June 18, 2024 • 51 mins
What if a single dream could alter the course of your life forever? Join us on "Daz It Daz All" as we welcome Berklee the Artist, a multi-talented force in music, acting, and education. We take a journey from his roots in a supportive New Orleans family to his multifaceted career that spans being a professor, a vocalist, a songwriter, an actor, an author, and a creative director. Berklee shares intimate stories behind his stage name, dreams that have influenced his path, and his unique approach to teaching that transforms his videos into mini-masterclasses.
Host KC Carnage (@iamkccarnage), and Berkley the Artist (@berkleytheartist)
Daz It Daz All is written by KC Carnage (@iamkccarnage) and Produced by KC Carnage and Rick Barrio Dill (@rickbarriodill). Associate producer Bri Coorey (@bri_beats), Audio and Video Engineering and Studio facilities provided by S.L.A.P. Studios LA (@SLAPStudiosLA) with distribution through our collective for social progress and cultural expression, SLAP the Network. (@SLAPtheNetwork.com)
If you have any ideas for a show you want to see or hear, email us at info@SLAPtheNetwork.com and as always, you can go to dazitdazall.com and sign up there to make sure you never miss a thing...
See you next show!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He was like playing this song.
And the song was playing in thespeakers and it was loud and it
was beautiful, it was like anamazing song.
And I was like, oh my God, Ilove this song so much, this
song is so good.
And there was a friend of minewho was sitting next to me and
she was like, remember, that'sBerklee.
Remember, I gave you his CD.
(00:20):
And I was like, oh my God, Ilove him.
He is my favorite artist in theworld.
I love him.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I kept saying I love him and this is in the dream.
This was in the dream, okay.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
So then I awoke from the dream and I jumped out of my
bed because I went to look forthe CD.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Tell me how you feel.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Black excellence at its finest.
How that skin glows, she's atrue diamond, with the world
right out back.
She's still smiling.
Never left that crown till shestays thriving.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Keep it real.
That's it, that's all.
(01:04):
That's it, that's all.
Keep it real.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Is that really it, though?
What up, what up, what up?
Welcome to.
That's it, that's All.
Y'all know who I am, kaceyCarnage.
I'm your host, and today we'redoing another Artist Spotlight,
one of my favorite segments ofthis show.
And today we have a really,really, really good friend,
super talented Berklee theArtist this show.
And today we have a really,really, really good friend,
(01:24):
super talented berkeley theartist what's happening.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Thank you for having me tonight absolutely,
absolutely.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So let's get into it y'all.
If y'all don't know, umberkeley, um, I met him probably
soon as I got here back in 2024.
I was doing some show at um.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I even forgot the place in korea town 2014 yeah,
2014, yeah, yeah 2014.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
It's been a minute and it was just like we clicked
automatically and we've beenreally good on friends since.
Um, just to give you a littlesnippet about him before he goes
into it about him he is aprofessor of music, he's a
vocalist, he's a songwriter, anactor, author, a creative
director, um, and you know hetours around the country, around
(02:07):
the world.
He's international, but I'lllet him tell you about himself.
So let the world know who youare, brinkley.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Well, first of all, I'm happy to be here with you.
It's really good to see you.
As you know, I just moved backto LA, so it's really nice to
connect with people that Ihaven't seen in many years.
Um, but I mean, everything yousaid is, it is what it is.
At the end of the day, I'm afine artist, you know.
Um, I appreciate art andculture and I believe in being
(02:37):
scholarly about it as well asbeing skillful in it.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Oh yes, super scholarly Cause you are Okay, so
skillful in it.
Oh yes, super scholarly becauseyou are okay.
So, guys, if you guys get achance to, he's gonna he's gonna
definitely tell you where tofind him at the end of this um
episode.
But if you get a chance to lookat his videos, he takes the
approach of like, like,literally he's teaching you,
it's like literally, a 30 secondmaster class on how to sing
whatever song you're singing.
Get into it, um, but let's justjump right into it.
(03:03):
Um, berkeley, what kind ofartist are you?
Like you, you decided to sayberkeley the artist.
Now, is that your given name?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
my given name is frank alex davis, the fourth,
which I love.
My name, um, I am the fourth.
My dad is a singer and was anactor as well, and I came from a
family of art and educationfrom New Orleans, or, if I were
to say it like I'm from home, wesay I'm from New Orleans, baby,
(03:34):
I love the baby.
So I came from a home that wasreally indoctrinated in being
really excellent about whateverit is you're going to do, and I
was very blessed because myparents supported me as an
artist.
(03:54):
And as I grow and meetdifferent people and have all
kinds of friends, I realizedthat everybody's family doesn't
I don't want to say support, butmy family not only supported
but encouraged.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Well, it's funny that you say that, because I think I
made a post the other daybecause I watch a lot of
documentaries.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Me too, I love documentaries.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
And I was watching.
I had just watched TylerPerry's Maxine's Son, and then I
watched Celine Dion's.
Oh, I haven't watched that one.
Like Celine Dion's, and I don'teven think it was a documentary,
I think it was like one ofthose unauthorized movies and
her family was behind her and Iliterally made a post.
I said it, it's, it's, it's adouble-edged sword to see that
(04:38):
there are families that will getbehind you and it really makes
a difference, like when mom ismanager, dad is making calls,
brother and sister is talkingabout it really does so that I
am that's, that's a blessing,for sure, it is a blessing.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
I'm very, very fortunate in that respect
because, again, like my dad wasa was an artist and my
grandmother, his mother, was anartist.
So it and on my mom's side, mymother basically my mother was
like the first a and my mom'sside, my mother basically my
mother was like the first A&Rperson I had.
My mother would always watchStar Search with me and we
(05:12):
wouldn't really watch Showtimeat the Apollo as much, but we
would definitely watch StarSearch and to this day, my mom
and I, we always watch the awardshows together.
So I'm in LA, she's in NewOrleans, and I'm like Ma, who
you think gonna win showstogether.
So I'm in LA, she's in NewOrleans, and I'm like Ma, who
you think gonna win, you know,and she's like, well, they're
not gonna get it because X, yand Z, she just had that six
(05:32):
cents to know the business, eventhough she wasn't in the
business, she just always knew,like when I would watch Ed
McMahon in Star Search, it'd bea kid who would be my age and he
would go on stage and he wouldperform and my mom would say he,
he didn't pick the right song.
And I'm like, yes, he did,that's a good song.
She's like no, he's not gonnaget the best score tonight.
She just understood.
(05:53):
So I was very fortunate.
My mom would say, wear this whenyou go to sing or stand like
this, or maybe you should learnthis song.
Or she would enforce mepracticing.
Or are you coming in andwrapping your throat up on your
voice at night?
Are you getting enough rest?
I mean, my mom still does thatto me.
I'm still like very grown.
I'm like girl.
I have lived around the world.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I am pretty positive I've been wrapping my voice.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
I am wrapping up, you know, and then I go back inside
and go get the scarf, because Ididn't bring it well, where did
you get um berkeley from?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Well, where did you get Berkeley from?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Where did you get that from?
I'm glad you asked.
I'm glad you asked.
I had this dream.
I had this dream and I was in astudio, similar to a studio
like this, and I was behind thecouncil and there was someone in
a chair, a person, but I don'tknow who it was, I feel like it
was a being of some sort and hewas like playing this song and
(06:52):
the song was playing in thespeakers and it was loud and it
was beautiful, it was like anamazing song and I was like, oh
my God, I love this song so much, this song is so good.
And there was a friend of minewho was sitting next to me and
she was like, remember, that'sBerklee.
Remember, I gave you his CD.
And I was like, oh my God, Ilove him.
(07:13):
He is my favorite artist in theworld.
I love him.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I kept saying I love him and this is in the dream.
This was in the dream.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
So then I awoke from the dream and I jumped out of my
bed because I went to look forthe CD, because I saw it in the
dream.
I'm like, oh yeah, I rememberthat and I remember I had like
an old case of CDs.
I'm like it must be in there.
So I went to the closet, Ilooked through and I couldn't
find it.
I looked on my phone, like myiPhone, I'm scrolling through
(07:52):
like Berklee, berklee, berklee,and I couldn't find it.
And then it occurred to me thatthat artist did not exist.
And then it occurred to me thatthat song did not exist.
So I quickly pulled out myphone and started recording the
song, because the song had cometo me in a dream and I realized
that Berklee the artist wassomething that was gifted to me
and so I took it on as myperformance name and persona.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
That is amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, that's what happened.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
That's amazing.
It is crazy.
Do you consider yourselfspiritual?
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Oh, very much so.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Okay, so do you consider yourself religious or
do you consider yourself a blendof both?
I like religion a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I don't have a problem with religion.
I'm glad you asked that.
I hear a lot of folks givetheir opinion which is very fair
about they don't believe inreligion.
I love religion.
I think every religion is verybeautiful.
Religion allows people to havea practice, a ritual, and I
think that that is a beautifulthing.
Now, just like the Internet, orjust like guns, what you do
(08:46):
with it determines if it's goodor bad.
It of itself is not good or bad.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
No, totally understand I am religious.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I have a lot of religious practices.
I grew up as like a reallydevout Christian.
My dad was a pastor.
My mother was the first lady.
I grew up like church, churchchurch, church, church.
Yeah, I definitely grew up inthat world, Um, and and I honor
it and I respect it.
Although I have grown waybeyond it in different ways, it
(09:19):
is a my root and because of thatI feel like I have a lot of
order in my life, because I waskind of bred in that.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
No, I agree, Like I don't consider myself either,
but a mixture of both, becauseit's like you, I grew up.
I wasn't a PK, but I grew up.
I was in church Thursdaythrough Sunday.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Oh, definitely.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
I want to say every week until I was about a
sophomore in high school fromthe time I was four.
Whether it was the choirliturgical dance bells, whatever
it was.
I was there and I had aconversation with my friend one
day about what I think that gaveme, and I think it gave me a
sense of discipline, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
It gave me a sense of faith.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
It gave me a sense of purpose.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
It gave me a lot of integrity, absolutely discipline
.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
It gave me a sense of faith, it gave me a sense of
purpose.
It gave me a lot of integrity.
Now, like you said, some peopletake religion and do bad things
with it.
That's why the reason why Ialso say I'm spiritual, because
I do believe in a spirit and Ido believe in science.
Right, I do believe in the factthat there's a lot that we
cannot explain.
And just because we can'texplain it, that doesn't mean
that it's not there, does itmean that it's not pushing us?
Like that dream came to you fromwhere we don't know, but that
doesn't mean that it wasn't true.
(10:32):
That was a message sent fromwherever, whomever people want
to say it came from.
It came to you.
And I felt the same way aboutwhen I moved here to LA.
Like I was getting all thesedeja vus, moved um here to la,
like I was getting all thesedeja vus, like I was.
I was standing on a corner andI'm like I was here before and
even this move, even this showthat I have right now, like I
(10:52):
knew I would have this platformat some point in my life because
I manifested it.
You know what I mean.
I was like I.
One of my biggest things wasyou know, we're both.
You know, we met in a musicalrealm yeah but my background is
a journalist realm.
That's what I went to schoolfor and I wanted to communicate.
That's one of my.
I love communicating withpeople.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
And I love having my friends.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I mean, you know me, I like people, so I feel you on
that.
That's a beautiful story.
So, when you okay, so let's dosomething fun.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
What was the?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
first song you ever wrote.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
My first song that I ever wrote was how old were you?
I was maybe like eight, eightor nine was a remake of a hymn.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
What was the hymn?
Speaker 1 (11:40):
The hymn is Blessed.
Assurance.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Oh, okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
But I made my own version of it, which actually I
thought about this recently andI was like dang, that was kind
of dope.
I need to like revisit that.
That was my first thing I everdid and it's really funny,
ironically, that you would bringthat up, because I do draw the
conclusion that I took what Ilearned.
(12:05):
It was a hymn, that was prettystraightforward and I just did
it my way and I'm still verymuch the same way, like taking
the same concepts of religion,faith, god, Christ, and I just
kind of apply it to my life inmy interpretation and of my
(12:26):
function and how it works.
So, from a kid, I never wantedto do things the way that
everybody else was doing it, Notbecause I wanted to rebel
against it, I just felt like myway was better for me and
hopefully people would enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
You no, that's, yeah, that's.
I think that's important, sookay, so, as growing up into a
kid and you're growing into youradulthood and you're finding
your artistry, what was some ofthe upsides and some of the
challenges that you think thatyou face in your development?
Speaker 1 (13:01):
that's a really great , great question.
I always knew that I would bewhat I am.
There has never been a doubt.
There were times when I wasyounger that I didn't know how
to get here and that was veryfrustrating.
Or there were times where Ifelt as if I was closed in or
(13:22):
suppressed or backed into acorner.
But I always knew I was goingto fight my way out or outsmart
my way out to get to where Ibelong.
So some of the upsides for mewas that because I could sing
and not only sing I reallyunderstood music because even as
a kid like I was a choirdirector at my church, and I'm
not talking about just waving myhands I was like sopranos
(13:45):
saying joy, altos, joy, tenders,joy.
And then I started learningdissonance very early, like joy,
joy, joy and people.
I remember my friends being soangry with me as a kid like why
do you always have to harmonize?
Why do you have to do that?
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Because I can, but no , I know how no, but really I it
wasn't that.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
I never felt that way .
I felt like, because this isthe way I hear it, I never felt
like, oh, because I can, I justhear it differently.
And so the upside was that Ialways found artistic value.
And now that I'm an adult andI've kind of like pushed myself
to learn more about the world, Ithink I have always found
(14:33):
divine and spiritual concepts invery mundane things, even as a
kid.
Of course, the other side ofthat coin is that it kind of
makes you feel pushed out ofmainstream things.
So people were like you'reweird or you know, you think
(14:55):
you're better than everybody.
I mean, I face that a lot.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Well, do you think it's because, okay, let's dig
into that why?
do you feel like you were beingpushed out?
Do you think it was because youhad a more technical stance on
music and people were like youknow, because most people, most
people, have some type of ear,right, they listen to the radio,
they can listen back, right,they can sing it back.
But when it comes down to likebreaking down music, do you
(15:22):
think it was a thing where maybethey felt like, well, I can't
really do that, and because hecan, I don't know how to relate,
or what do you?
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I think, of course, I think there are a plethora of
reasons that very well could beone.
I also feel as if I'm just verycourageous and I think that in
any story throughout the historyof mankind that you look back
in literature, you see the samethemes over and over.
When a person is courageous, itkind of makes other people
(15:55):
either exalt them or crucifythem, because what it does is it
pushes other people to be greattoo.
And I didn't know that, I hadno idea that's what I was doing.
I was just living my life.
I was just living my life.
I was just living my life.
But I also feel like ittriggers something in people to
(16:17):
remind people are you livingyour life?
And even though it wasn't easy,I was bullied a lot.
I was bullied a lot.
I cannot reiterate the amountof bullying and violence
physical violence, mental,sexual violence that I embraced,
(16:40):
not embraced, endured as ayoung child.
I experienced all of thosethings, but my spirit just would
not break.
It just would not break and I'mlike that to this day, and some
people even use the term likeoh, you can be really defensive
and that used to be a.
It used to bother me because Ididn't want people to think that
(17:02):
, but what I understand aboutmyself is that I'm going to get
what I came for.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
And people are also going to see people that are
supposed to see.
You will see you.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Like.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
I had to learn that a while too, because I had a
thing about where it's kind oflike when you're moving you're
shaking, like I was.
I think you're always doingsomething.
It's something you always doEvery time I see you.
You got some new project.
I was like I got things to do.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
I have things to do.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
yo, I got things to do and sometimes that makes you
lonely, sometimes that puts youon an island by yourself, but
guess what I said this today yoLet me tell you something.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Don't get me wrong.
There are times when I feellonely, but I never feel alone.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Okay, I never, feel alone.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Number one God lives in me.
And God is not only living inme.
God is present in me.
And because God is present inme, even when I get to a low
point, I can feel the power ofGod shifting it to bring me up
right.
So when I am alone, I know howto call on God in various ways
(18:12):
to pull me out of that.
But secondly, I have siblings.
I grew up with my.
My siblings are my best friends.
Child, let me tell yousomething I don't need friends.
I love my friends, but I have abrother and a sister.
I tell people that all the timeCause I'm like you ain't got to
be my friend.
(18:32):
I got a brother and a sister,y'all grew up pretty tight.
What that's my people Like Iknow who I am because I have a
brother and a sister I have.
My brother is like a chief inthe military.
He's my younger brother.
I'm the oldest, but he almostacts like he's older, I think,
(18:57):
and he gives me greatperspective.
And then my sister and I peopleused to think we were twins.
My sister is also an artist aswell, so every idea that I know
she's always had a beautifulspirit.
Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Yeah, she's amazing.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Everything that comes to my mind that's artistic I
bounce off of my brother and mysister first Relationships,
brother and sister, firstBusiness, spirituality.
So I feel like God gave meeverything I needed.
If I'm blessed with friendswhich I have a lot of friends
(19:33):
then I am grateful for them.
But guess what?
Almost all of my friends.
They're very close to theirsiblings too.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Right, it's like a similar thing right.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
So I feel like, even though I've gone through a lot
of things, I don't cling to that.
One of my colleagues and a newfriend of of mine her name is
marissa bateman and she's likeeverybody wants to be in the
trauma olympics.
Everybody wants to compete inthe trauma.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
We talk about trauma bonds all the time.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
It's like I don't want your bond, I don't want
that I respect where everybodyis in their life, but I am
focused on my victories and I amfocused on healing well and
reconciliation.
I am not focused on justhealing and leaving everybody
out.
How can I reconcile thesituation, if it is possible?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
No, totally understandable.
It's like one of those thingswhere there's some people out in
the world where they want tohave an issue, like, okay, you
can tell me your grievances,let's find a solution.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Do you want a solution?
Speaker 3 (20:34):
That's the question Do you want a solution?
And sometimes people don't.
They don't.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
And I've asked you know, I have a really good
friend, I have so many friends,but my friend Mackenzie.
Sometimes, when we're talking,I'm like she's like well, this
is going on.
I'm like hold on, hold on, holdon.
Do you want me to be alistening ear or do you want me
to bring a perspective?
Speaker 3 (20:53):
And that's great to ask.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
I mean all the time she's like I want perspective.
But I have friends like that,where we ask, and I even tell my
friends, like when they aretelling me things, I'm like look
, tell me if I'm wrong, tell meif I could have done this better
.
I think that, going into thisnew era this is my new era right
(21:16):
now I don't need to isolate, toheal.
I don't need that.
I will heal and I want toreconcile.
If there is reconciliation, Iwant it to be so, not just.
I'm tired of everybody.
(21:36):
Everybody make me mad,everybody triggers me.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
You know what Do, what you need to do, and then
also too another point of thatis like okay, we reconcile, and
then it's always those few thatlike to come back.
Well, you used to.
I'd be like look, she don'tlive here, no more.
I don't even know who you'retalking about.
People can change, and that'sthe thing people can change, and
not only can they, they should.
It's called evolution.
It's called evolving you're notgoing to be the same person you
(22:00):
were when you're 14.
You're not going to be the sameperson you were when you were
20 and at 35, I'm somebody else.
At 40, you're going to besomebody else.
At 50, I'm gonna be somebodyelse.
She don't live here, no more.
I don't want to hear what youheard or what I used to do.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I don't want, I don't want to hear that, because meet
me where I'm at but you know,it's really interesting that you
bring that up as well, becauseI'm also dealing with that part.
When I say dealing, I meandealing meaning allowing.
Excuse me, when people say wellyou used to, people say well
you used to, instead of meresponding like I've changed,
(22:31):
this is me, I ask, like, what isit about that old person or
that old persona that you needpresent right now?
What is it that you're callingforth?
Because you're bringing this up?
Because, why, what do you needfrom it?
Speaker 3 (22:51):
What do you need?
Well, that's nice of you to askthose questions no, no, I'm
fair right I'm not always nice.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
You know what I'm saying.
I'm polite, but I'm.
I'm.
I'm fair because I really wantto know like I'm not asking just
for like rhetorical banter.
I'm what is it?
Because if you keep bringingthat up, it's like what do you
need from me?
What do you need?
And often what I find is whenyou start asking those kinds of
(23:22):
questions, a person really getsto answer it and you really get
to hear and there might besomething I can tweak for you.
I might be able to bring back alittle ratchet.
Well, I also, but I also too.
That is, and there might besomething I can tweak for you.
I might be able to bring back alittle ratchet every now.
And then.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
But I also too.
That is a fair point to bringup.
But also, too, it's just, Ithink, that it all is
perspective of where you are inlife.
Some people feel like they wantto dive deep, and then there's
some people that are just likeI'm past that you know what I
mean.
Some people just like I havethose instances.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
It also depends on the relationship of this person.
We talking about right theintention.
Right the intention, yeah forsure.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
So like, of course, I'm going to give certain
allowances to certain people,but, like you know how many
people that, especially in thisworld of entertainment, right,
how many people come through andin and out of your life, that
there's people, it's like thisrevolving door of people.
There's some people that stick,there's some people that's
there for a moment, somepeople's there for a lifetime,
right.
So I think it's all perspectiveof when and where, and
(24:18):
everybody deserves grace,because god gives grace, right.
But at the same time, when itcomes down to protecting your
peace, especially your artistry,right, because it's like, it's
like even going like those samepeople.
Well, do you allow people tocritique your music when you're
sharing?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
you know, I'm in a different space in my life
honestly right I'm in adifferent space.
I don't need to set rules tolive for other people,
especially right like you can'task me this, it's a free world.
Man like you can do what youwant.
You could do what you want.
You could do what you want andI could do what I want.
(24:53):
And if I have the energy toshare and you want to critique
and I have the energy, thenlet's volley.
But if I don't, then talk allyou will, and then I'm like it
was great to meet you and Idon't need to set those kind of
rules.
I'm just in a different spacepersonally, and I'm not in any
(25:15):
way telling people you should belike me.
I'm very cautious about that.
It's just my experience.
In a year, on the day, I mightbe in a different space, but
where I am right now, you couldask me whatever you want to ask
me.
If I have it within me to shareor to volley or to communicate
back and forth, then I will, andif I don't, I'm just like cool,
(25:36):
you know I won't say that, butyes, I will.
So I grew up in New Orleans andthere's a very famous artist
from New Orleans, pj Morton.
We all grew up in the same era,the same time.
I've been knowing him since hefirst came out and I was always
(25:57):
very inspired by his writing andhis courage to just do what he
wanted to do.
So this is a couple of yearsago.
I was trying to make a shift inmy music career and I was very
nervous about the shift you know, okay and what?
Speaker 3 (26:14):
what was the shift?
If you don't the?
Speaker 1 (26:15):
shift was.
I was in a group and this isthe first time I've ever talked
about this publicly I was, uh,the lead singer of this group.
Um, that, um, I really didbelieve in this group and we did
some really great work.
We did some really great work,but I'll take full
responsibility.
At some point I knew it wastime for me to go.
(26:36):
I knew I was no longer supposedto be there.
Um, all the signs were there,but I, I wouldn't let go.
You know, um, because of guilt,shame, insecurity, wanting to
please others, fear of my owngreatness, I just didn't leave
(26:59):
when I should have.
I probably would have had aless chaotic exit had I left
when I knew to leave.
But I wanted to make everybodyhappy and I didn't want to make
a hard decision, so I got totake the responsibility for that
, never mind how they were inthe situation.
I should have left and I couldhave left, and I didn't.
(27:21):
And so I went to speak to himto get some advice on some music
I want to do.
I want to do my own music again.
And he said the best advice todo.
I want to do my own music again.
And he said the best advice tome, and I to this day hold it
dearly and I share it to a lotof artists that I develop and
mentor and work with,collaborate with.
He's like do you have somethingto say?
(27:43):
And I was like wait, I wasasking.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
That's not even what I asked you, Right?
Speaker 1 (27:52):
He says do you have something to say.
And I was like and I didn'treally answer.
And he says when you havesomething to say, when you truly
have something to say, no oneor nothing will stop it.
You will sing, write and gowherever you need to go when you
have something to say, but ifyou don't have anything to say,
(28:13):
stay where you are until you dohave something to say.
And that moment changed thetrajectory of my life, not just
my music career but just mywhole life.
Because you know, like I wasperforming all the time,
traveling around the world,performing, performing,
performing and for like the lastyear and a half, almost two
(28:37):
years nothing, Because I don'thave anything to say.
I've been teaching, but I'vebeen living.
I've been enjoying my life,rethinking my life, and it's
been very successful.
But I have anything to say andI feel like singing because I
had nothing to say.
Well, you don't have to singanymore for money.
Your whole world is verydifferent.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Okay, let me just speak on that part.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Come on.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
Let me speak on that part, because I had that same
thing when I got out here moving, moving shows, book, book, book
.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Right, you have to.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Whatever, and it came to a point where I felt like I
would get on stage and I'd bedead.
Yeah, I'm the note soundingpretty.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Yeah, I look good, because I always look good, but
empty.
But it didn't feel right.
It didn't feel like what I hadto say wasn't the form of music.
And when I sat down and reallyfelt and don't get me wrong,
like music is one of my firstloves and not saying that it's
shelved or it's going anywhereit was like what I had to say
wasn't in the form of music, itwas in a form of communication.
(29:40):
And I sat down and I manifestedand I wrote out these scripts
and now you're here with me yeahyou know what I mean.
So I that that is true and it's,and I'm glad that you told me
that story, because that'sexactly what I was feeling about
a year and a half ago and thisthusly berkeley the artist, my
artistry, is not just one facet,and I think we as human beings
(30:06):
we're not, were not onedimensional.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
We can get stuck in a role for too long.
I will never do that again inmy life, even when it comes to
friends, relationships, when Iknow it's time to move on.
You can move on before itbecomes chaotic.
I think if you stay insomething too long, it becomes
(30:31):
chaotic, and then you look backand you're like, oh, that didn't
go well.
No, god was trying to tell yousomething.
Shug Avery style.
Right Speak, though.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Right.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
You have to decide.
Do you trust that you are morethan a singer?
Do you trust that you are morethan a dancer or a teacher or a
pastor or a mother or a husband,a wife, a boy?
You are more than just onething.
(31:03):
You can be many things.
And if you just hold onto thattitle, and that is your identity
marker, then you cannot live afull life.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
And it becomes anxiety driven, because what?
Happens is, you've placedyourself in one value.
So if that value isn't movingthe way it should, or if it
looks, you doubt everything.
It's like my life is over.
I don't know what to do andwhole time you don't went to
school.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Yes, you don't Degrees.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Degrees and all this is like whatever, and that's
literally what it was.
I looked at my degree one day.
I was like wait a minute, likeI know what I'm doing, and also
to what I've also felt aboutbeing a multi-dimensional Artist
.
Right is that those tools thatyou stack up through the years
of your life always come inhandy they're always relevant.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
They always are relevant, but this is when
you're living in your fullness.
Your purpose, your purpose is,in my opinion, of course, and in
my experience, is just yourfullness.
It's not like some big idealike I am sin on the earth to
blah, blah, blah.
It's not like some big idealike I am sin on the earth to
blah, blah, blah.
It's just be whole.
Like you know, especiallygrowing up in church, like I'm
(32:16):
always debunking a lot of thingsthat you know keep people in
bondage, I think, from a veryChristian perspective, be holy
means be whole, be complete.
You know what I'm saying?
It's not you not smoking yourcigarettes, though smoking
cigarettes is probably very badfor your health, which means
that you are not being whole,which now you could be unholy
(32:41):
because you are not whole, right.
So it's like focus on beingwhole and then everything else
really just becomes easy.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
You know, yeah, Okay, well, as an artist.
And you said, you grew up in achurch and your mom and dad were
definitely there, and yourbrothers and sisters were there
to push you and support you.
Who were your inspirations?
Like who did you?
Take a little bit from here andtake a little bit from here and
kind of shaped, maybe yoursound or your look or just your
(33:15):
artistry in general.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Definitely at the root of vocal, when I think
about vocal texture and vocalchoices, it's Whitney Houston.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Like I didn't know the answer.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Yeah, like everything for me is in her phrasing and
the choices.
There's an interview I studyWhitney Houston so much.
There's an interview that shegave and she said to the
interviewer my mother taught mehow to sing a song.
Now, if you listen to thatwithout analyzing it, you just
hear Sissy taught her how tosing, but that's not what she
(33:48):
said.
What she said was my mothertaught me how to sing a song,
and so, as a vocal coach and avocal teacher, I'm constantly
teaching my clients how to singa song, because you could be a
badass singer, but you don'tknow how to sing a song.
(34:08):
You don't know how to make thesong live, come alive, live when
you're not singing it anymore.
Have you ever heard somebodysing that, even when they're
finished, the song is stillsinging?
That's a goal, but it's how youconstruct it.
So for me, whitney Houston wasa major, major thing.
Also, I grew up in the house mydad, um, and my mom.
(34:30):
They were a very classy people,so I listened to a lot of nat
king cole a lot of set of ellafitzgerald, sarah vaughn, johnny
mathis.
I was listening to that whileeverybody else was listening to
tupac shout out to my sister.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
My sister was like listening to everythingupac
Shout out to my sister.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
My sister was like listening to everything, but I
wasn't listening to like urbanmusic and this other music, but
my sister was listening toeverything.
But I was also moved by.
Like Alanis Morissette, I wasmoved by her.
I was moved by, no Doubt.
I was moved by TLC.
I was moved by her.
(35:10):
I was moved by no Doubt, I wasmoved by TLC.
I was moved by Prince.
Like when I say moved, meaningI wanted to think like them you
know what I'm saying Like Ididn't necessarily want to sound
like them.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I wanted to get in their mind Because, like you
said, you broke it down forvocal.
Because, like you said, youbroke it down for vocal.
And then you talk in the nextgroup of people.
You're talking about the artbehind of what they did, and it
didn't necessarily soundanything that you may sound like
, but it was that power and alot of artists.
That's a lot to find and figureit out, and sometimes it takes
(35:46):
a while to figure it out.
I was a kid though.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
But I love music, I'm a musicologist, I think about
how music affects society and onthose that, that level and, of
course, now there's so manypeople, but ultimately,
ultimately, who I absolutelyadore right now in every aspect,
from music to business, toinnovation, to cultural impact.
(36:10):
Beyonce it's Beyonce it'sBeyonce.
I mean come on Beyonce.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
Come on, I'm looking at you.
It's like you know you alreadyknow what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
I will fight somebody behind Beyonce, okay.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
I was like say something there will be no
slander.
There will be no Beyonceslander period and it's not it's
not even on a.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
It's not even on.
I'm a clone, or it's not onthere, I'm very I.
I have analyzed her and irisand she works.
I respect her man, I respecther.
I respect her so much likebecause what she has
accomplished, we're the same age.
I saw it.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
I think that that makes the difference I saw her
from where she started to nowand grew up with her undeniable
and grew up with her.
She's undeniable like Iremember listening to, I
remember watching 106 and parkyeah and watching all these
shows and just the first SoulTrain.
It's the craziest thing, Likeshe was a child that grew up in
(37:14):
this industry and works.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
And works and hasn't stopped.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
And has not stopped and probably won't stop.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
And didn't fall apart .
You know it didn't fall apart.
And, true, I don't know herlife, right, and that's not my
business to know her life, andthat's not my business to know
her life, but what she haschosen to give us in the world,
I am grateful.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
I am grateful that I was on this planet during this
era and just the and just howshe just evolves every time she
drops something different on usevery time, like I already knew.
I already knew there's nobodyelse who could have told me now,
like, as far as now isconcerned, come on now.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
She checks so many marks.
She is a legend and she is acultural icon.
Absolutely, she has shifted theculture.
There's so many people,obviously, but all of these
people have influenced me insome way or another, and you
know, I'm classically trained aswell so well, let's jump into
(38:14):
that, because I know you're alsoa vocal teacher.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
Um, like I said, if you guys get a chance to watch
some of his videos, they'reliterally 30 to minute master
classes.
So when I know you went toschool, you got your ba and I
have a ba in vocal music okay,and classical voice.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Did you know that you wanted to be?
You got your ba and I have a bain vocal music okay, and
classical voice.
Speaker 3 (38:30):
Did you know that you wanted to be a professor?
Speaker 1 (38:33):
I've always education .
I come from a at my my familyis music education and in church
.
So like it wasn't far, myfather was the um what do you
call it?
The president of a seminary atsome point.
You know what I'm saying.
I love school.
(38:53):
I love teaching in colleges.
I've taught at one, two, one,two, three.
I've taught at four colleges.
The last college before I movedhere was Jay-Z's Rock Nation
School of Music at Long IslandUniversity in Brooklyn.
So that was where I was beforeI moved here to take this job
here.
But I love school.
(39:16):
I love to learn.
I never disliked school.
I always loved to learnsomething I didn't know and then
be around opposing thoughts.
I love to hear people debateand argue and philosophize.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
Like.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
I love that.
So, studying classical musicand being from New Orleans where
, like jazz and gospel and souland beginning of hip hop, all
has like a great presence, Ijust understand music and I love
music.
It doesn't matter what it is.
You want an aria, got it.
You want a jazz song Got it.
You want some bars Got it.
You want a jazz song Got it.
You want some bars Got it.
(39:52):
I'm a fine artist.
I just love good art.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Do you Okay?
So if I was a student and youhad to give me a quick lesson
what are like three pillars youwould tell me about training my
voice without even hearing mesing.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
The first thing I always talk about is breathing
properly Because, as my voiceteacher, dr Valerie Francis,
taught me, the sound or the noterides the breath.
So a lot of people are like ah,where you can go?
Ah, you hear the difference inthe tonality.
The quality changes immenselybecause I'm actually allowing
(40:35):
the breath to carry the noteright.
So that would be the firstthing.
The second thing I would talkabout is vowel placement.
You know, usingItalian-inspired vowels, so
every word, for instance, likethe Italian A, is ah ah.
So if you're singing the wordlove, don't sing love, but love.
(40:58):
There's just so much more spacethere.
Right, it makes the tone morebeautiful, melodious, as my
grandmother would say.
And then the last thing I wouldsay is what is your objective
of this, of singing by the endof this song?
What are you trying to achievethrough the message, like with
the song is, uh, I don't know,somewhere over the rainbow, for
(41:20):
instance, when you sing thatsong.
What are you trying to achieveby saying all this?
What are you trying to achieveI think about that before I go
into a song Not what I want theaudience to get, what is it that
I have to get?
Because, see, if I know what Ihave to get out of this when I
sing it, you will get it.
(41:41):
So those will be three of thebasic things that will change
the way your performances.
It will enhance them greatly.
Okay well, thank you for that.
Y'all got that.
Speaker 3 (41:52):
You got that for free you got that for free, okay?
Well, let's jump into the songwe're gonna feature today never,
never, land.
Before we, um, play the songfor you guys.
Um, what was inspiration behindwriting it?
Speaker 1 (42:06):
you know, I think I wrote this song, I not.
I think I wrote this song, Inot a thing.
I wrote this song during likethe COVID time, um, and I just
really wanted to do something alittle outside of what I
normally do.
I wanted to do something superfun, I want to rap a little bit,
I want to use everything that Icould do, cause I think that
(42:27):
sometimes people are like well,you're not a rapper, I'm not a
rapper, but I can rap.
I'm not a dancer, but I candance.
I'm black.
You know what I'm saying I justhave rhythm, just show me what
it is.
So I wanted to play withdifferent things.
I play piano on this song andin the beginning of the song
(42:49):
it's my heartbeat, because Iremember I had to go to the
hospital to get some, uh, somesome physical work and it's like
check my heartbeat.
And I asked the doctor could Irecord my heartbeat?
I was like, can I, can I pleaserecord my heartbeat?
Speaker 3 (43:08):
I'm sure they looked at you like okay, and I told
them I said I'm going to use itin the song.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
I'm going to use it in the song.
So I took that and used it inthe song, and this song was
about dreaming, dreaming awayinto a place of whatever you
want.
Dream it until you wake up init.
So that's what this song isabout okay, guys.
Speaker 3 (43:32):
Well, here we go.
Never, never land by berkeleythe artist.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
I think I need time.
Yeah, something's messing withmy mind.
So tell me your situation.
Welcome to the beaches.
Yes, one, two, she never, shenever, she never, she never, she
(44:40):
never, she never, she never,she never, she.
She ain't my property, shedon't belong to me.
She never comes for free.
She, she makes good company andties my hands when she's free,
(45:04):
when she's making love to me,and away we go away, we go away,
we go to never, never never gotme on break like a pyramid.
Speaker 1 (45:18):
Touch me.
Touch me if you're feeling itsplash, splash, splash, splash
like the river Nile back, beatkeysh up a little.
Wild eyes blaze like a look outof flight, red lips, hair looks
you fine.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Inhale, exhale right knee what's wrong?
Speaker 1 (45:30):
Don't touch my hair.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
She, baby, she ain't a mystery.
She makes me repay somethingFor her femininity.
She, yeah, she sees the king inme, she loves my royalty.
(45:55):
But she's the epitome.
And the way we go, the way wego, the way we go To never,
never end the way we go, the waywe go, the way we go, way we go
, way we go, afraid, it's neverfor me.
(46:16):
I'm talking to you, I'm talkingto you.
Yeah, you with the hoops andthe afro puffs.
Yeah, you with the yuki and theafro puffs.
Yeah, you with the yuki and thestore-bought school Afro puffs,
afro puffs.
I know you wanna see me fromthe star-wrapped sky Afro puffs,
afro puffs.
(46:36):
I know you wanna see me fromthe star-wrapped sky.
Choo choo say choo choo.
Hey, choo choo, I know you areChoo choo.
Bubbles and pants, choo choo.
I know you are Almost in Paris.
Academy.
Pass, she's luxury, take itfrom me.
24 count.
Speaker 1 (46:58):
She wraps in the palace.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Away, we go Away, we go Away, we go, never, never
Away, we go Away, we go Away, wego.
My friend, it's never, never.
I pray this never ends.
I pray this never ends.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
I pray this never ends.
I pray this never ends.
I pray this never ends for me.
Wow, that was amazing.
Well, there you guys go Never,never Lands by Berklee the
Artist.
Now, before we wrap this up,I'd like to play a little game.
Speaker 2 (47:41):
All right.
Speaker 3 (47:42):
It's called Roll With it or Bounce, and basically
it's a dating game.
I'm going to ask you a questionand you're going to let me know
if you would roll with it oryou would bounce All right, I'm
with it.
They like to party a lot.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
I could roll with it.
Speaker 3 (47:57):
You could roll with it.
I guess you got to do either or.
But I'm made, You're made.
I need you to curb yourenthusiasm sometimes.
For real, for real.
Okay, they're a hustler, butdon't have a job.
Oh no, you bouncing Out of here.
Out of here Jobs in 2024.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
I don't even deal with hustle mentality Right Out
of here.
Speaker 3 (48:20):
Out of here.
Okay, they cheat on you bywatching TV shows or movies
without you.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
That's so.
I'm not petty at all Pleasewatch your shows, because I'm
not going to be here.
Speaker 3 (48:34):
They talk about the shows that y'all started
watching together.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
I ain't petty like that, so you roll with it, we
roll with it.
Okay, just don't tell me theending.
Speaker 3 (48:41):
They dislike some of your friends.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
It depends.
It depends on their reasoning.
It depends on their reasoning,it depends on their reasoning.
Speaker 3 (48:54):
So you're like in the middle, you don't know, you
can't.
Speaker 1 (48:56):
Yeah, I mean you don't have to like my friends to
like me.
Right, respect them, you know.
Like them, that's different.
Speaker 3 (49:04):
They're brutally honest.
Speaker 1 (49:07):
I have a problem with that whole idea of brutally
honest.
So you balancing, I don't know,because honest means what I
don't know.
Honest means it's honest, it'sthe truth.
Speaker 3 (49:21):
But I think brutally honest means like you know, like
I guess maybe it's the approach.
Speaker 1 (49:27):
But that's not honest .
Speaker 3 (49:28):
Right.
Speaker 1 (49:29):
Yeah, I always had a problem with that word, that
term.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
They get jealous easily.
Speaker 1 (49:34):
Oh, you got to go.
Speaker 3 (49:36):
Bye, sucker.
I'm out of here Because youknow why you got to go.
I'm going to tell you why yougot to go.
You can't want me because yousee that I'm a 10 and then try
to make me a 5 once you get meNow see it is.
Speaker 1 (49:45):
I see that you wear really inward it is.
Speaker 3 (49:49):
Because what you're not going to do is kind of dim
my light, okay, Because I'mgoing to shine and I shine
bright.
Speaker 1 (49:54):
Let her shine like a diamond, let me shine All right.
Speaker 3 (49:56):
Well, I just want to say thank you very much.
That's the end of our game.
Thank you for having me,Berkeley.
You're welcome and I'm so gladthat you.
Speaker 1 (50:05):
I am everywhere.
Berkeleytheartist at gmailcom.
You could even call me404-583-8323.
You could reach me on Instagramand you will be seeing me very
soon in some other mediums.
I can't really say right now,but you will be seeing me very
soon, thankfully to thiswonderful position I have with
(50:31):
Simon Fuller at the Academy ofPop.
So be on the lookout.
Some new stuff is happening andI perform around town pretty
often.
Speaker 3 (50:38):
Okay, well, there you have it, guys.
Thank y'all so much for tuningin.
If you have any questions, forthat's it, that's All, or
Berklee the Artist, don't beafraid to hesitate to talk to us
.
He done.
Gave y'all his phone number.
So there's no way that if youhave any questions or anything
you want to reach out, reach outfor lessons, shows, anything
(50:59):
you need to reach out for him.
He's there and we will alsohave his information posted
under our YouTube.
All the things so likesubscribe, share and that's it,
that's all that's it.
That's all is written by me,kacey Carnage, and produced by
myself and Rick Barrio-Dill.
Associate producer Brie Corey.
(51:20):
Assistant producer LarissaDonahoe.
Audio and video engineering andstudio facilities provided by
Slap Studios LA withdistribution through our
collective for social progressand cultural by Slap Studios LA,
with distribution through ourcollective for social progress
and cultural expression, slapthe Network.
If you have any ideas for ashow you want to hear or see,
please email us at info atslapthepowercom and, as always,
(51:43):
go to dazitdassallcom and signup there to make sure you will
never miss a thing.
See you next show.
He was like playing this song.
And the song was playing in thespeakers and it was loud and it
was beautiful, it was like anamazing song.
And I was like, oh my God, Ilove this song so much, this
song is so good.
And there was a friend of minewho was sitting next to me and
she was like, remember, that'sBerklee.
Remember, I gave you his CD.
(00:20):
And I was like, oh my God, Ilove him.
He is my favorite artist in theworld.
I love him.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I kept saying I love him and this is in the dream.
This was in the dream, okay.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
So then I awoke from the dream and I jumped out of my
bed because I went to look forthe CD.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Tell me how you feel.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Black excellence at its finest.
How that skin glows, she's atrue diamond, with the world
right out back.
She's still smiling.
Never left that crown till shestays thriving.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Keep it real.
That's it, that's all.
(01:04):
That's it, that's all.
Keep it real.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Is that really it, though?
What up, what up, what up?
Welcome to.
That's it, that's All.
Y'all know who I am, kaceyCarnage.
I'm your host, and today we'redoing another Artist Spotlight,
one of my favorite segments ofthis show.
And today we have a really,really, really good friend,
super talented Berklee theArtist this show.
And today we have a really,really, really good friend,
(01:24):
super talented berkeley theartist what's happening.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Thank you for having me tonight absolutely,
absolutely.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So let's get into it y'all.
If y'all don't know, umberkeley, um, I met him probably
soon as I got here back in 2024.
I was doing some show at um.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I even forgot the place in korea town 2014 yeah,
2014, yeah, yeah 2014.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
It's been a minute and it was just like we clicked
automatically and we've beenreally good on friends since.
Um, just to give you a littlesnippet about him before he goes
into it about him he is aprofessor of music, he's a
vocalist, he's a songwriter, anactor, author, a creative
director, um, and you know hetours around the country, around
(02:07):
the world.
He's international, but I'lllet him tell you about himself.
So let the world know who youare, brinkley.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Well, first of all, I'm happy to be here with you.
It's really good to see you.
As you know, I just moved backto LA, so it's really nice to
connect with people that Ihaven't seen in many years.
Um, but I mean, everything yousaid is, it is what it is.
At the end of the day, I'm afine artist, you know.
Um, I appreciate art andculture and I believe in being
(02:37):
scholarly about it as well asbeing skillful in it.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Oh yes, super scholarly Cause you are Okay, so
skillful in it.
Oh yes, super scholarly becauseyou are okay.
So, guys, if you guys get achance to, he's gonna he's gonna
definitely tell you where tofind him at the end of this um
episode.
But if you get a chance to lookat his videos, he takes the
approach of like, like,literally he's teaching you,
it's like literally, a 30 secondmaster class on how to sing
whatever song you're singing.
Get into it, um, but let's justjump right into it.
(03:03):
Um, berkeley, what kind ofartist are you?
Like you, you decided to sayberkeley the artist.
Now, is that your given name?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
my given name is frank alex davis, the fourth,
which I love.
My name, um, I am the fourth.
My dad is a singer and was anactor as well, and I came from a
family of art and educationfrom New Orleans, or, if I were
to say it like I'm from home, wesay I'm from New Orleans, baby,
(03:34):
I love the baby.
So I came from a home that wasreally indoctrinated in being
really excellent about whateverit is you're going to do, and I
was very blessed because myparents supported me as an
artist.
(03:54):
And as I grow and meetdifferent people and have all
kinds of friends, I realizedthat everybody's family doesn't
I don't want to say support, butmy family not only supported
but encouraged.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Well, it's funny that you say that, because I think I
made a post the other daybecause I watch a lot of
documentaries.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Me too, I love documentaries.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
And I was watching.
I had just watched TylerPerry's Maxine's Son, and then I
watched Celine Dion's.
Oh, I haven't watched that one.
Like Celine Dion's, and I don'teven think it was a documentary,
I think it was like one ofthose unauthorized movies and
her family was behind her and Iliterally made a post.
I said it, it's, it's, it's adouble-edged sword to see that
(04:38):
there are families that will getbehind you and it really makes
a difference, like when mom ismanager, dad is making calls,
brother and sister is talkingabout it really does so that I
am that's, that's a blessing,for sure, it is a blessing.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
I'm very, very fortunate in that respect
because, again, like my dad wasa was an artist and my
grandmother, his mother, was anartist.
So it and on my mom's side, mymother basically my mother was
like the first a and my mom'sside, my mother basically my
mother was like the first A&Rperson I had.
My mother would always watchStar Search with me and we
(05:12):
wouldn't really watch Showtimeat the Apollo as much, but we
would definitely watch StarSearch and to this day, my mom
and I, we always watch the awardshows together.
So I'm in LA, she's in NewOrleans, and I'm like Ma, who
you think gonna win showstogether.
So I'm in LA, she's in NewOrleans, and I'm like Ma, who
you think gonna win, you know,and she's like, well, they're
not gonna get it because X, yand Z, she just had that six
(05:32):
cents to know the business, eventhough she wasn't in the
business, she just always knew,like when I would watch Ed
McMahon in Star Search, it'd bea kid who would be my age and he
would go on stage and he wouldperform and my mom would say he,
he didn't pick the right song.
And I'm like, yes, he did,that's a good song.
She's like no, he's not gonnaget the best score tonight.
She just understood.
(05:53):
So I was very fortunate.
My mom would say, wear this whenyou go to sing or stand like
this, or maybe you should learnthis song.
Or she would enforce mepracticing.
Or are you coming in andwrapping your throat up on your
voice at night?
Are you getting enough rest?
I mean, my mom still does thatto me.
I'm still like very grown.
I'm like girl.
I have lived around the world.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I am pretty positive I've been wrapping my voice.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
I am wrapping up, you know, and then I go back inside
and go get the scarf, because Ididn't bring it well, where did
you get um berkeley from?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Well, where did you get Berkeley from?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Where did you get that from?
I'm glad you asked.
I'm glad you asked.
I had this dream.
I had this dream and I was in astudio, similar to a studio
like this, and I was behind thecouncil and there was someone in
a chair, a person, but I don'tknow who it was, I feel like it
was a being of some sort and hewas like playing this song and
(06:52):
the song was playing in thespeakers and it was loud and it
was beautiful, it was like anamazing song and I was like, oh
my God, I love this song so much, this song is so good.
And there was a friend of minewho was sitting next to me and
she was like, remember, that'sBerklee.
Remember, I gave you his CD.
And I was like, oh my God, Ilove him.
(07:13):
He is my favorite artist in theworld.
I love him.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I kept saying I love him and this is in the dream.
This was in the dream.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
So then I awoke from the dream and I jumped out of my
bed because I went to look forthe CD, because I saw it in the
dream.
I'm like, oh yeah, I rememberthat and I remember I had like
an old case of CDs.
I'm like it must be in there.
So I went to the closet, Ilooked through and I couldn't
find it.
I looked on my phone, like myiPhone, I'm scrolling through
(07:52):
like Berklee, berklee, berklee,and I couldn't find it.
And then it occurred to me thatthat artist did not exist.
And then it occurred to me thatthat song did not exist.
So I quickly pulled out myphone and started recording the
song, because the song had cometo me in a dream and I realized
that Berklee the artist wassomething that was gifted to me
and so I took it on as myperformance name and persona.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
That is amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, that's what happened.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
That's amazing.
It is crazy.
Do you consider yourselfspiritual?
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Oh, very much so.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Okay, so do you consider yourself religious or
do you consider yourself a blendof both?
I like religion a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I don't have a problem with religion.
I'm glad you asked that.
I hear a lot of folks givetheir opinion which is very fair
about they don't believe inreligion.
I love religion.
I think every religion is verybeautiful.
Religion allows people to havea practice, a ritual, and I
think that that is a beautifulthing.
Now, just like the Internet, orjust like guns, what you do
(08:46):
with it determines if it's goodor bad.
It of itself is not good or bad.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
No, totally understand I am religious.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I have a lot of religious practices.
I grew up as like a reallydevout Christian.
My dad was a pastor.
My mother was the first lady.
I grew up like church, churchchurch, church, church.
Yeah, I definitely grew up inthat world, Um, and and I honor
it and I respect it.
Although I have grown waybeyond it in different ways, it
(09:19):
is a my root and because of thatI feel like I have a lot of
order in my life, because I waskind of bred in that.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
No, I agree, Like I don't consider myself either,
but a mixture of both, becauseit's like you, I grew up.
I wasn't a PK, but I grew up.
I was in church Thursdaythrough Sunday.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Oh, definitely.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
I want to say every week until I was about a
sophomore in high school fromthe time I was four.
Whether it was the choirliturgical dance bells, whatever
it was.
I was there and I had aconversation with my friend one
day about what I think that gaveme, and I think it gave me a
sense of discipline, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
It gave me a sense of faith.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
It gave me a sense of purpose.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
It gave me a lot of integrity, absolutely discipline
.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
It gave me a sense of faith, it gave me a sense of
purpose.
It gave me a lot of integrity.
Now, like you said, some peopletake religion and do bad things
with it.
That's why the reason why Ialso say I'm spiritual, because
I do believe in a spirit and Ido believe in science.
Right, I do believe in the factthat there's a lot that we
cannot explain.
And just because we can'texplain it, that doesn't mean
that it's not there, does itmean that it's not pushing us?
Like that dream came to you fromwhere we don't know, but that
doesn't mean that it wasn't true.
(10:32):
That was a message sent fromwherever, whomever people want
to say it came from.
It came to you.
And I felt the same way aboutwhen I moved here to LA.
Like I was getting all thesedeja vus, moved um here to la,
like I was getting all thesedeja vus, like I was.
I was standing on a corner andI'm like I was here before and
even this move, even this showthat I have right now, like I
(10:52):
knew I would have this platformat some point in my life because
I manifested it.
You know what I mean.
I was like I.
One of my biggest things wasyou know, we're both.
You know, we met in a musicalrealm yeah but my background is
a journalist realm.
That's what I went to schoolfor and I wanted to communicate.
That's one of my.
I love communicating withpeople.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
And I love having my friends.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I mean, you know me, I like people, so I feel you on
that.
That's a beautiful story.
So, when you okay, so let's dosomething fun.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
What was the?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
first song you ever wrote.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
My first song that I ever wrote was how old were you?
I was maybe like eight, eightor nine was a remake of a hymn.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
What was the hymn?
Speaker 1 (11:40):
The hymn is Blessed.
Assurance.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Oh, okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
But I made my own version of it, which actually I
thought about this recently andI was like dang, that was kind
of dope.
I need to like revisit that.
That was my first thing I everdid and it's really funny,
ironically, that you would bringthat up, because I do draw the
conclusion that I took what Ilearned.
(12:05):
It was a hymn, that was prettystraightforward and I just did
it my way and I'm still verymuch the same way, like taking
the same concepts of religion,faith, god, Christ, and I just
kind of apply it to my life inmy interpretation and of my
(12:26):
function and how it works.
So, from a kid, I never wantedto do things the way that
everybody else was doing it, Notbecause I wanted to rebel
against it, I just felt like myway was better for me and
hopefully people would enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
You no, that's, yeah, that's.
I think that's important, sookay, so, as growing up into a
kid and you're growing into youradulthood and you're finding
your artistry, what was some ofthe upsides and some of the
challenges that you think thatyou face in your development?
Speaker 1 (13:01):
that's a really great , great question.
I always knew that I would bewhat I am.
There has never been a doubt.
There were times when I wasyounger that I didn't know how
to get here and that was veryfrustrating.
Or there were times where Ifelt as if I was closed in or
(13:22):
suppressed or backed into acorner.
But I always knew I was goingto fight my way out or outsmart
my way out to get to where Ibelong.
So some of the upsides for mewas that because I could sing
and not only sing I reallyunderstood music because even as
a kid like I was a choirdirector at my church, and I'm
not talking about just waving myhands I was like sopranos
(13:45):
saying joy, altos, joy, tenders,joy.
And then I started learningdissonance very early, like joy,
joy, joy and people.
I remember my friends being soangry with me as a kid like why
do you always have to harmonize?
Why do you have to do that?
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Because I can, but no , I know how no, but really I it
wasn't that.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
I never felt that way .
I felt like, because this isthe way I hear it, I never felt
like, oh, because I can, I justhear it differently.
And so the upside was that Ialways found artistic value.
And now that I'm an adult andI've kind of like pushed myself
to learn more about the world, Ithink I have always found
(14:33):
divine and spiritual concepts invery mundane things, even as a
kid.
Of course, the other side ofthat coin is that it kind of
makes you feel pushed out ofmainstream things.
So people were like you'reweird or you know, you think
(14:55):
you're better than everybody.
I mean, I face that a lot.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Well, do you think it's because, okay, let's dig
into that why?
do you feel like you were beingpushed out?
Do you think it was because youhad a more technical stance on
music and people were like youknow, because most people, most
people, have some type of ear,right, they listen to the radio,
they can listen back, right,they can sing it back.
But when it comes down to likebreaking down music, do you
(15:22):
think it was a thing where maybethey felt like, well, I can't
really do that, and because hecan, I don't know how to relate,
or what do you?
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I think, of course, I think there are a plethora of
reasons that very well could beone.
I also feel as if I'm just verycourageous and I think that in
any story throughout the historyof mankind that you look back
in literature, you see the samethemes over and over.
When a person is courageous, itkind of makes other people
(15:55):
either exalt them or crucifythem, because what it does is it
pushes other people to be greattoo.
And I didn't know that, I hadno idea that's what I was doing.
I was just living my life.
I was just living my life.
I was just living my life.
But I also feel like ittriggers something in people to
(16:17):
remind people are you livingyour life?
And even though it wasn't easy,I was bullied a lot.
I was bullied a lot.
I cannot reiterate the amountof bullying and violence
physical violence, mental,sexual violence that I embraced,
(16:40):
not embraced, endured as ayoung child.
I experienced all of thosethings, but my spirit just would
not break.
It just would not break and I'mlike that to this day, and some
people even use the term likeoh, you can be really defensive
and that used to be a.
It used to bother me because Ididn't want people to think that
(17:02):
, but what I understand aboutmyself is that I'm going to get
what I came for.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
And people are also going to see people that are
supposed to see.
You will see you.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Like.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
I had to learn that a while too, because I had a
thing about where it's kind oflike when you're moving you're
shaking, like I was.
I think you're always doingsomething.
It's something you always doEvery time I see you.
You got some new project.
I was like I got things to do.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
I have things to do.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
yo, I got things to do and sometimes that makes you
lonely, sometimes that puts youon an island by yourself, but
guess what I said this today yoLet me tell you something.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Don't get me wrong.
There are times when I feellonely, but I never feel alone.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Okay, I never, feel alone.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Number one God lives in me.
And God is not only living inme.
God is present in me.
And because God is present inme, even when I get to a low
point, I can feel the power ofGod shifting it to bring me up
right.
So when I am alone, I know howto call on God in various ways
(18:12):
to pull me out of that.
But secondly, I have siblings.
I grew up with my.
My siblings are my best friends.
Child, let me tell yousomething I don't need friends.
I love my friends, but I have abrother and a sister.
I tell people that all the timeCause I'm like you ain't got to
be my friend.
(18:32):
I got a brother and a sister,y'all grew up pretty tight.
What that's my people Like Iknow who I am because I have a
brother and a sister I have.
My brother is like a chief inthe military.
He's my younger brother.
I'm the oldest, but he almostacts like he's older, I think,
(18:57):
and he gives me greatperspective.
And then my sister and I peopleused to think we were twins.
My sister is also an artist aswell, so every idea that I know
she's always had a beautifulspirit.
Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Yeah, she's amazing.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Everything that comes to my mind that's artistic I
bounce off of my brother and mysister first Relationships,
brother and sister, firstBusiness, spirituality.
So I feel like God gave meeverything I needed.
If I'm blessed with friendswhich I have a lot of friends
(19:33):
then I am grateful for them.
But guess what?
Almost all of my friends.
They're very close to theirsiblings too.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Right, it's like a similar thing right.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
So I feel like, even though I've gone through a lot
of things, I don't cling to that.
One of my colleagues and a newfriend of of mine her name is
marissa bateman and she's likeeverybody wants to be in the
trauma olympics.
Everybody wants to compete inthe trauma.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
We talk about trauma bonds all the time.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
It's like I don't want your bond, I don't want
that I respect where everybodyis in their life, but I am
focused on my victories and I amfocused on healing well and
reconciliation.
I am not focused on justhealing and leaving everybody
out.
How can I reconcile thesituation, if it is possible?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
No, totally understandable.
It's like one of those thingswhere there's some people out in
the world where they want tohave an issue, like, okay, you
can tell me your grievances,let's find a solution.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Do you want a solution?
Speaker 3 (20:34):
That's the question Do you want a solution?
And sometimes people don't.
They don't.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
And I've asked you know, I have a really good
friend, I have so many friends,but my friend Mackenzie.
Sometimes, when we're talking,I'm like she's like well, this
is going on.
I'm like hold on, hold on, holdon.
Do you want me to be alistening ear or do you want me
to bring a perspective?
Speaker 3 (20:53):
And that's great to ask.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
I mean all the time she's like I want perspective.
But I have friends like that,where we ask, and I even tell my
friends, like when they aretelling me things, I'm like look
, tell me if I'm wrong, tell meif I could have done this better
.
I think that, going into thisnew era this is my new era right
(21:16):
now I don't need to isolate, toheal.
I don't need that.
I will heal and I want toreconcile.
If there is reconciliation, Iwant it to be so, not just.
I'm tired of everybody.
(21:36):
Everybody make me mad,everybody triggers me.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
You know what Do, what you need to do, and then
also too another point of thatis like okay, we reconcile, and
then it's always those few thatlike to come back.
Well, you used to.
I'd be like look, she don'tlive here, no more.
I don't even know who you'retalking about.
People can change, and that'sthe thing people can change, and
not only can they, they should.
It's called evolution.
It's called evolving you're notgoing to be the same person you
(22:00):
were when you're 14.
You're not going to be the sameperson you were when you were
20 and at 35, I'm somebody else.
At 40, you're going to besomebody else.
At 50, I'm gonna be somebodyelse.
She don't live here, no more.
I don't want to hear what youheard or what I used to do.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I don't want, I don't want to hear that, because meet
me where I'm at but you know,it's really interesting that you
bring that up as well, becauseI'm also dealing with that part.
When I say dealing, I meandealing meaning allowing.
Excuse me, when people say wellyou used to, people say well
you used to, instead of meresponding like I've changed,
(22:31):
this is me, I ask, like, what isit about that old person or
that old persona that you needpresent right now?
What is it that you're callingforth?
Because you're bringing this up?
Because, why, what do you needfrom it?
Speaker 3 (22:51):
What do you need?
Well, that's nice of you to askthose questions no, no, I'm
fair right I'm not always nice.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
You know what I'm saying.
I'm polite, but I'm.
I'm.
I'm fair because I really wantto know like I'm not asking just
for like rhetorical banter.
I'm what is it?
Because if you keep bringingthat up, it's like what do you
need from me?
What do you need?
And often what I find is whenyou start asking those kinds of
(23:22):
questions, a person really getsto answer it and you really get
to hear and there might besomething I can tweak for you.
I might be able to bring back alittle ratchet.
Well, I also, but I also too.
That is, and there might besomething I can tweak for you.
I might be able to bring back alittle ratchet every now.
And then.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
But I also too.
That is a fair point to bringup.
But also, too, it's just, Ithink, that it all is
perspective of where you are inlife.
Some people feel like they wantto dive deep, and then there's
some people that are just likeI'm past that you know what I
mean.
Some people just like I havethose instances.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
It also depends on the relationship of this person.
We talking about right theintention.
Right the intention, yeah forsure.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
So like, of course, I'm going to give certain
allowances to certain people,but, like you know how many
people that, especially in thisworld of entertainment, right,
how many people come through andin and out of your life, that
there's people, it's like thisrevolving door of people.
There's some people that stick,there's some people that's
there for a moment, somepeople's there for a lifetime,
right.
So I think it's all perspectiveof when and where, and
(24:18):
everybody deserves grace,because god gives grace, right.
But at the same time, when itcomes down to protecting your
peace, especially your artistry,right, because it's like, it's
like even going like those samepeople.
Well, do you allow people tocritique your music when you're
sharing?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
you know, I'm in a different space in my life
honestly right I'm in adifferent space.
I don't need to set rules tolive for other people,
especially right like you can'task me this, it's a free world.
Man like you can do what youwant.
You could do what you want.
You could do what you want andI could do what I want.
(24:53):
And if I have the energy toshare and you want to critique
and I have the energy, thenlet's volley.
But if I don't, then talk allyou will, and then I'm like it
was great to meet you and Idon't need to set those kind of
rules.
I'm just in a different spacepersonally, and I'm not in any
(25:15):
way telling people you should belike me.
I'm very cautious about that.
It's just my experience.
In a year, on the day, I mightbe in a different space, but
where I am right now, you couldask me whatever you want to ask
me.
If I have it within me to shareor to volley or to communicate
back and forth, then I will, andif I don't, I'm just like cool,
(25:36):
you know I won't say that, butyes, I will.
So I grew up in New Orleans andthere's a very famous artist
from New Orleans, pj Morton.
We all grew up in the same era,the same time.
I've been knowing him since hefirst came out and I was always
(25:57):
very inspired by his writing andhis courage to just do what he
wanted to do.
So this is a couple of yearsago.
I was trying to make a shift inmy music career and I was very
nervous about the shift you know, okay and what?
Speaker 3 (26:14):
what was the shift?
If you don't the?
Speaker 1 (26:15):
shift was.
I was in a group and this isthe first time I've ever talked
about this publicly I was, uh,the lead singer of this group.
Um, that, um, I really didbelieve in this group and we did
some really great work.
We did some really great work,but I'll take full
responsibility.
At some point I knew it wastime for me to go.
(26:36):
I knew I was no longer supposedto be there.
Um, all the signs were there,but I, I wouldn't let go.
You know, um, because of guilt,shame, insecurity, wanting to
please others, fear of my owngreatness, I just didn't leave
(26:59):
when I should have.
I probably would have had aless chaotic exit had I left
when I knew to leave.
But I wanted to make everybodyhappy and I didn't want to make
a hard decision, so I got totake the responsibility for that
, never mind how they were inthe situation.
I should have left and I couldhave left, and I didn't.
(27:21):
And so I went to speak to himto get some advice on some music
I want to do.
I want to do my own music again.
And he said the best advice todo.
I want to do my own music again.
And he said the best advice tome, and I to this day hold it
dearly and I share it to a lotof artists that I develop and
mentor and work with,collaborate with.
He's like do you have somethingto say?
(27:43):
And I was like wait, I wasasking.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
That's not even what I asked you, Right?
Speaker 1 (27:52):
He says do you have something to say.
And I was like and I didn'treally answer.
And he says when you havesomething to say, when you truly
have something to say, no oneor nothing will stop it.
You will sing, write and gowherever you need to go when you
have something to say, but ifyou don't have anything to say,
(28:13):
stay where you are until you dohave something to say.
And that moment changed thetrajectory of my life, not just
my music career but just mywhole life.
Because you know, like I wasperforming all the time,
traveling around the world,performing, performing,
performing and for like the lastyear and a half, almost two
(28:37):
years nothing, Because I don'thave anything to say.
I've been teaching, but I'vebeen living.
I've been enjoying my life,rethinking my life, and it's
been very successful.
But I have anything to say andI feel like singing because I
had nothing to say.
Well, you don't have to singanymore for money.
Your whole world is verydifferent.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Okay, let me just speak on that part.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Come on.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
Let me speak on that part, because I had that same
thing when I got out here moving, moving shows, book, book, book
.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Right, you have to.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Whatever, and it came to a point where I felt like I
would get on stage and I'd bedead.
Yeah, I'm the note soundingpretty.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Yeah, I look good, because I always look good, but
empty.
But it didn't feel right.
It didn't feel like what I hadto say wasn't the form of music.
And when I sat down and reallyfelt and don't get me wrong,
like music is one of my firstloves and not saying that it's
shelved or it's going anywhereit was like what I had to say
wasn't in the form of music, itwas in a form of communication.
(29:40):
And I sat down and I manifestedand I wrote out these scripts
and now you're here with me yeahyou know what I mean.
So I that that is true and it's,and I'm glad that you told me
that story, because that'sexactly what I was feeling about
a year and a half ago and thisthusly berkeley the artist, my
artistry, is not just one facet,and I think we as human beings
(30:06):
we're not, were not onedimensional.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
We can get stuck in a role for too long.
I will never do that again inmy life, even when it comes to
friends, relationships, when Iknow it's time to move on.
You can move on before itbecomes chaotic.
I think if you stay insomething too long, it becomes
(30:31):
chaotic, and then you look backand you're like, oh, that didn't
go well.
No, god was trying to tell yousomething.
Shug Avery style.
Right Speak, though.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Right.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
You have to decide.
Do you trust that you are morethan a singer?
Do you trust that you are morethan a dancer or a teacher or a
pastor or a mother or a husband,a wife, a boy?
You are more than just onething.
(31:03):
You can be many things.
And if you just hold onto thattitle, and that is your identity
marker, then you cannot live afull life.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
And it becomes anxiety driven, because what?
Happens is, you've placedyourself in one value.
So if that value isn't movingthe way it should, or if it
looks, you doubt everything.
It's like my life is over.
I don't know what to do andwhole time you don't went to
school.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Yes, you don't Degrees.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Degrees and all this is like whatever, and that's
literally what it was.
I looked at my degree one day.
I was like wait a minute, likeI know what I'm doing, and also
to what I've also felt aboutbeing a multi-dimensional Artist
.
Right is that those tools thatyou stack up through the years
of your life always come inhandy they're always relevant.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
They always are relevant, but this is when
you're living in your fullness.
Your purpose, your purpose is,in my opinion, of course, and in
my experience, is just yourfullness.
It's not like some big idealike I am sin on the earth to
blah, blah, blah.
It's not like some big idealike I am sin on the earth to
blah, blah, blah.
It's just be whole.
Like you know, especiallygrowing up in church, like I'm
(32:16):
always debunking a lot of thingsthat you know keep people in
bondage, I think, from a veryChristian perspective, be holy
means be whole, be complete.
You know what I'm saying?
It's not you not smoking yourcigarettes, though smoking
cigarettes is probably very badfor your health, which means
that you are not being whole,which now you could be unholy
(32:41):
because you are not whole, right.
So it's like focus on beingwhole and then everything else
really just becomes easy.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
You know, yeah, Okay, well, as an artist.
And you said, you grew up in achurch and your mom and dad were
definitely there, and yourbrothers and sisters were there
to push you and support you.
Who were your inspirations?
Like who did you?
Take a little bit from here andtake a little bit from here and
kind of shaped, maybe yoursound or your look or just your
(33:15):
artistry in general.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Definitely at the root of vocal, when I think
about vocal texture and vocalchoices, it's Whitney Houston.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Like I didn't know the answer.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Yeah, like everything for me is in her phrasing and
the choices.
There's an interview I studyWhitney Houston so much.
There's an interview that shegave and she said to the
interviewer my mother taught mehow to sing a song.
Now, if you listen to thatwithout analyzing it, you just
hear Sissy taught her how tosing, but that's not what she
(33:48):
said.
What she said was my mothertaught me how to sing a song,
and so, as a vocal coach and avocal teacher, I'm constantly
teaching my clients how to singa song, because you could be a
badass singer, but you don'tknow how to sing a song.
(34:08):
You don't know how to make thesong live, come alive, live when
you're not singing it anymore.
Have you ever heard somebodysing that, even when they're
finished, the song is stillsinging?
That's a goal, but it's how youconstruct it.
So for me, whitney Houston wasa major, major thing.
Also, I grew up in the house mydad, um, and my mom.
(34:30):
They were a very classy people,so I listened to a lot of nat
king cole a lot of set of ellafitzgerald, sarah vaughn, johnny
mathis.
I was listening to that whileeverybody else was listening to
tupac shout out to my sister.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
My sister was like listening to everythingupac
Shout out to my sister.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
My sister was like listening to everything, but I
wasn't listening to like urbanmusic and this other music, but
my sister was listening toeverything.
But I was also moved by.
Like Alanis Morissette, I wasmoved by her.
I was moved by, no Doubt.
I was moved by TLC.
I was moved by her.
(35:10):
I was moved by no Doubt, I wasmoved by TLC.
I was moved by Prince.
Like when I say moved, meaningI wanted to think like them you
know what I'm saying Like Ididn't necessarily want to sound
like them.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I wanted to get in their mind Because, like you
said, you broke it down forvocal.
Because, like you said, youbroke it down for vocal.
And then you talk in the nextgroup of people.
You're talking about the artbehind of what they did, and it
didn't necessarily soundanything that you may sound like
, but it was that power and alot of artists.
That's a lot to find and figureit out, and sometimes it takes
(35:46):
a while to figure it out.
I was a kid though.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
But I love music, I'm a musicologist, I think about
how music affects society and onthose that, that level and, of
course, now there's so manypeople, but ultimately,
ultimately, who I absolutelyadore right now in every aspect,
from music to business, toinnovation, to cultural impact.
(36:10):
Beyonce it's Beyonce it'sBeyonce.
I mean come on Beyonce.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
Come on, I'm looking at you.
It's like you know you alreadyknow what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
I will fight somebody behind Beyonce, okay.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
I was like say something there will be no
slander.
There will be no Beyonceslander period and it's not it's
not even on a.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
It's not even on.
I'm a clone, or it's not onthere, I'm very I.
I have analyzed her and irisand she works.
I respect her man, I respecther.
I respect her so much likebecause what she has
accomplished, we're the same age.
I saw it.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
I think that that makes the difference I saw her
from where she started to nowand grew up with her undeniable
and grew up with her.
She's undeniable like Iremember listening to, I
remember watching 106 and parkyeah and watching all these
shows and just the first SoulTrain.
It's the craziest thing, Likeshe was a child that grew up in
(37:14):
this industry and works.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
And works and hasn't stopped.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
And has not stopped and probably won't stop.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
And didn't fall apart .
You know it didn't fall apart.
And, true, I don't know herlife, right, and that's not my
business to know her life, andthat's not my business to know
her life, but what she haschosen to give us in the world,
I am grateful.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
I am grateful that I was on this planet during this
era and just the and just howshe just evolves every time she
drops something different on usevery time, like I already knew.
I already knew there's nobodyelse who could have told me now,
like, as far as now isconcerned, come on now.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
She checks so many marks.
She is a legend and she is acultural icon.
Absolutely, she has shifted theculture.
There's so many people,obviously, but all of these
people have influenced me insome way or another, and you
know, I'm classically trained aswell so well, let's jump into
(38:14):
that, because I know you're alsoa vocal teacher.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
Um, like I said, if you guys get a chance to watch
some of his videos, they'reliterally 30 to minute master
classes.
So when I know you went toschool, you got your ba and I
have a ba in vocal music okay,and classical voice.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Did you know that you wanted to be?
You got your ba and I have a bain vocal music okay, and
classical voice.
Speaker 3 (38:30):
Did you know that you wanted to be a professor?
Speaker 1 (38:33):
I've always education .
I come from a at my my familyis music education and in church
.
So like it wasn't far, myfather was the um what do you
call it?
The president of a seminary atsome point.
You know what I'm saying.
I love school.
(38:53):
I love teaching in colleges.
I've taught at one, two, one,two, three.
I've taught at four colleges.
The last college before I movedhere was Jay-Z's Rock Nation
School of Music at Long IslandUniversity in Brooklyn.
So that was where I was beforeI moved here to take this job
here.
But I love school.
(39:16):
I love to learn.
I never disliked school.
I always loved to learnsomething I didn't know and then
be around opposing thoughts.
I love to hear people debateand argue and philosophize.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
Like.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
I love that.
So, studying classical musicand being from New Orleans where
, like jazz and gospel and souland beginning of hip hop, all
has like a great presence, Ijust understand music and I love
music.
It doesn't matter what it is.
You want an aria, got it.
You want a jazz song Got it.
You want some bars Got it.
You want a jazz song Got it.
You want some bars Got it.
(39:52):
I'm a fine artist.
I just love good art.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Do you Okay?
So if I was a student and youhad to give me a quick lesson
what are like three pillars youwould tell me about training my
voice without even hearing mesing.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
The first thing I always talk about is breathing
properly Because, as my voiceteacher, dr Valerie Francis,
taught me, the sound or the noterides the breath.
So a lot of people are like ah,where you can go?
Ah, you hear the difference inthe tonality.
The quality changes immenselybecause I'm actually allowing
(40:35):
the breath to carry the noteright.
So that would be the firstthing.
The second thing I would talkabout is vowel placement.
You know, usingItalian-inspired vowels, so
every word, for instance, likethe Italian A, is ah ah.
So if you're singing the wordlove, don't sing love, but love.
(40:58):
There's just so much more spacethere.
Right, it makes the tone morebeautiful, melodious, as my
grandmother would say.
And then the last thing I wouldsay is what is your objective
of this, of singing by the endof this song?
What are you trying to achievethrough the message, like with
the song is, uh, I don't know,somewhere over the rainbow, for
(41:20):
instance, when you sing thatsong.
What are you trying to achieveby saying all this?
What are you trying to achieveI think about that before I go
into a song Not what I want theaudience to get, what is it that
I have to get?
Because, see, if I know what Ihave to get out of this when I
sing it, you will get it.
(41:41):
So those will be three of thebasic things that will change
the way your performances.
It will enhance them greatly.
Okay well, thank you for that.
Y'all got that.
Speaker 3 (41:52):
You got that for free you got that for free, okay?
Well, let's jump into the songwe're gonna feature today never,
never, land.
Before we, um, play the songfor you guys.
Um, what was inspiration behindwriting it?
Speaker 1 (42:06):
you know, I think I wrote this song, I not.
I think I wrote this song, Inot a thing.
I wrote this song during likethe COVID time, um, and I just
really wanted to do something alittle outside of what I
normally do.
I wanted to do something superfun, I want to rap a little bit,
I want to use everything that Icould do, cause I think that
(42:27):
sometimes people are like well,you're not a rapper, I'm not a
rapper, but I can rap.
I'm not a dancer, but I candance.
I'm black.
You know what I'm saying I justhave rhythm, just show me what
it is.
So I wanted to play withdifferent things.
I play piano on this song andin the beginning of the song
(42:49):
it's my heartbeat, because Iremember I had to go to the
hospital to get some, uh, somesome physical work and it's like
check my heartbeat.
And I asked the doctor could Irecord my heartbeat?
I was like, can I, can I pleaserecord my heartbeat?
Speaker 3 (43:08):
I'm sure they looked at you like okay, and I told
them I said I'm going to use itin the song.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
I'm going to use it in the song.
So I took that and used it inthe song, and this song was
about dreaming, dreaming awayinto a place of whatever you
want.
Dream it until you wake up init.
So that's what this song isabout okay, guys.
Speaker 3 (43:32):
Well, here we go.
Never, never land by berkeleythe artist.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
I think I need time.
Yeah, something's messing withmy mind.
So tell me your situation.
Welcome to the beaches.
Yes, one, two, she never, shenever, she never, she never, she
(44:40):
never, she never, she never,she never, she.
She ain't my property, shedon't belong to me.
She never comes for free.
She, she makes good company andties my hands when she's free,
(45:04):
when she's making love to me,and away we go away, we go away,
we go to never, never never gotme on break like a pyramid.
Speaker 1 (45:18):
Touch me.
Touch me if you're feeling itsplash, splash, splash, splash
like the river Nile back, beatkeysh up a little.
Wild eyes blaze like a look outof flight, red lips, hair looks
you fine.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Inhale, exhale right knee what's wrong?
Speaker 1 (45:30):
Don't touch my hair.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
She, baby, she ain't a mystery.
She makes me repay somethingFor her femininity.
She, yeah, she sees the king inme, she loves my royalty.
(45:55):
But she's the epitome.
And the way we go, the way wego, the way we go To never,
never end the way we go, the waywe go, the way we go, way we go
, way we go, afraid, it's neverfor me.
(46:16):
I'm talking to you, I'm talkingto you.
Yeah, you with the hoops andthe afro puffs.
Yeah, you with the yuki and theafro puffs.
Yeah, you with the yuki and thestore-bought school Afro puffs,
afro puffs.
I know you wanna see me fromthe star-wrapped sky Afro puffs,
afro puffs.
(46:36):
I know you wanna see me fromthe star-wrapped sky.
Choo choo say choo choo.
Hey, choo choo, I know you areChoo choo.
Bubbles and pants, choo choo.
I know you are Almost in Paris.
Academy.
Pass, she's luxury, take itfrom me.
24 count.
Speaker 1 (46:58):
She wraps in the palace.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Away, we go Away, we go Away, we go, never, never
Away, we go Away, we go Away, wego.
My friend, it's never, never.
I pray this never ends.
I pray this never ends.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
I pray this never ends.
I pray this never ends.
I pray this never ends for me.
Wow, that was amazing.
Well, there you guys go Never,never Lands by Berklee the
Artist.
Now, before we wrap this up,I'd like to play a little game.
Speaker 2 (47:41):
All right.
Speaker 3 (47:42):
It's called Roll With it or Bounce, and basically
it's a dating game.
I'm going to ask you a questionand you're going to let me know
if you would roll with it oryou would bounce All right, I'm
with it.
They like to party a lot.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
I could roll with it.
Speaker 3 (47:57):
You could roll with it.
I guess you got to do either or.
But I'm made, You're made.
I need you to curb yourenthusiasm sometimes.
For real, for real.
Okay, they're a hustler, butdon't have a job.
Oh no, you bouncing Out of here.
Out of here Jobs in 2024.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
I don't even deal with hustle mentality Right Out
of here.
Speaker 3 (48:20):
Out of here.
Okay, they cheat on you bywatching TV shows or movies
without you.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
That's so.
I'm not petty at all Pleasewatch your shows, because I'm
not going to be here.
Speaker 3 (48:34):
They talk about the shows that y'all started
watching together.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
I ain't petty like that, so you roll with it, we
roll with it.
Okay, just don't tell me theending.
Speaker 3 (48:41):
They dislike some of your friends.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
It depends.
It depends on their reasoning.
It depends on their reasoning,it depends on their reasoning.
Speaker 3 (48:54):
So you're like in the middle, you don't know, you
can't.
Speaker 1 (48:56):
Yeah, I mean you don't have to like my friends to
like me.
Right, respect them, you know.
Like them, that's different.
Speaker 3 (49:04):
They're brutally honest.
Speaker 1 (49:07):
I have a problem with that whole idea of brutally
honest.
So you balancing, I don't know,because honest means what I
don't know.
Honest means it's honest, it'sthe truth.
Speaker 3 (49:21):
But I think brutally honest means like you know, like
I guess maybe it's the approach.
Speaker 1 (49:27):
But that's not honest .
Speaker 3 (49:28):
Right.
Speaker 1 (49:29):
Yeah, I always had a problem with that word, that
term.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
They get jealous easily.
Speaker 1 (49:34):
Oh, you got to go.
Speaker 3 (49:36):
Bye, sucker.
I'm out of here Because youknow why you got to go.
I'm going to tell you why yougot to go.
You can't want me because yousee that I'm a 10 and then try
to make me a 5 once you get meNow see it is.
Speaker 1 (49:45):
I see that you wear really inward it is.
Speaker 3 (49:49):
Because what you're not going to do is kind of dim
my light, okay, Because I'mgoing to shine and I shine
bright.
Speaker 1 (49:54):
Let her shine like a diamond, let me shine All right.
Speaker 3 (49:56):
Well, I just want to say thank you very much.
That's the end of our game.
Thank you for having me,Berkeley.
You're welcome and I'm so gladthat you.
Speaker 1 (50:05):
I am everywhere.
Berkeleytheartist at gmailcom.
You could even call me404-583-8323.
You could reach me on Instagramand you will be seeing me very
soon in some other mediums.
I can't really say right now,but you will be seeing me very
soon, thankfully to thiswonderful position I have with
(50:31):
Simon Fuller at the Academy ofPop.
So be on the lookout.
Some new stuff is happening andI perform around town pretty
often.
Speaker 3 (50:38):
Okay, well, there you have it, guys.
Thank y'all so much for tuningin.
If you have any questions, forthat's it, that's All, or
Berklee the Artist, don't beafraid to hesitate to talk to us
.
He done.
Gave y'all his phone number.
So there's no way that if youhave any questions or anything
you want to reach out, reach outfor lessons, shows, anything
(50:59):
you need to reach out for him.
He's there and we will alsohave his information posted
under our YouTube.
All the things so likesubscribe, share and that's it,
that's all that's it.
That's all is written by me,kacey Carnage, and produced by
myself and Rick Barrio-Dill.
Associate producer Brie Corey.
(51:20):
Assistant producer LarissaDonahoe.
Audio and video engineering andstudio facilities provided by
Slap Studios LA withdistribution through our
collective for social progressand cultural by Slap Studios LA,
with distribution through ourcollective for social progress
and cultural expression, slapthe Network.
If you have any ideas for ashow you want to hear or see,
please email us at info atslapthepowercom and, as always,
(51:43):
go to dazitdassallcom and signup there to make sure you will
never miss a thing.
See you next show.
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