Wrapping it Up podcast Wilson, This is beat Odd beat Out. What's up baby?
Feeling good? Feeling great? How are you?
I'm Soper proud of this season man, about what ten episodes in? Yeah, I've been saying, I've been saying Tyler's the best interview. I've been saying young boys the biggest and if he was two point four ms not that I not that beat Our cares about the numbers, but it's two point four ms up there not just the numbers, the numbers, the numbers by people bigging up the last Jezy episode and saying that's their favorite.
Stephen Victim, Man, I'm really proud of this the season so far.
Beat Us.
Yeah, this season is going. It's going pretty well.
Like you know what the thing is like, it's so unpredictable, right, like you never know who we're gonna get. It's always about timing and like why right now? But so far, I think the Tyler interview might have been my favorite because he's to me the perfect guess. You know, It's like a lot of times it's like pulling tea for a lot of these artists, but you know, Tyler has a lot to say.
He and he says a lot.
And he always brings it back to his original point, which I really admire. But it's it's it's you know, I understand why everyone likes certain things.
For certain reasons.
Yeah, people don't realize, man, what they knew. How the people beat up and shutting down behind the scenes. Man, you know what I'm saying, it's hard to get that rapperate on podcast booking Baby, Yes, we're not talking to Spooty G.
Okay, Swooty G might want to talk man, pop is fifty years old.
Man, come on, man, everybody's successible, man, everybody's relevant relevant. It's footy alive, hoodies alive. Man shout spooty Gee, or it's family or whatever. Man, easy man, swooty. But you know, we finally crossed another bar and beat out today's guests. We have a woman, a woman on the Rapperator podcast. Besides this for thirty episod over the Women.
Behold the Lady, Behold the lady is on.
The platform, man, a returning lady at that. It's not first time on the rodeo. Well, I don't know if we got our pronouns right there.
I don't even no disrespect, but I'm talking about the one and the only, the loveliest talented Janelle Money.
Yes, that was a good day at the office. Man.
She is She's dope. She's super dope.
Man.
That's bread interview where like you, she made us feel good, right man, that's special.
You know that that made you like having a guess like her just kind of reaffirm who we are.
It's so good, you know.
And I ran it too her a couple of months ago at the Rock Nation brought So she told me that she wanted to sit down with us, and she was really happy with the first conversation that we had almost like five years ago.
Yeah, we were standing for that Jango Jay record. I remember we were like yo, yeah janelleka rap.
So it's like it's funny, how funny how time flies and now here we are, you know, years later, and.
She's still working at a high level.
Yeah.
It's interesting because a lot of times with her, so she's doing press and she's making these really sexy videos and it's like, you know, all of that's cool, but you know what about the music and I feel like, you know, it's like you always say, like you see those radio interviews when you go to the Railo station.
They haven't even heard your album.
It's just like it's tiring, right.
You know what I mean?
And then arnists really be surprised. I was tell people to guess. Part of our secret is that me and Betot you know the jay Z do we skipped through the music or really listen to the ship.
We listened to.
Music, you know, me and Beatot of music hip hop, yeap R and B and we really listen deeply to the music.
We do research separately, and that's why we can come to come to these edgies prepared.
Man.
It's only when the guest is surprised that you heard their album, like or he read the book, or he saw their movie or like yeah we watched it, we sat with it, you know. So yeah.
No, there's really some really great moments in View where she literally like takes a breathfast, just like, oh shit, I forgot. Like you guys are like real journalists, Like this is great, Like have an intelligent conversation about like life and my music, and you.
Know that's people have to do.
Man, I'll be inspired the next generation man, Like it's I also treat you today, beat Out, you might like this, man, you always talk about the trap of a dead I said, journalism made dead.
Everybody's been scared, you know what I mean. It's just like, don't be afraid, don't.
Be afraid, man, Aaron Hall Man, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Baby, go through your research.
Man.
I thought you want to be streaming and shit, but do some research man, you know what I mean. Listen to that record again, run it back, man, take some notes and she has some great music, and especially the one Champagne Ship. I think that's my favorite on the album, All the Pleasure, No, all the Pleasure Mans, like you said, purposefully made it like about thirty five minutes. It's like it's a continuously dope. Listen straight through. Run it you can run it back. It's a great party album. It's
a great kickback album. Some of vacation album. It's like Yo, it's a soundtrack of the summer. A lot of ways to me, it's an easy listen man. Hopefully y'all find this conversation to be an easy listen as well.
So let's get into it.
Let's get into it man with the one only Janelle Monee Wrap It Up podcast.
Yeah, Yeah, wrap it Up.
Podcast, Elliott Wilson beat out, what's up, aby Field.
I'm like in the Age of Pleasure right now? Literally, yes, Miss Janelle Monee is here.
Yes, man here, Welcome to the Age a Pleasure.
That's the hell of the title. Now, that's the hell of the title. You Like, when did it land? When did you know? Like that's the title? Was that? What was the magic moment?
Was like this title woke me up at four thirty two am in the morn, four thirty two am in the morning. I was going back and forth. I had like in my notes, like at least eight titles.
I thought it was this.
I was gonna name it Black Sugar Beach, which is one of the songs, and I was like, man, that's not it. You gotta capture the moment that you're in, like this is a soundtrack to a lifestyle and what kind of light? What kind of life am I living?
Right now? Are we living?
And it woke me up out of my sleep and it was like the Age of Pleasure And I just kept saying it for like around people.
It's powerful.
So yeah, I know you had a spreadsheet of over fifty song concepts, right, do you remember some of the concepts that you had.
How do you know that I do?
I did.
Yeah, we have probably about a good hundred.
Wow.
This album was so fun and I love the approach that I took this time around. We were in the middle of the pandemic, right, and you guys know every day people because New York, we went to.
All the parties, right MoMA and Saint Claire in New York. Yep.
I went back, like shoot a decade ago to go into the parties. But anyway, most beautiful brown black people from Ghana to Nigeria, to South Africa, to Jamaica, the Caribbeans, New York, La, Atlanta all together partying in a safe space and they couldn't find a venue, and so we had come out here to La and I was just like, y'all should just come to our studio like space, we'll
do something. We can't have a lot of people here because we're not supposed to be partying, right, We're still in the pandemic, people still spreading life style on cardboard boxes. So we tested people and kept everybody outdoors. But at these parties, we would have moments where I would look out and I would say this right here, it's special this is to be protected, this is to be preserved. I want to make music for my people. These are my people. And once I knew who I was making
the music for, everything shifted. So if we knew we were having a party on like that Saturday, that Monday, Tuesday, we would go into the studio and I made this album with my friends, like literally with my friends for my friends. We went in the studio and I was like, we're gonna we need two to three songs that's gonna work in rotation. Don't tell nobody it's me. Don't announce shit, don't sain't nothing because it out. Let's see how it's working.
And that Saturday, we would play the songs and I'll be hiding, like and then I'll see people shazamn like and then some friends like knew my voice. They'd be like is that And I would be nowhere to be found because I did not want to engage, but they literally were moving. I was like, if people sat down, it's not going on the album. And so of those moments that happened, there were experiences that happened at the parties like this is a safe.
Space for us.
It's just like we're coming there all feeling like safe, you know, consent.
At a time when the world is so unsafe.
For me feeling so unsafe, this was like our little safe space. And what I would do is I would I would just write, you know, about everything that I was witnessing, witness I said, I cannot even talk everything that I was witnessing, So then I would write, let me tell you Colm again. So then I would write about everything that was happening. I mean what Nina Samm says. You know, an artist's job is to reflect the times. And a motherfucking time was had, Like seriously, it was,
it was had. And so I just wrote like lipstick lover.
The Gate.
Yeah, yeah, like people were just moving.
And you can always tell when a song is working when people have drank a little bit, because they gonna give you the truth, like if they're like drunk or their their tipsy, like if it's not working, they're gonna stop dancing.
And I'm one of those people.
I'm like, okay, all right, I'll get up whenever, you know, the next song comes on. And so I just remember going to the mirror after somebody had kissed all over here, over here, over here, red lipstick everywhere and just being like, that's a song like that right there, because I've had many of those moments, but I had never written about them.
So that's it.
I just I just allowed myself. I gave myself permission to to to pull from real experiences that were happening, and I catered.
I catered.
I got intentional about making sure that the people I cared about like it worked for us, it matched our lifestyle.
So everything felt inclusive to your core group.
Yeah, process, Like I was like, if we listen to this and we want to turn up to it, or we're on vacation, or we're playing games, we're smoking, we want to listen to it, Like that's it. Like I just want my friends to have music that fits our lives. I want them to always feel seen, I always feel heard, and I want us to like find joy in that forever.
That still that you had that communal experience in this playlisting age where you know it's kind of like every man for themselves, but you know you brought everybody together just kind of like to test out the music.
So yeah, And I also was listening to a lot of playlists, Like one of my favorite playlists that I would work out to was feeling myself from Spotify and that, like I feel like music was when I was listening to it, it was nothing but women and mostly black women, black queer women like talking to shit, you know, like making me feel like oh okay, like we are supporting each other, like there is there's real goddess energy that
is so unapologetic. People are expressing themselves in ways that like I feel comfortable with, Like I love that, Like my friends who you know are women, are girls could listen to that playlist and be like, yeah, like she's speaking for me. And so when I listened to those playlists, I sort of I wanted the Age of Pleasure to be its own sort of playlist and soundtrack.
I knew that. I knew that that was important.
Because your last album, Dirty Computer, they dropped five years ago, right and obviously killing me at the box office.
So during this time, where are you still creating music while you're.
So what did I do? Okay?
Dirty Computer came out, and really the pandemic happened, like it was. I went on tour and I did the Oscars twenty twenty, and that was my last.
Show wow until until I.
Took Yeah that was like, that was a last big thing I had didn't done, and that was twenty twenty. And so when we went into lockdown, everything got canceled for me, Like I didn't feel like I had anything to write about because I was trying to figure out life. I was like, okay, well, no more touring. How just trying to survive like most of us, you know, And I was lucky enough to be able to stay home.
I wrote a book I bought Oh man, I.
Came here with gifts for y'all for your support, and y'all can keep these bags.
But I wrote a book.
Called The Memory Librarian and Other Stories from Dirty Computer, and you can keep this bag and you can look in there.
There's some more.
Bring this.
I signed it for y'all than the other they're not bringing out books tracks. And I also brought you all shirt age pleasure.
Now if it don't you know, well you can cut yours like mine, or you can wear how you want to. But yeah, like I had to dig deep into things that I wanted to do, and I collaborated with those are short stories, science fiction stories.
I collaborated with Here you Go.
I collaborated with five other incredible writers on this and it just dives into the world building that that I've been so fortunate to do from uh with Dirty Computer. I knew on the album I couldn't talk about everything, but there were more more stories to tell, and these stories centered, you know, black, queer, trans, non binary like women are experiences and what a future looks like for us.
And this actually helped me write the Age of Pleasure because as I got out these stories that centered this sort of dystopian world, this totalitarian world that was seeking to take our identities, I started to realize that it was going to be important for me to define who I was outside of fighting, outside Who am I?
Outside of my oppression? And outside of my oppressor?
How can I create and realize a world with what list? I just want to go there and think about that. And I had a really difficult time, like what do I want?
What do I? Who am I? Outside of.
Fighting, you know, fighting to to convince people that me and my people matter.
You know that there's nothing wrong with me. That I deserve life, I deserve breath, I deserve to you know, Uh, Like who who? Who am I? When I'm not trying to convince.
White supremacy that I matter, that we matter, And I got to thinking about that, and that's what the Age of Pleasure was born, because I said, this time around, I'm not centering them, I'm not what what?
What?
What can I do? When the mission is love? Joy?
Instead of responding to oppression? How do I respond to love? How do we create a world of community, an oasis for us that's centered around love and the things that bring us pleasure and the things that bring us joy?
And safety was important.
How do we create a safe space because there is no pleasure as we know it without feeling safe. If we don't feel safe, we're not gonna be able to even enjoy any of it.
So anyway, yeah, I mean that's the thing too.
When we first came into game, we don't wearing the suits and the whole thing you fought against these this is my image. I'm going to do something atypical instood on that for damn over a decade.
So you keep evolving as an artist. It's amazing to see its important.
And as far as music, man, when I'm listening to the album, it sounds like you're pulling from a lot of influence from Dan soul reggae. You got saying them from Barons and Levy's it's the Nancy Patra mad Cobra like to do it sounding like that.
Yeah, I love us so much no matter where we come from. Like like I said with you know, the people that I wrote it for, these are my friends, and it's you know, they're from Ghana, from Nigeria, from Jamaica, from around the world, and so really this is a love letter to us, to the diaspora, to Pan Africanism.
You know, I love when our music can talk to each other, you know, knowing that Bob Marley was inspired by Motown, you know, and like seeing him starting from the suits, you know, his sort of do wop group and growing into who he grew into. You know, all of us are are just saying how much we love each.
Other through music.
And it was such an honor to be able to work with somebody like sister Nancy, who, like we've you can't go nowhere without hearing bombbomb right, like she is like a queen, and Grace Jones like that is a Jamaican God. Is Ri Patra, Like all of these people are outliers, all of these women, all of these black women did something in their community that a lot of
other people were afraid to do. And I love free asked motherfuckers like I love be never to say that, I that we that we collaborated, you know, on this project together.
I heard you spent three days with Grace Jones. What was that experience?
Like, I spent seventy two hours with Grace Joones. I can't even believe I'm saying that. It's crazy, man, When I tell y'all, she is so incredible and so warm and so down to earth and so like like she knows she's Grace Jones, so she doesn't have to act like Grace Jones, if that makes sense. So that kind of freaks you out because you're like, wait, you're cool, Like you're so cool, and most superstars like that.
Honestly that I.
Had the fortune to be around Prince and Stevie and you know, Grace Jones and these folks are super to me at least, they have always been very kind and no like ego there, And I think it's just sort of like it's just a testament to like, you don't need to do that, Like you don't there is like that's so distasteful to act like a caricature of yourself. But anyway, it was amazing. Like I went to a concert, I ended up on stage. I don't know if y'all saw the video with her slapping my butt me crawling
between her legs. Then it was just it was so just chaotic and fun. And then we hung out that night. I went to her hotel. She had a little event and we had met years ago because I opened up for this band called of Montreal and they were opening up for her, but we didn't connect. And so one time though after that, out of the blue, she called me.
This had to be like over a decade ago, and she called me and I was like, oh my god, Grace Shans just called me and we were just talking regular and she's telling me how much she loved me, and I was telling her how much I loved her, and I was so just freaking out on the phone. But we didn't really connect connect after that. And so this time though, like she said, I said, so what
are you doing the next day? This is after I went her showing and she was like, oh, nothing, darling, what are you doing?
Let's hang And I was like, okay, well come over to Wonderland, the same place where we created the music.
I said, come to Wonderland. I love to like, we can have lunch, we can swim, whatever you want to do. And she was like okay, and I was just like, she's not gonna come. She's Grace fucking Jones. She probably told everybody she's gonna hang out with them and ditch them, and I kid you not. Her assistant reached out and was like, Grace wants to come over. She swims every day, she wants to swim, and here are the wines that she drink. Right, And she came and we had lunch.
We drank wine. She got in the pool topless. I'm in the pool.
We just like just free, just like living existing.
Nobody's worried. And she left and then came back again, and then we stayed up to six in the morning. And I have a birthmark. I'll just tell this last story. I have a birthmark on my back. And we were She's she's so motherly too, like she not like like like in a like how are you you know?
Let me hug you, let me see you.
And so she spun me around and she noticed my birthmark and she said, you have the same birthmark I have and she showed me her birth mark and so we have the same little mark on our backs.
And I was like, oh, we're connected.
I knew it, so anyway to say the least, and then we recorded. We went to the she came in the studio recording Grace Jones. I have to tell this another day because y'all just have no idea, Like it's like a tiger in the studio, Like, because she will take you over here, over here, We're like, okay, so so do it like this and it's like, no, I'm over here, I'm over here, and like I know I'm over here. And but she gave us I have a
good hour of her record. She recorded on multiple songs, multiple songs, so you know, maybe we'll do something later with it. But it's just an honor to be able to tell her how much she means to me and how much she has affirmed me, you know, as I have evolved and I've decided to honor all of me. For her to affirm me and tell me to go forward. You know, I really have to say, like I really have to thank her over and over and over again.
And beat that I mentioned, you made too many concepts and songs.
It's interesting how you cut it down to fourteen thirty something minute length, Like why was that so intentional?
You know, I usually like my arch Android, I did like a double album. I think even with Electric Lady that was a double album. Dirty Computer was not. I think I liked the replayable value of it for myself, like I did, yeah, run it back, because that's what I was finding myself when I was listening to it.
I was like, oh, after a dry red and then Float came back on, I was like, oh, I can listen to this over and over again, and then if we want to listen to other people music, we can go after that and listen to others.
We can.
You know, you have you not overstanding, You're welcome, and for me, that's what it's about. It's about coming in, saying thank you, I love.
You, and good night and the masterful secrecy too.
You like to see, Okay, how did it work for y'all? Like I know y'all music it's lovers y'all've.
Heard and doesn't get enough credit the producer.
Oh that side of you like talk about that, like how you put because it seems like there's so much care in transitions and production across the board.
Yeah, you know a lot of this album I engineered myself, like a lot like it float. You know, I worked And I got to give a shout out too, because when you make these, when we as artists sort of have a vision, we have to have our trust, our brain trust of people that you're like, Okay, here's.
What I'm thinking, listen to this. And I have to give a shout out to Nate Rocket Wonder, who's been with me since every album.
You know, there's nothing musically we can't do together and he can't do. Nuna Quab and I who was the DJ at the parties playing some of the some of the music and worked on Yeah, I worked on in production with me and as well as Bueno since a Buyno like us three really like we're the nucleus. And you know, when I was putting together the Seguins, when we all were listening to it, we we were like, no, Nah, this needs to go here, this needs to go here.
And ultimately me trusting them and them trust me.
Led us to that. We just knew like it felt good.
And because none of is one of the only DJs you know with us and I picked up DJ in a little bit, so I know a little bit about DJ, but he was able to say, like, in terms of sequence and tempo, this is if we're talking about like putting something on for the party, like this is where you're gonna lag if you put a song on there
that's like under this bpm. So once I kind of knew that, then I could make decisions like just knowing like, okay, so the songs that I like are not over this bpm, but they're under oh okay.
So that helped me. That helped become a guide for me.
You said you wanted to capture kind of a four pm to four am.
Yeah, I did, think, you know what, I just want to say, I appreciate real journalism. I appreciate y'all listening doing your research knowing that absolutely this album was so intentional because when you think about those parties, their day.
Parties, and they go in tonight.
So right, so like if you went to an everyday people party, you know it's starting around three pm, four pm, and so I wanted the songs for you to be able to have like that batch of songs that you can put on from that four to six pm slot. Then when the sun is going down between that like six to nine, what are we playing? And then some of the songs even from four to six pm, work
from like that nine to midnight slot. Okay, so when everybody around midnight are trying to figure out, Okay, who you going home with tonight?
What are those songs you.
Know you're listening to no better you listening to paid and Pleasure. Then it's going into Only Have Eyes two, which can be played at four PM or four in the morning because you're trying to think about which people you're going to go home with at night if you're at my party. And then right and then when you get to like the ooh the dry Red, like that's
watching the sun come up. You're watching the sun come up with that person and you're just like, wow, we just had a night, we had a day, we had an experience, So that was important when we played those songs during those slots, and then they worked.
Yeah, like we mentioned the sequence in Champagne Shit kind of melts into black sugar Beach and like it gives it its own moment.
I want to hear right now, what is Champagne ship?
What does that mean? It feels like a big pimping kind of moment.
Ooh, it does have that, like it can go either way.
I think for me, champagne is more of a state of mind, Like it's not literally being like, go get some champagne because a lot of us can't afford champagne.
Shit.
I couldn't afford champagne until I started really working, and some of us may not like it. But when you think about champagne, though, what is it representative successes but also celebrations and most.
Times are we drinking champagne alone.
Or with with with a group community champagne it's when you win, when you with your day ones, when you with your people, and that's what that represents, Like we on our Champagne ship unapologetically. Like one of my favorite lines is don't ask me shit about work because I'm on my champagne shit. Don't ask me shit about work because I'm on my champagne shit. Like I was, like, I know everybody don't feel that line.
I hear it.
I felt theseggs about to make a whole lot of money.
Let me tell you that these niggas about to make a whole lot of money. When I wrote that line, I chuckled because one time I went to Magic City in Atlanta, because I you know, I've lived in Atlanta. I still have my place there for since, like really the beginning of my career, and I would always go to Magic City and I just remember looking at the girls and being like, damn, they're about to make a whole lot of money tonight. And I've always wanted to say it. And I was like, this is the pro
for your time. So I'm so happy, y'all. I'm so happy that y'all like the stuff to get a video. Look at you, Okay, you want to I love it, he said. Let me tell you.
I'm putting my I'm putting it out there. Well, I'm trying to figure out we got some stuff.
We got some stuff. You know.
I had a wonderful time. I co directed Lipstick Lover and uh.
Water Slides. It like to put these visuals out there shut the world down, like immediately, like you obviously doing what's good, but like I feel like instantly the visuals just shut the world down.
Man. Listen.
It's like I was talking to a friend and I was just like, it's so difficult to impress about this project because it's so much of our lives, Like this is not a even the talking points are from a lived experience. It's not a it's not something that I have to a role out that I have to plan or I have to do. Like literally, it's really our lives and it's how we how we how we lived. And I've been thankful that it's resonated in the way
that it's resonated. But every A lot of the people that you see in the visuals are my real friends, you know. These are people that I yeah, these are people that I hang out with. These are people that you know, are are are people that have given me such rich experiences.
They've made me feel safe.
Like I can be all of me around them and I don't got to worry about, you know, uh, anybody making me feel you know, shameful or unsafe uh in these spaces. And it's just a love letter back to them. And so for that to resonate, that's something that comes so pure for me and my friends, Like that's like so beautiful because I love them and I like that we're being celebrated.
You know, we're being celebrated. We are very celebrated. We shot Lipstick Lover actually at at Wonderland, right at you know, right in it really is. It's special.
It's it's special, and you know, we do everything we can to preserve that and make if people come into that space, you know, you to honor that. Like not everybody can get into wonder like you know, I have a lot of friends who are even in the industry, they're very successful, and they can't even come because it's a vibe. You got to understand the vibe. You got to understand the energy. It's not about how much money you have, you know, it's not it's not about class.
It's not about our classis excuse me, It's not about all that.
It's like, you got to understand the energy.
And we try to make sure that the aura is checked, it checked. I have an Aura Checker BEFO where you come in and you would get scanned and if your stuff is coming up all a check like a blob like huh, hey, you gotta you know, listen, we love you, but you gotta go deal with that and be ready to come into the party. Even myself, you know, I wasn't always somebody that could take in the beauty of something like a Wonderland because of my own healing that I needed to do.
You know how you can.
Walk into a party and you just you just really are not in a good space.
You need to go home.
Yeah, the so dope about the video.
It's like a rotic gets sexy, but it's not gratuitous, you know, it's not like sleeez or anything like that. I love the fact that you showed your mom and she gave you the feedback for it. She said she hoped that the Big Booty would have wait for.
My live is hilarious.
Like I was like, let me, let let me show her this before it comes out, okay, and so literally like every thing I put up, she my mother is.
I love that we've come so far.
Like I grew up in a pretty My mom wasn't really conservative, but her mom was. You know, my grandmother was born and raised in Aberdeen, Mississippi, and she was from that black you know, the black generation where you know, church was all they had. It was a means of survival. And so whatever their church taught them, you taught your kids, and your kids taught them taught their kids, and a lot of things were passed down, certain things that you
know right now, God rest my grandmother. So like, you know, I grew up in a church that was very homophobic, like most churches, like you, we were taught you homosexual, You going to you going to hell? You know, a church where you need to wear you know, I have a skirt, a long skirt on today, but that was the norm, Like you could not show skin. They would talk down about women who would show their cleavage.
You know, I was.
I was always taught even when I got in the music industry, like, oh, don't be like those video girls, you know, make sure you you know, you dress this way or you look this way, and you know they're Jezebels.
Don't be a Jezebel. Wow, you know that.
And but that's not it's not just my experience. So many of our our people are conditioned to align and assimilate with misogyny, to assimilate with conservative views that have for generations stop the freedom and the autonomy of women, specifically Black women specifically. And so anyway, I'm saying all this to say, I'm so happy that my mother has come around to being very supportive of me and who I am, you know, as her daughter, and for her
to see me living out my truth. You know, unapologetically and me knowing that I have a mother who is when she's in a room with whoever, she's gonna have my back.
It's no small thing. It's no small thing. Yeah.
Another woman that had your back was Ni Along.
She's on my crush, my forever crush. That's when I knew. When I saw Na Along, I was like.
I think we all do everybody right.
And she's such a good person too, like I'm so happy to have, you know, a friendship with her, and she was.
She killed it in the suitter. She was like, really one take and I got to engineer her. I got to one day I'll release you know footage. I got to engineer her and so many other people on the on the project, and she her voice. I wanted that love Jones, like you know, pheel your ocean, come to my moon. Let already become a month soon because I demoed it up.
But I was like, the only other person that could really kill this would be like n Along.
And she said, hell, yeah, I texted her.
Before.
She's never I don't. I don't think so. She yeah, she's you know, she's a special person, very special.
She's kind of like an executive producer because she gave you like approval for the photos to use and things like that.
Yes, she did. She was like, don't use She was worried about like when she came over to record, you know, she was like, don't use those photos.
Oh wait, okay, No, I'm like, how you know about that conversation?
Okay?
Because I put her in the trailer and so she had come over and we were all dressed down and she didn't know what she looked like. And I sent sent it to her and she said, yes, okay approved, you know, you can use that photo. But I showed her my press photos of me coming out the water, which was paying homage to you know, the old old Jamaica advertisement photo and shout out. And I showed her the press photos and she was like, oh, yeah, that's the one. Don't blur out, no nipples, don't blur You
got some pretty titties. You got some pretty titties. Like no, that's the one right there. That's art is beautiful. It's just natural, like it's effortless.
Go with that. And so yeah, so went with that.
That's do. I love the fact that you do all the engineering too.
You're like a woman, then man, I love it.
A woman or a or are they they? It's okay, I don't know, I have to come up, but.
I feel you.
Oh, I do have to give a shout out to my engineer Jada, who when I don't feel like doing it, she kills it.
Yeah, she killed I.
Try to work with a lot of women engineers Jada like, oh, and I have to give a shout out to, you know, my engineer Young as well, so when I don't feel like doing it, and they've been incredible and putting the stuff together Young and Jada, So shout out to women engineers all around the world.
But you also working with a dope female rappers. Got on the album phenomenal.
That's my sister.
Why was she like the right place for that song?
She's so talented, you know, she's just getting started. And I just saw so much like she's her own individual obviously like she's killing it, but her free spirit and like the way that she's coming to the industry and
like brought something new. I see a lot of myself and her and so much so when we you know, talked and met, like she said that and was so just like it was so beautiful just to hear her talk about when she first had got introduced to my work, and I was like, what, like, man, I that always makes me feel good. But I always try to tell artists like, no, you go, do you like? I support you?
I love what you're doing, Like I don't want anything from you but to see you shine, and if you need any advice, I'm here, you know, but feel no obligation. And so me and her just started to become really tight, and I had her over to the studio and I played her, you know, a few songs, and I didn't tell her which song I wanted her to be on. As soon as she heard Phenomenal, she jumped up and I was like, that's the one. That's it, that's what that's what I want. I want you to be on
this song. And yeah, she's such a beautiful and such a humble spirit, like eager to learn, like she's going to have a really successful career.
It's interesting to beat that had a little Kim shut on someone interview.
We're talking about the divide back then between like a little Kim or Lauren Hill, right that we couldn't like this type of female, the imagery of the situation and now one of the great things about female hip hop right now, we see so many different looks and so many different artists, like what do you make of that?
Who else kind of catching?
Yeah? Yeah, I love that we can do both.
Yeah, I remember that, like a lot of people would try to put them against each other and make you choose. And I love love Kim, and I love you know, Lauren Hill, and I see myself and so much you know of both of them. I am who I am now but growing up, like I could recite a lot of stuff and Lauren back and forth. But anyway, I think that it's a beautiful thing. And I want to
always support, you know, women even if their freedom. And I hope that the women who are in hip hop and say like hip hop is their thing, even if her freedom doesn't look like.
Your freedom, support it. Support it.
Like women, you are not the enemy of each other. You're fighting a system that was never created for any of you. This music industry wasn't created for you. This patriarchy that we're living in was not created for you.
And when I.
Think about sort of the divisiveness that is going on right you know, my thoughts is just like outside of rap let's take all that out of it, as as women, you know, as non binary folks, as minorities in this majority.
These systems were not built for us.
I ain't gonna lie.
I'm kind of bummed on this album Age of a Pleasure because it's like there's no rap standing out moment like Jango Jane fan boys, you know, right.
Oh that's right, Well listen you have Jangle Jane.
You can, but but don't sleep on float feather.
I'm like, is a feather your baby? I float what? It's hard to look at my resume and I found a reason to tell. I mean, I used to let niggas get to me. I used to be my own enemy. Now I don'et have several epiphanies over some breakfast at Tiffany's. We had to forgive on my frenemies. They are now who they pretend to be. I had to protect all my energy. I'm feeling much lighter now. I float load. Come on, now you.
Got off front.
I was you wanted that.
You kind of help that with the bars? Are you don't want to put too much in it? Right?
Yeah?
I mean you know I used a different muscle. I think I think with this with this project and just art in general. You know, my job is to figure out, like how can I how fresh can I make things? Like how can I tap into different sides of me? I get really yeah, I get really bored with like doing the same thing, Like if people love something even about me, like do that little thing, and I'm just like,
nah about to trap me. It's so important that I keep going and I keep evolving and that I keep discovering new things about what I can do, who I can be, what I can say and I can say it.
Does that make it?
Because you're viewed as an album artist, right, that you have these four bodies of work that all uniquely different.
Yeah, but sort of thing like that's why you got the resume.
Bright Listen, I've worked hard and I'm continuously working, you know. I mean just thinking about and I say this humbly, just thinking about how far I've come from just making albums to then going into making films and writing books. I mean, within what this twenty twenty one, I released The Memory Librarian, went to go shoot glass onion and wrote.
The Age of Pleasure.
And to be able to say that I never would have thought that I would would be able to do that, and I'm just so happy that I allowed myself to.
Go outside of my.
Own expectations of who I could be, what I could say, how I could say it, and given the time to do it. You know, sometimes you catch a wave and sometimes you don't. Like there are certainly moments, let me be clear, there have been certainly moments where I didn't know what the hell I was going to talk about. I don't have anything to say, and people are looking at me like, so, when's the next and I'm just like, I don't got it, you know.
But I'm really proud.
I'm proud of the work that I've done, We've done as a team, and yeah, I'm very proud of that.
Speaking of waves, man, you wrote a tsunami because the last time we told you didn't have a diamond song.
But we are young, oh to know it is.
Yes, listen, shout out to fun. I will always say thank you to those guys. They called me to do the bridge and sing the chorus with them, and you know that song is. I can go to the middle of a bisa and they are playing we are Young, and you know you can go to some of the hoodies clubs in the world and they playing We are young, So that's a beautiful thing to be a part of. Just music that.
Can walk in any room, you know.
And speaking of the visa, you about to go on your own tour soon next month. Yeah, what can we expect from that?
Man?
Oh well, listen, I mean right now, I'm you catching me like I'm still in my head trying to figure out, Okay, what songs, what songs from the previous albums I'm going to play. I might need you to help with that. What songs from the previous album I'm going to play? What new songs? We're still weaving them in together. You know,
it's very interesting. All the work is talking to each other though, like with Archaandroid, with Electric Lady, Dirty Computer, when you come from this sort of dystopian world and fighting against the androids and and folks fighting against the totalitarian society.
The Age of Pleasure is the next phase.
And so I've always sort of planned out this moment in my career. I wouldn't I didn't know how it was going to sound, though, I didn't know how I was going to look. But the Age of Pleasure is all of the people that I fought for on these projects, realizing their dream and living out their reality, having a safe space, having a space free from that sort of oppression, and being amongst each other in the world watching it, watching it. And so that's the beauty of just like
this moment that we're in. People always ask, well, what happens?
What do they want?
What do they fight? Like if you read the book, like what do they actually want? And this is the life, this is the life that we are living out, that I'm living out for us.
So live show is going to be a little bit different this time around.
It's going to be a little different.
But no, but you know, I love live performing like I love I love being able to see the people that come, you know, because this is like their church, the church to kick them out for being who they are. We created a church for us, right, so when you come there, like it's a religious experience because people are just happy to be amongst people that affirm them and where they feel like they're safe and they could be
free and all those things. And like we're gonna play the songs, We're gonna give a hell of a show. Like one thing I'm not gonna do is half ass.
No show. I love performing, I love I love it.
I love it so much, and I just can't wait to like create something that will only be for Seattle, that will only be for New York, Like we'll be in New York at Radio City Music Hall and then we're doing Brooklyn King's Theater.
Yeah venue.
So I'm excited. I'm ready.
I'm excited too.
Are there particular songs that the fans definitely crave because like, for me, I love Cold War.
I gotta see that.
Oh really you want to see Cold War?
Yeah?
I don't know if that matches in the a you know what? Okay, all right, that's it.
It's like a fan for the video is just so stripped down and it's just so emotional and it's just a record.
Yeah, I gotta give shout out.
We just lost her snead o'con and you know when she did nothing compares to you and her video with just her face and when you look at Cold War, I definitely you know, we were inspired by her and she was such a like a voice, like yeah, great
talent forever. So yeah, just thinking about that, I'm I'm so basically I'm saying all this to say I'm trying to weave in the story into now you know, this is such a so we'll see, but just know it's going to be very intentional, thought out and experience unforgettablegettable.
Mentioning Sad, I know you were really affected by the passing of Tina Turner.
How did that affect you?
Tina's the blueprint, you know, especially when you think about live performing.
You know, this is somebody that.
Just really set the standards, set the bar for a lot of us. And and you know she's also born in December, sagittaries like myself and I don't know, I just always felt a connection to her. But her energy will never be forgotten, you know, never forgotten.
So she evolved it becoming a free motherfuckery.
Eventually, eventually we we we all, you know, if if we're around long enough, we got the right people around us, and we will get braver and braver and braver, you know as time goes, So eventually we all we'll all get there.
I mean, shit, on the float, you kicked off the album and say I'm not the same, So.
Oh no, I'm not the same nigga. I actually was gonna cut off that part because the part like no I'm not the same.
No, I'm not the same.
No, I'm not the where I'm like finding it. But my uh, you know, producers who were in the room, they were like, do not e waste that part, Like they need to see you literally going.
Through your transformation.
And I'm happy we kept it because yeah, it's you know, my music is always a reflection of where I am. If I'm on we own tuxedos and androids right now, we're gonna be on that. We in the age of like a pleasure. We in the age of pleasure, and we're on that. And yeah, like just thinking about purpose, you know, I mean, let me turn this around on y'all.
I feel like I'm talking before we.
Get out of here, where we get out of here.
Let me turn this What are y'all doing for your for yourself when it comes to pleasure?
What things are bringing you great pleasure? Right now? Give me at least three for me?
I like doing this, this gives me pleasure. I don't really take vacations. I don't think I've ever taken a vacation in my adult life, so.
Just really like never like gone to Mexico or it's just.
That like I have fomo. You know, I feel like if I do something, something's gonna happen. I'm going to miss it. So I always like to be on standby, and just I like to work, you know, Sean said, vacation.
I feel better at work.
Okay, all right, all right, I'll received that. I don't agree with it. I believe in balance and all things trying, but I get it.
You'll get there, You'll get there.
He's still single.
But also, oh cute, Oh y'all can take a cute little vacation together.
I think we're gonna do that next year.
Travel travel with her. That could be fun.
I'm gonna do that. That gives me pleasure me around her. She's she's great.
Well that's good. I affirm that for you.
Thank you that.
Yes? What what what is?
Listen?
I get that too.
I mean, you know, my lovely wife, Daniel, I love Daniel, is amazing. I have a beautiful dog too, little car area that's like our child's two years old.
Two years old.
I think, just trying to go back to traveling more. Feel like we travel a lot before the pandemic. Yeah, and since the pandemic, haven't really found that groove again. The only time I've kind of traveled now is do work like be that for work. So just trying to find that balance of like, you know, enjoy especially now because we're not structured to have to work at offices the same way. Just ever change things. You can work from anywhere. You might as well take the time to
experience and go to places. You just tell me you came up with great vacation, So yeah, going different places and put different countries. Like, I'm not as well traveled as I think I should be a fifty two year old man who's sure achieved so much. I still haven't been too many places that I probably still want to go to before.
Yeah, it all goes down.
It's not too late, not too late, it's not too like it's interesting thinking about travel. Like growing up, I never took vacations my parents. They couldn't afford it. At work and work and work and work and working. As soon as I got of age to work, I was working. And so I think now I'm making up for that.
I'm just like, okay, let me puol a little money aside, just go and travel and it not be because I have to tour there, which has been amazing to be able to go on tours overseas and stuff, but just like, no, I'm taking this time. And you know, I have this one sort of earth experience as I know it. And as an artist, my job is to record what I am seeing like I need. I need to be inspired, like people don't realize, like artists need to.
Just do nothing.
Yeah, I need to live in order to have something to say. And that's been like one of the biggest things for me is this phrase that I live by and I want to share with y'all is hurry up and.
Live live and get that time too.
All right, well too, more pleasure in all of y'all listen, because we in the age of pleasure and I want that for us so much.
As much as we work.
I know you already told me how you felt about vacations, but it's much as we work. May we find the balance. And I'll do this toast with y'all. Yes, there we go, all right, to the lives.
We lead, say, okay, we're not gonna do this toast to the lives we leave, to lives we lead, to the dreams we chase, the dreams we chase to the moments that we may.
The moments that we make and to the fucked up ship. We can't erase the ship and.
Can't erase Yeah cheers, mm hmm.
We drinking water but.
Dream Yeah, thank you man.
Thank y'all so much for having me.
Always appreciate y'all support, like I really really appreciate it, and thanks.
For being Yes, we need it.
We need y'all.
Podcasts.
Yeah, rap rador Is The Interval Presents original production from hyper House, produced by Laura Wasser, Hosts and producers Elliott Wilson and Brian B.
Dot Miller from Interval Presents executive producers Alan Coy and Jake Kleinberg, Executive producer Paul Rosenberg, editing his sound design by Dylan Alexander Freeman, Recording engineer Jeremy Ogletree.
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