On this week's episode of The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine welcome the multi hyphenated Jade Novah to the pod. This talented singer, songwriter, comedian, and content creator brings her infectious energy and unique perspective to the conversation, detailing her journey through the music industry.
From her early days in a girl group to her rise as an independent artist, Jade shares the highs, lows, and everything in between. She breaks down what it's really like to navigate the music business without a major label backing, and how she's managed to carve out her own path to success. Jade Novah is Now on The R&B Money Podcast!
Extended Episodes on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/RnBMoneyPodcast
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Tank: @therealtank
J Valentine: @JValentine
Podcast: @RnbMoneyPodcast
R and B Money.
We are.
Thanks take MATOCHI. We are the authority on all things R and B.
Ladies and gentlemen. Money is Tank Valentine. This it's the R and B Money Podcast. It is the authority on all things.
What it is R Yeah, yeah, yeah, we got talent in the building. Yeah, it's shining. You see, I got glasses on.
You see it is it somewhere shine? It's the gifts are in the buildings. They are Are you well rounded?
Huh hm hmmm. Do you know your chart?
Do you do you know either?
Can you do it all? Man? Don't look shy?
Sang it, sing it, write it, write it, acted, produce it, promote it.
Doing impression up, doing impression up?
Guy.
Yeah, but wait, you don't know your chart, your birth chart? Do you all know what time you were born?
Now you know what? Let's get into the interview. No, let's do it. No, listen to it. I don't know any of that.
I went for any of those women in my DMS trying to figure out my chart. I will never tell you because I don't know it.
I was the seventh baby born on January first, I don't know.
None of that was in the morning.
But you don't know what's time.
Seven seventeen.
I do know that my father caught a charge on the day I was born, because I seen his police record.
Is that does that? Did that do anything.
Significant?
Absolutely had some astrological significance.
I was just randomly looking at his rap sheet one day and I'm like, Dad, are you serious?
Man? This is my birthday?
Man trying to get to you.
He had to, you know, he ad something on him and you know he.
Got you know, yeah, a little celebratory.
No, not celebratory fireworks.
Maybe for another time, we'll discuss a gunshote.
Geez doctor goal slap, slap my son on the back.
So pull it out on. Hit him again, See what happened? Hit him again? See what happened? How you doing? J good? I just seen you.
I did. I seen you at south By Southwest talking in a little fireside chat and dropping gems.
And enough fireside chat. Shout out to Alex Haike over a sound Royalties.
Out there talking about man.
Man, we're talking about the business man and and getting into the ideas of ownership and in ways that the business can help you and find ways that people don't really know or are able to tap into it.
Sound.
Royalty is a one those places that people don't really totally understand how it helps you, how it can help you sustain your business and grow your business and all of these types of things without having to give away ownership.
You know what I'm saying. So that's where I was, you know, doing a panel, and what you're doing here is getting the penalty.
Now we have an example of independence, a clear example of independence how you can thrive dependently.
But also, like you know, I think you know, there are so many I mean, there's so many ways of skin a cat, but I think you've done it in such a way where you've led.
With your talent that analogy scared me. Do we do we have another option for skinning cats as a vegan? I find that.
Here we go, Here we go.
Peter agreed.
I mean, but but they didn't eat the cat. It just just okay, let's just get.
Their hair, cam.
Okay, So I.
Didn't eat the cat. I don't know part of it. It's getting the cat. I'm scared. I'm scared of peed. It more than one way to chop down the tree.
That's still that's not good for the environment.
All right, Okay, there's there's more than one way.
To be successful, or you could be literal that's yes, and.
You've I think I feel and I'm sure most would agree, you've let with your talent, like in a in a in a space or in a landscape where people are leading with a whole lot of other things, like what shock value? Ass you know, I'll stop there shock value and.
Ask maybe that's their talent, maybe because some people are really gifted.
But where I come from, you had to be able to sing to turn all that ship off. It'll be a sing thank god you and write a song that's a plus, but then stand on that stage and deliver that ship like nobody's business. But you're also a unicorn in the fact that you act and you do all of these comedic things and have to commit like that. Now you're now you're just showing off. Ah, Now you're just showing you're.
Don't want to talk. I told my friend I was coming out here and I was like, yeah, Tank, And like the comedian Tank, I'm like, wa, yes, yes, somebody cool.
Yes, that's really cool. One standup?
What you doing?
Stand up? Now?
I've been doing stand up?
Okay, I'm gonna have to like, I'm gonna have to pick your brain on that because I'm getting ready. I'm ready for stand up.
I'm gonna tell you there's there There is no like blueprint, Like everybody's gonna have different advice for you right in different you know.
Just do it. I know what's the worst that can happen?
I know, yeah, getting heckled, But I mean I think that's a part of the process. Like Chappelle, the most incredible storyteller comedian of our time, gets heck You.
Can rebuttle a heckle.
You're fast and witty enough to get back into It's not what you think it is.
I just can't see j being like, shut the fuck up.
Most certainly I sold the crowd during an R and B concert to shut the fuck up. If the energy isn't right, I will call it out.
Yeah, but we gotta get back to that job.
How do you tell the R and B? Because I've been to your show, Yeah, I could not imagine you in the middle of that show where it's like stars and beautiful things and lights.
I'm a Gemini. I mean, I don't know what that means to you.
I know exactly what this means.
He seems very anti astrology.
I have a daughter that's a Gemini. I know exactly what it is.
Yes, we can.
What's your day? Yeah?
May thirtieth, My daughter's May twenty six made Gemini. So when emerald gem is what I like to call us because the Burthstone, And okay.
I'm gonna tell her. You know you're an Emerald. I'm call her as soon as we fits. No, it's just I think, just literally just jump. You have the material, like, you know you're funny. You know you're funny, and so it's just discovering how funny you are in this space.
Yeah, and it trusts me.
It goes a long way when you can get on that stage.
How long have you been doing stand up though, Shah?
I started years ago? Yeah, shit, close to.
Eight nine years old, you've been doing this.
I had no idea, but I literally jumped off the roof.
Literally I had. I had never been on stage before. And Chris Spencer is getting ready to go up in Atlanta and perform.
Damn was that eight years ago?
That's more than eight years ago probably, And that was more than eight years ago, and Chris and I was like, bro, you're here in a Landa, you're going on. You're going on stage. She was like, He's like, yeah, what's up. He's liked, you want to open? I was like this, man, no, you know, I don't be doing those those things. You know what I'm saying, though, Well, well maybe, yeah, yeah, I want to open. He's like, then shut the funk up. I said no, I want to open for real. He was like, whatever, all right, just just meet me up here. I was like, all right, cool. And I sat there and I just start writing jokes right on the spot. On the spot, yeah what I thought with jokes anyway. So I start writing these jokes and these moms or whatever. And so I get there and I'm like, I'm like, I say, Chris, I'm like, yes, So what's up? So what time do I go on? He was like this, fuck are you talking about? I'm like, what time do I hit to stay?
Man?
I want to open? He's like, man, come outside. So we go outside. He's like this, are you sure about this? He's like, cause this is what you should do if you're gonna do it, say, I said, I got it. He said yeah, but this is different. Thank if you go I said, I got it. He said all right, okay.
And how many minutes did you prepare?
I prepared, Like see, that's the thing. I didn't know what minutes were. As I'm writing jokes.
I don't know back to songwriting, yes, not knowing when the hook, know that.
It was completely foreign to me. I just know I had about four or five jokes, you know what I'm saying. But I also knew that I was a storyteller, so if I needed to extend, I could just I don't make up some shit whatever. And so when I get there, there are other opening acts. I thought it was going to be me and then him, there are other comedians and when I say they are going crazy, they are fucking ship up. And I like when somebody's singing good before I go on, or performing good in the R and B space, I know what to do to combat that. Take a shirt off.
That's my method.
Yeahga's your comedy right there.
So I never I had never followed a comedian that was killing. So I said, if you could give me three patrons, just three outs, three of them, Just just line me up with three shots of patron really quick, because this thing is going crazy. I don't know what's gonna happen when I get up there, pads, patrons, He called me up to do this set, called me up do my set, and I do my set, and it's one of those things where anything that could go right went right. It was a magical moment, like literally like my my ending joke. The girl that was supposed to be participating, it was just dance she was supposed to be doing. And to make my joke even bigger, she fucked around and slipped and fell off the stage.
And I said, that's my time, good night, and everybody's laughing, going crazy like it got.
It was so crazy. Chris came on, he did it. When he started his set, he did his first fifteen minutes about me, like this motherfucking came on. So I literally jumped out the window.
That's crazy.
Almost got booed and it's inglewood, but that's a that's fine. It happened, almost got booed in front of baby Face. So I came back and said back down. Baby Face looked at me, said I took guts in baby Face fashion, right right. And then somebody went on stage after me and did a whole fifteen minutes about me and my outfit.
So listen. That's comedy.
You gotta you gotta yeah, you gotta have a lightheartedness and a thick skin.
You of all people can do stand up.
Okay, say I received it.
And you've got when you go up, I'm.
Coming absolutely not. You will do it like anonymously.
How about we do it together? Okay, okay, we just picked we just we pick a spot. We'll go somewhere on lancashim or.
Go or maybe seasoned.
I'm not.
I'm not season jumping together.
Just nobody. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not known as a comedian.
Clearly you are because when I told someone I was that, somebody said, tank to comedian, the comedian, let's do it together.
You have way more comedic hours than I do. I know. That's for a fact.
Okay, I have some material. Let's let's yeah listen.
And then you have the trump card when you go into that person.
Impersonations, it's a rap.
Yeah, yeah, it is a rap.
That's the that's the it's number one love and comedy impersonations. No, I can do a couple, but they're I'm like, great, can I hear him?
No? But who do you do?
Though?
Just so I know, who's your who can you impersonate?
I do Quincy Jones?
I could, I could already imagine that you would do that.
Well, I stole that from Jamie. I do Quincy Jones, and uh, that might be it.
Quincy Jones is really big on horoscopes too. I met him and he asked what my sign was. Yes, Devin, my husband with his sign was that's a thing for him.
You know, quiz is different. Okay, all right, so let's do this. Let's go at the beginning. Yeah, let's start at the beginning, all right, the early Jade is it?
Jade? Nova isn't isn't birth name?
That is not my birth name. That is my given name.
Okay, gave it to you. Let me get so, where does Jaye Novah come from?
Well, Jade, I'm really into like stars, and I'm really into crystals and all that, and Jade is like the stone that represents femininity and love. And and then Nova I'm into the cosmos and Nova is an exploding star. So I just put those two together and then added in h at the end, because why went not you?
That is really cool? Tank stellar tank cutless Nova.
This guy.
Well played.
The beginning. Let's go back to oh Hire Cleveland.
From Cleveland, Ohio, born and raised, born and raised.
I have one question. Do you know Tasha?
I mean, of course Cleveland.
I just need to know if you know Tasha.
I don't know her person.
I always wanted to meet Tasha.
Maybe you guys should have her on the shows.
How you have to listen to that, to to those few bars, like really listen to them to understand how trap those.
Bars you're talking about Tasha's bar.
Absolutely, they literally say, hey, come here, come here, come here, get Tasha, come sing. Just just just sing that we hear you know what I'm saying, Just sing that ship all right?
Literally just that. And she definitely had a beard in her hand.
Yeah, probably shout.
So in the beginning, where does this love for music come from? Where? Did? Where? Where do you find this?
I mean? I grew up in a musical family. Like my dad, he plays guitar, he plays keys, and he sings, and he was in a rock band when he was younger. Actually, so I grew up listening to a lot of rock and roll. And my mother just loved Broadway musical She had like all the Broadway musicals on vinyl, and yeah, my sisters sing, So that was just sort of a love language in our house, Like we just sang like kind of like the Black Partridge Family, well, the Jackson Puff. I don't know why I said the Black Partners because there's clearly an option for that. But yeah, we were like just a musical family.
And was it was it church related or it was.
Just more so not so much church related. That came a little later in life, but yeah, just singing around. Pe would go to nursing homes and perform. My dad would write songs and me and my sister would sing in a way. So I've always been singing. That's always been That's always been my singing lead. Oh I was. I was definitely the Beyonce of the group. She was, Yeah, she was.
And is your sister? Does she still sing with you?
No, both my sisters did at the time, and no, neither one of them do.
No.
One's a nurse and one is a full time mother of six.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, she spent her time raising that family.
She was listening to the R and B clearly.
Yeah. So when was the separation though for you where you were like this could be a career for me or someone identified you as just being different than everybody else.
Well, I was in a girl group and it started off with my sisters actually, and then they went off and started doing their own thing, and then the woman who was managing us at the time just started bringing in different girls. I mean, I feel like they were probably over the because I was in this girls group from the time I was like eight years old to eighteen years old.
What.
Yeah, And in that whole time, there was probably about twelve girls who came and win. I was the only one who stayed in that whole time.
So that was my name in the group change or was it the same name?
The total package for ten years for ten years.
Yeah, and they just kept repackaging. That's good. I mean they were trying, you.
Know, yeah, yeah, they were trying to find the right Yeah. But that was that was my I guess you would say church or boot camp and sort of learning how the industry worked and learning how to record in the studio. That's pretty much all we did was record demos in the studio. And yeah, so ten years of my childhood and Cleveland in Cleveland.
Yep, did you guys perform anywhere?
Very rarely? We did. We did showcases around like Gerald LeVert, he was I wouldn't say he was a part of it, but he definitely supported and like whenever he had things would allow us to come and sing, and we recorded at Trouble, which was his studio in Cleveland on ninety third and way shout out. But yeah, Joe Little like a lot of those he produced some of my first records when I was when I was a kid, Joe was that guy. Yeah, he's so talented.
Man.
There's so much in Cleveland and these are the guys that I was learning from and just working with as a kid and in the studio almost every day.
Yeah, that's crazy. Eight to eighteen yep.
And then I hated it. I didn't like the way.
They hated singing. I had like, what part about it did you hate?
But the industry was different back then, you know, like there was no social media and it was just this goal to get signed to a major label. You know, there was really only one sort of trajectory to find success at that time, and so everything that kind of went along with it, especially being in a group, because the group was very much you know, manufactured, like how most groups were, where everyone kind of had this role that they played that was kind of predetermined. And since I'm a kid, like I didn't really know myself enough to know who I was and how I wanted to show up. I wasn't writing anything. I wasn't picking out my clothes. I didn't name the group clearly because I wouldn't have went with total package, no shape. But I'm just saying like I just didn't have any creative control whatsoever and that and so I didn't like that part. I didn't like feeling like I had to be this sort of intriloquis dummy to do my art, you know, carrying out someone else's vision and it's coming out in my mouth.
Like.
I didn't like that. So I stopped as soon as I turned eighteen. I quit the group because I could, and honestly I tried to before, but they wouldn't let me leave.
Who wouldn't let you leave?
Child? Don't get me in trouble.
You couldn't leave the group?
No, I tried, and then they tried to sue my family.
What.
Yeah, I tried to leave. They would not let me runder contract. It's a little dark, maybe we won't.
Go there, but having an understanding too though, of what you get your kids into. Yeah, you know what I mean, Like this is an important part of this business as well as far as you know, just even from the contractual state of you know, what you signed off for, Yeah, what you signed or signed up? Sign up for or sign off either one.
Right.
I think sometimes people, you know, they see the dream and maybe not fully see all the things that come along with that, or you know, have a you know, shit, we would have to have a crystal ball in a sense to you know, because people turn to right, we all know that, like everything seems sweet until you're in it, and then they're like, oh, well this is how it is. And since you're in the contract.
And I've invested so much in you, you can't leave.
Yeah.
And I was again also the only girl who did sign the contract, which is why all the other people were coming and going oh wow. And I had no choice, Like I was literally forced in some instances to be a part of this.
So did you ever think of like at that point, before you're eighteen, I'm just like, all right, well I'm just not going to sing it all anymore.
Well that's pretty much what it came to. And I did stop, like even after I got out of the contract, I was like, I don't want to do this anymore, because this is all I knew of the industry to be, was that I had to carry out someone else's mission and you know, sort of submit to everyone else and what they wanted for me. And so I started writing that's that's really well. Actually I went through a period of just I went to college. I just didn't Most people who knew me at the time didn't even really know that I sang or had ambitions for it, Like I was just going to school, like I would do talent shows and stuff, but it wasn't like a true ambition. And then do you guys know Yanni the producing ya you know I have made I've made some YouTube videos around that time. I just played around and he saw it and I was like, Yo, you're in Cleveland, like come and like reference some stuff for us. We have this this writing camp called the Skeleton crew Man and like just come reference and I was like you know what, and he's like, well, i'll pay you. I'm like, don't pay me, just let me write too, cause I've never been given the opportunity to do that. Like I've always been carrying out someone else's songs and singing other people you know, I'm sorry, singing other people's song and carrying out other people's visions. So he was like cool. So he just started giving me tracks. And I was trash at first, but he just believed in me and just gave me the space. And I was driving to Cleveland from I went to Kent State at the time, and I would drive that hour to Yanni's studio and write and just really work at it. And I became so passionate about it, and I started falling in love with it and again and realizing like, Okay, I can do this if I have control over it, you know, and get to be creative and take up space. You know. I fell in love with it, and that was really the thing that shifted my trajectory again and falling in love with music again was Yanni was Oh God. The first song I wrote with Yanni was called oh God, I don't know. There's so many trash ones that there were so many no I have And I found like a little drive the other day that had all those songs, and I'm like, wow, he really had vision because it was trash.
I was trash. I listened to my early tracks like.
That processes is real.
That process is real, and it's you know, and it's also a testament to the people who stay, who stay in it right, because nobody's first song or their first track or you know, the first thing that they do really sounds good ultimately, you know what I mean, You're trying to get to somewhere. It's so funny when you see people and they're like, yeah, that's the first song I ever did.
I don't really be believing.
It depending on how the age.
Well, I mean tanks first stand up, he kneeled, so I guess it's possible.
That was definitely luck. That was That was also to I think with.
It might have been his first time going on stage, but it wasn't his first time kind of preparing.
His mind to right.
I'm talking about the first time you put into paper and decide I want to try to write a song, saying that's your first my first time ever. I had never written a song before, and I wrote the greatest level of all.
No, you didn't did not write that song, you know what I mean?
So that part, you know, I'll be listening, but I'll be in my head.
I'm like you, But I love that process, so with figuring it out and then watching how over time it got better and better better, like it was, it was therapeutic.
I loved it.
I love it.
You have this pub deal now now you have some freedom, and you found your man.
I did you know what I'm saying?
And that's and that's gotta be cool too, and yeah, even in a in a creative space like that's gotta be really.
Because you definitely married like one of the most talented people I've ever met.
I did, because you know, we worked with him.
Wait when years ago before I want to say, maybe before y'all even.
Were married, probably yeah, probably, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, Devin's so he was like.
Yeah, that guy's really talented.
Yeah, and he's he doesn't even like to say that he sings, and it bothers me, like when he goes and talks about the things that he's done, he rarely acknowledges the fact that he's also a vocalist and very cool one.
Yeah yea like Simpson.
Yeah, yeah, I'll take it. Yeah, that's babe.
That's so.
Did you guys immediately become a writing and production.
Team pretty much? Yeah, like the first time we got in the session together and I do remember the name of the song we did. It was called cat Got Your Tongue. It was very nasty, and he was just.
About, yeah, well that's the bring it on back, bring it on back, and sometimes they got to get.
Skinned a.
Tchet, but yeah, he I just thought he was a writer because he did a co write with me. But then I discovered all of the layers and any talents of Devin Johnson and I'm like, yo, I want to work with you. And he's honestly who inspired me to want to be an artist because I.
Was not an artist at this point.
I was just writing and I had no desire to be an artist whatsoever. And he's like, you're crazy. He's like, no one's going to sing these songs like you like, let's do this, Let's do something. And he inspired me to start the solo stuff. He's like, you already have some stuff on YouTube, Like let's just keep going from there. And that was the vision, Like we'll do some covers, I'll reproduce them. You don't have to like all of the anxieties that I had around being an artist, like oh, the control or the label. He's like, nah, we could do this independent like that was always the goal. He's like, we're gonna own this. Let's just do this thing. Because he had come from being an artist. He was signed to Motown and he was able to get out of his deal. So we both had similar experiences and just kind of switched roles and he's like, I know it from this perspective, you know it from that perspective. Let's bring all of our knowledge together and like do something that hasn't been done and like just really take advantage of social media. And so he would reproduce the covers that we would do. We were very strategic about trying to do songs that didn't have music videos yet, and then we would put them out first and we would go viral like that was the That was the formula.
So if y'all found a song that was cracking but they didn't have no video to.
It, yeah you was the video to it, do it.
And we would play official video and get it. So it was Rihanna Diamonds came out and he he heard it. He sent we gotta do this right now. So we hurried up and did it and shot a video like two days later and put it up and then had like thirteen million views and it was on Rolling Stone like everything, like it was a whole thing.
Did y'all ever get a cease and desist?
No? No, I mean there are covers and it's YouTube, and YouTube was still like not what it is now, like where they can take your things down, but you're still.
Like cutting into the to the market.
Share million light.
Yeah.
It was kind of crazy. Yeah, I mean the video wasn't the greatest, but it was what.
I mean, you're just tapping into the to the early connection of that song and people just wanting to see it or hear it wherever it is.
Yeah, and they're like, I came in for Rihanna, but I kind of fuck with it.
Yeah.
So yeah, that was the formula to call you.
Well.
I ended up singing back from for Rihanna, not mainly because of.
That, but I mean she knew you knew the words your part last time, you know your damn part. Right, here's a there's a question I have for you.
Because here's a question I have for you because a lot of times.
Producers get accused.
Of using their their their gifts, and their their songs to romanticize.
A woman. We get accused of this. They only want to do a late night session because I'm a girl. How did he How did he sway.
You we should do a late night session?
Cats?
Absolutely it was me. Yeah, Devin wasn't really interested in me.
No, it was you. I take that shot.
Sometimes I did and it didn't work. It didn't go so well. What do you mean he rejected me? He did the first time.
Yeah, I think we should just really focus on I think we should really focus on the music in the business.
And it wasn't even that. I think he was like talking to someone at the time, and he was just like, I just want to see He was just so honest, you know, because she didn't even live in Atlanta. He's like, I just want to kind of see where it's going. And didn't go anywhere, and I waited, We'll see how that plays, just keeping quirky.
Did you break out your crystals on him?
I didn't. I wasn't super I wasn't there quite yet. I mean I guess I was because I was starting the J and Over thing. But it's almost like the name chose me, because then I started to sort of become a lot more to those things as time went on, like so Yeah, I didn't. I didn't put any spells on him yet, but yeah I did. It didn't take long.
Wow, that man be out here producing and mixing and writing and playing musical. I love it.
I call him the husband because he played.
Really good the Husbandand have you seen the show live?
No, I went.
I went to see the show live. It's really cool they got. They put together a really dope show. You guys put together a really really dope yank you.
Thank you. Yeah. Storytelling has always been a big passion for both of us, so just the synergy, it just made sense.
Yeah. Yeah, so let's get to Jay Novak. Yeah, let's get there.
And in the first project, your first outing, building, your first moment, what went into that.
It's all blue, right, the first Yes, the first project really just from the years of doing covers and like mixtapes and things like that over the years. It took a while. I think it was twenty eighteen, so literally six years after we had been working to put out the project. But yeah, it was. We had moved to it to LA in that time, so like twenty fifteen, we moved to LA and that's when our minds just started changing and we started unlearning a lot of things and just kind of being around more like minded people. LA changed some things for me, and All Blue was like the manifestation of that change in me, which is why I was saying, like I think I kind of became Jay Nova like in that time that I was in LA, Like really yeah, transformed and All Blue was just the embodiment of that for sure.
And how do you feel like it was received?
It was really well received. It debuted number two independently on the iTunes. Is it really well? Is it really really well? And I'm really proud of it. That's my baby. All Blue is probably my favorite project still to this day.
So for you guys now going into the space of releasing your own music, can you give us a little bit of insight of how that went right?
Being your own.
Label rocess, putting your own money up like you know, because everybody yells independent, everybody yells independent or you know what I should or shouldn't do, but they don't really know all the things that go into that. Being your own publicist, your own marketing department, figuring out content. Can you give us a little bit of insight, you know, just did you guys put together a budget starting off, or were you just like, you know, whatever come in we putting toward this.
Yeah, we were really winging it early on, like I And it's funny because we went to your fireside chat at south By Southwest where you were talking about if you knew what you know now then, like about setting up a business and like really putting things into place to really run your stuff like a true business. You know. I wish that I had known what I knew now then because we were just kind of winging it, and we were taking advantage of more non traditional ways to get visibility. So like the covers for example, or my comedy for example, which is another thing that Devin sort of encouraged me to do, like yo, it's all going to feed itself. Because I'm thinking, like, okay, well if I do comedy, are people going to be able to take music seriously? But He's like, not, like it's a thing, like it's all you, it's authentic. Just keep showing up, like you know, authentically. And so those were the things that gave us the visibility, that gave us this social following for people to just organically want to tap into the music. But we did do a distribution deal with the first project, so we went through Empire, so we had help on that front, so it wasn't like we were, you know, doing it alone. Yeah, and Tina had just come on at the time, so yeah, it was we had help and we had set it up in a way to where we had already done. Some of the project was done, the album was done, the like, everything was ready to go. They were just there to really just help us handle more of the administrative things that you were talking about, like the PR.
And the marketing.
So yeah, though we were independent, we definitely had that help with the distribution. But yeah, I think now though I'm more we're more in a space of doing things completely independently, you know, like where we're handling our own budget allocations and marketing and running ads and more of the business side of things that I would have loved for us to have done back then because then we would have you know, we've all been ours at the time. But you know, you live, you learn.
And what was your standout Your standout track from this from.
From the new project, from All Blue Blue, I mean, I think the most popular one was All Blue, but my favor it was Cosmic Love Into it, Yes, cosmically was that purposely done?
What now for you to find that space in music for you?
Right?
Because they have you know, people have toxic music, people have you know, people have you know, nasty music, people have cosmic music.
You know what I mean? Like, but what's that what you sought after?
Like, okay, you know what I want to make my projects and my music about this.
I want to put this into the songs.
Absolutely, that was the intention by this At this point, Devin and I were already married, I think three years when the project came out, and I saw the beauty of partnership. I saw healthy, a healthy love that I honestly had never experienced before. And so, like you said, the narrative in music is this divisive mindset, like especially hip hop and some R and B. You know right now, it's not promoting black love. It's just it's very angry, and I'm like, no, we need to show and we need to be a light in this industry that doesn't have much of that. So it was very much intentional to be to be cosmic, to be a light, to be high vibrational, like that's that's always been the goal because it's authentic to who we are and music there is like a spell, you know, the things that you say over and over and over again. Lyrics are like mantras. And I just didn't want to be responsible for poisoning anyone with something that is low vibrational or that leads to their brokenness.
Yeah, that wasn't and also isn't you it is? Yeah, you know what I mean. I'm not saying that isn't you like giving them something that you know, because there are artists who are just they sign up for what they sign up for, and they whatever the song is, like it's a hit record, they're gonna sing it.
Yeah. Nah, I will say no with the quickness. But I guess that's the advantage of being able to write your own stuff, right, you know, and not having to because that's what it would have been for me if I had continued in that group and stayed, you know, living under someone else's mission.
But you also have to decide what you're willing to live with too, Yeah, because you know, it may be it may be lucrative to sing this song that's outside of your existence in a sense, but for you, it's like, I mean, I'd rather live and die with me sure, and that's a hard decision to make.
Well, I guess it depends on what you want out of it, you know, Like my idea of success has changed over the years, and I am My idea of success is only doing the things that make me happy. I don't have to be at a Beyonce level of visibility for me to feel like I've arrived. I feel like I've arrived because I have found my tribe and I'm able to be authentic. That matters so much more to me than having something that might be universally accepted. But I'm miserable singing it all the time. Like if I'm not happy, then what's the point even if I do have this, you know, from the outside looking in crazy level of success, like is it really success?
Listen, the greatest mindset but not normal.
You don't think now, like in this day and age with all these independent creatives, that.
That is I think that.
I think that as I think that because there's so much more money and independence, people are willing to do anything to get the money. Now they haven't like nobody's zoned in on the Oh this is me. People have zoned in on oh this is where the bag is and so that's been the excuse for people doing everything. But look at my bag, though, people will throw that out.
Fast, like what kind of things were they? Like, where are they getting this bag from?
I'm curious, I mean from streaming, I mean from YouTube, from streaming, from listen, big business, from fortune. Five hundred companies have bought into the ratchet. You you can get sponsorship, but the bullshit.
Absolutely that's crazy.
And see I always looked at it like music wasn't really the cash cow. Like music, of all the things that I do, I probably make the least for music unless it's touring. You know. I think brand deals are just again like more of the business of what we've created and not looking cause yeah, that's where the mindset shift came for me. Like there was a time where I'm like, oh, I'm an artist, I must be mysterious, and you know, all these antiquated ideas of what it is to be an artist and not really understanding where we're shifting to. And so a lot of people hurt themselves by still trying to perpetuate that same idea of what it is to be an artist. And all I'm only going, you know, I don't need TikTok or social media. I'm just going to post a couple of times and do X, Y and Z, and it's like, okay, cool, you can do that, or you can take the ego out of it and figure out how to make an actual business out of what you do. And there are so many moving parts, and if you were doing anything, you have to do some things that you don't necessarily love. And I don't mean like in an integrity sake. I just see as far as the work you know to get where you have to go, and a lot of people don't want to do it, which is why a lot of people end up just signing deals because they can just be a vessel for someone else's agenda. And I just I can't do that shit.
You're preaching now, Yeah, you're preaching them you talk to talk. I can't, Yeah, because what you're saying should be followed. In my opinion, even if you do decide to do a deal somewhere, that's fine, but you have to do the work. You gotta do the work if you really and truly believe it in your artistry and you want the world to see it. When all these things are going on and everything that's going on in the world posting that one time, unless I won't say in case, but unless that's just you know who you are, and that's fine, But you can't expect these results to come from that type of work ethic.
And you can't just rely on social media either. You have to build a community, and you have to get their emails, and you have to get their phone numbers, and you have to not only rely on social media because social media might not be here one day. It's about the connection and for people who are anti social media and doing all the things that they have to do to get there. It's like before social media, people had to go out and do shows and ghrind you know what I mean, Like there was there's always a hustle. There is always going to be something that you have to do if you really want to do it. And nowadays, even with some of my major label peers, like you know, they still have to do that stuff too. And then the labels move reactively, so you still got to do it whether or not you have a label behind you or not, so you may as well do it. Everything is changing and now they're literally waiting on you. So if you if what are you doing it for? So that's why I asked that question, like what are you? What are you doing it for?
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, let's get to the second album.
Sure stages.
I love stages.
Yeah yeah, thank you?
That. Uh you were wild for somebody's.
Son again, something that's going on in social media and making a song out.
Of it, somebody's son. I was like, oh, somebody's son.
Oh god, no, not today, but yet that was a I think that was my real introduction to that project.
Man, you know what I mean.
I was like, Oh, she's dope up, thank you, like really really good. And and I don't like there's no like with your projects, like in listening to your projects, like there's no fall off, there's no saying where where you know there's there's not a whole lot behind her, whereas you consider a major project versus an independent project, like your project is your project is competing in fighting for real space. You know what I'm saying sonically lyrically Like you know what I'm saying. He's talking about the shows. I haven't been to show. I want to go. But if he say it's a show, it's definitely show because he don't he don't go to shows.
Yeah, yeah, I bought March too. Maybe you signed my T shirt? He don't do that, No, I don't.
So it's got to be a thing. If you got the Valentine. I was in there away to stay away.
With all the cool lights. Yeah, they ain't even have my size in March. You know what all y'all got left?
Is it?
Okay? She's been sending a lot of merch out here. Okay, cool, give me the two X. It's fine. It's fine, Taylor, It's fine. And what did you learn?
What or what more did you learn coming from your first project to your second project that you felt it.
Was more useful. I learned.
That this really is a business. I don't even know how much I want to get into what happened exactly, but it was a very pivotal time for me. I had started doing radio. Actually, I was hosting a morning show on V one O three in Atlanta. Sure it was. It was an experience.
Oh yeah, but uh huh.
I love Ready such a man man, he's a good guy man. He took a chance on me, and you know, it was a It was an interesting time because I was learning a lot about myself. I wasn't really prepared for that world quite yet and balancing still doing my artistry. Like you have to wake up at three thirty every day, three thirty camera ready, be there?
Oh yeah, okay, alright.
Three thirty, be there at four ish to prep and then I'm prepping with shade room articles like all this low vibrational stuff. I mean, I get it, I understand, but it just was so opposite of what I normally consume and how I move about my day. And then you know, I have to be there until like noon, and then I was touring on the weekend and it was a lot. It was a lot, and I it was it was meant like my mental health was dwindling. I was holding on by like like it was. It was rough so in that my output wasn't as great as it should have been. It was taking me a really long time to get the project together, and ultimately, like Empire, myself decided to part ways, which was really difficult for me because now I'm out here by myself. Like I literally found out the day before somebody's son was supposed to come out that I had already gotten the song done and the artwork and everything, and They're like, m no, just kind of let me and try with this project. And then I'm like, okay, cool, I can do this myself. I figured it out. We spent so much money. We're doing a tour behind it, invested so much money and time into it. I ended up leaving the station because I just could and I didn't have the capacity. And then the day before we were supposed to go on tour, the world shut. Now, yeah, it was a rough time. So I learned that regardless of all these things going on, that business is still going to operate as business, whether your mental health is able to keep up or not. And yeah, it was a really hard lesson, but we still put out the project independently, like without anyone else, and it debuted number one that time.
Come on.
Completely independent. Well all the obstacles that we had gone through, and it was a lot of them, but we still put it out and it you know, the tour didn't get to happen, But that time during quarantine allowed me the opportunity to really just kind of revamp, learn more about myself, you know, and just be more prepared.
Where were you Where were you doing quarantine?
And Atlanta? Thank god? Yeah, thank god it was Atlanta. We had just moved back for the radio show. Actually, what timing it was perfect time.
It was in Atlanta, Like cool, who's quarantine? Ya? Y'all? Shut down? You shut y'all. We might shut it down, but got down.
I don't know, no nigga name quarantine, nigga Nick come around here and niggas gonna be up. Nigga, Tell me I was that house down Atlanta strip clubs? Wow, wide open? That's actually where I caught COVID. Yeah, almost died.
I don't know.
Do you do anything?
Are you able to do anything pivotal like during Quarantine with this project to to get the noise and the buzz going for it.
Honestly, I started to shift more into comedy at that got your I I had got my agent reached out because SNL reached out, and they asked me to audition. And they were like, would she audition because I know she does music? Is this even a passion? We've seen some of her videos? And I'm like, absolutely, I would. And it was a very interesting process, especially because it was during COVID. But yeah, I did the audition. I auditioned twice and then I made it to test week and I made it down to the final eight people like I was very close to getting on that particular season and it didn't end up happening. But I'm actually grateful that it didn't. It it affirmed me in that, Okay, this is definitely a space that I need to be. I mean, I knew it, but you know, like it was it was the conference and I'm like, cool, this did it? You know what I'm saying. So I'm like, this is I want to really focus this time on this. And because it's more self contained, you know, we were just shooting stuff at home and I created it was called the Real Divas Series where I was like impersonating all these different divas Beyonce and Erica and they were in the house with COVID and it was just so can.
You go from one to the other just quick?
Quick? Quick? Yeah?
Like like or do you need time to like how does that?
How does that go? Oh?
God, I don't know. I don't know. I've never had like a rapid fire.
Yeah, we could try, you know, I'm just saying, is that how you do it?
Like?
Are you?
Yeah?
No, I'm not saying you.
I mean, like you would like to, but I know I don't have one of them type of show.
Yeah, nigga dance.
No, okay, even though the people in the comments be pretty much saying nigga dance, We're not like that.
I mean, I do one character at a time. I do, I do one character at a time. But that was that was the time when I was really honing in on it and yeah, just building it. And it supported the music too, because our numbers started going crazy just from these sketches that we were making, and so people were then going and listening to the music because ain't nobody else had antybody had shit to do, you know. So it was just that was what was starting to take more of the focus, was just the writing and the comedy.
Here's a question, were you monetizing that?
Oh abso freaking.
Where did you.
Find it that there were more opportunities during that time?
It's for that content, Yeah there was. And even in the music side, like I feel like I did so many virtual shows that I was getting crazy bad.
He would do virtual He didn't want to do it, and I was.
I was singing right in front of no one. I was, and I was, and I was getting the bread, I was look collecting the checks.
I did one you didn't like it. I did, but I did it with my band, so that was the only way I would do it. I was like, man, I guess somebody gotta be in the room, bro.
I mean I had my husband, you know, he was with me doing the stuff.
Yeah, but I was just like my wife and my kids just sitting there looking at me like doing it.
I was like, I don't want to do that.
And then my music is like sexual in nature, you know what I'm saying, Like, Yeah, just take my shirt off by myself.
That's fun.
Just be like rubbing all on me.
Slur ya could have been myself, I feel it.
But we did the Woman with the band, Donna, Keith Sweat's House, Uh, the Slash Studios Slash, uh Slash, Slash.
Slash Slash. It was crazy.
It was really dum yeah fun, but you know your comedy was going crazy.
It was a hilarious.
That's why I'm like, you got the ultimate trump card when it comes to stand up, Like dialing into these these characters is just gold. Like you know, with like Jamie Fox, you're putting yourself on that kind of level.
That's the goal. That's the goal. And even in the show that Jay saw like if the show feels like a variety show. So we would go in and out of I mean not necessarily stand up, but kind of sort of just fun moments, and I would do the impersonations and you know, telling a story from beginning to end. So it was already there. It's just stand up.
Is man.
It's the same.
And you actually are going to be You're you're better prepared for stand up because you already work the stage.
You have the cheek.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, I will take my shirt up and sing a minute.
Say.
They would that would have saved you? That wouldn't have saved you. No, I wasn't there. Thanks, don't make no money from comedy song. It was already.
I see you when you get back to know I've been to a gang government. I actually haven't been to a gang government. And he's funny and I'm his real friend, like we have I'm like cheap.
That was too far. We still got to sell some n B.
You what do you talk about in your stand up? Like, just give me an example, like.
I really go through like my family life. You know what I'm saying, like like like my wife, my kids, you know what I'm saying, I really tell those stories. You know what I'm saying, tell you know, tell some music stories. You know what I'm saying. I got comedy that I do from the piano, got musical songs that are like, you know what I'm saying, I gotta, I gotta.
I got a.
Song called trash. We're talking about a woman's almost vagina.
And it's called track.
It's called I'm.
Gonna need some context.
We still got to sell R and B music, this nigga tripping, and that's the conversations that we had.
But it was in the joke space. It worked.
I'd be having reminded me still tanks, not on R and B stage, So I needless to say, I cut that joke out of.
It went over very well. But we still got records.
And you don't think you could from from that because that's only a specific person.
I have enough jokes to where I didn't need to take a chance with that one.
That's fair.
So I was like, you know, let me not. You know, women in here like me, so my trigger, my trigger. So this nigga told.
Me, all right, so now let's focus. You have an album out now.
The great singers.
I can't that's not how no one does. I mean not people do, haven't.
I don't know? The mine is all.
That was great, But yes, new album Who It Is?
It described this process because it's got to be different from the first two.
You've lived, you've.
Learned, yes, and now you're talking about where I did, and now you're come on, now.
Come on, where have I been? It is a concept album. It's like combining storytelling and contemporary R and B music. So it's a love language origin story. It's a journey to self love. So it goes back to my childhood and my dad has not been very verbal about love or words of affirmation. He wasn't like, oh I'm a pretty good my baby girl. That just wasn't his give. And I'm coming to find out that's a lot of people from that generation didn't really know how to verbalize love in that way. But that's kind of how my love language became words of affirmation because I didn't get it from him, so I was looking for it in all these other people. So it goes on this journey of how I navigated my relationships with sort of this kind of baseless thing of oh, if you tell me you love me or if you tell me that I'm pretty, then that's enough to make a relationship work and not you know, action behind it. And so ultimately I learned how to use words of affirmation to affirm myself and that's why it becomes this sort of self love journey. And I have really really amazing features on this project because I wrote it out like a script. I wanted it to feel like visuals through sound, and I wanted the project to be something that you could immerse yourself in and not have to have a screen like you know people are. We're in the age of where the visuals. I'm want the visual system. It's like, nah, let the music. It's supposed to be an audio experience, you know, when we come away from that so much and everyone's just kind of distracted by all the ass you speak of and all the smoke and mirrors that we've discussed.
You know, no I've spoken of.
As No, not you speaking of ass.
You talk about how you can.
He's somebody for promotions, promotional promotional, only for promotional use.
But like you know, just visuals have become such an expectation and I wanted people to really be able to immerse themselves and hear the music and feel like they were in my world. And so yeah, that was the intent. And Wayne Brady played my dad on it, which is really cool. I just always by Leslie Junior played my love interest. He played Miles. Tony Baker played my boss.
Tony Baker is absolutely I heard him on it. I was like this, he is so stupid. He'll be trying to be funny and he.
Just his voice voice. He literally has just one of those voices that he could say anything.
Yeah, it's a gift either look funnier or sound funny.
And luckily he just signed and he just sounded nice guy. He's a speaking guy. Well he doesn't. He said that he don't like to say that he is because the people have a really high expectation for him. If you ever ate a cookie that wasn't He just don't want that pressure.
The god you got, I don't want that pressure.
I just want to be able to just eat it with no nobody looking for just the morsel.
You the morsels are really good, so you press.
No, I don't. I just I just did that just now.
That was really good.
But I was working on much of him he's working on. I watched that food all.
So, yeah, that's dope because when it came on, I was listening to like the narration in this story and you did the job.
And yeah, another vegan, Tabitha Brown plays my favor are vegans? Ken Dixon another vegan.
I'm just saying, are you I saw and I don't know what he ates? Are you telling them? No, I'm just saying I saw can be a vegan snitch.
Bro Listen, First of all, if you're gonna say I don't want.
To I don't want to see you, why can't you? No, you can go to Noble. You can go to Noble. They got great Bigan options and Noble I can attest to that. Yeah, are you recruiting vegans? Is that going on?
Is that the Is that why I'm not a part of this project?
You did not?
I did?
When you don't?
No, I did. I reached out. I wanted you to be in it. You reach out to who I haven't reached out to?
Jay, you're not vegan.
He's like, look, I'm not going there, but yeah I did. I wanted you to be on it. I did.
I won't miss the next one.
Okay, yeah, but that's the project.
And I'll go vegan while I do my part.
You'll be planting based during the product.
I've gone vegan.
Okay, how long what's the longest you've done shoot?
I went vegan. I was doing vegan for maybe like six seven months.
And then I just and then I went and then I went with vegetarian for a while, then pescatarian, and then and then when I started training, I felt like I felt like pause. I felt on my body was crying out for crying out for meat. Pause again. I just feel like it needed.
To your body was crying out for me.
No, you can't do that. Once I paused. Okay, once I pause, we got to get out of there. And it's just like, because I'm training twice a day, so I felt like I needed that kind of protein.
I got you pause again.
So so that was kind of like, but I still I still dabbling vegan food, raw food, like I had I had a raw chef that I would call and she would make dope raw dishes for me and bring them over.
Like all of that.
Stuff living foods down here before.
No where is that.
It's downtown. We stopped there on the way here. It's incredible wild living. They figured that ship out. It's amazing. They have raw burgers.
But why it's all the way downtown, I don't know.
It's amazing, it's worth it. It's worth that's where the vegans go.
No, it's a vegan spot right up here Crossroads.
And Crossroads is everything and was holly Oh they opened up. They did open up a new local.
I think it's Court Kardashian and.
Yeah, yeah, I think it's Travis Barkers.
Yea, yeah. They full vegan, like given her supplements, all that stuff, all vegan. So they're heavy.
They could have been on the album.
They could have you get Travis boy. I know you're gonna get it next time. I know.
How.
So, how are you feeling about the movement of this both this project?
So I'm feeling really great about it, I am. I think just there's a lot of relatability with that self love journey and sort of that vulnerability and talking about therapy and just sort of you know, falling in love with yourself is something that a lot of people can relate to. Even the story I was telling you with my dad and him not being able to verbalize love. There have been so many people who've been reaching out and just telling me like yo, like this has inspired me to go into therapy or just inspire me to have these conversations, and you know, cause really it's about accountability too. And like Wayne and I have a duet on the project that's called Maybe It's Me. It's a father daughter duet which I hadn't really heard too much of in R and V. And everything's usually romantic love or friendship, but this duet between a father and her daughter just saying, you know, at some point, I can no longer blame you for the way I show up in my relationships because you were doing the best that you could. Now it's up to me to be the change in myself so that I can show up and be in more healthy relationships. And so yeah, people were like, I'm gonna have a conversation with my father, I'm gonna have a conversation with my mother. And then I released a self love workbook that's sort of a companion to the album to give people a space to sort of write their own stories and to kind of like do their own healing and work. It's got like inner child activities and self love activities and then just journal prompts based off of the songs from the project. So I'm really falling in love and embracing this like healing wellness space that's sort of organically come from this project.
Wow.
Yeah, it's been beautiful.
And it's completarly one percent independent it is.
Yeah, what's the name of the label?
Oh, Let there be Arts, you know, because we are creators. Let there be Art, and you know, it's Devin and I's company, and we're actually getting ready to launch an indie collective, like an initiative to help empower other independent artists. So that what we were talking about, right, like creating that blueprint because a lot of people don't know the business of being an independent artist and they get overwhelmed by publishing. There's so much money that is out there that people are not collecting. I'm just saying, there's so many things that we have learned along the way over the course of doing these three projects and just sort of creating a blueprint for people to be able to focus on the creative and not have to worry about all of the nuances and getting your publishing and getting your songs registered. Like there are people who are doing this at a very high level who are independent artists who didn't even know that they could how to upload their music to DSPs. A really good friend of mine pay is giving someone ten or fifteen percent of their publishing because they put the music on the DSP and I'm like, you don't got to do that. There's better ways, like you know, and so just really giving them the tools and then also creating a wellness initiative. We're starting a residency down in Atlanta called Spaces where it's gonna feel like, you know, it's for independent creatives, but it's also going to be a space where we have speakers coming in and teaching financial literacy or mental health. You know, we're gonna do yoga and stretching in mindfulness because it's holistic at the end of the day, because I learned that when I went through my depression trying to you know, navigate all these things and not really take care of myself first. That's important. So to be successful, it has to be holistic. And so I'm really excited about launching that through our company Let There Be R and really just giving other independent artists a blueprint because we don't have it and we don't have to go through the major label route. They make it so hard. We were just talking about that too. You know, they make it hard to figure out how to do it yoursel self, and it shouldn't have to be that hard. It's all there be giving you the information.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Did you know that when you were in total package that you would become the total package?
Come on, manifestation, I kind of do keep becoming.
The name you. I'm telling you like you're you're everything.
Thank you, thank you?
Ah he go, he go, here, he go, he go? What you got, Jade Novah?
Somewhere amongst the stars and the quasars and all the cool ship and all the cool.
Shit, there are some songs that mean a whole lot to you. We'd like to know what these songs.
Are, these other worldly songs from your third eye? Do people want to know your top five? Your top five? Come on, wait, top five? Your top five on the singers?
What else?
Alrathy songs? Oh yeah, we wanta do you got to show? What will do be doude when you let us go?
Yeah?
Your five.
That was really something? So what you want?
Here? Here we go?
Tell your top five R and B singers.
Wow, I'm not good at favorites, but I will tell you five people.
That's fine that I love. That's fine in R and B.
Stevie Wonders my awesome, and I can say that's number one without a doubt. Stevie Wonder is what are we talking about? He's Stevie Wonder.
Hmmm.
Whitney Houston.
Levels, you know what I mean?
Oh, Brandy, okay, Oh this is getting hard because there's a bunch more that I want to name, and now I don't know how to consolidate.
She's going fast?
Can I do like to if I said, just go fast? Okay? Tony Bryson.
Mm hmm. To Mia is so cold. She does not get the respect she is so called.
To me is one. She is a huge inspiration.
She is a flat footed, stand alone sanger. Don't need nothing else.
Jesus Christ, Tamya is is it?
Absolutely?
I gotta say Beyonce.
To could you better?
Of course? I think that was seven.
I know he's gonna say that on you. Okay, you're gonna stop there, I mean there, I asked. I did ask the question.
I'm gonna stop there. I feel I feel good. I feel good about your.
Top five R and B songs.
Mm hmm.
OVERJOYEDV Gonna build your castle love. This is hard. Oh my god. I should have been prepared for this. This is Can y'all edit this so it could be a lot quicker.
We need all this jeez, Oh.
My gosh, rmy songs to me, you put a move on my heart.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's up there for me.
That song.
Every time it does something.
She sang.
God this way before the two way before pitch correction.
Yea to me, it's incredible.
So I had to say that she sang it correctly. Yes, ooh, y'all, Oh my god, you're gonna make me go. Pull that song up and let's do it in the car.
You should as soon as I leave.
Q's Duke Joint was an incredible project. Incredible, and then obviously her first album was incredible as well. Oh R and B songs. Okay, so we got Stevie, we got Tamya. I'm just gonna try and pick one from each of the people that I said to just make things easier. So Brandy, I really love Say You Will by Brandy. I know that's like a wild card, but I really love that song. I really love that song. See, Tony, there's so many Tony songs. I mean, unbreak my heart?
Why not?
Why not?
Why not?
Who do we have Beyonce? Ooh, I love the lot B Day, that whole project. I'm just can I just do that?
You can't do that.
You can't beda B Day? Oh, Destiny's Child Desney Fulfield has some crazy projects and some crazy songs on there too. I'm not doing a good job, Tweter, Oh my goodness, I think have I not?
All right, let's do your vultrying. This is where you build your super R and B artists, all right, So we're gonna see who you're gonna get the vocal from, the performance style, the styling, the heart of the artist, and who's going to write for these artists?
You songwriter? Here we go.
Who are you going to get the vocal from to build your super R and B artist?
One vocal Whitney Houston. Yeah, because she is. She's Whitney Houston.
She's the guy is ballads all time. It's it's temple, It's up temples all time. It's it's whatever you want.
It's whatever you want. It's whatever you want. Okay, yep, we're gonna go. When Houston I'm grappling with her or Beyonce for a reason. I think because Beyonce can rap, Beyonce can do anything. Mm hmm. Beyonce Houston, Whitney.
Knows, Whitney knows.
Yeah, ship, Yeah, there's something about them as one. I mean, honestly, Whitney Houston can sing whatever too. She gave us Queen of the Night, and she she has rained.
I feel like if whatever the time would have required of Whitney Houston.
She could have delivered. So, in all fairness, either one of them interchangeably, just depending.
On what we've just seen, the progression, because Beyonce is the evolution of Whitney Houston.
Absolutely, that versatility that both of them have, that's incredible.
Yeah yeah, okay, okay, So Winnie knows performance style on stage, I'm gonna.
Have to go with hmm. I'm have to go with Oh, we might have to go with do ca I was. Have you looked at some of the clips from her Coachella performers. She is she allows the people, and it's clear she allows the band to do what they need to do. She allows the creative director to do what they need to do, and she clearly studies and rehearses and puts on a good ass show. She is very talented, fire, she is incredible. I'm gonna have to go performance styling Rihanna. There's nobody cooler. There's nobody cooler. Rihannest building something right now, you know what I'm saying, Building something, playing Lego.
Selling one hundred million represent the heart, the passion of the artist.
Oh, the passion. Hm hmm. I'm gonna have to go with jay Nova.
Yeah, come on, come on, because you fighting for this space. Yeah, it's all on your own Yeah, all out my account.
She got the passion.
I'm not playing out here.
Yeah.
She's been doing this. She was a little baby, been doing this.
I was signed since I was eight. I was under contract under Michael, Michael saying it.
So, Michael, that's really good. A man of many gifts.
You Yeah, your passion is real, Your passion is real. Who's writing for this artist?
Oh Stevie Wonder, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Wonder. I think that might be a cop out though.
Okay, we'll get deep.
There, because now I feel like I've created a very modern artist.
So mayhaps m h Frank Ocean Hmmm.
I'm interested.
I'm interested as well.
I'm interested to see what that looks like. Yeah, yeah, because Frank Ocean to me has Stevie wonder isms and the way he paints a p make sure he's yeah.
Freak my curiosity.
Yeah, this is a very interesting artist, curate.
I mean, the artist is not interesting. The artist is a monster. But choosing Frank to write is interesting. I want to hear that.
I want to hear it. I want to hear it intrigued.
Because it's going to have it's going to have it's going to have a different type of depth to it. It's not like a it's not a commercial thing. It's truly art. It's like you know what I'm saying, Like, yeah.
I like that.
Yeah, I think it's going to be interesting, Like you like.
That's how you build a cult, a cult following with that type of material.
Okay, all right, yeah, oh yeah, we've come to that time.
What's happening now, cul shit, I ain't.
Saying no hey, I ain't saying no name. I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no name. Was what you did? Don't say she? And I'm saying no name? Yeah?
What does it all mean?
So we've come to that point very special segment of the show, Will you tell us the story funny or fucked up? Are funny and fucked up? The only rule to the game. You can't say no names. Come on, come on, give us some good Come on, come on straight from pleav And, Ohio by way of Atlanta, Georgia.
Period. What oh, oh god, funny or fucked up? I mean I kind of already said one of them, well too, guys, okay, kind of fucked up, really fucked up. Actually a very dope producer who wanted to work. Yeah, kind of back to what you were speaking on earlier. Yeah, oh, I just really wanted to work. And I was really excited because this producer is very dope and very relevant. And he sent me a DM and I'm like, great, let's work. Here's my husband's information. He's my partner. We're gonna like collaborate or whatever.
And then.
This had to do nothing with no husbands.
He went ghost and I was really disappointed. I was really disappointed. But yeah, and it wasn't me trying to like even put it just this is the way I work, Like he's my business partner, so like that, it just was what it was. And yeah, I never heard from him again.
It's probably for the best.
Yeah, definitely for the best.
I mean, he wanted to work, but he didn't want to work.
So I'm with you on some of your your your women friends who say that that's an interesting thing to navigate, and I've the conversations that I have had are wild, and so I think that I lost my ability to have that whatever that thing is to be a single woman in this industry because I've heard that it don't even matter. There's a lot of opportunities that I feel like are not given because people's intentions.
Are because you're not allowing a certain access exactly.
So, but like you said, it's for the better because then you're reading out the bullshit.
It well, and it's for you.
Like your your path and how you want to go about this thing is just set a certain way and everything that go alongs with even just how you create your music, it just doesn't it doesn't warrant that like yours is just different. So I commend you on your path, commend you however you go about getting your business done. You know, God bless you. I have no judgment at all, but I commend you on how you've gone about gone about your business is very admirable, very respectable and as Jay says, should be studied, it should.
Be I want to hear these stories. Y'all do the song again, and then y'all tell me.
You're in the hot seat, so we're going to keep it on you. Jay, You're super dope. We first of all appreciate you coming because we know you know your time is real money. Your time is your money. It ain't nobody else there is your money, and we appreciate you being here. We are we are one hundred percent and support you. That is why you are here, so we can celebrate you and let people know who and what you are. And this is always available to you always.
Thank you.
And I'm so proud and inspired at what you both have built here, like it's so necessary, and I love that y'all highlight independent artists as well, artists from all walks of life, like this is some really dope. I mean, you know this is dope ship that you've built. Now you've got a tour popping from it like you're doing.
I'm not going to do this. You're not gonna.
Chain about it, all your plaque about it.
You're not gonna do. That's incredible about you.
But I'm saying like it's I'm grateful, like the give back because y'all are legends and it's and it's it's crazy awesome. I'm honored.
And this is the R and B Money popocast, the authority on all things, all things, all things R and B.
Fight for yourself because that's what this young lady does at jad Novan R and B Money.
R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect with us on social media at j Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com or slash R and B Money