0:06
black what an incredible song what an
0:09
incredible beginning of a project to
0:12
really uh set the tone listening to the
0:14
songs that I've heard so far I couldn't
0:17
help um but to think of um art that's in
0:22
made me feel a similar way um movies
0:25
like school days uh kind of made me
0:27
jungle fever you know all of these a lot
0:30
of Spike Le collections had me tap in
0:32
your music had me go back into those
0:35
that discourse that that was caused um
0:37
by his projects so listening um to this
0:40
album what what I've heard so far I
0:43
haven't heard the entire um body of work
0:46
but it's been very consistent you've
0:48
done an excellent job um God give her a
0:50
round of applause for that thank you so
0:53
much the song sewing love which is the
0:56
current single you know we we often hear
1:00
banter and versus that kind of it's easy
1:03
to the lwh hanging fruit is men versus
1:05
women sure right we could we could talk
1:07
about toxic relationships and what he
1:09
did and how I responded Battle of the
1:11
sexist and how I got now I'm me because
1:13
of that toxicity right but this song is
1:17
the opposite to me it's about bringing
1:18
men and women or people together yeah
1:21
people and and bringing you closer to
1:23
yourself so the whole point is a lot of
1:25
times I make these records and sometimes
1:28
I'm singing about a a man woman
1:30
relationship or whomever you would
1:32
relationship your lover but it ends up
1:35
being a song that has a universal
1:37
meaning so I'm now singing it like at
1:40
the pastor's homecoming or you know
1:42
places like that where where the records
1:45
have more interpretation they have more
1:47
room for interpretation so it's really
1:49
important to me particularly for our
1:53
express all of that we want we want to
1:55
be in the club we want to get ready to
1:57
go to war we want to barbecue we want to
1:59
clean up the house house we want to do
2:00
all the things but at the end of it all
2:03
there has to be hope and uplifting and
2:06
I'm super missing that at this point now
2:09
and R&B like the the hope of it so when
2:13
you you write too for other for artists
2:15
right or not collaborate I do a lot of
2:18
collaborations okay you collaborated
2:20
with Mary yes okay MH um I read a story
2:24
about you guys connecting in a parking
2:27
once was it a parking lot
2:30
you know what happened was um I can't
2:34
remember what we were supposed to be
2:35
working on but I played her a record
2:37
that I wrote called almost gone and she
2:40
loved it and wanted to record it so I
2:42
produced that on her record it's on the
2:45
Mary Japan version of her record okay
2:48
yeah well are the artists cuz Mary's our
2:51
our age you know Mar Mary's in our
2:54
school you know U but y'all had totally
2:57
different careers right um what what did
3:00
you like bonding with her what did you
3:02
take away you know at the time when we I
3:05
mean we hung out just for like a few
3:07
minutes at one point in our lives and
3:09
then I was able to actually support her
3:11
on tour and go open for her it's been a
3:14
few years now but she's such an artist
3:16
she's a consumate artist I really
3:18
watched her because we were kind of of
3:21
the same trajectory in the same time a
3:23
lot of folks got lost in the 90s yeah so
3:26
I know she's a Survivor she was a
3:28
Survivor coming into the game so to
3:30
watch her blossom into all the things
3:32
she's been able to do you know to be
3:34
nominated for an Oscar to be starring on
3:36
television in these dramatic series and
3:39
she's gone on to do so many things I'm
3:41
super proud of her I love it Lea half
3:43
way Tracy G Lila when we speak about the
3:47
full spectrum of Blackness it made me
3:49
think about how for decades now maybe
3:52
even longer than that when it comes to
3:54
black artists in particular
3:55
conversations around what is the rights
3:59
genre to label you as should we remove
4:01
labels Alto together I think especially
4:03
when it comes to a younger generation
4:05
there's been a lot of artists that are
4:07
like R&B actually feels very limiting
4:09
and you're only putting me in this
4:10
category because I'm black right when
4:13
Neo Soul really sprang up and we saw a
4:15
lot of popularity take off there are
4:17
also folks saying I don't think I'm Neo
4:20
Soul yeah I was one of those people yeah
4:22
where are you with it now um at this
4:25
point I don't care what you call it just
4:26
call it you know the the the way that
4:29
you call it has to do with the
4:31
homogenization of music and the reality
4:35
is that Soul music moves everything
4:39
nothing happens till we say it's cool
4:41
and then we have to change it up again
4:43
after everybody else gets on to it right
4:45
so nothing jumps nothing the culture
4:47
doesn't move forward across the world
4:51
until we say it and when we understand
4:54
that the ownership in that and the
4:57
leadership it's it's going to change
5:00
everything it's going to change
5:01
everything so I try to approach all of
5:03
my creative work and a lot of my life
5:05
not every piece but as a leader in that
5:09
field I want to create something that
5:11
you want to give to your children not
5:13
that you want them to passively hear in
5:15
the car while you're riding or that
5:18
their friends introduce I want you to
5:20
have music that you want to gift to
5:23
people and to your children amen cuz
5:25
those records are so important you know
5:27
what I mean the records that your mom
5:28
play cleaning up in the house house
5:30
absolutely the records that remind you
5:32
of your aunties or that remind you of
5:35
that homecoming that you had to go home
5:37
for or church rides all of that music is
5:40
very important it's our history and
5:43
that's important all right bla half the
5:45
way uh where we where did we see Lea
5:49
last I don't know it's been a minute
5:52
yeah I I think it was the the black the
5:55
Nappa and Nappa you went last year I
5:58
thought it was the um the that when we
6:00
were in November DC for the Kennedy but
6:02
that the Kennedy wasn't there and you
6:05
was in app last year I don't know and I
6:08
just sat in in APPA last year oh yeah
6:10
you just they called you out I saw that
6:14
if it's if Rob is there I will try to be
6:16
there obviously CU he's my part this one
6:19
kid but I may miss this one damn but I
6:22
will not miss another one I bet you I
6:24
bet you I won't all right okay Lea have
6:27
S no actually I'm happy I think this is
6:30
the first of many conversations I think
6:32
we could have because there's so many
6:34
areas I would love to go in with you but
6:36
I know we have limited time but yeah I'm
6:38
just excited I get to come to like the
6:40
cool parts of the buildings now and all
6:43
all the buildings were cool before but
6:45
it would always be me like in the smooth
6:47
jazz area in the quiet looking over at
6:50
all the people like oh they look like
6:52
they having so much fun over there oh
6:55
yeah fact so you got a chance to have
6:58
fun today right appra I want to wome
7:01
thank you for coming by give it up
7:04
fora please come back June 14th the new
7:08
incredible incredible project uh we're
7:10
going to end with so in love thank you
7:13
what you got coming up though you here
7:14
for what I'm I'm just here doing talking
7:16
to you really really oh snap okay she
7:19
got a tour coming up too right yes we
7:21
we're starting in the in the late summer
7:23
early fall advaned black tour we're
7:25
going to be everything's on Instagram
7:26
everything's on Facebook you can find us
7:28
okay you can follow her at Lea haway
7:31
period all right there it is thank you
7:32
for coming by all right uh shave 45
