WUWY INTERVIEW: Estelle Talks New Music, Iconic Hit 'American Boy', Studio Secrets + More

Estelle Talks New Music, Iconic Hit 'American Boy', Studio Secrets + More

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
What's up this way?

Speaker 2 (00:04):
I put Angela Yee. I'm Angela Yee, and my Capricorn
sister is here.

Speaker 3 (00:08):
We're in the building.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Estee.

Speaker 3 (00:11):
How good?

Speaker 1 (00:12):
How are you?

Speaker 3 (00:13):
I'm actually really good?

Speaker 4 (00:14):
Mom.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Listen, I was talking about you the other day with
Ada Rodriguez. She told me she has an amazing interview
that she did with you.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
Yeah, we did on her new podcast. I'm excited for.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Being Oh man, I can't. She was telling she was
excited about it.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
That's good.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
You know it's good. But listen, you're a pro at
this anyway.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
So it frounn and behind now ye.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Do you like?

Speaker 3 (00:35):
I mean? I love that.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
I feel like you're so like multi faceted when it
comes to being an artist, but also being a host,
also doing voiceovers, also curating playlist, just all things.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
All the things.

Speaker 4 (00:49):
It's the idea of, like when you leave, you don't
want to go to be like you love the talent
on the table, you know, I feel like I'm just
gonna go through the mall.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Is it so initially for you?

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Because I know you grew up in household where you
know even Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:03):
My mom was not about she was definitely churtrified, but
she you know, she gave us our freedom. That's one
thing I'll say about my mom and my family. My
mom was very much like, go and learn how to
do it, and do it. Okay, do it though, you know, and.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Make sure you do it, do it, have you back up,
but do it.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
But it takes a while in the beginning, you know,
and for people to understand the journey, especially for our parents,
because when things ain't happening right away and they can't understand,
and they also want to protect you exactly.

Speaker 4 (01:31):
I mean, I come from a huge family. There's so
many of us. People know that about me. I feel like,
but you know, like she was very much like, you're.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
The oldest girl.

Speaker 4 (01:40):
You have to give people the example. You have to
give the rest of them the example, so you can't up. Yeah,
you know, and there was a lot of pressure on
that for me.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
They always say it's hardest for the oldest child.

Speaker 4 (01:48):
Yeah, what's that mean? They say, who takes care of
the oldest child? God or the ancestors?

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah, that way, take care of the older youngest.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
So you know, that's when everything the parents have been everything,
they're like, whatever, just do your thing, like go wild.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
But the oldest one.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
Yeah, it's just me, my granniece, my granddad's and the prayer.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
You know, I'm excited to be able to make an
announcement with you today. Yeah, me too, so and I
am honored to be able to make this announcement. Yeah,
it's time, it's time. It's time. It's time for more
Estelle music. Okay, we talked about all these other things
that you have going on, but it's time for some

(02:32):
Mistelle music.

Speaker 4 (02:33):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm back. I'm excited I'm back.
But like, here's some new music, here's something fresh. This
is my my new album's coming back. We have a
new song.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Oh yeah, so.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yes, I did get a little preview and you guys
are gonna get to hear the song too. But it
feels like there's a I was trying to figure out
the sample or is there.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
It's not. It sounds like it's so nostalgic feeling.

Speaker 3 (02:59):
It is. This whole this whole project for me, was
just about joy.

Speaker 4 (03:03):
So I went back into all the songs and all
the sounds and all the feelings that made me feel
joy and made me feel like myself, you know, my
favorite self, not the best.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
Self, because you know, subjective.

Speaker 4 (03:13):
My favorite self, and my favorite self is when I'm dancing,
when I'm having a good time.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
We've been in places and spaces together and I look.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
Like we had a birthday birthday.

Speaker 3 (03:24):
Yeah it was. I regret nothing. I regret nothing.

Speaker 4 (03:27):
I danced so hard, But that for me was exactly
the energy, like I'm at my most joyful when I'm
dancing having fun, you know. And I had started recording
this album before that, like and throughout the Panini, the
Panic or the pandorasa, whatever you want to call them,
four years that we missed, but that whole time, and

(03:51):
I just realized that, Yeah, it's the joy for me.
It's when I'm happiest, when I'm in my light. You
know that I feel the I feel good music.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
And one thing I will say about Estella, everybody knows
you loves you like you show so much love to people,
whether or not.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
They deserve it, they be they believe it.

Speaker 4 (04:07):
You know, everyone deserves love. You know I believe that
for sure.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
All right, And so so you're talking about your your
best like times and recording this this project.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
How many songs right now?

Speaker 3 (04:20):
We're keeping it short. It's between ten and twelve. I
don't think.

Speaker 4 (04:24):
I don't believe I need one hundred records on that
album for people to hear the intent for me. And
also I like to I like albums that are kind
of like you put it on, it runs through, and
you're like no running back, like, oh that's it, you know.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
I like those albums.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
Yeah, you don't want an album where it's like.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
This, I'm tired.

Speaker 4 (04:43):
I don't ever want to feel tired of hearing my
own So I tried to make music that I wouldn't
feel tired hearing.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
You know, this is a good time too. You did
that whole nash up of American Way.

Speaker 3 (04:51):
That was a vibe.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (04:54):
I mean, look, American Boy is the song that keeps
on giving.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, somebody people are not going to have an a urricane. Boys.
You got to appreciate it. It's forever song.

Speaker 4 (05:03):
I literally pray for that song, Like when we were
making it. I remember being in the studio, like before
going the guards. Form a record that till the end
of time I can play right, you know, to whenever whatever,
and without me even trying, you know, not putting in
so much effort. But people just love the record, And
I think it's because I went and seeing it and

(05:24):
I was happy. I literally was smiling throughout the whole thing, like, oh,
this is joke, this is cool. If they never played
this record on anyone's radio station, I'm going to go
to ib for in Greece and Todi or whatever, you know,
and I'm going to play and I'm going to play
it and I'm make your money back. Don't worry, We'll
be good, you know. But never needed to.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
I remember reading that you were in Miami when you
did and having the time of your life Miami days.

Speaker 4 (05:51):
Maybe to be young and in Miami it's a good time.
That's what Miami is for when you're young. But I
had a ball, you know. We don't have anything like
that in the UK, really, not like that.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
I'm trying to think, so where do people who go
And I remember traveling.

Speaker 3 (06:06):
The Santorini are in Apple at the time, it was all.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Okay because I always feel like that's the party central
for real, like going to no going to London, because
first of all, I feel well, I do kind of
feel like that because it looks like London parties be lit.

Speaker 3 (06:24):
They do. Like it's subjective though it.

Speaker 1 (06:26):
Is, And then you know, we'd be watching tat Boy
in super sound.

Speaker 3 (06:30):
She get me started on that. No, No, it's all subjective,
isn't it. It's all like a slice of London life.
It's a slice of this.

Speaker 4 (06:38):
But parties are fun when you're in the parties and
your you know. But for the majority of my life
I've been in the parties and part of the parties
and you know, and then we do have fun there.
But like as far as the sun sea sound of
it all, we don't have some sea sound like that.

Speaker 1 (06:51):
I think I've been to where is it Brighton? And
wow and yeah random.

Speaker 3 (06:56):
Because that's that's not going to Coney Island, I'm.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
Gonna tell you, because I used to work for Wu
Tang and so going on to it. I've been all
over those places. And so I remember having a show
in Brian and being like this is amazing.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
I never even yeah, Wow, why.

Speaker 3 (07:09):
Didn't even go home? What did they take you in Brien?
That's strange.

Speaker 2 (07:12):
Well, just because the beach was there to stand I
never visualized.

Speaker 4 (07:16):
That, or we don't have that like the lifestyle of
like you know, like there's the restaurants and then there's
the music, and then there's everyone's naked because there's not
really any sun like that.

Speaker 3 (07:24):
So Miami is just a different, survive, different vibe.

Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah all right.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
And so for you, like deciding that you wanted to
put out a whole project, what was that process and
why did you say now, this is this is time,
this is time over.

Speaker 4 (07:38):
I think I started recording this and I always do
this when people ask me, why does it take so long?
I start recording in drips, and I had to one
Reckon in like twenty seventeen, another in twenty eighteen. In
between everything else I was doing, touring, losing my mind,
getting my mind back, all kinds of like emotional breakthroughs
and awakenings and all the spiritual things you would think about.

(08:00):
I was recording in between it all, and I feel
like I got to a point where I was like, no,
I like this body, I like this this music, and
I think it's time to put it out.

Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yeah. And this year, this.

Speaker 1 (08:12):
Year, this year, this year, do you have a date?

Speaker 4 (08:15):
I have a date that's coming out in full, I
say four, I want to I'm aiming for October. But
the very first recD comes out, I'm very very excited.

Speaker 3 (08:24):
Oh it's called Oh I.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
You heard me singing it.

Speaker 2 (08:27):
No, don't judge okay, because it doesn't sound like that
for real when she's singing no no.

Speaker 3 (08:32):
But the way I did it, man, however you did
it sounds good. That's the point of it.

Speaker 4 (08:37):
My thing is just I understand this about myself as
notice all right, records that make people feel joy and
it's however they sing it, however they get it, however
they experience it. That's exactly as it's meant to be.
I don't I don't judge people on that.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
You know.

Speaker 2 (08:50):
I feel like as a person that because you curate
music lists and you know and study music, so I'm
cure I used to hear what this whole project is
going to sound like. I've seen some of the interviews
you did, because you have your own show as well,
you know, shout out to liah Stelle show Stell's house,
and you've been able to sit down and talk to

(09:12):
like a Willow Smith about you know, jazz.

Speaker 4 (09:14):
And just joyfully and pridefully, like it's one thing coming
in to music and being me and feeling like I
was in a normally or a weirdo back then because
I had the American boy and not being there talking
about now Elephant s Gerald is the great, and they're
looking at me like, but this don't sound nothing like it.
And I was like, wait for the rest of that,
you know, and to see Willow Smith, you know, ten

(09:37):
fifteen years later be like, yeah, it's fine. This is
I played Don't Blackman in my sleep and you know
elephantz Cherld's you know, and she's twelve, right, you know,
and that's no disrespect.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
She's young. And it feels me with so much joy.

Speaker 4 (09:50):
It's like, oh my goodness, like this is why, this
is why I did it.

Speaker 3 (09:54):
This is kind of what we was on.

Speaker 1 (09:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:56):
It reminds me of they used to have those parties
where they'll play like this sample their original songs exactly.
There's somebody sampled and you're like, oh, I didn't even realized.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Yeah, even for me, like working for will Tange, Like
I said, a lot of their songs and rizars sound
comes from old schools. Yeah, and I enjoy that, but
it's hard because sometimes like the younger generation feel like
that's old.

Speaker 4 (10:18):
I think there's a bit more of a research where
they're kind of rediscovering and I think what's on us
the oldest to do is not to shame them about it,
because I didn't know until I knew, you know, a
lot of stuff, and I did a lot of personal
research once I knew, because I need to know when
I need to know. I never like to be the
artists like, oh really that was it all part I
need to know, you know. So my thing is just

(10:41):
like not shaming them, not making them feel weird about
learning because I was.

Speaker 3 (10:44):
We was young too, like we was twenty, we was
you know.

Speaker 1 (10:47):
I remember growing up and listening to like my parents
music all the time.

Speaker 3 (10:51):
Yeah. Same, yeah.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
But the kids, I guess now listening to their parents'
music is listening to something different.

Speaker 4 (10:58):
I mean their parents' music is show to see which
is which is? Which throws me for earlier it's.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
Like sampling Joonasy now, which is amazing to hear some
of these you know, hip hop and R and B
songs that are sampling songs.

Speaker 1 (11:09):
It's like it's not even el.

Speaker 3 (11:11):
Wait, it's not oh this is I was playing this yesterday.

Speaker 4 (11:14):
But that's how our parents felt, you know, Like it's
a generational thing. I think it's just like coming to
terms of like it's okay to know that that was
still what we listened to growing up. But it's still
good today, you know, and it's okay if they sample
it and rediscover it and it's fine.

Speaker 1 (11:28):
Now.

Speaker 2 (11:28):
How hard was it when you had to do the
I said, the discussion you had about the greatest.

Speaker 1 (11:33):
Albums of all time?

Speaker 2 (11:34):
Oh god, that's the one hundred greatest albums of all time?
How hard is that to come up? You know with
the list? And I'm even thinking about before before you came,
I was like, oh, I want to ask Estelle, like
about comparing even from artists like which Chribe called quest
album was the best?

Speaker 1 (11:51):
Or you know, it's triple Jackson album?

Speaker 3 (11:55):
What are we doing?

Speaker 1 (11:56):
That's not a discussion what's the best for him?

Speaker 4 (11:59):
It's like that's what and ll that's like a double one,
double two, like three and three like Stevie Wonder and
Michael Like, we're not gonna put one above the other.

Speaker 3 (12:08):
Doesn't make any sense? Yeah? It for me. Look, the
process was.

Speaker 4 (12:12):
Easy for me because I was like, let me just
put my favorite ten in and then hope for the
best again.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
So let's go over there. Now, your favorite ten.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
That's hard. It's hard. Look number one, give us your
favorite I've made.

Speaker 4 (12:23):
Give you my five number one of the number two
might be Stevie and Michael drawn like, I can't decide
which album and I can't decide which one should go first.

Speaker 1 (12:33):
They're the best, they're the greatest, but which album?

Speaker 3 (12:36):
All right? So I would say Off the Wall over Thriller.

Speaker 4 (12:39):
Okay, okay, because because because because people are gonna have
their moments, and I always say this, Off the Wall
changed the sound of R and B and Thriller continued
the conversation. Okay, the sound changing, and there was Thriller,
so you know, but the sound of Off the Wall
as a cohesive album changed the entire jectory of music

(13:01):
at that time.

Speaker 1 (13:01):
All right.

Speaker 4 (13:02):
So that's my that's my I can't wait to post
this and have people I've said it and.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
People are like what, and I'm like, think about it,
think about it, have a think Stevie wonder geez. I
don't even know where to go.

Speaker 4 (13:16):
It's like all the albums are flashing, Oh my goodness,
the orange one.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
The Orange one, the orange album. What's the name of
that album? I know what you're talking about, Orange album.
And you know, it's hard too because sometimes I don't
remember what was on which album, And this is.

Speaker 3 (13:32):
The part for me that's like that I'm rediscovering about
the sleeves. It's the album sleeves. Hold on No Indivisions.

Speaker 2 (13:39):
Okay, let me see what was on that.

Speaker 4 (13:44):
That whole cohesive album had me like, oh, that was
his sixteenth album, and imagine it took sixteen to get
to that level of cohesion and that level of beauty
and that level of.

Speaker 1 (13:57):
Just it felt like a broader higher ground living for
the city. Don't you worry about it thing?

Speaker 3 (14:02):
Yep, keep going. It's just back to back to back.

Speaker 1 (14:05):
Oh my gosh, Yeah, you're right. That is an amazing album.

Speaker 4 (14:10):
Yeah, and that that album for me was just like,
oh my goodness, this is like a stage play, like
what are we doing? Like how did you think of this?
Where were you at in your spirit and in your time?

Speaker 3 (14:21):
Wow?

Speaker 2 (14:21):
Okay, all right, so that's one of the two two three?

Speaker 1 (14:26):
How did I go to three?

Speaker 3 (14:27):
Okay? All right? Prince Prep it's gonna be Prince is.

Speaker 1 (14:32):
One, you know, Prince is my favorite, one of my favorites.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
And then it gets to like Bob Marley Exodus.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
Okay did you watch it by Miley movie?

Speaker 4 (14:42):
And Exodus because of one knowing more about his story,
and I read the books, and I read reading Marley's book,
and I'm in the middle of his mother's book, and
so knowing the entire story and understanding who he was
was one thing, you know, the idea of the monogamous
in the one two versus.

Speaker 3 (15:00):
That he was a free love of the eraror.

Speaker 4 (15:02):
And if you think about it, there were so many
other artists who were in free love, but they just
never looked at them, never vilified them, never put them
in any categories as well.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
And I feel like that time period was it was
very free.

Speaker 4 (15:12):
Love error for it, Yeah, but the album that came
of it, Understanding that he was truly in exodus, like
he was really exiled, you know, to a degree. He
couldn't really go not couldn't go back home, but it
was dangerous on everyone's accounts, and had to go and
make music in a foreign place. Understanding that personally, not
that I was exiled in any capacity, but being in

(15:34):
another place making music that and I'm trying to reconcile
between being home and being somewhere else.

Speaker 3 (15:41):
That album makes me feel seen, you.

Speaker 2 (15:43):
Have a connection, yeah, yeah, because you really did have
to move here to record it, because that's where you
were signed.

Speaker 4 (15:49):
It's a different thing here, and you know, there was
always the option to go home and do it in London,
but you know, destinies are destinies, you know, supposed to
be here.

Speaker 2 (15:58):
It's interesting to see how much has you know, changed
since yeah, since then, and even but just even seeing
like different sounds.

Speaker 1 (16:07):
You know, how drill has been incorporated here.

Speaker 4 (16:12):
Has the biggest cheerer honor of all of it. That's
the world cheerer honor.

Speaker 1 (16:17):
I like that.

Speaker 2 (16:18):
It was a.

Speaker 3 (16:19):
Cheerer honor, the biggest cheer honor. Make up words made me.

Speaker 4 (16:22):
Feel happy, the biggest cheer honor of anybody who's doing
their dream. I don't care what it's meant to sound
like to anybody if it sounds right to you and
it's given some good to the world.

Speaker 3 (16:34):
Like I listened to words, I listened to lyrics too,
do it.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
And even afrobeats to see how afrobeat has taken over. Look,
you did that Essence Festival, when you curated that whole
reggae because you had the Lover's rack, which, by the way,
I love that is such my vibe. But when you
curated that whole experience, that was something amazing and I
feel like it was also like, you know, a precursor

(17:00):
because you were on that vibe before all of this.

Speaker 3 (17:03):
We would do at the Essence Fest.

Speaker 4 (17:05):
For every single time I was Essence Fest, I would
do a section on my show where I would play
African artists and West African artists, Soca artists, and I
would just have a good jump.

Speaker 3 (17:16):
Up and everybody was in it.

Speaker 4 (17:18):
And every year we would tell Essence, let us do
this as a stage and I think maybe the last
year before the Panini, Essence were like, great, come on,
do it, and we did it on the main stage.
We had Masha Montano, Sister Nancy, Huge, Wayne Wonder, Mister Vegas,
a bunch of West Indians and African artists while they
was like everybody came and performed, and then we did

(17:41):
the after party and there was another thing like So
to me, we've I've been part of making sure that
the culture sees the entire spectrum of Black music, not
just R and B, not just hip hop. No, this soca,
there's reggae's dance or there's afrobeast, is all different, you know,
and That's been what I've done in my music. So
it was a natural.

Speaker 1 (17:59):
Carryover when they perform live.

Speaker 2 (18:01):
Okay, it is like a performance, you know, yeah, like
an afrobeats performance.

Speaker 1 (18:07):
We know what it is, what it is.

Speaker 2 (18:09):
And for you, even interviewing these artists, I'm sure they're
all like, let's collab, let's do something together, you know,
because you're even in the circle of other artists, you're
very well respected.

Speaker 4 (18:20):
I appreciate that too. I'm always very much like, let's
do it. And I'm also like, let's let's do it.
It's right, you know, and they're want to force myself
on to people and be like, let's let's make sure
that we you know. I think everything that's good that
has ever come from me as an artist has come naturally,
has become because we just kind of fell into it
or it was a natural like yeah cool, one, two three.

(18:42):
It was never forced or pushed or I just stress.
No one's management out about nothing.

Speaker 3 (18:47):
It was none of that.

Speaker 4 (18:48):
It was always like, yeah, yeah, I'm gonna send it back,
you know, like it was just done. And the more
grown I get, the more I'm like, let's get in
the same room.

Speaker 1 (18:56):
It's different, do this differently, you know, let's.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
Get in the spirit and get the joy together and
really execute.

Speaker 4 (19:03):
So you know, and then I'm very much like as
when I feel when I recall, when I feel instead
of on a schedule.

Speaker 1 (19:09):
So what was the process like recording this?

Speaker 4 (19:13):
Four hours? I recalled because half of it was in
the Panini. So me and a producer, Keith Harris, were like.
I was like, Keith, I have an idea. Have you
got four hours?

Speaker 3 (19:24):
And he'd be like cool.

Speaker 4 (19:25):
So it's me and him, my manager and maybe his
right hand guy, and we went in the studio four
hours at a time and our vocal and he would
produce and I would leave, and then he sent me
a finished track and it's like we did every single record.

Speaker 1 (19:41):
Why is four hours your magic number?

Speaker 3 (19:43):
I don't know. I just feel like it's almost like
God doesn't let me. This is my theory.

Speaker 4 (19:50):
If I go over four hours, I feel like I
start overthinking it, okay, And God doesn't want me to
overthink things. He likes to just give me the thing
and say the thing and then yeah, out the way.

Speaker 2 (20:00):
That's just so interesting because people will be will lock
out the studio for like twelve hour blocks, and being
in there, we've been.

Speaker 3 (20:06):
A part of that.

Speaker 4 (20:07):
It's a lot of wasted studio time, a lot of
wasted budgets and budgets aside, and it's never about the
budgets for me. It's just about getting the intent of
the workout. And I think when you spend more time, well,
my grandma used to say, if you leave me here
long enough, I'm gonna lie. If you have me sitting
here for longer than I need to be, I'm gonna
tell a lie, so I should leave.

Speaker 3 (20:27):
And that's kind of my If I didn't, well, well,
well I'm not lying.

Speaker 4 (20:32):
If I'm dating you and it's all good, then you
know the conversation is gonna be good. But if I'm
sitting in a space where it's longer than it needs
to be there, I'm probably gonna start lying, So let
me leave. I'm a good Irish combie. If that's offensive,
I'm good to be Irish Cobie. I will slide out
of a building.

Speaker 1 (20:48):
And yeah, me too. I'll be like, I'll be right,
I'm going to the bathroom, okay, never to come back.
People will be like where did you go?

Speaker 2 (20:55):
You just don't answer, or sometimes you just just spind
later and be like, oh my bad. I was trying
to I couldn't get back to the table.

Speaker 1 (21:02):
I've done that.

Speaker 4 (21:02):
At this point, my friends know me. They're like, she
looked at her phone more than twice. She's in her car.

Speaker 2 (21:07):
And then listen, my friends know me well enough to
know if they if I go to the back and
they gotta.

Speaker 4 (21:11):
Come with me to make sure you're not going without
me to the bathroom, I'm gonna go.

Speaker 3 (21:16):
It's a capical thing. Home.

Speaker 1 (21:19):
We don't even like being out like that. Like, I
have a fun for a little while while I'm there, but.

Speaker 4 (21:23):
Then it's intentional when I leave, and again, I like
to go have fun. I like to be, but I
like to be. The older I get, the more growner
I get, I say, saying, oh, it's the oldest subjective grown.

Speaker 3 (21:35):
More growner I yet make it up worthy.

Speaker 4 (21:37):
More growner I get, the more I'm like, I intentionally
want to go be happy.

Speaker 3 (21:41):
I love my house. I really like my bedroom. I
like my home. I have a great backyard, I have
a wonderful living room. I like the space.

Speaker 4 (21:49):
Man, I made a space that I don't have to
run away from, and I'm happy with it. So if
I leave, it's intentional to go be happy somewhere else.
And if I'm not going to be happy somewhere else,
probably not going.

Speaker 1 (22:00):
Wait, so do you still live in New York? Because
you those things, you must have moved.

Speaker 2 (22:04):
She said, She's in the backyard, like I got to
get out of here.

Speaker 3 (22:09):
I have a terrorist now.

Speaker 4 (22:12):
No, it really is about like for me at this point,
like now, it's more about space and time and being
happy in my skin wherever I go right, you know,
and I follow it and I listen to it and
I don't play about when I feel unseld. I feel
like for me to leave, I could have been there
thirty seconds.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
Time for me to go.

Speaker 2 (22:34):
I'm already not feeling the vibe. And that's when you
find out, I'm glad I left. You know what happened
after you left? And you're like, that's why I had
to get out of there every.

Speaker 3 (22:41):
Time since I was a kid when I was at
the party.

Speaker 4 (22:45):
Now I know his spirit and it's going to be
like she go home now, And right after that it becomes,
oh there.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
Was a shooting or so, and so go beat up.
My mom was like, I'm so glad you listen. My
mom always I'm so listen.

Speaker 2 (22:58):
Do you still love Cocordy music? The way you're used
to when you started, I do now.

Speaker 3 (23:04):
It took a minute.

Speaker 4 (23:05):
I had to fall out of love with it and
just you know, reconcile it and all I could figure
out what I was doing again. And I think it
was more just based off of the demand or just
the peace out the allowance I wasn't giving myself, you know,
the grace I weren't giving myself. I had to completely
break for it to get that love back. Because maybe
after Lover's Rock, I was like and nothing to do

(23:27):
with Lovers Rock. I had so much fun with Lovers Rock.
I was out on the road, people were like, this
is so you know, we had a good time.

Speaker 3 (23:32):
With that album. I felt.

Speaker 4 (23:36):
I felt joy and love like I never felt promoting
an album with Lovers Rock because it was my people.
You know, I've got to find all the people from
Grenada that lived in New York.

Speaker 3 (23:46):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (23:47):
And you know when I went to Jamaica, when I
went to all that, it like it was a lot
of love. I had fun, But afterwards it was kind
of like, al right, on a personal level, now where
we at?

Speaker 3 (23:56):
You know, how are you happy every day? Like do
you wake up and feed yourself?

Speaker 4 (24:01):
Would you do do you do you pray anymore? Like
what's going on? I wasn't doing a lot of things,
so I had to.

Speaker 3 (24:06):
Kind of reset recent get rid of friends, get rid
of people, reset my energy with family and myself, right,
you know, boundaries, all the things, all the buzzwords on
that's me, hire.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
I did the work on myself.

Speaker 3 (24:22):
I did the work.

Speaker 2 (24:23):
I'm still feel like this is going to be reflected
on the new project.

Speaker 4 (24:26):
For sure, but in again, in a way that is doable.
I never like to write records where it's preachy.

Speaker 3 (24:32):
I never like to tell people, well, this is what
you have to do or hell a damination.

Speaker 1 (24:36):
No, no, no, I'm just thinking about reflection.

Speaker 2 (24:38):
Yeah too, because I agree with you know, sometimes like
out of loyalty or out of just being used to something,
we'll stay in certain friendships, relationships, even family situations that
can be not in our best interest just because we
feel an obligation or we're just used to something.

Speaker 1 (24:58):
But you don't have to be.

Speaker 3 (24:59):
That's this, This is the part of the song. Oh
why this part of this lyric.

Speaker 4 (25:02):
It's like I wrote myself a less I'm changing for
the better, you know, lost myself in such frustration trying
to get back to my patient. But oh I you
know why, Oh I, you know it was all about me.
It's never about them. It's never somebody else telling you
have to.

Speaker 3 (25:16):
It's your choice.

Speaker 4 (25:17):
You can stay in it it makes you feel good,
and if it doesn't, you have the power to change
every time.

Speaker 2 (25:23):
And you know it, no matter what people think, like,
you have to do what's best for you. And people
would be like, oh, she's acting funny.

Speaker 4 (25:29):
Fun Yeah I am, but it's all it's for everyone's good,
including my own.

Speaker 3 (25:34):
Let me act funny for a while.

Speaker 4 (25:35):
And you know if you if you feel like that's
the case, that's okay. You can ask me about it
or you can stay over it one of the two.
But I guarantee if you ask me about it and
I tell you, yeah, I'm going through some really tough shit,
give me a second, you'll be like, understand, because I'm
going through some toush it too, or I've been through
some touchh it. You could recognize it because you're going
through it, you know, like, and that ends up being

(25:57):
some kind of kinship or discussion of by it were
Before it has just been like an assumption and now
everyone's like you know, and most of the times everyone's
going through something.

Speaker 2 (26:06):
Listen, some of my greatest greatest friendships that were people
that we don't even talk all the time because we
but but when we catch up, it's a catch up.

Speaker 3 (26:15):
You mentioned either that's my that's one of my new homegers.
I met her at my birthday. Yeah, our birthday.

Speaker 1 (26:20):
I hadn't come out.

Speaker 4 (26:21):
Yeah, and I met her then, and she's become one
of my greatest friends.

Speaker 3 (26:24):
And she said, I like that.

Speaker 1 (26:25):
I don't even know that. I thought y'all just knew
each other.

Speaker 4 (26:28):
Okay, no, but we talk when we talk, and when
we talk, it's very it's never surfaced. You know, we've
all been through and dealing with our own stuff and
and but also we're also on the other side of
it and understanding that life is a big old journey
and it never stops.

Speaker 3 (26:42):
You never stop learning. Because we're un learning parts of
ourself that were trash.

Speaker 4 (26:47):
We're coming to terms of our shadows and seeing if
we like hanging out with them.

Speaker 3 (26:50):
I like mine. We call I'm not too terrible.

Speaker 1 (26:53):
You know you're not.

Speaker 2 (26:55):
But you've always been really honest about things in your life.
I remember past interviews where you've been extremely like, yeah.

Speaker 3 (27:02):
I used to tell it, but then also I don't
need to tell my stuff. I need to say I know,
used to be like look, but also I was a pill.
Yeah you've never admitted that I'm not, but I can
say it now. I used to be a pill. But
what does that mean exactly? Man?

Speaker 4 (27:15):
I was very short tempered and I still am sometimes,
and there were times when I was like, you know,
I used to project, you know, and to me, it's
kind of.

Speaker 3 (27:23):
Like you can't do all of that. I walk the
energy that I like to receive.

Speaker 4 (27:28):
Now, okay, you know, so fair enough. I know that
if I'm being mean, I expect the meanness back.

Speaker 3 (27:34):
So I try not to be mean.

Speaker 4 (27:36):
And I tried to give everybody I'll walk up to
grace because under the idea that everybody is going on
their journey, I don't know nothing about their journey, right.
All I know is that we've found ourselves in the
same space. So we must have something in common, good and.

Speaker 3 (27:49):
Good or bad. And give you a break, man, like
I want to break. I don't want to be hemmed
up all the time.

Speaker 4 (27:55):
Like why are you being I want someone to be
like it's okay, be it. Thank you, you know it'd
be so often.

Speaker 2 (28:01):
Let me be well, listen, I know you have a
lot going on. They say we had a heart outside.
Just want to make sure, yes, And I do miss
you being here like.

Speaker 1 (28:10):
A phone call away back.

Speaker 3 (28:13):
Years.

Speaker 2 (28:13):
We gotta do some fun things, you know, And are
you going to like go on tour. What's the plan
for when this project comes out later this year?

Speaker 4 (28:20):
I hope, I pray I'm going to go on tour.
It's not I hope and pray I'm going to go
on to it. But they won't let me know.

Speaker 1 (28:25):
She'd be like I go on the stage, like I'll
be right back.

Speaker 3 (28:27):
They're like did she leave, Like, oh, hold on, don't
give me no idea it was outside.

Speaker 4 (28:33):
If I be right, I don't write this. No, no,
we'll be on tour. But I just hope that people
understand and get first of all, this very first song
that comes out. Hope they get it and understand it
and feel free when they listen to it and feel
joy when they listen to it.

Speaker 2 (28:46):
It sounds amazing. It really does have a beautiful I
was like, this is I told you. I was like,
this is why does it sound like a sample of something.
I gotta ask her.

Speaker 3 (28:53):
It feels like you know it?

Speaker 1 (28:55):
Yeah, it does.

Speaker 3 (28:57):
And it was I don't know if it was intentional
or if it was just like again and I pray
about my songs, ask God for different things, and this
one was just like, I just want people to feel freedom.

Speaker 4 (29:08):
I wanted to feel joy. I wanted to feel like
they know this because they do. And to me, this
is soul work. This is this is singing to your soul.
This is singing to your joy. This isn't singing to
your this isn't caring too esthetic. This is care into
what you need, you know. So this is what that
record is about, and this whole album is about. And
I hope people get it and feeling well.

Speaker 1 (29:27):
The memory be coming out around the scenes.

Speaker 3 (29:28):
The memoir will be out next year. I'm working on that.

Speaker 1 (29:33):
I cannot wait. I noticed some real life stories. I
know it still has had a juicy life.

Speaker 4 (29:38):
Okay, I'll be quiet on the ground because for what,
But I have no idea.

Speaker 3 (29:43):
But this is the story.

Speaker 4 (29:45):
The memoir is more about the lessons I've learned and
how to use them in your life.

Speaker 3 (29:50):
Yeah. I always get asked, how do you how do
you do this. How do you do this?

Speaker 4 (29:55):
Like as an artist, you know, how how do you
go from London to the US and you're still you?

Speaker 3 (30:00):
You don't look.

Speaker 4 (30:01):
Tore up, you know, no, I get it, like you
look good and I'm like all right, man, And.

Speaker 2 (30:08):
People have to understand that you have consistently been working,
not even just on your own music, but yeah, others
do a voice getting to the money, okay.

Speaker 4 (30:17):
Get into the bikes, but also expanding my career, like
I have voiceover work. I've done features recently with Channel Trade.
We just put something else up home and me thinking
about there's so many records, so many features out right now.
Just Channel Trade did something with Theo Croker, who's a
new artist, should say that ship but a jazz artists.

Speaker 1 (30:35):
Yeah, I sell your interview, you guys had to.

Speaker 4 (30:38):
Yeah, and like a week later he was like, I
have something for us and that was exactly how it works.

Speaker 3 (30:43):
Yeah, I love that.

Speaker 4 (30:44):
So we stayed, you know, I stayed working on the
music side of it, but as and when we feel
it's right, you know, but voiceovers, acting TV.

Speaker 2 (30:53):
It's nice to do music when you feel like it,
not because it has to pay the bills. It's like
I just love it and it pays the bills. But
you know, you got to be multifaceted. I feel like,
all right, well, thank you so much, Estelle.

Speaker 3 (31:05):
For joining me.

Speaker 1 (31:06):
I'm excited to hear.

Speaker 2 (31:08):
The whole new project. We're gonna play o I. All right,
so y'all don't have to hear me do that?

Speaker 1 (31:13):
All right?

Speaker 3 (31:14):
She sounds good, She sounds good. Wea