Tiana Major9 - Cornmeal & Cadence

Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke. I'm your host, Colleen Witt, and today we have very special guest Award Grammy Award nominated songwriter and recording artists Tiana Major nine is in the building. How are you. I'm will thanks, how are you goody? I love your music, thank you, I love all of it.

Thank you. I love your share.

Thank you. And so today is very special for me. And I mentioned this because out of one hundred, over one hundred and fifty episodes, this dish has finally made it to the show, and so I was very happy when it came across our email. You could go ahead and tell our listeners our watches what you're gonna have me eating today?

Okay, so we are going to make corn mill porridge classic, a staple and something very close to my heart. And obviously you told me it was hot.

Yes, yes, this is if I had to do Eating While Broke and I was on the other side, this would have been my dish. So yes, and this is like I think this is a staple in the Jamaican house.

Yeah. Absolutely, this will keep you full for two days straight.

Yes, And so I grew up on it. Very I was very small. I never paid attention, but my mom would make it in the kitchen. I just knew how to eat it the top to the bottom. But you are gonna go ahead and tell us how to make it and what the ingredients are.

Okay, So first we have cornmeal porridge. This is like the grains, it's quiet, this is fine. Yes, the fine corn sorry, corn mill, yes, no cornride, Yes, this is the fine grain corn mill. We have the brown sugar hair Bailieve. I've been doing this recently, and like I've been posting on my Instagram and showing people like me cooking because I love doing that, and a few people have been like bay leaf, but I'm sorry the real ones though.

You add a little bit of bay leaf in it and you could really taste the difference.

You can, I personally can, but yeah, bay leaf is great. Cinema sticks essential, nutmeg essential. We have some coconut milk. It can't be car meal porridge. About this, and then content smelk for some extra sweetness and flavor.

Yes, yes, so I'm excited. Okay. And this guy's this dish was beyond extremely affordable. So go ahead, tell us what how do we make it okay.

So first I have another bowl here. You're going to add the corn meal to this bowl. This is actually quite a lot of corn meal. It's just for me and you. Yeah, I think I want to.

Use some of the some of our guests may want to try.

I want to do three of this corn mill. Put the cormell on the bowl. He add some water, a little bit of water.

I love your accent. I was secretly hoping you'd have like a Jamaican accent, but I was like, it's not the UK, the overseas just trumpeding, huh.

I was born in England, so.

So your parents didn't have any.

I mean, my mom has something. She has an accent. It's her own like black British Jamaican accent because she's like she was first generation, so she has that. My dad was born in Jamaica, but he came over to England when he was sixteen. But some reason, for some reason, he doesn't have a Jamaican accent, which is that's fair.

And here I thought the way to get the no lumps was to do it over the stove. You pre do it.

Yeah, you add a little bit of water to another bar so you can kind of like mix it. I'm gonna add more water. Dropped the lid in there. But yeah, my dad doesn't have an accent. But we just went back to Jamaica and he's he's he was trying to bring it back.

I feel like Jamaica, like my mom was very like almost ashamed of her like pats her accent, and so she like the only time we hear pastball or Agamaican accent is when she's mad, right, then it comes out and then you're just scared of death.

Yeah, yeah, I don't know. My dad was telling me that when he went to school. When he was going to school, he had like he was living with this lady and she was like really not encouraging him to speak in his accent. So I think he lost it when he was even in Jamaica, which it is quite crazy, but I don't know. He was bringing it back womens on Women's on holiday, So.

Yeah, but you're not able to pick it up me I am.

I feel like I can do it. I just won't do it until I'm like super confident in it.

Until your words super confident. You can't speak pet I can.

I can understand it, but I just I don't know. I just I'm working on it. I'm figuring it all out.

Okay, yes, So basically, so you're working out the lumps.

Yeah, I added water to the part and now I'm going to kind of pour this corn meal water mixture in here whilst stirring.

And this is low heat.

Yeah, am I recording this to be recording?

This is it recording our praise? Recording?

Is it? Check?

Is it recording? No?

Press it? Okay? Oh yes, recording now? Yes, okay, So yeah, I'm just stirring, like the cornmeal mixture into the water. It's cold water first as well. That ensures that there's no lumps in here. I'm gonna keep going because you said.

Because nobody likes the lumps. Just in case you've ever had ports, you do not like the lumps. No, the lumps are terrible.

Yeah, I will start it again. But you know, sometimes eat my, you just have to figure it out. You have to figure it out. But yeah, this is spashing a little bit, but you just basically start in. Yeah, and then it's basically going to get thicker, and then that's when you add all the other stuff. Okay, yeah, really really simple.

I was going to say, are you going to scrape the other stuff in there?

Yeah, the water is still cold, so it won't. It won't.

So as long as the water is cold, that's when you get the lumps out, not when it's hot.

Yes, God, it will be harder to get the lumps out when it's hot. It would be better to do it with a whisk. But yes, it's fine.

Yeah, you got this. Pretend you're actually eating while broke.

Yeah, we have limited You weren't independent artists, yes.

Yes, yes, So take me back to what was going on during the Cormea Porridge days.

Oh. I was living with my mom in East Ham. I'm from East London, m H. And we were it was me, my mom, my sister, and my older brother. My dad was in my life, but we didn't live together. They weren't together, but yeah, we were. It was just the four of us in the house and my mom would be working and trying to make do. I'd be going to like an after school club because she wouldn't be able to come back in time to pick me up, so they would just pick me up from school.

Yeah.

But yeah, we were just funking it out in east Ham, East London.

So single mom essentially, yes, literally three kids, Yeah I had, I have.

I have two older brothers and one sister, so yeah, she's had four, four of us. But yeah, there was three of us.

In the house, one boy, two three girls.

Usaid no two boys twirls yeah, okay perfect?

And then was there a lot of music in the house?

Yeah, a lot of music my mom. I grew up going to church, come to Costal Church Kojik, and my mom would always be playing gospel. She'd be in like praise and worship. She'd be leading praise and worship. Also like a Sunday school teacher as well, so there would.

Be so you were like a lot of church.

Yeah, yeah, a lot of church. It was school after what was it drama school? And then church. That was all I did for a while.

Wow did she know? When? At what point did she or you realize that you had a voice of gold?

I think around five that's when she started going back to church actually, and I just I was just really fascinated by music. I really loved music. And she was also going to vocal lessons on the side to like in the evening she was doing like vocal lessons, she would come back and teach me the songs and like teach me the stuff that she was learning in those lessons.

So yeah, around five, Okay, now I know I can't sing. Okay, So there's some people like they could humme a knowe, and you just know, like God.

Just blessed you.

Yeah, I feel like you're in the category of the God just center voice your way. But it is nice to hear that you worked on it. Absolutely absolutely, but it does seem very like God given.

Okay, thank you?

Am I not wrong?

I mean I don't think you're wrong. I just I think that with anybody, you do need to rehearse. Like from when I was younger, if I listened to old videos or watch old videos of me singing when I was twelve, compared to nowists I can hear the rehearsal, I can hear the work. I'm so glad I stuck to it.

Okay, Yeah, why was your mom taking these music lessons? Does she want to pursue it? Professionally.

I don't know. I think he was really Mom's really into like extracurriculous stuff, like even now she goes to like she's joined like a few fitter schools and like acting classes and just do stuff on the side. So she just likes to just be active. And that was something that she did with her sisters as well. They all went, so it was like a fun thing. She loves to sing, so okay, it was just yeah, it

Okay, so you're you're in the church, you're singing five are you singing further church? At their point or starting?

I was trying my hardest too. I was really really trying my hardest too. I was trying to like befriend the pastor's wife, like just like hey, like you tease be able to sing, or like, can I sing next week?

Like just as a young, young, young l Yeah.

Like I was like just really just trying to sing wherever I can. And then I would go to like youth conventions and just asks to sing and Christmas time and it was like the children would like sing a song or showcase talent or whatever. I would always be singing.

Okay, yeah, okay. And so you're your mom one hundred percent embraced this.

Part of you, Yes, one hundred she at what point she would now I was going to say, she really really encouraged it, like she was like my aunties used to call her stage mom, which is so funny. She was really really trying would be to be a star, like she was really trying her hardnest.

So there was no like, hey, mam, I want to pursue this one hundred percent, and she was She was like hell.

Yeah, yeah, she was with it one hundred.

And then how did your dad feel about this?

Him too? He was really, there's a few lumps in him, so I'm going to take them out.

He was funny because I I what you're taking out these lumps is hilarious.

Yeah, nah, I'm sorry. We already spoke about having lumps in him. Were like, yeah, let me take him out. My dad was with it too, He was very encouraging, and yeah, I just really really tried to back me financially too. I told you that they didn't live together, but my dad would try and invest anyway he can, like into your music career. Yeah, music and just dance and all those other things.

And your parents get along perfectly fine or.

Yeah even to this day, like it's I don't understand the relationship, but they Yeah.

Why because they get along so fine.

Yeah, like it's my dad is still very much like part of the family, and like, yeah, they co parent, they co parent really really well. It's really inspiring.

It's nice.

It's really nice.

Okay, So who were your inspirations early.

On, early on Beyonce. Definitely loved Beyonce early early, early, early on. Yeah, early on, Brandy, Brandy. My mum also loved Brandy, so that was a given. Who else would I say? I would say Gabrielle. She's like a uk Difa, Jamie La Jamiliar sorry Estelle. So many people, a lot of black birds that were like really doing the thing.

Yeah, your sound is like it reminds me of old school R and B, like you know, yeah, it's like classic. I don't know, I don't know the right words to describe it. But I was jamming with Trevor Okay, we were both like, now do you want to hum us a little something?

Let me take you sound. I wonder if oh what I have.

M He said, it sounds beautiful, it sounds it sounds God given.

Thank you. This is getting really thick now.

Yeah, it's looking like it's yeah, very thick.

You want water?

Yeah, well, I'm wondering when you had the coconut milk.

And actually, you're right, I should do that now because.

It's starting to look like remember when I don't know if your mom used to make these. They're like cornmeal porridge and they had the raisins in it and they were thick, and I used to hate those things.

That sounds to make it insane, cornmeal porridge, raisins something.

It was like it was like this thick. I don't know if it was like some kind of I don't know, hard to describe, but I wouldn't eat it. That's the one dish if someone brought out the show, I'd be like, I'm good, okay, Oh you had a lot of coconut milk to it.

Yeah. I think sometimes it depends on the day. Sometimes I you know, some passion, but you know how I started off, Yeah, corn milk and the water. Sometimes I do cocon coconut milk, cold milk, and then do it like.

That, but you know it's gonna taste good.

Though I'm excited. I don't have this in a few weeks.

Oh so you eat this on the regular?

Yeah, I just, I just this is a staple and it's really easy to make. So yeah, I keep this in. I keep calling me on the pantry. Definitely.

Now take me back to your career. So you're at what point in your career do you start to see like a little bit of a pickup oh, in your pursuit of music career.

I think I've had a few points. I think the most pivotal one was when I was like fourteen years old. I entered the competition which was like Newam's Got Talent. It's like it's spin off, like a local competition that was like based on Britain's Got Talent. And I want it, really, I want it, and I want an iPod, which was really cute, and I don't know, it just kind of solidified that, oh, I could do this and people could people see me and people hear me, and I could

That's a big deal. Yeah, it's a big moment.

That was a really big moment.

Again, it was like how did that come about?

How did that come about? Many ways? So my A and R at Motown, Lindsay Lanier, she she was like connecting with this producer that I worked with. His name Progression, amazing guy. I've worked with him since I was twenty. But she connected with him and I think he showed her my music. Do you want me to tell them? Yeah?

Yeah, okay, ahead, So after I.

Put the coconut milk in, study it around, it's starting to.

Get really thick, starting the pup and it's scared it's gonna burn her, but.

It's okay, it's not gonna burn. And then I'm putting nutmeke in now, and then I'm gonna add the cinema stix just like for some spice.

Now you're just gonna add it and just leave it in there, just to say.

Yes, I had a little bit of water. How thicks do you like your home average?

I think I think that that are a little bit lighter because you know it's gonna get a little thick.

Yeah, okay, that's what I would saying, I'm like, this is sometimes with Cormo, it's like it's.

Kind yeah, yeah, I think i'd encourage you to put so much.

He's okay, you add cold water, so it as we said, it doesn't lump up. Okay too much? Okay, but yeah, what was she saying?

We were talking about your deal with Moltown.

Oh yeah, so Lindsay met up with Progression, who's an incredible producer, and she was just he was just showing her his music and we had a lot of songs together and from what I heard, she was like, oh, who's this artist? And there was just like a a hunt. Not a hunt, but like she just really wanted to find out who I was. And that's how it came about.

Wait nineteen, that's but it was also during COVID too, Yes, it was. That was also like kind of difficult. But was it cool because you had to record during that time or were you recording during that time.

Yes, I was trying to do as much as I could. I was working on my project, my EP at home, but I had recorded a lot of the vocals already, So like when COVID hit, it was just about like putting the project together and figuring out the market in and the visuals and stuff like that. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, what were some of like the painful lessons and the good lessons you learned during their whole experience?

Oh, painful lessons no one owes you anything at all. And a good lesson is it's kind of similar. It's like people come and go, but right people will stay, and like it's also good to meet loads of people at like it's also good wait hold on, let me get let me get this, let me get this together. I think I think I met some really really good people, and all the relationship kind of like paused or like

So yeah, but for one of the lessons to be like no one owes you anything. What experience triggered that thought to be a priority of like one of the painful lessons.

I think when when it was like twenty twenty two, I just came off of tour Jasmine Sullivan and I came back and I wasn't able to get through to my label, Like.

You couldn't get him on the phone or anything.

I couldn't get them. You know, it's crazy.

This is like typical industry stuff though.

Right, I was gobbed. I was absolutely gobsmacked. I'm putting in the cinema.

What are you trying to reach out to them for? Like a foul up? Like what's the next way?

What we're doing?

You couldn't get him on the phone?

No, I think there was there was a lot of things happening at the time in the label, and yeah, it's just like there wasn't really anybody in the label to chat to. It was like they were ignoring me. It just wasn't anybody left.

Oh, like like you called it, it was almost like a Doe.

Do do yeah kind of. I mean as far yeah, as far as I know, it was just like just just for the recognize that.

I put a little nutmeg, and she dropped like one bay leaf in there. Yeah, and I didn't. I'm just just so we all know what we're doing when we go home and try to imitate this. And she dropped one cinnamon stick in there. That's it. So don't don't get don't get froggy in the kitchen with those bay leaves and the cinnamon.

St Wait, do we have a lid?

No, no, we don't. We got a bowl.

We got a bowl.

Okay, all right, why do you need a lit? Oh my god, it smells okay, Oh my god. But you didn't add any brown sugar yet.

No, no, no, you do that.

And then you didn't add any condensed.

Mil No the sweetness. You add that the end.

But I can smell.

It smells perfect.

It smells like cormells. Okay, I'm excited. I haven't had this dish in like twenty years, probably more so.

Oh it's because you've been having them ready.

It's because that never made it to my belly. Trust me, she's making fun of my instinct cormeal is don't ever do it, guys.

That's also eat It's okay, but it never had you said you too.

It doesn't come out. It's just it's for whatever reason.

It's disgusting. But I mean, if you just want it's something quick, then yes forever.

This looks so good and so good.

I needed to like bubble a lot.

So you're calling your motown, you're calling all town, and they're not answering. You just get off to the road with Jazzmine Sullivan elated you've arrived. I would imagine like torn with Jazzmine Sullivant is like like I'm doing the thing there.

Yeah. I was definitely like anxious that whole time because it's just it was just very new and like I've never been on tour before and there was a lot of moving parts. But yeah, I was I was happy that I was on tour. I wanted to come back and just figure it all out. But yeah, there was it wasn't we wasn't able to like get through. We didn't actually know what was happening, but my manage, me and my manager at the time just decided to just

You were supported Adele support. What does that look like?

Oh? She had a show in Okay, this is enough. She had a show in London, two shows. It was a British summertime festival and yeah it was. She just headlined the whole festival. She had myself, Mahalia, Gabrielle and that was it. We just supported her over two days in the park and it was iconic. I want to put this, Yeah it is.

I don't think that's gonna fit. Is it gonna fit?

Yeah? Wow? Okay, I want to turn it all the way down and that will just cook.

How much longer?

Maybe we could do like ten fifteen minutes, as.

Long as it doesn't burn the But no, I'm trusting you. You're the chef, and I am dying to eat it. We're good with no lumps.

We're good. No, there's no lumps in there.

Okay, yeah, I saw you fish them out. So you're so you're to the Motown after Jasmine, your aunt tour with Adele, You're doing shows with Adele again. It's like, I don't know how you would feel, but I would be like I've arrived kind of.

I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure how to feel. I mean, I felt really good because it was Adele and she had supported me like previously. When my EP came out, she was one of the first people to post about it, and I was like, I don't know how she found this, but it really aligned and yeah, I was I had a great time. That was a great show. I didn't get to meet her though, but it was just.

That's what I was going. I was gonna say, when you're traveling with these artists art is there any room for like, hey, can you be my mentor ish.

Or I mean, they like Judson Sullivan and Adele are the huge divas, so I think when I was like performing alongside them, there wasn't really much time for that anyway. But yeah, I would have loved to done that if there was time, but there wasn't really much time to do that. And when I was supporting Jadsmine as well, it was you're in like COVID and lockdown, so there was very strict rules and sixteen yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, and then you had the mask was it was very

Who was handling your tour bookings? Is it your manager, is it the label?

I think it was a bit of everybody. But I had an agent and my manager at this time as well.

Okay, so you're like learning this industry while pursuing music because you're the artist, but you're also learning the business. Yes, and so you get off the tours. At what point do you have to reroute or separate from Motown Because I'm guessing there's a separation in here, right.

I think at this time it's not necessarily a separation. I think it's more. Yeah, it was definitely more. I was in the UK a lot more, and at that time there was Motown UK and we're just figuring out figuring out Motown UK. It was brand new. So I had a team at Motown UK and they were just like trying to get me opportunity, trying to get me like out there in London a little bit more. So.

So all your touring was in the UK.

No, no, no, Janeine Sullivan was across America. Adele was in London, and yeah, everything in between that time was in London. It's amazing.

Yeah, okay, okay, And then what kind of industry insights did you learn from that whole chapter?

H Visibility Definitely keep going and just like even if there isn't like music ready at that time, just keep going, just keep being visible, like yeah, marketing, shutting yourself out there. Absolutely, that was a big thing because I think I got really I got really sad after the tour because it was like it was a lot, it was a lot. I also just got diagnosed with ADHD after the tour as well. Yeah twenty seven.

This was a random diagnosis.

No no, no, I went for it myself, private dignosis. But yeah, that was like it was a whole like.

What made you sit look into that because I think.

It was not I think I keep saying. I think it was something that I've always like had a feeling of, like an inkling of things were a little bit harder for me to.

Like concentrate content.

Concentrate like this content is focused, it's comprehend so like you might have to say something a little bit a few more times for me to really understand. Yeah, it's like for me to understand, for me to understand, but yeah, it's always been something that I've just.

Felt and then one day you were like, that's it, We're going to solve the problem.

Yeah. Man, I was like, either I'm really stupid or there's something going on. And it was like I was like, Okay, I'm relieved. Yeah I'm not smart.

I'm not is it ADHD or eighty adhd? ADHD? I thought it was like when you can't sit still.

Yeah, so I have inattentive ADHD, which means like I could be looking at you. You can come like taking in what you're saying. I'm like, I don't know what's going on kind of thing. Really.

Yeah, So what do they do the treat that? Is it riddling?

Huh?

Is it riddling? Isn't that like a drug that they give you if you have ADHD?

Id I know?

Yeah?

I don't know.

I don't know what. No, I'm like, do they do they say, Okay, now that you have this, this is what you have to do.

Yeah, you can have medication if that's what you want, but you don't have to.

Have medic I feel like you're not You're not on medication. Okay, so you are, so they gave you something.

Yeah, I did private so I had that option. But it's not like I don't need it every day. It's only when I need to really lock in and focus.

So, like, if you're in the studio for like twenty four hours, is that.

I would never be in a tent.

I don't know. I would just assume that artists are in the studio locked in, you know, you hearing writing and music sessions.

No, no, I get too distracted. I can't be in the study for twenty four hours. But sometimes it depends if it really depends on the day. I'm like, I need I need that extra bit of like focus on location to do stuff.

So what's in a day in the life of Tiana?

Oh, day in the life, Day in the life. Recently it's been it's different, it's shifted. But day in the life is a wake up. I walk my dogs plural, Yeah, two dogs. I had one, but then my girlfriend has another dog. She has a dog, so now we have too. Yeah, walk my dogs, come back, feed them, feed myself. I just moved to the states, like state side of New York. And I've been like doing sessions two and there, so sometimes I'll do a session come back home, cook watch TV.

Yeah, why did you choose in New York?

I felt like the closest thing to London outside of England.

Not that I've ever been there, but I would imagine, oh, London, London there.

Yeah, it feels like the closest thing.

Okay, And so you chose that over La. You didn't want the laid back You didn't want that laid back? No, no, no, no good pizza, no good Chinese.

No. Yeah, I think La. I was considering it. It's just a little bit far, like it's really not far. Yeah, it's a little bit far from England. It's eleven hours to get here. I don't feel like doing that.

Fly How how far is the flight from New York?

It's that five hours? That's it. Yeah, that's it. Yeah.

Oh I need to win. You go back, you know, I go back. You know what I'm saying. We do a little together. Okay, yes, okay, that's that short flight.

Eleven hours is crazy.

I didn't know that it was only five hours.

Yeah, oh I'm tripping.

I didn't know that. Okay, So how would you describe November Scorpio.

So November Scorpia is my debut album. It's just a love letter to myself, that's all, but also what I love letter to myself but also lovely what love letter?

A love letter to yourself?

Sorry, love letter not letter.

That accent is so sexy and it's so beautiful. But I feel like I have a little ad. It's a love letter to yourself.

Okay, yeah, love letter to myself. It's also a real like insight to how I love as a Scorpio, as someone that's growing and very self aware. So yeah, it was just me laying out how I've loved in the past, how I want to love, and how I like to feel loved.

Yeah, I think I must say this delicately, but I think a lot of people are scared the scorpios because they, like, I know, for an Aquarius, I tell Allius Aquarius, a scorpio is the death to you. You will not survive a scorpio. And I honestly like, I have Aquarius friends and they've learned a lesson to They're like, yes, Scorpios or not, they're just not They're not good for aquariuses. I don't know. You guys, wait, Acuarius is a sign sign I think so, I don't know, but I know

Wow. The thing is, I've never I've never doated Aquurus. I really don't run into Aquarus often, so maybe.

Because there's they're they're running I was born in November.

They're like, oh, yeah, don't even tell me what that's. But yeah, yeah, that's that's basically the premise of and.

That's why you named it November Scorpios.

Yeah. It's just a real like introspect, introspective album and just talking about myself, which I'm a novembiscopia.

And did you write most of the project or all of it?

Yeah? So I've there's songs that I've written just like solely by myself, but there's a lot of collaboration with writers and producers on this album.

I heard Chance the rapper was co signing you.

I don't know.

Oh, okay, I thought I heard that. What song on the project. Would you say, is like your favorite song?

Oh my gosh, it changes. It really does change.

At the moment.

I know you were going to say, no, it does, so it does. But I think I really really love energy right now. That's one of my favorites. I just yeah, I just really really love energy. I've been trying to like clock the up tempos for my music, and Energy was the one I was like, yeah, this is this is the up temper I needed. Yeah. Yeah, and this is our temper I was supposed to make.

So yeah, was there when you write your songs, the songs that I guess, do you the songs that I guess flow the fastest to you, you know, like where you're just like banged down when you're in your emotional moments.

No, not really, not really, not really emotional moments. I think I think it's a little bit harder for me to like like bang out songs that are like a little bit more vulnerable and a little bit more personal. But having said that, I have a song called Money, which was like, it's about like that, Yeah, you like that same, thank you? I love that song too. Money is basically, if you haven't heard it, it's about my relationship with money very relatable.

Yeah, it's very relatable.

Check it out. I talk about when I had money, more money than I've ever seen before, and then just like knowing how to deal with it and then having that realization of oh, I can actually make money work for me. And then the final verse is about like just how where I want to be and how I want to treat money and my relationship with it, and yeah, just understanding that money comes and goes and giving myself the grace. Yeah.

Yeah, the older I get, the more I'm realizing that there's seasons, Right, there's seasons when you're up, and there's seasons when you're down.

Yeah.

I think when you're up, though, when you experienced it up, let's talk about your up. Like when you've seen the most money you've.

Ever seen, a lot of it was food. I spent a lot of money.

That's that's a painful, sad reality to be so sad.

I spent a lot of money on food. I learned a lot about food during that time.

You were like looked in your account and you were like, where did the money go? I had this building and it's like Uber eats, Uber.

Eats, it's going to restaurants and actually trying like good food.

Oh oh, you're like a foodie.

Yeah, I'm a foodie. Okay, absolutely, that's why I wanted to do this.

I was like absolutely so wait so, but but you had the best cuisines, right, Yes, it was worth it.

It was definitely worth I wouldn't take it back.

Okay, but you didn't you didn't like hurt yourself in the process of the spending, like you didn't you mean fall short because you you looked up. You spent all the money on fine dining.

No, I mean just being like being a major labeled artist and having an advance, like it's only gonna last you for so long. Yeah, like if you don't know how to like invest or, like keep the money around. And I said before, like it was some of the most it was the most money I've ever seen I'd ever seen at that time. So and I was like twenty three, yeah, twenty three year old and having all this money.

Okay, there's no lumps. By the way, guys, she's doing a great job.

This is the cinema stick that looks so good. Yeah, just no, no, no, it's good, it's good. It's good.

You gotta eat it too.

Yeah, I don't know how sweet you got kids.

Oh my gosh, this is the o G classic. If I have my iPhone right now? Was it justin?

Justin?

Say something?

Justin?

Okay, yeah, some had All right, we're gonna do a taste test. Even though you use the ball your spoons, you know, you know how it's done from the top the huh.

I did it from the side because that's the coolest part. Yeah right here. Oh yeah, yeah, I know.

Listen for anyone that questions my jamaking this.

Now you're valid.

I'm one hundred percent right. I'm a thorough bro. Okay, I want to taste test this. You're gonna sit down with me.

Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, Okay, here we go. You did it with a fork? Yeah, because my spoon is a bad I don't like it.

It tastes fine, It tast fine.

I don't know any more of this. No, I think you think I personally like it very like spicy, like well not meg and then more cinnamon.

So her her porch came out exactly the way it's supposed to come out, perfectly sweet, perfect amount of cinnamon and no lumps.

I'm gonna put this for a steaks. I don't know if you take pictures off stof Oh.

Put it under the camera.

See the cameras.

I'll show that is the camera recording.

Yes, oh show that. Okay, we do this.

Oh my goodness, Now you're trying to show out.

Figure you know what.

I don't know what you're talking about, because if you actually let it just sit in your mouth, it has a lot of spice in it.

Maybe it needs more sugar.

No, it's perfect, Tianna. I'm the judge.

Yeah, oh sorry, I'm the judge.

It's perfect. The porridge came out perfect. So it's a home classic. Yeah, it comes in with me. Okay, it looks beautiful, it looks doney. We're gonna take pictures with yours because you're not gonna eat it because you're you're hating on your own dish.

All right.

And so now now that you're at what point did you, I guess, come out to your mom?

What point?

At what point did you come out to your mom where she gets mad enough to like because she didn't know the whole time.

Yeah, she didn't know the whole time. What point I think the point was? It was before like I was doing, like really became t Animation Animals signed to my town. Okay, but yeah, it was it was just it just got really toxic and then just I just had to I had to go.

Yeah, so this all happened before, So you were well confident into going into promoting yourself as to who you are as a whole person, Like, no, because you know, like there was a there was a point where people were either ashamed or didn't know if it would affect their record sales or their fan base if they were hundred percent.

Yeah, yeah, No, I think at that time I wasn't like fully confident in it. I was living my life, but I think I wasn't able to. I didn't know how to manage the two. I didn't really have solid examples or inspiration and how to be openly queer and make R and B. Now I do. I think there are a lot of people that I love and look up to that are queer and open and themselves and I too, am living in my truth fully.

But you're extremely talented, Thank you, and November Scorpios amazing.

Thank you.

So I feel like everyone, I think art at the end of the day speaks for itself, right, So, like if you hear.

Them, is it?

You're like, that's a win, right, So what's your hopes for November Scorpia.

I hope that people listen to it, share it, and apply some of the lessons, some of the lyrics to their life. Keep it going, just keep this project alive. Yeah, live with it, sit with it, and just yeah, love it.

And you're independent? Now, yes, what's the difference you're signed to an industry?

Yeah, I'm with plus one okay.

So what's the difference between now being with major and independent?

Freedom? A lot more freedom, space, money.

The money is better.

No, so it's like you just have to make do there is money. Give thanks, but yes, you have to be a bit more creative with how you spend budget.

And yeah, just be creative now being in the industry as long as you have. Do you feel like social media is controlling majority of the direction of where the industry is going at this point?

Do I feel like social media?

Do you feel pressure on the social media side?

Do I feel pressure to be like active on socials? Hundred?

It's like a full time job, isn't it. Do you like it?

Don't love it? I don't love it? Actually, I hate it. It's a lot to think about. It's a lot to think about. I I don't desire to be seen all the time. I really don't. I understand that I have to because of my job, but yeah, I don't. If I could just like make my music put out there, people love it, and then go back into my sheld, and I would definitely do that. But I mean, social media is really good for promoting and promoting yourself and

I just I just am a little bit more like what's the word guarded or like reserved.

Yeah, I think social media it needs to be a bit more very Yeah.

I think it's good, like you get to interact with the fans, but yeah, yeah, all right, Well, thank you so much for cooking. And guys, if you if Tiana ever cooks a porge at your house, just know that she's gonna make a mess of the kitchen. Okay, it's a mess. I mean there's porridge everywhere. It looks great, it tastes great. But thank you guys for tuning in.