels
at the time were like, there are really no thirteen
year old artists and we don't have R and B
radio stations, and like what are we gonna.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Do with her? And shouldn't she be in school? Like
where's her chaperone?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
It was like a lot of red tape, and I
felt like I had to very much audition for my contract.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
So I remember my first day at the record label.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
For example, Deborah Cox walked in and she happened to
be there that day. I sang for her and she
was like, you can do it. It's gonna be hard,
but if you really want it, you can make it happen.
And seeing her gave me this glimmer of oh, I
could do it too, which was really nice to see
that representation because there wasn't much of it. And then
(10:43):
I just felt like I needed to remain a student.
So I would sit in the office at business affairs.
I would sit with the radio team, the marketing team,
the street team. I wanted to know every single DJ
in the country, from college radio to the radio stations
that weren't playing my music. And at the time it
was vinyls, So you know, we'd get in the car
(11:04):
and we would go. I would hand deliver it after
school with one of my best friends, Jennifer Hyland. We'd
drive to the DJs and I would give them the
Vinyls and I just.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Felt like, this is the grid of it all.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
But I was told as a little girl that I
literally could have anything in the world if I worked
for it. So the idea of no, even to this day,
like no doesn't exist. There's just another way to ask
that sounds like mark.
Speaker 7 (11:33):
True.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
So we definitely it was a lot of fighting. It
was a lot of fighting. And then I remember the
first record it got.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Picked up by the DJs.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
The DJs were playing it on radio shows at radio
stations that did not play R and B, and they
would mix me in yeah slowly and then people would
request it, and then eventually it ended up I think
like number one or number something like, Yeah, it was
number one.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Or about what age At this point, I.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Was thirteen, thirteen years old and Shante's my middle name,
so I was still going back to class and no
one knew Keisha Shante was the student sitting in their
class cause I kept it a secret for as long.
There was no music video for that single, so no
one knew what I looked like at the time. But
I remember being in our little cafeteria and someone actually
(12:23):
was playing the song.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
And I thought it was a setup.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
I was like, do they know, are they gonna like
harass me or tease me or something?
Speaker 1 (12:31):
But they didn't know. And then yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I was like, okay, well we got to keep, you know, advocating,
And I think, I just it's just relentlessness.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
You would think that at that age you would have
been shouting and running up and down the hallways at
school to say, hey, I have a record. You know,
I'm fascinated about this because our daughter a lot of
times at school, like she will go and speak in
front of almost a million people literally and then go
to school and be like this, well, what you did
this weekend I saw in an indoor pool. And she's
(13:04):
the only child too. Were you intentionally not sharing with
your classmates?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
I think, and I don't want to speak for all
only children, but at least from what I can take
from it, when you are an only child, you feel
separate from everyone, You don't feel a part of the group,
and you have a lot of alone time. I say
this a lot with only children. Like when you have
siblings and your sibling touches the cookie, takes the cookie
(13:29):
out of the cookie jar, you see it, you visually
see it, and you're like, oh my god, Mom's gonna
yell at him or her right, and you know it's
gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
When you're an only child. You don't have any visuals
of that. You only know what it feels like.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
You're taking the cookie and then you get yelled at,
but you don't have anyone else to compare anything to.
You're just kind of figuring it out on your own.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
It is.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
It's only like ten percent of the population I think
are only children.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So there's that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
But I found it almost embarrassing, like not shy, because
you can put me on a stage and I would perform,
and I used to go to the principal's office and
be like, can I host a coffee show and talent show?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And can I sing?
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I wanted to sing as much as I could in school,
but once there was that kind of attention, it was
I'm like, am I not going to be accepted? Am
I going to be separate? Am I I don't want
to act differently? And then people not.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Want to include me, or while I get bullied or
I don't know. I think you just you just don't
want to be separate. You just want to You want
to blend it.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
As much as fascinating is helpful to me as as
a mom of a only child. Yeah, and another thing
as a mom that I appreciate. Is that your music
is always age appropriate? Yes, and so is that something
that you are intentional in doing well?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
As a little girl, you could not get me to
sing any lyric that wasn't real, Like all the lyrics
were like at school, met a boy at the mall,
like very young, but also having my mom at the
time as my mom and Jeremi, my mama does not play.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
She is a force.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
So she was with me every day and she was
very much like, she's not wearing those heels and no,
she can wear a little tracksuit, thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Like is that skin? No, she's not doing skin.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
So I had her always there and that was good
for me to have that. But I've always been very
like vocal about what I.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Think is right.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
So it's a little girl, I would tell you right away, like, no,
that lyric doesn't register with me.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
We're gonna change that line. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Coming up on my Legacy, Keisha takes us back to
the show that shaped a Generation one oh six in
part if you Know you Know, and how she went
from watching every day after school to stepping on the
stage as a host. If you remember the countdown days
hit like follow and share this with your crew and
please subscribe so we can keep bringing you these joyful
(15:58):
conversations that remind us all of what's possible.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Now back to my legacy occasion.
Speaker 9 (16:11):
You've had an incredible, incredible career. I mean just looking
back at the fact that I believe fourteen you recorded
your first single. At sixteen, you were opening up for
Destey's Child.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (16:21):
Wow, what was that like?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
It was insane because as a little girl I used
to sing Destney's Child because I had no siblings. I
was Beyonce Kelly, which which song?
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Which song was like your go to emotions? Okay, but
I would run during the chorus, I would run and
try to change my outfit and the next part. So
doing that show was so cool.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
We had the same publicist at the time, which was
like a huge honor, and it was a forty five
minute show by myself with my dancers and minutes by
myself I had to do.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
So that.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Was longer than what's average, right stea where.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
I hadn't.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, but that was their last show as a group
on tour, so it was emotional for them and then
I got to meet them.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
They were in there, they.
Speaker 9 (17:16):
Were and they were young when they started, so what
did you learn from them in the process.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I just think that.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Their attention to detail, their professionalism, their obsession with the craft,
like they go out there and it's one hundred percent.
But even just over the course of my career, you know,
meeting them and even Brandy Monica Aliyah, they inspired me
a lot to TLC.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
But from them it was just their work ethic.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
So, Stephen, with all of these young artists that we're
talking about, right, so Destney's child, Brandy Aliyah, what you've
worked with young artists before? What what advice would you
give to young young people, young artists in particular as
far as integrity and authenticity as they are wanted to
break into the business.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
So as you ask that question, I'm thinking whether I
gear my answer to the artist or to the artist's parent,
because the common theme is at least one parent who
is meticulous about making sure that the child is protected.
I think that's the most important part. Don't lose your childhood.
(18:25):
There's things you're gonna have to do that you're you're
going to have to work very hard in a way
that other people don't, but don't lose the playful side.
And parents should not should not allow that playful side
to be lost, like it can't be.
Speaker 7 (18:37):
It can't be just just the business.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
The people I've seen who are most successful have are
able to strike that balance. Sometimes the artist wants to
be kind of more focused than than the parent, and
it doesn't want that time away, but it feels it
just feels like there's a need for playfulness, and some
who don't, who haven't had it, regret it later in life.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
That problems.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
I like that you're not in your.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Head any regrets, you know, my regrets, Like I didn't
go to prom, I would say, not being able to
go to college because I was on tour, and I
mean my career was I was, it was a successful time,
so it didn't make sense to stop living my dream
(19:26):
career to go to school.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
But I wish I did. I still I'm still going
to go, but it just it got so busy that
I missed that.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Because again, being an only child, that's the only community.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Of people your age you're really going to have.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
So I felt like I was kind of separated really young,
Like thirteen is when I started to be busy going
on tour and whatnot, but also traveling a lot, still
turning in my grades where I eventually got homeschooled, but
I just missed like going to class and having recess.
And I still to this day I feel very childlike.
(20:03):
Like a lot of my friends are like, you're such
a big kid, and I'm like, yeah, well, when your
childhood gets snatched away, I mean I chose it.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Though I chose it. My mom used to say every day,
are you sure you sure you want to do.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
This, because you know, like the other kids are doing this,
And I'm like, yeah, but I will think about the
possibility of the if if I don't, you know, get
a chance to do it.
Speaker 9 (20:23):
You didn't go to prom, but did they play your
song at prom?
Speaker 1 (20:26):
They did.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
I started at twelve, so I totally appreciate what altern
of high school, the whole journey. So I totally get that,
Like I understand that I can at a very young age.
I get the responsibility aspect because you know, like by
fifteen sixteen, we had dozens of staff. By that point
we had a global operation. Say yeah, it was an
unusual childhood. Also wow, so very much can relate and
you had to step into a business role also at
(20:51):
a really young age's like famously Taylor swift as we
recording her master's Now, yeah, but you were fighting for control.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
He is not done so many songs, but at sixteen.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
You were fighting for control of your master's. Like you
gotta take us back a little into the mentality, like
where does that vision come from? And that kind of
ownership mentality which is not always the norm among artists.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Yeah, well I come from like my grandfather when he
immigrated from Trinidad.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
He was the one that he owned the only like.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Restaurant club in the city that was like Caribbean food.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
My grandmother was cooking.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
He ran the business in Ottawa and there was nothing
like it at the time. So seeing my grandfather do that,
and he had multiple businesses over time, and he you know,
had a taxi company. So I would be like ten
for Roger that I try to do all the dispatching
when I was like eight. But seeing that kind of spirit,
like oh, you could be your own boss was something
(21:49):
that I found very fascinating. But then also as a
student being at the record label, I used to go
into business affairs and I would befriend everyone at business
affairs and I would ask, you know, what can I
learn and they would say read this book about you know,
entertainment law, or they would let me see contracts that
they weren't supposed to let me see, and I'd be like, what.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Are mechanical royalties? And like what are what is this publishing?
Speaker 7 (22:13):
Like?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
I was very curious about all these things, and they
would give me the real tea on what all of
it meant. And then I got enamored and fascinated with
the law aspect of the music business. And then I
realized that all my work was really just it would
be in vain if I didn't have some sort of
(22:35):
ownership of it.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
So I got kind of fixated on this.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Well you say your own company up at sixteen.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Yes I did.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
I did, yeah, because I started to think like, well,
we're employing people, but how are we having more like
control over the details, and how do I feel more
safe in what we're doing if I don't own a
company that does that. And I also thank my grade
six teacher, mister Pratt, because he was the only black
teacher in our school, but he was very who He
(23:04):
would sit me down and be like, listen, the world
is this type of place. I need you to be
armored and geared up, and the one thing no one
can take away from you is your education. So I
need you to take that seriously because you can lose
everything in life, but as long as here has it.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
You will get it back again. And yeah, that was
my school of thought. Would you say he taught English
teacher English? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (23:28):
Amazing. And Stephen, looking back over your incredible career, what's
the decision you made that felt like a major risk
in the moment but ended up opening doors for your patn.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Wow, I feel like there's a lot.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
There's a lot, so there's to spin the wheel. The
new Edition story was something a lot of people thought
was going to be was risky. It was at the
time we did it twenty sixteen, fifteen sixteen, it was
a large undertaking. There hadn't been a h a biopick done.
Speaker 7 (24:04):
At BT before. There was some belief that.
Speaker 6 (24:06):
That, uh, the target audience would not be served by
a by a by a biopic of of like all men,
because we were very women focused. But then we all
came to realize, oh, that's that's a new addition's entire audience,
and it's really I have this whole thing once once.
Speaker 7 (24:25):
Once you're a child or you're a teen.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
Idol, you will you Will Live and Eat Forever. Right
Backstreet Boys in Sync had gone on tour New Kids
in the Block still every two years goes out and
does arenas, and so that was that new edition was
our was ours But it was a risk because it
was it was it was a large amount of money
and uh, we didn't know how it would come out.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
We didn't really to.
Speaker 6 (24:47):
Be stars in it, but it turned out to be
an absolute blockbuster.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Will So also you actually did you you created one
O six in park.
Speaker 6 (25:02):
I was, I was, I was in the room where
it happened. The show was always constructed to be uh,
to be entertaining, but uh, but but give information.
Speaker 7 (25:13):
At the same time, it was the hosts were were uh.
Speaker 6 (25:18):
Were well read, educated and of the culture. So it
was really important because at that point in time you
could not you did not see uh black youth on
TV every day or even regularly. So it was important
we took our role and in doing that, really we
(25:38):
knew we were leading culture, but we also wanted to
make sure we were reflecting culture as well.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
Is that because you were, Because as we've learned from
your story today, you were already impacting young people kind
of mentoring them. So did you then when you were
thinking about at the when the show was being created,
did you intentionally bring that aspect to.
Speaker 7 (25:59):
Absolutely?
Speaker 6 (26:00):
I mean AJ was AJ and Free were the first host.
AJ I knew. I wanted someone who had gone to
an HBCU like and it was, and that was it's
a it's a it was. AJ was a great find,
like a needle in a haystack, very personable, but you know,
brought Howard with him wherever wherever you went. I thought
it was really important to have on one of six
(26:22):
and Park HBCU everywhere to make sure that education, education,
education is always being put out there in between the
job rule and a Shott video right so so so
so yes, you know, doing the right thing by young
people always a part of what I six of.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
Park was supposed to be well in this is an
amazing host of one O six and Park, one of
them is sitting here of course watching it to coasting
it insane like pinch yourself. Was there a moment that
you realized your dream had no come true?
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
As a little girl, one O six of Park was
all I had, like it was the little slice of
culture I could get where I was living. I couldn't
get it anywhere else, so I remember being like, especially
where we lived at the time, we didn't even get
the channel. So I had to like go to a
friends and see if I could figure out how we
got the channel. It was a whole thing, but one
O six in Park was the slice of just you
(27:17):
felt represented, and you felt seen and heard, and you
felt like you were a part of the community. Like
it was just I can't explain it, but it was
really such an important part of my school days, like
my weekdays. It was five days a week, so important
to me. And then to get the call to do
it absolutely insane and only Canadian, but I.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Remember Canada was so excited. But at least for me,
I just I.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Every day I would get on set, and what people
don't realize is there's a live audience who are allowed.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
As heil.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Okay, There's a DJ who is playing loud music during
commercial break.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
You got your in ear people talking to you.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
You have the teleprompter that sometimes is being retyped live
as you're reading this line, and you see the bottom
is changing live.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
The audience is loud, the DJ is crunk.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
You're literally like, oh my gosh, it is you feel
like you're hosting in a nightclub for kids.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
It was insane.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
It was insane, and then somewhat like guess that would
come like they would blow my mind.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
You know.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
There was one of the most insane days of my
life was I came into my dressing room and there
was a letter from the White House and it had
like the White House stamp and the name and everything.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
And I remember I was in my dressing room trying
to listen to.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
See if bow Wow got it, because he walked in
his room and he didn't say anything.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
So I was like, ooh, I think it's just me
that guy.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
So I was like, let me open So I opened
it and it was like not a QR code, but
it was one of those things you scan it and
then it's Barack and Michelle Obama saying, Hi, we're so.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Excited to welcome you to our White House Christmas Party.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
And it's going to be on this day. I hope
you can attend. And I spent the entire day. I
didn't tell anyone. I didn't want bow to noecause I
didn't want him to be left out right, So but
I was so excited and I also remember like all
these men in suits going through our drawers and our
closets and I didn't know, and then they just like, oh,
(29:19):
Michelle Obama's coming tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
That was secret Service checking.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Out in your room.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
They just didn't tell you you'd find out the.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Day before you'd have like the biggest star on the show.
So it kept you on your toes. But sidebar I
did end up going to the Christmas party, and how
was it?
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Well?
Speaker 2 (29:38):
When I arrived, Babo texted me and was like are
you here?
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Ah, He's like I have no one to go with.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Can we go together? And I was like, so you
were invited as well. But we had the best time.
And then I saw Michelle and she's like, he should
come over here. I need you to meet my husband.
And I was like, is this the moment?
Speaker 2 (30:01):
And so then she introduces me to Barack and he
was like, I heard you were on the my my wife.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Was on the show.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
And he's like, my daughters, yes, and my daughters are
big fans of you and the show. And you know,
Michelle thinks she's really cool, but I have to ask you,
is she really that cool?
Speaker 1 (30:20):
And I was like no, everyone loved her she's the
coolest ever.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
And he's like, she's I And I'm like, did the
President just say I.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
I love here? And I was like, anyway, this is
bowow y'all love him. I always tease him, but yeah, no,
it was that was for me.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
That was a huge moment for me and also was
so inspiring.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
And then to interview Michelle, Yes, I mean you don't.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
You can't get any more.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
There's no inspiring than that. Now, the two of.
Speaker 9 (30:50):
You, I mean, you guys have been the White House
dozens of dozens of times. Is there one moment especially
from uh, from your experience the White House? So you
want to share that?
Speaker 3 (30:58):
I do think like one of the most special ones
for for me was when we had the opportunity to
bring Yolanda into the Oval Office to meet with President Obama.
So of course we had been with him many times
before he invited us into the into the Oval Office. Wow,
to see the bust that he had had placed there
(31:20):
of her grandfather, Martin's father, So it was it was
particularly interesting just to be there and to you know,
to see them interact and together. And we we had
said to elimd okay, Elanda, you can r you're gonna
meet with the president, you know, maybe you would want
to think about what you're going to say. And so
(31:41):
she asked him about the fact of, you know, mister President,
what are you gonna do about these guns? And then
you know, he started from a political you know, he's
wonderful man, of course, and he was saying, well, you know,
you don't have to be afraid, you know, like a
like a father, and you know, because of this, and
she gave him like that that you know kind of
stare at Correta Scott Kings there, you know, and he
(32:05):
really wanted, you know, to policies and you know things
with her, and so it was just really wonderful to
really think.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
About not only that moment in the White House and in.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
The Oval Office and what he represents, but to be
there with that bust and also to see you know,
him taking the intentional time to talk policy, you know,
with a with a little one but.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Funny story speaking of only only children.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
It was a bit of a negotiation to get her
to go on that trip. That same day, her school
class was taking a field trip to go to the
capitol here in Georgia. So she was she was like, oh,
but Mom, they're gonna ride the train, public transportation, and
they're going to meet they maybe even meet with the governor.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
So she was trying to decide should.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
She take this is a true story, So she take
Marta for those of us in Atlanta, and take Ma.
Didn't go with her class to you know, to the
capitol which we live here in Georgia, you know, because
wanting to be a part right, she wanted to be
a part of her class, so that to her and
belonging was more important than going to meet with Barack
Obama in the Oval office. But she ultimately chose, she
(33:18):
chose to go.
Speaker 9 (33:21):
And asked him a really good question.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Yes she did.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Yes, Yes she is.
Speaker 9 (33:25):
She's a powerhouse.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Coming up on My Legacy, Keisha shares what makes Steven
such a powerful mentor and why everyone needs someone like
him in their corner. If you're looking to step into
that role or find your own person, keep listening and
if someone's been that kind of support for you, subscribe
and share this episode with them as a way to
say thank you. Now, back to My Legacy, I want.
Speaker 9 (33:58):
To ask you you said this even believed in you
before anybody quote unquote really knew your name. What was
some advice or one major piece of advice that he
gave you? And with humility did you listen to it? So, Steven,
you have to hold her accountablet here.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Oh boy, Well, the way we met was interesting. I
was already seeing success in Canada, but not really stateside.
It was like you were getting a little, like little
remnants of it. But the dream was always to be
on BET. But at the time, it wasn't really common
for Canadian acts signed to Canadian labels to be on
(34:37):
American television. So at the time I the song was
on it was bad Boy, the song was on the radio.
We had a music video was doing well on the
network and a different network and not BET.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
It was a Canadian network, not yet.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
And I was It was the Urban Music Awards in
Canada and I was nominated for things.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
But I still had this feeling of like isn't there
more to do?
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Like we're doing it here in Canada, but where there's
a whole world out there. And then I met Steven
and I remember he walked up to me at the award.
Speaker 6 (35:14):
Show because I had come up from BETBT it's yeah
VT Canada, and I was up doing some press that day,
and I went to a radio station and they played
bad Boy, and I was obsessed with that song. I
simply loved how it moved, how she sounded. I had
never heard it before. I asked him to play it
again on the radio. They did, yeah, And so it
(35:37):
was really just by fortune they played that, and then
I somebody pointed her in the audience when I was
at the Urban Music Awards and I walked.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
Down and he walked up to me and was like,
I've been hearing your name and hearing your song, and
I love the song and I would love to have
you know, the video come on to BET. But his
belief in me sparked the label to spend more money
and get you know, Major Little X the director. Now
he's Director X, but at the time he was iconic
(36:08):
doing every music video you could think of. To do
these music videos for Beet to be played on BET,
and then not only did he put it into like
heavy rotation, but he gave me rated next and it
was an honor because he allowed me and my mom
to visit him at his office and play him unreleased
music and get his opinion. And as a little girl,
(36:29):
you know, I'm like, Wow, he's such a huge deal.
He makes the shows that I need every single day
after school, and he has a belief in me. You know,
every piece of feedback he gave about every song and
every anything.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
I was like sitting there as a little girl, like
we must do it. I go back to the label.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
I'm like, guys, we have to we have to do
that whatever he says, we're doing.
Speaker 7 (36:53):
Poise. Poise.
Speaker 6 (36:54):
Poise is what you call somebody who is there but
really beyond their years and has a calmness and an
understanding of the world that that that is uh, that
feels like they shouldn't have it at this young age.
So I felt about Keisha Chante. I remember the first time.
I can tell That's why I can tell you exactly
where it was.
Speaker 7 (37:15):
She had.
Speaker 6 (37:17):
A confidence and so everyone told you meet somebody like, oh,
they've been here before. There there's there's a there's a
there's a feeling there.
Speaker 7 (37:26):
They acknowledge that.
Speaker 6 (37:27):
They shouldn't that they shouldn't have and that that that
word poise And she's continued to exhibit that as she's
as as she's grown. I had no I knew exactly
who I wanted when there was an opening for one
O six in part I knew exactly was we went
through a whole bunch of visa.
Speaker 7 (37:44):
Issues and could talk about that now because visas are
a thing.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
But.
Speaker 5 (37:59):
So and we will be ending the segment.
Speaker 4 (38:04):
Stephan.
Speaker 9 (38:05):
After leaving be et, you started your own production company,
incredibly successful. Of course, what does success mean to you today?
Speaker 6 (38:10):
Success is the people that I poured into, especially when
I was in the corporate world, having them flourish, right,
having Keisha flourish. There's so many people who work behind
the scenes at BT on one Park who are now
lead producers. They're running Tyler Perry's Unscripted, their award Emmy
(38:31):
Award winning directors, and so.
Speaker 7 (38:36):
Even my current.
Speaker 6 (38:36):
Success is in the success of people who who I
got to work with at the beginning of their careers.
And success is also kind of being able to go
to the beach when I wanted.
Speaker 5 (38:50):
That sounds like a balance, Lie, That's what I love
about the show is we get to really peel back
the laters. And I love in the mentorship relationship because
you showed it didn't happen accident, and I love the
honesty of both of you sharing the mentorship that you've
had for each other, and so I just want to
encourage any of our listeners or our viewers to reflect
on the mentors on in their life, to reflect how
(39:11):
they can be great mentors, to share this with their mentors,
or share this with their mentors, to have that relationship.
And deeply grateful to both of you for living your
legacy and sharing your legacy with us.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Thank you, thank you, and I'm grateful to all of you. First,
you two creating the WE organization. I have to tell
you that was my first time ever being on stage
talking about my mental health in front of a huge audience,
and it was such a beautiful place to do it,
and I was so supported that it genuinely made me
feel safe and comfortable to continue speaking about that. And
(39:45):
then getting to finally meet the both of you doing
the Selma March for the sixtieth anniversary yesterday. I wasn't
expecting to be.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
There were so many emotions.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
I was like fired up, I was happy, I was
so I it was an honor to have that moment
with you guys, and just you four are incredibly inspiring
in what you do every single day, and you do
it at a level that is just incredible.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
So I want to walk that walk and I will.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Be harassing all of you and then my mentor Yeah,
I mean I I drive him insane, and but he
he is the reason why I got into television.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
It's his belief in me that even allowed me.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Didn't know that was something I was going to do next,
and it's been an incredible career.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
So I am very grateful to use one conversation. Thank
you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (40:45):
If you enjoyed today's conversation, subscribe, share, and follow us
at my Legacy Movement on social media. New episodes drop
every Tuesday, with bonus content every Thursday. At its core,
this podcast honors doctor King's vision of the beloved community
and the power of connection. A Legacy Plus Studio production
(41:05):
distributed by iHeartMedia creator and executive producer Suzanne Haywood co
executive producer Lisa Lyle. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or wherever.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
You get your podcast.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
Until next time, may you find inspiration to live your legacy.
Hosts And Creators
Craig Kielburger
Marc Kielburger
Martin Luther King III
Arndrea Waters King
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