INTERVIEW: TIWA Savage Talks 'This One Is Personal,' Davido, Tyla, Afrobeats, Ageism, Dating, Healing + More

Today on The Breakfast Club, TIWA Savage Talks 'This One Is Personal,' Davido, Tyla, Afrobeats, Ageism, Dating, Healing. Listen For More!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Every day Breakfast Club. You don't feels for y'all done?

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yes, it's the world most dangerous morning to show the
Breakfast Club Charlamage the God DJ NV just hilarious, justin
and beyond here today. But Lauren Lerosa is and we
got a special guest in the building. She had a
new album came out in August called This One Is Personal?
Personal t Y Savage, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
How you feeling.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
I'm good. I feel blessed.

Speaker 4 (00:25):
Every time I run into you in New York. You
just always look amazing. Really, yes, I love literally, You're
one of my favorite people to just run into because
it just be so effortless every.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Why are you in the same places as Lauren? Why
are you in the same places as I?

Speaker 4 (00:44):
Like, she's in all these great places because she's this
huge superstar.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Okay, you know what You're right, Let me change my perspective.

Speaker 4 (00:52):
I was able to say something to you, but not
in front of company. Some things you.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Need to check you're going to be best behavior.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yes, the name of this album, This One is personal.
When I'm looking into the album, the first thing I
think is who is the main inspired this?

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah? It was, it was. It was hard. It was,
But honestly, I think I feel like it's like a
combination of different scenarios. I think that there's different things
that I've gone through that I really haven't I hadn't
dealt with and I was just moving and just going
on to different things. So it's just the last one
was just really like it was really bad.

Speaker 4 (01:29):
Yeah, it was. It was really.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
I don't want to give him too much credit because
I'm doing way better than him, so I don't want
to kick him while he's down.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
So what there's specific moments are events that you drew
on while making this album.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Every single thing was something. It wasn't like, you know,
like when you're writing or you're in the studio and
you're kind of fabricating stuff. No, everything was like exactly
what I went through, every single emotion, every single line,
everything was like, yeah, it was deep. So and that
was really important for me for this project because doing

(02:06):
Aphrobe a lot of times is about feel good, right.
I decided to take a leap of faith and just
really put out my heart, which we don't really get
in in aphrob.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
That's interesting because you know, when I'm here now, it
does sound like it's more traditional R and B. Yeah, right,
So you think it's I don't want to say impossible,
but it's hard to deliver these kind of messages with afrobeats.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
I don't think so. But for me it was hard
for me because I'm from I fell in love with
R and B. That's like, that was what really got
me into doing music. Like you know, I saw Brandy
and that's how I was like, yeah, I started shedding
Brandy and listened to Brandy. So for me, that's my
comfort zone. So when I want to listen to something
to evoke some kind of emotion, I go back to

(02:50):
my R and B playlist. So I had to go
back to that for me. I mean, other people can
can do it with aphrobe but it wasn't it's not
typically what I would do. Yes, So I went back
to my first love.

Speaker 4 (03:01):
I could feel the Brandy in it. But even too,
I think the sound and softness of your voice on
some of the songs, which I don't probably do a purpose.
It's just your voice, but it is very Brandy reminiscent.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
Like nah, she's like my mentor man, like she's like yeah.
The reason why I even really really got into music was, yeah,
just studying her, like studying her harmonies, her vocal air
and everything was just yeah, man.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
Do you guys have a personal relationship too, We're just
like aspirational mentor.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
Well we have a song together. So we've done a
song together called Somebody's Son, And yeah, definitely obviously worked
with her, did the video and we're still you know,
in DMS and things were still Yeah, yeah, she's she's incredible.
You know they always say, don't meet your idol es. Yeah, no,
it was, yeah, she was. It was completely different. I

(03:51):
was so in awe of her, Like recording it in
the studio, I couldn't even stay.

Speaker 4 (03:55):
I had to leave the studio.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Yeah, yeah, I couldn't stay. Like wow, yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
It was it was like did that fuck with your performance?
Was that message your performance?

Speaker 3 (04:05):
Like do you feel like oh, I'd already recorded my part.
So when I was just sitting there just listening to
her in the studio, like I was just like wow,
I remembered when I was just like thirteen fourteen. I
had to just step out to be like, yoh God,
are you really doing this for me? Is this really
happening here? It was like a blessing of.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
How did you decide which stories you were ready to
share on this album and which ones you want to
keep private.

Speaker 3 (04:29):
I didn't keep anything I did. I just I put
everything out like. I was just like, yeah, I need
to and a lot of people doubted. A lot of
you know, people were like, m it's a bit too personal.
People are not really going to relate. It's a bit
too musical because I had like on ten percent, for instance,
I had like live instruments. I went to Nashville and

(04:50):
those are live horns, live guitars, live drum, live bass.
I even had like, instead of some songs, I didn't
put like a second verse, I put like a musical break.
And people are like, no, in the world of TikTok,
no one's really gonna no, one's really going to mess
with this type of music. So it was just like, yeah, no,
this is I studied music, so I need to I

(05:12):
need to go back to my root. And I wasn't
worried about streams or anything like. Seriously, I really.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
Wasn't such an interesting song because you say that your
phone was in the studio from some guys somebody signed.

Speaker 3 (05:26):
No, no, seriously no, it was in the middle of
the session. Yes, And I went to get some yes,
and I'm not like literally like I just got out
of that situation and I was like, I'm going to
be outside. I don't care like I want to just
you know, just be wild. And yeah, I got I
got a message and it was just like come over

(05:47):
and I was like, then I got a picture and
I was like, oh, oh my god, did you why
that's something?

Speaker 4 (06:00):
It was a picture, not a video though, that was
a picture.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
You know, we called it, we call it being digmatized.

Speaker 4 (06:05):
Wa.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
You're in the middle of a studio session. You work
towards your goals and your dreams.

Speaker 3 (06:11):
And just ca yeah, because you know, it's like you know,
like when you're going to the gym, you're learning to
work out so you can you free your mind.

Speaker 4 (06:18):
Okay, your phone was on ten percent though, did it
die in the car?

Speaker 3 (06:23):
You just know I was fast, That's what I was.
I was. I was getting fast. I was I was
telling my driver like, you need to hurry out because
you know, when I get to his place, I want
to be able to call him and be like I'm downstairs.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
You didn't have to drive if they had a charger.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
No, no, I was my car, but was my driver
charge in your No, I didn't.

Speaker 4 (06:39):
You were about the wrong thing. She was in the
back spring on the little sprit spray get look right
like she was getting you ready, already ready.

Speaker 1 (06:47):
It was hold on that you got your mind cleared
and you went back to the studio.

Speaker 3 (06:53):
I didn't go back that day. Iay, I know, I
was like I was in the rush. He wasn't trying
to kick me.

Speaker 4 (06:57):
You spend the night, what day?

Speaker 3 (07:00):
Forget a bit now.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
I just want to know creatively, what came to you
after you.

Speaker 4 (07:12):
Addicted?

Speaker 1 (07:13):
Oh okay, all right.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
Oh my god.

Speaker 2 (07:19):
And it said it took you two years to make
this album, Yeah it did. Why because what were some
of the biggest challenges.

Speaker 3 (07:25):
I would stop and start. Initially, I would like a
lot of people trying to convince me to go more
afro beat. So I would be in the studio and
I'll record a lot, and then I'll listen to it
and I'll start and I'll say, no, I want to
really do this type of project that's R and B leaning,
and I have to do it in my full chest.
I can't just dabble like I've been doing for years.

(07:48):
So it took me two years to just and also
like mentally to be ready emotionally to get through that,
to be able to sing sing, sing, And I think
when you're when you want to do like R and
B records, you have to singing. You can't just I
can kind of get away with it sometimes enough for me,
but vocally I had to get my chops up, so

(08:09):
it took me a while. Do you get a pushback
from some fans because like, you know, I know you dibble,
dabble into R and B, but now this project is
very much R and B.

Speaker 4 (08:19):
It doesn't sound like afrobeats? Are they? How do they
feel about that? You're fans?

Speaker 3 (08:25):
My real fans really know that this is what I
wanted to do. Anybody else I don't care. I'm not
seeking their opinion. Yeah, so I don't. But to be honest,
I've gotten so much love, yes, from even people that
weren't my fans, people who didn't even really listen to
your savage for instance, to be like yo, and a

(08:47):
lot of them don't even know I'm like jan so
they're like yeah, but they think I'm just like, you know,
an American singing like and they're like, who's this new whatever?
And I'm like, yo, she's African. Wow. Like, so it's
opening me up to like a whole new audience.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
I was talking about how crazy it is. When I
was seeing you around for fashion week. There were a
lot of people that I was with who didn't know
who you were. But because you were so gorgeous and like,
you know, you're performing and you're walking in the shows,
They're like, who is this girl?

Speaker 3 (09:16):
I don't know her?

Speaker 4 (09:18):
But coming over here to the US, there probably are
a lot of people, even though you've been back and forth,
you know, that are discovering you. Now, what is that
like for you because you've been here.

Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah, you know a lot of artists find it hard
because they're so big in their territory or whatever. They
find it hard to like, I don't know if it's
an ego thing, but they find it hard to like
go somewhere where maybe nobody knows who they are. Yeah, Like,
and I love that. I actually think that it's an
opportunity for me to reintroduce myself again and like learn

(09:49):
from maybe stuff that I've done and where people actually
know me and they know things about me that yeah,
I'm trying to like shy away from. So for me,
this is my introduction again to like a new market.
I love it. I love going to like you said,
places and they don't know, they don't know who I am,

(10:09):
and I'm just introducing myself. I'm starting all over again,
but this time I'm starting better because I've learned. Now
there's certain things that I may not do or I
may do it.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
But when people look you up, you know, they say, oh,
she's the Queen of AfroB that's that's an expectation.

Speaker 3 (10:26):
Yeah, yeah, And I know that.

Speaker 1 (10:27):
You always reject the title quick, why is it?

Speaker 3 (10:31):
I don't reject it, but I feel like i've you know,
when I've embraced it in the past, they feel like
I've done it and I've excluded other women or I've
felt like I'm the only one. And so now I
try to explain that, Yeah, I do embrace it. I
love it. I'm not shying away from it. But there
are other other women that you know should get that

(10:53):
or should get that. I get that spotlight.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
You think people put African artists in a box.

Speaker 3 (10:59):
All the time. I think even with award shows, like
you go to award shows and then there's a whole
continent in one category, like an aprob B category and
then you're like, I'm not doing what Berner's doing. I'm
not doing what Tyler's doing or whatever. It's just a
whole different like it's a continent, like we speak different languages.

(11:21):
So it's like, for me, it was really important for
me to also do this for them not to put
me in a box because I can't like R and
B is you know my background, and I can do
it authentically well, and I want that to be able
to inspire other people where you know, they want to
do a hip hop art album and you know what

(11:43):
I mean, do it well if you're going to do it.
But yeah, just because you're from a certain place doesn't
mean you should only do that type of music.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
It's gonna be interesting to see how musical award shows
recognize this album, right, because yeah, because it should be
in the R and B Cady right in the know and.

Speaker 3 (12:04):
Yeah, and that's that's nerve wrecking for me too. Actually,
But again, I think I've just blocked my mind to
like I'm not doing it forwards, I'm not doing it forever.
I'm doing it for like my core fans, Like that's
that's the only way I can Otherwise I wouldn't have
been able to do it. I would have snuck in
more aphrobeat records, more aphrobeat features and collapse, and it
would defeat the purpose, Like I wouldn't I wouldn't be

(12:26):
doing it with my full test. Yeah, so I need
to I needed to get away from that.

Speaker 4 (12:31):
What's the background of your like, like, where does your
love for R and B come from? Because looking you up,
I saw that you wrote for Monica prior to you
do back you sung back up from Mary J.

Speaker 3 (12:41):
Blanche.

Speaker 4 (12:42):
You put vocals on one of Winnie Houston's Houston's last albums.
How did you fall? Like you don't you know not
even how did you fall? You don't fall into that
type of stuff, So what was the journey getting to
that point of those things?

Speaker 3 (12:53):
It was It's like a snowball effect. So I was
in London. I started I went for backup, like the
auditions for like backup singing. I got it. I was
like excited, like yo, I'm getting paid to do this,
Like this is crazy. And then from there I'm watching
TV I see I want to be down Brandy and
I'm just obsessed by it. So I just really started

(13:16):
studying studying her, and then you just get into like
this rabbit hole where you're now discovering Monica and SWV
and Mary J. Blige and it's just going and going,
and then I'm just getting good at it, like and
then I'm getting gigs from just doing backup vocals from
doing backup vocals. My dad. My dad is like, you

(13:37):
can't do music unless you study for music African parents,
And I'm like right. So my first degree was an
account So I did accounts, gave him the degree. I said,
I want to go into music. He said, no, you
have to study music. I'm like that, Michael Jackson did
not go to school with music, Like that's not what
we do, and he forced me to go. In an

(13:57):
audition for Berkeley and Boston. I got a full scholarship.
Studied jazz, and then I studied songwriting and then like, yeah,
I just studied building my resume from there. Wow, that's
pretty insane.

Speaker 1 (14:11):
On the song I'm Done, you say you don't want
to love again?

Speaker 3 (14:14):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (14:15):
Do you feel that way for real?

Speaker 3 (14:16):
I really, I really do.

Speaker 1 (14:18):
What Yeah, gotta be careful what you say to the universe.

Speaker 3 (14:20):
Now, Yeah, I know, I know, And I just that
place was dark, you know, it was really for me
to I, Ah, I'm scared that someone's gonna come or
the right person's gonna come, and I'm just gonna project
my trauma on them. Yeah, that's because I'm going to

(14:42):
give everything. I'm really honestly going to give everything. And
can I really do that again? And just unless God
opens up the heavens and says, this is my child,
this is who you're supposed to be with. I can't.
I can't see myself opening up like that again.

Speaker 1 (14:59):
But if God is, if you know that you have unhealed.

Speaker 3 (15:03):
Trumple, yeah, I would say about seventy percent eight I am.
I'm still doing it every day. I still yeah, I
still do it.

Speaker 1 (15:12):
So you don't want to meet somebody until you are
a more healed version.

Speaker 3 (15:16):
Of Yeah, I need to be completely like got you? Yeah, completely,
one hundred percent whole.

Speaker 1 (15:21):
Because right now you're just toxic.

Speaker 3 (15:23):
No I'm not.

Speaker 4 (15:26):
No way, are you hurt still?

Speaker 1 (15:30):
No?

Speaker 3 (15:31):
I think nah that that situation, all those situations is done. No,
I'm just I'm just a bit. I'm just wary man,
because I can't I don't believe words. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I don't believe Yeah, I don't believe. I don't believe words.
I'm just I'm hard now, Like, yeah, you have to

(15:51):
you have to really come hard.

Speaker 2 (15:54):
You said this albums therapeutic for you. It was, so
have you ever actually gone to there?

Speaker 3 (15:59):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (15:59):
Yeah, okay, And I still do.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
Like before it used to be regular, like a couple
of times a week, but now it's like as of
when I need it, Like if I feel like, okay,
I need to just talk to someone about something, yeah,
then I still do. And I think we don't talk
about it a lot in my culture. Yeah, yeah, it's
a stigma.

Speaker 1 (16:22):
I mean, I think it's just black people all across the.

Speaker 3 (16:23):
World here as well.

Speaker 1 (16:25):
I think it's changed.

Speaker 3 (16:26):
I feel like more you guys are more open to it.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
It's changed over the last several years.

Speaker 3 (16:30):
Yeah, I think. So, yeah, you're not. And Niger's like, what, no,
just go to church, I believe right here.

Speaker 4 (16:39):
I think it depends on the age of the person
you're talking to. Certain age of like it's like older
I know, like my family, older black women in my
family will tell you just go to church, but they
mean you need to speak to someone, yes, yeah, and
all the things. But we younger will say you should
probably do therapy or talk to a friend or something
like that.

Speaker 3 (16:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but a lot of people use chat
for therapy. Yeah, a lot of people say to me,
you're wasting your money, just put it into the chat.
I'm like, what crazy?

Speaker 2 (17:10):
When did you realize that you just didn't want to
love again? Though, because I feel like that's a temporary thing.

Speaker 3 (17:15):
Because one, yeah, I love my son, Yes, absolutely right,
I love my team, I love you know, my friends.
I've been married before. I'm like, yeah, I'm not I'm
not young. I'm forty five. Yeah, I'm good.

Speaker 2 (17:31):
But you love other things like penis.

Speaker 4 (17:43):
I don't know if I come attached to I've gone.

Speaker 3 (17:46):
Like maybe like three years without. I know, it's not
something like I really like I'm crazy.

Speaker 4 (17:53):
About Yeah, three hundred and sixty five days time time.

Speaker 3 (17:58):
Yeah, I've done that.

Speaker 1 (18:00):
So you don't need so so you have to be
in love to take it.

Speaker 3 (18:03):
Yes, yes, I don't have to be with someone for
me to even think about it. Like I don't have toys, like, yeah.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
I understand that.

Speaker 3 (18:09):
Yeah, maybe I need to. Maybe that's what for my
Christmas present. Maybe people should get me some toys right now.

Speaker 1 (18:15):
Now, you have a whole bunch of roles just for Christmas.

Speaker 2 (18:17):
You're wondering why why all these boxes Buzzing't they're gonna
be checking them for bombs?

Speaker 1 (18:22):
That go ahead.

Speaker 4 (18:26):
I was gonna say you you recently got your fans going.
You're trying to figure out who you were talking about.
You did an interview, You did an interview. You talk
about the secret romance, and you know this the celebrity
you were dating, and it had to be on the
low and they would do parties at the house and
you would stay away from the people when the parties
would be going on. Now people want to know who
to because people think you're talking about whiz Kid.

Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah, I know, and you know, my shout out to Wiskit.
I love risk It, I respect Whisky is not about
as skined I said the person was a public figure,
but I didn't he's not. He's not artist.

Speaker 4 (18:58):
Oh so just like someone of them?

Speaker 3 (19:00):
Yeah someone yeah, so yeah. Man. I woke up and
I saw that and I was just like, oh my god,
it's not Whisky. Yes not man, he's probably watching it, Like,
what the how did I get jacked into this?

Speaker 1 (19:13):
Shiit?

Speaker 3 (19:14):
Like, no, it's not No, it's not one hundred percent.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
Were you wanting to like, because I mean, keeping it
private is a personal decision probably about both of you guys.
But initially I was about to say, but it gives.
That's how he.

Speaker 3 (19:27):
Got me like, oh, you know, I cherished this so
much and I want this to be you know, I
want us to build a foundation, and and I'm like, oh, yeah,
you know, this is amazing. And then before and then
people are like, yow, how can you let someone treat
you like that? Like and it's like it didn't just
go from zero to a hundred, Like the way men

(19:48):
work with your psyche is like they chip a little
bit and then before you know it, you're like, yo,
how did I even get here? And yeah, so it's
like first it's like he doesn't want people to know.
Then the thing is like he'll change my name on
his phone, so if I'm calling him, people don't know
it's me or whatever. Then then it's like when we

(20:10):
go out, we go in separate place cars and we
leave separately. And then it's like, when we go out
you might see me with someone, it's because I don't
want people to know. And then it's and then it
just progressively just gets worse to the point where I'm
somewhere you're literally working the room, and you're telling me
it's because you don't want people to know.

Speaker 4 (20:31):
And when you say work in the room, you mean
dealing with other women.

Speaker 3 (20:34):
Yeah, yeah, that's crazy.

Speaker 4 (20:37):
What did that do to you? Just mentally, because now
I'm kind of understanding the word that you don't want
to love again comes from. There's a lot to impact
and that's just one situation with one person.

Speaker 3 (20:48):
Yeah, at the time, I didn't think it was that bad.
I didn't see how bad it was. Like my friends
are telling me you're crazy, like this is They're like,
this guy's plea and I'm like, no, look, I understand.
We haven't understanding. I know what he's doing, Like he
doesn't really like her, he's not You're just you're doing

(21:09):
this for me. And now now I'm talking about everyth
you guys, I'm like, I'm embarrassed even like how did
I yo? Because I used to be that type of
person to look at girls, I break guy's cars and

(21:31):
I'm like, yo, I can never get to that point
where the guy will get me to And then now
that girl is like accepting bullshit, Like it's so it's
so embarrassing for me to know that I allow that
to happen.

Speaker 2 (21:48):
I want you to know it comes off in the
music because I think a lot of times when you
try to balance, you know, these themes of love and
heartbreak and faith, like sometimes you can feel performative rather
than authentic.

Speaker 1 (21:59):
But when I'm listening to it, I'm driving, like who
heard her? Like somebody did a number? How did you
navigate that?

Speaker 2 (22:08):
How did you navigate like balancing those themes to make
it feel authentic rather than performance.

Speaker 3 (22:14):
I had the right people that I was working with,
the right writers. Yeah, I had. And it wasn't a lot.
It wasn't like a camp where it's just like we're
trying to make hits.

Speaker 1 (22:24):
You know.

Speaker 3 (22:24):
I was very vulnerable with these people. Like for the
first I would say, even week we didn't make music,
we were just hanging out in this house in Malibu
and I was just hearing their story and they were
hearing my story. So you know, it was more like
we bonded before we even started like recording, and yeah,
I was really really open and I said, listen, this

(22:47):
is like I'm due an album, I'm due a project,
but I can't until I get this out, I can't
do anything else. And there was a lot of times
I was crying, especially the first record. Yeah, that took
me like four attempts to record. Yeah, yeah that was.
That was really Even now when I listened to the album,

(23:08):
I skip that. Yeah, I can't listen to it. I
haven't been able to perform it. Yeah, it's been, Yeah
it was. It was tough.

Speaker 2 (23:19):
So that's I was going to ask. The one song
on the album the hardest to write record is clearly
I'm done.

Speaker 3 (23:23):
Yeah, I'm done done. Well yeah, But then I end
the record with Change with James funt Laury, where it's
basically just saying that I want to change back to
who God created me to be. So it's not changing
for a man, it's changing for changing for God. Going
back to a factory setting, like you.

Speaker 1 (23:42):
Know interesting, Yeah, I don't know if you go back
to factory setting.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
No, I think that you have these No, I think
you have these experiences and they they actually turn you
into a better version.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
But don't you rebooth? You know, when something's like when
something and you switch it off, like your phone, you
canletely switch it off and then switch it back on
because it's just tweaking. I think I was like I
needed to switch off.

Speaker 1 (24:06):
But what did you learn? Though? Like they always say,
you know, it's not a loss if you learn something
from the.

Speaker 3 (24:12):
Learned what I learned when it's red, When it's a
red flag, it is a red flag. It's not off red,
it's not pink, it's not light red. It's what it is.
And I'm learning to accept. So yeah, yeah, I'm just
that's that's the main thing, and just valuing myself and
knowing that really, yeah, I I wasn't the problem and

(24:37):
I don't have to change for somebody, and I'm enough.
You know all the you know, cliche type of things,
but they're cliches because that's what it's. That's the truth.
So but mainly, if someone shows you who they are,
like really, just accept it from the first girl, like
save yourself the heartbreak.

Speaker 2 (24:58):
Faith is another topic you examine, right, So, how has
your spirituality changed? I've grown after making this album.

Speaker 3 (25:06):
I've always been a very like you know, I'm Christian.
I believe in Jesus, so I've always that. I think
it's just me going back, like I said, going back
to not just like I do this thing where I
just pray in the morning like quickly, like thank you
Jesus for the day, and then that's it. But now
I'm spending time yeah yeah, spending time with him and

(25:30):
knowing that it's important for me to take out time
in the day and be disciplined like that to me
has been like life changing.

Speaker 1 (25:40):
So how to pray no more? Come about?

Speaker 3 (25:42):
Ooh? So pray no More is like what if I
was to be in a relationship again. That's the song,
Like I'm saying, like you could pray about your career,
pray to God about money, pray to God about anything,
but when it comes to me and my love and
my loyalty, you don't need to pray no more. You
got you got me?

Speaker 1 (26:04):
Yeah, because you know that if you do grow to
love somebody again, this is the real real.

Speaker 3 (26:08):
Yeah yea, yeah, you know you don't need to like
pray no more, say no more like you got me? Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (26:15):
I saw you were in the studio with Fab last night.

Speaker 3 (26:18):
Mmm, you for me?

Speaker 4 (26:19):
Because you for me? You sampled the original song with TMA.
Yeah h So we're getting a remix with Fabs that
was about to happen.

Speaker 3 (26:26):
I hope, So I hope. So, yeah, we were there.
I played a couple of records and he definitely gravitated
to that. But I'm a bit because would he remix
a remix because he's already do you know what I mean?
Like I was a bit skeptical to ask and be like, h.

Speaker 4 (26:44):
But he he was there, you didn't want to ask him.

Speaker 3 (26:46):
No. I played other records that he loved as well,
but then he loved that too, So I'm hoping by
today or tomorrow I might get something.

Speaker 4 (26:55):
I feel like that.

Speaker 3 (26:55):
I hope that one.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
Yeah, I feel like that makes the most SIPs.

Speaker 3 (26:59):
Yeah really, but you know, like Lightland doesn't strike in
the same place twice, so is it kind of be like,
oh you should have left the original.

Speaker 1 (27:07):
Maybe that's why you do it. You know what I'm saying,
you don't like it?

Speaker 3 (27:12):
No, you can't tell someone like you can't have someone
like Favety something and be like no, you can't do that.

Speaker 4 (27:17):
I feel like he's a way that can he can
like flip it, like he takes basically sampling his own like.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
Yeah, he's too good, he's never he's not even ever
gonna go below. Yeah, he's too good.

Speaker 4 (27:30):
He's too smooth, embrace New York and like just all
of it just feels like you're living like a different
life right now.

Speaker 3 (27:35):
Yeah, New York is good when you have money. Yes,
I was living here and I don't have money. Yeah,
I hated New York. But being in New York when
you have a little little coin in your pocket, it's
just a great It's a great city.

Speaker 2 (27:53):
The fact now you didn't put your first song to
you was in your thirties, So what would you say
to people who have a passion but feel like it's
too late the pursuit.

Speaker 3 (28:00):
Yeah, man, that's that's my life. That's the story of
my life. And I feel like I resented God and
I resented my parents for so long. Yeah for making
me wait, Like for making me do two degrees because
I could have been out when I was twenty twenty one,
like doing two degrees and it made me work as
an accountant.

Speaker 1 (28:18):
Well what God had to do with that, because now.

Speaker 3 (28:24):
I just resented him, like like he I felt like
he should have made me, given me the opportunity a
lot sooner. But now looking at it, like I did
it in my thirties, when I'm much grounded, I'm not
phased by fame or money. I've seen people come and
go some way more humble. I understand how hard you

(28:46):
have to work for certain things that I've learned from
the great and also for me, Like I feel like
I can speak to people like you said, like even
models like who feel like if they're not successful by
twenty five, they need to retire. I think that's crazy.
Or a footballer like by the time you're like hitting

(29:09):
thirty you have to go to Saudi or something to
start playing, Like that's to me, that's crazy. If you're
still fit and you can still do it, it's.

Speaker 2 (29:16):
A little different. Like you said, they got to be physically.
It's a physical thing. With music is more mental, it's
more emotional. I would think that the more experience you have.

Speaker 3 (29:24):
Yeah, Like I always say to someone if I'm going
into operating table and that they give me two options
of a doctor a surgeon, and they say, this guy
is young and he's fresh, and he's only been doing
this for six months. And they're like, this guy's like
sixty something and he's you know, he's been operating on people,
he's never had any cases of whatever. I'm going to
go with the experienced guys. And I feel like with music,

(29:47):
the older you are, the longer you've been in the industry,
the more seasoned you are. I don't know why they
try and shut us out. The older we get like
it's just it's crazy to me, Like.

Speaker 1 (29:57):
Yeah, well they're more difficult, you think.

Speaker 3 (30:00):
When I started, people didn't realize how old I was,
so they became fans. And then by the time they realized,
they were like what, Yo, how old? But they're already
like turn hint to like they already like my fan,
like they already loved the brand. So yeah, but now
I think would I say it's difficult sometimes, like and

(30:22):
I don't shy away from it. That's usually one of
the first things I say to people, like, hey, you
know because and then when they find out, some people
actually be like, yo.

Speaker 4 (30:31):
We can't because of your age. Yeah, brands are is
and be like what yeah, like they'll yeah, it's a
music industry. Well, I've heard from label friends that music
they always look for younger artists. But I didn't think
it was that point because you're established, like you have music,
you have things, you have numbers, Like.

Speaker 3 (30:48):
I'm talking in terms of like opportunities they might say, hmm,
the demographic don't really you know, say they always try
and box me in this icon' oh we think she
can perform, Like if there's a festival or whatever and
there's like three dates, they sometimes try and box me
in like the icon stage or whatever. And but young

(31:08):
people really, like they really mess with me a lot,
and a lot of them don't even really know how
I am, but they will now.

Speaker 1 (31:17):
Who cares.

Speaker 2 (31:18):
I'm forty seven. I embrace every Okay, being alive is
a blessing. Yeah, consider to the alternative wake up dead,
And a.

Speaker 3 (31:27):
Lot of people don't make it. That's right to our age,
Like to me when they throw it in my face,
they would say the forty five year old, and I'm like,
you're not. That's a blessing, like they always say. You
will see people in my comments being like, oh my god,
she's still singing. You should give it up. You should

(31:47):
just damn just like yeah, and it just gets me angry,
like I'm going to be doing this till I'm eighty,
Like I'm going to keep going.

Speaker 2 (31:55):
I'm glad you said that because I saw you saying
that you were suggesting that this might be your final life.

Speaker 1 (32:00):
Yeah, I think you were worn out.

Speaker 3 (32:03):
Yeah, I was just drunk. Maybe I was drunk that night.
I was just like, oh my, I must have seen
something on an article, must have just pissed me off.
And I'm like, okay, fine, I'm not doing this again.
Turn Out wake comes the next morning and I'm like,
oh jeez, I need to make money.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
Unctionately exhausting? Is it to just create music?

Speaker 2 (32:25):
I don't think we ever talked to artists about that, Like,
you spend all of this time, like you said, you
spent traveling all around the world, and then you might
push something out and then be one person.

Speaker 3 (32:34):
Like this is oh they give it like a three
out of ten exactly. Yeah. No, I'm not even gonna
lie that. That's you could talk about anything. I could
the controversies and I have had a lot, But when
it comes to music, that's the thing that gets me
because I put so much into it, and again everyone

(32:56):
didn't like Jesus, so who am I like? And it's
the music KI is subjective. So when that happened, I
just tend to what do I do? I just drink.
I just get over it. I just like, shall I
watch something, drink, hang out with my friends, invite the

(33:17):
next day. I forgot about it, but I need to
trust me he will be It's not it's even worse
than that. It's worse. I gave the PG version this
a lot. Yeah, it was really bad.

Speaker 4 (33:33):
You gotta keep it PG for us.

Speaker 2 (33:41):
In what way do you think this album marks your
growth though, not just as an artist, but as.

Speaker 3 (33:46):
A person musically. I think you can hear like you could.
You could just hear like this growth and there's there's
confidence and like me attempting to do this, like I said,
like a night cheering girl doing straight up R and B. Yeah,
it just shows that I'm in a space where I'm

(34:07):
not doing music for TikTok moments. I'm not doing songs that. Yeah,
you can hear that this song, this twenty seconds of
this part is going to be a you know, a
viral moment. You could hear that. I'm comfortable and confident
in the woman I am now musically and just in life.
I'm not chasing anything. I'm enjoying. I'm enjoying being here,

(34:29):
like I'm enjoying doing the press runs. I'm enjoying waking
up early and they're like I have to do this
and I'm I'm actually enjoying it now.

Speaker 1 (34:37):
What came out of the process that surprised you about.

Speaker 3 (34:40):
Yourself saying no? Yeah, I think I feel like I
used to be a people pleaser. A lot of the
songs that became huge for me, I didn't like them.
A lot of my hit records I didn't like, but
I said yes, and I you know, but I've learned

(35:00):
how to just say no and be and but say
in a grace gracious way. Like in a session, I'll
say to the producer that's not for me. It's a
great record is going to be a hit. Whoever's going
to do that, But that's not where I'm at.

Speaker 1 (35:17):
Boundaries are important.

Speaker 3 (35:18):
Very very and but when you set boundaries, it's lonely.
I never I never realized how many people I was
going to lose by seting boundaries.

Speaker 1 (35:31):
But they were They clearly weren't meant to be around
you anyway.

Speaker 3 (35:34):
Yeah, that's what I'm learning. But it's still lonely, though,
because when you're used to being when you travel and
then it kind of like as an artist, you know
you're walking into somewhere and you have like ten twenty people,
and you know everyone's like oh, who's that to, like
me going to a ventage just be and my manager like,

(35:54):
it's an adjustment, but then it's also cheaper and like
you said, it's like peace of mind.

Speaker 2 (36:01):
One thing I respect about what you just said though.
You said that you know you did songs that you
didn't want to do but they were still hit.

Speaker 3 (36:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:08):
So a lot of people you talk about programming earlier,
a lot of people default setting would be like, well,
let me just keep.

Speaker 1 (36:12):
Recording these songs. Yeah, they work, but they weren't making
you feel good. Nah nah, even with the success.

Speaker 3 (36:18):
Yeah yeah, no, I mean it felt good to do. See,
I listened to like, you know, I would listen to
like my label or whatever and be like, Okay, I'll
do it, and then if it works out, I'm like,
you know, cool, you know you're right. You know, I'm
glad I listened to you. But I have to listen
to myself as well, and I have to motivate myself

(36:40):
and challenge myself and be like, yeah, no, I've done
this for the past ten years. I've done I know
how to do those type of afrobeat hit records. With
my eyes closed, I'm not excited anymore. Like I want
to be able to go on stage and sing records
and have people crying or like look at them and
they they know or I feel that they can feel

(37:03):
the music like I want to. I need that in
my catalog. Not everything is about this car and that
and look at my diamonds and I'm the Savage and
I'm this Like okay, we get it. Yeah, yeah, you.

Speaker 1 (37:18):
Do something like that, that's gonna make me feel some
feel something.

Speaker 3 (37:21):
Yeah, yeah, I needed that.

Speaker 4 (37:23):
Yeah you are. You mentioned how coming to the US
gave you like kind of like a fresh start, and
you mentioned some of the controversies that you know have
been have that you've been through. How exhausting is it
to go through things like you know, the controversies that
we've had to see you talk about publicly and then
come back out with music and you know people are
gonna want to talk about these things.

Speaker 3 (37:44):
It depends what controversy as well. It's been a lot.
The type of person I am me, I've said this before,
I laugh about things. I laugh like I would I
would make fun of myself because I feel that would
that was how I would cope with it. I feel
like if I make fun of it and I pretend

(38:04):
like it's not really getting to me. That's how I
used to deal with things, and I would put it
in my music. But the way I would put it
in my music would be like, you know, when I
talked about the sex tape and loaded, and I said,
who's never had sex before? You know, like, and that's
that's how I was able to kind of like try
and get through it. But in hindsight, did I really

(38:26):
deal with it? I don't think so. And that's what
I'm doing now. It's like I was hurt and and
it's okay for me to say I was hurt. I
was a victim. It happened to me as supposed to
just trying to let me make a hit out of it,
and you know, I don't care, and you know, like,
so now it's different. Now, it's like I am I'm

(38:48):
living in the truth, in my truth and admitting to
myself that, Yo, that shit hurt me.

Speaker 1 (38:55):
Well, why couldn't you admit that that?

Speaker 2 (38:57):
Of course that would hurt you if somebody tries to
blackmail you over sex tape.

Speaker 1 (39:00):
Yes, they My.

Speaker 3 (39:02):
People didn't see it like that. They thought I did
it for pr A lot of people thought, oh, she's
not relevant anymore, and she's doing this and I'm like, guys,
trust me. That's if I wanted to do that, I
would have had better lighting. I would have you know,
I would have set it up right. I would have

(39:23):
been in sexy lingerie. My facial expression would have been
not what it was like, you know what I mean,
it would it would have been completely different if I
really wanted to put that in your performance.

Speaker 4 (39:34):
Yeah, I like so, I just want you to know.

Speaker 2 (39:37):
Africa is a big continent, right But there's a lot
of people watching this interview who might have never even
heard that story.

Speaker 1 (39:43):
But there's going to be a big google right now.

Speaker 4 (39:54):
And they're gonna.

Speaker 1 (40:00):
And you from God.

Speaker 3 (40:03):
Not even denying it.

Speaker 4 (40:06):
I just want the song too, so they listen to that.
Whatever happened to the Like, what was the end result
of that? Like, did you figure out who was trying
to do the extortion? Were they?

Speaker 3 (40:21):
Like?

Speaker 4 (40:21):
What?

Speaker 3 (40:21):
Now? I didn't. I never, I didn't. I didn't pursue it.
I never. We tried, actually, but yeah, we couldn't. And
me trying was just like it was just too traumatic
for me to keep talking about it. And just yeah,
like I said, I just I just wanted to like,
just yeah, just move on.

Speaker 1 (40:40):
From it happened to you, No, thank you. I think
it's also from Nigeria, so.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
It's like it's very religious, and yeah, probably was a
lot harder on you. Yo.

Speaker 3 (40:50):
They were like, how can you? How can you at
your age have a sex tape with someone? And I'm like,
first of all, I didn't even know, like you could
don't watch it, but I didn't know what was happening.
And the person was my boyfriend at the time, so
even if I wanted to do a sexy that was

(41:10):
my boyfriend. Like, but they saw it as being immoral.
They thought it was just dirty, and I'm like, I
know what some of you guys do is even worse
than this, But I I was a scapegoat and that
was that was painful for me. Man. It was really
painful because they brought my son into it and said

(41:31):
I was unfit mom, like my son, my son's going
to grow up and see this and he's going to
be disappointed in his mom and how can I do this?
And my parents? I had to talk to my parents
about this, and yeah, it was it was that hurt
me more than the actual thing.

Speaker 1 (41:49):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (41:50):
Yeah, it hurt me more like you're you're you're saying
that I'm I'm a bad mother for having.

Speaker 1 (41:56):
Sex with something that was out of your control.

Speaker 3 (41:58):
Yeah, like I mean, thank for my family. The first
thing my mom's my mom calls me and she's like,
I'm just happy you're again. In her own words, she's like,
don't listen to them more. I'm just happy that you're
enjoying yourself. And I was just like, yeah, just hearing

(42:20):
my mom say that.

Speaker 4 (42:21):
Was just like did you know you?

Speaker 1 (42:23):
Did you know you was being recorded? So it wasn't
the guy that put it out, Oh my god.

Speaker 3 (42:32):
Okay, So he said he was trying to save it
and then he pressed scent by accident on Snapchat.

Speaker 1 (42:38):
And that sounded like forever the movie the TV show happened.

Speaker 4 (42:43):
Really there was a younger she was a younger girl though,
and she was giving herd and she was recorded and
he the video got released and she was like the
whole show. She's like fighting back again, like she had
moved school.

Speaker 3 (42:57):
Yeah, because the thing was next to each other apparently.
So he said he was trying to save it. Showed
me later, but you didn't even tell Yeah, And then
he's precedent by accident again, and I later on found
out that it was a bet. It was that he
really bet with his friends or whatever, and it's like, was.

Speaker 1 (43:17):
He younger than you?

Speaker 3 (43:18):
No?

Speaker 2 (43:18):
Okay, yeah, because I have a theory I always teld
women of a certain age, but lead these young boys
along because they recording everything.

Speaker 3 (43:24):
What yes, yeah, now I'm not going to anyone's hotel.
You're coming because you can have cameras hitting and then yeah,
and you're coming to my safe space. But yeah, even
that itself was traumatic because he was my boyfriend. I
thought we were in a relationship and then I'm here
and later that it was a bet. M So did

(43:44):
you really like me? Or this was just planned from
the beginning.

Speaker 4 (43:49):
Yeah, that that's got to be so scary for you,
even because you're bigger as an artist even now yeah
now now now, yeah, you're looking at your phone, you're
putting your phone down. That's why it's just really hard,
Like I'm not coming to your hotel to me, you're
coming to my place like or I'm getting a hotel
because I'm not bringing you around my son. So yeah, so.

Speaker 1 (44:13):
More controversy.

Speaker 4 (44:14):
Yeah, I just can't imagine being recorded on accident and leaking.
But okay, at.

Speaker 3 (44:21):
Least shaven.

Speaker 1 (44:24):
Very important. It's very important. Yes, Oh is she brand?

Speaker 5 (44:30):
What we are not going to do that it was clean.

Speaker 4 (44:42):
We had Ado here on the show. Oh god, well
he mentioned while he was here that you know that
you saw it. Yeah, what happened between you and t
R Savage?

Speaker 1 (44:53):
Man?

Speaker 4 (44:53):
I know you all were like really really close, like
cool man.

Speaker 6 (44:57):
Like I said, you know what I'm saying, even with
the big three questions you asked me.

Speaker 1 (45:01):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 6 (45:02):
I remember when all of us you know what I'm
saying coming up together. You know what I'm saying to
me on t I you should stay in the same house.
It's like my big sister, Like, you know what I'm saying,
she saw me as a youngin you know what I'm saying.
But the situation with t I was, you know, it
was like kind of personal.

Speaker 3 (45:17):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 6 (45:17):
She's she's very very good friends with my the mom
and my daughter, my first daughter, which you know we
were in court having custody and that. So I just
felt like, you know what I'm saying, you my you
know what I'm saying, Help me, help me, my daughter
that type. So we just got a little argument. It
was nothing, you know what I'm saying. It was just

(45:38):
like brothers and sisters argument.

Speaker 1 (45:40):
You know.

Speaker 6 (45:41):
I haven't seen her since then, to be honest, but
she did reach out, and you know what I'm saying,
So probably if it happens, it happens, and I know bad,
but I love her. You know, I love her child
and I saw him grow up. You know what I'm saying.
She's an amazing person. She changed the game for females.
You know what I'm saying. She always have that respect.
You know, that's my sister. I would never let nothing happens.

(46:01):
She knows, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (46:03):
What about wiz K? You love whiz Kid?

Speaker 4 (46:06):
That is not That's not his system.

Speaker 1 (46:08):
I'm just asking. I love everybody.

Speaker 2 (46:11):
I do want to ask a question about the Big
Three though, Like if they call they called Bernard or
Rebel and they talk about Whizky he has the mystique,
what is what's your lane in that in that Big Three? Man?

Speaker 6 (46:20):
I'm Joseph.

Speaker 1 (46:22):
I'm just me.

Speaker 4 (46:24):
I'm just me, Like I'm just.

Speaker 1 (46:25):
Me, like a whirl. I like I used to work out.
That's what I thought.

Speaker 6 (46:32):
Like people people, people know me as the outgoing guy. Yeah,
I'm saying they you know, free, you know what I'm saying.
I don't have that mistique or that rebel. You know
what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (46:43):
I can't act that way. I'm just me and people.

Speaker 6 (46:45):
Some personal people be like, man, you're too free. You're
too free, so you don't you know you have superstar.
I'm like, bro, I've been listening. I'm going Disney two
years old. Like this does not Yeah, like I like
I always say, like if my dad walks in the woman, Like,
if you're walking on the road, you know what I'm saying,
my dad passes you by, you probably would even know
like that dude, got better, dog, I'm telling you. So

(47:06):
that's how I grew up. My manager be getting mad
like I'd be in the house, I being slippers, like
going away.

Speaker 1 (47:12):
I'm like, bro, I'm home. You look good every time.

Speaker 3 (47:16):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (47:17):
But the people that are born.

Speaker 6 (47:19):
Artists, that's just how they They're coming out their room
like you know what I'm saying that people some people
are like that, you know what I'm saying, that's what
works for them and to be honest, it's worked for them.

Speaker 1 (47:30):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 6 (47:31):
What's worked for me, it's worked for me, and what's
worked for them, you know, it's worked for them. Maybe
if they like free like me, you know, maybe they
wouldn't get what they have, you know what I'm saying. So,
and maybe the way I am is what has helped me.
So it's just like everybody. I feel like every in
every industry, Like just like how you had the Big
Three back in the day with like jay Z. They

(47:51):
were all different kind of people, d different kind of people.
You know what I'm saying, Drake Outside, you know what
I'm saying. Kendrick is like, you don't even know what
that move is. So it's like they're different kind of
people and right, and that's okay, you know what I'm saying,
That's okay.

Speaker 4 (48:07):
I saw you talk to Rolling Stone a bit about it,
about how you felt about it. Did you feel like
because it seemed like he was sorry for whatever transpired
and that y'all were good? Now was that the feeling
you got from it?

Speaker 3 (48:18):
Well, we haven't seen a spoken since, so, yeah, we haven't.
I haven't seen him since then spoken, But I again,
I want to say, I think it was a miscommunication,
but there hasn't been any kind of communication between us.

(48:38):
But I definitely I was. I was hurt by how
it transpired. I mean, I don't know if he explained,
you know, what kind of happened.

Speaker 4 (48:48):
Yeah, but you can explain it from your point of view.

Speaker 3 (48:52):
So our kids are friends, and they've gone to the
same school since they were one. They're ten now, so
they've gone to the same they've been in the same
class for ten years. So I've now, I've known David
before that, but I've naturally grown a relationship with the
mother of their kid, and I didn't really know that,

(49:15):
you know, there was issues. I mean, I know that
he's moved on and he's married, you know whatever, but
I don't know what's going on apart from that, And
I guess I was. I was at an event and
she was too, so naturally like, hey, how are you
We're a partying drinking, doing snap and whatever. And he

(49:37):
saw that and he took it as I was betraying him,
and I'm like, what, how, Like, what's what's going on?
And that's why I said, I think it was as
miss misunderstanding, Like he felt like I knew what was happening,
and I was on her side, and that that's not

(49:59):
the case. Like, this is just a woman that I
know who's the mother to my son's friend. And we
were a social gathering and I see him, were, you know, chilling, So,
like I said, we haven't seen each other since. And
even if I did know, I don't think I would
have chosen a side either, Like I don't think I'm

(50:21):
going to be like, oh, because you guys are having issues,
I'm going to be on David's side. I'm going to
be on Sofia's side because our kids are friends and
it's not my business to take sides, like yeah, just
like I don't want anyone to take sides with my situation.
It's between me and the father and my son. I

(50:42):
don't think anyone should be dragged into it. But again,
he felt like I was. I should I should have
been loyal to him in that situation.

Speaker 1 (50:52):
But how did that turn into you submitting a letter
to the police. If anything happened to me, it was him, So.

Speaker 3 (51:00):
I think out of anger, maybe he might have made threats.
Do I think he was really gonna go ahead with it? No,
But again I'm not taking any risks, like I feel
like you could. You could be saying it around people
who want to now act out on what you're saying.
Do you know what I'm saying? And you know how
it is when your crew and his crew might end.

(51:23):
It might not even be here and I directly might
be someone from my crew fighting his crew whatever, and
it escalates again. Before I did that, though, I reached
out to members of his family. I'm not going to
say names, but people that are older than him, and
I said, listen, I'm hearing threats. Can we solve this?
And none of them came back to me. In fact,

(51:46):
one of them was just like, do what you need
to do. I was like, cool, Like, just for the record,
I want before I do anything, can we solve this?
You know?

Speaker 2 (51:58):
And yeah, he said, you're like his big sister who
will always love you and would never let anything better.

Speaker 3 (52:04):
No, yeah, that's why I said, I do I think
he was ever going to carry out No, I think
he was just you know, David is such a joy
like he's just a joyful no when I sort of
and he doesn't mean it so and I feel like
that too. I feel like he is like a brother
to me, and that's why it and we haven't seen
each other, and I'm sure it's going to be all love.

(52:25):
It's definitely all love for me. And I want him
to know I haven't spoken to you, David, but I
do want you to know that I do love you
and I've never I would never betray you or like
take sides. I just want you to know that I'm
always putting our kids first. So and that's why I
just feel like I have to be respectful to the
mother of a child.

Speaker 1 (52:47):
So why did you say the Big three?

Speaker 3 (52:51):
Oh my god, no no, no, no, no, no no,
So not fuck them life, but the narrative of the
Big three? Yeah, Like, f that narrative because this is
a continent, This is so many artists, and we keep
reducing it to three three artists every single time. When

(53:14):
we have diamonds, we have flavor, we have we have terms,
we have like the listen Rema like, yeah, I loves
I'm like my right, yeah, and I'm like they're like
and we don't include them in the top three. Why
Like so I'm like, f that narrative.

Speaker 1 (53:31):
Yeah, I mean you're right, it's like you hear burna boy.

Speaker 2 (53:34):
You hear with kids here, but for me and that
I listen to a lot of listen to a lot
of teams, and I'm like, I don't know why it.

Speaker 1 (53:41):
Is just those three. Is it is it sales?

Speaker 4 (53:44):
Is it maybe?

Speaker 3 (53:46):
And I think they have a really strong fan base,
so their fan base is very They're they're active. Yeah,
they're very, very active.

Speaker 1 (53:54):
Even you you you got to be in that conversation.

Speaker 4 (53:56):
As well, like I mean, you know what I see
people do lot and I don't know if you see
this too. They put you, they put you in Tyler,
Like there's a conversation a lot with you and Tyler.

Speaker 6 (54:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (54:09):
I think, well, I think it's because if you're not
from where you guys are from anybody that's like big
from a certain type of music, people just like to
talk about you guys. At one point, I saw conversations
with like Tims Tyler like just whoa who is the
girl now? And then even when they had when we
were having the colors conversation, people were having conversations about

(54:29):
dark skinned women from certain places being able to make
it versus lighter skinned women, and they got mad about
the color of the comments. Like I've seen the conversation
around you guys, but more so, uh should you more
so like a skin color thing. Really, Yes, I've seen
that conversation.

Speaker 1 (54:44):
I've seen.

Speaker 4 (54:47):
A star like You're like she she's kind of like
you big up her a lot, right, Yeah, I love
to see Yeah, I hate, not hate, but comparisons with you,
Irish Star. Really well maybe because we've we've like I've
we're both. I was signed to Don Jazzy and she's
with Don Jazzy now, and he's you know, anyone that has.

Speaker 3 (55:09):
Ever ever been under him? Pause but yeah, no, yeah,
I don't want this to be taken out of context,
but yeah, anyone who's ever been associated with him knows
that he does not play that. So he yeah, he's
yeah and just But I love her regardless anyway, And

(55:30):
I just have to respect his artists. But regardless of that,
I love Ira.

Speaker 4 (55:36):
I think too though in music, like whenever we were
talking without this earlier with Kardi, whenever you get to
a certain point, people just have to like there's that
competitive nature that comes in from the fans and just
the people in the critics, like it just happens.

Speaker 3 (55:46):
Yeah, But I feel like as artists we have the
opportunity to what's the word. Yeah, earlier on, like I
saw that kind of coming with Ira, and I'm like, nah,
you guys are not going to build this awkwardness between us.
And I'm posting her, she's posting me. So the fans

(56:06):
can't even they can't even kind of like build that
narrative between the both of us, because earlier on we
were just like, yeah, let's get this conversation. This is
not even that it's not a topic.

Speaker 4 (56:18):
I know you guys are from two different places, but
when the colored conversation was happening with Tyler, from your perspective,
how did you feel about the conversation and just how
she handled in people's reaction to it.

Speaker 3 (56:31):
Who you guys are serious? Oh, I feel like two
truths can be real. At the same time, I feel like,
maybe I don't really know what the first thing she

(56:51):
said was that sparked the whole conversation, But I do
know that from where she's from, she's you know, she was.
I think she she doesn't. She doesn't consider they don't
call her black, they call her color colored because she's
because she's mixed. And I guess I get why that
would be such a huge thing here because of I mean,

(57:14):
the history behind that name. You know, I don't know
if I think I felt for her a little bit
because I feel like she's young and I don't think
she means to come across like that. But where we're from,

(57:35):
where I'm from, when something like this happens, like they say,
the elder will come and say it on behalf of
such and such, you apologize.

Speaker 2 (57:43):
You know.

Speaker 3 (57:44):
That's what I feel like, if if if if that
wasn't if that wasn't communicated, I would I would like
to say, you know, like on behalf of that her
or whatever, like we apologize, like you know, we didn't
mean it was, you know, because I don't think it

(58:05):
came from a bad place, you know what I mean,
I don't think it came from a bad place.

Speaker 2 (58:08):
And they making it to me, they're making it bigger
than what it needs to be. I've heard her explain it,
and it makes perfect sense to me. When and then
you know, recently she put out an album and it
didn't do well and they were blaming the comments, and
I'm like, I don't think that.

Speaker 4 (58:21):
Yeah, they were blaming you too, Charlamagne.

Speaker 1 (58:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (58:25):
Question, he always says, you got to know if you
come to anywhere at that time when everyone's having that conversation,
is going to be asked, And I think that they
should have prepared her to at least glide through the question.
Like it was so like I'm not answering that, Like
it made it a thing of like well why not? Yeah,
which she described it in Vogue right after that, and

(58:46):
I was like, okay, girl, you could have just said that.

Speaker 3 (58:49):
Yeah, but have you have you guys never earlier on
in your career made maybe mistakes you guys?

Speaker 4 (58:57):
Ever he smelt, he smelled somebody's seats happened?

Speaker 1 (59:02):
Was it? No?

Speaker 3 (59:04):
Why because you wanted to smile? Was nice?

Speaker 1 (59:07):
It was?

Speaker 4 (59:12):
He's been done for a very no.

Speaker 3 (59:14):
But yeah, so I feel like she's learning. Yeah, she'll
learned from that, and she'll know. She'll now know, like
when I'm going to certain interviews, like, yeah, I guess,
let me watch what type of interview is? Are they?
You know, do they ask hard questions? And let me
be prepared? Like you know, I think people do.

Speaker 4 (59:32):
Don't when they're watching celebrities do the things that y'all
do with interviews and stuff, you don't realize that her
fans don't realize that you guys are people. So sometimes
even if she's prepared to answer the question, she might
be nervous and still she's sitting with you know, you
come here, you sit with like Charlotte Maye and he
makes people nervous.

Speaker 3 (59:48):
Was not prepared for you guys to ask me this.
I'm like, no, no, no, I'm okay, yes, you're only
your business.

Speaker 4 (59:57):
I'm really insure you.

Speaker 1 (59:58):
I do.

Speaker 2 (59:59):
I do want to know why do you think female
Why do you think female African artists don't get in
the Big three conversation?

Speaker 1 (01:00:05):
Like why aren't they?

Speaker 3 (01:00:06):
I think culturally still women are not what's the word misogy? Yes, yes,
so even culturally, not even just in music. For me,
I've said this before. When I got my tattoos, I
was I was trending. I'm going to go to hell.
You know what kind of mother am I? Nobody's going

(01:00:26):
to marry me with this. I'm never going to get
a day job. I'm like, yeah, I don't want to job.
But you know, like male artists are covered in tattoos
and they're like, yo, that's he's a rock star. So
not just the music, just in general, women are still
like undermind in my culture, so it's obviously going to
trickle down into music.

Speaker 1 (01:00:47):
I feel like you do.

Speaker 2 (01:00:48):
Very well with a podcast, I really, really really because
I saw you say how you had to sneak away
from your team because you wanted to be more out spoken,
and oh.

Speaker 3 (01:00:57):
Yeah, I cursed him out. What No, there was a
guy and he said Tia does not support female artists
and she's not signed a female artist and what kind
of legacy is that? And I said, what are you crazy? Like,
first of all, I don't have I don't have a
problem with you having an opinion, but at least do

(01:01:18):
your research. No one has done in terms of females.
No one has done more songs with females than me,
like literally either me featuring them or then featuring me.
So you coming on and saying I don't support females,
that's already wrong, and you have such a huge platform,
and people were believing that instead of doing the research,
they're just like, yeah, it's true. And I'm like, wait,

(01:01:39):
how many of the songs that I've even done with
female arts have you guys even promoted Let's start with that, Like,
so you're not even encouraging us to even work with
each other because you act like you don't see us.
So I'm very as much as I'm reserved, I can
like I don't. Yeah, I'm not scared of no one,

(01:02:00):
and I would say any like yes, and if I'm convicted,
if I'm convicted that I'm saying the truth, my truth. Yeah,
you can't tell me nothing. I was cussing them out
in my language.

Speaker 1 (01:02:09):
And that's why I want you to have a podcast.
I think it would be very good.

Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
I think people should be able to ask you questions
because you have a level of experience, a level.

Speaker 3 (01:02:16):
Of we feel to the they're always nervous every time
I go on because this I would trend force something you.

Speaker 4 (01:02:25):
Always tell me how to like do it and making mistakes. Listen,
if you're on a platform, you will make them, but
you will learn how to do it in a way
that is like beneficial but like still authentic to you.

Speaker 3 (01:02:35):
And I think I'll ever share that.

Speaker 4 (01:02:37):
That's great you home to day. You have to have
already know I was talking way too.

Speaker 2 (01:02:46):
That's why I can tell, like, everything you're saying is
all the reasons you should have a podcast.

Speaker 3 (01:02:53):
Yeah, that's even the streaming thing is getting big like,
but the podcast, Yeah, but I I yeah, I make
them nervous, man, Like even the whole thing you asked
me about Tyler and David, I already know this is
I always think so I always think I'm very honest,
and even even me talking about the relationship and being

(01:03:15):
in a room or whatever, and a lot of people
were like, I was oversharing and I'm saying too much.
And they're even saying that you're doing this because you
want to promote your album, and I'm just like, I
don't even know how to lie. If I knew how
to lie or lie about my age when I first
came out, because I could have easily done that or

(01:03:35):
just lied about the whole situation or just created a
whole scenario. But my problem is I'll go to another
interview and I'll forget what I said and I kid
just said he's a doctor, and I'll be like, oh, yeah,
he's a basketball player, and I'll just trip myself, like.

Speaker 2 (01:03:49):
Say, you should never lie because when you lie, you
when you tell the truth, you don't ever have to remember.

Speaker 1 (01:03:53):
What you said.

Speaker 3 (01:03:54):
Yeah, I don't know how to not share the truth
or just be so honest. Oh that gets me in
trouble a lot.

Speaker 4 (01:04:03):
I think you're allowed to talk about like your mom
and you went through divorced relationship. You know this this
sex tape stuff. Music, you could be like a tunnel
and you to have your lady.

Speaker 3 (01:04:15):
That's what I tried to do with the sex tape.
So I had an interview and I had just gotten
the video and then I was Angie Martinez. Yes. So
I was going there to promote a song and I'm like,
I'm just gonna say what is and my everyone was like, no,
you cannot. And I went there and I said it
and then they released it anyway, and I'm like, before
you embarrassed me or think that you're gonna get one

(01:04:36):
on me, I'm just gonna go on there and say listen,
was gonna come out and they're threatening me and I'm thinking,
I'm controlling my narrative, and then it backfires on me
because they now said I did it on purpose.

Speaker 4 (01:04:53):
It's just to be mad at that, because at the
same time, whenever the sex tape conversation comes up, people
point to that interview, your explanation of it. So it
did control the narrative, like you got to learn the
high level winds and can't be down here with all
the low level Yeah yeah you entertainment.

Speaker 3 (01:05:08):
Yes, okay, no, well no I don't but yeah, it's
still kind of there, but it's not it's not.

Speaker 4 (01:05:13):
Very great for you to break artists through as well.
I think you should do it.

Speaker 3 (01:05:16):
I don't think I have I don't think Okay, let
me just clear this out. It's not that I don't
want to help, but I don't think everybody's cut out
to sign artists, especially as an artist. Because you've seen
some artists. I'm not going to mention the name they've
signed other artists and what's happened to them. Yeah, because
there's still that competition is still not to say that
I'm in I'm going to be in competition, but I

(01:05:37):
don't have that mindset. I don't have that that heart
where I could wake up and my artists could be
trending about something and I would be heartbroken. I wondn't
be able to control it because I'm like what I
feel like the way I can give back is by
I'm opening a music school. So yeah, I'm partnering with
Berkeley College of Music. I'm going to also start with

(01:05:59):
like awarding scholarships to African students to come all the
way to Boston learn music, because I think like everybody
gets stuck on artists. But there's so many other parts
of music. There's music therapy to help you know when
you have canter patients, and you know, there's film scoring,
like creating music for movies. There's music education. So yeah,

(01:06:22):
so there's other parts of it. So that's my way
of helping people. I don't have the I don't have
the gift to sign other artists, but I can give
back in.

Speaker 2 (01:06:32):
That way that is you are very that's a very
self aware thing to say, yeah, and I can't.

Speaker 3 (01:06:37):
I can't do it, like and not everybody can do that,
and they'll be very selfish of me to sign somebody
else that I feel like, if I want to sign
somebody else, I need to be out of the game. Yeah,
because I'm going to be like you releasing something, and
you're releasing something. Even if I say there's no competition,
they still will be a little bit. So I'm not
I'm not there yet.

Speaker 2 (01:06:58):
Wow, my last quar No, I understand I like this
stelf aware because there's a lot of people that are
coming to my mind right now, and I'm like, I
wish they took that advice.

Speaker 1 (01:07:09):
There's a lot of American artists. I'm like, you know what, Yeah,
there's one in particular saying it.

Speaker 3 (01:07:16):
J No, you don't think he should have signed.

Speaker 2 (01:07:23):
I mean, I think I think it was good that
he did because he introduced us to a lot of people.
But I feel like he had the best roster of
artists of any of of the artists of those of
that new generation. He had Harry Lennox, Earth Gang and
Jed and it's just like, yeah, and I feel like

(01:07:44):
him being as big as he was, I don't know,
I just felt like he could have just made all
of them bigger, you know. I just felt like Dreamville
could have been a lot, lot, a lot bigger.

Speaker 1 (01:07:54):
And I've heard recently that he feels the same way that. Really,
I could be completely wrong, I could just making it,
but that's what I've heard. That's why, that's why they disbanded.

Speaker 4 (01:08:05):
What you just did there where you got him to
have a conversation and now that's going to be a
clip and people are going to be discussing that your
podcast will go off. Girl, Yeah, maybe maybe you guys
should invite me more off and and maybe have me
speak or we.

Speaker 2 (01:08:17):
Could just launch the Tear or Savage podcast on the
Black Effect Podcast.

Speaker 3 (01:08:21):
Now yeah, no, one hundred percent. I would Oh my god,
that would be sick, I think. So we're saying this
on air, like, don't you think this is one of
the things that should go out that you guys should
you should cut out?

Speaker 2 (01:08:33):
My last question, what do you hope your listeners take
away from this album emotionally, spiritually and in terms of healing.

Speaker 3 (01:08:43):
I would love them to listen to it from start
to finish, not like shuffle it and go on the journey,
and know that I went through I went through heartache
where it felt like a disease, like to minimize you know,
a lot of people people say it's just a heartache,
it's not like you've got cancer or whatever, and it's like, yeah,

(01:09:06):
it's not, but it can feel like the end of
the world. So I want them to know that they're
whatever they're going through is valid, and but also listen
to it to the end and know that you can
get through it and you can heal. And that last
song changed, you know. That's why I say listen to
it like, you know, like a journey of emotions and

(01:09:28):
know that at the end of the day, everything does
work out and and it will work out. It has
to work out.

Speaker 2 (01:09:35):
Yeah, well it's t y savage.

Speaker 1 (01:09:37):
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us the conversation.
It's the breakfast Club, every day Breakfast Club. Feels y'all done.