Lydia Asrat - podcast episode cover

Lydia Asrat

Apr 03, 20241 hr 18 minSeason 2Ep. 47
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Episode description

This week on The R&B Money Podcast, Tank and J Valentine welcome the multi-hyphenate Lydia Asrat. From her early beginnings in the Bay Area to her rise as a force in the music industry, Lydia shares her inspiring journey of perseverance and passion.

Growing up in an Ethiopian household, Lydia's love for music was evident from a young age. She recounts the pivotal moments that shaped her path, from declining a life-changing opportunity at 14 to navigating her way through college at LMU while pursuing her dreams.

Lydia takes us behind the scenes of her internships and work with high-profile artists, sharing the invaluable lessons she learned along the way. She also emphasizes the importance of representation and empowering the next generation of Black women in the music industry, drawing inspiration from mentors like Ethiopia Habtemariam.

Tank and J Valentine celebrate Lydia's achievements and the impact she continues to make in the industry. They also take a moment to recognize the countless Black women who have paved the way and continue to be the backbone of the music business. Lydia Asrat is Now on The R&B Money Podcast!

 

Extended Episodes on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/RnBMoneyPodcast

Follow The Podcast:

Tank: @therealtank  

J Valentine: @JValentine

Podcast: @RnbMoneyPodcast

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Speaker 1

R and B money.

Speaker 2

We are.

Speaker 1

Thanks take valoti. We are the authority on all things R and B. Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank and this is the Army Money podcorst the authority on all things R and B. Uh. Today we're getting down the business, standing on it. What we're doing. We're standing

on business today. Take a special breed. You had to have been in this ship a long motherfucker time, a lengthy tenure early early, the amounts of experience to be this type of individual, to be this kind of a person, to have this type.

Speaker 3

Of represented to write it and all right, huh.

Speaker 1

So many things come in the form of lead. The many dialects.

Speaker 4

Yes, you are low key look Ethiopian. And people have asked me in my community if you're Ethiopian because they know I know you really, They're like, he's off shot.

Speaker 1

I should do it. I should should I should do I should do it? Twenty three and meter you should and see what's going on.

Speaker 4

I could see it.

Speaker 1

You might find out.

Speaker 3

So she's your one, know man, That's that's why I always look at you.

Speaker 4

Where you find out some ship.

Speaker 1

To do, Let's just see what happens. I can get a dolphin by something. You know what I'm saying. You can really tap into the culture and some things happening over there.

Speaker 4

I know there are, but you do look it?

Speaker 1

Okay, what what is? What is? What is the look? What is? What is? What am I giving?

Speaker 4

What you're giving is it's the proportions of our face. I don't know if you guys have I know, you know because you from the bad You've seen a lot of Ethiopians in all East Africans, but we have a he does a lot, so you should know it. Just I think we just have a distinctive look, like eyes are set, our noses are set. I think that's mostly it's mostly right here, but yours kind of looks like like you look like a couple of my cousins.

Speaker 3

Give you a name because the rail doesn't sound.

Speaker 4

Very well yeah, I know, but the rails, I mean that's what your mom picked or your dad.

Speaker 1

Sole Ethiopian.

Speaker 4

You do. It would be like ted Ross. Ted Ross.

Speaker 3

Wasn't it wasn't that the Weekends name and it was in that TV show he was like the club promoter wild Nigga remember that.

Speaker 4

But like the number one Ethiopian singers name is Teddy.

Speaker 1

Opro Teddy He's huge.

Speaker 4

Put his song at the end of her concert when she went to Ethiopia, and it went it was for our New Year's and she like played it after she was done and had her dancers dance with everybody crazy. They said it was shaking the stadium.

Speaker 1

Ship nuts. I was there to be always tapping in.

Speaker 4

Yeah, that was twenty eleven. Friend.

Speaker 1

We always find ourselves in cool room, whether it be some some fitness equivent around some papers to be signed, and we always.

Speaker 4

We always are, We always are outside in some capacity.

Speaker 1

Yeah, And I think, you know, I think it's just very very very vital and important to have this conversation, your conversation, you know, so people can understand not just the ins and outs, but there's a different level of in and out being a woman of color in this space, a.

Speaker 4

Woman in general and woman period, and then a woman of color, yeah, and then a young and then you know, young just like.

Speaker 1

We're gonna get it thirty thirty.

Speaker 3

I'm just saying so funny.

Speaker 1

I ain't, I ain't, I ain't been listen God is good. I Yeah, yeah, I had a four focus. You had to be focused in that motherfucker to.

Speaker 4

You know, I was in the Camra that was my car I had.

Speaker 1

I literally had a four Folk. I was pulling up to Underdog Studio with a four focus.

Speaker 3

Really oh yeah, driving from Corona, had so many jokes.

Speaker 1

I was literally driving from Corena so many.

Speaker 3

At least the gas was good because he had already had applying the album out.

Speaker 1

So yeah, you know what I mean, It's just business. Sometimes you sunk up the money.

Speaker 4

I understand.

Speaker 1

Now I had a house.

Speaker 4

Okay, you were doing it the right way because I know a lot of people who have the car and don't have the house.

Speaker 1

Yeah, he wasn't doing it. I was on fumes. I was. It wasn't fully furnished, a lot of a lot of chili. Did they come back? Did they come back and get it? Eventually somebody came and got it, as if the house was going anywhere. Did they come back and get it? Here's what's crazy, as as I'm losing the house. Uh, the realtor who sold me the house the house out from under me at the short cell.

Speaker 4

Price, not praying on your downfall.

Speaker 1

Absolutely wow, wow, played well.

Speaker 4

They got the commission and they got it back.

Speaker 1

The kind of bought it with his money.

Speaker 4

Yeah they did, but look at you now.

Speaker 1

I couldn't be mad because I needed it off my books. Please please take this motherfucker. I'm doing bad. That was divorced. Just a tough time. Anyway, back to you, Okay, what.

Speaker 4

A great space you're in now, shout out to you. God is good. Right, Oh, let's start sermoning.

Speaker 1

You. Just don't stop working. That's true, That's really all it is.

Speaker 4

That really is what it is though. Yeah, that's like my life story. Just don't stop.

Speaker 1

Because downfall, I mean not downfalls, but knockdowns are inevitable. It's life in any fight, it's inevitable. What are you going to do after that? I'm going to act like I didn't just fall.

Speaker 4

Yeah, until i'm up again.

Speaker 1

I'm going, I promise you, you're gonna think I'm still doing something. In the middle of me doing absolutely nothing. When I was waiting outside them clubs, waiting for Jamie Fox to cup so I could get in, I was dancing in front of the club. Were coming in a minute. Yeah, I'm just waiting on Jamie because you know, he got he got all of you, all the stuff with him, So i'mna I'm gonna come in he come in, his bouncers was like, you're not coming in same bounces that used to do security for me.

Speaker 4

And that's that's when it's full circle.

Speaker 3

That's that's that is then just that's the entertainment industry industry in anshell.

Speaker 4

And it's like and it feels that that that is what low key makes all this stuff, Like Okay, I could do it again, Yeah you can do it again.

Speaker 1

What do you want to do right there? When the bouncer that used to work for you says, no, no, you can't not right now, it's gonna be one hundred hundred of person.

Speaker 4

Most people would just go under the couch, and.

Speaker 1

I still had to get in there, you go, I still had to get in there. Look a crook. I'll wait. How far are you Jamie?

Speaker 4

Yep?

Speaker 1

We about forty minutes A were finishing up. If okay, I was going.

Speaker 4

Playing out the time right? Better time? Why did you leave before he told you he was on the way.

Speaker 1

That's your fault because Jamie is always late.

Speaker 4

Then you should have known that.

Speaker 1

Yeah, ok, the thirst was real clear, j you chasing the crack and again, absolutely I gotta have it.

Speaker 4

I would have just went to where there was eating.

Speaker 1

No, there's a chance that I would have missed him right listen, because he comes. Because Jamie is one of those guys like if you don't walk in with.

Speaker 4

Him, it's over. Well, no, that's everyone, good luck, that's not everyone. That's mostly everyone.

Speaker 1

Mostly if we go to the door and get I know, y'all, I.

Speaker 4

Know y'all, y'all do I remember when we were in Vegas so training Wars last year.

Speaker 1

I'm not going for my people not getting in.

Speaker 4

That's true. But if it's live on a Sunday night, I'm going to get you.

Speaker 1

You will.

Speaker 3

We're going to go find Mike. You guys, Mike, I need you, baby.

Speaker 4

Come on, you guys will.

Speaker 1

But yeah, you know the industry. The industry won't.

Speaker 4

Or or you standing outside for the forty minutes dance on my tank.

Speaker 1

Bro, you know you know we in here and bro, there was no.

Speaker 3

Holes on your phone that she replied to or just walk there standing next to one of them.

Speaker 1

I said that I'll be out to get you. Hey, that's funny and ship right there though.

Speaker 4

That's the way I'm talking to him. Yeah, we together?

Speaker 1

Are we coming? Lydia? You guys, let's go back to the beginning.

Speaker 4

Oh, okay, why not we have time we do.

Speaker 1

Let's go to the bay, Let's go to.

Speaker 4

Where we reside.

Speaker 1

Give me the bay, give me the early beginnings of you finding your way into this okay? And why so?

Speaker 4

I am Ethiopian clearly, and I always just since I can remember, my parents said, since I was like two or three, since I could stand, I just watched Whitney Houston on TV. Like there's videos home videos of just me watching and like trying to dance like her and just humming shit. And it's like, I've loved music since then. I don't remember a time where I didn't love music. So I was like, cool, bet in my head, I'm

doing music. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing music as like a six, seven, eight year old until I started to be like I can hold a no, I can kind of singing, Okay. So then I got into elementary school and I would sing in the choirs and be the vocalist. Also, I went to all white school from K through eight. Me and my sister and two other boys who were brothers were the only black people in the school. Private school.

Speaker 1

Oh, y'all had a little money amen.

Speaker 4

We were blessed. My father came from me the opia and started a business that did well. Pops did that, and so he was like, oh, yeah, you're going to be a doctor or a lawyer. Lawyer, you know that's the two, especially in the African household. Doctor lawyer. Now they've thrown an engineer in there. I heard.

Speaker 1

I heard.

Speaker 4

Engineers now a thing, which was cool. That's there wasn't my ship. So I was like, okay, So now I was always being picked to sing at these and do all that, and I was like, cool, this is what I want to do. To the point where my dad was like a church he still is. My dad loved my dad and my mom, but my dad heavily involved in church, like on the board, vice president, treasurer all that.

So we were going to church every Sunday to the point and like the bishop of all of our whole situation community would come over every Sunday have dinner with us and stuff. And one night we were driving him home and he goes, Lydia, what do you want to be? My dad almost literally stopped the car and looked back at me like, don't you dear say you want to be a singer, and I was like, I want to

be music. And he literally started doing the Sign of the Cross and started no the bishop and like praying and my dad was like she has to know, you know, and like doing the whole sign of the Cross, and I'm like, what did I do? Like what's wrong with being in music? Like I don't understand, and it it just you know, they're old fashioned and it just like in any church music was like the devil's work. You're

not supposed to be unless you singing for God. And I didn't say I wanted to be singing in the church. I just said I wanted to be in music. So my dad dropped him off and he was like, what's with you? Why would you say that? And I was like I don't know, Like that's what I want to do, you know. And he's like that's really hard and you know, just make sure you stay in your own path. And

I was like okay, but I didn't. I was the old I'm the oldest, Like I was doing what I wanted to do, but I also played volleyball and sports, and my dad was like, maybe you'll just stick on that. Not to say my dad didn't believe my dreams because he did. I love him, but he just is like, how first off, I am an African man with a hard, heavy accent. I don't know nothing about that. What are like, who are you looking up to? And that was my biggest thing.

Speaker 3

Especially is the past Ethiopian as well? Yes, also the church is.

Speaker 4

The church is a completely Ethiopian church, Ethiopian Orthodox, and it's called Madonnia Lem and it's like very very like a huge affluent church in Oakland. But he was not. He came from Ethiopia too, so he's like one of the hires of like all of the diocese and all that stuff. And I'm probably butchering the names of all this stuff, but he's like one of that. Like we don't have a pope, but he's like one of those

highest ones. So I said it to like imagine like somebody writing underneath the pope not knowing, and I just was like, I don't know, I don't know what to tell you. This is my thing to the point where like my dad would be like, Okay, you can't listen to bad songs and stuff. And my grandpa knew I loved music, so he would like get me be too. I will never forget B two K B two K Pandemonium album. Listen. That's the only thing I wanted. He got it. I have my Walkman. You guys remember the Walkman.

So one day I was feeling it. I think my dad was like what is she listening to? Because he was like, call my name. I didn't answer, and he's like, what are you listening to? And I was like, oh shit, nothing. He was like, let's go in the car, give me the CD.

Speaker 3

Literally, that's exactly what he pressed playing.

Speaker 4

The first thing is all the sexy ladies around the world, around the world. He said, come on, all I want to do is see that sexy body go bump, bump, bump. And my dad turned to me with the most discussed discussed.

Speaker 1

I'm like, twelve, I would do the same thing.

Speaker 4

He was like, what is he saying? He said, what is he saying? I was like, I don't know.

Speaker 1

I just like the beat.

Speaker 4

He said, okay, I'll get you. So I'll get you a full album with just beats and took it out and broke the whole album, like broke the CD in front of me. I cried. He was like, where are your boxes? I was like, I don't know, I hate them. My mom came in. She was like, leave her alone. My mom was the only one championing, like this your grandfather and my grandpa. My mom called my grandpa. It was her dad too. Told him next day she said, chuck into your pillow.

Speaker 1

When you go home. You got her, another one got me.

Speaker 4

I was bumping off my way home as soon as I saw my dad came turned it down.

Speaker 1

Hate it.

Speaker 4

It was that the whole time, and then until I started to go. I went finally to high school, BIS pulled out and I was like niggas.

Speaker 1

It was niggas everywhere it was.

Speaker 4

It was just people who looked like me. And I was like, oh my god, to the point where my grade started pumpinging like. My dad had to sit me down. He was like, I'm gonna put you in a in the public school. You go on the skyline. Keep talking around me.

Speaker 3

He didn't want to see him from from Bishop down the skyline, you really would have been turned on top of that hill.

Speaker 1

But I didn't know Bishop O'Dell here.

Speaker 4

I didn't know, but he knew you already went to school. You have friends, so if I take you out, it's gonna be a problem. Keep playing around, and I was like okay, okay, okay, but it was just like, oh my god, I just have people who look like me,

like girls, boys, everything. They were fine. I was having crushes on Sean and Connor, you know what I mean, like not knowing, and so I went there and then I joined choir there too, but I also was playing volleyball like year round, and that's when it was it was over. My dad was like, okay, it's she's gonna do whatever she wants to do because at that point I had posters of all these people on my wall. Now he used to take them off. That was done. He found out me and my mom. My mom drove

me like three hours away to Modesto. I think it was for this Like I don't know who it was. I might have been in La Reid or somebody like that was throwing audition and like went there. My mom had me do it with not telling my dad.

Speaker 1

Well, now he knows, and I know what she wants you talking about.

Speaker 4

You know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 3

I know what you're talking about. It was I think it was through Hitco, but it was she Kis Stewart because he was from Oakland and he had did, he had done a few auditions back home, and.

Speaker 4

It was like you need to come to LA and stay here for like.

Speaker 1

Pretty sure that's what that was.

Speaker 3

I think it was because maybe what fifteen sixteen years ago or maybe.

Speaker 4

Yeah, I'm thirty one now, so it was like I was like fourteen fifteen and they picked me.

Speaker 1

Oh wow.

Speaker 4

And mom was like, shit, I don't know what's wanted to do now. Your dad don't know about this, and it was like you have to you have to send your kid away kind of and my mom was like, I don't know. You want to own now? And I'm like, girl, what you mean, Like what how are we going? She was like I don't know, you know, And he was like over my dead body, over my dead body.

Speaker 1

So you get picked and I don't.

Speaker 4

I declined, Wow, yeah again.

Speaker 1

Yeah you cried again.

Speaker 4

I was so hurt because I was like he just ruined my life. He just ruled my life because I didn't even know exactly, Like I didn't know if I want to be a songwriter. I don't know if I wanted to be in front of it. I don't know if I wanted to be a manager. I didn't know if I I always loved A and R though, like picking and hearing different things and putting a song together, so I knew that was something I loved. But I sang too, so it's like, do I want to be that?

Speaker 1

Do?

Speaker 4

I don't know? And I was like, but you just took it all away from me. We used to watch Making the Band and Dannity Kane in Day twenty six as a family, so it's like the one chance I had to be in that. But I think that's what scared him, because he was like, look at that right right, run down, You're gonna run down and get cheesecake. Oh he don't know, you know, but anyways, you know, like it just so he said no, and I was like,

I hate it here. I hate it here, I hate it here, Like this is terrible, And I know now. I knew later too, when I went to college.

Speaker 1

He was just trying to protect me, you know, in terms of the only way he knew how right, right, because you know, he knows nothing about it. A lot of us are first generation this, yeah, so all he knows is what you just said to making the band and going to get cheesecake fifty miles away, right, And I'm not letting my daughter go through that and not your mind. I'll kill somebody over there exactly.

Speaker 4

And then I can't even do You're not in the same city as me, so I can't run up and no, you're not doing it. You're not doing it. So our compromise was I'll give you piano lessons, and I was like, okay, man, that's that's.

Speaker 1

It's gonna help the crab.

Speaker 4

No, I never got the piano lessons. He got okay because he was like, you find the person. Every person I find, he'd be like, I don't want them in my house.

Speaker 1

Possible. Wow, I like what you're doing.

Speaker 4

And no games, it's just like I feel you. I feel you. You know, you're just trying to protect me. Doctor, lawyer, lawyer. And my sister is like the smartest person I know, and like had she got accept to Harvard, she got she went to Stanford. She picked Stanford when Stanford is dead? Yeah, she picked do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1

And I'm like, hey, and what cow did you go to?

Speaker 4

I went toll you okay, I went to Loyhill, mamou.

Speaker 1

So you found your way to la though, You're like.

Speaker 4

Oh, I knew. I was like cool. So if you're not gonna let me as soon as I turned eighteen, I'm out of here. I'm out of here. I knew it. I didn't even care what school I got into. I wanted to go to USC I got. I think I got accepted, like second semester or something, and he exd that out because he's like, so you're gonna take a semester off and just be in LA No. I was like, okay, I'll go to l ME. I don't care. I'm out. I'm out, And I went with my cousin's fake ID.

So the first as soon as I stepped there, I was already in the clubs, I met like, I met Brandon Moore, do you know be more YG's manager as a I think I was like nineteen and he was so. He was somebody who was like, so, like you want to be in this okay? Cool? Like I was trying. I saw the clubs as a networking place. I was like, this is how I can get closer to these artists or these managers or these A and rs or whatever. Cool. I'm going in there. I don't even drink, so I'm

not getting drunk. Y'all all can think everyone else is drunk. But now I get to talk to you, and you're not going to be like, who's this person? So I knew people are a little more vocal when they're drunk, a little more.

Speaker 3

You know, they give you more information, sometimes information you don't want.

Speaker 1

Yeah, use it.

Speaker 4

It's sober as sober as hell. So I I yeah, I finished out high school. I had a great I had such a great time in the Bay. But also the Bay is such a melting pot of music, Like people were going dumb and the high food movement was a thing. Mac dre keep the Sneak, like all of these all of these men. It was mostly men. But also shout out to Keisha because Keisha Cole was doing her thing, and there was there was there was other

women who were doing things for Oakland too. But it was such a melting pot of like we're creating our own culture. And I was like, this is so dope. We have our own sound. How can we make it even bigger? Like when you're from the Bay, I feel like everyone knows like we repped the Bay, Like yeah, we from Oakland, like or the Babe in general, but like you rep it. So I came to La and I was like, I'm just I'm just this girl from the Bay and I know music. They were like, okay, what do you do?

Speaker 1

It's like I got LMUT got it down.

Speaker 4

There, and then it was such a like not black school that it's like girl, and I'm like, I do. But then I got my internship at Warner Brothers.

Speaker 1

How do you get that? Though?

Speaker 4

LMU shout out to LMU. They had a great They had this online. You had to do the work. So they had a whole system, a whole portal for like internships and jobs, part time jobs while you're there. So I worked a full time job, not full time, but I worked a full time that you could do while you were in school because I was a full time student. And then I was like I need an internship. I need to somehow because I worked on campus. And so

I was like, how do I do this? Because the way that set it up is like there's this amount of money that you could get if you work on campus, but if you don't work on campus, they don't give it to you, and now it's like harder for you to do it. So I was like, okay, So I'm scrolling through and one of my Actually, one of my good friends, Chloe, hits me and she's like, girl, there's this internship for Warner brother Records on here. And I

was like, where I've been looking. It was like one hundred and fifty pages shit, and there'd be like one hundred on each page and you and their words. They're not pictures or anything, so it's like homework. You're like, no, I don't want to be Deloitte. No, I'm not an engineer.

Speaker 1

No.

Speaker 4

And there was nothing to really like search through. You just had to search through it yourself because you're it was back in the day. So she was like here and sends me the link. Fill it out. Literally the next week I got a response, went there, did an interview. They were like we're picking a few people, bl blah blah blah, and I was like, oh my god, please mind you. Lmu is in Westchester, Warner Brothers is in Burbank.

Speaker 1

Mm hmm. That dry like he was interscoping. You had to go right to you can go to.

Speaker 4

Santa Monica hour and change, and I have no money. I have no money, So I'm like, okay, that one that one time was cute. I could afford it. They called me They're like, we're picking you. You got it. I remember exactly where I was. I was leaving the Westfield Mall, fox Hills, Fox. I was leaving fox Hills. That was our spot, left fox Hills. Got the call. I was ecstatic, you're starting next week. It's like, okay, great, this is amazing. And then I was like do you

get paid? They're like, you got college credit?

Speaker 1

Girl?

Speaker 4

I was like, because you know, they get paid now, paid internships.

Speaker 1

They paid intern you.

Speaker 4

Can sue them if you don't get paid like a full job.

Speaker 1

It is different. Yes, it's different.

Speaker 4

It's different now they get fully paid.

Speaker 1

So you know what, Yes, it's better.

Speaker 4

Now it's good and I'm happy for the kids, but it was it was rough for us because I still had to do my job. So now I'm in my accounselor's office, like, how do I change my schedule around? I moved all my classes to Tuesdays and Thursdays so that I could go into WBR, which is Warner Brothers Monday. Once it Friday.

Speaker 1

Wow, but well, how are you getting there driving?

Speaker 4

You had a car though I had a car. I had my little black camera called her Cocoa.

Speaker 1

But you didn't have much money.

Speaker 4

I didn't have no money. I didn't have no money to the war where it was like my friends would be like, it's my birthday, can you come to the paper. My brother I was like, y'all all going pitching ten dollars for this megabus for me to come back, because if not, I don't know what to tell y'all. My money is for my food and that's about it.

Speaker 1

Food, That's it.

Speaker 4

And even though yes, my parents.

Speaker 1

Are living on campus, I was living on a camp.

Speaker 4

They were paying helping me pay for my college. So they were like, got it. Girl also was playing volleyball, but like, no, you got it?

Speaker 1

Oh do you keep saying volleyball? You were playing volleyball?

Speaker 4

I played volleyball. I was a little barro. You see how you coming from me? I'm five to three.

Speaker 1

No, No, I'm just listen. I know volleyball.

Speaker 4

My daughter plays volleyball febro.

Speaker 1

So I'm just saying, like I was good. You gotta be good. I was great to be five three and playing college volleyball. You got to be exceptional.

Speaker 4

Well that didn't last that long, right, I get it. Yeah, but even it was like freshman year.

Speaker 1

But even to make the team like to say, I played volleyball like I've watched those girls. I've been to the tryouts and I'm like this, Oh there's levels and that's just in high school.

Speaker 4

In high school, that's what I'm saying. I played two teams like I was playing year round volleyball. That was my but I loved it like club, so you know their club. I played club. Club was more important than.

Speaker 1

Absolutely no the ever trying to get Zoey's club or the thing that she was going to play in the Again, the practices are likes west Lake area. The games are in Orange County Riverside every weekend.

Speaker 4

Yeah, or even what my practices were in Pleasanton in Dublin because he knows how far.

Speaker 1

And that.

Speaker 4

But my dad, Amen, but my dad every what time your game's at seven and blah blah blah and aar and half away, I'll car pull all the girls like he was about that. He was about that at every game. You did that wrong? He was you worried about this too much? Like he did not play. My sister was really good at soccer two.

Speaker 1

Anything to get you off the bump she was chasing.

Speaker 4

That was.

Speaker 1

I went to that.

Speaker 4

That was another thing we were there thick my cousins there's like, you know, you see Kardashian. He's like, oh, there's a lot of them. Our family. There's like twelve first cousins and we're all girls and we're all the same, like around the same age, and.

Speaker 1

We used to do everything.

Speaker 4

What so my uncle, I'm telling all his business. Sorry uncle, he part he's in it. I'll just say he's part or somehow into the parking and Oracle arena.

Speaker 1

So he of course he is.

Speaker 4

Of course he is.

Speaker 1

You guys, you guys own all the parking around the world.

Speaker 4

Yes, so he was. He was whenever we needed to go to a show. What and he got us the front row at the It was the Bow Wow and Chris brown Win. Oh yeah, I'll never forget that. It was the one where you remember when Chris was on the thing and it like lifted y'all might not remember. That was a core memory for me. It was on It was like a thing that lifted up and he's like hanging off and doing the dances on the hanging thing. Y'all remember that.

Speaker 1

I had to see it.

Speaker 3

I don't think we felt take you down feel the same way, probably not about it.

Speaker 1

But I was gonna say, I'll take you down.

Speaker 4

It was gonna take you down, me and my cousins. Thank god my dad didn't go. He would have grabbed all of us by our hair and took us out. We were screaming like crazy.

Speaker 1

Front. It was theirs in the front. Yeah, my crew, y'all whole show.

Speaker 4

And we would have said right back because we need. And it was our aunts. It was like our aunts and our and my mom and all the and they loved it. They were if they would have picked us to go up, they would have let them because the mom's be cool. It's the dads, the dad's. Like one time I brought a man home and all the dads lined up like this at a at a graduation party to talk to him.

Speaker 1

Who who is this nigga?

Speaker 4

That's crazy?

Speaker 3

He wasn't my boyfriend. Listen, I can't wait for those days, see y'all not. I can't wait. My daughter thinks it's gonna be sweet. No, no, no.

Speaker 1

He gonna he's gonna he gonna all right, No, you.

Speaker 4

Too nice, you're nice thing. You're not gonna be mean, you.

Speaker 1

Know, I'm not, no, I mean. But when it's time for his baby girl, we're gonna act up. Yeah, like young man, you know this is like forty right, this is what it is. They don't face paint on like it's gonna you know with this than I mean, listen, man, y'all, that's not nice. We're not supposed to be nice.

Speaker 4

My mom and all of them were crying in the back. Though they think the ship is so funny, they were tears were falling because I was like mom. He didn't say word him in the car. He asked him, like, how you doing? My dad just he looked forward. I was like, Dad, he said, how are you doing? He's like, who.

Speaker 1

Own business? Stand on it?

Speaker 4

My little brother in the back, he's like, you're a football player. What do you do?

Speaker 1

He making it worse. Don't talk to him. He's invisible, so you now, what do you do? What are you doing?

Speaker 4

In Warner Brothers, I was in marketing the first the first internship because you know, it's per semester. So my first semester I was in marketing and it was like my eyes were finally glued open because I never seen in my head. I'm like, I'm gonna go in there. They're gonna love me, and I'm gonna play them. Either's some music I'm gonna happen to sing, or I'm gonna

do something. They're gonna give me everything, like a record deal, or they're gonna give me a job as an A and R or you know, like the most not happening shit is what's gonna happen? And I get there and it was like, can you go get us a coffee? And I'm like, oh, right right, can you go? Can you can you research this? Can you put this in some notes? Can you go print a hundred copies of this for the can you take these notes in this? In this meeting? I was like, oh, we do not make it.

Speaker 3

One are the projects that you remember, like off the off the top, like that you got into as soon as you got there, like that they may have had that.

Speaker 1

You was like, oh, ship, okay, I get to somewhere.

Speaker 3

Notes for the first semester, no one nothing, no.

Speaker 4

Because the man I was underneath shout out to you're cool. I'm not even gonna say your name. But he was just not my time. We were not connected musically.

Speaker 3

You know, they just sounds like yeah, fuck you, you're cool.

Speaker 4

You know he was cool. He just was like a white boy who like rock music and stuff. And it's like, I'm I was listening to Brandy and Jill Scott and Usher Like that wasn't I was like, what the who where? So now me being you know, Magglin and husband, I was like, who in this building do I need to go under for the next semester? So now I start meeting the people and no one black was on my immediate team, so like I was like, where are the black people at? Where are the people who look like

me at? And that's when I started researching too, just in general, who's somebody that I really could look up to? And that's when I learned all about Ethiopia. Wow, and Ethiopia was like this force in my life. I've told her this so she knows now, But I was like, you were my mentor without being my mentor, because number one, you are a woman in this space who's doing some shit that none of us has seen a woman do. Right, you are a black woman in the space doing some

shit no black woman has ever done. Or Sylvia Ron and you you know what I mean, Like, there's there's a few that I can name. I'm missing something, but there's a few I can name, but an Ethiopian woman, and your name's Ethiopia.

Speaker 1

Yeah, you.

Speaker 4

Walking in saying and that's why, that's why I've made my Instagram. It was open because I wanted you to know I'm Ethiopian and I'm doing this. There's not a lot of us I speaking.

Speaker 1

When you walk back there, when you walk back, was like I know, she's like, she's like, it's her Instagram. I said, you know, I don't know.

Speaker 4

I saw you followed me, took you long enough.

Speaker 1

I didn't even know that was your girl. Just kidding. I know better. I did better.

Speaker 4

I'm just kidding. You know. I'm playing with you. I love tell her, Yeah, that's my girl. But that's why I did that, because it was like I want I'm so proud of my culture and I'm so proud to just be where I'm from and to experience everything. And I've been to fourteen times. Oh okay, so I'm tapped in and I was like, yo, she's doing this. And then I started reading. I was like, she's been doing this since she was a kid. Because I was like, I'm doing well. I'm in the record space place, record

label place as a teenager. Nah, you in there as a college student girl. She was in there was she barely in high school? Yeah, fourteen, And I was like, oh, I'm late. I'm like, I'm super late. My dad, I knew it, you know what I mean, triggered, triggered I could have. I was right there. I don't blame him anymore.

I love it very much. But it was that because I was like, I knew I wanted to, but for her to be doing that, and then I just went on a deep dive read everything about her, read every move she made, and I was like, Wow, I cannot wait to hopefully meet this woman because she has changed my whole mental of this now. And I was like, Okay, I need to go fine to people who look let me around here. And I did, and I started interning

in publicity after that with Felicia Fann. Shout out to Felicia, who I didn't even understand, was such a force because I'm a nineteen year old college student who knows nothing about the music industry for real, and she was like a force to be recommend. That's when I was able to be like, I can name the people that I started working with. That was amazing because she was working with Jason Derulo. She was working with all the Ovo camp because they had the distribution deal we had MMG

right is that yeah? MMG is Rick Crosses, Yeah that we had that, So Meek and all them over there will at what I'm like, Andrew Day, Yes, and she put me on that project very closely. So I got to meet Andrew and like she really see and Andrew is the most talented, sweetest person in the world. Shout out to her. But I just and I've just seen her recently at the Beyonce premiere, which was amazing. But she was someone I got to like, really work on closely.

Like I remember Fee was like, I don't care if you're an intern or not, go make a one sheet for this. And I'm like, what is a one sheet? And her assistant at the time was like girl look girl like and I was like, okay, cool, this is the challenge. This is what I wanted. I'm not getting coffee, you know what I mean. So I'm over here making

researching what is a one sheet? Looking at others, going to people who in the building that I was friends with, looking at theirs, put put it together and I'm like, okay, cool, send it off and she's like, you did a good job, and I'm like, cool, okay, you know, and then she's like, now let's talk about this Jason Derulo situation. And that was when that song wiggled. Do y'all remember what's snoop?

We ran that whole campaign, and now it's like, okay, y'all need to sign in and y'all need to make a whole type of you know, fans situation activation get them excited. So now we're making this and me and my one friend Sophia and one of my really dear, dear friends. She's still in the music industry. She and me are over here trying to put this together because the A and R for Jason is her boss and

she's an intern. So now we're doing the project together and we're learning at the same time how to do this and put this all together, and we're coming and presenting to them. They're like, you guys are doing great jobs. So it's like finally we were getting like this experience that you cannot get unless you do it. Like I can't teach you how to do it in a class because it's not a teachable thing.

Speaker 1

It's a go do it, go do it.

Speaker 4

And we were like okay, you know, and that after that it was just that like I stuck and we were getting it, and like there's moments of course where they came in and they helped us and taught us. But being able and I always say this internships and being able to to really learn from people who are doing it and if they let you be a part of it and don't keep you out of arms distance

is where the no money could take you. Because that's something that I learned, and I learned be fearless, go in there and be like here here it is like I ask questions. If I can't get an answer, oh well, like just try and figure it out. And we did that and it was it was like the most rewarding experience because I felt like I learned every avenue of the record label side without having to be in everything because every as you guys know, every single department is

dependent on one another. You can't do publicity without talking to the marketing person without talking to the anar person because of that, the song that's coming out or we did it so instead of us being in the back and just not really getting to know what we were doing, we were right next to them in these meetings. I'm writing the notes. Oh okay, so this is this is how, this is how you plan a timeline out for an album roll out.

Speaker 1

Hmm, this one did.

Speaker 4

And then from us, it's like, which one didn't do well? Which one did do well? I'm now going back on my notes. Why, oh we did this differently, We spent this more on this one we did, and all those

things were factored. That information is priceless. And even knowing I was sitting in meetings with the CEOs and I didn't even know, you know, I was just sitting next to my boss taking her notes and everything, but learning and hearing and then even her speaking out and saying what she needs to say and making sure her she wasn't muted at all. Was important for me to see because we're usually told, y'all complain too much. Black women do this, y'all, y'all to bossy y'all. And it was

none of that. It was being assertive. It was being this is how if y'all need me to do this job, I need this and I'm not budgeting because I'm not going to do the job half assed and y'all gonna blame me. So if y'all want me to do a B and C to get the results of A B and C, I need a B and C. And if y'all don't, then we got it. And that's all me. That's because you said no. And I was like, yeah, because we ain't doing shit unless no. I was like,

I highlighted that. I highlighted that, you know, and it it just everything organization, all that it mattered, and I was able, like to go to places it wasn't. I saw how other interns were doing it. I also was in another internship at the same company and got a completely different experience. So for me then now it's like, hey, don't come in the office today, and I'm like, oh, you know. First off, my pockets was like, yes, where's

the shoe. It's in Culver City, fifteen minutes beautiful, praise God, you know. And it's like, yeah, get there early, make sure Jason's there, We have a call with blah blah blah blah blah blahlaughter, make sure this person's there. Make sure this person's there, and then and that all these papers are printed out, and it was just like cool, So I did that and now I get to peek in and see rehearsal. Oh, okay, this is how it is. What's that?

Speaker 1

Who's that guy?

Speaker 4

And then you know, I became friends with other people in the camp. They're like, that's the music director. Oh, there's a music director. He's directing music. Isn't the music already made? Like people don't know what a music director is. Well, I'm like, what are you talking about? The producer? And she's like no, girl, And I'm like she's like no. When you do live instruments and you do real like shows, you get somebody. You guys know what a music director is.

Speaker 1

But for people who don't.

Speaker 4

You get shows. When you get shows, you have the music directors come in and they make live renditions of your songs and there's the that's why you got those big moments where people are dancers and they have the big like boom boone moments and they're doing all that And I was like.

Speaker 1

Oh, that was a movie you just did. I saw him he was bump bump and it was like Peter and yeah.

Speaker 4

I was in my boy bag at that era. It was like boy band or like Jon. He was like a boy band by himself. He wasn't want band. He could do it all.

Speaker 3

I'm like, now you've be making like dessert and ship while he dancing and ship on the on the TikTok made a trade and out.

Speaker 1

That's great, gas station's great.

Speaker 4

Tapped into that.

Speaker 3

A billion dollars or something like that out to you, Jason, he's somewhere the nicest guy to nicest guy. But so okay, So you you learning everything all the ins and outs of the music business in your internship.

Speaker 1

How long were you a intern to.

Speaker 4

Two and a half or two years?

Speaker 1

So you put it in. Oh yeah, you got an education. Oh yeah, a full college education.

Speaker 4

And I was going there more than I was going to school still Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I made all my classes Tuesday and Thursday. The most hellish days were Tuesday and Thursday. From seven am. I graduated with a three point five GPS.

Speaker 1

Why not? Why not? Pops wasn't having would get this?

Speaker 4

Also, I had like grants and scholarships that if my had before, I would use it. So I had no choice. I would sleep in my roommate. Onere of my best friends, Talia, she's still we still live, she still live with me, and she would be like, girl, did you come home? And I was like no. She was like okay, because I was a communications major after I switched out of science,

and it would be like twenty five page papers. Yeah, so it would be doing all that and then or doing all Warner stuff and then coming and just sitting there writing for hours.

Speaker 1

Oh yeah, yes, oh yeah, yeah, yes, you'd have loved this new technology back then.

Speaker 4

The way we talk about all my friends, we'd be like the way we could have.

Speaker 1

But they don't learn.

Speaker 3

And that's the difference, right, because they don't learn, and it's can we can we skip the steps? Absolutely, those steps can be skipped, but there is a different exercise to take in the stairs. True, you get on that elevator, you ain't gonna lose no weight on that elevator if you're not gonna you know what the steps, No, bro, you gotta take the steps.

Speaker 1

Ai writes the paper and you read it. Ship, Let's go, let's go to let's go.

Speaker 3

This is We are songwriters here, and this is not to be taken lightly. Like I like to call us also magicians because we literally grab things out of nowhere

and create what we hope to become magic. What to write a song is not easy and you know, it's not for the faint at heart because also it is subjective true one person may love it and twenty may hate it and it could still figure out a way to be a hit, or vice versa where twenty people love it, the one person hates it and then they don't help push the button and you never get to hear record right, Like, no, this is real, Like this

songwriting thing man, and this music is man. I try to tell people all the time, like you really won't do this. We'll do this no matter how talented you are, no matter how any of these things are. A lot of ship has to align.

Speaker 4

What's on bosses wall just trained. Hard work beats talent that doesn't work. Yeah, that ship is so real, it's real, and talent beats work that doesn't like, you know, vice versa. So it's like if you are super talented but you're not working a lot of people, there's a lot of those. There's also a lot of people who work their asses off and they don't have that much talent. But guess what they in front, they're killing, they're killing, we're buying tickets to go see.

Speaker 1

It's just is what it is.

Speaker 3

So with you was thishere when you were back home and he was singing Orthodox Church.

Speaker 1

Viual choir. Were you writing songs then?

Speaker 4

Mm hmmm, I have songs you bump too.

Speaker 1

No, I didn't. No, I have.

Speaker 4

I'll never play it for you guys. But I had a song that I wrote with my cousin and my uncle, one of my uncles. I don't know if he's really my uncle, but you know how that goes. Yeah, he like my mom said my uncle. You know, you started asking a question. She's like, Mom, who's brother. She was like, he's your uncle and I was like, okay, but love

him to death. He's amazing. He is actually an artist, but like a guitar player music is they have a whole side of just instrumental, like jazzy, like feel good music. And he was one of those guys who did really well. And so he had a studio in his house up the street from my house. So me and my cousin a couple of times be like, hey, can we use your studio? And he's like, yeah, come on, I didn't even know, Like that's so crazy to think about that.

We were really fourteen and fifteen in his studio talking about can you turn me down a little bit. I don't even know what.

Speaker 1

Somebody said it before.

Speaker 4

Yeah, like I have one ear off. He was like, why is one ear off? And I was like, I don't know. He was like put it back, and I was like, you know, my cousin's rapping and I was singing, and like we were so excited to go show our parents after and like my mom was like all the aunts were like living it up and it was. It was just a time. So we did that a lot. So I was writing, but I didn't know it wasn't I should. I wish I don't know where it is. I wish I could go find it, but somebody got it.

I think my cousin does still. But it was it was funny. It was we were in there writing because who's writing it for us?

Speaker 1

We were writing.

Speaker 4

I don't know what I was talking about.

Speaker 1

Was it serious to you or you were just having fun?

Speaker 4

You were just oh, I was done that serious.

Speaker 1

Her moment was coming.

Speaker 4

Bro it was serious in the fact, like if I'm if, I don't know if anybody's gonna hear this or not, but like I'm trying to make the best song I could make. Yeah, And like I used to also write poetry, which is literally the poetry is literally music without like instruments. So I think that's what helped me to poetry class in high school and like all that. So it was like therapeutic for me too to just write things out and like all that works. Oh, wordplay, that's cool, Like

well somebody get that. Maybe they don't, but that's still cool, you know. Like so that's where I really At my uncle's house in Oakland Hills, we would write outside by his pool, just write on a piece of paper too. Wasn't no phone or nothing. We were writing, yeah, and I'd be like, song, what does that sound like? Okay, you wrap your part, okay, and I'm gonna come in right here. No, that doesn't work. It doesn't work like that was it was, and he was trying it too.

So we were just going back and forth. And I mean, if we had those those pageant moms or like pageant type of parents who were like, I ain't got nothing else to lose, you gonna be it and grabbed us and took us, I don't know we would, you know, because we were we had that in us that we wanted to do that. But we also were very much like you need to finish school and do all this stuff.

Speaker 1

So so like a long this journey. As you're speaking on it, like we get to the song writing, but how do you because you're doing so many other things. You're role managing, you're managing and your intern and so who says or who's like you're right? And then you're like, oh, you know, and then it's like.

Speaker 4

I was not saying anything.

Speaker 1

I was just in the studio.

Speaker 4

And then it was like when you're playing the song and you're in there and you're singing something for me to be like, hey, you can we mark that one?

Speaker 1

That's it?

Speaker 4

That's the one.

Speaker 1

Yeah, don't lose that tape because you're you know, you know too.

Speaker 4

You guys are in there spinning out melodies and spinning out things that you're like, I could do a better one. I could do a better one. No, we're out here hearing it.

Speaker 1

You got it.

Speaker 4

That's the one. Let her do it though, or let him do it though. Let them continue, But that one right there special, My hair's my hair stood up? Yeah, you know what I mean? Okay, cool, retake that part again. Mm hmmm, do it this way? That one, the one you did it like that when you weren't thinking about that's a form of being useful. But it's also that ears no, like that's a hard thing to know too and to be right, because someone can say that and then you'd be like, this ship is crash.

Speaker 3

I stay looking at nigga sideways, like first we didn't ask you hysterical, Let's start there.

Speaker 4

That's the thing too, though, wo.

Speaker 1

Man is blurring out.

Speaker 3

But no, to have to have good taste and to end timing and time and you know, because you may be called upon for something that you might might be ready, you don't get it. You can't help you know what I mean, And that like you said it, it's team effort. It's team effort.

Speaker 1

More than one person benefits off of the hit.

Speaker 4

Oh yeah, you know.

Speaker 3

And I think that's a that's been a at times tough part for people to deal with with when they talk about certain artists right where they're like this artist ain't that good, or this artist is trash, or what they own is blop up up up up, and people don't realize all of.

Speaker 1

The extended people who benefit.

Speaker 3

Yep, when that's certain artists from from the hood that fresh out of the pin or fresh out of wherever, catches that hit record and now has figured out.

Speaker 1

A way to make a way for four or five people.

Speaker 3

Connected to them to eat sometime to become millionaires, which can ultimately lead to someone else. And it's a trickle up effect more so than it's a trickle down effect, you know, where as far as the success is concerned. And to me, that is that's something that I always look at, even when I'm just looking at you know, the type of music.

Speaker 1

And you know, I don't like everything.

Speaker 3

We none of us do, none of us like everything, but we have to we have to look at what these songs do for families, for friends. You're giving an extra word here and there or a line or this and that and helping to become a hit record. And now it's like, okay, well you know, now that's your platinum, double platinum. So at first she was making five granted show or ten granted show. Now you're making a hundred. Now you're making two fifty.

Speaker 4

And for some people that takes decades. Some people never happened, never happens. Some people what happens in a year takes time.

Speaker 1

Takes time.

Speaker 4

And think if you stopped whoa who would have thought, you know. But that's the reason why I'm so adamant now, especially what you said, the trickle up effect, because like I said, Ethiopia was somebody who was monumental for me to be in this position because I was like, there's not many of us to look up too. But if I can be a change in that, and I can hire black women or women in general, and I can

have my kids kids. I don't having kids, but when I do and somebody else's and your kids kids and your kids to look up and be like, there's a brown girl who does that, who looks like me, I can do it too. We don't know because even right now, besides the big names and managers, there's no women big name that's as big as any of these, like Scooter Brons in them. There's just not that's not as famous or known. You know, there's nothing that like a little kid who doesn't know much is going to be like

there are women managers and especially black women. You have to do your research and you want to be in that field. But for us to know that I can help with the trickle up and be a part of a general there's so many women who are doing the Ebony Ward. She's one of them. Like Heather Lowry, she has the femin Forward program that I've been a part of for two years now that I love and like my mentee named Shi, She's one of the most amazing women that I've ever met. Kind just like I would

want her to be a part of my team. I don't know for whatever she could be. Whatever manager, you could be, a tour manager, you could be. I just want you around me because I felt protected with her, I felt seen with her. So for me to know that I can help her be in this space and then she can go help four more girls and then it now grows and grows and grows. That's the reason why I'm in this shit. That's the reason why I'm like, Damn, some days it's hard, some days it's really hard, but

I'm like, just keep like, remember what we're doing this for. Like, there's not many girls, especially who look like me or any of us who are out here doing what we're doing that represent for a group that really can do it well too and killing it. But where's the representation. Where's someone who's like rallying us on so that these little girls can feel like they're empowered and do it too, because I'm not gonna lie to you. When I was door dashing, I was like, yo, I might have to

not being music. I don't know, Like this is tough. I'm gonna do it, but it's tough, you know what I'm saying. And how many other people can you look and I can count on my hand, but the women who do and who have empowered and like all of the women who are doing a great job is something to really applaud and be like, we're making a change. And I hope there's at least one or two girls who can be like I want to be like her and I can do it because she did it. Because

that's all. That's a feat. That is a feat that I'm going to go to sleep and be happy about, you know.

Speaker 3

And that's why it's so important or what's so important for you to be here, because we wanted to give you this platform, you know, to tell your story, to talk about, you know, being a young girl in this thing initially starting off and becoming a powerful woman and the steps that you took and the people that inspired you in the bumps and bruises of it, you know what I mean, Like I've known you for a while, didn't know.

Speaker 1

You were door dashing.

Speaker 3

Oh you know what I'm saying, like I hit like, you know, we just but someone watching this who may be door dashing. Now, don't stop, you know what I mean, Like, keep going after your dream, keep pushing like there are people who have been in your shoes.

Speaker 4

That you're looking up to and thinking that got it. No, we worked, We could have stopped, you know, but it's really just staying true and true to it and true to yourself is another one killing it? Yeah, with Ali killing it like yeah, yeah, there's there's there's I'm so I'm so happy that I can even start to name off people like this because I remember when I first saw I was like how many how many people are there?

Speaker 1

You know what I mean?

Speaker 3

Like in this that are women, especially from the from the management stage our side, you know, like people don't realize that Ethiopia was a manager exactly, you know what I mean. And she was part of the management team for Carrie, for Sierra, you know what I mean. Women like Lakeisha Orange, you know what I mean, who's a primary way.

Speaker 1

Like just.

Speaker 4

Shout them out. I love it.

Speaker 3

Yeah, yeah, you know, like and for us as we've been in this business. Yeah, we've been in this business and seeing so many women do so many great things. And for us, listen, we're putting it out there. You are invited to come on this podcast like this is a this is a real thing, Like we want to have real discussions, like yes, are we going to have our artists?

Speaker 1

For sure, We're going to have artists. We're going to have producers, writers, managers, publicists, stylists, stylist you know what I mean.

Speaker 3

Like we are serious about people learning that it takes more than just the front people to keep this thing going. We don't have this podcast without Jacob Ruben Bowl, you know what I mean, Like, we don't we don't have this thing without our team, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1

Like, so we understand that and and and we're not in the place we're at without an Ethiopia. People don't know how.

Speaker 2

Much our Juliet Jones, our Joy Brown, our Grace Janes, like these are people who have played.

Speaker 3

A very important part of our careers, you know what I mean, Like who really helped us, who really guided us, and you know, have been very important to us.

Speaker 1

So you know, from from from all of that.

Speaker 3

You're the beginning of that for us of coming on to the shelter and having this conversation because sometimes, and let's be honest, the women of the industry aren't as open to having these conversations on these type of public forums.

Speaker 4

And I get why, well, yeah, I mean I get why.

Speaker 1

You know, they're there's you know, there are people who don't want y'all to talk y'all. Ship. We want you all to talk y'all, all of it, heavy, all of it. You know what I mean, come on tap with the plumber, motist la Zulu lawyers. You know.

Speaker 3

I mean, this is this is a real thing that we really appreciate the women in this industry and it's and it's so many of y'all that listen as y'all come to my head, I will say it, but I'm sorry if I'm forgetting absolutely.

Speaker 1

Like this, this this thing, man is powered.

Speaker 3

By black women the backbone of it and pushing us to it and helping us with it. And we want to be that platform for y'all, and we want to include y'all because a lot of time people be like, oh, y'all be having too many y'all don't have enough women on the show.

Speaker 1

We invite all the women. They gotta want to come.

Speaker 4

You know, it's to give back.

Speaker 1

So she got over there, champ, so you're starting up.

Speaker 4

There, Oh gosh, beautiful. Why asked my dad for pianis he's taunting me? Please taka as raight you talk to me because you know I can't do that and I wanted to.

Speaker 1

He wouldn't let them in the house. Lydia work with some great people. You are great within your own right. But all the sounds you've heard songs and artist you've artist you've seen who's your Oh god, top five, you're top five? Mm hmm, top five?

Speaker 4

You better your top five?

Speaker 2

R and B.

Speaker 1

Anything all let me song? Wow? We all then know you got the soul we got to know. We are tell us your.

Speaker 4

Yeah, you're.

Speaker 1

He's going on.

Speaker 4

So extra, so extra, just so extra.

Speaker 1

Sounds so good, don't you.

Speaker 4

I wish?

Speaker 1

Lydia. Yeah, you're excluding five, excluding no R and B singers, exclude no one. You can't know. You gotta tell the truth, Tell the truth. It was your face and.

Speaker 4

Singers Top five like vocal five R B.

Speaker 1

What else they're gonna do?

Speaker 4

So just their voice.

Speaker 1

They're gonna rap better sang, No, who sing that song? Who's singing?

Speaker 4

Okay, well number one, no particular order, but number one for sure Whitney Houston.

Speaker 1

The voice, Yeah, I mean is a the in front of that the.

Speaker 4

Like I told you, I was watching her when I didn't even talk. Jasmine, Yeah, where you're going, Okay, I have to ship it's, you know, real singing.

Speaker 1

If those two you know sang yeah, you know real thing.

Speaker 4

Brandy, Yeah, I mean.

Speaker 1

You have to.

Speaker 4

So those for sure. I don't care what people say. I'm saying it because I've heard her sing with my own ears. Beyonce, what do you talk people like?

Speaker 1

People? What do you do with these people? With these these who are these stupid listen? I wouldn't let them in my house. They can come in, damn Mine.

Speaker 3

She's a popping singer, period, is one of the most popping, the greatest of all, greatest.

Speaker 4

Okay, want to time, and I'm just going to keep it old school because that's how Mariah.

Speaker 1

Yeah season yeah, oh my god, Mariah Christian.

Speaker 4

Those are my top five for sure. Those are also besides Jasmine because we're kind of closer in age, who I literally grew up on listening with me Brandy, Brandy is Brandy is the book of libs and choices. Like people are, oh, she's so no her choices people.

Speaker 1

Don't just placement. Yeah, it's just just a session. They hit that note right there, right in the transition to I was.

Speaker 3

Like, yeah, she's a technician.

Speaker 1

Yeah, she's surgical.

Speaker 4

Yeah yeah, but even and me like, same way, her choice is surgical. And then you have Mariah Worre's like this feeling too.

Speaker 1

Mariah was able to dance into in this in this belt whisper space that only Ariana Grande has been able to. Yeah to mimic.

Speaker 4

I definitely kept it to my back in the days because I didn't want to have to even deal with all that because there's so many more.

Speaker 1

Oh yeah, there's so many aliens.

Speaker 4

Now, especially in our generation. But I just kept it to what I grew up on for the most or I just had to throw Jasmine because Jasmine takes me to church, just just.

Speaker 1

Just shouting for fantasia, Lord Jesus, that's what it is. Fantastic, that's that's what that's what you say after fantastic didn't say whatever your Jesus.

Speaker 4

Woman in music event, I mean women in entertainment or Hollywood. She she was getting an award and she went up there and she just said, Glory be to Jesus, but started singing him. When I tell you she got it, everyone, it was like tear eyed.

Speaker 1

You start showing, you start showing. She got something different. We she's anointed, anointed.

Speaker 4

So yeah, that's my top five singers. And I've been here before. So I feel like you're gonna say, what is it the superhero super you speak?

Speaker 1

Sorry, we're managing right now on the camera. Yeah, we manage it right now. Too fast. You're trying to manage something, all right, My bad drives. This is the R and B post, your top five R and B songs. Missed that on the sip.

Speaker 4

He didn't give me a sheep.

Speaker 1

Yeah. Probably in your email. Your email, you said you've been here.

Speaker 4

You you put a manager's little up on me.

Speaker 1

You see what he did. You said, you said, you said, wow, wow, guys to be girlfriend, not pandemonium. No, gossip is one of my favorites.

Speaker 4

Oh my god, Wow, dangerously in love.

Speaker 1

Mmm, way to kick it off.

Speaker 4

Thank you. I was looking a little shakey.

Speaker 1

No, no for that. We're gonna give you an edit. We're gonna edit it. It don't look like you take so long. I'm lying, you know, I'm lying.

Speaker 4

In love with another man.

Speaker 1

Hmmm.

Speaker 3

Women don't make songs like that all the time. Mm hmcause that's a very true thing. They be thinking that niggas only feel that way.

Speaker 1

It's not the truth.

Speaker 3

This is just me.

Speaker 4

I don't know why, but Angel in Disguise was something that really do you guys remember that one.

Speaker 1

Don't do this, don't ever ever Angel Disguise with Joe on the backgrounds when you ever, don't play.

Speaker 4

Next song for me superstar m h.

Speaker 1

Mmmm. Very love, very love that record, fair record, love that record.

Speaker 4

And I actually I take back Angel the Disguised because that was a great one.

Speaker 1

You started this whole debate, I know, and now you about to take the song back.

Speaker 4

No, no, no, because that song is still great.

Speaker 1

Full Moon, that's your one.

Speaker 4

Oh my god, full Moon is one of my favorite songs of all time, Mike City City all time? I think is that how many is that?

Speaker 1

Well?

Speaker 3

You took one back, but I mean you can still keep Andrew Disguise in if you would like to, and Full More because they're both amazing.

Speaker 4

Every one more just just we can get It's gonna sound like I'm saying this because I'm on this podcast, but that song actually took me. I couldn't stop playing it to the point my mom knows every word.

Speaker 1

When your mom knows every word, and I.

Speaker 4

Just saw it because it's right in front of my face.

Speaker 1

That was my screen tour. Come on, Mama and aunties. He was out of control.

Speaker 4

Say take it down to because that was really That was a song that really did. But yeah, you were you're very much.

Speaker 1

That was one. You're R and B voltron. You're a super R and B artist. Who you're getting the vocal from, who you're getting the performance style from, who you're getting the styling from, and who are you getting the passion of the artists? Okay, let's start with the vocal.

Speaker 4

Who's a vocal U for that, I'm gonna choose Beyonce's voice.

Speaker 1

She's like a Beyonce's voice. I'm choosing.

Speaker 4

I'm choosing Whitneys. I'm choosing Whitney's. I'm choosing. I'm choosing whitneys I'm choosing Whitneyes because Whitney is like a mixture of mouth. Yeah, she can get so ful and she can also she could do both. Okay, sweet, it's Whitney Houston. It's Whitney Houston.

Speaker 1

It's Whitney Houston.

Speaker 4

It's Whitney Houston. I don't know why I even on that.

Speaker 1

I thought, that's who you're going to pick. Whitney performance style on stage. Wow, Yeah, I like it. Yes, I argue, nobody's beating her on stage.

Speaker 4

That's what That's why I was like, I can use her for something else, like what you're doing Whitney Whitney, Beyonce.

Speaker 1

Styling Rihanna. Oh you you just out of control? Ye wor.

Speaker 4

Yeah, manager.

Speaker 1

Like it. I like it. The face when you know you're cooking. The passion of the artists Janet mm hmm, she sweated out.

Speaker 3

Mm hmm.

Speaker 4

You're gonna feel every emotion.

Speaker 1

She sweated out. I seem to do it to this day, to this day.

Speaker 4

Yeah, she's made men just fall over. The passion is her eyes when she's staring at Woo, like should I look away?

Speaker 1

You're looking at who are you looking at? Right? Well, Lydia, your family, Yeah, we are beyond proud. We got your back. Absolutely. The support is through the roof.

Speaker 4

Thank you.

Speaker 1

Whatever you need us for it is. It is done. That being said, thank you for coming. I appreciate it. I love it.

Speaker 4

I feel like we went way past.

Speaker 1

It's just information.

Speaker 4

It was just we started before we even started.

Speaker 1

Yeah, we was already gone. It's another forty minutes, but it's just you know, this information, like we said, it's just needed. Yeah, it's needed, these stories and these examples. Yeah, we need it.

Speaker 4

Yeah.

Speaker 1

So it doesn't you know, it doesn't stop here, No, it starts here.

Speaker 4

It does.

Speaker 1

And then there there will be thirty forty more lydias because hundreds because of this, I.

Speaker 4

Hope so, and we'll all be here rolling them on.

Speaker 1

Believe believe it. Batteries for everybody for sure.

Speaker 4

Yeah, yeah, thank you, thank you guy for having me come on, man, I appreciate you.

Speaker 1

All Money's take. This is the Army Money podcast authority on all things R and B BS bitness. You still do business today.

Speaker 4

We did?

Speaker 1

Maybe I need to media Money.

Speaker 3

R and B Money is a production of the Black Affect 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, Forward, slash r and b Money

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