#333 - Janelle Monáe

Hey, what's up, Y'all's Janelle Monnee. Check me out on the Bootleg keV Podcast.

Bootleg keV Show special guest in here. Thank you for Cominge Monee.

Thank you for having me Bootleg keV.

Yes, I was telling you this album that you have released it just first of all, I heard you had a good time last night celebrating I did. I did, great album. It feels like the summer. It feels like pool vibes. It feels like, you know, barbecue in water, mm, alcohol in the air.

Yeah. Yeah, well, thank you so much for listening.

Yeah, I definitely have vacation vibes on my mind.

I mean, you're also in the water on the cover.

So yes, you know it's all about being I'm more like I will say, I'm like water these days. You know, that's what life. You gotta you gotta roll like.

That for you.

Like I think like you obviously we know that like Afrobeats is kind of like finally getting it's like just do commercially, but for you to have like Egypt eighty on the project repeatedly, they're kind of like the family that started afrobeats. Yeah, so I don't think a lot of people know that is that was that something like you consciously wanted to do, like kind of give them their light, because I think that was pretty dope to have them on the album.

All yeah, No, shay Yun Kuti, who is the son you know, if you guys don't know, is the son of Fela Kuti, who is just legendary.

The founder of afrobeats, the.

Founder of so much of the music that we love from the continent. And we had done like a couple of shows together and you know, he definitely is making his dad proud, but he's his own person and he's just sick when it comes to horn playing. And I was like, I want to make sure that we have his touch because it's important to me that the diaspora is seen here. You know, this is a super Pan

It sounds like very good, like it's it'd be like some people try to pull stuff in and it's like, you know, it just sounds like like it sounds great and organic. So I agree. Yo. I wanted to ask you because obviously are you from Kansas City, Kansas to Missouri.

Kansas City, Kansas all day? You gotta know it?

Are you like super hip to like because on the other side of the order there's Casey Mo and there's like Tech nine is like the biggest guy.

I love Tech nine. Yes, I've been doing Tech nine for a long time. We used to be well he probably wasn't doing these, but I would remember performing at events where he would be and performing talent shows. That was all I did. Five hundred dollars first prize and Tech nine was like always the guy in Kansas City legendary.

Yeah.

I just always want because I was such a small place in terms of like musically.

I think he's on the Missouri side, but we share a city and we all. I was always performed, we were performing at the same events. We would always somehow end up in the same sort of studio with the same people. Yeah, I have a whole whole nother past. The Weirdos too, that was another rap group. I used to be sort of in that group singing. We were like a more I don't know, like experimental fujis.

Oh wow, Yeah, I like that.

We we love the Fujis and we were like, how can we make it even more weird?

You know when we did stuff together?

So you know what I mean. I realized too recently because I just revisited I revisited Idlewild for like the first time. It feels like in like ten years. Wow, Because I'm a huge Outcast fan. I got Equimini right there. Yeah, but that's like the last real I guess body of work we got from both of them. And you're on that body of work, it's got to be a big like do you ever like think like, damn, I'm on the last Outcast album like that?

Yes, this is legendary.

They're legendary and just as people, I love them, you know, they they've always been sort of like mentors to me. Big Boy did a lot for my career, sure, you know,

In being unique.

I was gonna say, they did such a good job of reinventing themselves every album, And you've done a good job of kind of reinventing yourself every time you put

Yeah? Yeah, it's fun.

I love the journey and evolving and finding out new things about myself, discovering new things about what I can do, redefining that for myself on my turn, my own turn, right. I mean, you know, as artists, you make the rules. So everything you know from me today. I literally made up those rules that this is this is what I want to do, and you know, this is how I'm living my life at this time. And it's always beautiful to be able to honor where you are at that time.

Like, wow, you remember where I was?

Where were Yeah? Yeah, yeah, talk about because obviously I think a lot of people don't realize that, like you have like an incredibly sick label and like a guy like Jadenna started with you. Yes, And I think Jodenna is somebody who is a fucking beast of an artist. I agree, he doesn't get enough credit.

I agree.

I kind of feel like Classic Man was like a gift in the curse because it was such a big record. Yeah, you got to dive into Jodenna's catalog. Yeah, super talented.

And he actually just released a new album.

Yeah he did, he did. And I was gonna say, like, for you, what is your well when it comes to the label side and your creative company, what approach do you take when it comes to finding talent or just working with somebody.

Well, right now, you know, my career has taken off in the time that I'll just have to be completely honest being an artist and sort of having a label, and then yes, it's a lot, but even even you know, even with Ja Dinna, we're family, you know, like I always I'm always, like more so of a big sister to him. If he needs advice, or if he wants me to listen to a mix, or if he's like should this go on the album?

Or what do you think about this?

We talk and and business wise, if he needs advice, I'm there for him. But for the most part, I like to artists should like be in control of what it is that they're doing. I don't ever want to talk over that, get in the way of that. And also be honest about just what I can take on. You know, I think everything is partnership level. I think right now you don't even need a label. Nobody needs a label, really, you really don't.

I mean to go straight to the people.

You can go straight to the people.

Obviously being independent, I've been into an independent artist with no major label backing. I have my own label, right and I know what it's like to sell CDs out of your trunk. I know what it's like to live in a boarding house, you know, working at office depot selling CDs out of your trunk, Like, I totally get that, and it's you know, it's it's hard. It's difficult for independent artists. But I think if you you know you, you can rewrite the rules as well.

I was gonna say for you, like you are also like a huge actress you are in I mean, what was the class? What a horror movie you're injury? Like? Was it Annabella?

Oh yes, Antebellum.

Yeah, for you when you're in like acting mode, right, because I know it's it's a lot to like act and like you have to give your mental space to like being someone else? Does it take away a lot from the music m like you have to be in like, okay, I'm turning down roles because I'm working on music. Or can you do both simultaneously?

I think with me music, I have to be in the studio on, hands on with it. I can't just you know, I need to be writing, collaborating, living it, you know, touching it, feeling it. I engineer a lot of my sessions, so even.

You're running your own pro tools.

Yeah, well I work out of logic. Oh oh yeah, I work out of logic. Yeah, and I can work out of pro tools, but I prefer to do logic. But yeah, so just I need to be super hands on with music, so I do have to say no sometimes to you know, roles that may come in. It may come in, and sometimes that's difficult. But music has been so good to me a lot of the you know, I think that I got a lot of my movie roles because of my music career, because people were able

Yeah.

What was it like working on set with the Craig guy that the double Daniel Craig.

I love Daniel, I love I love He's so humble. James he killed as James Bond and he's so much more though too, Like I didn't even just talking to him.

He had that role that he plays in those two movies.

Yeah, manz no his range is just incredible, seeing I'm going from that southern drawl to you know, I'm Daniel, like the British accent.

Such a sweetheart.

The whole cast, Edward Norton, I mean, Fight Club was like, it's like my top five, me too, Kate Hudson, all of them legendary.

Yeah, that was a wild cast. If you just like, how much was the budget for this movie? Right?

Exactly exactly, No, we we had a wonderful time. We shot that in Greece, and in fact, it actually made me get inspired to do this album. I shot that film and in the same year I wrote this album.

Really was it because Greece is like a vibe, low key.

It was vacation vibe.

It's like, oh, man, like, what kind of what do I want to hear when I'm here? You know, when I'm on an island. I mean I didn't pay to go there. I mean obviously the studio got me there, and I was just so inspired, and I started thinking about how I wanted to feel even when I couldn't go on vacation. I need an album that sounds like you're on vacation. And I just knew my producer was

Bed like yeah, flottenl.

I definitely wrote and plotted.

Well. I'm also plotted a lot while I was on set.

Yeah, has what has been the most uncomfortable role you've played as as someone who acts, because I do feel like there's a there's a lot that comes with that gig. Yeah, kind of die.

I think Antebellum was tough. I don't know if I'll ever do a role like that again. It was really tough to go and be on a plantation and you know, play an enslaved person in modern day times.

It was a lot on.

Sea that seems deep. Its heavy.

Yeah, it was very heavy.

And it took a lot for me to get that off of me too, because immediately after I wrapped, my friends were like, let's go to Mexico, and so I was like, I need a vacation. But I couldn't shape that role and I would just remember showing up just like being super uneasy.

I'm like, girl, what the fuck is wrong with you?

And I'm like, listen, I lived basically lived on the plantation for two months. You know. I did it for my reasons, to chant, to honor, you know, my ancestors, and to bring awareness, you know, to to a lot of injustices. But yeah, I don't think I think that was probably my hardest.

So when they say, like, when you act, you can like get into the role. I just saw, Uh the guy who plays Franklin sat on Snowfall say he like channeled the devil to be Franklin Saint it's Snowfall, and he's like it, like it messed with him, Like after the show is over a little bit.

Yeah, people don't realize you're you're living and breathing. And I always you know, stay out into the universe, like reduce Janelle Money. I want you to see the spirit of this character. And and yeah, a lot, a lot, a lot of times it's hard to shake those rolls.

Off somebody who you had as a mentor, which not a lot of people can say, is uh, rest in peace to Prince Prince, who's one of the greatest creators of all time, quite possibly the most talented musician ever. He's up there the guitar. He could do it all how did you guys initially connect?

Well, he.

Is always The story just still freaks me out, and that freaks me out, but just I can't even believe that it happened.

But he was supposed to show up. I was opening up for.

Raphael Sadek doing Yeah, exactly, my first album, and I get a knock after I get finished performing, and you know, I had I remember, I had a sinus infection that day.

I was just like.

Loopy and this really really pretty girl knocks on the door and she was like, I have somebody who wants to talk to you. And the girl was DJ Rashida, who was Princess DJ at the time, but I didn't know that that was, you know, his DJ, And she just gives me the phone and then I'm like hello, and I'm like congested and I'm just like hello, and he's like hello Janell and I'm like, Hi, who is this?

And I'm like what, like.

Just freaking out or trying not to because I don't want to embarrass myself. And so then he proceeds to say listen. I was was to come, we're having a jam session. You know, do you and the band want to come back and you know jam? And I was like, yeah, we want to come back and jam. And the rest was history. The rest was on the Minneapolis towards No he was in La So what he would do is and he was one of the best like party throwers that you will ever know.

I mean, we have seen some Chappelle skits that I mean.

I don't know how true those kids are, but my interactions with him have always been like can play guitar and party like till the sun comes up seven in the morning. I didn't leave that night, me and my band, we did not leave till seven in the morning.

So this was a jam session day seven.

In the morning.

It was it was just it was amazing. And he was just talking to me. He was like he was telling me everything he loved about what he had seen me do. And I was like, I didn't even know you looked on the internet.

Right, like you know who I am.

I'm just like I would just think you would be somewhere, get up in some sort of castle, you know.

Right with no Wi Fi.

But he was very aware and I always tell people the best thing about him is like even though he was mysterious, he never let his mystery get in the way of his mentorship. He was always like wanting to give advice and you know, open up if you have any questions about the business. And didn't even charge me anything to be on my album.

Give me the most. You have three pretty serious mentors, Prince, Puff, Daddy, Big Boy. Give me three lessons each of them of you.

Wow, Prince is like obviously like the blueprint for you know, owning your you know, like as an artist, not being afraid to fight for what you were old on the business side of things, and also creating a blueprint.

That felt so free.

And you could do anything, you know, and just and just also speaking with him, he just always reminded me that musically there was nothing that I could not do. And I think with Puff, who has been a person of his word, you know, we have a partnership together. When he had first heard me and doing the science fiction singing about that and you know, doing doing whatever I wanted to do as an artist creatively, he always said, like,

And then he just taught.

Me to just like be a fan of your own ship too, you know, promote your stuff.

If you love it, you promote your ship.

Yeah, you worked hard, and I think with big Boy, Big Boy was just I mean, I gotta give it to him. You know. The reason why Puffy even knew about me was because of the work that Big Boy gave to me. I was singing back up, I was also on Idle Wild. You know, he was really really promoting me with Purple Ribbon. He taught me the important stuff. I think, staying with family, like staying with the people for like a little little bit. Yeah, my, but I

A Mike Scar This new album, when is it coming out? I listened to it a couple of weeks ago. It's incredible, one of the greatest rappers of all time.

I gotta I gotta listen to it.

Yeah, it's incredible. Who has the best parties? Prince or Diddy?

Ooh, that's so tough because both of them know how.

To party, the legendary party different.

It's different. I wonder if they I never went to a party where they.

Did it together. The world. Yeah, it would explode, like Prince.

Party, man, because you're gonna get music from like both of them are going to play the best music, have the most beautiful people there, good food. I don't know, Princeville listen, I please, because it's good for different reasons, like for different reasons, so both both, I'll say both like that.

Yeah, what's up, y'all? We got to stop the interview real quick to tell you about our good friends. At my bookie. That's right. It is NBA Finals. You gotta hammer the Nuggets. I don't know, they might sweep the heat. I would look at the serious odds on that. Go to my bookie right now. Let's get some money man, All right. Baseball, of course is in full effect. We got Stanley Cup finals, NFL seasons on the way. Sign

Yeah, thank you.

I think that we are in like a weird area of like education when it comes to like people kind of being ignorant of what that means. And I think that, like, there are certain people who have a hard time adjusting to certain pronouns, and can you kind of just like if because you are you? Also are you? She slash hers one of your pronounces and then also.

They them and free, ask motherfucker?

Free motherfucker is the most important one. Yes for you, though, like can you kind of? I feel like there should be some etiquette out there for like people who are still kind of adjusting, especially like in the hip hop world. I feel like this is all new, Like why it's important to make sure you respect someone's pronounce?

Yeah, I mean, you know, we are all here having this earth human experience, and we want to be happy in that and be happy in our identities. You know, even if I have this saying embrace the things that make you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable.

And I just live by that.

And my hope is that as we're having this earth experience, everybody can understand that we come from different walks of life. Some people are a different evolutions and discoveries on who they are. And just because you may not understand anything doesn't mean that you shouldn't respect it, right. So, I think in terms of me being non binary, I think I was non binary a long time ago. I just

Prince might have been the first non binary polist.

Listen, So I feel all of me, you know, I feel I feel all of me. I honor all of me, and I see my my spirit and and and me outside of the binary constructs of I think that's what today.

I think a lot of people don't understand what it means. Right.

It's they can google it, It's very definitely. It's it's out it's out there, you know, the Google. As my older older aunt will say.

I always tell people to like, if you're so wrapped up on calling somebody the wrong thing because it makes you feel better, but it makes someone else feel bad about themselves. Yeah, it's like, how much of an inconvenience is it to like respect a word? Like you're not asking somebody to like do anything crazy, like just call somebody what they prefer to be called, because if you if you don't, it could potentially, you know, make someone feel bad.

You know, yeah, yeah, you know. Compassion. I think also education is important, you know. I think once we get more educated on what it means and you you really have conversations with folks, you will realized you may have more in common with them than you think. And yeah, my hope is that That's why I love being That's why I love music, That's why I love art, That's why I love making it because what I'm able to do, and what we're able to do is bring people together

Yes, it's funny too because they're like like I don't want to say there because I don't like to I don't like to group anybody in. But a guy like the Scantists, for example, will scream about how everything's getting censored, like and everything's like cant culture. But then you're canceling like yeah, like you know, like black history, like in a state. It's kind of crazy. It's like, yeah, people politicians are are crazy. You have Doughchi on the album,

But she's too and she's.

Like very high level creative. Like I saw her when she first signed with TD. She did like this like industry performance and it was so crazy. What was it like working with her all of that?

Like we have kindred spirits and you know, I just as soon as I heard her music, I loved her and I felt her spirit. And then when we met, she just told me how much of an inspiration I was to her, and watching me gave her, you know, a lot of confidence to just do her, you know, and you see that, you see that she is somebody who's tapped in, you know, to her innovation and what makes her unique. And I love that about her. And it was beautiful. We were in the studio. We had

She heard phenomenal.

She was like, she jumped up, say hey, so she's she's just humble, creative, a beautiful person. She came over last night to celebrate with me. Oh nice, Yeah she I didn't even know she was coming. She surprised me.

So that's dope for you. Did you have any idea that you were going to break Twitter when you flashed the crowd when perform, because you you own Twitter for about a week.

Oh my god, No, I did not.

I literally was at my friend's party, living my life as I always do, and you know, I did not. I was having a good time. I felt like I was in a safe space, right, and that's it. I was honoring exactly how I was feeling.

So yeah, because like, did you, I mean, you had to have some sort of idea this is gonna be on the internet a little bit.

I was very shocked that.

I mean, after after I realized that there were so many cameras, you know, because I try not to live my life like I'm.

Janelle Mone, there are cameras.

Let me let me not yeah, and these and the party that I was at was the same party that inspired my album. So I know a lot of the people who were there, and you know, they've been to my place and we've created a safe space with everyday people and with Wonderland and our parties, and so it didn't really come out until like that video was older. It was old, so somebody was like, well, me, now capitalized, and that's the world we live in. Let me capitalize.

You're right about that.

Di'angelo when he did Untitled, he was freed his nipple, you know that from behind that piano and freed the nipple.

You know, I can go on and on.

Times, right, DJ Kallet you know we support free the nipple right for all people.

I agree that it is a double standard that T shirt.

Yeah, and so so it helped.

With the promotion because now everybody's like, I mean you were trending.

Yeah, you know, listen, I lived my life. I think I never think like, ooh, this is going to get them talking. I'm having an earth experience and of honoring all of me.

That's it. That's all I can do.

Give me. If you're on an island stranded for three hundred and sixty five days, you can only bring five albums with you on an iPod.

Now stop it. First of all, an iPod. I have not heard that word.

So you're not going to have Wi Fi island.

Here's your phone, so I have to use Well, my iPod died though.

Though that's a okay, I don't know, right, Okay, it's it's to keep it, keep.

It there, going to be suage.

Well, I'm definitely taking the age of pleasure because I know that we made that project to be on an island, to be on an island to transport me and if I need a soundtrack to that, to to that that experience that I want to have. Oh okay, I have to take some prints. So maybe I'll take Purple.

Rain all right, mm.

He has so many albums. I gotta take some Stevie. I gotta have some comfort.

Shout to Stevie.

Innervisions or Music of my Mind one of those. I also would probably take just soundtrack. I would take mm some Harold Bud. He has an album Harold Bud, which is like it puts me in a super meditative space. Oh god, this is tough. This is really really tough. I don't even know why I'm answering this. I just feel like I'm gonna be like, why didn't I say that album?

What else would I take? What else do I?

What about? Give me a hip hop one?

Oh? Okay, maybe I might take.

Maybe I take the below.

Okay, speaker Box club.

That's a nice speaker box exactly.

That would take that because that's like I remember wanting to make like music, like fun, creative. I remember that that that helped me tap into to my own uniqueness.

You mentioned Stevie Wonder. Uh, Stevie Wonders awfully obviously a fan of yours. When you meet Stevie Wonder, what is that like? So like, I feel like he's got like one of those people kind of like princes. They I feel like they might have an aura you.

See around them for sure, for sure, if Nora, but also very funny, such a jokester, such a trickster, will say whatever is on his mind. I'm like, you should let people see more of this side of you, because people do put he I mean, his music, it's like holy, you know, he's the blueprint for a lot of a lot of music. But just to like m He was on my last project, Dirty Computer, and just I recorded him talking. We had just a conversation and we were just talking about all the heaviness.

This is somebody who's.

Lived in multiple generations, you know, somebody who was here pre integration and got a chance to usher in so revolutions, you know, with his music, and he just has stories that nobody has, right.

He probably does. There's not a lot of people who are walking this earth through can tell stories like him.

Yeah.

Just a beautiful spirit and yeah, I love him. I love him all right.

So the album is out. Everybody go get a.

Page of pleasure. And did we talk about how I did the album?

How'd you do it?

Okay?

So my friends that I was talking about that same party everyday people, Yep, they could not find a spot and so I offered our spot wonder Land in La We have a spot in Atlanta.

And now in La creative space.

Yeah, creative space, you know, studio, indoor, outdoor vibes, right, and and I offered our spot, and I was like, let's do like maybe one hundred people test everybody is during the pandemic and the people who are at the party again, most beautiful brown and black people from all of the globe, from Africa, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica, the Caribbeans, New York, LA, Midwest, like all of us together in a safe space and in the pandemic when

To protect, right, this is what we're missing. That's what we're missing.

Yeah, and to you, and.

I was like, Okay, I know I want to make a soundtrack. I want to make a soundtrack to this lifestyle because I want to see that joy.

You know.

I oftentimes our safe spaces are police come in, shut it down. And to see us having that joy, complete strangers getting to know each other, feeling so free was something that I only dream of and I always want for everybody. And so I just started making the music for the parties. That was it I said, tell my DJ, don't say it's me. I'm gonna make like two to three songs.

Just play them in the mix.

Play it and if people are not shazaming, it's not going on the album. If people are going to go sit down, it will not make the album. And that's how I made the Age of Pleasure with my friends. For our friends.

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That's what was yeah on without people knowing. And I was just in the corner with a drink, like, oh yeah. And then that's I tested all my songs float, Water, Slide, you know, Champagne, shit, Lipstick, Lover, just like that, and it's just it feels really good to be able to sort of have it out because I've been living with it for so long, me and my friend.

It's like a great way to like it. I mean, it's the same way like when people go try to like they're in Atlanta, they go to the strip club and to try to test the record. You know, it's like you want to see how people react.

In time because the right people.

I got super specific about that too, because oftentimes we're like we want everybody, and I was like, no, let me get specific. If my friends fuck with it, yes.

It's yeah, And it's like a genuine reaction if they don't know what it is or know that it's you.

Exactly, You'll be able to see like an unbiased Yeah, exactly, that's pretty great.

How many songs didn't get you Zamed?

You know, maybe a couple, you know, we will not talk about them. We'll develop those and maybe they'll become something. But I'm so proud of what we've been able to do. And shout out to Nate Rocket Wonder and since A Bueno and Nana Quapina. They were with me providing that safe space you know, as I you know, evolve, it's it's a you, and they kept the fun in it because I was like, I have to make sure that when I'm in the studio, I'm not overthinking, I'm not

I was going to say when you record, because like you know, you hear like certain artists just have like hard drives of just unreleased music, and then there's other artists who are very specific and intentional when they record music and they take a little bit more time. Do you like, how big is the pull up music you're pulling from to pick to put on the album?

I didn't have like ooh, I did twenty songs. Like I knew the sounds, right, I knew like what I want. I knew float. I wanted that to be sort of the cornerstone, the entry point into the album. I knew I wanted the sounds to be super horny. This is the age of pleasure. I knew that I wanted to, you know, because we were listening to afrobeats at the parties. We were listening to reggae Caribbean, we were listening to Ama Piano. We were listening to all of that, so that naturally seeped over.

To the sounds.

So once I knew the musical bed, I then would take themes like Lipstick Lover, for instance, that's really really really my life, you know, being the person either put lipstick on somebody's neck or somebody put lipstick on my neck. And I was like, that's a song. I looked in the mirror, saw the Red Prince.

That's a song.

That's a song.

Yeah, that's it.

You write about those things that happened. So once I got specific about again who it was for, how I wanted people to feel, it was easy.

It was like water, so you'll go from just an idea of like looking in the mirror seeing lipstick and be like, okay, yeah, there's a song I gotta make.

Yeah.

Oh well, speaking of instead of doing twenty fifty songs, I actually have a spreadsheet where I wrote down fifty concepts, oh between fifty and eighty concepts.

So it'll be like a spreadsheet of like ideas like that. Yeah, you'd be like, you know what, I feel like I can go somewhere with this.

Yeah, like ooh, you know, she kissed me on my neck lipstick prints. I got to write about that, you know, I would just things that happened at the party. I like the way that I saw him look at her. You know that's that's a line, like I'm just going watching everything. And you know, as Nina Simone would say, an artist's job is to reflect the times.

And a time was had.

The time was had, it was. I mean, you've learned from the best. Yeah, Prince and Puffy, what are we talking about?

Okay, we talk about Grace Jones though, Let's talk about the women.

Okay.

Grace Jones is on this project. Yeah, I mean she taught me so much, you know, even as I'm on my own journey of honoring all of me. You know, she's done a lot of what I've already done in her own way, and so it was just great to have her in the studio. I spent seventy two hours with her. Wow, and she recorded a lot of stuff. And so you have her on there speaking French, you have nia Along.

I was gonna ask the n Along that's on the album is the nia Along me alone?

Oh? Ni Along the one and the ni Alone? Yeah, she came over over and recorded and she always like she's amazing.

Yeah. I mean obviously shout out to Friday, you.

Know, yeah exactly. That helped and boys in.

The hood, I mean she's yeah, she's one of them. She is when you're growing up.

Yeah, yeah, one of the leaders. Yeah for me too. That's how I knew. I was like, oh, I'm definitely queer. Yeah, ne A long as my girlfriend.

So did ne Along. Was she the one who made you realize you attracted the women?

Definitely was the first. I don't know, maybe not the first, but she confirmed it.

Son Along confirmed I could get down with checks for sure.

For me. Yeah, when I saw her, I was like, but then I didn't know if I wanted to be her or be with her. She's one of those people where you look at her and you're like, I want to be just like that. And obviously I am inspired by her.

And which movie was it that you saw her in? It made you be like.

Jesus boys in the hood.

And then love Jones for sure, I mean, come on, you know, but I'm so happy to have her as a friend and you know, like a big sister. And you know, even went down to when I was releasing my press photos. Before I released them, she you know, I let her see them and she was like, oh you should you should release that, like this is the one you coming out the water like this is it? So there were a lot of wonderful women from Doci to am Marae to Grace to Nia to Sister Nancy.

Which is dope to I was gonna say, it's also dope to see Sister Nancy because obviously Sister.

Nancy's oh jo g let's talk about.

Og in the reggae world, like, man, like what is the Like, how do you get a hold of Sister Nancy?

I just reached out, Like who do you reach out to? I just have my I had somebody on my team who knew her nephew, and then we got in touch with her. And when I got on the phone with her, she knew a lot about me and I was like, what, I love you, and I just her story is so cool. You know her during the time that she came up,

I was gonna say. She was one of also, like one of the most sampled songs ever ever.

Yeah you can.

And so to get her to do some original stuff was just like just the dream come true, you know.

And so, yeah, well, the body of work is out, Yes, go stream it, go download, and go buy it. I'm sure you got some crazy merch. Is it out?

Yeah, merch? Go to JMA dot com.

I need tours on the way tour.

Yes, I'll be touring the end of August through the middle of October.

We are.

We are all North American tours right, tour stops now, and.

I haven't announced Europe yet.

Are Do you know who you're taking on the road with you.

I'm still picking because I'm going to do some opening acts in different markets, all the people that I love. Yet I think Jideo may do some dates as well, so it'll be great. It's gonna feels it's a movement, movement.

The theaters are TV screen soon that that you have in the in the pipeline.

Yeah, I'm working on a TV show about the Josephine Baker, who was also an inspiration is also an inspiration for me in her time as a spy during the French resistance. A lot of people don't know, like they see the banana skirt and you know, obviously she was super liberated and she had moved to France because America wouldn't even let her perform in some of the clubs.

And I'm not even I don't know who that is.

You don't know who.

Josephine Baker, Oh my god, like the freest spirit, you know, doing that for the French resistance. But she was an incredible performer. Mister chaining artists, Yes, beautiful.

While being a.

Specially are you playing her?

Yeah, I'm going to play her, So I'm excited. I'm ready. Yeah, it's gonna be great.

Have you as a streaming network?

Yeah, well we're partnering with A twenty four.

A twenty four they did, they do and uncut Gems and yes, by the way, Moonlight one of my favorite movies, like ever, such an incredible movie.

My first movie was that, Like did.

You understand like being in that movie? How one? It obviously was critically acclaimed, but it also felt like a very important step in the kind of just like normalizing like being gay kind of like in the urban community a little absolutely, like did you realize that when you guys were filming that movie?

When I read the script, you know, it just brought tears to my eyes just thinking about how so many people were going to be seen that that probably would never have imagined anybody telling their story, you know, from the ghettos of Miami to Atlanta, you know, deep down south around the world, like little black boys would would feel seen. And it was just great to be an ally, you know, playing an ally in the in the film

Had to go up and get them off. Yeah.

Yeah, you get one of those at home.

No, unfortunately.

But you know, I always wonder how that works, because I know.

It's in my heart. I don't know.

I think they're going to start giving like engineers and people.

Like as they should.

Yeah, like if you're in the movie.

Come on oscars, send me my the writer and the director, the director.

Sometimes I think the producer. I don't know, I need to like check listen, it'll give me something.

More, you know what.

Actually, if I get one or if I don't I love the work like I love I love me. Even if Moonlight never got nominated, I'm so proud that was.

They put out some amazing content. Beef Beef was them right.

Yeah, I haven't seen Beef pretty Will, but everything everywhere all at once.

That one definitely the best movie.

Change like that changed the game.

So good.

Yeah, good, all right.

I appreciate you coming through, Thank you for having go get the new album. Looking forward to everything else you got coming on the way toward coming soon.

All that good, all right, good to see you too.

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