September 20, 2024 • 55 mins
The Breakfast Club Sits Down With Nelly Furtado To Discuss Breaking Back Into Music, Embracing Her ADHD, Timbaland History. Listen For More!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wake that ass up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
The Breakfast Club Morning, everybody is DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious,
Charlamagne the guy we are the Breakfast Club.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Jess is all maternity leave. So Lolaos is feeling in
and we.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Got a special guest in the building, Lady Netlie for title.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Welcome.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Hi, thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
How are you feeling?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm good? How are you?
Speaker 4 (00:20):
I'm blessed?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Black and Holly favorite new album seventy is out today.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
How does it feel?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Congratulations by the way on your work you're doing for community.
That's it was on your Instagram.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh, thank you was talking to this morning.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Thank you very much. How does the feel be back
making music?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Incredible?
Speaker 4 (00:47):
You like this part? Having to come to interviews and
be interrogated.
Speaker 5 (00:51):
It's not as.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Fun sometimes nowadays because everything's click bait and I'm like, ah,
what you know? Sometimes that's challenging, but it's okay, So
like kind of share my vibes, my positive energy.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
So why so long? It took a long time? Seven years,
just busy.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I like to kind of keep one foot kind of
like in the real world. And then went for entertainments.
Entertainments really fast paced, and you have to really be
out there to be successful in my industry. And I
take I've taken the approach for the last twenty five
years to kind of do it go hard for a
little bit, but then for my own mental health, I
kind of need to take breaks.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
And exercises.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
No, kind of yeah, I'm a and so yeah, just
like doing the mom thing and kind of like normal
normal life. And then and then when I'm in the studio,
I get to really express myself and write and produce
(01:55):
and invite a lot of friends into the studio and
have really late nights and finals. It's the most fun
part is making the music for me. I enjoy concerts.
I've been out on stage again performing a lot that's
been really refreshing and good. But like, yeah, you have
to take care of yourself.
Speaker 6 (02:09):
You know, we're part of mom life. Nelly Fotato inspires music.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Nell his music a mom like this.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
I'm going to say, because you said Brazil, this gives
me split servibes.
Speaker 6 (02:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (02:25):
You know very.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
What.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
Don't go ahead continue look at face.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Okay, so there's pink post it note on.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Nobody.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
No, I do have a lot of energy.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I mean to be totally honest. My brain is like,
it's different. My brain's different. I have a lot of
channels in my brain in a tent of ADHD And
this time, when I made this record, I was like,
I'm just gonna lean into that. I'm going to write
ten songs on I'm going to invite fifty people and
once to the studio. I am going to stay up
late till eight am. Honestly what this brain can do.
And so of course I like festive music. I would.
(03:09):
I started to go out again a couple of years ago,
and I would hear my music everywhere. DJs would play it,
people would dance, do it. I heard it at house parties.
Speaker 7 (03:17):
Still slaps, girls still slaps.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Think you even if if you hear I'm like a
bird at a house party, it goes down.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Too really well, you don't Timberland this time right.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
We have been in the studio but for our own
single we released last year. We talk all the time.
We're you know, we're you know, family for life. I
believe I think we have very similar natures when it
comes to creativity. I think that's why we make special
music together and we will again for sure.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
But nothing made this happen right.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
A lot of.
Speaker 7 (03:55):
Feels like it sounded like timble and I got the
T Minus.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Is quite influenced by Timberland. He's a big fan of
Simbaland's work. I don't know, are you familiar with T
minus work. He does a lot for J Cole. He
produces most of J Cole's stuff, and he's had some
great records over the year. But what's gat about him
is he's passionate. I like to work with people who
sure they're in the business, but it's more than business.
It's family, you know what I mean. It's like you're invested.
(04:23):
He wanted to brand the best of me. So we
do have some really really good beats on this album,
really good, high quality production. Timberland's favorite song. I've played
him a lot of records. His favorite song is Floodgate,
which was produced.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
By f n Z.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
If you know they're beats, but but save your breath. Actually,
I co produced and did a lot of vocal production,
but T Minus also came with that rhythm. It was
different before and it's a lot of my friends on
the song.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
I said, you recorded four to five hundred songs in
the last four years. I have that's a lot of music.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
To narrow down to just a couple of the album.
So how did you narrow it down? And why so
many damn songs?
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Because I don't write like I can't. I can write
just on my own, like with the guitar and do
that I wrote. I'm I'm like a bird that way.
But when I'm in the studio, I like what the
approach that I took is I turn the microphones on
and I make it sound like I'm at a show.
So I put the speakers and everything really loud, and
then I have everybody with microphones, including me, everybody, and
then I will only hear the music in the studio
(05:18):
when when protos is going and I can record everything
I do because my lyrics and melodies come to me
at the same time, whole entire songs come that way.
It just kind of comes. I did that when I
was a kid. I didn't talk that much, but I
was I would sing. Yeah, I would just sit there
and just make up songs, and they made me feel
(05:38):
emotional and cry and I didn't quite understand it. But
but it is probably the only thing that I do
wells of things I don't have an energy drink. I
don't have a booty line. I don't got patience for that.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
One energy you have natural?
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Is that weird?
Speaker 4 (06:02):
You're making me a little nervous.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Why you don't know?
Speaker 7 (06:05):
You're just moving and you're talking fast, and I'm like, oh,
I didn't hear that part.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 6 (06:15):
That's why she opened with commentating on your your mental work,
because she says she deals with add and her mental
health stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
I think it's because she was moving fast. It might
have went for.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Real, like before. I only got diagnosed a couple of
years ago. But as a child and growing up in
my teens, I'd be that girl that my friends would
be like where did she go? Because I would just
stare in the space and I thought I was just
scattered brain all the things, you know, And I would
judge myself or I thought I was unorganized or lazy
or procrastinate.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
But did you do what?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Score me? Sometimes? So I ignore them. I'm just saying
in general, like these two like ignore them all the time.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Like we talked, we ignore him too, that we.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
Locked in over here, no switching up. We don't know
what he be over to.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
That's okay, what was it?
Speaker 5 (07:00):
You when you were diagnosed? How old were you?
Speaker 6 (07:08):
Sorry, how old were you when you were diagnosed with eighty?
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Forty three? Forty three?
Speaker 6 (07:17):
Okay, so what was that like actually having like a okay,
I know what this is now, I know how to
Oh yeah, I read a.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Lot of books about oh, particularly women with eighty because
of the experience for women's a little different, you know,
because you know there's more pressure, you know, Especial's Mom's right.
It's like you know, you're supposed to have your your
house together, you know, in all the ways. And yeah,
so just self acceptance, self love.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
You got three kids, right, three?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yep, yes, I do, twenty one, six and five?
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Oh is it?
Speaker 7 (07:47):
A six year and a five year old? Don't know
nothing about music? Nellie for tadle a little.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Bit, only because my I have a friend leader. She's
a she's another artist leader from she's from Columbia. And
one day we were chilling all friends, like the kids
have friends with her kids, and she said, these they
don't even know what you do. Let's like, you know,
let's play them something. And I said, okay, only if
I could play your thing too, So we kind of
shared that that side. That day was the first song
(08:13):
say it right. I think it was a live performance
in Paris or something like that. Yeah, they liked it.
Speaker 7 (08:20):
What vibe were you on when you wrote Promiscuous Crowd
back back then? And what did your parents think of it?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
My parents? I mean I was, Yeah, I was already
at the house at that time. I mean I already
had a daughter, it's already kind of had my own house.
But I don't know.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
I've never asked my mom ever.
Speaker 6 (08:40):
She's never like commented like, hey, hey, the song because
I mean, no, yeah, I think so well.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I mean I remember being fourteen in our house growing up,
and Salt Peppa had a song Let's talk about sex, Yeah,
and it will come on the little radio in my
kitchen and my mom will be like, didn't turn it on?
The kid, So I grew up on like TLC, Salt
and Pepper absolutely very empowered, you know, in talking about
(09:07):
sexuality and talking about choice. I believe promiscuses a song
about choice. And what I like about it is the
male voice and female vos voice or on it even
playing field in the song. But interesting and interestingly enough,
people still call it promiscuose, but the song is actually
called promiscuous. It's not girl or boy.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
Oh because of those hooks.
Speaker 6 (09:30):
We I think I always thought it was prom excuse girl,
not just excuse Wow.
Speaker 7 (09:36):
And this new album seven, what does the number seven
mean to you? I know, I know it's your seven filbum.
I know you put out album seven years ago, but
what does the number seven actually mean you?
Speaker 1 (09:46):
To be honest, I kind of wanted a title this
like really simple, like a almost like a fashion collection.
Fashion collections. Uh. And I love the song seven by
Prince Princes is one of my favorite artists of all time.
And I got to meet Prince a few times and
I opened for him before, and I don't know, his
(10:06):
music just touches me in a way. So I think
that's another that's another sort of thread.
Speaker 7 (10:14):
I wonder, you know, because you have so much success
with Wold Nelly, how was your relationship with famous success
evolved over the years, because there had to be a
point where you felt like it was too much?
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Right several times? Okay, yeah, the first It's good to
you mentioned the first time because the first time, Yeah,
when I did my did my first album, I think
a lot happened very quickly, things like you know, opportunities,
great opportunities.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
One of my first TV performances was SNL Wow, Like
what the hell I was deer in the headlights?
Speaker 6 (10:42):
You know, Like did you understand it at that time?
I just said twenty that how big it was? Or
were you just like, I gotta do this thing.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I signed my record deal when I was twenty. I
just love music so much. I would do anything, you know,
I'd love the music. So I was just happy to
share the music because I write my music, you know.
So it was like the music nerd inside of me
was actually to be totally honest, I was competing with
(11:11):
people that had been you know, have been kind of grown.
They had grown up in the spotlight, maybe through like
you know, the Disney Channel or anything like that, right,
But I grew up singing in church or in school.
I didn't have experience in front of the TV. I
was very nervous singing on TV. At first, my.
Speaker 5 (11:30):
Voice would shake.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
It wasn't it until my third album, Loose, that I
started more choreography and kind of coming to playing a character.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
How difficult it.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Wasn't coming from Canada kind of hard at the time,
because now it's acceptable, right, you see so many artists,
whether it's The Weekend Drake or whatever. But back then,
it was like they looked at Canada as a whole
different world.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
It was the best kept secret in the late nineties.
Like when I first I moved there from the West
Coast from for a really small town and I moved
to Toronto and I was just seventeen years old. I
had a trip hop group called Nelstar. I worked at
an alarm company during the day in customer service and
the alarms broke a lot. They're wireless. That's not a
(12:13):
good idea. And then I would sing and use the
paycheck to pay for my recordings and we had a
burgeoning hip hop, urban electronic. Get me goosebumps when I
said that, I feel very I have a lot of
really nostalgic feelings for Toronto at the time, and so
to watch it grow has been really fun.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Blame Drake for all the growth, and in the Weekend
as well. In the Weekend yeah bib Biba as well.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Yeah, at the time, you had to go to the
States and sign a record deal in the US really
to really cross over. But in Canada, the reason why
you have so many amazing artists to come from Canada's
because we actually we promote our local music. In Canada.
There's a rule you have to pay thirty percent local
new So if you're listening to the radio growing up
or watching TV, you're gonna see thirty percent. It's called
(13:05):
CanCon so you see Canadian. Yeah, so Drake, that's why
he references so many Canadian things. And you might be,
what's that. You know, it's because we're all, you know,
grew up respecting and liking the things culturally that we
grew up with watching, which to exactly. And so the arts,
there's a lot of arts grants and things like that
to kind of develop artists, which is really nice. And
(13:28):
I think that's why it feels strong and healthy and
making this album. I made a lot of it in Toronto.
It's so easy to find talent there, like any musician anything.
And I like, there's so much talent. It's crazy.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
You said something earlier, you said that you had to
play a character.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Oh well when you're on stage. Yeah, I think I
started started studying acting right before I made it Loose,
and yeah, I learned how to kind of get into
a character and what that means, you know, And so
I think in a song. I started realizing that in
a video you can create a whole narrative in your
mind the way and acting or does. I got a
couple of roles from that. I think, you know, if
(14:03):
people watch videos of mind and so I think you
could do this, you know, And that's how I got
a role in Max Pain. I have a small scene
with Mark Olber because the director said, I saw say
it right, and I feel like you could pull off
this role. But I remember creating a whole narrative in
that video because like, I don't ride around in a
helicopter like see it revideo. I'm in a helicopter. So
in my head, I say, okay, what am I? Who
am I am? I like, you know, from a wealthy
(14:25):
family or something about a helicopter. You know where am
I going? I'm going to a party and I spy?
You know. So you create something in your mind so
that the performance looks and feels a certain way.
Speaker 7 (14:34):
Did you ever get lost in character so much? Just
getting lost in the whole nelly for toarto, to performer
over all that you had. That's that's another reason why
you had to step away, because you might've been losing yourself.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
A little bit.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Oh, let me think, I'm trying to think. I mean,
I think again, it's a fast paced business, you know
what I mean. It's fast paced, and so you don't
have a lot of time to to ground or balance
or that's the nature of travel, right. If you're flying
around the world doing concerts, like, you don't have a
lot of time to sleep or you know, so of
course you're gonna get burnt out. To answer your question, yeah,
(15:05):
you're gonna get burnt out. So yeah, and then the
added bonus of when you live real life you write
really good songs.
Speaker 8 (15:12):
Like if you just like.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Live it out, it's like, okay, you got a lot
of content, you know. Whereas right, imagine if you're just
like on the road, I mean, there are people who
write really good albums on the road. Timbaland used to
have a bus on I don't know which was it,
I don't know which tour it was, but he had
a whole studio bus. He recorded an entire album every
(15:34):
night after he got off stage. So, depending on what
kind of music you make and what inspires you did
as possible, did.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
You party a lot?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Because this is a party album, So did you in
this album, Yes, very up temple party.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Like, I feel like I went out and celebrated a lot. Yeah,
I was like in my element, and I think that
there might have been other people around that were like
kind of maybe like some tequila or something like that.
But I don't really drink in the studio.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
I don't. I don't do drugs or drink. I don't
do any drugs, but I drink tequila once in a while,
but not in the studio. I like, I'm a totally
sober every song I've everden, I've been towe hundred percent sober.
I'm actually proud.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Tequila's plant based. Tequila's plant based.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
No, I know tequilas is nice.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
I don't. I don't. Actually, I don't write or record
under the influence. And I've never done a like Oh
one time I had like a couple of SIPs alcohol
before a show, but it was like just a couple
of songs, and I was like, I'm never doing this again.
I felt so dizzy, was gonna like I have felt
flushed since.
Speaker 7 (16:39):
Yeah, music is subjective tho, because it's all about perspective, right,
Like nbcaid, he feels like he gets the party vibe.
But then some people can say they feel like you're
healing from a heartbreak on this album, because yeah, I
love Bites and Ready for Myself and save your breath.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
So what was your And I can't even.
Speaker 7 (16:52):
Say what was your mental state when you was doing
his album because did five hundred songs, But what's your vibe?
Speaker 1 (16:55):
I guess Okay. So I had a break up and
then I was like hurting the day while dude, it
started off so sad, like the b sides are like
a whole other record. They're like that really sad emo
folk album. Because I got there and I was like,
mm wow, I haven't been here in five years. I
haven't been to the studio in five years.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
I took a break.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
I had my two babies back to back, fourteen months apart.
I kind of took I choked them off to be
like a stay at home mom, which I also love.
But it was time to get back in and kind
of find myself again, because I think we can all
relate after breakup. You sometimes lost, You're like, WHOA who
am I you know?
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Why did you break up? If you don't mind us asking.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
You over here?
Speaker 6 (17:37):
Because I was because some of the songs are like
love bites ready for Myself, which I guess ready for
myself is that you finding yourself again?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Oh that's a fun one.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Okay. The truth is I I did a lot of
self work in the the the like I started this
album four years ago, uh, and I was between a
lot of journaling, a lot of like a lot of
like know yeah, just like really kind of getting to
know myself, which is another added bonus of not being
on the wheel all the time.
Speaker 6 (18:06):
But save your breath kind of gives like, you know,
you're in a good space now, like you're kind of
forward whatever.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
But thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
That means a lot to me. I'm proud of that one.
It's actually probably the one I'm proud of stuff kind
of my whole career actually yeah, my friends running career careers. Wow.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Wow, I don't know, but I was.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
I brought that one up because it's like to Envy's question,
like what are you what were you moving on from?
Like what was the like you said it was life,
but like what is life? Like things happen in relationships?
What are those things for you that you're like, this
is a no for me. It's not for men. Just
like you got to reinvent yourself. I think I thrive
off that though.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
I like that space, you know, I like that space
of like it's just me because I don't know, I'm
pretty good at being single, good at it.
Speaker 8 (18:56):
Man.
Speaker 6 (19:01):
First of all, this is my first question. That's a
way first time being single ever in my adult life. Yeah,
so you know it's funny forties Yeah, the three kids. Yeah,
so it was back to back to back, a lot
of back to back.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
And then yeah, yeah, it's like kind of like you know,
suddenly singling, Like just taking forty three and really knowing
yourself is kind of a gift. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (19:23):
Do you at this point in your life, like what
is getting back to a relationship at some point looked
like for you? Because I mean you've been in relationships
forty three three kids? Like, are you looking to like
marriage next or do you want to have fun? Like
what is next for you?
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Just dating? I'm on like fun dates, you know, yeah, whatever,
have fun.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Period.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Now this is switching gears.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
I was gonna say, well, I said, Kamala Harris used
your record.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
On their next and it's so funny.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
So how did that feel when you heard her using
your record? You hear that she used your record?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Man?
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Or no? Of course?
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Okay, did they ask you clear? Did they just use it?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
No, it's TikTok. I don't know, it's just like it's
what it is. I'm honored.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Yeah, you think that song scares man away from you?
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (20:12):
Wait?
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I think I was asked that before, like wait, are
you really a man?
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Eat?
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Bye bye guy? But no, I don't think it shouldn't.
It's just a song, should it.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I don't think think. I think whatever you want to do,
you can do. Man.
Speaker 6 (20:36):
Nothing is on your groundwork of what he should feel
when he is in your facinity.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
You're interested in me because I just like the space
you're in, because you are in your own world, like
you have your own energy, and I think.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
That's probably preserve your energy, right absolutely, and not let
anybody else shift who you are.
Speaker 7 (20:56):
Like the whole time we're talking to you, I'm like, Oh,
there's nothing that's going to to shift who she is.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
She's comfortable with who she is.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Thank you. I've worked really hard at that and it
doesn't come overnight, that's for sure. And I think that's
why sort of my ability as a producer and musician
has gotten better and greater because now I think when
I'm in the studio, I was always confident. I mean,
for sure, you know, I was an individual, But now
I just, I don't know, have healthy sense of detachment
(21:24):
and boundaries. I'm not trying to feel everybody's feelings, you know,
but that empathy like that could be that could be hard,
you know.
Speaker 7 (21:32):
And I get the sense that you're just having fun
now because you realize this, this shit ain't really about nothing.
You got your kid, You can go home be a
mother when you want.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, I do have a lot of other interests, like
outside of music, I get. I mean they're not that exciting,
but I mean dancing, and I like dancing. I like
that's what TikTok's funny. Can do dance and go to
the dance studio. It helps me stay to mind. The
choreography is the discipline. But yes, to answer your question,
I did use it as almost like I like to
(22:03):
get through the last few years. I was like, okay, well, identity, right,
I was talking about identity. I was like, okay, well
what am I good at? I forgot that how good
I was at music, I was like, really, yeah, man,
I got to this chat and I was like, wait,
I'm really good. And then my songs kept getting played
again by DJs on social media, and it was like
I felt called back to it. I felt like, Okay.
It's easy to like second guess yourself when you have
like maybe one hit and you're like twenty five, you know,
(22:25):
and you can maybe have a lot of feelings of
you know, like you're not sure. But when you're twenty
five years into a career and then your songs are
still touching people, you're reaching brand new audiences, You're reaching
kids that weren't even born when the music came out.
That starts to feel very real, very authentic, and something
(22:47):
you can maybe lean into a little bit more with
a little more confidence, right, And so that's what's happened
to me the last few years. I found my identity
again with my craft of like I'm good at this.
I've always been good at this. It's about the music.
You know.
Speaker 7 (23:00):
That's interesting because your lyrics always have explored like themes
of identity and love and self discovery. So now these
new personal experiences are influencing I guess this new messaging.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yeah, I always say so, I would say, so it's
just beginning and kind of you know, I mean, you
got to stay in there to be good, you know,
to be a good like you got to be in
the studio a lot, you know what I mean. If
you want to stay like on top of your game,
you can't really rest even you have to kind of
keep going. And I found lately, yeah, I'm gonna it's
all about the flow that you're in and bless you
(23:32):
and access to that originality of sorts.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I always wanted to know how did you and Timberland meet,
Like how did that relationship come so strong? And then
just in Timer late later on, like you guys were
strong three or people thought you was going to trio.
People thought y'all were going to do an album with each other.
So how did y'all initially meet.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
It's a really special chemistry between the three of us.
So the really cool my little origin story with Timbaland
we'd like to hear is that in two thousand and one,
you know, I put out my first album Wonellie in
two thousand and one, song called baby Girl it's kind
of like but about but ding Ding Jing about bu
(24:09):
but ding Ding what about the day. It's like a
vocal a vocal rangement we did. Timberland heard the song
and someone from a Vira company said, hey, Timblin' Timbling's
a fan of yours. He wants to sample this song,
but he'd also like to meet you and'd like to
come to the studio. So right away I was a
huge fan already, you know Miss the albums and and everything.
So I went to the studio and we hit it
(24:31):
off from the jump, like right away. It was like
I had to get in the booth and I started
singing over the song. I mean he didn't I hadn't
invited me to sing at that pot, but I just
was like, I need a thing, turn the mic on,
and then I was on the song and it was
a sample for Miss Jade, an artist he had at
the time.
Speaker 6 (24:47):
I did not know that was so that was a
sample of your original song. It was I did not
know that he sampled me. And then the story doesn't
end there. I ended up uh touring with the Miss Jade.
She I had had her opening for me on in
the US, and then Timberland came.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
For a little run too. He did a turn off
a light remix. But in addition, that very first day,
he goes, I want you to hear something. Sit down,
so we said, and like I sat in a good
spot right in front of the speakers and he played
me get your freak on. I Missy Alliott Yeah, and
no one had heard it. I was probably one of
the first people to hear it. And he goes, Missy
wants you own the remix? Can you go to I'm sorry,
(25:24):
but I don't remember the state we went. It was,
I probably Virginia to record it. Can you fly to
Virginia next week or whatever? And I said yes, And
I'm literally twenty two, and I remember I went with
one of my best friends. I just flew there on
my own and I get to the studio and Missy's like, hey,
what's up. You know I saw your video. I'm like
(25:46):
a bird and I was like, who's this girl in
shelters and like the princess Leah buns like this is
this is so cool? You're like like your energy.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
I feel like you started doing our sound effects to her,
like BB you do stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Well, she just left with the engineer. She's like, Okay,
I'm gonna sit out here. Here's my engineer, you know, Brian.
I don't remember his damn sorry, right, But then I
sat in the studio and I was like, Okay, it's
game time. I gotta hit this verse out of the park.
And when I was coming up in Toronto, I would
do this thing where I tried I had too many
lyrics and I had to try to fit them all
in the bars, so I had to come up with
(26:20):
a way to sing rap them, you know. And so
that's the style you hear on that record that I
get a frequent remix. So I'm in there and I'm like,
I gotta it. Oh God, I just like yeah, I
just went for it. And then she did love it.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
So she was first verse you laid.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
She was like, yeah, that's it done. Deal Records.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Yeah, and Justin Timberlake. How did y'all meet?
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Justin met So Timberland, and I flew to, you know,
make good on the promise of all our earlier remixes
Jimmy Ivan from my lip so you gotta go work
with him again and fulfill the promise of that chemistry,
you know. So I was like yeah, and we were
in the same state of mind musically. We were listening
a lot of like really cool stuff, like kind of
(27:00):
rock and like just interesting a mix of things. You're
on the same wavelength. I flew to Miami and you
started cutting Loose with Timblin. We finished Loose, Justin heard
it and you know, kept going with Tim and finished
Feature Sex Love Sounds, And so while I was finishing
my record, Justin was starting that and he came through
(27:22):
the studio and yeah, he's so impressive. He's a real deal,
really talented, and he was like right there when we
wanted him to be on this, this new song we
put out last year called Keep Going Up. And I
don't know, it just feels, you know, I think actions
speak loud of the words in a way, you know,
with that with family and the idea of supporting you know, artists,
because you know how it is, it's business, right, so
(27:43):
it's cool when people can you know, deliver that way.
So quickly. It was a quick turnaround. We just made
the record and we put it out.
Speaker 6 (27:49):
And were there any because those are like historical, like
you listened to Missy Elliot's song before anybody heard it,
and that song is you know what I mean, it's huge.
Were there any songs that you got to hear first
and you were like, oh, maybe it's not for me,
and then it like became a staple icon like that song.
Speaker 5 (28:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
We thought Promiscuous was just going to be like a
club record just for the clubs. We thought it would
just kind of just come out, people dance to it
for a bit, and then it was just shot to
number one. It was number one for weeks and weeks
and weeks.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
I think you're talking about people that like your yeah,
like where they bring you on, because I feel like
you you had such a yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Oh my god. Drastic five Jurassic Five used to record
in their house in LA and they I'm on a
song called fin Line the Roots Fornology. I was like,
listen to Cody Chestnut before because I heard Cody chess
this whole thing before he came up with that album,
because he would be hanging in Philly with the Roots,
shout out Questlove, Fill friends with Quest Love. After all
(28:42):
these years. We used to used to sing Isa sing
you got Me on on the Area one tour that
Outcast was on with the Roots, And so that's he's
the realist, one of the realists in the business.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
I think and.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Basically, yeah, Phrenology album. I'm on that album too. I
don't know. So Cody Chestnut pretty legendary. He'd be hanging
around in Philly and we heard all his songs. Shoot,
now you're like, no, I'm like, I like this type
of conversations. Yeah, and it's like just cool like records,
(29:18):
just cool stuff before before I got came thinking, yeah,
the good question.
Speaker 7 (29:24):
Before I got to business, before the business took over.
That's what it feels like when.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
You like, you mean now the business now versus how
the business?
Speaker 7 (29:31):
Yeah, Like it seems like back then when you're talking,
it was just creative and it was fun.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
It was you're doing it for the love.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I mean, well, I mean it was. I mean, I
don't know because I felt like I kind of blew
up with my first album because I was already like
on pretty big tours and doing but it was a
different type of thing, I guess than Loose because then
Louse was I guess even bigger than that album.
Speaker 9 (29:54):
So yeah, well I'm trying to think, I'm trying to
a man, trying to think of some other songs like that.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Yeah, there's a little Wayne remix of and he recorded
it in Miami.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
Is no that never we never heard that though, right,
huh we never heard that remix.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
I think someone leaked it like recently, not that like
I feel like if you could probably find it on
the internet. But because the uh, his his studio was
was right right beside where Jimbalon woodwork, right there at
the hip factory, and and uh he he came through
(30:40):
and did it like he did a really amazing verse
and we had a remix act though music's totally different.
I performed that remix before, but not with Little Wayne's verse.
But cool little things like that.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
Yeah, I can I ask about motherhood, can ask you
about motherhood? How is motherhood like influenced your perspective on life?
Speaker 4 (30:56):
And it isn't your daughter?
Speaker 1 (30:57):
I have three kids involved in this album? Yeah act
So Yeah, she's turning twenty one tomorrow. Same an album
comes out Wow, And she's credited as one of the
an r's on the album actually, and she works in
the music business. She's working already at a second record
company she's worked at and she's she's in marketing A
and R. She goes sand Yu and she's really smart.
Speaker 7 (31:15):
Is she like the person that you're afraid to play
your music for Yeah, it's like I thought.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
That crazy stuff with my friend and my friend played
it for her, and I'm like, oh, you played her
that one.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
It's just like, you know, good critique.
Speaker 6 (31:27):
She normally saying, back to the music she doesn't like,
what does she say she doesn't like something with it?
Speaker 1 (31:34):
She said, of course, yeah, she's very opinionated and she's talented,
so so she she has some court rights too. She
wrote some stuff on the album too with me, but
it was like super low key, you know, like no
big deal because she has a little other administrative side
as well. So anyways, yeah, it's a process. She reminded
me actually to kind of be real with my sound,
(31:57):
and she kept saying this one thing. She said, Mom,
there's two you know, you need to make the music
three dimensional. You know this beat isn't three dimensional enough.
It's like two basic or like your vocals are like
it needs it. We need to round out the sound
like real kind of I guess I feel like she
was thinking about everything, kind of like like she and
our well and are kind of like creative director like
(32:19):
tiny desk I did recently. She was very involved and
was like, no, you gotta do this. She is the
one who told me to do to get your freaking remix. Wow,
she said you must.
Speaker 7 (32:30):
Do that one your most most honest inn are ever
like your most honest critic.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Yes, it's kind of like it's cool having kids, especially
if become adults, because it's the closest thing to having
like a second brain, you know, when you're like, I
wish I had two people so I could get more done,
you know, so she'll like come in like in those
moments you know, where I'm like I need help, you know,
finishing this artwork or like what do you think? Like,
you know, it's really really it's been a blessing.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
Did you want her to be in the music Injury?
Speaker 1 (32:57):
No I didn't. I really kept her away from the spotlight. Yeah,
I protected it. I tried my best to protect a
privacy because you know, like you know, I think that's important.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
And the books are crazy.
Speaker 10 (33:10):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, how are you gonna you know,
you gotta you don't know who you are, you gonna
become you, and I think that's important.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
And yeah, so music business. Don't want my kids to
be you can't fight it. If they're talented, I don't think,
you know what I mean, Like, look, it's somebody like
Justin Bieber, Like it's clear he wanted to be there
singing like this is some music was coming out of
him at a young age as a kid. And you know,
I was singing at a young age. But you know,
I didn't get to do it professionally till later. But
I'm grateful because I got to go to college for it.
(33:44):
But I got to backpack in Europe, I got to
go to prom you know, to be to go to
work the alarm company.
Speaker 7 (33:49):
You know, it's got to be tough when you're disconnecting
from the industry and your.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
Daughter wants to be in it.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Oh, I don't mind. I don't mind because she's more
on the marketing and the business side, you know what
I mean. So I'm just always like.
Speaker 6 (34:03):
Was that her choice or did you encourage her to
go in from that side and just do the creative
stuff with you?
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Became natural, it was natural. She'd actually didn't go into
the studio with me besides feel like maybe it's a
kid a baby once in a while. She didn't go
into the studio with me until she was sixteen, and
she discovered she loved it. So yeah, And you know you.
Speaker 7 (34:22):
Have reinvantage yourself a bunch of times across a bunch
of different albums. So what makes you want to explore
new sounds and themes in new creative directions besides your daughter?
Speaker 4 (34:31):
What makes you want to do?
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Oh me, Oh, I'm a curious mind. I just have
a curious mind. I mean I have an entire album
in Spanish I put out in two thousand and nine.
My parents are Portuguese from the Azores Islands, and I
don't know, I just grew up with a lot of
eclectic music. I was in the Portuguese marching band, like
my grandfather was a marching band composer. I you know,
would just hang out and record dance music with my
(34:55):
DJ friends or more like hip hop with my friends
that had hip hop groups or whatnot over the years.
So I don't think I see music in terms of genre,
you know, I don't. I see it as a language.
So that's really what inspired because I think more than anything,
I like people. I like people, So that's what the
(35:18):
curiosity is like. On Save your Breath. Actually that artist
is from Haiti. Will Anne Wanta wait. She's my friend,
my collaborator's mother, and she's actually a TikTok star. She's
a motivational uh, she has a motivational sort of TikTok
she does, and she's a great art she's probably fifty five,
I think she is. And then my friend's mother, Taboris,
(35:38):
she's she's seventy seven. She's on that record too. She
used to sing with Rick James. Wow. Yeah. And then
Tainomi Banks, she's a very successful drag queen and a
good friend of mine is on there too. Because it's
and that's why I say this is a community recording,
because it's just I love bringing people together.
Speaker 7 (35:55):
Did you ask her about Rick James and you'd be like, Hey,
what else Chappelle episode drill?
Speaker 1 (35:59):
I don't know, it sounds colorful, Yes, it sounds it
sounds colorful, but but but yeah, we geez. I just
I love that you asked me that, because I think
I just know about having an interest in like eclectic,
like you know, I'm interested in so many sounds of
(36:21):
music and why like why, what's the reason? And I
think at the end of the day, I have a
curious mind and I just want to challenge myself all
the time. I going to get bored very easily, and
I just want to check. I got a song with
Andre and the game. You know, it's like there's no thread,
you know.
Speaker 6 (36:38):
I was going to ask when you see other artists
like kind of getting like bashed for doing that, being
able to switch in and out of genres and different
types of music, how do you feel about that because
you've done it very well and it's been accepted across
very different genres and ethnicities, Like, how does.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
That mean that? Yeah? I feel you on that. I
guess I think. I mean I get the same thing too,
because people don't understand I'm hard to market. It's hard
to market my music because I'm not a brand.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
You think you get that. I feel like people are accepted.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Like what brand am? I?
Speaker 5 (37:06):
Yeah, you've always what's the aesthetic?
Speaker 1 (37:08):
I have no clue.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
I think Nelli for Tole is just Nelly Fortado, like
like you're one of those people like like Nellie Fordo
put out an album. I'm listening. I got introduced to you.
I knew about the Wheelly album, but I really got
introduced to you when you started working with Timblin. Okay,
but so from that moment on, it seems like I'm
always checking for Nelly for Toato just because of the
connection with timbling. That's my personal experience with you.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
You're right, Yeah, there's always different avenues for people to come.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
You feel like you got back, you feel like you
you didn't get accepted in certain genres and stuff like you.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I'm not gonna say that. I'm just gonna say that.
I think every artist, when they try to change their
standard style, you'll definitely get Like, for instance, right, my
second album was called Folklore, and you know, when I
first came out, my image was on Wonelly was They're like, oh, look,
she's like a clectic but like she's Portuguese, but she
has a little bit of hip hop influence. She has
this and that. So it's sort of like, oh wow,
(37:58):
you know, like, you know, look at the fun ethnic
girl do fun music, you know what I mean. And
then when I came to Vocalore, it was a little
more like emo and singer songwriter. So it was like, oh,
I don't get it. You know, why is she sad?
Speaker 8 (38:15):
Film me.
Speaker 4 (38:19):
Like, you're not allowed to be sad?
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Yeah, said, you really messed with it and it's your
favorite album ever Vocalore.
Speaker 7 (38:26):
You know, I feel like that's what artists should do.
I don't like when artists stayed just consistent on one thing.
The reason I love Kendrick Lamar because good King mad
City sounds totally different than the Butterfly him. Butterfly sounds
totally different than Damn. Damn sounds totally different than you know,
mister Morale and the Big Steps.
Speaker 4 (38:40):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
But it's also the influences, right, her influences a daylight soul,
but also Madonna, Like they go from so many different ranges.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Yeah, they really do. Yeah, I grew up on kind
of eighties two like you know, like I like, like
my my dad had like a record player in the
living room, so I was listening to also like Abba
or Lionel Richie or like every thing just meshed together.
And then I will say being fourteen or fifteen in
the late nineties was a gift, amazing time, the best
and urban like it gave me. I got goosebumps again.
(39:10):
I got goosebumps twice on the show today. So like,
I'm just lucky, you know that I got to grow
up with the influences I had. But I think artists
should take more risks I love when artists because what
people don't realize is like they're just kind of like,
you got to deconstruct to construct again, how are you
gonna like grow or get better if you don't deconstruct, Right,
It's like anything like a garden, right, a garden like
(39:32):
the flowers wilt in the winter.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
But when you do an album or you step outside
of the box quote unquote box and you don't get recognized,
how does that feel like? And the reason we say
that as you know, everybody's been talking about Beyonce who
did the country album and not nominated. So how would
that make you feel as an artist? You put this
album out, was number one on the charge, your record
was spinning number one. Yeah, but they don't that genre
doesn't recognize you.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Yeah, jeez, I think that. Hmmm, that's a good question too.
How do I feel I had an answer? You're going in.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
You're not in your field.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
I tend to do that interviews. I talked really fast. Yeah,
I'm going through the like. I mean, I got lucky
with a Spanish album, probably because I had a history.
I had done a song with one, I'd done a
song with I had, I had done some stuff. You
(40:28):
know in Spanish. And then by the time that that
album came around, I spent a lot of time curating it,
you know what I mean, Like I work very closely
with my really good friend who an artist andres and
and we we we we reached out to the community,
got a lot of different voices from Luis Guerra to
(40:51):
we even have like album, so we have like a
lot of You have to just be mindful, you know
what I mean, and do it. Try to do it
with as much grace as you can, right would be
just like I don't know. For me, I always.
Speaker 4 (41:13):
Do you remember his original question, no.
Speaker 5 (41:19):
Girls, you're cute.
Speaker 6 (41:20):
You look so good answering it, though he took the
look it's okay, Yes, it's a.
Speaker 8 (41:26):
Look being accepted question outside outside the box.
Speaker 6 (41:42):
It was too much going on in the beginning of
it anyway, and he took a long time to ask it.
Speaker 5 (41:45):
I think you drifted off and we were here for
you know, we were here for you.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
It's the peak artistry when you can shift the cultural needle,
you know what I'm saying, and politically, like that's incredible,
Like the respect is huge. And I also was lucky
enough to kind of come up. Well, no, Destiny Child
was already out. But like you know, I'd crossed paths
with Beyonce a couple of times briefly, and I love
her obviously, her energy and her light, and I think
(42:09):
that that is like the peak of what you could
do achieve as an artist is do something like that.
That's absolutely peak. You know how you feel, So being
accepted doesn't really matter at all.
Speaker 6 (42:23):
You know what, I'll tell you this, you got it,
you entered it, because there.
Speaker 1 (42:29):
Are sometimes sometimes that girl, there are some sometimes there
are songs where you might think no one was listening,
no one was paying attention. But I'm telling you, like
years later, a DJ might remix it. Yeah, this happened
to a song I put out. Ronnie Jerkins produced it.
It's called Big Coops super cool track. You know. I
put it out, yeah, twenty thirteen. It's on a Spirit
Indestructible album. I did Jammy like literally, if you played
(42:53):
it right now, I'd be like see, but like it
was fine, you know, it didn't really make any waves
or anything. But ten years later, I know these DJs
from the UK they remixed it and it was top forty.
It was like, you know, I played in my shows,
and I'm like, see, reel recognizes real. At the end
of the day, someone will find it. The same happened
with my track Powerless, which was successful in certain places
(43:14):
but not globally. Years later, I'm you know, I'm you know,
halfway across the world, and you know, I'm out of school.
I was doing some some nonprofit working and teaching girls
songwriting and things like that, and they say to me, wait, wow,
that's the one we want to sing. That's our theme
(43:35):
song for this school. You know what I mean all
the way Kenya, you know, And I go, see, that's why,
that's why I make this. You know. It's like eventually,
like if you write a song from your heart, somebody's
gonna find it someday. Even this new stuff, I'm putting
it out tomorrow. It's like I go away for a
long time. You know. I don't have like that type
of cycle in my albums where my fans are like
(43:57):
right there with me, and it's like I treat it
kind of differ, so like I don't know who the
music will get to or win or half fast, but
I do know that whoever does listen to it, you
know what I mean, eventually it'll get its own love or.
Speaker 6 (44:09):
Whatever, you know, whatever, because the pressure isn't there as much.
You know what, you know, you're good with what happens,
and you know, to grow you did.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
I appreciate the little things like my record with Dom Dalla,
really amazing tech house DJ. It's called Eat Your Man.
It just went gold in Canada and we didn't expect it.
It was again, oh, let's make a club recker for
the rapes. You know, we've since performed it at Lolla, Palooza, Coachella,
like it's like it's a proper like you know, it's
in the dance canon now so much. My friend wrote
(44:38):
that with me. She's like, you should reference yourself, My
really good friend Angelie from another great writer from Toronto,
and she's like why not. And so it would take
like a friend to convince you to reference yourself. You know,
you're not going to do that on your own. Not me,
that's not my personality. But I was like sure, like
that's cute, Like I love remix culture. I think the idea,
like it's it's very meta, you know, very very unique. Actually, yeah,
(45:00):
I liked it.
Speaker 6 (45:01):
You know, you did a four million, four point four
million views for your Tiny Desk. So I think people
love good what Yeah, that's great people, But it's the
live performance Nelly that people love. And I know that
you've talked a little bit sometimes about Vegas.
Speaker 5 (45:16):
Oh is that something that you would do? Is that
coming in cooking up lately?
Speaker 1 (45:19):
Yeah? I really love the culture around Loose as an
album and the culture around like Timberland and ized connection
and just like the idea of it's a very it's
a very clear picture. It's those late nights in Miami.
It's at like those palm trees and the red and
white cover and the whole I met somebody recently there
was a whole club night called Loose and I couldn't
believe it. It was like, no, this is the hottest party.
(45:40):
It's called Loose. And I was like, Oh, that's crazy,
because I want to do a Vegas show called Loose,
And it all made sense. Like I just think Vegas
would be the great outlet for recreating Loose in a
cool environment and being creative with it. Of course, ultimately
I feel like that would be on my bucket list.
Speaker 6 (45:59):
Yeah, no deals of coming away with that, because this
is not your first time mentioning it. They haven't grasped
that yet, Like they haven't.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
No, it's it's it's in the works. Yeah, it's a
it's a it's a bubbling.
Speaker 7 (46:10):
Oh nope, So yeah, okay, yeah when next year twenty
twenty five.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
Uh, that remains to be saying, because the twenty fifth
Loose will be twenty five years old in twenty twenty
five or I'm sorry, twenty twenty six.
Speaker 4 (46:22):
You really a legacy artist now, netlie for talking.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Oh that's funny.
Speaker 4 (46:27):
They don't feel like twenty five years but got time flying?
Speaker 1 (46:30):
I know.
Speaker 4 (46:31):
What do you think about social media right?
Speaker 7 (46:33):
Like, like, like how do you view its impact on
artists in their relationship with fans compared to when you
first started your career because it's like a real direct
connection and it was so.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
Many I like social media. I don't know, I like
it vibes with my mind, Like I really like TikTok.
I love it. It's so immediate. I love you know,
DMan like DJ's are they DM me? And like can
they do this remix or artists? And it's so it's
so direct, it's so instantaneous, and I do like that
about it.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
So you answer your d ms and everything, some of them.
Speaker 1 (47:06):
Hey at Nellie Bertando. Yeah, so I think social media
is actually pretty amazing when it comes to music business stuff.
At the same time, I don't always love when I
thought I knew a song, but then I hear the
whole song and it's totally different, you know, like that
(47:27):
TikTok sound. You're like, yeah, this song's actually really good
when I made the whole song, you know. But I
mean whatever, I can deal with that too. It's fun,
It's all. It's all fun.
Speaker 7 (47:35):
How do you balance the vulnerability that's required, No, not
just in songwriting but nowadays just at the talent period
because people want so much you have vulnerability, right, How
do you balance being vulnerable but also having boundaries and
your process?
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Such a tough one, man, that's a tough one because
my songs are so personal. They're almost like sometimes I
only just draining blood from my heart into the song actually,
so so it's like they're really personal som some songs
are more personal than others. But that's hard because if
(48:11):
people ask me about it, like you don't want to
necessarily go into detail, I'll be more like, well, you'd
listen to the song and you feel what makes you feel.
Speaker 6 (48:17):
You know what I mean, You're not going to detail
because it like rehash is that pulling blood situation where
it's like you.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
Don't want to be sad, you don't want to just
be like just negative. I like to kind of like
stick in the positive energy, you know what I mean.
I find like it's more tracked attract it's more magnetic,
you know what I mean, Like because I think I've
been caught out there before in the past, over the years,
you know whatever, careers highs and lows where you kind
of like you focus like you're too like you get
too caught up in the wrong things or like the
wrong way to express yourself, or like you're not you
(48:44):
know what I mean, Like you got to focus on
the positive and they just keep that joyful energy. I
think that's important.
Speaker 4 (48:49):
That makes all the sense in the world.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
Serious.
Speaker 7 (48:52):
What if you come in the studio you're positive, but
then somebody brings up one of your songs that might
trigger you still, but it's your song, So.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
Oh that's a good question too. Oh yeah, that'll be interesting.
I think I'll just start that journey tomorrow when the
album comes out, because yeah, I'm gonna get asked, they're
gonna ask me whether it's a fan or you know,
you know, I got to pick and choose what I
want to talk about.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
I think whose idea was it to go more urban
and hip hops? Because you know, no, no, no, just
what you're doing. Because your influences have been daylight. So
you talk about you know, Timberland, you talk about it.
But now it's like you're doing more of that, You're
doing more interviews, you're doing more. Why is that it
is because it is an influential thing or you think
that some of your records have crossed over before.
Speaker 1 (49:37):
Yeah, I mean I always felt like the Black career,
it's been natural, you know what I mean, It's been
a natural thing. It's just like people, you know, you
don't chase anything, you know what I mean. My manager
always would say that, you know, you let people come
to you, you know, and it's like and that's organic,
you know, and so that's it, you know, just like
(50:01):
whatever energy comes my way, people want.
Speaker 5 (50:02):
To work with me.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
But yeah, it's true. Yeah, early in my career, yeah,
a lot of a lot of urban artists wanted to
work with me, you know what I mean, And it
was just natural. It wasn't something I sought out, you know,
it was just organic. You know. It's kind of what I.
Speaker 4 (50:21):
Yeah, I think don't recognize it, do you know what
I mean? Like there's certain.
Speaker 7 (50:24):
People you can smell it on and you'd be like, Okay,
that's not authentic. But like I think, like you, Amy
Winehouse like to me, y'all, y'all got the right.
Speaker 1 (50:33):
Energy, thank you, because I don't take that lightly, you know,
I don't want to, you know, well, no, I also
feel I feel just privileged to be making music. You
know obviously is that were the influences, you know what
I mean, the history just like I'm just I'm just
I'm just happy to be sort of like accepted, I
(50:56):
guess by a lot of different genres, right, even Latin
like manage music. It's like my parents are Portuguese. But
if you do it with sincerity, you know, and you're
coming from a place of learning and sincerity, it's like
no one can fault you for that, right and if
you try to do it well right, and that's because
I'll feel like I'm just still that person that just
(51:19):
really believes music is the only kind of proof of
life and proof of God in terms of people. You
could get together people that don't even like each other.
I've experimented with that before in a art like an
art setting not too far at moment PS One. I
was invited to just at the fundraiser, to own a
room and do whatever art performance art I wanted to do.
(51:41):
And I chose to teach people how to write songs.
But a bunch of people would just come in the room,
and some of them weren't songwriters, and we would just
make a song out of thin air together. And to me,
it was asking the question like, why do you feel
connected to somebody you walk by on the sidewalk? You
know what I mean? Why do you feel connected to
stranger you walk by?
Speaker 6 (51:57):
Right?
Speaker 1 (51:58):
Like?
Speaker 5 (51:58):
What is that?
Speaker 1 (51:59):
It's a collective, you know, the collective unconscious and so
music is proof of that, man, it's proof of that.
Speaker 4 (52:04):
You know, seven is God's number and seven is God.
Seven is God's number. Yes, I didn't know that. Tell
me more about that seven is God's number.
Speaker 5 (52:15):
I'm about to google.
Speaker 4 (52:16):
Don't warry seven gods number. I do have one last
question leaving.
Speaker 5 (52:21):
I have the answer to the second answer the question.
It is It's in the.
Speaker 6 (52:26):
Bible, the number seven is quite significant in the Bible,
appearing over seven hundred times throughout both the Old and
the New Testaments, and biblical numerology, seven symbolizes completion or perfection.
It is said that God created the world in six
days and rested on the seventh.
Speaker 4 (52:38):
Day, completion and profecs.
Speaker 6 (52:40):
My grandma would have been mad. I had to google
that because I knew that good Angel numbers two, seven, seven,
eleven as well eleven, like number, yes, seven, eleven, I love.
Speaker 3 (52:54):
I mean the number is not the store. That's not
the store.
Speaker 6 (52:56):
Eleven is my favorite number, eleven and twenty two just
because they're like, I.
Speaker 1 (53:00):
Like three, Like, do you know your life path number?
I'm kind of into life path numbers.
Speaker 3 (53:03):
Is my favorite three my life three.
Speaker 1 (53:06):
Do you know that your life path number? No, I'm
gonna count your Yeah.
Speaker 5 (53:11):
Oh no, I'm just gonna tell you look the paper, like,
what's the last question?
Speaker 4 (53:14):
No?
Speaker 7 (53:16):
Who is Nellie Fortarto right now?
Speaker 1 (53:19):
I'm a work in progress. Yeah, I'm just a working progress.
I'm just like taking it day by day, just kind
of trying to like just accept myself and love myself
as much as I can and and uh, you know,
not take my craft for granted, and my talents for granted,
and just be.
Speaker 7 (53:36):
Grateful so you'll be back. This isn't a one and done,
Like you're not gonna go back.
Speaker 1 (53:41):
Trust me.
Speaker 8 (53:44):
Your sign?
Speaker 1 (53:46):
We still don't trust me.
Speaker 5 (53:47):
Pardon what's your son?
Speaker 1 (53:49):
Sagittarius? I was gonna call the album sagittariusious? Really, yeah,
I'm not twenty second twenty second you're just barely as.
Speaker 5 (53:59):
I yeah, because they think I'm crazy when I say that, though.
Speaker 1 (54:02):
But no, that's there's still Sagittarius definitely. So yeah, that's
who I am right now. I'm just like taking it
day by day and figuring it out, trying to accept
my flaws. But then I think the key too is
like accept my light as well. We have to accept
the light we have and just like and that's a
(54:23):
that's a lifelong journey.
Speaker 4 (54:25):
That's the beauty of life. It is a journey. Yeah,
you should just appreciate and respect the process.
Speaker 3 (54:29):
And we appreciate you for joining us this morning.
Speaker 1 (54:31):
You're really amazing. I got four times and.
Speaker 5 (54:35):
You were nervous when you came in here or something.
Speaker 2 (54:38):
I'm glad, yep, I'm sorry because I Kendrick uld Drake
pick one, but we didn't, So.
Speaker 1 (54:45):
The weekend.
Speaker 3 (54:52):
It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning, wake that ass up
in the morning.
Speaker 4 (54:56):
The Breakfast Club
Wake that ass up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
The Breakfast Club Morning, everybody is DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious,
Charlamagne the guy we are the Breakfast Club.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Jess is all maternity leave. So Lolaos is feeling in
and we.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Got a special guest in the building, Lady Netlie for title.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Welcome.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Hi, thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
How are you feeling?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm good? How are you?
Speaker 4 (00:20):
I'm blessed?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Black and Holly favorite new album seventy is out today.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
How does it feel?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Congratulations by the way on your work you're doing for community.
That's it was on your Instagram.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh, thank you was talking to this morning.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Thank you very much. How does the feel be back
making music?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Incredible?
Speaker 4 (00:47):
You like this part? Having to come to interviews and
be interrogated.
Speaker 5 (00:51):
It's not as.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Fun sometimes nowadays because everything's click bait and I'm like, ah,
what you know? Sometimes that's challenging, but it's okay, So
like kind of share my vibes, my positive energy.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
So why so long? It took a long time? Seven years,
just busy.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I like to kind of keep one foot kind of
like in the real world. And then went for entertainments.
Entertainments really fast paced, and you have to really be
out there to be successful in my industry. And I
take I've taken the approach for the last twenty five
years to kind of do it go hard for a
little bit, but then for my own mental health, I
kind of need to take breaks.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
And exercises.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
No, kind of yeah, I'm a and so yeah, just
like doing the mom thing and kind of like normal
normal life. And then and then when I'm in the studio,
I get to really express myself and write and produce
(01:55):
and invite a lot of friends into the studio and
have really late nights and finals. It's the most fun
part is making the music for me. I enjoy concerts.
I've been out on stage again performing a lot that's
been really refreshing and good. But like, yeah, you have
to take care of yourself.
Speaker 6 (02:09):
You know, we're part of mom life. Nelly Fotato inspires music.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Nell his music a mom like this.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
I'm going to say, because you said Brazil, this gives
me split servibes.
Speaker 6 (02:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (02:25):
You know very.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
What.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
Don't go ahead continue look at face.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Okay, so there's pink post it note on.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Nobody.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
No, I do have a lot of energy.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I mean to be totally honest. My brain is like,
it's different. My brain's different. I have a lot of
channels in my brain in a tent of ADHD And
this time, when I made this record, I was like,
I'm just gonna lean into that. I'm going to write
ten songs on I'm going to invite fifty people and
once to the studio. I am going to stay up
late till eight am. Honestly what this brain can do.
And so of course I like festive music. I would.
(03:09):
I started to go out again a couple of years ago,
and I would hear my music everywhere. DJs would play it,
people would dance, do it. I heard it at house parties.
Speaker 7 (03:17):
Still slaps, girls still slaps.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Think you even if if you hear I'm like a
bird at a house party, it goes down.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Too really well, you don't Timberland this time right.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
We have been in the studio but for our own
single we released last year. We talk all the time.
We're you know, we're you know, family for life. I
believe I think we have very similar natures when it
comes to creativity. I think that's why we make special
music together and we will again for sure.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
But nothing made this happen right.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
A lot of.
Speaker 7 (03:55):
Feels like it sounded like timble and I got the
T Minus.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Is quite influenced by Timberland. He's a big fan of
Simbaland's work. I don't know, are you familiar with T
minus work. He does a lot for J Cole. He
produces most of J Cole's stuff, and he's had some
great records over the year. But what's gat about him
is he's passionate. I like to work with people who
sure they're in the business, but it's more than business.
It's family, you know what I mean. It's like you're invested.
(04:23):
He wanted to brand the best of me. So we
do have some really really good beats on this album,
really good, high quality production. Timberland's favorite song. I've played
him a lot of records. His favorite song is Floodgate,
which was produced.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
By f n Z.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
If you know they're beats, but but save your breath. Actually,
I co produced and did a lot of vocal production,
but T Minus also came with that rhythm. It was
different before and it's a lot of my friends on
the song.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
I said, you recorded four to five hundred songs in
the last four years. I have that's a lot of music.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
To narrow down to just a couple of the album.
So how did you narrow it down? And why so
many damn songs?
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Because I don't write like I can't. I can write
just on my own, like with the guitar and do
that I wrote. I'm I'm like a bird that way.
But when I'm in the studio, I like what the
approach that I took is I turn the microphones on
and I make it sound like I'm at a show.
So I put the speakers and everything really loud, and
then I have everybody with microphones, including me, everybody, and
then I will only hear the music in the studio
(05:18):
when when protos is going and I can record everything
I do because my lyrics and melodies come to me
at the same time, whole entire songs come that way.
It just kind of comes. I did that when I
was a kid. I didn't talk that much, but I
was I would sing. Yeah, I would just sit there
and just make up songs, and they made me feel
(05:38):
emotional and cry and I didn't quite understand it. But
but it is probably the only thing that I do
wells of things I don't have an energy drink. I
don't have a booty line. I don't got patience for that.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
One energy you have natural?
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Is that weird?
Speaker 4 (06:02):
You're making me a little nervous.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Why you don't know?
Speaker 7 (06:05):
You're just moving and you're talking fast, and I'm like, oh,
I didn't hear that part.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 6 (06:15):
That's why she opened with commentating on your your mental work,
because she says she deals with add and her mental
health stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
I think it's because she was moving fast. It might
have went for.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Real, like before. I only got diagnosed a couple of
years ago. But as a child and growing up in
my teens, I'd be that girl that my friends would
be like where did she go? Because I would just
stare in the space and I thought I was just
scattered brain all the things, you know, And I would
judge myself or I thought I was unorganized or lazy
or procrastinate.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
But did you do what?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Score me? Sometimes? So I ignore them. I'm just saying
in general, like these two like ignore them all the time.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Like we talked, we ignore him too, that we.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
Locked in over here, no switching up. We don't know
what he be over to.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
That's okay, what was it?
Speaker 5 (07:00):
You when you were diagnosed? How old were you?
Speaker 6 (07:08):
Sorry, how old were you when you were diagnosed with eighty?
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Forty three? Forty three?
Speaker 6 (07:17):
Okay, so what was that like actually having like a okay,
I know what this is now, I know how to
Oh yeah, I read a.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Lot of books about oh, particularly women with eighty because
of the experience for women's a little different, you know,
because you know there's more pressure, you know, Especial's Mom's right.
It's like you know, you're supposed to have your your
house together, you know, in all the ways. And yeah,
so just self acceptance, self love.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
You got three kids, right, three?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yep, yes, I do, twenty one, six and five?
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Oh is it?
Speaker 7 (07:47):
A six year and a five year old? Don't know
nothing about music? Nellie for tadle a little.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Bit, only because my I have a friend leader. She's
a she's another artist leader from she's from Columbia. And
one day we were chilling all friends, like the kids
have friends with her kids, and she said, these they
don't even know what you do. Let's like, you know,
let's play them something. And I said, okay, only if
I could play your thing too, So we kind of
shared that that side. That day was the first song
(08:13):
say it right. I think it was a live performance
in Paris or something like that. Yeah, they liked it.
Speaker 7 (08:20):
What vibe were you on when you wrote Promiscuous Crowd
back back then? And what did your parents think of it?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
My parents? I mean I was, Yeah, I was already
at the house at that time. I mean I already
had a daughter, it's already kind of had my own house.
But I don't know.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
I've never asked my mom ever.
Speaker 6 (08:40):
She's never like commented like, hey, hey, the song because
I mean, no, yeah, I think so well.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I mean I remember being fourteen in our house growing up,
and Salt Peppa had a song Let's talk about sex, Yeah,
and it will come on the little radio in my
kitchen and my mom will be like, didn't turn it on?
The kid, So I grew up on like TLC, Salt
and Pepper absolutely very empowered, you know, in talking about
(09:07):
sexuality and talking about choice. I believe promiscuses a song
about choice. And what I like about it is the
male voice and female vos voice or on it even
playing field in the song. But interesting and interestingly enough,
people still call it promiscuose, but the song is actually
called promiscuous. It's not girl or boy.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
Oh because of those hooks.
Speaker 6 (09:30):
We I think I always thought it was prom excuse girl,
not just excuse Wow.
Speaker 7 (09:36):
And this new album seven, what does the number seven
mean to you? I know, I know it's your seven filbum.
I know you put out album seven years ago, but
what does the number seven actually mean you?
Speaker 1 (09:46):
To be honest, I kind of wanted a title this
like really simple, like a almost like a fashion collection.
Fashion collections. Uh. And I love the song seven by
Prince Princes is one of my favorite artists of all time.
And I got to meet Prince a few times and
I opened for him before, and I don't know, his
(10:06):
music just touches me in a way. So I think
that's another that's another sort of thread.
Speaker 7 (10:14):
I wonder, you know, because you have so much success
with Wold Nelly, how was your relationship with famous success
evolved over the years, because there had to be a
point where you felt like it was too much?
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Right several times? Okay, yeah, the first It's good to
you mentioned the first time because the first time, Yeah,
when I did my did my first album, I think
a lot happened very quickly, things like you know, opportunities,
great opportunities.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
One of my first TV performances was SNL Wow, Like
what the hell I was deer in the headlights?
Speaker 6 (10:42):
You know, Like did you understand it at that time?
I just said twenty that how big it was? Or
were you just like, I gotta do this thing.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I signed my record deal when I was twenty. I
just love music so much. I would do anything, you know,
I'd love the music. So I was just happy to
share the music because I write my music, you know.
So it was like the music nerd inside of me
was actually to be totally honest, I was competing with
(11:11):
people that had been you know, have been kind of grown.
They had grown up in the spotlight, maybe through like
you know, the Disney Channel or anything like that, right,
But I grew up singing in church or in school.
I didn't have experience in front of the TV. I
was very nervous singing on TV. At first, my.
Speaker 5 (11:30):
Voice would shake.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
It wasn't it until my third album, Loose, that I
started more choreography and kind of coming to playing a character.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
How difficult it.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Wasn't coming from Canada kind of hard at the time,
because now it's acceptable, right, you see so many artists,
whether it's The Weekend Drake or whatever. But back then,
it was like they looked at Canada as a whole
different world.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
It was the best kept secret in the late nineties.
Like when I first I moved there from the West
Coast from for a really small town and I moved
to Toronto and I was just seventeen years old. I
had a trip hop group called Nelstar. I worked at
an alarm company during the day in customer service and
the alarms broke a lot. They're wireless. That's not a
(12:13):
good idea. And then I would sing and use the
paycheck to pay for my recordings and we had a
burgeoning hip hop, urban electronic. Get me goosebumps when I
said that, I feel very I have a lot of
really nostalgic feelings for Toronto at the time, and so
to watch it grow has been really fun.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Blame Drake for all the growth, and in the Weekend
as well. In the Weekend yeah bib Biba as well.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Yeah, at the time, you had to go to the
States and sign a record deal in the US really
to really cross over. But in Canada, the reason why
you have so many amazing artists to come from Canada's
because we actually we promote our local music. In Canada.
There's a rule you have to pay thirty percent local
new So if you're listening to the radio growing up
or watching TV, you're gonna see thirty percent. It's called
(13:05):
CanCon so you see Canadian. Yeah, so Drake, that's why
he references so many Canadian things. And you might be,
what's that. You know, it's because we're all, you know,
grew up respecting and liking the things culturally that we
grew up with watching, which to exactly. And so the arts,
there's a lot of arts grants and things like that
to kind of develop artists, which is really nice. And
(13:28):
I think that's why it feels strong and healthy and
making this album. I made a lot of it in Toronto.
It's so easy to find talent there, like any musician anything.
And I like, there's so much talent. It's crazy.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
You said something earlier, you said that you had to
play a character.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Oh well when you're on stage. Yeah, I think I
started started studying acting right before I made it Loose,
and yeah, I learned how to kind of get into
a character and what that means, you know, And so
I think in a song. I started realizing that in
a video you can create a whole narrative in your
mind the way and acting or does. I got a
couple of roles from that. I think, you know, if
(14:03):
people watch videos of mind and so I think you
could do this, you know, And that's how I got
a role in Max Pain. I have a small scene
with Mark Olber because the director said, I saw say
it right, and I feel like you could pull off
this role. But I remember creating a whole narrative in
that video because like, I don't ride around in a
helicopter like see it revideo. I'm in a helicopter. So
in my head, I say, okay, what am I? Who
am I am? I like, you know, from a wealthy
(14:25):
family or something about a helicopter. You know where am
I going? I'm going to a party and I spy?
You know. So you create something in your mind so
that the performance looks and feels a certain way.
Speaker 7 (14:34):
Did you ever get lost in character so much? Just
getting lost in the whole nelly for toarto, to performer
over all that you had. That's that's another reason why
you had to step away, because you might've been losing yourself.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
A little bit.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Oh, let me think, I'm trying to think. I mean,
I think again, it's a fast paced business, you know
what I mean. It's fast paced, and so you don't
have a lot of time to to ground or balance
or that's the nature of travel, right. If you're flying
around the world doing concerts, like, you don't have a
lot of time to sleep or you know, so of
course you're gonna get burnt out. To answer your question, yeah,
(15:05):
you're gonna get burnt out. So yeah, and then the
added bonus of when you live real life you write
really good songs.
Speaker 8 (15:12):
Like if you just like.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Live it out, it's like, okay, you got a lot
of content, you know. Whereas right, imagine if you're just
like on the road, I mean, there are people who
write really good albums on the road. Timbaland used to
have a bus on I don't know which was it,
I don't know which tour it was, but he had
a whole studio bus. He recorded an entire album every
(15:34):
night after he got off stage. So, depending on what
kind of music you make and what inspires you did
as possible, did.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
You party a lot?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Because this is a party album, So did you in
this album, Yes, very up temple party.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Like, I feel like I went out and celebrated a lot. Yeah,
I was like in my element, and I think that
there might have been other people around that were like
kind of maybe like some tequila or something like that.
But I don't really drink in the studio.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
I don't. I don't do drugs or drink. I don't
do any drugs, but I drink tequila once in a while,
but not in the studio. I like, I'm a totally
sober every song I've everden, I've been towe hundred percent sober.
I'm actually proud.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Tequila's plant based. Tequila's plant based.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
No, I know tequilas is nice.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
I don't. I don't. Actually, I don't write or record
under the influence. And I've never done a like Oh
one time I had like a couple of SIPs alcohol
before a show, but it was like just a couple
of songs, and I was like, I'm never doing this again.
I felt so dizzy, was gonna like I have felt
flushed since.
Speaker 7 (16:39):
Yeah, music is subjective tho, because it's all about perspective, right,
Like nbcaid, he feels like he gets the party vibe.
But then some people can say they feel like you're
healing from a heartbreak on this album, because yeah, I
love Bites and Ready for Myself and save your breath.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
So what was your And I can't even.
Speaker 7 (16:52):
Say what was your mental state when you was doing
his album because did five hundred songs, But what's your vibe?
Speaker 1 (16:55):
I guess Okay. So I had a break up and
then I was like hurting the day while dude, it
started off so sad, like the b sides are like
a whole other record. They're like that really sad emo
folk album. Because I got there and I was like,
mm wow, I haven't been here in five years. I
haven't been to the studio in five years.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
I took a break.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
I had my two babies back to back, fourteen months apart.
I kind of took I choked them off to be
like a stay at home mom, which I also love.
But it was time to get back in and kind
of find myself again, because I think we can all
relate after breakup. You sometimes lost, You're like, WHOA who
am I you know?
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Why did you break up? If you don't mind us asking.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
You over here?
Speaker 6 (17:37):
Because I was because some of the songs are like
love bites ready for Myself, which I guess ready for
myself is that you finding yourself again?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Oh that's a fun one.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Okay. The truth is I I did a lot of
self work in the the the like I started this
album four years ago, uh, and I was between a
lot of journaling, a lot of like a lot of
like know yeah, just like really kind of getting to
know myself, which is another added bonus of not being
on the wheel all the time.
Speaker 6 (18:06):
But save your breath kind of gives like, you know,
you're in a good space now, like you're kind of
forward whatever.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
But thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
That means a lot to me. I'm proud of that one.
It's actually probably the one I'm proud of stuff kind
of my whole career actually yeah, my friends running career careers. Wow.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Wow, I don't know, but I was.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
I brought that one up because it's like to Envy's question,
like what are you what were you moving on from?
Like what was the like you said it was life,
but like what is life? Like things happen in relationships?
What are those things for you that you're like, this
is a no for me. It's not for men. Just
like you got to reinvent yourself. I think I thrive
off that though.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
I like that space, you know, I like that space
of like it's just me because I don't know, I'm
pretty good at being single, good at it.
Speaker 8 (18:56):
Man.
Speaker 6 (19:01):
First of all, this is my first question. That's a
way first time being single ever in my adult life. Yeah,
so you know it's funny forties Yeah, the three kids. Yeah,
so it was back to back to back, a lot
of back to back.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
And then yeah, yeah, it's like kind of like you know,
suddenly singling, Like just taking forty three and really knowing
yourself is kind of a gift. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (19:23):
Do you at this point in your life, like what
is getting back to a relationship at some point looked
like for you? Because I mean you've been in relationships
forty three three kids? Like, are you looking to like
marriage next or do you want to have fun? Like
what is next for you?
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Just dating? I'm on like fun dates, you know, yeah, whatever,
have fun.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Period.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Now this is switching gears.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
I was gonna say, well, I said, Kamala Harris used
your record.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
On their next and it's so funny.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
So how did that feel when you heard her using
your record? You hear that she used your record?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Man?
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Or no? Of course?
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Okay, did they ask you clear? Did they just use it?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
No, it's TikTok. I don't know, it's just like it's
what it is. I'm honored.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Yeah, you think that song scares man away from you?
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (20:12):
Wait?
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I think I was asked that before, like wait, are
you really a man?
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Eat?
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Bye bye guy? But no, I don't think it shouldn't.
It's just a song, should it.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I don't think think. I think whatever you want to do,
you can do. Man.
Speaker 6 (20:36):
Nothing is on your groundwork of what he should feel
when he is in your facinity.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
You're interested in me because I just like the space
you're in, because you are in your own world, like
you have your own energy, and I think.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
That's probably preserve your energy, right absolutely, and not let
anybody else shift who you are.
Speaker 7 (20:56):
Like the whole time we're talking to you, I'm like, Oh,
there's nothing that's going to to shift who she is.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
She's comfortable with who she is.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Thank you. I've worked really hard at that and it
doesn't come overnight, that's for sure. And I think that's
why sort of my ability as a producer and musician
has gotten better and greater because now I think when
I'm in the studio, I was always confident. I mean,
for sure, you know, I was an individual, But now
I just, I don't know, have healthy sense of detachment
(21:24):
and boundaries. I'm not trying to feel everybody's feelings, you know,
but that empathy like that could be that could be hard,
you know.
Speaker 7 (21:32):
And I get the sense that you're just having fun
now because you realize this, this shit ain't really about nothing.
You got your kid, You can go home be a
mother when you want.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, I do have a lot of other interests, like
outside of music, I get. I mean they're not that exciting,
but I mean dancing, and I like dancing. I like
that's what TikTok's funny. Can do dance and go to
the dance studio. It helps me stay to mind. The
choreography is the discipline. But yes, to answer your question,
I did use it as almost like I like to
(22:03):
get through the last few years. I was like, okay, well, identity, right,
I was talking about identity. I was like, okay, well
what am I good at? I forgot that how good
I was at music, I was like, really, yeah, man,
I got to this chat and I was like, wait,
I'm really good. And then my songs kept getting played
again by DJs on social media, and it was like
I felt called back to it. I felt like, Okay.
It's easy to like second guess yourself when you have
like maybe one hit and you're like twenty five, you know,
(22:25):
and you can maybe have a lot of feelings of
you know, like you're not sure. But when you're twenty
five years into a career and then your songs are
still touching people, you're reaching brand new audiences, You're reaching
kids that weren't even born when the music came out.
That starts to feel very real, very authentic, and something
(22:47):
you can maybe lean into a little bit more with
a little more confidence, right, And so that's what's happened
to me the last few years. I found my identity
again with my craft of like I'm good at this.
I've always been good at this. It's about the music.
You know.
Speaker 7 (23:00):
That's interesting because your lyrics always have explored like themes
of identity and love and self discovery. So now these
new personal experiences are influencing I guess this new messaging.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yeah, I always say so, I would say, so it's
just beginning and kind of you know, I mean, you
got to stay in there to be good, you know,
to be a good like you got to be in
the studio a lot, you know what I mean. If
you want to stay like on top of your game,
you can't really rest even you have to kind of
keep going. And I found lately, yeah, I'm gonna it's
all about the flow that you're in and bless you
(23:32):
and access to that originality of sorts.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I always wanted to know how did you and Timberland meet,
Like how did that relationship come so strong? And then
just in Timer late later on, like you guys were
strong three or people thought you was going to trio.
People thought y'all were going to do an album with each other.
So how did y'all initially meet.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
It's a really special chemistry between the three of us.
So the really cool my little origin story with Timbaland
we'd like to hear is that in two thousand and one,
you know, I put out my first album Wonellie in
two thousand and one, song called baby Girl it's kind
of like but about but ding Ding Jing about bu
(24:09):
but ding Ding what about the day. It's like a
vocal a vocal rangement we did. Timberland heard the song
and someone from a Vira company said, hey, Timblin' Timbling's
a fan of yours. He wants to sample this song,
but he'd also like to meet you and'd like to
come to the studio. So right away I was a
huge fan already, you know Miss the albums and and everything.
So I went to the studio and we hit it
(24:31):
off from the jump, like right away. It was like
I had to get in the booth and I started
singing over the song. I mean he didn't I hadn't
invited me to sing at that pot, but I just
was like, I need a thing, turn the mic on,
and then I was on the song and it was
a sample for Miss Jade, an artist he had at
the time.
Speaker 6 (24:47):
I did not know that was so that was a
sample of your original song. It was I did not
know that he sampled me. And then the story doesn't
end there. I ended up uh touring with the Miss Jade.
She I had had her opening for me on in
the US, and then Timberland came.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
For a little run too. He did a turn off
a light remix. But in addition, that very first day,
he goes, I want you to hear something. Sit down,
so we said, and like I sat in a good
spot right in front of the speakers and he played
me get your freak on. I Missy Alliott Yeah, and
no one had heard it. I was probably one of
the first people to hear it. And he goes, Missy
wants you own the remix? Can you go to I'm sorry,
(25:24):
but I don't remember the state we went. It was,
I probably Virginia to record it. Can you fly to
Virginia next week or whatever? And I said yes, And
I'm literally twenty two, and I remember I went with
one of my best friends. I just flew there on
my own and I get to the studio and Missy's like, hey,
what's up. You know I saw your video. I'm like
(25:46):
a bird and I was like, who's this girl in
shelters and like the princess Leah buns like this is
this is so cool? You're like like your energy.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
I feel like you started doing our sound effects to her,
like BB you do stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Well, she just left with the engineer. She's like, Okay,
I'm gonna sit out here. Here's my engineer, you know, Brian.
I don't remember his damn sorry, right, But then I
sat in the studio and I was like, Okay, it's
game time. I gotta hit this verse out of the park.
And when I was coming up in Toronto, I would
do this thing where I tried I had too many
lyrics and I had to try to fit them all
in the bars, so I had to come up with
(26:20):
a way to sing rap them, you know. And so
that's the style you hear on that record that I
get a frequent remix. So I'm in there and I'm like,
I gotta it. Oh God, I just like yeah, I
just went for it. And then she did love it.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
So she was first verse you laid.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
She was like, yeah, that's it done. Deal Records.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Yeah, and Justin Timberlake. How did y'all meet?
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Justin met So Timberland, and I flew to, you know,
make good on the promise of all our earlier remixes
Jimmy Ivan from my lip so you gotta go work
with him again and fulfill the promise of that chemistry,
you know. So I was like yeah, and we were
in the same state of mind musically. We were listening
a lot of like really cool stuff, like kind of
(27:00):
rock and like just interesting a mix of things. You're
on the same wavelength. I flew to Miami and you
started cutting Loose with Timblin. We finished Loose, Justin heard
it and you know, kept going with Tim and finished
Feature Sex Love Sounds, And so while I was finishing
my record, Justin was starting that and he came through
(27:22):
the studio and yeah, he's so impressive. He's a real deal,
really talented, and he was like right there when we
wanted him to be on this, this new song we
put out last year called Keep Going Up. And I
don't know, it just feels, you know, I think actions
speak loud of the words in a way, you know,
with that with family and the idea of supporting you know, artists,
because you know how it is, it's business, right, so
(27:43):
it's cool when people can you know, deliver that way.
So quickly. It was a quick turnaround. We just made
the record and we put it out.
Speaker 6 (27:49):
And were there any because those are like historical, like
you listened to Missy Elliot's song before anybody heard it,
and that song is you know what I mean, it's huge.
Were there any songs that you got to hear first
and you were like, oh, maybe it's not for me,
and then it like became a staple icon like that song.
Speaker 5 (28:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
We thought Promiscuous was just going to be like a
club record just for the clubs. We thought it would
just kind of just come out, people dance to it
for a bit, and then it was just shot to
number one. It was number one for weeks and weeks
and weeks.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
I think you're talking about people that like your yeah,
like where they bring you on, because I feel like
you you had such a yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Oh my god. Drastic five Jurassic Five used to record
in their house in LA and they I'm on a
song called fin Line the Roots Fornology. I was like,
listen to Cody Chestnut before because I heard Cody chess
this whole thing before he came up with that album,
because he would be hanging in Philly with the Roots,
shout out Questlove, Fill friends with Quest Love. After all
(28:42):
these years. We used to used to sing Isa sing
you got Me on on the Area one tour that
Outcast was on with the Roots, And so that's he's
the realist, one of the realists in the business.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
I think and.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Basically, yeah, Phrenology album. I'm on that album too. I
don't know. So Cody Chestnut pretty legendary. He'd be hanging
around in Philly and we heard all his songs. Shoot,
now you're like, no, I'm like, I like this type
of conversations. Yeah, and it's like just cool like records,
(29:18):
just cool stuff before before I got came thinking, yeah,
the good question.
Speaker 7 (29:24):
Before I got to business, before the business took over.
That's what it feels like when.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
You like, you mean now the business now versus how
the business?
Speaker 7 (29:31):
Yeah, Like it seems like back then when you're talking,
it was just creative and it was fun.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
It was you're doing it for the love.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I mean, well, I mean it was. I mean, I
don't know because I felt like I kind of blew
up with my first album because I was already like
on pretty big tours and doing but it was a
different type of thing, I guess than Loose because then
Louse was I guess even bigger than that album.
Speaker 9 (29:54):
So yeah, well I'm trying to think, I'm trying to
a man, trying to think of some other songs like that.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Yeah, there's a little Wayne remix of and he recorded
it in Miami.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
Is no that never we never heard that though, right,
huh we never heard that remix.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
I think someone leaked it like recently, not that like
I feel like if you could probably find it on
the internet. But because the uh, his his studio was
was right right beside where Jimbalon woodwork, right there at
the hip factory, and and uh he he came through
(30:40):
and did it like he did a really amazing verse
and we had a remix act though music's totally different.
I performed that remix before, but not with Little Wayne's verse.
But cool little things like that.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
Yeah, I can I ask about motherhood, can ask you
about motherhood? How is motherhood like influenced your perspective on life?
Speaker 4 (30:56):
And it isn't your daughter?
Speaker 1 (30:57):
I have three kids involved in this album? Yeah act
So Yeah, she's turning twenty one tomorrow. Same an album
comes out Wow, And she's credited as one of the
an r's on the album actually, and she works in
the music business. She's working already at a second record
company she's worked at and she's she's in marketing A
and R. She goes sand Yu and she's really smart.
Speaker 7 (31:15):
Is she like the person that you're afraid to play
your music for Yeah, it's like I thought.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
That crazy stuff with my friend and my friend played
it for her, and I'm like, oh, you played her
that one.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
It's just like, you know, good critique.
Speaker 6 (31:27):
She normally saying, back to the music she doesn't like,
what does she say she doesn't like something with it?
Speaker 1 (31:34):
She said, of course, yeah, she's very opinionated and she's talented,
so so she she has some court rights too. She
wrote some stuff on the album too with me, but
it was like super low key, you know, like no
big deal because she has a little other administrative side
as well. So anyways, yeah, it's a process. She reminded
me actually to kind of be real with my sound,
(31:57):
and she kept saying this one thing. She said, Mom,
there's two you know, you need to make the music
three dimensional. You know this beat isn't three dimensional enough.
It's like two basic or like your vocals are like
it needs it. We need to round out the sound
like real kind of I guess I feel like she
was thinking about everything, kind of like like she and
our well and are kind of like creative director like
(32:19):
tiny desk I did recently. She was very involved and
was like, no, you gotta do this. She is the
one who told me to do to get your freaking remix. Wow,
she said you must.
Speaker 7 (32:30):
Do that one your most most honest inn are ever
like your most honest critic.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Yes, it's kind of like it's cool having kids, especially
if become adults, because it's the closest thing to having
like a second brain, you know, when you're like, I
wish I had two people so I could get more done,
you know, so she'll like come in like in those
moments you know, where I'm like I need help, you know,
finishing this artwork or like what do you think? Like,
you know, it's really really it's been a blessing.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
Did you want her to be in the music Injury?
Speaker 1 (32:57):
No I didn't. I really kept her away from the spotlight. Yeah,
I protected it. I tried my best to protect a
privacy because you know, like you know, I think that's important.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
And the books are crazy.
Speaker 10 (33:10):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, how are you gonna you know,
you gotta you don't know who you are, you gonna
become you, and I think that's important.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
And yeah, so music business. Don't want my kids to
be you can't fight it. If they're talented, I don't think,
you know what I mean, Like, look, it's somebody like
Justin Bieber, Like it's clear he wanted to be there
singing like this is some music was coming out of
him at a young age as a kid. And you know,
I was singing at a young age. But you know,
I didn't get to do it professionally till later. But
I'm grateful because I got to go to college for it.
(33:44):
But I got to backpack in Europe, I got to
go to prom you know, to be to go to
work the alarm company.
Speaker 7 (33:49):
You know, it's got to be tough when you're disconnecting
from the industry and your.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
Daughter wants to be in it.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Oh, I don't mind. I don't mind because she's more
on the marketing and the business side, you know what
I mean. So I'm just always like.
Speaker 6 (34:03):
Was that her choice or did you encourage her to
go in from that side and just do the creative
stuff with you?
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Became natural, it was natural. She'd actually didn't go into
the studio with me besides feel like maybe it's a
kid a baby once in a while. She didn't go
into the studio with me until she was sixteen, and
she discovered she loved it. So yeah, And you know you.
Speaker 7 (34:22):
Have reinvantage yourself a bunch of times across a bunch
of different albums. So what makes you want to explore
new sounds and themes in new creative directions besides your daughter?
Speaker 4 (34:31):
What makes you want to do?
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Oh me, Oh, I'm a curious mind. I just have
a curious mind. I mean I have an entire album
in Spanish I put out in two thousand and nine.
My parents are Portuguese from the Azores Islands, and I
don't know, I just grew up with a lot of
eclectic music. I was in the Portuguese marching band, like
my grandfather was a marching band composer. I you know,
would just hang out and record dance music with my
(34:55):
DJ friends or more like hip hop with my friends
that had hip hop groups or whatnot over the years.
So I don't think I see music in terms of genre,
you know, I don't. I see it as a language.
So that's really what inspired because I think more than anything,
I like people. I like people, So that's what the
(35:18):
curiosity is like. On Save your Breath. Actually that artist
is from Haiti. Will Anne Wanta wait. She's my friend,
my collaborator's mother, and she's actually a TikTok star. She's
a motivational uh, she has a motivational sort of TikTok
she does, and she's a great art she's probably fifty five,
I think she is. And then my friend's mother, Taboris,
(35:38):
she's she's seventy seven. She's on that record too. She
used to sing with Rick James. Wow. Yeah. And then
Tainomi Banks, she's a very successful drag queen and a
good friend of mine is on there too. Because it's
and that's why I say this is a community recording,
because it's just I love bringing people together.
Speaker 7 (35:55):
Did you ask her about Rick James and you'd be like, Hey,
what else Chappelle episode drill?
Speaker 1 (35:59):
I don't know, it sounds colorful, Yes, it sounds it
sounds colorful, but but but yeah, we geez. I just
I love that you asked me that, because I think
I just know about having an interest in like eclectic,
like you know, I'm interested in so many sounds of
(36:21):
music and why like why, what's the reason? And I
think at the end of the day, I have a
curious mind and I just want to challenge myself all
the time. I going to get bored very easily, and
I just want to check. I got a song with
Andre and the game. You know, it's like there's no thread,
you know.
Speaker 6 (36:38):
I was going to ask when you see other artists
like kind of getting like bashed for doing that, being
able to switch in and out of genres and different
types of music, how do you feel about that because
you've done it very well and it's been accepted across
very different genres and ethnicities, Like, how does.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
That mean that? Yeah? I feel you on that. I
guess I think. I mean I get the same thing too,
because people don't understand I'm hard to market. It's hard
to market my music because I'm not a brand.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
You think you get that. I feel like people are accepted.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Like what brand am? I?
Speaker 5 (37:06):
Yeah, you've always what's the aesthetic?
Speaker 1 (37:08):
I have no clue.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
I think Nelli for Tole is just Nelly Fortado, like
like you're one of those people like like Nellie Fordo
put out an album. I'm listening. I got introduced to you.
I knew about the Wheelly album, but I really got
introduced to you when you started working with Timblin. Okay,
but so from that moment on, it seems like I'm
always checking for Nelly for Toato just because of the
connection with timbling. That's my personal experience with you.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
You're right, Yeah, there's always different avenues for people to come.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
You feel like you got back, you feel like you
you didn't get accepted in certain genres and stuff like you.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I'm not gonna say that. I'm just gonna say that.
I think every artist, when they try to change their
standard style, you'll definitely get Like, for instance, right, my
second album was called Folklore, and you know, when I
first came out, my image was on Wonelly was They're like, oh, look,
she's like a clectic but like she's Portuguese, but she
has a little bit of hip hop influence. She has
this and that. So it's sort of like, oh wow,
(37:58):
you know, like, you know, look at the fun ethnic
girl do fun music, you know what I mean. And
then when I came to Vocalore, it was a little
more like emo and singer songwriter. So it was like, oh,
I don't get it. You know, why is she sad?
Speaker 8 (38:15):
Film me.
Speaker 4 (38:19):
Like, you're not allowed to be sad?
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Yeah, said, you really messed with it and it's your
favorite album ever Vocalore.
Speaker 7 (38:26):
You know, I feel like that's what artists should do.
I don't like when artists stayed just consistent on one thing.
The reason I love Kendrick Lamar because good King mad
City sounds totally different than the Butterfly him. Butterfly sounds
totally different than Damn. Damn sounds totally different than you know,
mister Morale and the Big Steps.
Speaker 4 (38:40):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
But it's also the influences, right, her influences a daylight soul,
but also Madonna, Like they go from so many different ranges.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Yeah, they really do. Yeah, I grew up on kind
of eighties two like you know, like I like, like
my my dad had like a record player in the
living room, so I was listening to also like Abba
or Lionel Richie or like every thing just meshed together.
And then I will say being fourteen or fifteen in
the late nineties was a gift, amazing time, the best
and urban like it gave me. I got goosebumps again.
(39:10):
I got goosebumps twice on the show today. So like,
I'm just lucky, you know that I got to grow
up with the influences I had. But I think artists
should take more risks I love when artists because what
people don't realize is like they're just kind of like,
you got to deconstruct to construct again, how are you
gonna like grow or get better if you don't deconstruct, Right,
It's like anything like a garden, right, a garden like
(39:32):
the flowers wilt in the winter.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
But when you do an album or you step outside
of the box quote unquote box and you don't get recognized,
how does that feel like? And the reason we say
that as you know, everybody's been talking about Beyonce who
did the country album and not nominated. So how would
that make you feel as an artist? You put this
album out, was number one on the charge, your record
was spinning number one. Yeah, but they don't that genre
doesn't recognize you.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Yeah, jeez, I think that. Hmmm, that's a good question too.
How do I feel I had an answer? You're going in.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
You're not in your field.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
I tend to do that interviews. I talked really fast. Yeah,
I'm going through the like. I mean, I got lucky
with a Spanish album, probably because I had a history.
I had done a song with one, I'd done a
song with I had, I had done some stuff. You
(40:28):
know in Spanish. And then by the time that that
album came around, I spent a lot of time curating it,
you know what I mean, Like I work very closely
with my really good friend who an artist andres and
and we we we we reached out to the community,
got a lot of different voices from Luis Guerra to
(40:51):
we even have like album, so we have like a
lot of You have to just be mindful, you know
what I mean, and do it. Try to do it
with as much grace as you can, right would be
just like I don't know. For me, I always.
Speaker 4 (41:13):
Do you remember his original question, no.
Speaker 5 (41:19):
Girls, you're cute.
Speaker 6 (41:20):
You look so good answering it, though he took the
look it's okay, Yes, it's a.
Speaker 8 (41:26):
Look being accepted question outside outside the box.
Speaker 6 (41:42):
It was too much going on in the beginning of
it anyway, and he took a long time to ask it.
Speaker 5 (41:45):
I think you drifted off and we were here for
you know, we were here for you.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
It's the peak artistry when you can shift the cultural needle,
you know what I'm saying, and politically, like that's incredible,
Like the respect is huge. And I also was lucky
enough to kind of come up. Well, no, Destiny Child
was already out. But like you know, I'd crossed paths
with Beyonce a couple of times briefly, and I love
her obviously, her energy and her light, and I think
(42:09):
that that is like the peak of what you could
do achieve as an artist is do something like that.
That's absolutely peak. You know how you feel, So being
accepted doesn't really matter at all.
Speaker 6 (42:23):
You know what, I'll tell you this, you got it,
you entered it, because there.
Speaker 1 (42:29):
Are sometimes sometimes that girl, there are some sometimes there
are songs where you might think no one was listening,
no one was paying attention. But I'm telling you, like
years later, a DJ might remix it. Yeah, this happened
to a song I put out. Ronnie Jerkins produced it.
It's called Big Coops super cool track. You know. I
put it out, yeah, twenty thirteen. It's on a Spirit
Indestructible album. I did Jammy like literally, if you played
(42:53):
it right now, I'd be like see, but like it
was fine, you know, it didn't really make any waves
or anything. But ten years later, I know these DJs
from the UK they remixed it and it was top forty.
It was like, you know, I played in my shows,
and I'm like, see, reel recognizes real. At the end
of the day, someone will find it. The same happened
with my track Powerless, which was successful in certain places
(43:14):
but not globally. Years later, I'm you know, I'm you know,
halfway across the world, and you know, I'm out of school.
I was doing some some nonprofit working and teaching girls
songwriting and things like that, and they say to me, wait, wow,
that's the one we want to sing. That's our theme
(43:35):
song for this school. You know what I mean all
the way Kenya, you know, And I go, see, that's why,
that's why I make this. You know. It's like eventually,
like if you write a song from your heart, somebody's
gonna find it someday. Even this new stuff, I'm putting
it out tomorrow. It's like I go away for a
long time. You know. I don't have like that type
of cycle in my albums where my fans are like
(43:57):
right there with me, and it's like I treat it
kind of differ, so like I don't know who the
music will get to or win or half fast, but
I do know that whoever does listen to it, you
know what I mean, eventually it'll get its own love or.
Speaker 6 (44:09):
Whatever, you know, whatever, because the pressure isn't there as much.
You know what, you know, you're good with what happens,
and you know, to grow you did.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
I appreciate the little things like my record with Dom Dalla,
really amazing tech house DJ. It's called Eat Your Man.
It just went gold in Canada and we didn't expect it.
It was again, oh, let's make a club recker for
the rapes. You know, we've since performed it at Lolla, Palooza, Coachella,
like it's like it's a proper like you know, it's
in the dance canon now so much. My friend wrote
(44:38):
that with me. She's like, you should reference yourself, My
really good friend Angelie from another great writer from Toronto,
and she's like why not. And so it would take
like a friend to convince you to reference yourself. You know,
you're not going to do that on your own. Not me,
that's not my personality. But I was like sure, like
that's cute, Like I love remix culture. I think the idea,
like it's it's very meta, you know, very very unique. Actually, yeah,
(45:00):
I liked it.
Speaker 6 (45:01):
You know, you did a four million, four point four
million views for your Tiny Desk. So I think people
love good what Yeah, that's great people, But it's the
live performance Nelly that people love. And I know that
you've talked a little bit sometimes about Vegas.
Speaker 5 (45:16):
Oh is that something that you would do? Is that
coming in cooking up lately?
Speaker 1 (45:19):
Yeah? I really love the culture around Loose as an
album and the culture around like Timberland and ized connection
and just like the idea of it's a very it's
a very clear picture. It's those late nights in Miami.
It's at like those palm trees and the red and
white cover and the whole I met somebody recently there
was a whole club night called Loose and I couldn't
believe it. It was like, no, this is the hottest party.
(45:40):
It's called Loose. And I was like, Oh, that's crazy,
because I want to do a Vegas show called Loose,
And it all made sense. Like I just think Vegas
would be the great outlet for recreating Loose in a
cool environment and being creative with it. Of course, ultimately
I feel like that would be on my bucket list.
Speaker 6 (45:59):
Yeah, no deals of coming away with that, because this
is not your first time mentioning it. They haven't grasped
that yet, Like they haven't.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
No, it's it's it's in the works. Yeah, it's a
it's a it's a bubbling.
Speaker 7 (46:10):
Oh nope, So yeah, okay, yeah when next year twenty
twenty five.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
Uh, that remains to be saying, because the twenty fifth
Loose will be twenty five years old in twenty twenty
five or I'm sorry, twenty twenty six.
Speaker 4 (46:22):
You really a legacy artist now, netlie for talking.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Oh that's funny.
Speaker 4 (46:27):
They don't feel like twenty five years but got time flying?
Speaker 1 (46:30):
I know.
Speaker 4 (46:31):
What do you think about social media right?
Speaker 7 (46:33):
Like, like, like how do you view its impact on
artists in their relationship with fans compared to when you
first started your career because it's like a real direct
connection and it was so.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
Many I like social media. I don't know, I like
it vibes with my mind, Like I really like TikTok.
I love it. It's so immediate. I love you know,
DMan like DJ's are they DM me? And like can
they do this remix or artists? And it's so it's
so direct, it's so instantaneous, and I do like that
about it.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
So you answer your d ms and everything, some of them.
Speaker 1 (47:06):
Hey at Nellie Bertando. Yeah, so I think social media
is actually pretty amazing when it comes to music business stuff.
At the same time, I don't always love when I
thought I knew a song, but then I hear the
whole song and it's totally different, you know, like that
(47:27):
TikTok sound. You're like, yeah, this song's actually really good
when I made the whole song, you know. But I
mean whatever, I can deal with that too. It's fun,
It's all. It's all fun.
Speaker 7 (47:35):
How do you balance the vulnerability that's required, No, not
just in songwriting but nowadays just at the talent period
because people want so much you have vulnerability, right, How
do you balance being vulnerable but also having boundaries and
your process?
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Such a tough one, man, that's a tough one because
my songs are so personal. They're almost like sometimes I
only just draining blood from my heart into the song actually,
so so it's like they're really personal som some songs
are more personal than others. But that's hard because if
(48:11):
people ask me about it, like you don't want to
necessarily go into detail, I'll be more like, well, you'd
listen to the song and you feel what makes you feel.
Speaker 6 (48:17):
You know what I mean, You're not going to detail
because it like rehash is that pulling blood situation where
it's like you.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
Don't want to be sad, you don't want to just
be like just negative. I like to kind of like
stick in the positive energy, you know what I mean.
I find like it's more tracked attract it's more magnetic,
you know what I mean, Like because I think I've
been caught out there before in the past, over the years,
you know whatever, careers highs and lows where you kind
of like you focus like you're too like you get
too caught up in the wrong things or like the
wrong way to express yourself, or like you're not you
(48:44):
know what I mean, Like you got to focus on
the positive and they just keep that joyful energy. I
think that's important.
Speaker 4 (48:49):
That makes all the sense in the world.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
Serious.
Speaker 7 (48:52):
What if you come in the studio you're positive, but
then somebody brings up one of your songs that might
trigger you still, but it's your song, So.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
Oh that's a good question too. Oh yeah, that'll be interesting.
I think I'll just start that journey tomorrow when the
album comes out, because yeah, I'm gonna get asked, they're
gonna ask me whether it's a fan or you know,
you know, I got to pick and choose what I
want to talk about.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
I think whose idea was it to go more urban
and hip hops? Because you know, no, no, no, just
what you're doing. Because your influences have been daylight. So
you talk about you know, Timberland, you talk about it.
But now it's like you're doing more of that, You're
doing more interviews, you're doing more. Why is that it
is because it is an influential thing or you think
that some of your records have crossed over before.
Speaker 1 (49:37):
Yeah, I mean I always felt like the Black career,
it's been natural, you know what I mean, It's been
a natural thing. It's just like people, you know, you
don't chase anything, you know what I mean. My manager
always would say that, you know, you let people come
to you, you know, and it's like and that's organic,
you know, and so that's it, you know, just like
(50:01):
whatever energy comes my way, people want.
Speaker 5 (50:02):
To work with me.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
But yeah, it's true. Yeah, early in my career, yeah,
a lot of a lot of urban artists wanted to
work with me, you know what I mean, And it
was just natural. It wasn't something I sought out, you know,
it was just organic. You know. It's kind of what I.
Speaker 4 (50:21):
Yeah, I think don't recognize it, do you know what
I mean? Like there's certain.
Speaker 7 (50:24):
People you can smell it on and you'd be like, Okay,
that's not authentic. But like I think, like you, Amy
Winehouse like to me, y'all, y'all got the right.
Speaker 1 (50:33):
Energy, thank you, because I don't take that lightly, you know,
I don't want to, you know, well, no, I also
feel I feel just privileged to be making music. You
know obviously is that were the influences, you know what
I mean, the history just like I'm just I'm just
I'm just happy to be sort of like accepted, I
(50:56):
guess by a lot of different genres, right, even Latin
like manage music. It's like my parents are Portuguese. But
if you do it with sincerity, you know, and you're
coming from a place of learning and sincerity, it's like
no one can fault you for that, right and if
you try to do it well right, and that's because
I'll feel like I'm just still that person that just
(51:19):
really believes music is the only kind of proof of
life and proof of God in terms of people. You
could get together people that don't even like each other.
I've experimented with that before in a art like an
art setting not too far at moment PS One. I
was invited to just at the fundraiser, to own a
room and do whatever art performance art I wanted to do.
(51:41):
And I chose to teach people how to write songs.
But a bunch of people would just come in the room,
and some of them weren't songwriters, and we would just
make a song out of thin air together. And to me,
it was asking the question like, why do you feel
connected to somebody you walk by on the sidewalk? You
know what I mean? Why do you feel connected to
stranger you walk by?
Speaker 6 (51:57):
Right?
Speaker 1 (51:58):
Like?
Speaker 5 (51:58):
What is that?
Speaker 1 (51:59):
It's a collective, you know, the collective unconscious and so
music is proof of that, man, it's proof of that.
Speaker 4 (52:04):
You know, seven is God's number and seven is God.
Seven is God's number. Yes, I didn't know that. Tell
me more about that seven is God's number.
Speaker 5 (52:15):
I'm about to google.
Speaker 4 (52:16):
Don't warry seven gods number. I do have one last
question leaving.
Speaker 5 (52:21):
I have the answer to the second answer the question.
It is It's in the.
Speaker 6 (52:26):
Bible, the number seven is quite significant in the Bible,
appearing over seven hundred times throughout both the Old and
the New Testaments, and biblical numerology, seven symbolizes completion or perfection.
It is said that God created the world in six
days and rested on the seventh.
Speaker 4 (52:38):
Day, completion and profecs.
Speaker 6 (52:40):
My grandma would have been mad. I had to google
that because I knew that good Angel numbers two, seven, seven,
eleven as well eleven, like number, yes, seven, eleven, I love.
Speaker 3 (52:54):
I mean the number is not the store. That's not
the store.
Speaker 6 (52:56):
Eleven is my favorite number, eleven and twenty two just
because they're like, I.
Speaker 1 (53:00):
Like three, Like, do you know your life path number?
I'm kind of into life path numbers.
Speaker 3 (53:03):
Is my favorite three my life three.
Speaker 1 (53:06):
Do you know that your life path number? No, I'm
gonna count your Yeah.
Speaker 5 (53:11):
Oh no, I'm just gonna tell you look the paper, like,
what's the last question?
Speaker 4 (53:14):
No?
Speaker 7 (53:16):
Who is Nellie Fortarto right now?
Speaker 1 (53:19):
I'm a work in progress. Yeah, I'm just a working progress.
I'm just like taking it day by day, just kind
of trying to like just accept myself and love myself
as much as I can and and uh, you know,
not take my craft for granted, and my talents for granted,
and just be.
Speaker 7 (53:36):
Grateful so you'll be back. This isn't a one and done,
Like you're not gonna go back.
Speaker 1 (53:41):
Trust me.
Speaker 8 (53:44):
Your sign?
Speaker 1 (53:46):
We still don't trust me.
Speaker 5 (53:47):
Pardon what's your son?
Speaker 1 (53:49):
Sagittarius? I was gonna call the album sagittariusious? Really, yeah,
I'm not twenty second twenty second you're just barely as.
Speaker 5 (53:59):
I yeah, because they think I'm crazy when I say that, though.
Speaker 1 (54:02):
But no, that's there's still Sagittarius definitely. So yeah, that's
who I am right now. I'm just like taking it
day by day and figuring it out, trying to accept
my flaws. But then I think the key too is
like accept my light as well. We have to accept
the light we have and just like and that's a
(54:23):
that's a lifelong journey.
Speaker 4 (54:25):
That's the beauty of life. It is a journey. Yeah,
you should just appreciate and respect the process.
Speaker 3 (54:29):
And we appreciate you for joining us this morning.
Speaker 1 (54:31):
You're really amazing. I got four times and.
Speaker 5 (54:35):
You were nervous when you came in here or something.
Speaker 2 (54:38):
I'm glad, yep, I'm sorry because I Kendrick uld Drake
pick one, but we didn't, So.
Speaker 1 (54:45):
The weekend.
Speaker 3 (54:52):
It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning, wake that ass up
in the morning.
Speaker 4 (54:56):
The Breakfast Club
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DJ Envy
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