Estelle

In this episode, Estelle talks about strip clubs, looking for love in LA, gives Questlove a crash course on the UK music scene, and much more

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Question. Love Supreme is a production of I Heart Radio
Suprema some Subrema roll call, Subprema, Subprema, roll call, Subdrema
subprima role call subdrema some sum duca earl Milton Burl,

(00:25):
Ye give it a twirl, Yeah, London Girl, SA Suprema
road call is sugar, what's up a stell? Yeah? You
need a sons, Yeah, I got one to sell. Sumro

(00:49):
call Suprema subprema road. My name's Boss Billy and I'm
on my knees. Yeah, I've got to prepare for roll
call forgive and still pretty please So prima role, so
prima sub frema rule call. It's light yea yeah, and

(01:11):
my girl is still we ain't no substitutes no more.
Oh she know me? Well call some premuth fremo role
call my names and still yeah, and I am LITTI Yeah,
I'm out here doing it. Yeah in New York City.

(01:36):
Prima role prem Subrema roll call, sub prema something subprima
role so premu subma. I hate you all for not
taking American Boy because I wanted to do mine around that.
But I was like, obviously London Girl, because I was

(01:58):
captain obvious. Everybody's gonna do that. I was like, let me,
let me go for a little bit deep, let me
go a little deeper. I'll go for pretty please. But
it was good. That was good. You're not my sons.
The tun no more, you know, we gotta pay for
that was only two seconds. Yeah, so yeah, I was
gonna say I was trying to figure out a way

(02:19):
to incorporate uh five ft seven being v I d hype.
It was a black bladder base says, leave everyone going
to everybody gives me it gives me about it you.
I was just living a mumble and it made sense.

(02:39):
And the mumble so I kicked the five for seven.
It's like, so look we're doing the vibes and John
is like doing the melody and he's like five up
and I was like, well five for seven, so that
does that was my time. It makes sense, okay. But
I just thought maybe the conversion, Yeah, maybe I was

(03:00):
gonna say it like you might would have been like
six super You made a lot of low self esteem
dudes feel like you mean low hike the guy. Anyway,
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Quest Love Supreme.
I'm six ft three. Thank you. I'm six ft three
as well. Great. How tall you like? Okay, okay, well

(03:24):
you wear hills all the time, Steve my feet our
size thirteen an alright, So, brought to you by the
good folk of I Art Radio. I'm your host squest
Love Jenkins. Uh. Team Supreme is with us today. We
got a boss Bill in the house and Sugar Steve

(03:46):
Steve Jenkins. Yeah, Sugar Steve Jenkins. Yeah. And you know
he don't be rocking his middle name. His last name
enough from so Bertie Jenkins to me, is the best
see name of all time. So I'm sorry, Dice, you
are burnt jinking. Yeah it was up. Uh yeah. Unpaid

(04:10):
Bill must be getting his bills peak because we haven't
seen him in He hit me the other day like
I just got back from Sundance and I'm headed to LA.
I was like, okay, he's doing movies. I'm doing movies too,
but I'm here. Of course, Fante promised this way back
in November. He was going out for the cigarettes. So

(04:31):
we're still waiting for Dad to come back home. Um,
ladies and gentlemen, our guest today. Of course it needs
no introduction. Wait a minute, I just got that joke actually,
after like twenty episodes about him going out for cigarettes
and not coming home. That's how that's how I understand.
I get it going out from some smokes and dad's dentists.

(04:53):
He never left, man, it doesn't smoke, and he came home. Yeah,
And I just imagine you're being like Steve Martin a
little shopping horrse. But that's a deep reference. Anyway, lad
and gentlemen, Our guest today needs no introduction. She is
a Grammy Award winning singer songwriter slash mc uh slash

(05:15):
voice actress. Uh yeah you know, um, I will say.
And I got a lot of Stephen Universe questions because
I've just recently gotten to crystal rock technology. I used
to be one of the people that like laughed at
people all right side, like the jazzy fat nasties used

(05:36):
to always just walk around with like a bunch of
crystals in their pockets, and I thought that was the
cookiest ship ever. And now I can't. Yeah, literally, I
keep grantits and crystals and amethysts. Welcome. I feel real welcome.

(06:03):
She hells from my other home the West side of London. Yes,
I don't know how many black people that are from
the West side of There's a whole contingency about we
are there. I see a ladies and gentlemen welcome my
near aquarian, capricorn and sister to the show. It just

(06:26):
made me crunches cool, cool, granola crunchy. Got it? Yeah,
really took a Set'm sorry. Sorry, It's okay, Okay, I
get it. How are you today? I am wonderful. It's
beautiful outside. It is. It's really uncharacteristically nice, beautiful. When February,
it is February. It is February. It's February. Yeah, is it?

(06:51):
Is it? Bill? Yeah, it's it's late February, black Yester month.
Everybody almost we're still here. Thank you. That was Steven snapping. Well,
you mentioned in your I know that we were all
winging our roll call, but you mentioned New York City.

(07:14):
But I would like to think that you are you
officially here. I'm in l A. I'm in officially. All
my clothes are there now, so okay, that's kind of
correct me. If I'm wrong a few times, like yeah,
I used to be here, I don't want to say
like a few times I dropped you off. He won't

(07:35):
have been in the same city to say that no not,
I like his version. Tell him nout for a considerate person.
Anybody gets a whole bunch of people. I just want
to go zone. I dropped people off. So has a
stale saying you got me at some point on the
stage root pretty much that I go back to like

(07:58):
eighteenth letter, create letter, yes and yeah. So I remember,
like so the first time we like met, period was
in London. I think I opened up you guys used
to be there a lot, and I think I live yeah,
and I opened up for you a few times um

(08:18):
at different events and venues when I used to just rap.
You can I mean, you'd explain something to me, because
as much as like claiming like yeah, Londons are second home,
London's or second home, there's one thing that no one's
ever properly explained to me. Okay, so there's so and
hopefully you can, you know, give some clarity to me

(08:40):
and our listeners out there. There's so many subgenres of
music that comes from urban London underground. I mean there's grime,
two steps, drumm and bass, d M, trip hop, acid, jazz, everything.
Can you a probably give us an education or like

(09:03):
no small task here. Um, well on the different sub genres,
well how it comes all? Right, So like I don't
know the difference, Like okay, the the is two steps
under the house umbrella, whereas what's grime? Grime is like
a sub genre, a subdivision of what hip hop and

(09:25):
what the kids who weren't specifically like rappers and who
were into jungle kind of made we went into you
get hip hop, but we were also into like dance
music and jungle made grime and like garage, it kind
of came out of the garage umbrella. So like you
get hip hop was the fountain thing, right, and that

(09:45):
came out of dance all and all of that stuff. Right,
So Rodney P and m guys it had a really
big presence and then but at the same time it
was like dance music, which has always been our thing.
Like we listened to all different types of music all
the time, right, So you've got you've got us go
into school being being at home listening to like reggae,
dance or hip hop, right as we know, like standard genres,

(10:06):
and you got to go to school and you listen
to like dance and house and trip tripping music, right,
and it's like acid and all that stuff, and so
we essentially just merged them all together because that's what
black people do and you know, and and so we
came up with garage, which was like m C and
over faster beats which were kind of in the house range, okay,
And that garage became that, and then grime became slow

(10:27):
it down and wrap a bit more, be a bit
more swaggy with it, like you can wear echo and whatnot,
and or you can wear like all the all the
things that feel like you're wrapping, but you're still keeping
it English because that was our thing we made up.
And that's where it becomes like a whole, like we
made this genre. Okay, So the lines get blurred as
far as how you do it. But for all right,

(10:50):
so when we first went there in ninety three, it
didn't exist, right, okay, So drumming bass was just starting,
all right. To to explain to our listeners out there,
drumming bass is where you would take whereas like hip
hopprus would take a breakbeat and take it as is.
I mean, someone would chop it up and flip it
or whatever. But for the most part, like what you

(11:13):
hear on the record is what you would hear sample
drumming bass. They would speed it up almost past forty
five to like seventy eight. Uh, which okay, So my
my theory is that kind of the hip hop experience
in America mirrors whatever the vice of choice or drug

(11:38):
of choice is of a generation. So you know, if
we so, my five year theory is, I'll try to
make this as quick as possible. Uh, like six seventy
two is are what you would say the heroin period, Uh,

(12:00):
seventy two, the seventy seven I'm sorry, excuse me. Sixty
seven to seventy two, I would say is the joint period.
Seventy two to seventy seven was the heroin period. Seventy
seven and eighty two, Cocaine eight two eighty seven, the

(12:20):
no liquor eighties seven and ninety two, crack and as
and as and as I'm saying, miss anyone else getting hungry?
It speeds up. Ninety two to ninety seven was the
chronic period that the weed everything slowed down. Nineties seven
to two thousand two was the sexy what was the ecstasy,

(12:43):
the sexy Diddy? That was the period uh to O
two to seven is the scissor uh period, the codeine period,
uh seven to twelve, two thousand seven to twelve. Uh,

(13:05):
we'll be saying that's the momy period. Well, no, that's
after normally came after two thousand seven. Kind of Well
then I would say maybe lean, I don't know, tide
pots that shout out to those Super Bowl commercials commercial
two thousand twelves and two thousand and seventeen. Uh, definitely, uh,

(13:31):
percoset period. And now I guess we're currently in between
two thousand and seventeen to two thousand twenty two, which
what is the drug of the moment right now? Wean life.
We I'm getting high on life. Oreo thins are really good. Okay.
So my whole point is that the drug, the drug

(13:55):
that somehow permeates in each era, also determines like what
the music sound. Sorry yeah, yeah okay, so oh wait no,
no no no. In north north East Philly everyone's dying
from it. Uh that the weed, the x K K
K to whatever it's you know, Kate, Yeah yeah, it's

(14:16):
I don't know why. The North East Philly has it
the worst, nothing nothing to do? Well yeah, sorry by
property there. Sorry, Anyway, My point is that I felt
like but the thing is is that I don't believe
the people did you guys not London. I don't recall

(14:38):
London ever having like a crack epidemic or that's a
good question. It's like a consistent thing. It's not that
it was an epidemic more than it's just like it's so,
I don't know, it's our culture is so like it.
You could be the highest of the high. Keep calm
and carry on. Yeah, that's the culture. It's never really
been like it did thing for me. The way I

(15:01):
looked at it was like it's associated with like homelessness
and you're not doing too but now it's the point
where your walk or it's like a dee boy. The
higher ups by it from you knowing from the from
the guys on road man, not the boys road man. Right.
So it was never like, oh, your friend next door
to you was doing drugs and you can see it.
It was never like that, like obvious everyone smokes, right right.

(15:24):
I didn't smoke until I was thirty and quite proud
of myself. It's so fun fun, it's a good time.
Um wait, why are you straight skitching? Like let me
say how you said it before. I don't feel snition
if you said it before in the show. Okay, I
might have forgot that might be a symptom. Might good.

(15:52):
So it was a bit more of a like supplied
the man thing and no one really was in it
Like that now is kind of across the board, like
where you you like everybody had like the drug Dealer
friends right, but they will all say your friends, So
like what because watching that show now too? On Netflix?
Like yeah, God, shout out to Drake in the best
way possible, I said money that I want where like

(16:15):
I see a YouTube show, I see a YouTube show
and be like, you know what, I'm gonna give you
a whole bunch of money to put this on Netflix.
I want to see this. That's that's power, Drake. Thank you.
I appreciate. Sometimes I still need subtitles. Have you ever
watched it? I have, don't. I'm still I'm saying that
because I'm comfortable with you. I'm saying that because I'm
comfortable with you. Sometimes every show needs subtitles, even with

(16:35):
Queen Sugar ever got so mad at me? Wait, we
were all watching the last episode of Like a Cliffhanger,
episode of Queen Sugar and I showed my television and
I forgot at the subtitles on, and they even hit
me on Twitter like wait, why are your subtitles on?
And I was like, yo, if you heard Ralph Angels speak, Oh,

(16:57):
don't you dare talk about that kid like that? Not
Ralph and that's Ralph angel angry. Come on and tell
me that's fine. Just jealous? Stop it, Kobe. Let now
you know who's not going to be on the show? Coming? No,

(17:20):
Kobe coming, I mean coming to the show. Okay, yeah
you think it's okay. I can't even know. I know
his mom. Oh wait that means something. It does different women.
And he's a whole twenty years younger. Really, yeah, he's young,

(17:45):
he's young man. We're never going to get to your
musical experiences because we're just gonna talk about life. The
next question, mean little bro, Like I got you guys
realized that there's gonna be a line this cub period
in your life. Right, I'm in that space now, not yet. Literally,

(18:09):
Her next album is gonna have a cover of Milie
Jackson's young Man Older Woman. You know what, No, it
is not younger men for us still moved like rabbits,
like we're not at that age where you want to
date younger. Yet they just still even even like what
are you doing? I'm not teaching stuff. Come y, it's

(18:29):
a fight every day and needs your own podcast, your
own podcast, want me to deal with I heard right exactly. Look,
I wanted to get to my whole point in the
whole seventeen minutes. My whole entire point was when I
was there, a lot of cats were just trying to

(18:52):
be from New York, yeah, and savage syndrome, Like I
caught there's a there's an interview where like yeah, and
then he said spot to you and we're like, wait
a minute, what English? Yes, And that's weird. I didn't like,

(19:14):
you catch somebody young enough like they're gonna help accent,
everything completely changes. Right. But the thing is that I
know that you guys have been waiting for this moment
all of your lives. I mean, really, your pioneer, I
mean you're a pioneering that the fact that not since
maybe the soul the soul wave or even I mean no,

(19:36):
really like what soul to soul have an international acclaim?
Have I've seen you know, like other countries lead the
forefront of their movement and be accepted, not like what's
America doing. Let's do like America Now, you guys are
writing the rules. But it's like it's takes Like with
Mark Morrison that he's a great example. What is what

(20:00):
does he truly consider? Is he just's R and B
or he's Mart Marrison. It was it's arm being and
it's to us as pop And that's that's the reason
why it's such a heavy thing. And I said this
the other day. I was talking. I was at my
friends with my friends in d C. And I said
things that you guys have had such a strong culture
for your entire like far back in the twenties, Like

(20:24):
it's been Black American culture, despite what you think of it.
You guys have had it and we haven't. It's been
maybe since the fifties British. Yeah, so like we're like
looking at like, well, that seems to be the strongest
thing to do. Let's do that. Can I ask what's
it's weird? Right? Because then when you go to black
son Ian right, you find out that like the Brits

(20:46):
were the biggest committers of the host lavery are a
mom right, so I asked the British actresses once. I
was like, it seems like there's a disconnect between the
cultures of your mom and your mother land. Well, in
a way too, we came over from me I knew.
I know exactly where my family is from. My parents
came like in Senegal, Grnader Sirion, like they came in

(21:08):
the fifties. They came in the fifties and sixties to
the UK. So for a lot of us, that's where
we start again in the European side of the world.
But we do know and like my family is big
on black history, and my dad and my stepdad and
my mom they teach they taught us that from from
like two and one, like here's who you are. Go
read these three big anthologies on sex and race. I

(21:30):
remember mom, and my mom gave me this book set
and I had to I read it. I was a
book I'm still am and I read it as a kid,
and I knew about, you know, the Black queens, and
I knew about how we existed before coming over again
in the fifties. So like my perception of myself across
the border is different in general, but like that's where
a lot of us came from first, and it's a
big thing. Like we are taught at like in our homes,

(21:54):
not just because they're not gonna teach yourself to school.
They taught us the same thing as you guys know,
so like our energy and pisode of like where we
start is different. But the culture here is so long
range and so dominant. You guys really have have it.
Like I please don't know want to take this person.
I used to be like, yo, how do you guys have?
Like I got to learn about Black Wall Street and yeah, yeah,

(22:17):
and then like times like the Soldier works, it's like
you said, don't get offended. We'll still ask you questions
like Malcolm X. But I understand the context of it.
But like at the time, I was like, what the
how do we like that burning down? And why why

(22:38):
people felt they need to get rid of it so
that you could have in the grand scheme of life,
everything is everything. I don't judge it, but like it's
like you guys have it, and I've had it for
so long. There's so much wealth in it and it's
so much good. Despite every attempt to burn down black
culture over the past two centuries, in the us in

(22:58):
in around the world. How how old were you when
you discovered your voice or your singing voice. I was
like seventeen, So from the age of zero to seventeen.
My first time, no no, I realized I was good

(23:22):
at it. I was seven and I realized that I
could actually do it. My mom made me singing my
brother in church and everyone leapt and I was like, oh,
I don't know, this is fun? What okay? So what
is the what's the the black experience in church in
the UK compared to it's it's as just as wild. Again,

(23:43):
everything is patterned, right, so it's just as wild. Holy
go Well for me, I went to Kaa, which is
I went to CHURCHI go to Prophecy, which is like
essentially k I was Methodist. I was um Muslim. We've
been my grandma before I was born, every everything, everything.
So here's the thing West Africa culture. My grandma married

(24:03):
a Muslim man. She was Christian, so for a while
she had to learn Muslim and then she realized that
that was a very impressive version he for a woman. Yeah,
and we're very women having in our family, so we've
had to dabble per sely just to respect it. But
I remember one time I came from so here we go.

(24:24):
So when I was a child, did all the did
all the religions, and right before we went to real Christianity,
I went to Africa and we went to my granddad's
village and I mean, my grandma made us walk and
we get to the village and it's great, but it's
very Muslim and it's like Gambia. My my grandma brings
this guy back with us who's like the village chief

(24:45):
for a village dude. Guy, medicine guy, uh, spiritual guy,
and he's teaching us Arabic and they're trying to like
give us these base lessons in my granddad's culture. And
my mom and I because I'm the big mouth and
my family. Okay, now I'm the big mouthfly. I'm the
one that's like, no, no, no no, that's not right. I'm

(25:05):
not doing that. You challenge people, okay all day. Are
you the oldest, second, oldest, oldest girl? So yeah, pretty much?
How many nine in my media? Yeah? One older brother,
six girls, second, oldest, second, So you're okay, you're Jackie. Okay, okay, everybody, okay, okay, Jackie,

(25:26):
look good. That's goods Jackie. Oh, he's the viging puffing like, okay,
that's you. Okay, Okayttle, you are correct. It's terrible. It's terrible,
all right. Okay, that's a whole image waiting on. My

(25:51):
edges are real, all right. So he came back and
he was teaching us like Arabic, and then they came
to a part where was like women must be submissive,
and I just kept feeling like that was wrong, and
I said him, well, I don't agree. I was like
twelve with third you know, something like that, And I

(26:11):
was like, I don't agree. Why do women have to
not speak? Why do we? And I went down the
line and my mom was like, what are you teaching
my daughter in this lesson of classes? No? Huh no,
not then, and she pulled us out the Arabic classes
and that caused a rift in the family to a degree.
And then we became real Christians. And that's where I
kind of was like, you know, like, because we were

(26:32):
like half and half. We would go to my grandma's
my grandma's a matrio and that would happen in my
untie my grandma's house, and then we would go up
our house and it would be like Christian Christian, and
then we went full Christian with that after that and
then that, and then that was just the wild time.
It was like don't wait, no makeup, don't do no things,
and oh like you you were going to find the

(26:53):
husband for you. And my mom was like also no,
so here's what's gonna happen with me and my children prey,
but also holy go, it was a lot. There's a
lot going down. Uh. And then I think it's always
been music that kind of shifted much objectory though, because
we were in a church choir and I remember being

(27:13):
nineteen and we we we used to remix all the
words to the song. So like Brandy's best friend became
Jesus is my best friend, and like things like that,
and like we did the dances and stuff. And I
remember one like church, we had a church Christmas concert
and we were doing the whole like kid, I do
that get he's always been there, right my best friend

(27:37):
say that, and the church, like the pastor got mad
like like yo, we wait, what was he doing? Listen
to Brandy to know that reference what we were exactly
make it know. But she was more mad that, like
she was more tight that we were dancing and it
was having a good time, and she ain't like my
mom for some reason, and so she said she kicked
us out of the church concert. It's wild. So since

(28:00):
has been going on in history time. I saw a
church version that they performed the futures of percocet. No,
I don't know how that works, but it was like
Christian version. What's the words, I don't know, but Holy
Ghost chased christ Frank's wait a second, I saw it

(28:22):
on Freddy gives his Instagram so good that a minute.
This has been going on. So they kicked us out
and my mom was like to me after that, you
don't have to go back if you don't want to,
said good, because I'm not. And essentially, I've never really
been a fan of going back in the building and
doing people's versions of events are kind of I'm very spiritual,

(28:43):
and you know, I would read the Bible and I
pray a lot, and you know, crystals and I listened
and I'm in tuning, blah blah blah, spiritual, spiritual, So
one of those. So did you, well, I'm assuming I
have the same thing that it was hard bringing secular

(29:04):
music inside the house really my whole life, Prince, Prince punishments,
Oh day, Prince, Like go in your head room and
listen to your headphones under the pillow. I had Jodac
and I had like this little like Jodacy was my
thing in my teens, and I had this little black

(29:26):
boom box and my bedrooms right next to my mom's
and my bed was right next to the wall, and
I would play, but I would put it under my
pillow to muffle the sound. But that's how I learned
how to do harmonies for real, for real, like really
mel them stuff listening all right, look hopefully I let
them go. If you're conservative parents and you're listening to me,

(29:47):
I'm shocked. But just let your kids listen. They're gonna
listen to anyway. Let them, especially if they got their
own phones. Now yeah it's a rat, so just let
them listen. And so okay, so you're saying that by
seventeen it was fine, Well wait because again when I

(30:09):
first met you, I met U SNMC, I didn't know
what you saying. So you're like, what happen? Yeah? I
was kind of like, yeah, this is but yeah, like
how did hip hop affect you? My uncle was the
one that board in our house, and it was like

(30:30):
how old was he? He was? Uncle? Was young? Uncle?
He's just telling like okay and thank you, just to
fit like he's like you know, but like he was
a uncle. He was like definitely like out on the
streets doing this thing right, like wait, STOs um wild
it's crazy family. So what kind of was he? Was

(30:53):
he playing Big Daddy Kane all of that era. Um
we would call that classic class. Yeah, so that was
this whole thing. The one thing I remember he brought
that light was like my my switch onto It was
break dancing and we used to We used to really
break dance as kids, like because it was the thing.
It's the age, right, And my mom was like, don't
break dance no more. The dude was it tebo? And

(31:15):
I was obviously like that from breaking She like, yo,
he broke his neck spitting on his head before and
I was like, I don't want to die, Like I
stopped and I realized he didn't. But like, you know,
she lied to me. They must they must have told
that to every black parents every week. I heard that
we don't have an insurance back then, But that was

(31:37):
my switch into hip hop and like and then I
just like, I just liked it. It It was like then
it became culture as a popular thing. But then it
became like as I got older, it was like, yeah,
I can really I have a way with putting the
words together. It's not about poetry for me. It's it's
about the rhythm and the rhyming of it, right. And
then all my friends were like into it. And then
like mid to late nineties, I really was doing it,

(32:00):
like I'll be the only girl in the room. We'll
be writing songs and I would actually end up like
finishing of rhymes or writing my own and you know,
and in friends of well, just put the first down,
just put the first down. And I was like, I
would put the first down? Did I put the first down?
And it became like, well, actually I could really do it, okay,
And so I did it. Well when you're I mean,
when you're in the thick of it, um, you know,

(32:23):
is there truly anybody to look up to? Well, first
of all, as far as how you get it now,
I mean, because you're in the mid to late nineties,
I'm assuming that there's a lot of Tim Westwood. Yeah,
seven nine seven nine, Man, those guys, wait a minute,
you gotta explain something to me. What was the deal

(32:45):
with the So Solid crew? So they were good, they
were like the original? They all right? So they were
the original? Who holds them pretty much still? The only time?
I mean, as an American, there's there's a certain amount
of arrogance that Americans hapened, I guess, like being over there,

(33:06):
Like in our mind it was like no one could
ever threaten you with the accent. That nice, but you know,
like we like come on like a little accident. That's cute.
But were real real though they weren't. It wasn't something
like can you settle? Not a rumor? But okay, so

(33:33):
we know, at least for that time in the late nineties,
there was absolutely no firearms. We were told there were
no firearms in the UK, and they still are. I
thought the UK is like the most firearms. Were so naive.
Really happened because we was like model gun control police,

(33:55):
don't this already have guns? Oh, let's stay there? Wow, Okay,
I never knew that. Okay, so we heard a rumor
in that our beloved Westwood got shot by a member

(34:16):
of that crew. I can neither confirm nor deny who did.
No one will ever tell the story of why or
if that happened. You have to understand that was the
reallyst hip hop should ever heard coming out of London.
That was real and he was kind of and I
almost felt like it was a badge of honor for him,
like I got shot, so I'm still here. You gotta understand.

(34:38):
Tim Westwood is the figure from BBC that really brought
a lot of classic hip hop. He was the phone
master flex of the UK. He's the voice that you
hear on top of public ermies classic. It takes the
nation of millions to hold us back. Yeah, Fresh Start
of the Week was the name of his show. So um.

(35:00):
He also was a white man, just in case people
yes he's a yes yeah, but I mean but I
mean he was a pioneering source of bringing those shows
over and I guess, like you know, with how Pirate
radio was in the UK, a lot of offspring so
like cats, like when I did to seven nine, that

(35:21):
was a Pirate radio show, but it was like a
real operation, Like the room we're in right now wasn't
like at that point it was the government tire shutting
them down and they're just like here keeping keep going,
and then it became choice, and then in choice the
family moved on the choice fam. It was like to
seven nines legit now seven has been the jail. I
feel like he's a kiss or so he was a

(35:41):
kiss everybody did everybody. It's no games um, but put
in its context, U No, I'm trying to put so
Solid and the vibe of what so if you got
hip hop, hip hip up, which was to seven nine
and Westwood, then it became this shift when all the

(36:03):
music became mixed up, right, and then because they couldn't
quite get a hold on hip hop, it was like
that's not the new thing coming out. You had all
these labels investing in new thing which is garage, right,
which is this huge scene that was blowing up. That
wasn't hip hop, that wasn't UK hip hop, that wasn't
like after after establishment fter labels and so so Solid

(36:24):
was that, but So Solid was real, We're real dudes,
Like they were like out there, some of them were
really out there. There's a couple of them ye right
still still so like you know, like it was a
it was a very oh you guys think this is
for fun, but like you're invested in real humans in
real life scenarios, so also that, but I don't want

(36:44):
to pay them as them all unruly first because David
also came from he came from that scene, but he
wasn't in So Solid no parts he was before so solid,
but like they were all kind of after the Too
seven nine and and like Rodney p and like I
was even in that more that seene that I was
in the Garragh side of stuff, like I was really
like rapid, like I was in the ciphers. I was

(37:06):
like doing deal real h. So all those names of
the time that I saw, like uh Mis Dynamite or
Dizzy rash st they came at the end of like
the hit uk hip hop side of stuff, and they
really ushered in that whole new Garragh side. That's what
it was. That's what they came all right before so
solid and then so Solid. It was came in like woutang.

(37:27):
It was patterned on hip hop, but it was just
a different kind of sound. So did you ever think
in your life that there would be a breakthrough, because again,
like with it was like the culture that they had.
Even I was like when Drumm and Vas first came out.
I was like, Yo, this is going to kill. That's
why we did it. When you Got Me, We're gonna
beat everybody, and even like classics, we tried classic and

(37:51):
even with what well then when bombs Over Bagdad came out.
When you know, that was Andre's version of they went
to a club one night heard dumping, let's do that.
But I never thought yeah, because I'm here, I hear
you Got Me, and everybody knows what that is. People

(38:13):
here bums and people know, but they don't let rockets.
It was the difference between you Got Me and bombs
Over back then it's like like two pages there four
hero versus um zero four hair versus like something from
metal heads. You know, It's like it's completely different. It's
the same genre, completely different sides of this pleuss you
just teased us. Anyway, I've been waiting for the continuation

(38:34):
of what that you just teased us? What the end
of you Got Me? It's like what you know, the fight.
I'm just saying we are still waiting for the red.
But but when you do things like that though, especially
because like it's such a jungle for us, was off
thing like I'm going to that off to school. I'm like,
I'm playing that all throughout school in my hair, like

(38:56):
wa losing my mind as a kid, Like that's a
thing wherever we go in the world, that's our thing.
So when we heard like oh shit on the roots,
did it like we lost our mortal minds? Like it
was just because people will come take the music and
not give it props. Probably, But you guys were there

(39:18):
and like you've got people that people loved, like I'm
opening up for you, Like it was like, no, they
embraced us. It's not on some we came here to
get the vibes and go back, Like you guys spent
time with us and our culture, so it was like
respect we like to be today I miss it. So
like why do you Well, obviously the answers that the

(39:40):
internet has now uh localized. Okay, Well I'm saying, do
you feel as though the internet has colonized in a
bad way colonized? Well, and do you feel like the
internet has colonized UK culture? Because I mean the good
news of it is now you are all breakout stars

(40:04):
and the world can get the information at the same time,
whereas like there's no breakout, there's no But I also
feel bad for like, like, okay, take miss Dynamite. Remember,
there was so much hope for her to be like,
oh my god, it's gonna be the next Lauren Hill,
and it never happened. There there were other things behind

(40:26):
the scenes that with that though, like it's real life
and it's a culture thing, and you have to make
a choice. And I don't know her personally in that
space to say well, she chose blah blah blah or
she did this, but you know, people give up on
what they don't when you don't fit into a mold
or you don't fit into what they think, you know.
So there was stuff with it, I mean the audience
of the artist, the audience and the labels, you know,

(40:49):
like she wasn't probably going to do a certain amount
of things, you know, and she had a kid bang
in the middle, and at that point that wasn't the excise.
But I'm saying like, because look, I walk into a
room after her, right right afterwards to get signed and
I cannot front. Someone literally said to me, well, we're
just working with and she and looked at me like

(41:09):
I can't take that risk, and I was just like, really,
I don't even have that boyfriend about to right said
us was hurt about that, and I was just like,
you got the last word wild, how about it. It's
safe to say everybody in this room has heard Amy
Winehouse's debut album, Frank. Yes. I was working at Universal
when the album was out here in the United States

(41:30):
and it was supposed to come out here and they
took it off the schedule because they didn't know what
to do with it. I'm like, it didn't really feel
like it was hard sell. You just listen to the
record sound like me hit and roots records, and I
was like yeah in that time. But the thing is

(41:52):
like anybody, like anybody I played that record for like,
they're like, oh, what is it? Who is that? What
is that? Most people don't know about Frank, most people
being like for good contention, people thought that that was
like her debut. So when you're making uh well, okay,
when were the steps that led to uh day my

(42:13):
first album? I okay? So I took the example. I've
been in Underground Eyes for my whole life. I've been
like an independent on Underground Eyes for my whole life.
And I was the girl that was like, I'm gonna
make these records. I'm gonna find a distribution deal. And
I read this book by yourself. I know at the
time I've had I've had managers, but I would I

(42:35):
direct them. I'm very much the king of my castle.
I direct and I listened, and I pay attention, and
I work with people who are incredible. Um, but I'm
very much an instinct up person. So I was like, mad,
look these people out here. Every time we go to
a label, they keep talking about we don't know what
to do, so let's show him. And I was like, well,

(42:56):
let's go get these distribution deals, and so had the
one I went to it. I went to a bunch
of labels. They were like, we don't know. I said, cool,
I'm gonna show you what to do. I got my
distribution deal. We sold five thousand hand to hand, and
also like digitally and like no digitally but like on
the internet at the time right we were sending like
one or two CDs a week, which was great at
the time um in and around Europe, in the UK,

(43:17):
but also five thousand within a month. After going to
the labels and then saying we don't know what to do,
I had a really dope publicist and she put me
on every magazine. You can find a couple of covers
where they were struggling to get their artists, and I
had no deal. It was just me and my me
and my label Stellars. What happened mine? I'm like the
whole time we were together out the chunk, because and

(43:43):
then and then and then the next set, the next
set of times. I definitely was like on V two
and the same person, I was like, I don't get it,
was like, I guess I should sign you. I was like,
just so we did the deal. And even throughout that
whole period, he was looking at me like, so that
record free you wrote it. I had to get the
producer on the phone. The disrespect was so thick and

(44:04):
so real about young black arts. You couldn't have possibly
written a record that thorough off your own head and
off your own heart because you're a little black girl
from the hood. How like you guys don't do that.
It was that that kind of I called the producer
and I said, so, did you write any of the
words or melody said no, I just played guitar, I said,
and I put a phone now. And then this guy
was so angry and mortified and like, we'll just go

(44:25):
out of his way to stop everything with the second album.
And that's when I how did how did you get
even get to the third eighteen day? No? But how
did you even get James and Omar and and you
got John Legend on the first record? Yeah? You just
just I was recording Hi Hello, the Kanye stories real,

(44:46):
like I really did. I was in l a recording
and I love that story because because I mean, now
Kanye being who he is, you know, you would think
that was it's a different kind Yeah, it was. It
was a different kind of thing. But you would think,
you know, now, knowing who Kanye is, you would go
up and ask for you know, k he is informed. Yeah,
because he's voice is incredible. And I was I get
I get my instinct again, right, And I was like, no,

(45:07):
this guy's voice. I think. My boyfriend the time was like,
if you don't just go find this guy because you
just out here smiling and I mean it's cute and all.
But like also like I was like, now I have
to find him. And then it was just fate and
did you know about his education at the time, And
like I have a feeling that has a lot to
do with his success. So that's why I was like,
John's a smart guy, but also he's the same thing.
He's instinct, I think to a degree, you know. And

(45:29):
we met t having I was like, yo, that's finding all.
This is lovely. We're in record plant in l A.
And I'm like, yeah, I've got like two dollars to
my name to get back to the hotel. Can we
wrap this up type deal? Like I have to leave
in a couple of hours, And he was like he
was there and we connected up and I left and
he was like, yeah, I just like your drive and
the fact that you didn't come in there given a

(45:50):
crap about a yea or whoever is in the studios. Like, no,
I came to find you to do this record that
I have pre recorded the vocals and lyrics too. Can
you sing this pop please? And he was like living
here and like I gave it to him blade. I
was like, listen to it on time, all right. I
had a hard drive and everything. I remember it costs
so much money. I gaven the hard drive was so tight,
the whole hord drive. Everybody, No, I don't know. And

(46:13):
then like I left and he called me I was like, yeah,
it's good. It's good, dude. I've known you forever. I
never knew the film and Louise ending the car jumped
that it took Damn dude, how come I never do
that story. We don't have to stop, time to stop
and talk write a book about all these moments. But

(46:34):
like this has been my whole I don't I don't
wait for the opening. I'll just push through the door,
you know, if I feel the instincts and it's like go, go,
go go, you know. So even then, I mean, I'm
almost certain it was just just to get to above
water level was a goal, not even to like it

(46:57):
wasn't even I'm gonna really kill this game and dada
da dada. So I mean, by the time you get
to the second record, what are you thinking? By the
time we got to shine, I was grateful for John
in a way that like people, you know what, I'm
this person, very loyal, I don't care what. John stuck
his neck out for me without thinking like everybody and

(47:24):
everybody and his team at the time was like what
is this Like it was smoothly, like they dissed me
to my face, like I mean, you don't know a
wreath like that. I said, I know a wreathing, I'm
just not un a wreath a singer like And it
was like a lot of different shots at me because
I was supposed to be this kind of black girl
and I come in rapping and singing and I have

(47:45):
a smoother voice and I'm confident and you're not gonna
tell me nothing. I came here with Luberton's and I
came here with my with my fashion on my vibes.
You fail me can with our hands like I was

(48:06):
very much like I'm not gonna give you all those facts,
but like also, I'm not going to take it to heart.
I'm just gonna do what I came here to do.
And and a lot of people shot at him like
why are you signed her? Like this doesn't make no sense,
It's just a terrible investment, blah blah blah blah blah.
And he was like, I've seen I've seen her work,
I've seen a girl. Trust me. I'm just here for
the ride. He literally would say it to me like, look,

(48:29):
if we don't need to work together in ten years,
please live your best life. And essentially we did, but
you know, but he stuck his neck out for me
in a way that is I'm presidented and I'm forever
grateful because I went to the label that were like nah,
and then like I guess I should sign you. And
I said to them, after like the first two meetings

(48:50):
of like, you don't really do this, it's a lie.
You go find your ghostwriter. I said to them, So look,
next album I have John Legend, he wants to exact
produce it. He went about Grammys. This guy's touring out
the world, these albums gold at this point in the UK,
Europe and the whole world. And he said to me,
who's that? And I wanted to punch the wall. I

(49:12):
said let me go, said let me go, and he
were like what I said, no, let me go, Please
let me go. And then he was like I said
to him, so the second half of my daughter you
to exact produce. I'm gonna leave the label and he
was like I signed you. I said you sure. He's
like yeah, said all right, come on, let's go. What
never happens like that? Never accepting and resistantly are you

(49:36):
the only release from that? Like I'm like, wait a minute.
He set the label up to put me out John
John is for that. People don't know that part, so
everyone thinks it's the ads John Wow. Yeah he did.
He did a lot as far as having my back
and just support me and not really taking the credit.

(49:57):
As far as like, you know what people are like, Oh,
people say, oh, he wrote this and he wrote that
for He's like, he's not the one out they're shouting at.
People make out their assumptions. You know, he that's me.
He knows, he knows my capability and stuff. Have y'all reconnected.
So now that y'all live in the same town, I've
seen it. I seen him around like we're cool and
I'm good friends with the team. We're still good. Like
that's family, it's the cousin. Well yeah, true. True to

(50:19):
how music history works. Um, I believe that I've heard
the story before. The legend of American Boy was that
was it the last song made and it was just
like an afterthought. It was Will didn't believe that the
record was a here like the music was a hit
because it came it was came from his joint. Yeah right,
he said, He's like, I don't think that. I said,
trust me, this is what we listened to our whole

(50:41):
this is this is it? This is it? And I
was literally on the beach in Miami and what the song?
It was? BB Records, It was it. It was the
interscope one the songs about girls. I wanted nobody part
BB in the UK. Yeah, in the UK came out
the song is about girl here. Ye, at least nobody

(51:02):
here really did. They had a couple of joints and
you said, I wouldn't that beat or I want to
And we wrote it like three minutes. I've opened it
the next day an hour and then and then, but
that every time we played it to people, their energy
would just shoot up, like it was. It was like

(51:24):
probable sitting in the room and play the record. Everyone
was like, oh vibes. Yeah. I was gonna say that,
Probably American Boy is probably one of the few songs
in this millennium now that we at least have two
decades under our belt, not to age us all too late,
you know, especially with the especially the way that information

(51:49):
happens in like one song just instantly replaces another song
without you know, I mean, you remember how many times
you've heard Crazy by Nols Barkley when it first came out,
and it's sort of like you might hear it now,
but it's almost like I feel like maybe American Boy
next to Crazy in Love, Like that's one of the
songs that won't ever die, Like it's still in my

(52:13):
DJ set right now. Somebody just made a remix and
I just like they still make remixes. Yeah, it's about
three in the past two years. I'm not TAM's joint. Yeah.
I was about to say, like that trap it out.
They put it on TikTok Your Best Life, that's what
we want. I'm afraid to go there, foolishness. It's amazing,

(52:34):
but I gotta go there to know what what song
to play, to play you know, I've taken my life back.
No more social media for me. So was it ever
a point where it was like tiring? Like again, like
are you It's somewhere between Nirvana smells like teen Spirit

(52:56):
where they refused to do it now and day I
sold where myself? And were they just saying we hate
the song all over the things like is it that
or you're just like nope, I know where my bread
is buttered. And I had to reset. I had records
in the UK that people will never not let me
perform like, that's nine eight for me. And to the

(53:17):
point where we were done with you said, I'm just like,
do you know the words? Because I got to the
second person I've been forgetting There's so many words in
my head, so many words in my head. I'm gonna
have a tele problem. Is gonna have It's gonna have it.
But he did, I had to. I had to reset

(53:42):
my energy with that because I literally pray for records
like that. I was like, no, and I got one,
and I was like, how dare I be ungrateful and
say I don't want to sing it? And it makes
me happy? There's so many ways to sing that record,
and like sometimes I don't say it at tall and
then you have to concern I'm saying genuine. That's my
new reference level, he said. If y'ah, oh good lord,

(54:13):
they just sing everything every word. Just watch just I'm
the one in the back screaming, look if me, it's
me genuine? Hi? That was this is terrible. I was

(54:37):
twelve singing. Ever about to say is related to know?
I'm a character on Parks and Reck, thank you very much?
And in genuine is me and Reddy's first cousin. That's
revealed in the last episode the black person on the show,

(55:00):
it's it's yeah, you don't watch I didn't know. It's
still it's not everywhere. It's the tang of comedy. I
know everybody came from near one of the best that comes. Yes,
but one of the longest running running jokes was about
her long lost brother, which they had me play in

(55:24):
genuine is her first cousin. Oh yeah, she's on the
net right, Yes, exactly, so I'm gonna go watch. Thank you.
It's amazing. Shout out to my first cousin, Gene l.
Lumpkins for for all of me um which okay, slight

(55:49):
side news. I'll admit it because Bill saw you fake
motherfucker know, I forgot about the interlude. I only forgot that.
So even in re re uh capping your music, I
was like, oh, ship, I totally forgot about that. What

(56:10):
was your what was your What was the impetus or
at least the process in creating this record. I was
going through a lot, you got. I was coming off
of like Shining the American Boy. All of my worlds
were completely shifted. And I say that in the nicest way.
Friends were wild. I was wil Um, boyfriends, Um, what

(56:33):
is that whirldwind? Like you're not on the ground and
you're trying to desperately hold onto the ground that you know,
because like moving it out from under you anyway, and
with nine siblings also, how does that affect you? It
was wild, Like my little sister. My family moved out
of London because so my little sister, one of them

(56:53):
was so hyped. It was just it was unsettling for them.
And that's when I realized, I say, two people to success,
not on purpose. One of them got a little while
with it, and then we had to move the whole
Then the whole family moved because it was like taking
my stuff to school and to do the school thing
and like all my sisters this, and people liking you
for the trainers you wore or you brought that your

(57:17):
sisters trainers, and then these people creeping up around my
family house. We still sort of lived in the hood
a bit and going to the drug dealers two doors
down and talking and I was like my little list brother,
who's an accountant, a lawyer and an incredible brilliant young man.
I had to go up there and be a big gangster.
And it's just like, um nah, that's my actual family

(57:37):
I raised and nah, you know, so I'm dealing with
that whilst never being at home and the people that
you're trying to call your family were out here just
not having your back. It was just a lot going
on during the all of mean period. And then I'm
dating a dude who was just wildly trash. Um no,

(57:57):
not all of you. He was. You start out that,
you know ten years ago he was trashed. So here
we are almost ten years ago, and I was going
through a lot and China just hold onto something that
looked like love or looked like home and it was
all needed to go. Is it hard navigating that? Oh?
You know, I know that where most people either had

(58:19):
is their home, But I mean you moved to the
States and kind of without any stable family. Well, I
don't know if for some people getting away from the
family might be necessary. Book, No, it wasn't necessary more
than I just knew how to do that for my
career because it was like one, it was just tiring

(58:42):
every three months getting on the flight and your energy
just down right, you know that toured extensively a very
long time, And so I imagine doing that and then
everyone demands all this stuff of you. So I was like,
I'm just gonna move there, and my mom was like,
I knew it was gonna happen. Eventually helped me. They
sent me off and they would try and come and visit,

(59:02):
and then the visits to wind Old and then I
was never home so it didn't really matter, and I
will go home to London and I couldn't go home,
and so they come and see me at the hotel
for two hours right before I go to the hot
to the airport again, and it was just like I
lost touch per se, not on purpose but by force
of we just didn't have the time. So it would
be like I was so grateful for the hotel suites

(59:25):
that had because the whole family could come. I was
come crash and and I just got to sit down.
My mom would bring African food and we would sit down. Yeah, right,
and the whole vibe and they were going and I
have to go back to being a stellar robot. You know,
there's a lot happening. Actually, there's a question I do
have that I'm probably certain I wouldn't be able to

(59:46):
ask had you come on the show a year ago.
Now you're dealing with Okay, where when we say the
funny that is this current administration, you're actually dealing with
this two times over. And so what is what is

(01:00:08):
the not not you know, def Con five or whatever,
but what's the current concern of yours or level fear
concern when it comes to you traveling overseas or your
family coming over here or you Because I see where
this is about to go if if old Money gets

(01:00:31):
a second term in office, well, I mean two weeks ago, uh,
there's there's been nine other countries added, and all them
from Africa because of the year they return easy. Wow,
you really think that it's gonna added to that now?

(01:00:51):
But because they have other deals with different U S countries.
But I feel like it was just the idea. Here's
my thing that I've seen you give the energy of
scare people. You made them feel like you know what
I mean, And that is that does more for people's
energy than people's perception of what's going on than the
actual thing, you know what I mean? And I feel

(01:01:12):
that yeah, and it's like the fear of like, oh
well now it's gonna like can we really go there with? Meanwhile,
the energy the top of the year was like, we
can do this. It's not as crazy as Nigeria. So
it's traveled been hard for you coming in and out
the states like extra like longer at the as soon
as I saw that going and I actually wouldn't apply
for my passport. Okay, have your citizenship okay, so like

(01:01:34):
because I was like, no, no, no, no no, all
my things are here and things are here, so let
me make sure I'm good on both sides of the
of the of the war. Your family's passports says written, Yeah,
but the beautiful thing is we also, like I said,
I'm very clear, so to your citizenships there we have
sending leaves. Well said my own passports we have different

(01:01:56):
we could go. You know they've done we've done smart things,
strategically smart. My brothers and sisters, like I love him
for this. They're very smart about how they handle themselves.
And I'm proud of them and that, you know, they
really hold their side of family things. They don't look
at me like you gotta do. You know, they really
are brilliant in their own rights. So I'm proud of them.
They hold it down. Five passports were never going to jail. Okay,

(01:02:19):
how about that? That's too hot. Yes, it's not a
game because people these wild, these guys crazy. So now
now that we are where we are, and well the
aforementioned twenty one Savage being one of the one of
the biggest UK I'm still like like, no, wait, you're

(01:02:45):
just finding out now, like like what if we found
out exactly so well, I'm just saying that it's ubiquitous,
Like how do you feel about the current climate of
today's are that are coming from the UK and kind
of the I love it. I would love to see
more of them actually do the effective work here though, Like,

(01:03:09):
besides the big pop artists that they pull out the UK,
I'd love to see like the r and being a
hip hop artists do more of the groundwork because I
know that everyone was like, yo, you really did it,
and I'm just like you should be here doing the
radio runs and doing the doing the like the smaller
the black culture things, because it's it's like they're selling
you on one thing. But the thing I know I

(01:03:29):
had to do with all of the album, well Thank
You was worked backwards, so American boy came in it
blue right. Black people here didn't really know me like
that though, So when I did thank you. I was like,
it's fine, we're gonna and they were like, no, no, no,
you're going to Mississippi. No, no, no, You're gonna go
see some black people and you're really gonna talk and
be out there. And I had to do it. And

(01:03:51):
that's the stuff that I think that people miss when
they say like, oh, you're you're big around the world.
You're gonna America, You're gonna clean but you know, Joe
and and Champaigne, Illinois don't know you you know, and
it's like, you know, and maybe it's over there in
Mississippi has no clue. This is not hypothetical artists the

(01:04:15):
same names as my grandmama, but it's true, like but
like real folks who are just like in the same
way that like I was just gonna say, yeah that
it just hit me so in the same kind of way,
like look, it might be the pupping this thing and
you might look like, but go and do the world

(01:04:37):
your mom, don't my grandma and grandmama like you know,
Like wait, I was gonna say, so that's that was
smart of you too. Yeah, yo, you're just hitting me now.
And nobody else has followed. Nobody's because I can name
the amount of times that we performed in Mississippi or
Alabama or you know, I mean at least in the
last I mean, we don't do the down south states

(01:05:02):
as much as we do are a regular because y'all
were built on colleges too, though, don't you think so?
Because of the foundation in a way. Yeah, but then
you also have a different way into people's spirits with TV,
so it's a different you know. Yeah, but you still
got to get the black volks. I mean, well, the
black people are populating in that audience on Jami in
this research and their kids put them all our families

(01:05:24):
are big in this for tickets. He has nice Super
Bowl commercial, boss, thank you, But there's a certain amount
of what they've got to do that I still am
just like I want to see a George Smith come
here and do that run. Yeah, and I want to
see like I want to see uh, miss Banks come
here and do you know? And I said, and and
it's that fine line off you you don't have to

(01:05:46):
but you should, you know, I said to Sims. I
was like, you don't have to move here, but you
should come here and stay for a while or coming
whatever you want. To do like but you don't have to,
but you should for a while coming you can't sell.
Somebody'll tell someone that you get their culture if you're
not here, you know, not like you went to the

(01:06:07):
UK and you lived it, you could talk to it.
Not for nothing. Well, I mean we did it because
like we knew they would accept us. But not for nothing.
When you're when you're finding you have a a potential
second chapter as a manager, or at least you're talking

(01:06:31):
points that of like almost Carol lewis like an agent,
because I don't think that your average when when when
a person comes from uh, from where they are to
the United States, I think nine times attend they're just
thinking of New York, l A Vegas, maybe Chicago, like

(01:06:51):
a major city whereas you know, people aren't thinking of
long range. I had to physically do it. That's why
I know it works. You know, once you see them,
don't you see us there? Like once you see them
and you go to their town, they love you for life.
They love you for life. Look, I went to Selma
and sang Conqueror on the on the not on the

(01:07:11):
next day when TV wandered the special and I met
Tremaine Hawkins to to me is like the garden arm
in gospel, things like that, and she knew my record,
and my whole heart exploded like things like that, like
lose I lose my mind about things like that because
it's like, this is who I grew up listening to.
Is a eight nine ten year old in my mom's
kitchen and I'm sitting They're going what should Love? And

(01:07:33):
then she's stand in front of my face singing conquer
and I almost collapsed, Like, but you don't. You're not
gonna get to those moments where it's those we sound
on their shoulders if you don't go and touch them.
There was the people you know what I'm saying, Like,
you're not gonna get those And I just feel like
we have so much great we write the rules, come

(01:07:55):
here and talk to people about the rules that we write,
and like, come and help them understand the new swirl
of the new energy about it all and from our
point of view, like it's it's it's wildly lonely. It's
been wildly lonely for a very long time. Being me
Marsha Masha, It's just tell people all the time in

(01:08:20):
the show, you have to build a tribe, like, yeah,
there has to be nine at least nine like minded people. Yeah.
Well I started my label like on that because I
was like, well, I have all of this to give
and I want I want to be able to leave
this legacy, like do the work and you know, come
here and put time in and you're not going to

(01:08:42):
sleep for like twenty years. But sorry, it'd be okay, Yeah,
you know, I have fun when you're dead man, that's
like the only option you'll have. Like, so, so do
you like l A now I like it? Do you
like it as a single lady? No? Okay, thinks I
just want to clarify because when you got to that

(01:09:02):
part is true. But here's the thing, Okay, I have
to change my energy about all that things, all that
stuff because potential. Definitely, it's a couple of potentials out there.
I definitely. Yeah, it's like two three round. Yes, people
don't know that that's hard. It's hard. This is the

(01:09:25):
podcast I'm waiting for about navigating a single life. Short
version is trash. No, no, it's not trash. It's just um.
My friends always say to me, look as hard as
you work on your music in your life and your career,
you have to work on your love life exactly. It's
hard to love in l A. But wait and then

(01:09:46):
you have to you have to come about town. They
have to come from outtown. And the angel give me
the species she gave me about listen, like you have
to open your mind when you come to l A.
Angela Nizzle. He's like Angela Nizzle and don White like, listen,
you got a day outside of your right. So I
was like, but they don't. I tried, it was, it was,
it was interesting, right, It's just not the same, like

(01:10:09):
why for a second, if you want it is the
accent even it's no, but I want, but I want
what I want, and I mean I want to want.
I won't like you know what, but like l A
has open me out though, like I am a lot
more like I see two sides of everything. It's balanced.

(01:10:31):
It's how is that person feeling when they like, I'm
not human because I can't be a judge Baptist, like
I've done too much. I've been through too much to
like put anybody on anything, put anything on anybody and
say well that's that. And you know I just kind
of I'm open, but also like I want what it's

(01:10:53):
like six halfroms on something. Every day I have to
say and be like, I mean, you know you do
sometimes chameleonize yourself into another person. Slight confession. Okay, so
when I went to Smart, Black and Funny, it took
me eight minutes to realize I was sitting with you

(01:11:15):
and Melanie Fiona serious. I didn't hear a trace of accent,
and I was like, Yo, these girls are so nice
to me. That's wow. We said that I probably had
different hair too, like and then Melanie called me, yea,
your hair was changed. I was sitting behind you at first,
and then Melanie says something. I said, wait, I felt
like I know this person and her hair was different,

(01:11:36):
and then your accent came out. Because this is this
has been I've been learning American accents too, because every
time I go so, I'm doing acting more acting to
go ahead and get it to it. You know, that's

(01:11:59):
a thing. Ain't a mirror. They're coming over here. They're
give me a thing. Jobs you know you're in I've
been doing I've been doing it, let me tell you.
But like the thing is, they keep giving me these roles.
A lot of my badage of bike because I'm just like,
first of all, what so they keep asking me to
be strippers and I keep being like where I don't

(01:12:22):
see it. I don't have enough. You walk away side? Really,
you know what? Some more, I don't have enough for this, okay, Mike,
looking like I had to. I had beat with one
of my agents, like, yo, stop sending me these dim
like we know na bro batter had said, guess the
hustlers relaxed. No, I didn't get that one. I should

(01:12:42):
have got that one. That have been fun. I could
have learned how to actually strip, but didn't want to
been on the super Bowl. But I have I'm just
joking because that's what wrestling. By the way, the fact
shop scripping pole I had. I had a time it

(01:13:02):
was no strippers story. Sorry, I was in the strip club.
First time I had my song outside in Atlanta. No
magic American boy. Yeah no. It was on x ON
and we went there to treat the guys because like life,

(01:13:24):
we were on the road, and I was like, that's
got to check. Left there, No right, how they got
good wings? Sure, let's go. Yes, are based on their wings. Shoutout, shout,
all right, listen, you can't even get the names out
fast and if I know, there's so many strip clubs
and good food. No, no, no, I found wait, there's

(01:13:46):
a good I love it. It's good because I was like, well,
here we are one the other day. I was like,
here we are. This is interesting. What is it. It's
some some brows or something like that. It's downtown and
well I didn't eat the food, but the girls, the
ladies were lovely. And so here's the thing. I go
in there and I'm just like, again, I'm not judge,

(01:14:08):
I don't care. It'd your best life, right, And it
was just always weird when they played my record and
and the dude set it up like we got some
so remember you had you had Lloyd in the house.
You had like Lloyd and this is this is years
ago Lloyd bow Wow and a few other singers. Right
early singers aren't be singers and they're like that side

(01:14:29):
of the club and I'm just say, oh, ship oh,
just like and I'm just sit there trying to like okay,
but I'm me though, And then the guy, my girl,
my sister had told the dude that I was there,
and she's like, yeah, we got a real singer in
the house. And I was like, ship and then he
puts the record I do too. I'm my fan is

(01:14:49):
and I was just working brask and he goes to me,
y'all sing the song and then I'm singing American Boy
and it's go and she's like she's major ready, that's fine,
and I was like, oh, that's pretty good. Take on

(01:15:10):
comes down and then she's like I just love you.
You just so you're so cute, You're so like, you're
so cass. And I was like yeah, okay, and then
she hugs me and it's like, oh, is that weird? Awkward? Yeah,
And then it happened again. It's stadium with thank you,
thank You with Stadium and she was no, they played

(01:15:30):
break my Heart and then they all came come up
to me in a line like agreeing me in greet line.
I was like, church, they didn't dance for you, son.
They were like coming to be like nice. So it
was like, no, you're you like, no, don't, I will
put money in the in the dancer's hand. I just

(01:15:52):
considering it. You just it's not gonna happen up. I
am the killer of No. I'm like amazing stev J story.
I had a wild and Crazy life. No, no, no, Mike,

(01:16:16):
Mike knew about this story. Now the guys had set
me up. We're on the road and I said to myself,
I tweet something like, YO made me be like when
he leaves, I'll be quiet when he's I'll be quiet,
but when he leaves, I'll be talking again about when
he first come up on the show. When then the
first on the show, And I tweeted that and then
the team will like. I was like, yo, what if
he came to the show tonight? Ha ha ha ha.

(01:16:38):
So the team make him come to the after party
and I'm they're like, oh, my little sister me. Stevie J.
Comes on the road and she's she's my roadie, my homie.
She come in the road and she was like yo.
I was like, Steve said, we're having this whole break.
Nothing our soult right. And Stevie J. Comes in the
room and I'm just like, I gotta ask him if
this is real? So I says, yeah, comes up. He said,

(01:16:59):
y'all get to meet you sis, And I'm like hi,
and he's like, I said, wait, you have to tell
me is that real? Do you really be? Is this real?
Like the face and the day baby, and it does
the face and I'm say, okay, it gets worse. It
gets worse. So we end up in the strip club

(01:17:21):
with Stevie J. And my whole team is trying to
find a way for me to have an interaction with
STEVJ and the stripper and they're just doing this for
their pure ships and giggles. They're doing this because they
know it's about They're doing this so they can laugh
at me. And so we ended up something like No,
I didn't have it, but I was definitely like, oh,

(01:17:41):
this is weird. I go to the barroom. On the
way back, he grabs me and he pulls me to
the stage and I'm just like, oh, what's gonna happen.
I'm really myself like oh, and he calls me. It's
like a big lady and she's like go in and
like she's going in that boot He's up no, and

(01:18:04):
she's like this girl is coming. I'm just like yeah,
And so if I'm standing if her booties facing the audience,
I'm standing with my right side. I remembered it and
he's facing me and he's like, yo, look at him. Man.
I was like, what he said? You look at her,
look at it, and he says the worst things. I'm
just like, oh, it's all right, She's doing great. Like

(01:18:25):
look at him, I'm traumatized. Why are you going to
the strip club? You don't, I don't, but it's fun.
And then check it out. I gave her the money.
Thank you. It was so great. She was like, thank you.
But I feel like they appreciate I don't throw at them.
And look, we're in Vegas. We're gonna go real good

(01:18:52):
experiment ran because they would be best French fries every Okay,
I have been there. We had a wild belvet and
I've been all the ship clubs and the most polite.
I can give you a structure breakdown on the best foods.
I actually I'm very interested in that in Atlanta. Atlanta
is actually the best strip club in Atlanta is actually Follies.

(01:19:16):
Like the best dancers, yes died, No, not literally they killed. No,
they really want to dance at Foling because they have
a good rate there. Uh like the old Gold Club.
I got you. Yeah, because the owner lets them keep
their money. Uh, at least more than most do. No, no, no,

(01:19:39):
some will tax the ship. He makes a killing off
of the bar and more importantly the water which I
don't want to give his secrets away. Yes, well, but
he has a great deal on bottle water. I don't know,
maybe a friend of ours, a friend of his, a

(01:20:02):
friend of ours, but yeah, yeah, I fell off the
truck but yeah Foley's. It also has great food commercial
to do like a little book this is this is
said you're not allowed to do those. We I mean
that would be fun, like I would I want to

(01:20:24):
know or do a site. I don't know. We're looking
for someone a green book for entertainment, right, No serious
at least they started breakfast after, you know, like for
no real life. I have to talk you about it.
Why has ever been Steve? I'm nominating myself for this job?

(01:20:46):
Oh god? Alright, So we got wrapped this up yard.
We we talked about the church in the UK and
immigration and pancakes at Folly's. So okay, So in love
in l A. So for you, what what is your

(01:21:07):
what is your hope for this year? We're already in February.
I'm really like, so my main thing is the label
goes up. Um. I have a new artist that I
really really really like. We'll go for like in the
same way John went for me. Um, she's incredible, She's
a great singer. She's just my thing is, I'm not
investing in anybody who I have to pull from the
ground up. I'm investing in people who are doing the
work and who want to actually learn the business and

(01:21:29):
be sustainable on their own. You know. So she's from Illinois, Chicago. Um,
she's really Illinois, so respectaful what about Chicago from Illinois,
but family in Chicago, and like it's she's been working,
you know, and she's been really trying to do this.

(01:21:50):
So yeah, Jamie Woods, Okay, that's a hard name of following.
Jamie kerran with um on Instagram. But she has a
beautiful voice. She just stands things. I believe she's going
to be incredible. You're gonna see it. Um. But she
also knows the business and is learning it quickly, you know. Um.
And like, so the labels going up, we're doing TV films, documentaries,

(01:22:12):
were expanding, like the festival space, which is you know,
I know a lot of things that I see and
I understand the position that I'm in, and I just
want to make sure that going forward, anybody that comes
here and understands that they have this outlet and they
have this unique space that they can really run down
whether you you know, because we all need we needed

(01:22:32):
that person. I needed that person to what's the word
help me? And I had to figure out a lot
of things myself, you know some Yeah, mentoring is essentially
the key. So I've you know a lot of artists
come through and I definitely touched there having folks paying
it for it, that's happening. Yeah, And Essence is she
is going and like we're going again. We have the Bashman,
the dance, all the soca. I think, I feel like

(01:22:54):
I don't know if I spoke to something about that,
but hepp So every year, you know, Essence is like, yeah,
and we are. Yeah. Last year we did it with
them and it was the first year we sold out.
It was the highest rated, like performance, and so this
year we're doing it again. And my thing was to

(01:23:17):
make sure that whenever we touched down and you understand
the diasporates here, it's not just about it's it's definitely
black culture, but also here we are because that's where
I come from. Like we I never do an American
Boys show. I'm going to do a show and it's
bash man, it's dance all, it's all. The music is
John Basses House. And I want people to know that
that we can touch all those spaces about feeling like,

(01:23:39):
oh you're alternative, Oh you're different. Now, this is what
we do as a people. That's what it is. So
we're doing that word since and that's what we do. Yeah,
hell yeah, East shag out. Yeah we can see the
stronger we get it that we're getting it down. Yeah.

(01:23:59):
All right, well still we thank you very much, uh
for coding and speaking to us. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
Love all all of your product is now streamable. I
see in your local record store a track record is
coming this year, so too beautiful. That's great to hear.
All right, we'll on behalf of Team Supreme, uh, Steve

(01:24:22):
boss Bill Ye. Yes, we're going to strip club right now.
Sorry Fontikolo, you're still on smoking cigarettes and all right.
We will see you all next week on the next
go round of Quest Love Supreme. M For more podcasts

(01:24:58):
from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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