In this bold and dynamic episode, we’re joined by Keldamuzik—recording artist, producer, entrepreneur, and unapologetic force in the entertainment industry. Known for her fearless confidence and unwavering authenticity, Keldamuzik opens up about what it truly means to live unapologetically in a world that often tries to box women in. From her journey in the music industry to launching her own brand and advocating for women’s empowerment, she shares how creativity, boundaries, and representation intersect to create lasting impact.
Whether she’s speaking her mind in a room full of decision-makers or championing inclusive storytelling through her work, Keldamuzik is a vibrant example of what happens when women step fully into their power. This episode is an invitation to reclaim your voice, own your identity, and find confidence in being exactly who you are—no apologies needed.
📌 Keywords: Living unapologetically, Women in the music industry, Creative entrepreneurship, Building confidence, Personal empowerment podcast, Media representation matters, Self-expression through music, Setting boundaries for growth, Women’s voices in entertainment, Black women creatives, Authentic leadership, Music and personal development, Representation in media, Inspiring interviews with women, Confidence and mindset podcast, Artistic freedom and self-worth
Ways to Engage: Everything Keldamuzik creates includes the word “diva”—a word she defines as confident, independent, and empowering. What’s your word? Choose one that reflects your strength and essence. Keep it close, use it as an affirmation, and return to it when you need to tap back into your power.
Blog Excerpt: You may know our next guest as a singer, but you may not know Keldamuzik as the entertaining, courageous, creative, ambitious, outgoing, and passionate woman she has always been. She supports women in living unapologetically just by being her confident and genial self. From setting boundaries to speaking up for others, her leadership is a powerful reminder of the importance of representation and using your platform for good. Her confidence radiates, and her story uplifts—making her a true inspiration for listeners everywhere.
- #LivingUnapologetically
- #WomenInMusic
- #ConfidenceAndCreativity
- #RepresentationMatters
- #EmpoweredWomen
- #AuthenticLiving
- #CreativeEntrepreneurs
- #MusicIndustryVoices
- #BlackWomenInEntertainment
- #SelfLoveAndExpression
- #BoundariesAndConfidence
- #TheFEELPodcast
- #PersonalGrowthJourney
- #InspiringWomenVoices
- #PodcastForEmpowerment
Timestamps:
Prioritizing Self Care - ( 2:23 )
Confidently Setting Boundaries - ( 4:45 )
Taking Care of Your Emotional Health as much as Your Physical Health - ( 10:44 )
Support self & other women unapologetically - ( 15:54 )
Coming Back to Your WHY and Your VALUES - ( 20:09 )
Living Out of Your Own Expectations - ( 22:39 )
Accepting the Layered Aspects of Yourself - ( 26:48 )
Living out FEEL, how does it affect your relationships - ( 34:12 )
5 Activities That Nourish You - ( 35:38 )
Original Music by Rio & Valencia Saint-Louis
Want to be a guest on The F.E.E.L. Podcast? - Finding Empowerment Embracing Layers? Send Melissa Crook a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/feel2021 or complete our contact form here: https://www.embracinglayers.com/contact
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello Melissa Crook here on the field podcast.
Welcome to today's episode are ways to engage with living
unapologetically with Kelda Music confidence, creativity and
representation in the music industry.
These ways to engage are as follows.
Everything Kelda Music names hasthe word diva in it, meaning
(00:23):
confidence, independent, motivated, and empowering others
to do the same. Think of a word that encompasses
you similarly to your character traits, something that gives you
strength, power and confidence. Keep that word with you and
remind yourself of it when you need it most.
We hope this really helps you asyou listen today's really
(00:47):
empowering episode with our new friend Celta Music.
Thanks so much for being with us.
(01:07):
Hello, welcome to the field podcast this week.
I'm so excited to be with you. We have a guest today that comes
from a background that I haven'tbeen able to highlight before
and haven't been able to share about before, and I'm super
excited to have her here today. I think she's going to have so
much to share with us. She has such an, I think it's,
(01:27):
she has one of those lives that a lot of people, especially when
you're growing up, you're like, oh, that would be so cool to do.
Well, she's doing it, but it's also requires her to take really
good care of herself through it so she can do it and do it well.
And she's been really smart and how she's diversified herself
and really market yourself so effectively, but always in a way
(01:49):
that's authentic to her. And, and so I'm really excited
to share Kelda Music's story here with you today.
She describes herself as entertaining, creative,
ambitious, outgoing, passionate.She's an entrepreneur, she's a
musician, she's a producer, she's got a beret line.
I mean, she's doing all the things Kelda Music.
(02:12):
Welcome to the Field podcast. Hi, Melissa, Thank you so much
for having me, darling. I'm so happy to have you.
Let's get into it. All right, Talk to me about
yourself care. You are on the road, you are
traveling, you're doing lots of things, you're performing this
and you're in a, an industry that can be tricky for women to
(02:35):
navigate. Within all of that, there's a
lot of, there's still what areasthat need to be worked on for
women in the industry, for Blackwomen in the industry, there's
we, we are making steps in the right direction, but we have not
arrived yet. So we would imagine you've got
to take care of yourself well soyou can show up the way you want
(02:56):
to in all of these situations. So talk to me about what you do
for your prioritizing yourself care.
So I make sure I at least get 8 hours of sleep a day.
Sometimes I I get more than that.
It really depends what kind of day I had.
For example, I hosted an event for the entire weekend and I
(03:16):
just remember, you know, the first day after hosting and
going home I told myself I'm going to hibernate for the next
10 hours. And I actually slept for about
12 hours and woke up refreshed, re energized the next day ready
to go. And sleep is very very
important. If you do not have sleep, it's
(03:37):
just it, it will break you over time.
And also drinking a lot of waterand exercising.
No, get your heart rate going every day.
Break a sweat, you know, even ifit's for like 15 minutes.
Pick up some weights, you know, do something that you know,
where you're resisting, you know, your muscles.
So I just really think it's, it's, it's healthy to kind of
(03:59):
live that lifestyle when you can, Not all of us can do it
every day just because we have busy schedules and, and hey, you
know, even families, you know, mothers and fathers can't do it
every day. They have to take care of their
children, go to work. So the least you could do is get
enough sleep and drink a lot of water.
Yeah, no kidding. I mean, self-care really does
(04:20):
come down to taking care of yourhealth.
That self-care is healthcare. And sometimes we get lost in the
other things that are involved in.
Everybody loves spa day and all those other things.
But you got to do that basic stuff.
Have you had lunch? Have you eaten a healthy meal
today? Are you drinking your water?
Have you moved your body? So those basic principles are so
(04:41):
important. Thank you so much for that.
Confidently setting boundaries. Boy, I would imagine this is
something you really have had tolearn to do to protect your time
and your space and, and, and making sure you're moving and
operating in spaces that feel authentic and safe and welcoming
(05:03):
and, and aligned with who you are.
And also sometimes not every good thing it's the right thing
or the right time. So learning, sometimes you got
to say no to even do the good things if you want to show up
well in the other things you've committed to.
So talk to me about your boundaries.
Yeah, no, I'm, I'm so glad you mentioned that.
Like I was talking about that with my business partner the
(05:25):
other day. Like not all opportunities are
good opportunities. And once you reach a certain
level in your career, you can't really backtrack and go at the
at the beginner level again. You really have to continue to
keep growing and elevating. There's been a few times where
I've been offered to, you know, to, you know, perform an event
(05:45):
or record something or host something or even, you know, act
in a, in a project. But you know, they'll, they'll
sometimes try to lowball me or they'll try to say, Oh, well,
there's going to be a lot of good PR involved and IMDb credit
and everything. And I'm like, that's cool.
But I'm kind of past those days now.
(06:06):
Like everything I do is is paid.It has to be, you know,
sufficient amount of income thatI generate to make tell the
music brand still thrive. You know what I mean?
And and I think that's very important for anyone.
You know, you're protecting yourself, you're protecting your
brand. So you just can't take anything
(06:27):
just because it looks cool or maybe because someone else has
done it. You know, you really, really
have to carefully pick your opportunities wisely and and
it's OK, It's OK. There's going to be another,
bigger opportunity that's going to meet your standards, meet
your requirements and make a whole difference in your career.
(06:48):
Yeah, I'm so glad you mentioned that.
It seems like time and time again women run into this over
and over again of people trying to lowball, people trying to,
oh, but this. But that's like, no, I have.
I'm experienced. I'm a veteran.
I know what I'm doing here. Pay me what I'm worth.
Pay me for my labor. And if you're not willing to do
(07:11):
that, that's fine. But I'm not, I'm no longer going
to lend myself to that. And I think we have to.
And sometimes women are afraid to say no.
They're afraid something else, an opportunity won't come along.
If you're doing the good work and you're continuing to be
authentic to yourself, other opportunities, you know, will
(07:34):
present themselves. And also, people pick up on when
they know you value you, they will not continue to try to
lowball you or get you for lowerthan your worth if you're
continually clear. No, this is where I'm at.
And I think that's a really important thing for women to
(07:54):
hear and remember. Yeah, definitely.
I agree. And yes, as, as, as, you know, a
woman and then as a black woman,we really have to work harder
than anyone else to prove who weare, right.
And, and there's some things that we have to do that, you
know, we're not really into doing or comfortable doing, you
(08:15):
know what I mean? And, and that goes maybe even
for like just the, the, the, thestandard regular working woman,
you know, who has to work 9:00 to 5:00, but maybe out of all
people, she has to work harder or file more papers, stay later
after work, you know, meet her numbers.
Just something that's just goingto keep her position there.
Because, you know, there's been a lot of stereotypes about us.
(08:38):
And unfortunately, there's nothing that we can do about it,
but continue to be us. And whatever stereotypes are out
there, you know, it's really just people projecting or, or
their own perception of how theywant to think about black women.
And, you know, I, it's just crazy.
(09:00):
Like, you know, I grew up in thesuburbs.
I grew up in San Jose, which is about 45 minutes away from San
Francisco and maybe about 40 or 35 minutes away from Oakland.
But, you know, being out here, you realize like, whoa, you're
alone. You know, there's not that many
black people out here. You know, everyone's cool, but
there's not that many black people out here.
(09:21):
You really do kind of have to sometimes, you know, meet people
eye to eye in a, in a different way to where you know, you're
not attacking them, you're not threatening them.
And you know, you're, you're just trying to be normal like
they are. There was a time in high school,
I remember I was waiting outsidefor my parents to pick me up.
(09:41):
And I remember this girl who, you know, wasn't black, and we
were sitting outside talking on the grass waiting for both of
our parents to pick us up. And she said, oh, you know,
just, I just want to let you know, can you like, not curse in
front of me when you talk? And I was like, I've never
cursed in front of you. What are you talking about?
(10:03):
But that was just her mind frame, you know, And it probably
came from her parents, and it came from her parents.
Parents, you know, thinking, hey, all black people curse when
we talk and we're all a bad influence.
And I was just like, OK, you have issues, darling.
(10:24):
Yeah, you want that and that andthat's just it.
That's not your issue. That's her issue and it's but
those micro aggressions over time and not being able to show
up feeling safe is your authentic self that takes a toll
on you. So talk to me about how you
navigate the mental, emotional, physical health aspects of
(10:47):
dealing with those kinds of comments because people are like
01 comment. Those comments pile up over time
and it's exhausting to walk out your door, I would imagine.
I don't know. I can't, I can't live your life
because I'm middle-aged white woman.
But I've watched enough to know and have enough friends in your
(11:07):
space to know that my God, to just be able to get up every day
and walk out the door and just be who you are without all these
preconceived notions and judgments.
The amount of performing that you feel like you have to do to
just get by on some days, I would imagine just in life,
we're not even talking about your workspace, we're just
(11:29):
talking about in your. Neighbor just in life, I you
know, I could, I could walk in astore right now and
automatically, you know, some people are think I'm going to
I'm, you know, I'm going to steal something.
I'm, I'm going to, you know, start arguing and being loud
and, you know, just going crazy or, or if I'm asking for help
for something and you know, it'skind of like, oh, you know, is
(11:53):
there a problem? No, there's not a problem.
I just have a question about what I'm getting here before I
pay for it. And I just want to know, is this
the correct item or whatever, You know what I mean?
So it's just like people, they take everything out of context
and I've, I've experienced it, I've seen it, I have family
members who experienced it, friends, everything.
(12:16):
So, you know, it's just really we have our own backs and we
have to know that we have to watch out for ourselves.
And saying that, you know, I always hear is, you know, you're
born alone. You die alone.
Wow. So what do you have practices in
place that help you move throughand navigate all that stuff?
(12:40):
So you just because I can't imagine, I think I would just
walk around angry all the time if I had to deal with that, but
that's not healthy either. So how do?
You, you know. How do you manage that move
through that? Yeah.
You just learn to keep to yourself and my thing is I let
people come up and talk to me. I don't come up and talk to them
(13:00):
and you know, if they feel that I look friendly enough to talk
to, then come talk to me. You know what I mean?
At no micro aggression. If I look threatening to you, if
I look like someone that you cannot, you know, walk in public
being seen in public with, then hey, bye.
(13:20):
So I, I, I just say, you know, I, I keep to myself.
Exactly, exactly. Keep to yourself in your own
business. And that's the best way to live
life at this point. Yeah.
Well, and you and you have your people.
I'm, I'm guessing that you have you people that you know, are
your people that, you know, you can trust, that, you know, have
(13:43):
your back. They're safe.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And, and just, you know, being
around your own people really, really does mentally just, you
know, put you in shape. And, and I'm not saying that we
should only be around our own people, but when you are around
(14:06):
your own people, you're, you're more comfortable, you know, in
the things that you say you do, that your actions, you know, not
everybody may be used to some ofthe things you do.
So I at, at the end of the day, like they say, can't we just all
get along right in the perfect world?
That's how it should be. And, and there's places where
(14:26):
people, all of them get along right?
And then there's just places where, hey, watch your back,
watch your step, watch your back.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And just having to be aware of
that, I think it's so interesting if we could all move
to a place of being curious and curious about people's stories
and rather than judgmental and making assumptions, boy, we
(14:49):
could, it could be a lot safer for for, you know, for people to
land and live in the I those relationships, those spaces that
you know, you can go to and landand see when, you know, when
things are tough or just in general.
That's such an important part ofour health.
It's an important part of knowing that we have places we
(15:10):
can that people that love us authentically and and with no
attachments, no other expectations, no strings exactly
where we are. So, yeah.
And I think that, you know, is this is just another example.
We just have so much work to do in this area.
So I appreciate you sharing about that because that's it.
(15:30):
That's a vulnerable space and it's unfortunate that we still
have to have these conversations, but we but, but
we do because if we, we have to continue to bring light to this
and bring it to the forefront. So thank you so much.
Exactly. So you show up unapologetically.
This is really, it's really beautiful the way you show up
(15:51):
unapologetically as yourself. Talk to me about your journey to
getting to that place, what it took to get here, and what it
looks like for you to show up unapologetically for other
women, especially in the industry where it's hard to get
a leg up. So just talk to me about that
unapologetic journey. So it goes back to boundaries,
(16:15):
right? Knowing what you want to involve
yourself in, who do you want to involve yourself with?
Who do you want to surround yourself with?
And also also being confident. When you're confident in
something that you do, then you know you're not lacking anything
else. And, and no one could tell you
that you're lacking anything else.
And that's the whole part about confidence.
That's the whole part about, youknow, being a leader, being a
(16:40):
leader in your field, being a leader to other women because
you're saying, you're saying everything that the next woman
wants to say. But maybe they're just, they
don't have the same ambition as you do, right?
Or the same drive. So we always need a
representative for each other, right?
And that's why we have so many artists, entertainers, you know,
(17:00):
politics, everyone that speaks up for us till this day.
And I feel like I'm one of thoseleaders.
You know, when, when I started Tams Berets, you know, I started
donating to a lot of hair loss organizations and I told my
story as far as why I created Tams through my music.
You know, I, I, you know, my pengame is just like off the chain.
(17:23):
So when I write, I'm always having women in mind.
When I'm writing, I'm writing from our perspective.
I'm saying what the next female wants to say, you know, whether
it's good, whether it's bad, whether it's, you know, a little
nasty sometimes, but not that kind of nasty, but just you know
what I mean. There's just so many topics to
cover in our world. And you know, I I just feel that
(17:47):
in order to be unapologetic, youhave to believe in yourself and
you have to know what you want in life.
And that's why I created the diva brand behind everything.
Everything I name has diva in it, you know, and, and, and
especially as a hip hop artist, I am, you know, that's what I
call myself held the music AK Diva and the, the, the, the idea
(18:08):
of diva. It's more than just being a
bitch. You know what I mean?
Sometimes you do have to be a bitch to get your way, but it's
more about being confident, independent, motivated, and
empowering others to have the same kind of mindset that you
do. Yeah, I I'm glad you brought
that up because I think it's real interesting.
(18:29):
There are still a lot of stigmas.
What women are called a bitch for, especially black women, but
a man could do the same thing and he's assertive and powerful
and you know all those things. And so even just knowing like,
OK, call me what you want, but this is how I'm showing up here
and I'm going to do it and I'm going to bring others along with
(18:50):
me confidently is so important that it's like, man, there's
still those. It's so interesting.
I'm like, oh, that's interesting.
So that person and that person are really responding and
reacting and leading and moving in the same way.
But you've decided she's this and he's that.
I mean, those are the things that we're still, you know, and
it takes continuing to do that, continuing to show up and
(19:13):
apologetically, not letting those stereotypes and stigmas
slow you down. That is going to someday enough
of us can come along together and do it together.
We will slowly change these stereotypes, these stigmas,
create more safe spaces. So thank you for being a voice
in that arena. We need many of them.
We need more of them. I think we're in a time.
(19:36):
Yeah. We're in a time in this world,
in this country, where creative voices and true voices are more
important than ever. And it's.
I agree. And it.
Just and that's why it's like you got to speak up for what you
want. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And it's hard and it's exhausting.
So again, going back to those, drink your water, get your
(19:59):
sleep, eat your food, because you got to have the feel to keep
moving forward and doing these things.
I know, I know. Is it so true?
All right. The importance for you of coming
back to your why and your valuesin in what you do what, What is
the why and the values that keepyou focused, keep you centered,
(20:20):
keep you moving forward. Well, I would say what I do
keeps me sane, right? If I'm not doing something I
love, then I'm no good to the world.
I'm just going to live a boring life, sleep all day and not
really be active. You know, I, I, I, I, I'm, I'm a
(20:43):
performer. I'm into performing arts.
I'm into arts. That's my passion.
That's where I feel I can excel in.
That's where I feel like I couldexercise my talents in.
And so if I can't do what I love, then that will just it, my
soul will slowly start to crumble.
You know what I mean? So, and it prevents me from
(21:04):
having anxiety. It prevents me from thinking too
much, overthinking. And not only that, when you
realize how fast the day goes, at least you're doing something
that passionate of, of yours andalso investing in yourself.
There was something, a quote or something that I read the other
day that if you're not working on your art every day, even if
(21:28):
it's just sending one e-mail, even if it's attending 1
audition, 1 recording session, whatever, then you're not
passionate about what you do. You must must be attentive to
your passion. Yeah, yeah.
That was such a good explanationof that.
Thank you. And and it's that passion and
(21:49):
being aligned with that. We've got to have the arts,
we've got to have this music. We've got to have these spaces
for people to create and say what needs to be said in a way
that can connect to people. There's ways that music and
musicals and theater create that, that it is a unique
(22:09):
connect point that it gives the opportunity for people to hear a
story of someone else's experience in a way that they
might not be willing to or have access to otherwise.
So got to continue. So just in doing those things
that light us up and are so important to our story.
(22:30):
And so thank you for doing that and being a voice to that again.
And for that explanation, that was really good.
Yes, of course. Talk to me about living out of
your own expectations versus others.
You very clearly do that. And you know, it's very
interesting because from the time we're little kids, we get
these scripts about how the world expects us to show up.
(22:54):
And it's wrapped in all kinds ofcultural narratives and stigmas
and stereotypes of what's appropriate for a little girl, a
little boy, a little girl from this neighborhood, a little boy
from, I mean, all this messy stuff that we start getting
scripts on when we're little kids.
And so by the time we get too old enough to really decide on
our own, there's a lot of garbage to unpack to get to
(23:19):
like, wait a minute. That's not who I am.
And that is not my, and that's not what I care about.
That's not my value, You know? So talk to me about getting to
this point of really being able to live authentically out of
your own expectations and communicating that to others.
It wasn't quite accepted at first, especially when you're
(23:43):
surrounded by people that have no idea what it is that you're
doing. They're just like, OK, whatever
it is you do, you know, and you kind of have to just keep
proving it to yourself that you need to keep pursuing your
dreams. You know, when I was a kid and
I, I was going to auditions and being pulled out of school to go
(24:04):
to auditions, to audition for like major clothing brands and
cereal brands, beverages, everything.
You know, my teacher was just like, you know, what is this?
If she wants to act, you know, we have a theater here.
We have after school classes andmy mom's like, no, no, no, this
is Hollywood. And a lot of people can't relate
to that. Exactly.
(24:25):
Nowhere near the same. And so it was really hard for
people to accept that. And they look at it as a joke.
They look at it as, oh, well, everyone wants to be a star.
Everybody wants to be famous. Everyone wants to, you know,
make millions. But what they don't understand
is the hard work that you have to put in to get there.
And sometimes you're not. You may not make it all the way
(24:45):
there, but you're at a certain comfort level where you're OK,
where you're at and you're able to, you know, feed your family
and keep a roof over your head and, you know, still be content
with the level of success you have.
So it was always difficult thingwhen it comes to talking to my
(25:06):
family or friends. And hey, you know, I have
rehearsal today. I have a show today, I'm doing
this and that. And they're just like, wait,
what? So that's why I started
surrounding myself by people whodo this, who do what I do,
because we have conversations about it all day.
We could support each other. We could, we could uplift each
other and not talk down to each other saying, well, you need to
(25:28):
snap in a reality and, you know,go to school and, you know, find
a find a job. And, you know, it's just like,
OK, that, that that's cool. But anybody could do that
anyway. Why not do something that again,
you are passionate shit about and just keep throwing shit at
the wall and see what sticks? I thought that absolutely,
(25:53):
because you said that's so true.Any day of the week I can go out
there, get my degree, get the job, whatever.
But this thing that's not any day, I mean, I got to go and do
that now. And this is what I'm called to.
And you said something so important about surrounding
yourself with people that believe in you, that want that,
(26:16):
that believe in that dream with you, that support you, that
aren't constantly questioning you and doubting you.
And that's, and it can be trickywith family.
They want what's best for you. They want you to be healthy and
well, but at the end of the day,having people that trust your
judgment and trust that you're doing something that you feel
that is the right path for you and having, you know, having
(26:38):
that support system. So think that is so valuable.
Thank you for that. Yes, yes, of course.
So this next one is about all ofour layers, all the things that
make up who we are, what we do, the choices we make, all those
things. Talk to me about accepting the
layered aspects of yourself and what that layers journey has
(27:01):
been like for you because I'm sure it's, I mean, you've got a
lot of pieces in your work worldthat you're dealing with in your
world outside of work you're dealing with.
So talk to me about those layers.
Yeah. So each layer defines who I am.
Like you said it it makes who you are.
And however you manage those layers determine how far you're
(27:25):
going to get, how how how you'regoing to interact with the next
person, how you're going to takeon this task, this challenge,
this hurdle, this hump in the road.
And for me, having, you know, personal layers, I challenge
those personal layers for every,everything that I experience in
(27:45):
life, good or bad. And I never step out of
character within those layers. One thing that I was always told
my whole life is you need to be the same person that you are
with everyone you meet. You shouldn't be a different
person, shouldn't be this quiet person in front of you know,
(28:06):
your family, but then with your friends, you're loud and crazy.
You know, those are just, you know, personal layers, right?
And then we have professional layers.
We have layers where, OK, I'm a businesswoman, I'm a
entertainer. I'm, you know, a marketing
person. I'm, I'm an actor, I'm a content
(28:28):
creator. I, you know, I do it all.
And I think by matching your personal layers with your
business layers is what's going to make who you are.
And again, that determines how you interact with people, how
you approach opportunities, how you're able to reject
opportunities and not think too much about it.
But it if anything, it helps youmove on and to move on to bigger
(28:51):
things. Yeah, I love that.
I love what you talked about, that consistency of being the
person that you are consistentlyacross the board and not letting
because it's really easy to justput on the mask and conform to
the situation and just not put up with whatever pushback.
(29:15):
But then that's not being authentic to you.
And I think when we're not authentic to ourselves, we feel
that angst. We feel that angst in our souls
and it tugs at us. So I love how you spoke to that
being consistent and true to youare in all these multiple
faceted areas. Talk to me a little bit if you
don't mind, about about the berets and the story behind the
(29:39):
berets that you've created. Yeah, so the Brays are called
Tams. I discovered them during the
pandemic because obviously it was during the time where we are
all trying to learn another skill, another opportunity we
could create for ourselves. And for me, I felt that when it
comes to the berets, no one has ever branded this in pop
(30:02):
culture, in hip hop culture, theBlack community.
And I feel that it it makes the impact.
It's a, it's a new type of accessory that we can appreciate
that can apply to any race, any gender, whatever, right?
Kids, adults, old people. I just feel that it's something
new that's being brought to the table.
(30:23):
You know, everyone is, you know,creating their own wig line,
their own, you know, makeup, clothes, shoes.
That's great. But nowadays you have to think
outside the box. You know, what it, what is it
that's missing and what's going to hit when you create it?
It's almost like supply and demand.
You know, people love to wear wear hats.
Well, why don't you wear the world's flyest beret, you know,
(30:47):
So that's how I created it. Yeah.
Yeah. So that's how it came about.
And because of the berets, I've been, I've been open now to the
fashion world. I've been hosting fashion shows.
I've been recruiting models attending, you know, hosting
auditions and giving the averageperson an opportunity to feel
(31:08):
like a supermodel on the runway.I love that.
That's so fun. Thank you so much for sharing
that. So talk to me too about you are
in a working in a lot of different arenas.
Was that always your intention? Did you have an intention of
like I'm going to act, I'm goingto sing, I'm going to do and but
(31:30):
you ended up doing a multitude of things and you're very savvy
entrepreneur, businesswoman within all of this.
Was that always the plan or is that something you kind of
realized along the way was necessary to be to continue to
be relevant and provide yourselfwith multiple opportunities?
(31:52):
I always felt that it's necessary.
You know, I started off acting, but as I started dabbling into
other parts of the entertainmentindustry, modeling, even
singing, writing, rapping, and now back to acting, hosting,
producing, managing my company, you know, you know, having the
(32:12):
beret line. I just realized that you have to
really expand yourself because if you concentrate on one thing,
you have a million of other people that that are doing the
same thing. So why not compete in everything
you can? Again, it's like throwing shit
at the wall and seeing what, what, what sticks, but making
sure that you are good at all those things.
(32:32):
You know what I mean? There's people who are like, oh,
I could act, you know, I, I could rap.
I could, you know, but it's like, OK, but can you really?
Can you? Yeah.
You know. So it it's just all about
knowing what you're capable of and developing other talents to
increase the opportunities for yourself.
(32:56):
And again, so that you're competing, you become this, you
become this, you know, triple, triple, quadruple threat to
people and you're untouchable because it's like, whoa, I can
call her for anything, you know what I mean?
So it's, it's just unless you'reborn like to, unless you're born
(33:16):
with the, the gifted skills likeMichael Jackson or Beyoncé, you
were, you know, hey, you don't have to do anything else if you
don't want to because you're extremely good at what you do.
Then hey, yeah, then you got it.You got to expand, yeah.
Yeah, Yeah. I love that.
Thank you for sharing that. I think that's really smart and
(33:37):
makes a lot of sense. It's good planning and also
tapping into all those parts of you.
I mean, because there's different seasons in your life
are going to bring opportunitiesin different areas and you never
know what's possible. But so continuing to tap into
all those areas that you're creative and you've got multiple
areas that you've been able to tap into and utilize.
(33:58):
So I think that's a really greatexample of that of not and not
selling yourself short, you know, be.
Curious. It's like what?
Else can I do here? What a yeah, yeah.
What else is possible? So good.
All right, in living out feel, finding empowerment, embracing
layers, which is the name of ourpodcast, you, you do that.
(34:19):
You, you are empowered. You've embraced all the parts of
who you are. You know who you are.
You present as who you are. Talk to me about how that
impacts your relationship with yourself as well as your
relationship with other people. Yeah.
So it just helps me understand who I am and what I'm capable
(34:40):
of. And again, what makes me feel
good inside, what makes me feel accomplished, what makes me feel
that I fit in with this team or this group or this area of
people and how it impacts my relationship with others is we,
if we have something in common, which I'm sure we will, there's
(35:01):
always something we can talk about, right?
We don't have to hate on each other.
We don't have to dislike each other.
We don't even have to. We could be cordial, that's
cool. But why can't we all be friends?
Why can't we all interact and communicate with each other?
And it starts with who you are. If you're happy with yourself,
then you'll be happy with anyonein the world.
(35:24):
Yeah. And you're not looking for other
people to affirm that. You know that already about
yourself. So you're not looking for anyone
else to do that for you. I think that's such an important
piece of that. So, yeah, thank you so much for
that. All right Mean 5 activities that
nourish you. Five activities that nourish me.
(35:46):
Writing, believe it or not, but talking to myself.
I don't know why I feel like when I talk.
To myself, I do it. All the time, yeah.
When you have conversations withyourself, you become a better
speaker to others. And I know it's just crazy, but
so yeah. Yeah.
(36:07):
Writing, talking to yourself, aswell as some sort of meditation,
that always helps. And also when we talk about
self-care, you know, get a massage, get a facial, be in a
quiet space with candles and, and with oils and just being
(36:31):
treated like a queen. I think that helps us with our
soul. It helps us soothe our soul and
it just helps us have a better understanding of how comfortable
our body can relax without doinga whole bunch of other stuff.
Was that the third one? And then exercising, exercising.
(36:52):
Even if you just take a walk fora few minutes during the day,
just do it. You'll feel so much better.
Go outside when you wake up in the morning, you know, shine
some light through your, your bedroom or your house.
You know, we all need some sunlight.
You know, we we need all of those natural vitamins to to
naturally keep us healed and to prevent us from getting sick
(37:16):
quicker and from, you know, being depressed and having
anxiety and just feeling down and out about life.
So yeah, yeah, I think it was that 5 or 4.
Yeah, that was, that was we're good.
I think that was 5, but they were all good.
I, I lost track, but they were all good.
And I love that. I love that last one though,
(37:36):
because I think those, all thosepieces getting that sunlight,
just get it all. That impacts your mental health,
your emotional health. It makes a difference when you
sit quietly with yourself and just allow yourself to
decompress and relax and settle.And that also allows you,
especially as a creative space, to come back and be creative
(37:59):
with fresh ideas because you're rejuvenated and you've loud
yourself that time. Exactly, exactly.
And your body will tell you, hey, I need to rest.
And if you don't listen to your body, things are going to end up
going to the left. And, and sometimes if it goes
left, you might not be able to come back.
So you have to listen to your body, listen to your body,
(38:22):
listen to your doctor, listen towhoever it is, read blogs.
You know, listen to, you know, some people think it's it's easy
to read blog sites from celebrities who talk about, oh,
hey, I'm a vegan today, or, you know, I'm joining the 45 mile
run for whatever, you know, no, those are good to read because
(38:45):
just mentally it makes you feel motivated.
It makes you feel like, hey, I can do what they're doing.
So yeah, just absorbing all the natural, all the natural things
that life is giving you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you so much. So good.
All right, Kill the music. Tell people where they can find
(39:06):
you. Follow you.
All the places and spaces that your work, your music is, your
product lines are available. Yes, so you guys could visit my
website. It's my official website,
itskeldamusic.com, KELD AM UZ ik.com and everything's on
there. My social media, my newsletter,
(39:27):
my music, my videos, TV show forraise.
Everything you want to know about me or anything you want to
purchase from me, it's all on the website.
OK, great. And that's all going to be on
our website embracinglayers.com on the resources page.
Is that also on your website? Can people see where they can
(39:47):
follow you on social media? Yep, all my social media buttons
are there. OK, perfect.
All right, my dear, thank you somuch for being with me today.
I've appreciated this conversation so much.
Thank you for how you show up inthe world and tap into that
creativity. Keep doing what you do.
It's important. It matters.
(40:08):
We need it. And listeners, check out Kelvin
music. Check out all that she offers.
Tap into your own creativity. Be curious.
And when you run into someone who has a different background
than you or the examine and get curious, how am I judging them
(40:28):
for who they are? Or am I living and judging by a
stereotype and get rid of the judgment and get curious, ask
questions, know their story. Let's dismantle these things
that are out there to doing harmand allow us all to show up
authentically and safely as ourselves in all of our spaces.
(40:50):
And that's my my challenge to you this week.
But first, go check out Kilda music and find out all the ways
you can support her. Listen to her, see her work,
purchase a really cool beret, all those things.
And thank you again so much for your time this week.
Thank you. Love you guys.
All right, take good care everybody.
Have a great week. Hello, Melissa Crook here.
(41:16):
Thank you so much for joining uson the Field podcast today.
Finding Empowerment. Embracing Layers.
I hope you found today's framework and resources
supportive and informative. To learn more about all that we
offer here at the Embracing Layers Network, visit
embracinglayers.com. You can go to our contact form
(41:39):
to schedule me as a speaker for your next conference, workshop,
or seminar. You can go to our book page to
order our book, The Jessica Garrison, our wonderful and
talented writer and author authored with my support and
engage with this framework in written form with your journal
or in a book club with other women inviting them on this
(42:01):
journey with you. You can look at our resources
page for all of the helpful and insightful resources our guests
offer and share. You can find the schedule for
our weekly Together We Feel Women's panel conversations that
we're holding each Monday on ourYouTube channel, and you can
find the links to all the spacesand places.
(42:22):
You can then follow engage with us on social media and join our
engagements that are happening on our Sub Stat site.
There is also a donation page where you can donate to support
our work to ensure we can continue to bring you these
incredible guest conversations and support.
(42:42):
Thanks again for joining me thisweek.
Share with your friends and giveus a review on your favorite
listening platform. Your feedback helps us ensure
we're bringing you the content that will best support you and
having an empowered Embracing Layers journey.
Take good care and thanks for giving us some of your valuable
time today. We truly appreciate you so
(43:06):
deeply.
Hello Melissa Crook here on the field podcast.
Welcome to today's episode are ways to engage with living
unapologetically with Kelda Music confidence, creativity and
representation in the music industry.
These ways to engage are as follows.
Everything Kelda Music names hasthe word diva in it, meaning
(00:23):
confidence, independent, motivated, and empowering others
to do the same. Think of a word that encompasses
you similarly to your character traits, something that gives you
strength, power and confidence. Keep that word with you and
remind yourself of it when you need it most.
We hope this really helps you asyou listen today's really
(00:47):
empowering episode with our new friend Celta Music.
Thanks so much for being with us.
(01:07):
Hello, welcome to the field podcast this week.
I'm so excited to be with you. We have a guest today that comes
from a background that I haven'tbeen able to highlight before
and haven't been able to share about before, and I'm super
excited to have her here today. I think she's going to have so
much to share with us. She has such an, I think it's,
(01:27):
she has one of those lives that a lot of people, especially when
you're growing up, you're like, oh, that would be so cool to do.
Well, she's doing it, but it's also requires her to take really
good care of herself through it so she can do it and do it well.
And she's been really smart and how she's diversified herself
and really market yourself so effectively, but always in a way
(01:49):
that's authentic to her. And, and so I'm really excited
to share Kelda Music's story here with you today.
She describes herself as entertaining, creative,
ambitious, outgoing, passionate.She's an entrepreneur, she's a
musician, she's a producer, she's got a beret line.
I mean, she's doing all the things Kelda Music.
(02:12):
Welcome to the Field podcast. Hi, Melissa, Thank you so much
for having me, darling. I'm so happy to have you.
Let's get into it. All right, Talk to me about
yourself care. You are on the road, you are
traveling, you're doing lots of things, you're performing this
and you're in a, an industry that can be tricky for women to
(02:35):
navigate. Within all of that, there's a
lot of, there's still what areasthat need to be worked on for
women in the industry, for Blackwomen in the industry, there's
we, we are making steps in the right direction, but we have not
arrived yet. So we would imagine you've got
to take care of yourself well soyou can show up the way you want
(02:56):
to in all of these situations. So talk to me about what you do
for your prioritizing yourself care.
So I make sure I at least get 8 hours of sleep a day.
Sometimes I I get more than that.
It really depends what kind of day I had.
For example, I hosted an event for the entire weekend and I
(03:16):
just remember, you know, the first day after hosting and
going home I told myself I'm going to hibernate for the next
10 hours. And I actually slept for about
12 hours and woke up refreshed, re energized the next day ready
to go. And sleep is very very
important. If you do not have sleep, it's
(03:37):
just it, it will break you over time.
And also drinking a lot of waterand exercising.
No, get your heart rate going every day.
Break a sweat, you know, even ifit's for like 15 minutes.
Pick up some weights, you know, do something that you know,
where you're resisting, you know, your muscles.
So I just really think it's, it's, it's healthy to kind of
(03:59):
live that lifestyle when you can, Not all of us can do it
every day just because we have busy schedules and, and hey, you
know, even families, you know, mothers and fathers can't do it
every day. They have to take care of their
children, go to work. So the least you could do is get
enough sleep and drink a lot of water.
Yeah, no kidding. I mean, self-care really does
(04:20):
come down to taking care of yourhealth.
That self-care is healthcare. And sometimes we get lost in the
other things that are involved in.
Everybody loves spa day and all those other things.
But you got to do that basic stuff.
Have you had lunch? Have you eaten a healthy meal
today? Are you drinking your water?
Have you moved your body? So those basic principles are so
(04:41):
important. Thank you so much for that.
Confidently setting boundaries. Boy, I would imagine this is
something you really have had tolearn to do to protect your time
and your space and, and, and making sure you're moving and
operating in spaces that feel authentic and safe and welcoming
(05:03):
and, and aligned with who you are.
And also sometimes not every good thing it's the right thing
or the right time. So learning, sometimes you got
to say no to even do the good things if you want to show up
well in the other things you've committed to.
So talk to me about your boundaries.
Yeah, no, I'm, I'm so glad you mentioned that.
Like I was talking about that with my business partner the
(05:25):
other day. Like not all opportunities are
good opportunities. And once you reach a certain
level in your career, you can't really backtrack and go at the
at the beginner level again. You really have to continue to
keep growing and elevating. There's been a few times where
I've been offered to, you know, to, you know, perform an event
(05:45):
or record something or host something or even, you know, act
in a, in a project. But you know, they'll, they'll
sometimes try to lowball me or they'll try to say, Oh, well,
there's going to be a lot of good PR involved and IMDb credit
and everything. And I'm like, that's cool.
But I'm kind of past those days now.
(06:06):
Like everything I do is is paid.It has to be, you know,
sufficient amount of income thatI generate to make tell the
music brand still thrive. You know what I mean?
And and I think that's very important for anyone.
You know, you're protecting yourself, you're protecting your
brand. So you just can't take anything
(06:27):
just because it looks cool or maybe because someone else has
done it. You know, you really, really
have to carefully pick your opportunities wisely and and
it's OK, It's OK. There's going to be another,
bigger opportunity that's going to meet your standards, meet
your requirements and make a whole difference in your career.
(06:48):
Yeah, I'm so glad you mentioned that.
It seems like time and time again women run into this over
and over again of people trying to lowball, people trying to,
oh, but this. But that's like, no, I have.
I'm experienced. I'm a veteran.
I know what I'm doing here. Pay me what I'm worth.
Pay me for my labor. And if you're not willing to do
(07:11):
that, that's fine. But I'm not, I'm no longer going
to lend myself to that. And I think we have to.
And sometimes women are afraid to say no.
They're afraid something else, an opportunity won't come along.
If you're doing the good work and you're continuing to be
authentic to yourself, other opportunities, you know, will
(07:34):
present themselves. And also, people pick up on when
they know you value you, they will not continue to try to
lowball you or get you for lowerthan your worth if you're
continually clear. No, this is where I'm at.
And I think that's a really important thing for women to
(07:54):
hear and remember. Yeah, definitely.
I agree. And yes, as, as, as, you know, a
woman and then as a black woman,we really have to work harder
than anyone else to prove who weare, right.
And, and there's some things that we have to do that, you
know, we're not really into doing or comfortable doing, you
(08:15):
know what I mean? And, and that goes maybe even
for like just the, the, the, thestandard regular working woman,
you know, who has to work 9:00 to 5:00, but maybe out of all
people, she has to work harder or file more papers, stay later
after work, you know, meet her numbers.
Just something that's just goingto keep her position there.
Because, you know, there's been a lot of stereotypes about us.
(08:38):
And unfortunately, there's nothing that we can do about it,
but continue to be us. And whatever stereotypes are out
there, you know, it's really just people projecting or, or
their own perception of how theywant to think about black women.
And, you know, I, it's just crazy.
(09:00):
Like, you know, I grew up in thesuburbs.
I grew up in San Jose, which is about 45 minutes away from San
Francisco and maybe about 40 or 35 minutes away from Oakland.
But, you know, being out here, you realize like, whoa, you're
alone. You know, there's not that many
black people out here. You know, everyone's cool, but
there's not that many black people out here.
(09:21):
You really do kind of have to sometimes, you know, meet people
eye to eye in a, in a different way to where you know, you're
not attacking them, you're not threatening them.
And you know, you're, you're just trying to be normal like
they are. There was a time in high school,
I remember I was waiting outsidefor my parents to pick me up.
(09:41):
And I remember this girl who, you know, wasn't black, and we
were sitting outside talking on the grass waiting for both of
our parents to pick us up. And she said, oh, you know,
just, I just want to let you know, can you like, not curse in
front of me when you talk? And I was like, I've never
cursed in front of you. What are you talking about?
(10:03):
But that was just her mind frame, you know, And it probably
came from her parents, and it came from her parents.
Parents, you know, thinking, hey, all black people curse when
we talk and we're all a bad influence.
And I was just like, OK, you have issues, darling.
(10:24):
Yeah, you want that and that andthat's just it.
That's not your issue. That's her issue and it's but
those micro aggressions over time and not being able to show
up feeling safe is your authentic self that takes a toll
on you. So talk to me about how you
navigate the mental, emotional, physical health aspects of
(10:47):
dealing with those kinds of comments because people are like
01 comment. Those comments pile up over time
and it's exhausting to walk out your door, I would imagine.
I don't know. I can't, I can't live your life
because I'm middle-aged white woman.
But I've watched enough to know and have enough friends in your
(11:07):
space to know that my God, to just be able to get up every day
and walk out the door and just be who you are without all these
preconceived notions and judgments.
The amount of performing that you feel like you have to do to
just get by on some days, I would imagine just in life,
we're not even talking about your workspace, we're just
(11:29):
talking about in your. Neighbor just in life, I you
know, I could, I could walk in astore right now and
automatically, you know, some people are think I'm going to
I'm, you know, I'm going to steal something.
I'm, I'm going to, you know, start arguing and being loud
and, you know, just going crazy or, or if I'm asking for help
for something and you know, it'skind of like, oh, you know, is
(11:53):
there a problem? No, there's not a problem.
I just have a question about what I'm getting here before I
pay for it. And I just want to know, is this
the correct item or whatever, You know what I mean?
So it's just like people, they take everything out of context
and I've, I've experienced it, I've seen it, I have family
members who experienced it, friends, everything.
(12:16):
So, you know, it's just really we have our own backs and we
have to know that we have to watch out for ourselves.
And saying that, you know, I always hear is, you know, you're
born alone. You die alone.
Wow. So what do you have practices in
place that help you move throughand navigate all that stuff?
(12:40):
So you just because I can't imagine, I think I would just
walk around angry all the time if I had to deal with that, but
that's not healthy either. So how do?
You, you know. How do you manage that move
through that? Yeah.
You just learn to keep to yourself and my thing is I let
people come up and talk to me. I don't come up and talk to them
(13:00):
and you know, if they feel that I look friendly enough to talk
to, then come talk to me. You know what I mean?
At no micro aggression. If I look threatening to you, if
I look like someone that you cannot, you know, walk in public
being seen in public with, then hey, bye.
(13:20):
So I, I, I just say, you know, I, I keep to myself.
Exactly, exactly. Keep to yourself in your own
business. And that's the best way to live
life at this point. Yeah.
Well, and you and you have your people.
I'm, I'm guessing that you have you people that you know, are
your people that, you know, you can trust, that, you know, have
(13:43):
your back. They're safe.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And, and just, you know, being
around your own people really, really does mentally just, you
know, put you in shape. And, and I'm not saying that we
should only be around our own people, but when you are around
(14:06):
your own people, you're, you're more comfortable, you know, in
the things that you say you do, that your actions, you know, not
everybody may be used to some ofthe things you do.
So I at, at the end of the day, like they say, can't we just all
get along right in the perfect world?
That's how it should be. And, and there's places where
(14:26):
people, all of them get along right?
And then there's just places where, hey, watch your back,
watch your step, watch your back.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And just having to be aware of
that, I think it's so interesting if we could all move
to a place of being curious and curious about people's stories
and rather than judgmental and making assumptions, boy, we
(14:49):
could, it could be a lot safer for for, you know, for people to
land and live in the I those relationships, those spaces that
you know, you can go to and landand see when, you know, when
things are tough or just in general.
That's such an important part ofour health.
It's an important part of knowing that we have places we
(15:10):
can that people that love us authentically and and with no
attachments, no other expectations, no strings exactly
where we are. So, yeah.
And I think that, you know, is this is just another example.
We just have so much work to do in this area.
So I appreciate you sharing about that because that's it.
(15:30):
That's a vulnerable space and it's unfortunate that we still
have to have these conversations, but we but, but
we do because if we, we have to continue to bring light to this
and bring it to the forefront. So thank you so much.
Exactly. So you show up unapologetically.
This is really, it's really beautiful the way you show up
(15:51):
unapologetically as yourself. Talk to me about your journey to
getting to that place, what it took to get here, and what it
looks like for you to show up unapologetically for other
women, especially in the industry where it's hard to get
a leg up. So just talk to me about that
unapologetic journey. So it goes back to boundaries,
(16:15):
right? Knowing what you want to involve
yourself in, who do you want to involve yourself with?
Who do you want to surround yourself with?
And also also being confident. When you're confident in
something that you do, then you know you're not lacking anything
else. And, and no one could tell you
that you're lacking anything else.
And that's the whole part about confidence.
That's the whole part about, youknow, being a leader, being a
(16:40):
leader in your field, being a leader to other women because
you're saying, you're saying everything that the next woman
wants to say. But maybe they're just, they
don't have the same ambition as you do, right?
Or the same drive. So we always need a
representative for each other, right?
And that's why we have so many artists, entertainers, you know,
(17:00):
politics, everyone that speaks up for us till this day.
And I feel like I'm one of thoseleaders.
You know, when, when I started Tams Berets, you know, I started
donating to a lot of hair loss organizations and I told my
story as far as why I created Tams through my music.
You know, I, I, you know, my pengame is just like off the chain.
(17:23):
So when I write, I'm always having women in mind.
When I'm writing, I'm writing from our perspective.
I'm saying what the next female wants to say, you know, whether
it's good, whether it's bad, whether it's, you know, a little
nasty sometimes, but not that kind of nasty, but just you know
what I mean. There's just so many topics to
cover in our world. And you know, I I just feel that
(17:47):
in order to be unapologetic, youhave to believe in yourself and
you have to know what you want in life.
And that's why I created the diva brand behind everything.
Everything I name has diva in it, you know, and, and, and
especially as a hip hop artist, I am, you know, that's what I
call myself held the music AK Diva and the, the, the, the idea
(18:08):
of diva. It's more than just being a
bitch. You know what I mean?
Sometimes you do have to be a bitch to get your way, but it's
more about being confident, independent, motivated, and
empowering others to have the same kind of mindset that you
do. Yeah, I I'm glad you brought
that up because I think it's real interesting.
(18:29):
There are still a lot of stigmas.
What women are called a bitch for, especially black women, but
a man could do the same thing and he's assertive and powerful
and you know all those things. And so even just knowing like,
OK, call me what you want, but this is how I'm showing up here
and I'm going to do it and I'm going to bring others along with
(18:50):
me confidently is so important that it's like, man, there's
still those. It's so interesting.
I'm like, oh, that's interesting.
So that person and that person are really responding and
reacting and leading and moving in the same way.
But you've decided she's this and he's that.
I mean, those are the things that we're still, you know, and
it takes continuing to do that, continuing to show up and
(19:13):
apologetically, not letting those stereotypes and stigmas
slow you down. That is going to someday enough
of us can come along together and do it together.
We will slowly change these stereotypes, these stigmas,
create more safe spaces. So thank you for being a voice
in that arena. We need many of them.
We need more of them. I think we're in a time.
(19:36):
Yeah. We're in a time in this world,
in this country, where creative voices and true voices are more
important than ever. And it's.
I agree. And it.
Just and that's why it's like you got to speak up for what you
want. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And it's hard and it's exhausting.
So again, going back to those, drink your water, get your
(19:59):
sleep, eat your food, because you got to have the feel to keep
moving forward and doing these things.
I know, I know. Is it so true?
All right. The importance for you of coming
back to your why and your valuesin in what you do what, What is
the why and the values that keepyou focused, keep you centered,
(20:20):
keep you moving forward. Well, I would say what I do
keeps me sane, right? If I'm not doing something I
love, then I'm no good to the world.
I'm just going to live a boring life, sleep all day and not
really be active. You know, I, I, I, I, I'm, I'm a
(20:43):
performer. I'm into performing arts.
I'm into arts. That's my passion.
That's where I feel I can excel in.
That's where I feel like I couldexercise my talents in.
And so if I can't do what I love, then that will just it, my
soul will slowly start to crumble.
You know what I mean? So, and it prevents me from
(21:04):
having anxiety. It prevents me from thinking too
much, overthinking. And not only that, when you
realize how fast the day goes, at least you're doing something
that passionate of, of yours andalso investing in yourself.
There was something, a quote or something that I read the other
day that if you're not working on your art every day, even if
(21:28):
it's just sending one e-mail, even if it's attending 1
audition, 1 recording session, whatever, then you're not
passionate about what you do. You must must be attentive to
your passion. Yeah, yeah.
That was such a good explanationof that.
Thank you. And and it's that passion and
(21:49):
being aligned with that. We've got to have the arts,
we've got to have this music. We've got to have these spaces
for people to create and say what needs to be said in a way
that can connect to people. There's ways that music and
musicals and theater create that, that it is a unique
(22:09):
connect point that it gives the opportunity for people to hear a
story of someone else's experience in a way that they
might not be willing to or have access to otherwise.
So got to continue. So just in doing those things
that light us up and are so important to our story.
(22:30):
And so thank you for doing that and being a voice to that again.
And for that explanation, that was really good.
Yes, of course. Talk to me about living out of
your own expectations versus others.
You very clearly do that. And you know, it's very
interesting because from the time we're little kids, we get
these scripts about how the world expects us to show up.
(22:54):
And it's wrapped in all kinds ofcultural narratives and stigmas
and stereotypes of what's appropriate for a little girl, a
little boy, a little girl from this neighborhood, a little boy
from, I mean, all this messy stuff that we start getting
scripts on when we're little kids.
And so by the time we get too old enough to really decide on
our own, there's a lot of garbage to unpack to get to
(23:19):
like, wait a minute. That's not who I am.
And that is not my, and that's not what I care about.
That's not my value, You know? So talk to me about getting to
this point of really being able to live authentically out of
your own expectations and communicating that to others.
It wasn't quite accepted at first, especially when you're
(23:43):
surrounded by people that have no idea what it is that you're
doing. They're just like, OK, whatever
it is you do, you know, and you kind of have to just keep
proving it to yourself that you need to keep pursuing your
dreams. You know, when I was a kid and
I, I was going to auditions and being pulled out of school to go
(24:04):
to auditions, to audition for like major clothing brands and
cereal brands, beverages, everything.
You know, my teacher was just like, you know, what is this?
If she wants to act, you know, we have a theater here.
We have after school classes andmy mom's like, no, no, no, this
is Hollywood. And a lot of people can't relate
to that. Exactly.
(24:25):
Nowhere near the same. And so it was really hard for
people to accept that. And they look at it as a joke.
They look at it as, oh, well, everyone wants to be a star.
Everybody wants to be famous. Everyone wants to, you know,
make millions. But what they don't understand
is the hard work that you have to put in to get there.
And sometimes you're not. You may not make it all the way
(24:45):
there, but you're at a certain comfort level where you're OK,
where you're at and you're able to, you know, feed your family
and keep a roof over your head and, you know, still be content
with the level of success you have.
So it was always difficult thingwhen it comes to talking to my
(25:06):
family or friends. And hey, you know, I have
rehearsal today. I have a show today, I'm doing
this and that. And they're just like, wait,
what? So that's why I started
surrounding myself by people whodo this, who do what I do,
because we have conversations about it all day.
We could support each other. We could, we could uplift each
other and not talk down to each other saying, well, you need to
(25:28):
snap in a reality and, you know,go to school and, you know, find
a find a job. And, you know, it's just like,
OK, that, that that's cool. But anybody could do that
anyway. Why not do something that again,
you are passionate shit about and just keep throwing shit at
the wall and see what sticks? I thought that absolutely,
(25:53):
because you said that's so true.Any day of the week I can go out
there, get my degree, get the job, whatever.
But this thing that's not any day, I mean, I got to go and do
that now. And this is what I'm called to.
And you said something so important about surrounding
yourself with people that believe in you, that want that,
(26:16):
that believe in that dream with you, that support you, that
aren't constantly questioning you and doubting you.
And that's, and it can be trickywith family.
They want what's best for you. They want you to be healthy and
well, but at the end of the day,having people that trust your
judgment and trust that you're doing something that you feel
that is the right path for you and having, you know, having
(26:38):
that support system. So think that is so valuable.
Thank you for that. Yes, yes, of course.
So this next one is about all ofour layers, all the things that
make up who we are, what we do, the choices we make, all those
things. Talk to me about accepting the
layered aspects of yourself and what that layers journey has
(27:01):
been like for you because I'm sure it's, I mean, you've got a
lot of pieces in your work worldthat you're dealing with in your
world outside of work you're dealing with.
So talk to me about those layers.
Yeah. So each layer defines who I am.
Like you said it it makes who you are.
And however you manage those layers determine how far you're
(27:25):
going to get, how how how you'regoing to interact with the next
person, how you're going to takeon this task, this challenge,
this hurdle, this hump in the road.
And for me, having, you know, personal layers, I challenge
those personal layers for every,everything that I experience in
(27:45):
life, good or bad. And I never step out of
character within those layers. One thing that I was always told
my whole life is you need to be the same person that you are
with everyone you meet. You shouldn't be a different
person, shouldn't be this quiet person in front of you know,
(28:06):
your family, but then with your friends, you're loud and crazy.
You know, those are just, you know, personal layers, right?
And then we have professional layers.
We have layers where, OK, I'm a businesswoman, I'm a
entertainer. I'm, you know, a marketing
person. I'm, I'm an actor, I'm a content
(28:28):
creator. I, you know, I do it all.
And I think by matching your personal layers with your
business layers is what's going to make who you are.
And again, that determines how you interact with people, how
you approach opportunities, how you're able to reject
opportunities and not think too much about it.
But it if anything, it helps youmove on and to move on to bigger
(28:51):
things. Yeah, I love that.
I love what you talked about, that consistency of being the
person that you are consistentlyacross the board and not letting
because it's really easy to justput on the mask and conform to
the situation and just not put up with whatever pushback.
(29:15):
But then that's not being authentic to you.
And I think when we're not authentic to ourselves, we feel
that angst. We feel that angst in our souls
and it tugs at us. So I love how you spoke to that
being consistent and true to youare in all these multiple
faceted areas. Talk to me a little bit if you
don't mind, about about the berets and the story behind the
(29:39):
berets that you've created. Yeah, so the Brays are called
Tams. I discovered them during the
pandemic because obviously it was during the time where we are
all trying to learn another skill, another opportunity we
could create for ourselves. And for me, I felt that when it
comes to the berets, no one has ever branded this in pop
(30:02):
culture, in hip hop culture, theBlack community.
And I feel that it it makes the impact.
It's a, it's a new type of accessory that we can appreciate
that can apply to any race, any gender, whatever, right?
Kids, adults, old people. I just feel that it's something
new that's being brought to the table.
(30:23):
You know, everyone is, you know,creating their own wig line,
their own, you know, makeup, clothes, shoes.
That's great. But nowadays you have to think
outside the box. You know, what it, what is it
that's missing and what's going to hit when you create it?
It's almost like supply and demand.
You know, people love to wear wear hats.
Well, why don't you wear the world's flyest beret, you know,
(30:47):
So that's how I created it. Yeah.
Yeah. So that's how it came about.
And because of the berets, I've been, I've been open now to the
fashion world. I've been hosting fashion shows.
I've been recruiting models attending, you know, hosting
auditions and giving the averageperson an opportunity to feel
(31:08):
like a supermodel on the runway.I love that.
That's so fun. Thank you so much for sharing
that. So talk to me too about you are
in a working in a lot of different arenas.
Was that always your intention? Did you have an intention of
like I'm going to act, I'm goingto sing, I'm going to do and but
(31:30):
you ended up doing a multitude of things and you're very savvy
entrepreneur, businesswoman within all of this.
Was that always the plan or is that something you kind of
realized along the way was necessary to be to continue to
be relevant and provide yourselfwith multiple opportunities?
(31:52):
I always felt that it's necessary.
You know, I started off acting, but as I started dabbling into
other parts of the entertainmentindustry, modeling, even
singing, writing, rapping, and now back to acting, hosting,
producing, managing my company, you know, you know, having the
(32:12):
beret line. I just realized that you have to
really expand yourself because if you concentrate on one thing,
you have a million of other people that that are doing the
same thing. So why not compete in everything
you can? Again, it's like throwing shit
at the wall and seeing what, what, what sticks, but making
sure that you are good at all those things.
(32:32):
You know what I mean? There's people who are like, oh,
I could act, you know, I, I could rap.
I could, you know, but it's like, OK, but can you really?
Can you? Yeah.
You know. So it it's just all about
knowing what you're capable of and developing other talents to
increase the opportunities for yourself.
(32:56):
And again, so that you're competing, you become this, you
become this, you know, triple, triple, quadruple threat to
people and you're untouchable because it's like, whoa, I can
call her for anything, you know what I mean?
So it's, it's just unless you'reborn like to, unless you're born
(33:16):
with the, the gifted skills likeMichael Jackson or Beyoncé, you
were, you know, hey, you don't have to do anything else if you
don't want to because you're extremely good at what you do.
Then hey, yeah, then you got it.You got to expand, yeah.
Yeah, Yeah. I love that.
Thank you for sharing that. I think that's really smart and
(33:37):
makes a lot of sense. It's good planning and also
tapping into all those parts of you.
I mean, because there's different seasons in your life
are going to bring opportunitiesin different areas and you never
know what's possible. But so continuing to tap into
all those areas that you're creative and you've got multiple
areas that you've been able to tap into and utilize.
(33:58):
So I think that's a really greatexample of that of not and not
selling yourself short, you know, be.
Curious. It's like what?
Else can I do here? What a yeah, yeah.
What else is possible? So good.
All right, in living out feel, finding empowerment, embracing
layers, which is the name of ourpodcast, you, you do that.
(34:19):
You, you are empowered. You've embraced all the parts of
who you are. You know who you are.
You present as who you are. Talk to me about how that
impacts your relationship with yourself as well as your
relationship with other people. Yeah.
So it just helps me understand who I am and what I'm capable
(34:40):
of. And again, what makes me feel
good inside, what makes me feel accomplished, what makes me feel
that I fit in with this team or this group or this area of
people and how it impacts my relationship with others is we,
if we have something in common, which I'm sure we will, there's
(35:01):
always something we can talk about, right?
We don't have to hate on each other.
We don't have to dislike each other.
We don't even have to. We could be cordial, that's
cool. But why can't we all be friends?
Why can't we all interact and communicate with each other?
And it starts with who you are. If you're happy with yourself,
then you'll be happy with anyonein the world.
(35:24):
Yeah. And you're not looking for other
people to affirm that. You know that already about
yourself. So you're not looking for anyone
else to do that for you. I think that's such an important
piece of that. So, yeah, thank you so much for
that. All right Mean 5 activities that
nourish you. Five activities that nourish me.
(35:46):
Writing, believe it or not, but talking to myself.
I don't know why I feel like when I talk.
To myself, I do it. All the time, yeah.
When you have conversations withyourself, you become a better
speaker to others. And I know it's just crazy, but
so yeah. Yeah.
(36:07):
Writing, talking to yourself, aswell as some sort of meditation,
that always helps. And also when we talk about
self-care, you know, get a massage, get a facial, be in a
quiet space with candles and, and with oils and just being
(36:31):
treated like a queen. I think that helps us with our
soul. It helps us soothe our soul and
it just helps us have a better understanding of how comfortable
our body can relax without doinga whole bunch of other stuff.
Was that the third one? And then exercising, exercising.
(36:52):
Even if you just take a walk fora few minutes during the day,
just do it. You'll feel so much better.
Go outside when you wake up in the morning, you know, shine
some light through your, your bedroom or your house.
You know, we all need some sunlight.
You know, we we need all of those natural vitamins to to
naturally keep us healed and to prevent us from getting sick
(37:16):
quicker and from, you know, being depressed and having
anxiety and just feeling down and out about life.
So yeah, yeah, I think it was that 5 or 4.
Yeah, that was, that was we're good.
I think that was 5, but they were all good.
I, I lost track, but they were all good.
And I love that. I love that last one though,
(37:36):
because I think those, all thosepieces getting that sunlight,
just get it all. That impacts your mental health,
your emotional health. It makes a difference when you
sit quietly with yourself and just allow yourself to
decompress and relax and settle.And that also allows you,
especially as a creative space, to come back and be creative
(37:59):
with fresh ideas because you're rejuvenated and you've loud
yourself that time. Exactly, exactly.
And your body will tell you, hey, I need to rest.
And if you don't listen to your body, things are going to end up
going to the left. And, and sometimes if it goes
left, you might not be able to come back.
So you have to listen to your body, listen to your body,
(38:22):
listen to your doctor, listen towhoever it is, read blogs.
You know, listen to, you know, some people think it's it's easy
to read blog sites from celebrities who talk about, oh,
hey, I'm a vegan today, or, you know, I'm joining the 45 mile
run for whatever, you know, no, those are good to read because
(38:45):
just mentally it makes you feel motivated.
It makes you feel like, hey, I can do what they're doing.
So yeah, just absorbing all the natural, all the natural things
that life is giving you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you so much. So good.
All right, Kill the music. Tell people where they can find
(39:06):
you. Follow you.
All the places and spaces that your work, your music is, your
product lines are available. Yes, so you guys could visit my
website. It's my official website,
itskeldamusic.com, KELD AM UZ ik.com and everything's on
there. My social media, my newsletter,
(39:27):
my music, my videos, TV show forraise.
Everything you want to know about me or anything you want to
purchase from me, it's all on the website.
OK, great. And that's all going to be on
our website embracinglayers.com on the resources page.
Is that also on your website? Can people see where they can
(39:47):
follow you on social media? Yep, all my social media buttons
are there. OK, perfect.
All right, my dear, thank you somuch for being with me today.
I've appreciated this conversation so much.
Thank you for how you show up inthe world and tap into that
creativity. Keep doing what you do.
It's important. It matters.
(40:08):
We need it. And listeners, check out Kelvin
music. Check out all that she offers.
Tap into your own creativity. Be curious.
And when you run into someone who has a different background
than you or the examine and get curious, how am I judging them
(40:28):
for who they are? Or am I living and judging by a
stereotype and get rid of the judgment and get curious, ask
questions, know their story. Let's dismantle these things
that are out there to doing harmand allow us all to show up
authentically and safely as ourselves in all of our spaces.
(40:50):
And that's my my challenge to you this week.
But first, go check out Kilda music and find out all the ways
you can support her. Listen to her, see her work,
purchase a really cool beret, all those things.
And thank you again so much for your time this week.
Thank you. Love you guys.
All right, take good care everybody.
Have a great week. Hello, Melissa Crook here.
(41:16):
Thank you so much for joining uson the Field podcast today.
Finding Empowerment. Embracing Layers.
I hope you found today's framework and resources
supportive and informative. To learn more about all that we
offer here at the Embracing Layers Network, visit
embracinglayers.com. You can go to our contact form
(41:39):
to schedule me as a speaker for your next conference, workshop,
or seminar. You can go to our book page to
order our book, The Jessica Garrison, our wonderful and
talented writer and author authored with my support and
engage with this framework in written form with your journal
or in a book club with other women inviting them on this
(42:01):
journey with you. You can look at our resources
page for all of the helpful and insightful resources our guests
offer and share. You can find the schedule for
our weekly Together We Feel Women's panel conversations that
we're holding each Monday on ourYouTube channel, and you can
find the links to all the spacesand places.
(42:22):
You can then follow engage with us on social media and join our
engagements that are happening on our Sub Stat site.
There is also a donation page where you can donate to support
our work to ensure we can continue to bring you these
incredible guest conversations and support.
(42:42):
Thanks again for joining me thisweek.
Share with your friends and giveus a review on your favorite
listening platform. Your feedback helps us ensure
we're bringing you the content that will best support you and
having an empowered Embracing Layers journey.
Take good care and thanks for giving us some of your valuable
time today. We truly appreciate you so
(43:06):
deeply.
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