QLS Classic: Nelly Furtado

Couest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora Ladies and Gentlemen.

This is QLs classic from May seventeen, fifty twenty seventeen. Were talking to our old pal Ellie for Time about our Portuguese Canadian roots and her work with Timbaland and the ups and downs of touch in a career, motherhood, squashing beef and normalcy.

We hope you.

Enjoy this episode of Quest Love Supreme with Nelly for Time.

Here we go, Supremo, Supremo, Roll Call, Suprema Son Sun Supremo, Roll Call, Supremo, Roll Supremo.

Supremo, the twenty Dollars Challenge. Yeah, We're you, Supreme fam Nerds. Yeah, whose opening bars don't rhyme?

We're miscuous up Birds, Suprema my name.

Is Fante on this instrumental My Whole Family with jam to Nellie on Dance Central.

Suprema Sure, roll Call, my.

Name is Sugar, say it right, Yeah, Nellie for Tato, turn off the light.

Oh car Subrever, Suprema.

Role paid Bill. I can't take no more. Yeah, I guess I'll go knock there on one hundred.

Doors, Suprema Supremo roll call.

Sure So Supremo.

Roll is my nombre.

For goodness sakes, Yeah, Canada is not only that young boy Drake roll.

Roll Supremo Supremo roll call.

I'm yeah, wold number one fan. Yeah, pottles here Yeah, man.

So supple roll.

Roll Nelly.

Yeah, that's who I am.

Excited to rock requests because he's my jam Supremo.

Roll came Supremo. Some some Supremo roll call Supremo.

So So Supremo, roll came Suprema Son.

Supremo roll.

Roll so so I one two, three four, one hundred dollars.

Wait a minute, no, because, like you said, whoa.

Who number one fan, I didn't rhyme it with woda O.

You saying that that deserves the black guy thinking pointing to his.

That's what that belongs to.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to another a new edition of Courts Love Supreme. I'm quests love this team Supreme Supreme. Yes two point zero Courts Love Supreme. Our guest with us today. She is a breath of fresh air. I shall say I've been a long time admirer of this. Uh. I'll say songbird for a voice or music, her artistry. She came out the gate in two thousand as a solo artist with her debut Woe Nelly. That kind of captured our hearts and our minds in our ears with

On the radio.

Uh. And of course like a bird, she won multiple Juno Awards, Grammy Awards.

Uh.

Not stopping there, she collaborated with uh megastar acts like any r D, Missy.

Elliott and the Roots.

Yeah, on Sacrifice, I forgot that she collaborated on my own song.

I appreciate that.

Uh. Therese also Nos Jurassic fives to well remembers, uh chaos Knon.

It just goes on and on. Paul can feel.

Tiesto probably her most important collaboration. I was in two thousand and six with her uh her third album which is Loose uh with Templand, and she didn't stop a lot of Yeah, twelve million amazing.

If I sold twelve million copies, I wouldn't anything, answer, would never see me anything exactly exactly.

I said, twelve million t Shirtain it's over Fi. She stopped there.

She released an all Spanish record in two thousand and nine with me, I'm not used to mirror the Wikipedia.

Man, this is this is well, I'm trying to human.

Cook.

Yeah, this is.

Starting to begin. Let him cook.

This is great.

You understand how much changed this is. This is I thought I thought I was coming in like you know, I just thought I.

Wasn't used to it.

I was appreciated.

This is great, this is this is amazing own anyway, thank you all for interrupting me.

Guys, no problem, yeah.

Yeah, anyone else anything there in the studio.

Tell you.

She's offering us her sixth U studio album entitled well, he missed the part about my Latin Grammy mentioned that.

I mentioned, I mentioned that, but interrupt about Yes.

I covered your whole life.

Thank you good. That was good.

I don't know what's the social Security it's five five five.

Ladies and gentlemen, childhood memory.

Yes, and she's also heading up the Donald Trump russigate investigations.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Nelly for t.

Thank you.

Thanks. I was such a nice intro.

It was my first to see you again.

It's great to see you too.

What the hell?

Yeah, man, it's it's we occasionally send tweets to each other.

So you guys are close.

I guess we've I've been to Philly, that's legit.

I've been there in the old studio.

Well, I don't know before then it was ready join.

E've been in that studio forever. Have you ever seen a stripper in the studio?

Yes?

Yeah, that was so long ago.

That was like in two thousand and one when we went together and Philly and you guys like had the whole thing written already, the chorus.

And I was bummed out because I thought I'd get to co write with you.

Because I don't think sacrifice.

Is I'm like, okay, like this is cool.

Right now, Like, yeah, you should have done that.

It was like really it was fun though, I like, I mean that album is amazing, but like, yeah, so I was just happy to be there.

It was fine.

You felt like Missy, like, I'm gonna be on your records just singing no hooks. That's kind of ew like because.

I always wrote my own song, so I had Actually that was the first time someone had like written a thing for me to sing.

So I was like, but it's the roots.

So I was like, of course, like I'm just happy to be here and be on your album, and I say, fun, how did you.

Get that postion check?

Next time Gott and I was one of.

There's always the future, exactly, There's always the future, you know when I when I first met you, I think the very first time we opened.

For you, we walked Area one.

No, this we we did.

We also sang together a bunch on Area one tour. Yeah, but even before Area one and performed live with you, there.

Was there was a show we did together, and I know that we You came on first and then we came on, But I came in right when you were dancing to BBD's Poison.

What Dutch, and I was like, you know my interlude that I did in my in my head.

I already had it pecked out that you were just a pop showing two that I saw on t r L and you know, like like a bird leads you to believe, at least at that time when the single was just out and we all looked at each other like, wait, who is this on stage?

Like Nelly for titles is the same person doing the like she was doing the dance that they were doing in the video.

In the video, and so it was like it was a well Nelly moment, like we hardly knew.

You as I got to do Hello Cool Jay and Mary and one other act something Pepa on the same little routine.

Yeah I didn't know.

Yeah, but then you explained to me about your days even before your sold, the career with Neil Starr and that stuff.

So yeah, there's always so much, right, I mean, you know this, You're an artist, So it's like there's so much that goes into who you are that people don't see when you make like a product or a packaged thing and you just roll with it. It's okay, you know, but but the people you know who end up like digging deeper into maybe what you do, we are going

He took you to South I feel like, you know what's fair, he took you to South Africa.

Right now he's making South Africa house the No.

But like, honestly, like I feel like, I really feel.

Like you can't judge an artist until you listen to something a whole album of one album at least, and you go to their live show or watch like YouTube live clips or something.

But is it fair to listen to the first album, because sometimes it's not fair. I always listen to the first one.

Because you know, sometimes you have to dig deeper. Yeah, you have to dig a little deeper. I don't know, I mean, but anyway, thanks for talking about that, because I mean, well.

I wanted to know what your beginnings.

I said the word, Uh, what they were that at least led you to wanting to start a music career.

Oh god, I was young.

I was young, Like there was no Mickey Mouse Club. I was from a small town lot of Victoria, BC. But they weren't even any talent shows.

But I had a church, I had a Portuguese church community, so like I got to sing there. I get to sing at church at our festivals. We call them fashtach.

Where yeah, fashduje at the fashtaka And I sang with my mom in Portuguese when I was four years old, and I got up on the stage and I just knew that I loved it.

I just knew that I wanted to be doing that because I felt like I was spreading joy and love and good vibes, and I just I felt that at the age of four, it was really kind of weird, but I'd always sing songs like I would make up songs on the spot from when I was apparently I was two or three no around the house and my sister would literally be like sing sing, make up a song because my eyes would well up with tears and I'd get super emotional.

So it was always inside of me.

I did an experiment at moment PS one in the fall. I did an installation where I wrote songs with one hundred strangers in the course of three hours, and I was trying to explore this connection. We have to like the source and why we write songs and why it comes to you, and how we can tap into that and prove that it's an empathic thing and prove that, like a song can prove how we're all similar rather than different.

And can I keep back up?

Yeah, without me making any Houston five hundred references.

So you there are a hundred people in the room.

No, okay. So it was anywhere from like one person.

The smallest group was one person, and then the largest group was ten people and a dog the last group and the moment passed. One had this back to school fundraiser and I'm friends with this performance. Aren't his name Ryan McNamara, And he told me I could do anything with the one room. He's like, do you want a room with this thing? And I was like I do because I have this idea. I want to do this

We just do it to do it, you know what I mean.

So I wanted to in that room like okay, So, like one person will walk in and sit down.

I'd have my guitar. I'd tape it on tape.

Recorder because I didn't want it to be like this branded moment that was videotaped.

I wanted it to exist in that moment.

Yeah, And so I'd come and sit down and I'd be like, Okay, what did you dream last night? And they tell me about their dream the night before, or I'd be like, what was your favorite childhood vacation? And then I'd start singing a song and they would contribute, sometimes if they had any.

Musical ability or not.

And by the end, after fifteen minutes, if someone would knock on the door when I had two minutes left, then I would record the thing. Then I would wrap the cassette in the paper with all our lyrics.

And usually there.

Were different reactions. Some people would cry there were two people fighting, because some people didn't know each other in the groups, because everybody was trying to get into the thing, and they'd.

Be like some people didn't like each other.

But then there was a lot of laughter, and I felt great because sometimes you wonder like will your inspiration ever run out?

You know what I mean? Will it ever just like end?

And then the truth is more and more like the more you share with people, like the more you.

Get how's it?

I mean, I'm just trying to figure the logistics, like if I'm a fan of Nelly for Tylo, like, wouldn't you be freaking out and all it? Like how do you just calm them down? Just to get to the point of the experiment.

I think they saw how chill I was.

And Ryan had left the room in this like really moody orange light, and it was like a back to school theme that night at the museum. So it was almost like I was a teacher, So you were coming into a classroom it was maybe just one or two people, maybe you were with a friend, and so some people, yeah, maybe I got them in this.

Weird, vulnerable moment where they're like, whoa, this is weird. You got the place and why is she so chill?

And and they're probably like the version of me in that room is nothing like anything they've seen in a video or something. So I'm just like, hey, you know, I start writing because you know, it's a different vibe when you write a song.

It's nothing like your stage persona or anything like that. It's a whole other thing.

So most people were pretty calm. Some people, I don't know.

Some people were songwriters aspiring songwriters, and they would they were just enjoying it.

They're like, sweet, this is so cool.

Were there any particular moments in that experiment that stood out to.

You, Like these two people were arguing because like the lady didn't like the lyrics this younger guy was writing because they were kind of goofy. They had like some like Prince Arthur reverence or like something something crazy or perverted or something. And then and then the lady was all like I.

Don't like those, you know what I mean.

We had to agree, So it was like, oh, there were some people who weren't really participating.

They were just staring at me.

But I was still I know you would have been you would have been like, show me how you're going to do this if I don't participate, Yeah, but you asked me, you asked me. Then I wrote this whole statement about it. And the whole point was, since I was little, I never understood where the.

Songs came from.

I was like, where's this words coming from? The melodies blah blah blah, the music in my head. I never really understood it. So I just wanted to explore that a little bit more, I guess. But the answered to your question is I eventually moved to Toronto after I graduated high school from Victoria, a very small small town, and I moved to Toronto and I got immersed in

I was eighteen, and it was mostly rappers in R and.

B, singers all female, and then I kind of came up there and did this like weird little trip hop song. And my manager at the time was there, and I met him that night and sort of kept in touch and ended up this.

It was like a Cinderella type thing. It was like, Ooh, You're getting flown to New York because they like your demo.

I think the reason why I was because do you remember back in the day when people had professional writers write their bio and you got a professional headshot.

For your photos.

So when you had a demo and you were an artist who wanted a record deal, you like would have a professional photo and a pio.

So I said, I don't want that. I want to stand out.

So I went to the local gallery of mall photo booth, like down the street from my aunts where I was staying on her sofa bed, and I took strip mall photos of myself. I scanned them at work because I had a job doing customer service at an alarm company. I was like snuck into the room with the scanners and the computer and I made friends with the systems guy who worked there let music, and I photocopied my own like strip mall photo like cool, the.

Crazy background like did you have liked Michael Jackson like.

Coming out of a war?

Yeah, not the Tupac not the club background was like to champagne.

And like a dusty like orange curtain behind your blue and I just made it look all like trippy and then I wrote not a bio. I wrote like a weird mantra, like I just did like a journal entry style bio and at the time nobody was doing that.

Yeah. I was like, what made you do that?

I don't know.

My manager was cool, he was just like, this is great, this will make you stand out.

That's cool that you did this. Write down what you said to me in your office that day, you know where. I said some super like megalomaniacle stuff like I want to be Gandhi and mother Tosa, like you have that ambition that burning like get me out of my circumstance ambition, and you're just like, I.

Wrote this bio myself.

I wrote some crazy like mantra journal entry style bio and people were like, who's this curl?

We want to meet her? And I had a demo to go with it.

That was maybe I.

Should have done that.

No, because the protocol, uh the least that I learned is whatever critic pans your album the most, when when it's reviewed, you get that person to write the bio, to write your bio, So that way it's a conflict of interest from them reviewing your album again.

Music industry hack, same ones, the same ones will get you again.

What I'm saying, if they don't like you, will continue to.

Writer blah blah blah has written your bio, your record, he'll pass at Rolling Stone from giving you another you know, Mundane three star writing.

But yeah, yeah, yeah, black black man. If you you.

Know, we get a.

Can we just say man that the reviews all us artists were like, we don't care.

We almost so care.

It hurts when someone writes a bad review, I think.

But I'm saying that you're your friend.

Was it came out the gate as in, I mean, everyone universally agreed that it was an unusual record for starters. I the thing that impressed me about it the most was well as as Bill and I were noting before I realized that your production team was definitely into quote

Yet there were a lot let it come to us.

It was.

It was probably the most pure, you know because at least in between like nineteen ninety eight, ninety nine, two thousand, you know, people's version of hip like hip hop being infused inside the pop music.

Was like all right, let's steal my sunshine.

Yeah, let's get the piece of President's there, like the theme of Scrubs right or or you know Atlantis Marsett using a piece of President or George Michael using Funky Jones.

Exactly without prejudice album.

Yeah, it's just like okay, like you know, let me just put this loop there. But your people were using like some obscure shit and using it the right way that real hip hop hits were like, hmm, okay, cheat, she she just isn't the average guy the culture vulture. Yeah, like you say, yeah, you're coming on some real shit. So what was the process like doing the first record?

I'm glad you asked me that.

So we we started with a demo and we did it in Brian West's like attic studio. Three of us me, Jerald Eaton, and Brian West. They were part of an R and B group called the Philosopher Kings, kind of like what used to be called acid jazz pop, like that kind of band. They were really good live and really talented musicians. They've all gone on to have their own production and writing careers, but anyway, I got two of them. I got Brian West and Gerald Eaton, who

Because there's a lot of ideas floating around.

Yeah, and the three of us we co produced the album to other we actually worked as a team and we I actually programmed like the baseline on Turn Off all Lit like, I just like actually played it on the keyboard and ship on the radio. I wrote on guitar, I played the guitar on the record, and I think that the three of us were so invested in just having fun. You know. Pro Tools had just been invented,

So in the long spells.

Of time, yeah, looking at me, like, no, it still.

Crashes all the time.

But like imagine like when it first like literally but you know, like when it first came out, there were like a lot of glitches and like he was trying to merge them. He was trying to merge the midi with it all the sounds, and that was causing problems for us. And so I just like take naps and stuff. So I'd wake up and Gerald will be like, your voice sounds so cool right now. You got to sing the vocal for this song right now. And it'd be

The other thing we were doing was we're one of the records store a lot.

We were going to our friend Aki Aki store called Cosmos in Toronto.

E've been that one the best you should go.

Anyway, So we we would go there and get a lot of Brazilian music and stuff like that and just kind of listen and get inspired, you know, everything from Milch Andasimento to like Martinho de Villa or whatever, and we would sample it and kind of create things that way right on. Vocally too, I had experimented with a lot of things in New Star that I kind of like ended up kind of bringing that kind of like that sort of uh sort of scat like singing, you know, that kind of sing rap type.

Of when you started when you do this, I don't know what you call.

It was very influenced by like Brazilian vocal percussion, but the process was long. So the reason, well, Nelly, that first record sounds like that and it sounds like this crazy postiche is because it was very conscious the making of it. Like I brought in albums that I love, like I was really into Corner Shop at the time when I was born.

For the seventh time.

Yeah, first groups to really merge pop with like cultural music, you know what I mean.

A lot of Indian yeah influence. Thank you for seeing me on that years.

Yeah, but we'd find like street buskers, street musicians in the subway, like pillon, vibraphone or sitar, and we'd be like, can you come to the studio today, Like we had lots of people come play and we just sample them. And well we'd not sample them, like we wouldn't pay them. We'd pay them for their session and then we would use it in different ways. But there's even Brazilian. There's

Technical so you say mistakes, yeah.

Man, like pro tools crashing, you know, and things like taking longer to like what there's a song on that album that took one month to record, and I mean we were in the studio every day experimenting.

It's called trying to find a.

Way, Okay, okay, yeah that makes sense.

In San Francisco, kidst some way that one.

Okay, So were you how did you feel about the reception of the record.

In the first album, it was weird because I wanted Ship on the Radio to be the first single. I'm glad.

I was going to.

Say, how do you present that idea, like as I'm going to criticize the radio and to be like, hey, but I don't think it came out the gate thinking.

No, it was weird.

You know what it was?

It was my friend, Like you know, your friends and then your real friends, so it's like there's always like the Peanut gallery who's like too cool for everything, and it's like, oh, I feel like it was a random conversation in a car and somebody said, I.

No, no, I mean.

Us as if we are too cool and we're snobs, and yeah, but that's cool.

You can do that, but not to your friends. So like somebody had a car I.

No, but like should on the radio happened because I was in a car with a friend from back home. It was a group of people and someone said to me, hey, it was like more like an acquaintance.

Was like, you signed a record deal.

Make sure you don't make cheesy music, make sure you don't make bad music, make sure you make cool music. And I was like, excuse me, Like that was like it's like really hating before you even had a chance to do anything, and people just hate just to hate, and soh on radio was out that I was like, you know what, I don't need to prove myself to you or anyone. I can just like do what I want to do and I don't need to worry about shoegazing, you know. And so yeah, so anyway, so present into

Yes, we know the legend of movie.

Yeah, man, like.

He worked at dream Works, like my label had like.

Lenny wren Coode Mo Austin and like.

Yeah nice, Yeah, they were like the classic.

Yeah Prince not real lucky. You know. I had these like amazing seasoned people behind me and they believed in everything I did. And Lenny Waronker came to the studio when we're almost done well Nelly, and he go he looked at me and he goes, savor this moment. You will never make music like this again because you're just starting out and your impression and the way you think and the way you create will never be the same again.

I was gonna say that innocence and you can you can feel and hear that innocence, like the boundaries of they're not being boundaries, you coloring outside the lines and that sort of stuff. You sort of you get the sense of that, like, oh, this is a person that's just discovering their body parts metaphorically speaking, like you know, like oh, the limited.

Power I have.

And then it's almost like you get tainted or uh, you know, there's there's a pressure on your hands when you work up on following material like did you how did you feel afterwards?

Like I know exactly what you mean because I hear that on records when I listen to them, now, you know what I mean? So like I heard I think I heard drums album and I was like, oh, I love how he doesn't care and it just seems so you know, like there's an intentional and it will never happen again.

I was like, oh my.

God, this is so beautiful because it's so free, you know what I mean, Like, oh, this is so free, you know.

But anyway myself, yeah, oh my god, you kidding me. Pressure.

Plus I was a girl. It was like a twenty twenty one year old girl, like all of a sudden, like what like I'm nominated for Grammy and like my mom's sitting next to me, and were at the Grammys and I went a grant like it was all surreal.

How'd you feel when they announced your name that night? I think I was there that night when you won Year Year.

Yeah, you were probably there, Yeah, back in the good old days. I mean it was amazing.

I was like, what you.

Kind of I mean you expected to win. I mean you were unstoppable.

I don't know, like it's still cool, like it's still the funny thing that happens is afterwards. I remember I was living in it. I remember, actually exactly because I was living in LA for like a year. I remember you invited me to a party one night and I couldn't go, and I don't remember why. I couldn't convince my friend to come out with me, and I didn't

The starry eyes are gone.

I'm now wondering does it all come down to wearing a pretty dress on the red carpet? And that really messes with you when you're only twenty two.

This is before the second album.

Yeah, it was right when.

I was about a record when you're worrying that you might become the establishment that you were.

Yeah, and that's why my first single on Folklore is called Powerless where magically sign of the times.

I asked me to sing it tomorrow on the Today Show. I was like, is this a typo?

Do you think?

Ris right?

Like?

Do you know what I mean? Like people want to hear songs like Powerless now, which was a kind of like a protest song at the time. The first line says.

I mean, look at the times we're living in those I know it's now, I think I know.

But it's amazing to me that music can live on in that way and still inspire people. Because the first line says, paint my face in your magazines, make it look whiter than it seems. Paint me over with your dreams, shove away my ethnicity because this life is too short to live it just for you. But if you feel when you feel so powerless, what are.

You going to do?

Oh?

Wait, I got to learn lyrics before tomorrow? Are you yeah gonna do?

So?

Say what you want?

But is that true now?

Like?

Really at some point somebody because you're a part of yeah sound, So somebody really came at you in a label type that.

Way in photo shoots. Yeah, I felt like there was.

An how do I say anglizations anglicization, Yeah, anglicization on me. I've always had olive skin, you know what I mean. I was aware of that because I grew up in a small town British colony.

I was like the only ethnic kid in.

My class in kindergarten, so it's all, you know, relative and then I and so by the time I was done with my first record and I was doing Powerless, I was like, well, what about who am I really?

You know what I mean?

Like, what what am I really about? And what do I want to say on this next record? So I started talking about the next record. I have a song called like Fresh off the Boat. You know, my parents are immigrants. I was born in Canada. I have a song called picture Perfect about my dad's like immigrant dream of like coming to Canada and how everything looks so good in the old seventies photographs when you look at it.

So anyway, yeah, that's that's what happened. Yeah, sometimes I would feel, do you.

Like there was a paradigm you needed to fit into At the time, I actually it didn't always match how I felt.

Do you know what I mean?

Yeah?

Yeah, I have a theory about folklore, which is, you know how like Weezer fans will now swear by Pinkerton, right, like that's their picketon. I actually think that your your folklore could be your Pinkerton moment.

Okay, because even though it again, you could.

Tell that you were older, wiser, sort of cynical eyes even based on the album cover, because when I copped the record, that's the first thing I noticed. I love the fact that you've always kept your logo the same, right, But based on the album cover even I was like, oh, Nelly, it's serious here, like it's my tone, my face.

Right, So I got little Nevus in my belly too a four months there.

But also I also know that, I mean, what we also have in common is that, well both of us got shipped to Geffen.

Oh my god, you were in that crazy well yeah, because every are before well we were on m c A.

And when they announced in two thousand and three, like you know, we're getting ready of the following eleven.

Labels, it was such a weird feeling.

We all got shipped and it was like the racial draft.

Like why is a cooler company buying me?

It was the it was the racial draft of labels. All the black ones, all the black art is pretty much went over to Geffen, right.

Yeah, but it was it was a weird process. Like doctor dre told Ah, I mean doctor Drake kind of kind of you know told uh uh president of Interscope to Jimmy.

Yeah. I told Jimmy like, Okay, here are the cool artists and wow, what Yeah.

He comes through, Oh because he picked you. But I'm not you know what I'm saying, Like that's people who.

So I'm just saying that Unfortunately, a lot of notable records got overlooked in the shift of getting to that moment. So I mean, how did you How did you personally feel, uh when that album sort of got lost in translation as far as the commercial.

It was kind of weird because like I felt like, because I.

Was like kind of playing guitar more songs and kind of being more I guess traditionally what you would see like more like a rock aesthetic, I felt like it wasn't accepted because people just wanted maybe that girl with the pigtails and like, you know, like the fun ethnic girl with whop dare bouncing around. It's like she was so happy. Why is she mad?

Wait?

Because Giuso Freako came at what point in.

The early times?

Right?

Yeah? Yeah, yeah, do you know what I mean? That's how I organically fell. Just to be completely honest with you, I felt like, oh, I'm not allowed to be angry okay, Like I'm not allowed to like speak sing my truth.

I'm not allowed to be more emo? Why you put it?

Like?

Why am I like you? It's that first feeling of like, oh shoot, I'm in a box.

Oh shoot, you never blamed it.

Yeah, I just kind of blame.

It on like just people and perceptions.

And luckily the album took off in some markets, thank god, it really took off established in other markets. Yeah, Like I think the song was number one in Canada and like Germany and some other places. And I've really felt the love on many levels, so it was okay. But yeah, in the US, I was kind of like, oh, well, I guess nobody wants to hear me singing about stuff I don't like and biting the hand that feeds.

Are aren't we America. It's just weird interesting.

I never really thought it was about the label folding.

Really, maybe I was wrong. Maybe it helps.

It helps A really good song Try could have maybe been on the radio.

I don't know, but it helps to have I don't know your label intact during the six or seven month it.

Would have helped a bit.

Yeah, probably because the same the same happened with Comic Electric Circus, and then the transition happened because.

I was sitting here thinking of Electric Circus.

That might have been Actually when Nelly thought about like Folklore was maybe a little bit of a the same thing.

She released it and then dream Works sort of imploded.

This was all happening simultaneously, but it's still a different project.

So it's kind of like you'll never really feel like, you know, if it was a lefty type project and you know, no, you bring up.

An important point because I think it's perception too, So you as an artist, you start to believe the hype of like that album wasn't as commercial and then you forget that wait a minute, label that other people to blame.

I because people will say the same thing about Electric Circus. They won't remember that the.

Label folded, they'll be like, oh, it's just a weird album, but.

It wasn't right because they had it still had life in Oh.

Yeah, I loved it. I mean but again, if for common core fans, it might.

But then if wo Nellie never blew up, they could have been like, well Nellie, her debut was a little bit weird, so it never connected, you know what I'm trying to say. It's weird how that worked.

But his second it.

Is always weird when it don't sell, that's you know, it always get the weird title, you know, when it don't sell.

Yeah.

Yeah, But the thing was I think Well Nelly was I think the charm of will Nelly was the weirdness of it.

It was a weird record. But this one was more focused.

And yeah, it had more of a concept straight.

Head, which really leads to.

It was like an exploration of identity really.

But that leads to when Loose came out, pay Dirt.

What.

Here's the thing something. My introduction to Loose though was when you did S N L and.

Right and in like a brawl.

It was seriously, I always showed my midriff on tour.

You remember, I know you with Moby with like a bikini top on.

You were.

You were like hippie Nelly, like that's what I was used to. I seen it more than I've seen it in shoes. So what was okay?

Did you feel I've never.

Seen your feet and high heels. I saw them in sneakers.

Yeah.

Yeah, Sometimes you just walk around bears with your bare feedbackstage.

But with loose was it just all systems go and let me just.

I had to you said the internet, that's what you typed?

No I did, Oh my god, that's so funny. No, but you're right. It's a far cry from like my like moon boots and crazy.

Like raver pants the first time I did.

I don't know.

So why you.

Mentioned why you mentioned that you you did work on the Get your Freak on uh remix?

Was that full tomboy like, no, no.

No, but that was?

That was That was a crucial summit meeting between you and the Timberland group.

It was, And everybody forgot about it because they were like, how did you meet Timbaland there.

Was actually didn't forget about it. There was actually guys. You guys worked together.

The hip hop people, they know what's going on.

You guys, you worked with Timbling before before that remix though right a remix, I can't remix.

We did three things before Loose like we did on the radio and Turn Off Light remix. We toured together on that tour.

We toured together. He was he came on the road with Miss Jade for at least six or seven.

Show I forgot about because I was on Tim j.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

So Jimmy Ivan actually told me to go work with Timberland again, and he's.

Like, of course, why that.

Yeah, he was like, you know, you guys made a promise with the work you've done together and you haven't fulfilled on it. I think you should go to Miami. Timberland's in a really great creative space right now.

And I was like sure.

At that point, I had already worked with Pharrell, Scott Storge, Nellie Hooper in England. I was just like enjoying my record contract, flying around with my daughter recording recording with people. So I was like, okay, sure. And so because she's a toddler, you're not in school yet or anything and just having fun. So we flew to Miami and worked with tim first day Speaker caught Fire straight up. We did man Eater and the speaker caught fire.

Yes, that's got to be a good sign, right, it sounds bad.

Edi speakers caught on fire when Eddie van Halen did his solo and yeah, notable hits have had burning speakers. Michael Jackson's hair actually live on fire.

Because the commercial was so hot, and.

Cameron was actually covered by fire on the Confessions of Fire.

Is it Everyone? So? So?

And Eater was the first song you guys worked on. Yes, what is the process.

Or was it glow?

You know when you like got your a game on and you're like, I'm gonna pull out all the tricks.

In this first session.

You know, I'm gonna knock his socks off Timberland, timber Land and yeah. So I was all like, like, dorite his top with my vocals, like in this glow that's on the record, And then we did man Eater that same day.

Yeah, so what is he one of those? Is he one of those?

Is he one of those work from scratch producers or is it like.

You like from dance?

Yeah, work from dance.

So if he's dancing and he's hearing the beat and his hand wants to do something different, like the body's missing something. He'll add a sound so that he can complete that physical, physical connection.

First, and then it's figure out what it's all vibe.

It's all vibe.

He's I don't know, he's just powerful. He has this he has this connection. I don't know.

It's neat and him and I were weird, like when we get together, we hardly see each other. I just saw him because he invited me to come, like meet some kids he was mentoring on a show called The Pop Game for HLN or something.

I think, I hope that's a network. But we get together we like old people like we talk. We talk about life, death, love, marriage, divorced.

We talk about big things. There's no small talk with Timberland. Timberland doesn't do small talk, and right, you don't. Yeah, no, tim doesn't do small talk. So it's the same approach to music.

There's no small talk. It's either good or it's over and I don't care, you know what I mean. It's either popping.

It's either I'm moving and I'm loving it or forgot lost interest, you know, So you're constantly trying to get his interest back when you're writing.

So it's like all right.

You did feel like you're like at the World Series.

And you gotta like, you know, you gotta knock it out of the park.

But if you're if you're building a song from scratch, yeah, which I imagine.

He came up with the cadence the flow for man Eater.

He was like.

About and roses at all was welcome to the Jungle.

And then I wrote the hook, and then he wrote the cadence for that, and then I I wrote the lyrics okay, and then we had an amazing vocal producer named Jim Beans in there, and he was just coming up with really cool like harmonies and things like say it right.

Half the reason it's cool is because there's all those little from about it, I can tell you.

You know, like all those little like calling responses, right, That's what I think it takes it to the next level. We were watching a Pink Foyd movie that day when we did say it right. I put an alien effect on my voice to inspire myself, and then you're just kind of like, mmm, you know, just started singing that and then uh yeah, him and I just kind of just like.

Ping pong, you know, in that type.

But Nate Danjehans was in that session, like Nate Hills, who's an incredible programmer and producer. Yes, so, and that was early days when they just started working together. This is before right before they did justin Timberlake's album. We had finished our album.

So okay, Well, in that type of collaboration process.

Where it's it's you and him Loan working and with danger as well, and you're kind of building this Jenga game piece. Has there ever been a time where you build something and the idea doesn't work? Like how do you stingule? Or is it just everything you work on

Like yeah, does it have to.

Be finished to completion or do you have like five songs that we worked on that didn't make the record and you know, it is just sitting in.

The him and I had a really cool experience with Loose because every single song we made was on the album.

That's what I wanted to know. Everything made it. It was nothing left over.

Okay, there were two things that didn't end up getting completed. One was a song I started with justin Timberlake and it was called crowd Control, but that was late in the game because I was almost done. And then there was like a song that some other weird song. I just remember it feeling like a Shakira song. I don't remember what it was, but it was like it just had that feel, but I did. We never finished it, and then we just it just fell to the wayside,

Now, did you feel.

Nervous And it's like we couldn't make a bad song at that time or something.

It was weird.

I mean, it's easy to be in the zone.

And at the time, I like kids met too, you know, because like Chris Martin from Coldplay was in town, so we invited him. I knew him Timblin did not know him but admired him and was from a big Coldplay wave at the time. I invited Chris In and he wrote the hook All Good Things Come to an End would end up being a huge hit around the world.

Really, uh huh okay, okay.

So things like that happened too, Like it was just a wave. It was just a moment were.

You at all worried about not the label, but in terms of your original, everyone has their original. In my case, it's almost like the barbershop theory. You know, I don't know if you ever have the your barbershop thoughts, like Tarik has barbershop thoughts.

This verse. I got to face the.

Dudes in the barbershop when I do this verse, which is like yeah, his his sounding his soundboy his which could be an okay thing and sometimes can also be a handicap.

And I see it more as a handicap than anything. What why is it a handicap for you?

Well?

I see it because it's a handicap because if your initial say, if her crew of six has those thoughts about if that's echoing in her head, like yo, don't make shit on the radio or keep it real or what you know, whatever music fans be like, you know the side I am ready for you?

Are you thinking? Yo? What is my.

Original crew back at home going to think when I drop this record with Timberland, which has the potential to sell gajillions, which it did. I mean, but it's also a risk because it's such a one eighty from how you started, Like, were you worried at all?

I was really just kind of would loose? I just kind of well two things. I came up with the title loose about two years before I got in a studio with Timlin. I wanted to make a more broad project because I found that my early material didn't translate well to larger arena festival shows because of the sounds. So I really dreamed of playing arenas with a broader sounding album.

So I wanted to also prove.

To myself that I could make a big, shiny pop album like any other pop star. And I just set myself to that challenge because I'm real challenge motivated. So I just set that goal for myself.

I was like, I want to make something huge.

I admire that shit because.

To see if I can do it, you know.

I admire it because I know that most people, especially that are hip hop based, are so again, so at least my generation was so keep it real and anti.

Pop that well, then I knew I could do it in a way that I still loved.

Right, But I'm saying that I think it's actually.

I think it's I think pop is is noble, which I know it's weird to say. I'm not saying that. You know, I'm the world's biggest tailors with fan, but I kind of, you know, I respect her steez, it's like kind of like a fifty million of his fans can't be wrong with anything.

Not even that, not even that. No, no, no, no, not even that.

It's just that I feel like with pop music, it's hard to write a song that millions and millions and millions of people all feel is great.

At the same time, I think it's harder to.

Like.

Okay, some of the producers that we've interviewed on the show have made some of their best work with limited materials.

Oh hell yeah, and then or even with.

Like prints or whatever. Like, when you have limited materials, you're your most creative, But when you're giving the world then suddenly like results here, if he's best I think it's harder to write simple pop songs.

I agree, I agree.

If again, I always say, like for Nazi's Water, like eleven minutes, I had the whole diagram out. Okay, so minute number seven, we're gonna go, you know, free jazz here, and then we're going to pans left and right and do all this crazy ship. I could do ship like that my sleep. I could never do a three minutes.

It's like you could just throw colors up against the canvas and call the ship abstract. But it's harder to draw a perfect circle.

You know what I mean, A pop on by accident.

No, but there's a there's a beauty of the simplicity. It's all math.

I think it's hard to ship. It's hard to be disciplined. It's hard to be disciplined. It's hard to bullseye something that can can translate to millions.

But I will I willn't want you.

I was just saying.

I do think once you find out what that formula is, it's easy to replicate it though, like if you, but the hard thing is finding it.

You know what I'm saying, and cared about it because you know it, but you just don't feel like doing it. Sometimes that is true.

I think that's the time you always give us a girl record. On the Roots album, we talked about like you but no.

But that's the thing though, I think the misperception, especially with the Roots, is that, oh, you guys are artists. You don't want to sell, you don't want to get radio.

I don't know how to do it.

But you knew Water was not going to be a pop record. No.

I know.

I know how to do what I do well, which is the opposite. But until I became a DJ in the last five years and really understand what people respond to, now I know what the answer is.

I still don't know if I know. No, I don't know how.

To execute it. But I'm just saying that I know what the answer is now. Back then, I thought, hey, just put a girl on the hook, then it will be a hit. No, man, so much more.

Than there's so much of its image, and I think and like lifestyle because I mean, it's not really you're selling the music like you're selling the lifestyle. You're selling you know, it's like some kind of colder personality shit, you.

Know what I mean.

So it's like, oh, it's way different now, yeah, you gotta be a personality.

Four your even talented.

So it's yeah, because like I could make a future record, but like I'm a dad of two.

I mean not the futures, but he's the dad of six.

Yeah, yeah, I mean it's like, who's gonna believe that? Shit's like, no, motherfucker.

Well let me ask, because by that time you had a daughter, Like, yeah, I did change you.

Yeah, a few things, like I feel like, okay, So my inspiration for Luis was definitely like I look to albums like Madonna Ray of Light, right, it was pop, but it had so much artistry and direction, and it had a sheen and a kind of mystery too to it, I thought.

And then Janet Jackson's album when she came out as Janet, when she had the photo with someone holding her one behind.

I was so inspired by that album as a I guess fourteen fifteen year old. My friends and I they called us the Janets, who all had very curly, long hair, and I really wanted Loose to be like my Janet album. I did, and it was yeah, my version right, vanilla version and yeah, and so with Promiscuous, I had trepidations. I was like, wow, I've never sang a song like this before.

But well, I'll say you sold it well because when I saw SNL, I was like, whoa, I I hardly knew you.

Yeah, you must have been like that because you had known me like real early days.

You know.

Yeah, and no, it's not even criticism. I was like, oh shit, I'm with this.

But it came for my heart because I always I did grow up in R and B and hip hop music, so for me, it was very natural to sing that way. It was very natural to sing that type of music. You know, it was in my heart. So I just you know what I really think it is. I think my musical vocabulary is large, so that's why I can't. I don't fit into a box. And every album is different because I just I didn't like to speak the

Know, do you feel freedom in that because you know, a lot of artists don't really have that at the end of it, like some people would want to do other things. But I feel like what you you can do so many things because you're not in a box. But do you feel that privilege in that way?

I guess so, because I don't know how to do it any other way, Like I don't know how to adhere to a genre. I don't know what that is. I don't I don't know what that is.

You know what I mean?

Or if I did know, I would get bored after doing it once. I get so bored, I get bored. It's pretty much, that's all it is. I'm just very curious person. I'm just led by my curiosity, and if I can be interested in something, then I'll do it, you know. But if I have no interest, I just can't. I just can't do it.

Well.

The success of Loose was really impressed in it, Like did you expect, especially coming off of Folklore, was just like, let me throw the spaghetti on the wall and see what happens.

There's nothing to lose.

Yeah, But then sudden it's like, I mean, twelve million is done in the sky fit.

Yeah, it was crazy.

So at the height of the madness of you surpassing even your debut record, I mean, what was what was it like? Suddenly like especially when you having to be an artist, having to be a mommy, ye, having to be a songwriter at like wearing all these hats.

Where does that? You know? What does ten million feel like? At the height of the madness?

It was exhausting.

I was so tired because I was traveling with my daughter around the world.

I took for two years, right, two years.

Yeah, Like I toured like I was making the record when I made Loose, she had she was almost two. Who were you on tour with at the time or who were well, okay, so I made the record. Then it was like, I guess she was three when I brought her on the road, because by the time we went on the road, I was just like three, three years, four years old anyway, So I was really tired.

I was on the road.

It was amazing because I got to play these arena shows that I dreamed of. Right, it was like, ooh, these songs sound great in an arena. This is cool, and I'll fit in all the old songs too, and it was like really fun. But yeah, it's a lot of pressure because this is okay, this is what I will tell you. And I sympathize when I see pop stars with these huge careers because I know what they're really thinking, and what they're really thinking is, wow, I

So you're one of the people that if one hundred people love if ninety nine people in the room love you, you only care about the one that's like indifferent.

It's the nature of the business because all business models are based on growth in Yeah, So that's the problem with the music business is because you can never stay on top. So it's like you're on top and all your worsorried about and every single person who's number one right now, all they're worried about is is this album gonna hit? Is this gonna hit?

Like?

Am I gonna like?

That?

Never goes away? Like I was at a sting concert and like somewhere strange like Latvia ended up there because I had a show and he saw me. Was he going to his car and goes, oh, thank god, I didn't know you were here. I would have been so nervous, and I'm thinking you're saying it's never good enough for

Yeah, no that's why. But no, no, no, that that happens a lot. Like you'll you'll find out that you do your best shows ever in obscure towns that you know, industry people weren't watching you totally. Like have you ever had a really really good LA show, really good New York show?

A handful, you know, Columbia.

It's like.

With us, I can remember maybe one.

You know, yeah, it's it's always a fail.

But yet you know, Montana the best show ever because yeah, I mean there's no pressure of of of.

People watching you.

You know, the people there are actually want to be there, they're trying to be seen waits.

The other thing, when you have radio singles, you think people are just there to be cool, and they're just there because your thing is the cool.

Thing to do that night.

It's very different than when you have an album that's less successful and you know everybody who's there they actually want to be there, not because the radio had commercial. Your friend invited you. You like my outfit in the video. You know what I'm saying, because it's real stuff. It's real stuff you think about.

So okay, so how do you have you think?

I'm don't what is she?

Because I'm on I was on the other side of radio for the last years, so I'm just really thinking about it in an artist way.

I never thought about that, like.

It's true everything it makes perfect okay, cool, Okay.

I think you're crazy.

If you try to workshop, that would be good.

You would fit writing at the songwriting workshop. I want to see one of these Montana Root shows. What anyway? No, so with with uh?

But that's so self defeating. It's a horrible attitude to be like they're only here because because they're they're following a wave.

That't mean I don't think that happens though you don't come out the house just because your outfit was keeping it in the video you come out the house at least out like.

One to two songs like it totally happens. It does, it does, and the thing is Okay.

An obscure way to look at it.

But if your breakout, if your true breakout arena album is your third record, and you know you had some heat on the first, like how do you if you have a lot of broth and.

Very little chicken?

Yeah meat, did you ever have moments where you're like, okay, well yeah, a lot of strange uh now yeah right, so good on the radio broth.

Yeah. But I'm just saying that.

If you're there because you know, a particular fan is really there for permit, like oh, they're going to come in line when I start whatever, then it's like how do you pace your show?

Then?

Like okay, well you want to get the die hards and the news.

It's hard. You know what I used to do on the Looster, I'd play parties just begun this track from my first album, it's like that he's just big gun and I do this whole like you know, yeah, like this like Dodgy, did I do this whole? Like vocal percussion thing, and that kind of got my jolly's off in that song. Like I was like, Okay, I'm being artistic in this song, and any of my old fans might know this one.

And I enjoyed all that.

I love playing that role. I love putting on the fancy ball gown and singing show time like it was fun, but it was fun times. I enjoy it all. It's fun learning a new skill. It's fun learning how to act on stage and do choreography.

And that was cool.

I liked it.

Wait a minute, Oh, wait a minute, Wait a minute. Okay, I'm sorry. I just had a moment. I just had a moment that I totally forgot about. Okay, damn, I feel like I'm about to have a Liya moment. Okay. And I'm also going to mirror it up because I gotta be sort of ambiguous with the question.

I love these because I don't want to be.

He's still disclaiming, yeah, there's a lot of yeah.

I can be more preface than it is. Yea question, we understand. This is the safe.

Okay, did you really hit TLC? No, I'm playing, I'm playing playing. That was as your question whoa, Okay, I have a question about give it to me?

Okay, yeah, yeah, Now we know.

Who Timberland was busting shots at the purple guy that was that was Justin. That was oh Justin Oh and tim Old Timberland particularly yea, that was a.

Scott st and we know that Justin was.

Okay, you're just laying all the team because because people listen, they don't know all the Give it to Me was just just don't.

Established this show as a common denominator.

All right, But everybody asked listener context. So Justin was talking about Prince Timberland, was this Scott Storage.

Can I ask you a questions? Can I ask you a question? And we don't have to mention the name.

A disclaimer, no, my disclaimers. Let me just say it was like at the.

End of the movie, it's like the thoughts and feelings of the artists not reflect the artists because like I, nobody we recorded the verses separately. I was there to help write the hook, right, and I wrote my verse, but I was not present when Justin recorded his verse, and I was not present when Timberland recorded his.

Wait, that's not that first question. My question is just yes, or no, yeah, were you bucking a shot at someone.

In your verse? I was okay, no, I'm not even gonna go. I'm also here's the thing, though.

Though I was egged on in the studio and I want the name names, it wasn't necessarily timbling.

Secondly, yeah, yeah.

Secondly, I told you here's.

The bad story because we made up.

We've made up because there's but I was honest with her about it when she I was hired.

I was hired by that person to do their birthday party. Oh and I didn't know nothing about this.

Played the record?

Who is it?

Dude? Did I play the record? I don't know who it is? Who?

Twice?

No, he's given us context clues.

This is like how many years ago was it? Like?

No, no, no status of limitations. I'm establishing a precedence of the show that I'm not. I'm not throwing people under the bus.

The history.

I will tell you off air, I will tell you. I'm sorry. This is where I got a quest of supreme moment. I got set the press. Anyway, I was hired by this particular person to do their birthday party, not knowing the history of the song.

And this is just when the ship came out.

So this was like usually my first five records, two thirds records is going to be the song of the moment. And I played this ship and god damn, the whole party just looked at me and ran up to me like are you crazy? And I was like huh. And then finally the person came to me and someone explains. Someone explained to me, and then I was.

I just just silently took the record off and put Billy Gene on.

We made up.

We made up at Princess Diana's memorial show at Wembley Arena in London, England.

That it was a beautiful moment.

I'm glad right now, I'm thinking about the man.

Making a this song.

Ever, it's bad karma, Bad Karma came back. Yeah, it's bad karma, bad karma.

Wait, what do you mean it came back?

Well, it was a number one song, so at first you're like kid, you know, and it was fine, you know, like the hook, you know this that's just like the little things we said in our verses.

But like we didn't need to do that.

We could have probably done it without it being like that, Like that was just a subplot and you didn't even know about it when you played it at the show, and.

I regret it. I don't think i've touched nextivity fading out.

It's never a good thing, but you know, it was a good experience. It was a good experience, and I was I was, I guess, as honorable as one could be doing that type of thing. Like she asked me about it to my face at an event, and I actually said, yes, it is, and.

This is why you're so polite though I wouldn't know. I say, that's awfully considered of you.

And she didn't agree, and she didn't agree with what I said.

With the lyrics if you don't know, but it was fine.

We kind of worked it out, like.

I think we can talk.

Have you ever publicly talked about this, not really detailed? No, Actually, oh my god.

I'm not going to be on my own show.

We're not. We're talking about history.

If I bring up the Holocaust and it's only.

The womanly thing that was interested that you admitted that it was your fault.

No, well, I think so there was no real reason for me to just go for the writer.

And do that.

It's like it would she was continuing.

My creativity is all it was.

But it was like as if I need my creativity or that's how I saw it, and I might have been wrong about the things I was kind of thought the things that motivated it, and she kind of also like explained that, and and it was still kind of heated at that moment, but we made up, which was so beautiful.

Yeah, we made up.

Let's move on a listeners.

Know if we can, if we can talk the listeners Google, if we are listeners, we can talk to Prodigy about the jay z Beef, how about all of it, because the world knows there was a prodigy Jayson.

I'm gonna tell you I googled Nelly for childle Beef and her name was came up immediately.

Listeners, do that.

I just don't want to say I went down beef lane again. You know, I learned my lesson.

You've been down beef lane. I just want to talk about the Holocaust.

The Holocaust question why that was a man unnamed dictator.

A little mustache. Yeah, we don't want to say his name because you know, we don't want to ruffle Lady feathers or bring up you know.

Google it, but Google, just compare that.

I'm taking my show back, dammit, Nell?

Did this originate from you watching some old Wild Orchid videos? Wow?

No, okay, I liked it.

I liked Wild Orches.

Okay, can we stop pretty?

Oh my god, I really regret. Move on, Move on, please, Hitler, this is so funny. Can we please?

Yes?

I feel like you're the most proudest of this record.

I love that record well because it's hard to like sing like properly in another language. I mean, when I was little, I learned Portuguese. First Spanish came easily by like grade nine. I guess I was fourteen when I started to learn Spanish. When I came out with Wonelly, this amazing artist from Columbia named Juans invited me to sing on this song that became an international hit called Photographia. So it was a big song, big duet, and uh.

But I did it, did it.

It wasn't translations. It was like I had had the opportunity to do like a translations album of loose, but I wasn't feeling it.

So I waited till I.

Could do it right. I hooked up with a great co writer named Alex Cuba who's based in Toronto, and we started a Spanish album in the snow in Toronto, and it ended up way bigger than I ever thought because all these artists really just joined on to the you know, onto the project and it featured seven or eight really great collaborations and.

My favorite Salon Salam I love Salon.

Do you guys ever get together?

Here?

He is currently working on the never Ending Roots album that you know.

I didn't know that he's on the project with you.

That's where Yeah, I love that guy.

I loved them so much, even like he embraced the opportunity to do Spanish records, you know, so we worked on that.

Why not Portuguese? Just curious because that's your first.

I know, see, there's me again doing idiosynocratic right. Everybody asks me.

That, They're like, why why not Portuguese?

And I'm just like, I don't know. I started. I like Latin pop market and if I did Portuguese would probably be more BOUTIQUI like foto.

Music or something, because they don't get nominated for Latin Grammys.

And does that anything they do.

Actually to make matters more confusing. So like Laudapusy needs Italian. She's won a Latin Grammy. Catanavoso is Brazilia and he's won a Latin Grammy. It's kind of broad the whole genre.

But like.

Portuguese is Hispanic on the US census form, very confusing, very confusing, very confusing. And so I decided to sing a Latin pop album kind of like a very inspired by like rock and Espanol stuff like that.

You know.

Juliet To Venegas, she co wrote a couple of tracks. She's a Mexican artist. Had a rapper named Mala la Malaro Diriga.

She's from Spain.

I had like a proper Mexican run cheryld singer ale Jhandro Fernandez Flamenco. I really went there with it. I had fun with it, and I collaborated a lot, and honestly, the Latin world, the Latin world of music is far larger than I ever imagined, and it was welcoming. I felt a sense of community that I really really, really.

Really I was about to say, did you go to the Latin Grammys, and like, how did you feel in that community?

Amazing really yeah I did.

Yeah, I felt.

I don't know, it was I all felt humbled by it too, right, because yeah, here I am this English singer and then I decided to make a Spanish album and it gets embraced. So it was like, wow, I feel very lucky. But I also feel indebted to the artists have collaborated with, like oness Right, it takes people to kind of bring you in, right, like with any genre, right, yeah, you need.

Somebody to vouch for you spante. He's like, right, not not right now, mother, I arrive with a squad in good times in bad time.

Sing this song.

Josh Grobin's on my Spanish album, so he like, I want to sing in Spanish and I was like great, I sent him the song and well no, I invited him and he said, oh, that would be a good opportunity and he's sang. So it was both of us like singing the Spanish song together.

But YO, forgive me for asking this question because I'm about to go listen to that album but I haven't are there Yeah, is there are there any like samba s Boston Nova type influence?

I really going the samba?

Sorry, yeah, not really.

The closest thing. There's a Flamenco song there's like a real like like a Salam did that track. That's my favorite. I think that's by the best track. It's called Strong and Concha is this amazing Flamenco singer with this really throaty, powerful voice. She's uh, she's amazing.

Wait. Salam also worked on the next Joe to a Spirit.

In Salam and I did a song called Something which features nos and Uh. Another track that Salam did on Spirit was Oh, he did more than one that ended up on the record. He did some B sides too, and did a lot together Rodney Jerkins.

Yeah, dark Child, let me.

Tell you what was dark amazing. I'll tell you what he does. You want to know?

And how many Michael Jackson stories did you get to hear?

This is what he's like when you write with him.

So he'll sit behind the keyboard and he looks at you when he's writing, so he'll be like.

It'll be really he's like a doctor.

And he's like he's moving and he's looking in your eyes while he's writing. And I loved working with Rodney. Actually, Rodney is a very good vocal arranger.

As we all know.

He produced say my Name. He produced the Boy is Mine like Hello, and it wasn't until I was in a studio. I walked around and I had this crazy moment where I realized he had produced all my favorite nineties R and B records, and that's why we did the song big Hoops and we referenced all my favorite nineties artists on that song. Because I don't know, I guess I was in that energy. It was the last record I made with Innerscope, and I actually I don't know.

As well, which leads us to the right now. The thing is when I saw the cover. When I saw the cover to the Ride, I was like, why did you drop your logo? Who designed your logo? I'm a font nerd by the way.

So I know.

Do you know?

It's like a sacred geometry logo and my friend from It's called Create. It's like a media company and I'm trying, I know, and they did. Yeah, they did a new logo for me, and it's basically based on all this like mathematical equations of like space and angles and stuff like that, and I just really liked. I know, I get so bored to.

Drop your your classic psychedelic logo.

I think.

So.

I just got so sick of seeing that big old thing on every cover, Like I was like, not a game. But it's like I just looked like I had all the same album cover every time.

Like I was just like, oh, here's this.

I know, but I'm independent now, so I don't care, and I'm just like, whatever do that.

I know. It's just.

It's just so rare as as a lover of record collecting, it's so rare to find product with good consistent logo with history Like Earth has their consistent logo, Chicago.

Chicago has Theirs.

Uh well who team has more of a local than like fonts associated I mean you know, I mean the Roots have kept are are are boring? Uh blue Helvitica Helvitica American typewriter. Yeah, but when you when you when you be thrown off if you saw a roots album in any font other than what you're used.

To seeing I didn't even realize so you said that, but I guess.

Because you don't like the roots Nelly.

I love them.

But Nelly's album looks like it reminds me of like those eighties albums. Everybody goes to that stage of like the Secret Life of Plants when you put the picture inside the block of color and I lost everybody.

Yeah, that I appreciate.

Thank you.

Everybody did a blood anything yeah.

With my friend on it. Honestly, just wanted to capture the energy space of mine that I was in when I recorded and and I did that photoshoot for Internet stuff and I ended up using it for the album cover because it was like snapshot of kind of the week. I finished the album in Dallas, Texas, and the artwork features local Dallas artists and visual artists. The artwork on the front by Samantha Macurity. You can't see the whole thing when you buy the vine.

I should have.

Brought you a vinyl Yeah, why the hell.

Did I not bring this final to you?

It's so cool, but you open it up and it's just has a sense of community. Just I met a lot of cool people in Dallas, and I ended up working on all these projects with them, the video directors from Dallas.

There's a good musical community down there.

Did you stop Starks Junior?

You ever met him?

I've not met him.

Really talented keyboardists okay, moo clavinet. He plays it all on my album.

There's a really cool I don't know if you go to record stores a lot, but I.

Used to work at my friend's store in Toronto, Okay, a couple.

Of years ago. One of the after selling millions of records, you did I did for.

Fun the key the key to uh I forget this? And the leader Ivy, the leader of Polyrhythmic Spree ownth Polyphonic Spree owns like one of the coolest record stores, mom and pop spots in Dallas right now. It's escaping, is it? No, Cliff, don't give me the quote it, but it's it's a really.

John Congleton produced all the records Polysponic Spree, like I who did my record?

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. In that area of Dallas.

Yeah, it's a vibe. It's like you know what it is, It's like.

That whole like like artists and then like the patrons of the arts, you know, and then there's this great divide, and I think it creates this wildness to like the left side, you know what I mean, Like it just creates this.

More you have to kind of you gotta be even.

Weirder in Dallas to be weird, you know what I mean?

They gotta, I gotta.

Really, how do you how do you feel to be how does it feel to be on your own and truly independent without without labels.

Well, I really followed my heart.

I really wanted to work with John Congleton, and Annie from Saint Vincent introduced me to him. We clicked, and I just in my heart thought, I want to know what it's like to work with like an alternative producer, Like I want to see what that's like. I want to see if I could do it. And when I met him, we started working and interscope. I was still with them, but I always kind of go off and do my own thing and don't really tell them what

Wait, wait.

Time out, Wait a minute. You had a conversation with them.

No, my manager helped me, like, I haven't.

Well you yeah literally, but I'm just saying that they were willing to amicably part with you.

Yeah.

Yeah, they gave me my master, They gave me the like I got to keep the masters of this new record. And it was a blessing because I was able to make this beautifully produced album essentially independently, you know, which is you're not usually able to do that, you know, because John's a really in demand producer. So it took we took her time with it because we were both really busy. But yeah, man, you know, sometimes it's just time to move on.

Really confused me, I need that's the sound of my brain right now. Which the only thing.

He has to do more with relationships, Like there's there's a lot of old relationships in the music business, like the people you don't see on TV. I I guess if you ask, And it's like, you know, like between business relationships, like sometimes like there's certain people who know how to get stuff done quickly. I'm just lucky enough to be working with some of them at the time.

The only reason why mind blown is because now that I think of it, I think I did the same thing.

Good it happened, Oh yeah.

With the yeah well no Jay.

I asked Jay, like, yo, take us with you to death Cham and he's like this, I want to get involved in Jimmy's business.

And I simply just asked him.

But my my selling point was I was like, dude, you have seventeen mega platinum artists on interscope. I said, all we're doing is wasting your money. You won't miss us, and he sat and thought about it. I was like, okay, thanks, and that was it.

And I.

Because you were respectful, you know what I mean. And I think even when I presented what I was working on with John, I.

Was, SA, did you get what I'm saying?

If you sell, if you I wrote.

A handwritten note, you know what I mean.

If you sell twelve million units, I'd be I kind of want to make sure you're good to the last drop. Okay, Okay, that's yeah.

Like it's always risk involved, I guess, but like they still get the.

You're at least Jordan five.

You got some Jordan forty five time left in you, so it's like that to me, that to me is an amazing like I can't believe that happened.

Yeah, it's like a kind of like a little mini miracle. I guess I felt it grateful. But then when I signed those documents, I said, wow, I signed this record contract in nineteen ninety eight. Nineteen ninety eight's a long time ago because I take too much time in between albums. So for me signing a six album deal, like at that age, I never knew.

You don't think right when you signed it first record Catchry.

You're like, like, it's back an album, right, you read it. I was always smart about reading my paperwork. But at the same time, you're not really processing, like how much time? You don't know that it's going to take that long to record sex records?

You know? So what do you?

What do you hope happens something I wanted?

I mean you've you've taken I mean you're kind of taken the dream as far as an evolution is concerned. You made all types of records, done, all types of collaborations and musical experiments, like what what I'm never believe in happy, I believe in satisfied. So what Yeah, when at what point, are you satisfied? Like can if you were to stop now you're are you like, okay, you have a beautiful daughter, You've pretty much lived in the dream, Like what is.

What is the satisfaction destination for you? For me?

Okay, if I had to stop today and I was like, okay, I'm gonna quit now, I'm never gonna make music again, I might regret like never doing like a Portuguese language album. Actually, I didn't mean to put that on you.

Nobody's true, No, it's not you.

Yeah, So so that that could be cool at some point, but again I won't know until I cross that bridge. But yeah, generally speaking, I just wanted this time. This timeout's been really cool. Like a week after I got out of my record contract, like like I think a month later, I was rehearsing with Dev Hines because we were gonna sing together at his charity show he did.

Did you go to that at the Harlem Apollo?

It was really cool, it was for it was a fundraiser, and so I said to him, hey, Dev, you know I'm not with my label anymore, so we could put out our new song on cassette like and sell it at the merch table for charity. So that's the type of stuff you could never do if you're on a major label.

Who is who has a cassette player.

Don't know it?

Go to urban outfitters right now and get a boom.

And also I did it installation at Art Basil this year with my friend who's a photographer. So normally, like you can't just do that stuff when you're signed to a contract. Sound art installations, songwriting, and you know what I'm saying, it's just a different flow in your brain and it's really nice. I've been experiencementing with that.

I'm gonta see where that takes me. You know, I don't really know.

I just want us to keep asking questions.

You know, I took a.

Playwriting class last year at university. That was fun.

So maybe writing arrangements or something for like a different type of like paradigm may be theatrical.

I'm not sure.

See, I get the feeling that, you know, the the ongoing, the ongoing evolution.

Well, you know, she'll probably prime minister.

Well, I was gonna ask you to ronto lot like musically, Toronto has been put on the map since you first stepped Onto.

To say, I feel like a forty Drake collaborations.

Coming up mel so nice.

Yeah.

You know I feel cool because I watched the scene grow and I stayed in that city. I've stayed in Toronto my whole life and career, well from age eighteen out, but like I've watched it grow urban scenes finally on the international map. I mean, we were just doing our thing.

Oh thanks to Fronte, But I mean I need to know. Did my sto Maestro Fresh West let your backbone slide?

Was that a hit over here?

No afraid it wasn't. That's your back slide?

Okay because I wouldn't know because we played thirty percent can Con and Canada growing up, So you thirty percent of everything you see and listened to is Canadian.

It's it's called kankon. Yeah, it's a government rule.

Yeah. This was before a Clear Channel took us over in ninety seven.

Yeah.

So so basically speaking, yeah, it's so nice to meet these new artists that are coming out and they have an appreciation for what happened in the past, but then they're moving things forward. So like my favorite from Toronto is his name is River Tiber and the record Yeah, man, he's based in Toronto. New new artists. You got to look out for Mustafa Ahmed. I've known im s he was fifteen. He sings, he's a spoken word poet. Really

Thanks Nady. I was literally going to ask you to put us on does some new media acts.

Also, I really like Charlotte da Wilson's EP.

Have you heard it?

Yeah?

Manager as she's on She's on bad Bat Not Goods new album as well.

Spante's are.

Voulture Voucher and I feel irrelevant.

His i Q is way way.

Coming out.

Spante's Drake's Spirit Animal. Really, Drake is going on record to say that this.

Man always.

Animal.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, he said that in Yeah on On.

He dedicated his he dedicated his he wanted to be m I would, I think, and he dedicated it to me. Really, he dedicated it to me. He dedicated to me Andre and Kanye Wow. And they asked me what I thought about it, and I was like, I think it's great, but I wish you would have dedicated time to do a verse on my album.

And we haven't spoke. Let me, you don't love the brother. It's all good, you know. I get that gun sound effect.

I have a soft shots fire, I've Nintendo. Yeah, we've done.

We worked early, early on in his career, and I mean he's always I don't know, oh yeah.

Yeah, out till later that he was on the Loose tour because he's saying backgrounds for Socrates on a couple of shows.

Yeah, wow, the Canadian tour sang background.

Start somewhere he did.

That's all started on the bottom.

He did doubles and no, he did doubles for Socrates. Yeah, on like I think three or four shows on our Canadian tour of Loose.

Yeah.

But I didn't know at the time, Like I just found this out recently. But everybody loves Drake. Everybody's so proud of him, right right.

Y'all, she said, She said, everybody loves.

No No No For.

The c and Tower to be on the cover of an album, it's a beautiful building.

Well, Nellie, thank you very much for joining us today at the q LS Peanut Gallery.

Give it up for.

Everybody needs the Peanut Gallery album.

Please get the new album Ride the Right, The Right I'm sorry.

You got to enjoy it or get off of it.

Yes, you've been thinking that all day, haven't you just.

Enjoyed? Get off anyway? Getting off the ride.

On behalf of fran Ticelo and Sugar Steve and wash Bill and Unpaid Bill and.

Laya and Aka off a ride.

This is Quest Love, Quest Love Supreme. Thank you very much, Nelly, I appreciate it. Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced by the team App and Door. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.