Speaker 1: Good evening everyone, and welcome to s O S Radio
Speaker 1: Dot Live, the One Step Ahead Radio Show. I am
Speaker 1: your host, Doctor Mac, and I am back for one more.
Speaker 2: Power hour this evening.
Speaker 1: Buckle up and get ready because you're going to be
Speaker 1: shocked who I have with me in this.
Speaker 2: Studio right here.
Speaker 1: Sheba joined our very own she would join us in
Speaker 1: the house right now. And we are still honoring me
Speaker 1: for serving twenty nine years in the childcare industry.
Speaker 2: Siva.
Speaker 1: This is my twenty ninth anniversary. Actually it is tomorrow
Speaker 1: on a Monday. Twenty nine years ago. I started my
Speaker 1: childcare center and I am still growing, glowing and expanding
Speaker 1: and of course, you know, giving God all the glory.
Speaker 2: But let's get right.
Speaker 1: To this dynamic interview because I've been waiting all week
Speaker 1: for Siba.
Speaker 2: Sheiba. Welcome, Welcome to One Step Ahead Radio.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having me. It's really an honor,
Speaker 1: and it's an honor to be in your presence because
Speaker 1: i've known you.
Speaker 2: I don't know how old were you. You remember it
Speaker 2: was in the eighties. Yeah, I know that I was
Speaker 2: a teenager.
Speaker 1: It was a teenager, and you was like my little
Speaker 1: adopted daughter. We worked at a recording studio, in session,
Speaker 1: recording studio.
Speaker 2: And people don't believe.
Speaker 1: When I say I used to run a recording studio. Okay,
Speaker 1: and I ran a recording studio. So that's where my
Speaker 1: love for music really really started was back there with you,
Speaker 1: because believe it or not, she was You inspired me
Speaker 1: because you always carry yourself older than you actually was
Speaker 1: always professional, always a lady, never hesitated to help anybody
Speaker 1: that was in that studio. I don't know if you remember.
Speaker 1: We had karaoke there, We had other artists in there.
Speaker 1: We were trying to do a record company. We were
Speaker 1: trying to do a management company. We had people coming
Speaker 1: off the street recording, and I think you was kind
Speaker 1: of working in the office, but you were still singing
Speaker 1: and back then a recording session, yes exactly. And I
Speaker 1: remember back then the song that impressed me the most.
Speaker 1: It was Regina Bell.
Speaker 2: That was something that that was someone you that you
Speaker 2: sung her songs.
Speaker 1: Yes, you know.
Speaker 2: But for people who may not know you yet, how
Speaker 2: how would.
Speaker 1: You, okay, how would you describe yourself as an entertainer?
Speaker 1: Let us know, how would you describe yourself as an entertainer? Well,
Speaker 1: I I am you know I'm just a regular person.
Speaker 1: I'm a regular person who just believes that in this industry,
Speaker 1: in this business of entertainment, that I can do anything
Speaker 1: I want to do. That's it. I believe that, and
Speaker 1: I encourage other people to think the same way. You
Speaker 1: can do anything that you want to do with your
Speaker 1: mind can't conceive. And as we go about life, you know,
Speaker 1: people will bump into people who will tell us that
Speaker 1: we can't. When we imagine these great things and we
Speaker 1: think great and we dream great and we share those
Speaker 1: dreams with people, people will begin to tell you that
Speaker 1: you can't.
Speaker 2: Do it, you know, And I never believe that. I
Speaker 2: never believe that.
Speaker 1: I don't believe that I can and I just do
Speaker 1: and I don't wait for permission. I just deal it.
Speaker 1: I am that's the industry. I'm a person who again
Speaker 1: believes I can do whatever I want to do, and
Speaker 1: I deal with it.
Speaker 2: So you so someone will tell you, no, you don't
Speaker 2: settle for that.
Speaker 1: Absolutely not. People always nobody. You often find that people
Speaker 1: don't want to give you a seat at the table.
Speaker 2: You will say that again, and.
Speaker 1: You often find that people don't want to give you
Speaker 1: a seat at the table. So I take it. I
Speaker 1: just take a seat and then I show them why
Speaker 1: I belong.
Speaker 2: I like that. And you know, let me tell you something.
Speaker 1: I have to agree with you, because my favorite scripture
Speaker 1: of all times is the Lippians four and thirteen. I
Speaker 1: can do all things through Christ strength and me, and
Speaker 1: I'm with you on that. I believe I could do
Speaker 1: whatever I want to do.
Speaker 2: You know that. No, you know, okay, you say no,
Speaker 2: but see, let me go turn this no into four.
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly exactly. So I'm down with you exactly.
Speaker 3: You.
Speaker 1: If I ask for help and you don't give it
Speaker 1: to me, I'm going to do it anyway. I'm going
Speaker 1: to do it anyway. That's who I am.
Speaker 2: Now, you were born because I got so many questions
Speaker 2: for you.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's right. Just in a long time. I was
Speaker 1: so excited because I know you when you were a
Speaker 1: little little teenager. Okay, you were born and raised in Yark? Right,
Speaker 1: How did growing up? Did growing up in the city
Speaker 1: of Newark shape your passion for singing at any point?
Speaker 2: Just being a person a native from Newark?
Speaker 1: What shaped my passion for singing really was my mom.
Speaker 1: I didn't choose singing, mm hmm. She chose the forming
Speaker 1: and when I was very young, she put me out
Speaker 1: there and I was you know, I was homeschooled all
Speaker 1: the way. I remember Scho was homeschool and we had
Speaker 1: a musical curriculum, and my mother taught me everything I
Speaker 1: know about singing, about music, by all of it.
Speaker 2: She's the one who taught me those things.
Speaker 1: Wow, and teaching me those things, she put me out
Speaker 1: there in the industry, you know, go out there and sing.
Speaker 1: My first gig, I was about six years old, and
Speaker 1: I backed out shed She sent me out there and
Speaker 1: saying I was so nervous, I literally did not do it.
Speaker 1: But that didn stop birds. She kept going and we
Speaker 1: kept going, and before you knew it, I was fifteen
Speaker 1: years old. I had my first professional gig. I was
Speaker 1: singing with the Queen Latifa, Oh Wow, the Blue Note
Speaker 1: Boo Magic Blue Magic, Yeah, and all these big artists.
Speaker 1: And I remember singing Cheryl Pepsi Riley's thanks for my Child.
Speaker 1: And I was only fifteen years old, but everybody thought
Speaker 1: I was Cheryl Pepsi rally and you know that's not me,
Speaker 1: thank you anyway. So but to answer the question or
Speaker 1: to really put it into proper perspective, what how did
Speaker 1: growing up in the city of Newark shape me? Because
Speaker 1: it did, Oh wow, it did shape me. But not
Speaker 1: it didn't not for singing. I wasn't again that was
Speaker 1: my mom's singing. It became a pat it became my passion.
Speaker 1: But growing up and sitting or you meet people wonderful
Speaker 1: people who who do believe in blending a hand. And
Speaker 1: I met some people like that growing up, you being
Speaker 1: the first of them all. When we were doing the
Speaker 1: work at in Session Rooky Recordings to do you supported
Speaker 1: me in such a way with all of my performances.
Speaker 1: I remember you giving me outfits, giving me dazzling shoes
Speaker 1: to wear and things like that. You know, even though
Speaker 1: I was young, I dressed up maturely, so outsall. So
Speaker 1: I'm did you clothes and shoes and you gave it
Speaker 1: to me. I met people like Sama Davis, who is
Speaker 1: in the film industry. He's doing wonderful, wonderful things over
Speaker 1: in Africa right now. He started out here in North
Speaker 1: New Jersey as a filmmaker, but he's now doing huge
Speaker 1: things in Africa right now. He set me off on
Speaker 1: my journey and film. He introduced me to some amazing
Speaker 1: people in the film industry and got me into got
Speaker 1: me started in the film business. You know, I met J. D. Williams,
Speaker 1: who was an actor who also when I needed him,
Speaker 1: he was there for me. You know, I needed an actor,
Speaker 1: a named actor in one of my plays, and he said,
Speaker 1: I got you. You know, do you remember when you
Speaker 1: was doing your plays over there, Morton, You was using
Speaker 1: the place at one point to rehearse. Remember the daycare?
Speaker 2: Oh yes, yes, yes, That's why I said. We have
Speaker 2: a history.
Speaker 1: And one thing about me and you, I know that
Speaker 1: we have in common. We would do for others and
Speaker 1: we would keep it moving. We won't look back expect
Speaker 1: anything because when we were giving and you were given too,
Speaker 1: and when we did things back then, even when you
Speaker 1: was doing your play, you was giving so much exactly.
Speaker 1: My one of my main golden nuggets that I like
Speaker 1: to do and say and back it up is the
Speaker 1: more you give, the more you receive. Some people don't
Speaker 1: understand that that is such a golden principle. It is
Speaker 1: such a principle to stand on with solid foundation because
Speaker 1: it's going to come back as long as you're not
Speaker 1: always just given. Looking and that just reminded me of
Speaker 1: who you were as a young teenager at Incession Recording Studio,
Speaker 1: doing your plays, doing everything you got. So basically being
Speaker 1: from Newton, New Jersey, your mom shape your career more
Speaker 1: so in passion with with music. But there were people
Speaker 1: that you met that connection that gave you that that
Speaker 1: that that that that silhouette of how to proceed in
Speaker 1: an artist. And you know what I'm saying, and that's
Speaker 1: so profound because what it is is it called a connection.
Speaker 1: Connection in the music industry, you and I know both,
Speaker 1: that is very important connection in any career.
Speaker 2: Networking, all of that plays a role.
Speaker 1: And networking and and really and really building and massaging
Speaker 1: and building relationships, you know, because you can network and
Speaker 1: get this far. But when you burn bridges, then that
Speaker 1: becomes a problem, becomes a problem because people don't want
Speaker 1: to work with you.
Speaker 2: And you need connections in this industry.
Speaker 1: You just need connections. Whatever it is that you're doing,
Speaker 1: you need connections. So I believe in forming relationshipships and
Speaker 1: strengthening those relationships are really really relationships.
Speaker 4: And not.
Speaker 1: How much you have to sometimes they are with your
Speaker 1: mom kind of like giving you that push in the
Speaker 1: music industry. You started stage performance in your living room
Speaker 1: as a child. Is that true? Because I read that
Speaker 1: somewhere that is true. But more than my mom, that
Speaker 1: was my grandmother who did that.
Speaker 2: Okay, shout out to the moms we got.
Speaker 1: Her mom is here with us in this studio, by
Speaker 1: the way, and shout out to her amazing grandmother, because
Speaker 1: it takes that village sometimes to push us off. And
Speaker 1: I tell my parents now, because we're still working with
Speaker 1: children at the school because we are a learning center,
Speaker 1: but we put emphasis on the performing arts, and it's
Speaker 1: so important for the parents to see that and to
Speaker 1: continue to nurture and push them when they see it
Speaker 1: in their child. I want to tell you this story
Speaker 1: about Pam Duncan. John Duncan started karate at one step
Speaker 1: ahead with King k School of Martial Arts, right out
Speaker 1: of my clap. Today John is a black belt, but
Speaker 1: his mom always say, Miss Marley, he started taking karate
Speaker 1: at one step ahead. Wow. So somewhere even it has
Speaker 1: to be in the living room, that's where it gets
Speaker 1: started at. Sometimes that's very good started. Yeah, that's very good, started,
Speaker 1: you know and again. And my mother was the same way,
Speaker 1: but with all of us, and I had there seven
Speaker 1: of us. So when she's six. I have one sister
Speaker 1: and five brothers. Oh wow. Yeah. And when my mother
Speaker 1: recognized the talent and every single one of us, she
Speaker 1: went in and just developed it. She said, this is
Speaker 1: what you do, this is what you do, this is
Speaker 1: what you do, this is what you do. Let's go
Speaker 1: and let's do it. So it's not just me, you know,
Speaker 1: you know my story, but we all have a story.
Speaker 1: And it all stemmed from my mother recognizing the talent
Speaker 1: that we all each possess and really just honing in
Speaker 1: and developing those talents. Wow.
Speaker 2: And like you say, you you not just a singer
Speaker 2: and you have dipped and that and a lie.
Speaker 1: Like you said me, we're motile talented where you're not
Speaker 1: gonna put us in a box. I refuse to be
Speaker 1: in that box. I will crawl that box and stand
Speaker 1: on top. And yeah, but what inspired you to begin
Speaker 1: your journey in the world of theater? Them you did film, literature,
Speaker 1: and live performances besides the singer. What took you to
Speaker 1: that level to do all of that other stuff, to
Speaker 1: create all that other stuff? It it just you being talented.
Speaker 1: Something spark your idea, did somebody influence you, did somebody
Speaker 1: encourage you? Or was it just you and the talent
Speaker 1: that you was just born with. So with the live
Speaker 1: performances and singing again, it was my mom. My mom
Speaker 1: just recognized that I could sing, and she put me
Speaker 1: out there. But in the seventies when I was a
Speaker 1: little kid, she was the singer okay. And then as
Speaker 1: I grew older and she recognized the talent of me,
Speaker 1: she said, okay, now microphone. She pushed me out there,
Speaker 1: and I was just obedient.
Speaker 2: I did it because my mother told me to.
Speaker 1: And then it became a passion that I can't even
Speaker 1: imagine life without anymore. As far as theater, I have
Speaker 1: been a person who I always journal I always journaled.
Speaker 1: I'll just journal I'm still journal And it was not
Speaker 1: something that you know, I did consciously. It was a
Speaker 1: subconscious thing. I would find myself journaling, and it's like,
Speaker 1: without giving up any thought to it, I'm journaling. I
Speaker 1: want to sit down. I could be sitting down at
Speaker 1: work waiting for the phone to ring, and how I'm
Speaker 1: on the phone. I'm just journaling as a person talking,
Speaker 1: I'm and it just was a thing. And what I
Speaker 1: noticed is stories performing as I'm journaling.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: So I would read it back and go, this is
Speaker 1: this is a story. And I don't know why it's
Speaker 1: coming to me, but it's a story. And I always
Speaker 1: find that once I finished the story, there are stories
Speaker 1: that needed to be told. And that's how I know
Speaker 1: if somebody came about my first play, I was just journaling,
Speaker 1: and fifty seven pages later there was a story. There
Speaker 1: was a full story. I don't know why these stories
Speaker 1: come to me. I did not consciously choose theater either.
Speaker 1: I just was a writer, right right, right right. And
Speaker 1: I read the story one day and I said, this
Speaker 1: is good. This is good. And when I contacted some
Speaker 1: people who were in the theater business, because I didn't
Speaker 1: know anything about theater, and I asked one of my
Speaker 1: friends to read the script and let.
Speaker 2: Me know what he thought. And he said, I think
Speaker 2: you have something great here.
Speaker 1: Let's do it. And so we did. And that's how
Speaker 1: I got into theater. I didn't know. I didn't know
Speaker 1: anything about it. I just knew I like to write too.
Speaker 1: That was my passion. And when I told my mother
Speaker 1: that a writer, she was like, I promised you. She said,
Speaker 1: girls stick the saying girl stick to sing, and I said, no,
Speaker 1: I really want to write it. I wrote this play
Speaker 1: and I shared it with her, and I was singing
Speaker 1: all the songs because there are songs in the play,
Speaker 1: original songs and all of them that I wrote, and
Speaker 1: she she just she couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear.
Speaker 2: It, right, you know, stick to sing.
Speaker 1: But once it was all put together, and this is
Speaker 1: why I tell people, This is why I tell people. See,
Speaker 1: everybody can't see your vision. They can't see your.
Speaker 2: Dream until, oh, my God said one more time.
Speaker 1: Everybody cannot see your vision. They cannot see your dream.
Speaker 1: It is your dream, and they can't see it until.
Speaker 2: You show it to them. Once I showed her.
Speaker 1: Once I put everything together, and she heard the script
Speaker 1: and she heard the songs. She couldn't believe that. She
Speaker 1: couldn't believe that it was something that came from me, original, original,
Speaker 1: and that good and it blesses families. It's a family show,
Speaker 1: talks it about family values and strengthening family values, and
Speaker 1: it touches a bit on domestic violence and getting out
Speaker 1: of those situations. So it's an important piece. Wow wow,
Speaker 1: let me take you back, well, no, let me fast
Speaker 1: forward it from around the time I met you. You
Speaker 1: were just sixteen, you joined the entertainment board of Essa's
Speaker 1: County College and you quit gain a lot of recognition
Speaker 1: down there. Tell us about that. What was that experience like?
Speaker 1: And that was and you were still a very young
Speaker 1: young person. Yeah, I was, And I was teased a
Speaker 1: lot because I was so young. People would tease me
Speaker 1: a lot. People They would who babysitting today? Who baby
Speaker 1: sits she Ba today? Things like that, and but I
Speaker 1: didn't know. I didn't like that discourage me either, because
Speaker 1: even though they were it was a little bit bullying,
Speaker 1: and uh, it was all right. It was all right
Speaker 1: because what what's happening is I was competing a lot.
Speaker 1: I competed a lot at Essens County College, and I
Speaker 1: would win every single competition won.
Speaker 2: I never lost the competition.
Speaker 1: What college? No, And so they, you know, would say
Speaker 1: to me, you know, okay, stopped stop performing and become
Speaker 1: a featured artist. And so that's what and that's how
Speaker 1: that happened. But that was shout out to Gerald Holloway
Speaker 1: who gave me those opportunities. And that's also also where
Speaker 1: I kind of got into theater too, because we did
Speaker 1: a production of The Wiz and I started as Evil
Speaker 1: the Evil Witch, I believe it or not.
Speaker 2: I remember that you probably did and that was your part. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that was your part.
Speaker 1: That was my first time doing anything. So we're gonna
Speaker 1: take this pause right now, and we're gonna bring Sheeba
Speaker 1: to the mic and let her sing a little bit
Speaker 1: something for y'all. And as she get ready, I don't
Speaker 1: know if she but remember we had things back then
Speaker 1: when we were at Peppermin Lounge. Remember Peppermint lo.
Speaker 2: That was that was the thing.
Speaker 1: And when you're doing things, sometimes your foundation is being laid.
Speaker 1: You have no idea why we just living. We're just
Speaker 1: going and were growing and we're getting older and we're
Speaker 1: going through the motions of life. Right But who ever
Speaker 1: thought in twenty twenty five that you and I would
Speaker 1: be sitting here during this interview And I'm still about
Speaker 1: to get blessed with your voice. So I want you
Speaker 1: to take over the airways right now and let these
Speaker 1: gorgeous people over here. That's committing, that's right. We want
Speaker 1: to let doctor Love know that we appreciate him. I
Speaker 1: see Platinum out there. We appreciate Platinum. Shout out to Platinum.
Speaker 1: We want you to sing a little bit whatever your
Speaker 1: heart desire, all right, because I've been talking about how
Speaker 1: great you are. I want the listeners to know and
Speaker 1: also how they can book you. There's so many umbrellas
Speaker 1: that you're under, and we're gonna get into that a
Speaker 1: little bit later.
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, so we're going so so y'all get ready.
Speaker 1: I promise you I'm not gonna sing with her. Are
Speaker 1: good on the sound? Yes, I hold you a little
Speaker 1: bit from my show Love Overboard the Gladys Night.
Speaker 5: And I have had my shade of a lot of
Speaker 5: soups and.
Speaker 4: Down but fate's been kind. The dolls have been few.
Speaker 6: I guess you could say, been looking.
Speaker 5: I guess you.
Speaker 1: That is all because of you. You've any one.
Speaker 3: Sort my life all right?
Speaker 6: For worry, oh my feet, Oh.
Speaker 5: You will be there?
Speaker 1: What tween it? One of pain and lory because all
Speaker 1: the fish things.
Speaker 6: Never heaven to me, oh never happened.
Speaker 2: I see them hands go about there.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, Oh my god, that's just so beautiful
Speaker 1: that it's just so beautiful. She but your voice has
Speaker 1: not changed. You know. It's so crazy that you would
Speaker 1: say that, because right, I was a young girl sounding
Speaker 1: like that, Yes, yes, sound like that. But it's just
Speaker 1: a it's just a little bit more sped. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: because I was young, very young, and I was not
Speaker 1: as mature as I am in terms of knowing knowing
Speaker 1: what it is knowing how to sing. You know, I
Speaker 1: could sing. I just had this natural knack for singing.
Speaker 1: But when you learn technique and you learn different skills,
Speaker 1: that comes with experience. And so that's what that's probably
Speaker 1: and I am I have no tissue. I've always loved
Speaker 1: you so much, you know, I've always love your voice.
Speaker 1: You know, you always kept me in the loop, even
Speaker 1: though we may not always see eye to eye or
Speaker 1: not not the eye, but put eyes on each other. Right.
Speaker 1: You always made sure I got that memo. You've always
Speaker 1: had disagreement. Never we never had disagreements, but you made sure, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm performing here. And sometimes I would travel down the
Speaker 1: turnpipe just to see and hear.
Speaker 2: That voice always always, and then sometimes ill.
Speaker 1: Sometimes telling me you just show up and I'm.
Speaker 2: Like, oh here, what was.
Speaker 1: And again like I'm a I'm an emotional person, you know,
Speaker 1: I work with kids, and I really believe and the
Speaker 1: emotions and I fought back those tears because this is
Speaker 1: like a reality thing that just to sit here with you, okay,
Speaker 1: and to be caught and to hear that voice and
Speaker 1: to calling you and for you to come to the show,
Speaker 1: it means the world to me. I just want you
Speaker 1: to know that I get it. When you were who
Speaker 1: were some of your biggest artist influence growing up, Well
Speaker 1: you already know Regina Bell, Regina Bell, Vigina for a
Speaker 1: very long time.
Speaker 2: Was my absolute favorite singer.
Speaker 1: And part of the reason is because I mean, she
Speaker 1: is who she is, and she's very, very amazing.
Speaker 2: She's amazing. But when I first saw Regina Bell was
Speaker 2: in the nineteen.
Speaker 1: Eighties eighty nine.
Speaker 5: Wow.
Speaker 1: She was on the Apollo Show, signed at the Apollo.
Speaker 1: So the first time you saw her, she was show okay,
Speaker 1: and she was singing show me the Way, uh huh,
Speaker 1: and she had this short dress on. She was showing
Speaker 1: her big legs, looking at her as you re mimmy
Speaker 1: and me a little bit. And the sound was very similar.
Speaker 1: The sound was very similar. So when I saw Regina
Speaker 1: Bell on the television, I saw myself, oh Wowina Bell,
Speaker 1: and I started to do her songs and when she
Speaker 1: came out with Baby Comes to Me, it became one
Speaker 1: of her biggest sids and also simultaneously my biggest hit
Speaker 1: THENA nine.
Speaker 2: No matter where I went, I had to sing that song.
Speaker 1: And so I tell that story when I performed it
Speaker 1: today because sometimes I say, before a song by Regina
Speaker 1: Bell and then there was used to Houston. Wow?
Speaker 2: Wow?
Speaker 1: The what we Was there a particular moment in your
Speaker 1: life when you knew that performing and writing were your
Speaker 1: true calling?
Speaker 2: Because we already know you really you love writing? Do
Speaker 2: you do you still journal? You said you still journal?
Speaker 2: Are you still writing? Working on anything? Right?
Speaker 1: I write, but I write with more intent now. I
Speaker 1: know that. Now, I know that I am at playwright.
Speaker 1: I know that I write film works. I know that now,
Speaker 1: so uh, it is more intentional now. Was there a moment? No,
Speaker 1: not really. Again, my mother put me out there and
Speaker 1: I was just doing it, you know, because I was.
Speaker 1: She wanted me to, she told me to. But when
Speaker 1: did it become a passion?
Speaker 2: Told?
Speaker 1: When did it become a passion? As your question? Right,
Speaker 1: I don't know when it became a passion, but it did.
Speaker 1: I just I just knew that after a while it
Speaker 1: was something that I could not imagine life without performing.
Speaker 1: And even now, no matter what I'm doing or where
Speaker 1: I am. I'd rather be on stage. And that's funny
Speaker 1: you say that, because I'd rather be in a classroom
Speaker 1: than sit in the office as a director of the
Speaker 1: business owner. I'd rather be in the classroom with my students,
Speaker 1: close my door, attend to the ten to twenty to
Speaker 1: thirty whoever, however many they want to give me.
Speaker 2: That that's my passion.
Speaker 1: And I understand when you say would you rather be,
Speaker 1: because we're doing what we gotta do, but we always
Speaker 1: have that inner passion where we know what we really
Speaker 1: want to do. And you may You also said you
Speaker 1: appeared in some of the TV commercials.
Speaker 2: What was that like?
Speaker 1: So I was very young when I did. I probably
Speaker 1: was about six or seven. Wow.
Speaker 2: Yeah, commercials?
Speaker 6: That it was?
Speaker 1: It got milk? Was it that one got milk?
Speaker 2: What was my commercial?
Speaker 1: Milk? I remember the crab band Aids commercial. I know
Speaker 1: I had a milk wine. Okay, I can't remember the script,
Speaker 1: but here at band Aid's I was a kid with
Speaker 1: a dog and the dog I was walking the dog
Speaker 1: and the dog ran and kind of scraped my knees
Speaker 1: up and I was talking about my boo boom. But
Speaker 1: it was such a such a long time ago. I
Speaker 1: can't really remember those socials. I don't like acting, though
Speaker 1: you don't know. I don't enjoy It's not something that
Speaker 1: I enjoyed. I teach acting, and so that's why I
Speaker 1: can't relate to what you said about your students, because
Speaker 1: what happens with the students my drama students, they make a.
Speaker 2: Mark, they put they have a mark.
Speaker 1: Students. I teach drama. Where do you teach drama? I
Speaker 1: teach drama at Western High School. I take drama at
Speaker 1: Weekway High School. I take drama at Eagle Academy. All
Speaker 1: these schools are in the city of New York. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I taught drama too. You ever thought about teaching drama
Speaker 1: to early child education because that is one area that
Speaker 1: has not yet tapped into my program.
Speaker 2: Really No, we do a lot of.
Speaker 1: Vocal vocal training production, but acting is something that you
Speaker 1: just gave me this like brainstorm of an idea. Because
Speaker 1: children start very young. You know that for a fact.
Speaker 1: That's how young you were when you started their baby
Speaker 1: infant commercials. What's wrong with doing acting early? That's something
Speaker 1: I would love for you to talk to you about. Okay,
Speaker 1: let's there's nothing wrong with that. You know, we have
Speaker 1: a we have a dynamic performing arts program and you
Speaker 1: need to.
Speaker 2: Come check it out because they act all day long. Yes, they.
Speaker 1: Have never worked with teaching children that young and teaching
Speaker 1: drama anyway. I've taught the Abcason one, two three is
Speaker 1: the children that young, but never any any drama. But
Speaker 1: I would I definitely want to go back and uh,
Speaker 1: because that just came in my spirit.
Speaker 2: That just came in my spirit during.
Speaker 1: Some of your moments where you can remember your memorable
Speaker 1: moments doing one of just to say, one of your
Speaker 1: live performances, is there anything about one live performance that
Speaker 1: you could say change you as an artist? Yes, my
Speaker 1: first play, I know on Somebody, the very first time
Speaker 1: that we did this play. Uh, it was.
Speaker 2: It was a really really.
Speaker 1: Bizarre journey for me because again I just I just
Speaker 1: started doing it. I didn't know anything about it, and
Speaker 1: I told her I'm the type of person who I
Speaker 1: believe I can do anything I want to do. So
Speaker 1: I knew I had a script and I knew I
Speaker 1: wanted to put to produce a stage play. So I
Speaker 1: just commenced to do and I hire these people. I
Speaker 1: had a director to you directed the director wanted to
Speaker 1: change the name of the play, wanted to change the thing,
Speaker 1: wanted to change the little boy to a little girl.
Speaker 1: And I said, you're gonna have to go write your
Speaker 1: own place. And I fired that director. I had another director,
Speaker 1: director wanted to change my theme song. You can't change
Speaker 1: my things. And then his direction it just wasn't a
Speaker 1: part of my vision. So I had to fire him.
Speaker 2: To get fired, get fired, everybody, get.
Speaker 1: Fired right right, you know? And I had to. It
Speaker 1: was necessary because they were not saying true to my vision.
Speaker 1: I do not work with people who don't believe in
Speaker 1: what I'm trying to do. I said, ooh, police, when
Speaker 1: what time said? I don't work with people who don't
Speaker 1: believe in what I'm trying to do. God, we got
Speaker 1: so much in common. Yeah, and that's true. It can't
Speaker 1: be a part of your vision. They're not for you, right.
Speaker 1: So what ended up happening is, after months of trying
Speaker 1: to put this show up, I came in one day
Speaker 1: and I told my cat, listen, I'm directing my own place.
Speaker 1: I don't know nothing about directing, but I'm gonna direct
Speaker 1: my own play.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: You want to know what happened?
Speaker 2: A thunderous applause.
Speaker 1: They were so excited that I decided to direct my
Speaker 1: own show. And what happened is they got behind me
Speaker 1: and they supported me and we just did it. We
Speaker 1: did it, and when I tell you, it was masterpiece is.
Speaker 1: And we got to the day of the show. The
Speaker 1: day of the show, Marlene, there was a gentleman who
Speaker 1: was playing the reverend. He was actually related to bat
Speaker 1: In the Bell was her cousin. Yes, he but he
Speaker 1: didn't wanted to learn his lines. So we're at tech
Speaker 1: rehearsal at Soapacked when Soapac had just opened up beautiful.
Speaker 1: So I spent a whole lot of money and he
Speaker 1: came up there not knowing his lines. And I didn't
Speaker 1: even realize. We had the microphones on and I said, sir,
Speaker 1: this isn't working out, and I fired him to everybody
Speaker 1: got right. And so now the cast is nervous because
Speaker 1: it's like, okay, she's tripping right now. But what they
Speaker 1: didn't know is I had an understudy for everybody. Nobody
Speaker 1: when I understudy, I called him and I said, you're
Speaker 1: up go upstairs and practice with your cast. They don't
Speaker 1: want to practice with him, right, I didn't have time
Speaker 1: to deal with that because props weren't there, so I
Speaker 1: had to get some props. Right. Everything was going crazy
Speaker 1: my first day and it got to the point where
Speaker 1: I just started crying. And one of the producers at
Speaker 1: SOAPAC came to me, one of the stage managers, and
Speaker 1: he said, why are you crying?
Speaker 2: I said, because the props are here. The lead man
Speaker 2: his suit.
Speaker 1: Isn't here at the show it's about to start, and
Speaker 1: I'm just not ready. And he said, listen to me,
Speaker 1: that curtains going to open a fifteen minutes to a
Speaker 1: sold out audience. Don't worry about those props, don't worry
Speaker 1: about that suit, Go run your show. And that changed
Speaker 1: me forever. See that it changed me forever, I don't know.
Speaker 1: And that gave me so much courage, the way that
Speaker 1: he was talking to me, and he said the show
Speaker 1: must go on, because that's essentially what he was saying.
Speaker 1: I did exactly what he said, and it was magic.
Speaker 1: It was magic. It was magic. After that, people were
Speaker 1: waiting in the lobby, still teary eyed, steer her crying
Speaker 1: and I'm like, why are y'all crying? What's going on?
Speaker 1: They're like, oh, because the show so good. One guy say,
Speaker 1: I'm crying because I know you. I'm crying because your
Speaker 1: show saved my marriage. I'm about to go talk to
Speaker 1: my husband. I'm going home. You know things like that,
Speaker 1: thingsut that. You got to bring that back up. Yes,
Speaker 1: I know. Somebody is a tremendous piece of work. It
Speaker 1: really is impactful, it's meaningful, it's powerful, and it inspires
Speaker 1: p Well.
Speaker 2: I do acting too, I do.
Speaker 1: Okay, so you got a great face.
Speaker 2: That's funny because I remember when the kids.
Speaker 1: Remember I was sharing before we went on live that
Speaker 1: we had a show and nothing work musically, the mic
Speaker 1: didn't work, nothing. We had no music, no sound, nothing.
Speaker 1: It's just like it was like a big sabotage in
Speaker 1: my mind, like who would do this? These are kids, right,
Speaker 1: And I had someone to say let them go. Actually
Speaker 1: was the children that showed me that they were ready
Speaker 1: without the music, because they performed a whole hour. They
Speaker 1: did that whole show without music because they were so
Speaker 1: well rehearsed they didn't need no music. And there are
Speaker 1: moments like that, and there will probably be even more moments.
Speaker 1: But you know how we improvise, We move on, and
Speaker 1: it's always a ram in the bush. There's always an
Speaker 1: angel that God would sin to just push you when
Speaker 1: the devil is trying to do so much.
Speaker 2: To change us. You understand that, and I know your faith.
Speaker 1: I know that because you always, even when you was
Speaker 1: a little girl, you always reminded me of me. You
Speaker 1: know you always, even though you like Willi Houston and
Speaker 1: Regina Bell and all of them, you was always like
Speaker 1: me because we always share. Even now during this interview,
Speaker 1: we're still sharing the same thoughts, we still have those
Speaker 1: same energy vibes that we know. You can't tell me no.
Speaker 2: I never accept no.
Speaker 1: I will get on the plane and fly to Alaska
Speaker 1: with some snow and sell it to the Eskimo, right, Okay,
Speaker 1: tell me.
Speaker 2: I can't tell me.
Speaker 1: So that's what you have to do these days. You
Speaker 1: have to stay focused. You're part of your vision. Everybody's
Speaker 1: not gonna be a part of your vision. Everybody's not
Speaker 1: gonna go with you.
Speaker 2: And like you said, you fire, you fight, you fight,
Speaker 2: those are the ones you fire.
Speaker 1: Okay. But one thing I will say about me and you,
Speaker 1: we know how to lead and we know how to
Speaker 1: step back and follow right. And I always say I
Speaker 1: always say to that Marlene it is great only good followers. Wow,
Speaker 1: make good leaders a good leader. If you weren't a
Speaker 1: good follow Oh my god, say it again. Good followers
Speaker 1: make good leaders. Can be a great follower if you're
Speaker 1: a leader. If you were not, you can't. And you
Speaker 1: know what to add to that. Sheevera always say, I
Speaker 1: love being at the podium, I love the mic. I
Speaker 1: love the mic. But I also can stand behind the
Speaker 1: scenes and be the one pulling the curtains, opening up
Speaker 1: the curtains and stuff like that. I can do that too.
Speaker 1: You also was active and in film although you don't
Speaker 1: like much acting. How does writing performance for the screen
Speaker 1: different from working on stage.
Speaker 2: As a major difference?
Speaker 1: And when you're teaching these techniques to the actors, right,
Speaker 1: because that's what I do.
Speaker 2: I teach you actors how to act.
Speaker 1: I teach them how to be on stage as well
Speaker 1: as in film. In theater, you have to use what
Speaker 1: we call your theater voice, right. You have to project,
Speaker 1: you have to be loud, and you can't be too
Speaker 1: big in theater. The difference in film is you don't
Speaker 1: want to act like that. You can't act like that
Speaker 1: in film because if I'm talking but saying the Lord film.
Speaker 1: It looks crazy that loud, right, But you have to
Speaker 1: do that on on on stage right, because the furthest
Speaker 1: audience member has to hear what you're saying. They have
Speaker 1: to film all the time. Sometimes you make up in
Speaker 1: theater too, But what if the mic isn't working right,
Speaker 1: You still have to be able to be heard by
Speaker 1: the furthest audience. So absolutely not unless the character called
Speaker 1: for that. But otherwise, and even then you still have
Speaker 1: to be big and timid. When with the film, however,
Speaker 1: it's the opposite. You want to use your inside always.
Speaker 1: You want to talk like this, and you want to
Speaker 1: give the the character as much character as you can,
Speaker 1: and it has.
Speaker 2: To be pleasant. It can be unpleasant.
Speaker 1: You have to be able to emote without even talking sometimes,
Speaker 1: so sometimes I'll tell my actors look at TV, turn
Speaker 1: down the volume and watch the film without the sound.
Speaker 2: Without the sound, Okay, you.
Speaker 1: Can see how actors act without even talking. Oh wow, language, wowye. Contact.
Speaker 1: All these things matter and film I'm gonna do that
Speaker 1: as well as theater. But in theater, whereas you do this,
Speaker 1: some subtle moving film is subtle. In theater it has
Speaker 1: to be more like this. You know, you can't do
Speaker 1: that because again the furthest order, the audience member has
Speaker 1: to see this. So instead of here like it would
Speaker 1: be a film, it's this, you know what I mean, dramatic,
Speaker 1: the trauma, the drama, drama. That's one of the major
Speaker 1: differences in theater and film. And it's easier in film
Speaker 1: because you can stop and start over and theater is live.
Speaker 2: You your one chance to get it right. But if
Speaker 2: you forget your lines, you can just make up stuff exactly.
Speaker 1: And one of the things I tell my actors is
Speaker 1: commit to your mistakes. Commit to your mistakes because guess what,
Speaker 1: they don't know the script.
Speaker 2: Uh huh.
Speaker 1: So whatever you do, you believe, believe it. So commit
Speaker 1: to your mistakes and commit all right, And and that's
Speaker 1: that's very interesting. I mean just the few seconds you
Speaker 1: just talked, that's a lot. That's a lot, and that's
Speaker 1: a lot for and I would just love for you
Speaker 1: to just come just do a test round with some
Speaker 1: five of course, yeah, we can do it.
Speaker 2: I will do that.
Speaker 1: They have a major talent show coming up this May
Speaker 1: and we didn't work on it, but you would have
Speaker 1: been so proud of those kids that you had to
Speaker 1: came to their tribute to Broadway. They did the Webs,
Speaker 1: they did Beauty and the Beast, they did the Temptations,
Speaker 1: they did Michael Jackson. And I'm telling you something. My
Speaker 1: productions is not a little tea pot. Sure you know,
Speaker 1: here's my hand. My kids don't roll like that. That
Speaker 1: are in the performing artists. They're actually singing and performing.
Speaker 1: She will they have to make up artists. Well, you
Speaker 1: said Michael Jackson, and you said the Temptations, So y'all
Speaker 1: know it's.
Speaker 2: Not you gotta come.
Speaker 1: You gotta come into one of the rehearsals. A producer
Speaker 1: by the name of Terrell from the group Fire. He
Speaker 1: comes in four days a week and work on their vocals.
Speaker 1: You know, I really would want you to check that out.
Speaker 1: It's it's a very good cause to remember. There are
Speaker 1: several locations where we could definitely have you come to
Speaker 1: look at my kids. You really are And while I'm there,
Speaker 1: I don't want to not say congratulations on twenty nine years.
Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you, thank you for your service because
Speaker 1: you are you are teaching, and you're you're you're helping
Speaker 1: this world to be a better place. When your work,
Speaker 1: the work that you do with these children, so thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you. She but and that's that's the vision,
Speaker 1: my vision. You just said it, because the foundation for
Speaker 1: them now is helping the world later as they grow up.
Speaker 1: They're getting some memories that they may not get or
Speaker 1: may not have gotten if it wasn't for one step ahead,
Speaker 1: or may not have this opportunity to do the things.
Speaker 1: One thing I do with those kids. But I stay
Speaker 1: focused on what I have to do for them. Okay,
Speaker 1: I don't we will, I don't wobble. I will not
Speaker 1: fall down when it comes to dealing with those children,
Speaker 1: not just so much with the performing arts, but academics
Speaker 1: and with the spiritual side, because I do believe that
Speaker 1: they can do all things through Christ who strengthen them.
Speaker 2: And that's what I teach them.
Speaker 1: That's what I teach them. That is so good, teaching
Speaker 1: them that at that early age. Are you let me
Speaker 1: ask you this, So, what are you currently doing now?
Speaker 1: You're working on any because you have your own original
Speaker 1: songs as well, Okay that I do know you. Are
Speaker 1: you doing any collaborations? Are are there any projects? I know?
Speaker 1: You're still traveling with the band, You're still doing your
Speaker 1: own solo things.
Speaker 2: You all over the place. You know, you don't stop.
Speaker 2: You don't because you just had to show Friday, right,
Speaker 2: So what's what's going on now?
Speaker 1: So the one thing that we're working on is Love Overboard,
Speaker 1: the Gladys Night tribute show. We are definitely developing that.
Speaker 1: I want to I want to take Love Overboard. I
Speaker 1: want I want to see Gladys Knight on Broadway. That's
Speaker 1: what I want to. Yes, you got to see the
Speaker 1: turn on bah Way. You have have, Michael Jackson. We've
Speaker 1: had the temptations. We need Gladys on Broadway. And I
Speaker 1: want to be the one to tell that story because
Speaker 1: I know when you say tell that story, do you
Speaker 1: want to be the one to perform for be Gladys
Speaker 1: or you want the actually Gladys on stage or do
Speaker 1: you want to play that role?
Speaker 2: Right now?
Speaker 1: I do play the role, and I can see myself
Speaker 1: doing that. But I don't have a problem with taking
Speaker 1: the back seat and allowing someone else to do it
Speaker 1: as long as I write the script and I can
Speaker 1: guess wow.
Speaker 2: But Love Overboard is my show.
Speaker 1: I created it. It is the Gladys Knight story, and
Speaker 1: I would love to see it on Broadway.
Speaker 2: And what came up, what made you come up with
Speaker 2: love overboard.
Speaker 1: Love Overboard is just I don't know, I just love
Speaker 1: the way it sounds love. She has a song called
Speaker 1: love Overboard. Okay, it does, but I like that because,
Speaker 1: you know, because I just I am love I am
Speaker 1: and so just the one love and love overboard. It
Speaker 1: just sounds like a whole lot of love.
Speaker 2: And that's what the show Love Overboard makes you feel.
Speaker 1: When I when I tell you, when I'm I'm up
Speaker 1: there performing as Gladys Knight, the audience, the whole room
Speaker 1: is full, you love.
Speaker 2: You just feel the.
Speaker 1: Love, and it's just like a it's like a domino
Speaker 1: effect just going across the whole entire room. Even to
Speaker 1: me while I'm singing it, I'm full. I get full
Speaker 1: doing that show. And so I just I don't know
Speaker 1: why I chose the name of Love Overboard, but that's
Speaker 1: part of it. I would love and it's work. But
Speaker 1: the reason I decided to do what a gladys Ary
Speaker 1: tribute show is because someone had approached me to do it.
Speaker 1: I never thought to do it. Someone approached me to
Speaker 1: do it, and we were going to go and ask
Speaker 1: producers together, but we had a lot of creative differences
Speaker 1: and so it just didn't work out. But by the
Speaker 1: time we realized that I had already cast the show
Speaker 1: and this person was just dragging her feet, dragging our feet.
Speaker 1: And I had this one boy who played one of
Speaker 1: the pips. He said to me, you know, when I
Speaker 1: saw the call for this and I realized that this
Speaker 1: was a Gladys Knight tribute show, I felt like God
Speaker 1: had answered one of my prayers because when I was
Speaker 1: a little boy, I always always want to be a pip.
Speaker 1: So you did a cast?
Speaker 2: Oh wow, said I always wanted to be.
Speaker 1: And I always wanted to be a pip. So when
Speaker 1: I got this call, I felt like God was answering
Speaker 1: my prayer. And so I was like, I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: disappoint this man. This young man is gonna be a
Speaker 1: pip because that's what he wants to do. And when
Speaker 1: this collaboration wasn't happening, it just wasn't happening, I just
Speaker 1: took it over. I took her over because that's what
Speaker 1: I do. I said, you're not going to help me,
Speaker 1: It's gonna get done it. And you know that's see,
Speaker 1: that's why I love you so much, because you remind
Speaker 1: me of me especially in your work ethics and your
Speaker 1: your training of thoughts. You're not gonna stop me, No,
Speaker 1: you you just because you don't want to see it
Speaker 1: go or you don't want to see it successful.
Speaker 2: You're just you right.
Speaker 1: There's so many people God has given us with favor,
Speaker 1: and you have favor on your life. I have faivor
Speaker 1: on my life. So what's gonna get done? Because there
Speaker 1: were a lot of people that thought gay it was
Speaker 1: not gonna open. You know, it started in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: It's only been really open by a year and a
Speaker 1: half now, but guess what it opened. And that's where
Speaker 1: I learned dealing down there with all those men who's
Speaker 1: telling me no, no, no, it can't be done. And
Speaker 1: I kept saying, watch me. Even when I had to
Speaker 1: walk in that room by myself and negotiate my least,
Speaker 1: I knew that I had got with me, you know,
Speaker 1: So I would walk in there because I know what
Speaker 1: I wanted.
Speaker 2: I know about the industry. I'm not gonna tell you
Speaker 2: how to run.
Speaker 1: A post office or Verizon, IBM, AT and T, none
Speaker 1: of those. But I will tell you how to run
Speaker 1: a childcare s, you know. And that's what I told
Speaker 1: them and I got everything that I wanted and it's
Speaker 1: up and running because I decided to say yes, you're
Speaker 1: not gonna tell me no. So you said no, I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna go to somebody else. And this is what
Speaker 1: I tell my staff, and they will quote this to you.
Speaker 1: Miss Marlene said, if age don't work, there's twenty six
Speaker 1: letters in the alphabet, go to being. If you got
Speaker 1: to use all twenty six and n be successful. But
Speaker 1: don't let one option stop you for going on with
Speaker 1: your vision. And I said, every show, look at you,
Speaker 1: how you journal, how you put it down. You did
Speaker 1: not leave those thoughts on your pillow. You took them
Speaker 1: and you implement, and you put it on paper and
Speaker 1: you put it to work.
Speaker 2: And that's what a lot of people do.
Speaker 1: They don't implement their visions, they don't implement their dreams.
Speaker 1: They get stagnated. They take others opinions. And sometimes that's
Speaker 1: the worst thing you can do. It's solicit other people's
Speaker 1: opinion when you already know what God told you exactly
Speaker 1: and to exactly. Just be obedient. And one of the
Speaker 1: things that I think writers do, since you're talking about
Speaker 1: writing and what our journal is what I learned writing
Speaker 1: that way is the key to writing, and the key
Speaker 1: to writing for all your writers out there, came remember
Speaker 1: is head on, all your writers out there, the key
Speaker 1: to writing is simply to write. Just write. Don't worry
Speaker 1: about formatting, don't worry about the subject verb agreement, don't
Speaker 1: worry about sentence fragments, don't worry about any of that.
Speaker 1: Just write, write, tell your story. If you keep focusing
Speaker 1: on the proper grammar, you're not going to get the
Speaker 1: story out. And your story needs to be heard, So
Speaker 1: just write right right, and then once your story is
Speaker 1: on paper complete, then you go back and worry about
Speaker 1: all that stuff or hire an editor to do best
Speaker 1: stuff for you.
Speaker 2: But just write. The key to writing is to write.
Speaker 1: And that's for all you writers out of there that
Speaker 1: got journals under your bed and your trunk and your
Speaker 1: pillow and your draw to start getting it out and
Speaker 1: continue to write. Don't let your dream die, you know, don't.
Speaker 1: Because one thing I used to say to doctor love
Speaker 1: I am my writers. Look at the mind. The mind
Speaker 1: is so beautiful, and if you see something awesome, you're like,
Speaker 1: who thought? It's being full? It's beautiful and full. You
Speaker 1: know who's who thought? Because writers are dynamic people. Can
Speaker 1: you imagine what's going on in their mind? That's why
Speaker 1: you gotta get it down. I get it. That's why
Speaker 1: I'm saying it. It's full, you know. And people don't
Speaker 1: understand when I say that my mind is full, Like
Speaker 1: I don't have a lot of movie for nonsense. I don't,
Speaker 1: but you never was about nonsense there, But there are,
Speaker 1: there are communities of people, There are these things that
Speaker 1: live in my head that might sound crazy, but it's not.
Speaker 1: It's not. I'm trying to get this out. This is
Speaker 1: a story. I created a whole world card I know
Speaker 1: on somebody in my head. I'm dealing with this right now.
Speaker 1: I have time for your drama, nonsen. I don't have
Speaker 1: time for nance. But but you you sort of put
Speaker 1: me in mind of your mom, because mom is no nonsense.
Speaker 2: And even when you were a young teenager, you.
Speaker 1: Was very mature, and even to this day I know
Speaker 1: dealing with you, you're not for the nonsense, not at all.
Speaker 1: And you've always been straightforward. And that's why our friendship
Speaker 1: and you as my adopted god daughter, I'm your second mom.
Speaker 1: All that has worked because real recognize real. Okay, real
Speaker 1: recognize real, and when you're in a relationship, whether it's
Speaker 1: personal or friendship, if you be who you are, it
Speaker 1: will last a lifetime.
Speaker 2: But if you have that mask on and you're perpetrate,
Speaker 2: you can't do that. This motive is his an agenda.
Speaker 2: You can't you can't. You can't hide it.
Speaker 1: You cannot hide it. You may go for three months
Speaker 1: or a year, but you're real, it's gonna come out
Speaker 1: because you're gonna get so tired of living behind that mask.
Speaker 2: So that's why I like to be me. I like
Speaker 2: to be me.
Speaker 1: And one thing I've always said to everybody, and I
Speaker 1: mainly say this to my parents. I deal with so
Speaker 1: many people on a daily basis, from the staff to
Speaker 1: the children to the parents. When you start telling this one,
Speaker 1: this one, and this one that and it's none of
Speaker 1: that is true. You got to remember.
Speaker 2: Who you said what too. And if you don't remember,
Speaker 2: now you're a liar.
Speaker 1: So what I do is I focus on remembering the
Speaker 1: truth and telling the truth because guess what sheiva. If
Speaker 1: I tell the truth on my it's going to be
Speaker 1: the truth one exactly, you know. So it's important to
Speaker 1: have your mindset to a point where you see things
Speaker 1: in mind, you see it in time, and I think
Speaker 1: that's what writers do. They see it and they put
Speaker 1: it on paper and eventually they see it actually come
Speaker 1: to life. And I think that is so beautiful. Just
Speaker 1: like architectures, the way they create these buildings. They got
Speaker 1: to see it. That's why I say, when you get
Speaker 1: it up here, no one can take it from you.
Speaker 1: First of all, the mind is so beautiful, you know.
Speaker 1: But talking a little bit about behind the scenes, walk
Speaker 1: us through your creative process. Okay, are you the type
Speaker 1: who writes late and night or are you the type
Speaker 1: where ideas come to you in the middle of the
Speaker 1: day or is it just when you're quiet moments or
Speaker 1: is it just spur of the moments moments. The ideas
Speaker 1: come to me whenever, and as they do, I'll stop
Speaker 1: and put it in my note or I'll stop and
Speaker 1: just say it on my voice nose, if I hand
Speaker 1: type it, whatever it is. But writing again, the stories
Speaker 1: they come to me when they come. I don't know
Speaker 1: when they're going to come to me, but when they do,
Speaker 1: I start journaling.
Speaker 2: I just start writing.
Speaker 1: I'm not the onless, you know what I do write
Speaker 1: things to do? I do things to do, list no
Speaker 1: kind of like do it daily. I've gotten a little
Speaker 1: more tech kind of like put it in my list
Speaker 1: on my phone.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: And one thing I like about that if I put
Speaker 1: fifteen things that I have to do, it only do three.
Speaker 1: I feel like I accomplished something, even though it's still
Speaker 1: a lot left. Right. I carry that over the next day,
Speaker 1: but I could see the accomplishment. I could see my agenda,
Speaker 1: my things to do list getting done. At one point,
Speaker 1: I try to do spoken words, you know, I try.
Speaker 2: I'm stick with.
Speaker 1: Child care, and Mom told you stick with there's something
Speaker 1: else that you have created. I had the pleasure of
Speaker 1: being there on yesterday, and there's no way I could
Speaker 1: come on this show and talk about where I was
Speaker 1: yesterday without actually going there myself. And I had the
Speaker 1: pleasure for all these years of meeting your daughter. And
Speaker 1: you know what, she made my day because she kept saying,
Speaker 1: she madyet feel like I was rich and famous and
Speaker 1: just a millionaires. She was like, ah, I know you,
Speaker 1: I know that name.
Speaker 2: I've heard Marlee. I've heard it for years.
Speaker 1: And I'm like, why, she said, my mother, and she said,
Speaker 1: I finally get to put the face to the name.
Speaker 2: So I went to your restaurant.
Speaker 1: Now tell us about this restaurant because I got a
Speaker 1: review when you finished.
Speaker 2: I have my review because I ordered off to the menu.
Speaker 1: Okay, and miss as you know how I can give reviews. Okay,
Speaker 1: So let's go. The name of the name of the
Speaker 1: restaurant is More Flavor Restaurant and Catering, and More Flavor
Speaker 1: is really a play on my daughter's name. Her name
Speaker 1: is Mariah and people call her Mo, so that's why
Speaker 1: you know the flavor and then of course more Flavor.
Speaker 1: That means we're located at seventy three Clinton Place in Newark,
Speaker 1: New Jersey. A wonderful, wonderful community to be in because
Speaker 1: the people they really really support us and each other
Speaker 1: and in that location, so we we we have a wonderful,
Speaker 1: wonderful location. And the food. Her slogan, as you can see,
Speaker 1: is it's all good. And that is because it's all good.
Speaker 1: It's all good. Mariah is a real chef. She paid
Speaker 1: her own way through culinary school. I don't know what
Speaker 1: she got the money room, and she did to the
Speaker 1: tune of about twenty seven thousand dollars. She paid for
Speaker 1: her paid her own way through culinary school.
Speaker 2: When she came to check. I had no idea this
Speaker 2: was a passion of hers.
Speaker 1: My daughter was a star athlete. She's a basketball player, okay,
Speaker 1: and that's what I knew. But when I told her,
Speaker 1: you know, she was living with me, and I said, baby,
Speaker 1: you gotta go figure it out now, right in your
Speaker 1: late twenties, it's time to figure out what it is
Speaker 1: that you want to do. And that was a hard
Speaker 1: thing to do because I showed her a bit of self.
Speaker 2: Love and I kind of kicked her out and she
Speaker 2: at her.
Speaker 1: She did not she did not receive that well, because
Speaker 1: my daughter is she's not a daddy's girl.
Speaker 2: She's a mama's girl.
Speaker 1: Okay. She is very close and very very attached to me,
Speaker 1: and so when I did that, she felt like it
Speaker 1: was a betrayal. But she went out there and she
Speaker 1: made her way. And here we are today in her
Speaker 1: very own restaurant, Most Flavor.
Speaker 2: And let me tell yall something. It is more Flavor.
Speaker 1: It is definitely as she said, it's seventy three Clinton Place.
Speaker 1: When she said Clinton Place, I knew exactly where it
Speaker 1: was because I went to Clinton Place Junior High School,
Speaker 1: so I know exactly where it was. And I went
Speaker 1: there so because I knew you was coming. I said,
Speaker 1: I can't talk about this restaurant and I will take
Speaker 1: my greenie, but they just go get something to eat.
Speaker 2: And I ordered a lot. I ordered the catfish.
Speaker 1: I ordered the or the mac and cheese, the macaroni
Speaker 1: and cheese. I ordered the pot roads, I ordered the cabbage.
Speaker 1: I had dessert. I had tea, I had the macaroni salad.
Speaker 1: I had ordered everything. So thought it was something that
Speaker 1: I had so much food.
Speaker 2: I had cakes. I had cakes.
Speaker 1: And let me tell you something. I keep it real,
Speaker 1: you know, and I would be like, see, y'all need
Speaker 1: to go back and maybe work on it. This didn't
Speaker 1: taste good. I can't say that. Oh good, I can't
Speaker 1: say that. I cannot say that, and I mean it
Speaker 1: from the bottom of heart. Y'all need to go to
Speaker 1: seventy three Clinton Place and check this sister out.
Speaker 2: Check out Sheba. She was just brought me a home.
Speaker 2: I can't show you nothing.
Speaker 1: But it's out there in the office, a homemade people
Speaker 1: take the poet. She brought it just for me, and
Speaker 1: I'm gonna either before Thanksgiving. But let me tell y'all something.
Speaker 2: Go there. They have great hours. They're clothes on Mondays.
Speaker 2: They're open eight.
Speaker 1: To six on Tuesday, Saturday, nine to six on Sundays,
Speaker 1: and they clothes on Monday.
Speaker 2: The food is absolutely and let me have that.
Speaker 1: And it's made with love. You know. We have a
Speaker 1: lot of love and that's our customer service. That's what
Speaker 1: we do when we treat people with the love that
Speaker 1: they deserve. This the pie, you know, And I'm going
Speaker 1: to enjoy this tonight when I get home and relax,
Speaker 1: I can watch some football.
Speaker 2: I hope that Dallas Cowboys will winning right about now.
Speaker 1: I don't know, but Sheba, I want you to sing
Speaker 1: again for us. Sing again.
Speaker 2: We're gonna close it out with you singing. We got
Speaker 2: five minutes. Yes, let's do. I want to hear, y'all
Speaker 2: want to hear. You never know, you never know who's share.
Speaker 1: But don't forget to check out Most Flavor Restaurant and
Speaker 1: catering again.
Speaker 2: That seventy three Clinton Place. That's how catering restaurant.
Speaker 1: That food is delicious, from the catfish to the whities,
Speaker 1: to the macaroni cheese, to the collar greens, to the cabbage,
Speaker 1: to the stream beers to they Okay.
Speaker 2: They were so good. Please go there.
Speaker 1: I went there so that I could tell y'all go there,
Speaker 1: support each other, support my friends, support my daughter, support
Speaker 1: my sister.
Speaker 2: And let me tell you something else.
Speaker 1: It's absolutely beautiful inside. It was clean, it was smell good.
Speaker 1: It was welcome, and the customer service was through the roof.
Speaker 1: Thank you, you are welcome. I loved it. I love you, Marlene.
Speaker 2: I love you too, just like.
Speaker 1: Two three minutes. Okay, well we'll give minute, okay, go aha, alcapella, okay,
Speaker 1: I I will do all the time. Hold together. In
Speaker 1: the worst condition forever we knew it would be one
Speaker 1: of and hazard grow into this no.
Speaker 2: Job.
Speaker 1: We both mad sure peace of heaven. Would we stand
Speaker 1: in it? Test for its strength was made able.
Speaker 3: Faith in roll and gone will be, and all.
Speaker 1: To make an even stroll.
Speaker 4: True will never die, long after the love is lost
Speaker 4: and shine.
Speaker 1: And after it's all died and borne and the nooness
Speaker 1: all where's off? Will still be love it? Oh my goodness,
Speaker 1: oh my goodness. We have been raised with Sheba real quick,
Speaker 1: she but raptified questions right now your face to place, right,
Speaker 1: Oh j and Roe, you would love to play again
Speaker 1: night to your coffee when writing fresh maid lemon tea honey,
Speaker 1: your go to so and before performance, okay, one word
Speaker 1: that describe your journey so far? Aw and who you love?
Speaker 1: I love you and I love you and you guys
Speaker 1: know what ye'ah. I have been watching the One Step
Speaker 1: Ahead radio show hosted by me, doctor Marlen Mack. I
Speaker 1: am just so full. I'm trying not to cry because
Speaker 1: this is my girl right here. When she call I'm
Speaker 1: running when I call, she running. And this is somebody
Speaker 1: that we don't see every day. But you just have
Speaker 1: that friend that you know is there for you. That's Sheba.
Speaker 1: You interested in meeting her and hearing her perform. More importantly,
Speaker 1: go check out that restaurant. I'm telling you it's dining
Speaker 1: and you can sit there and you can eat there
Speaker 1: as well. And the food was piping hot, understand, just
Speaker 1: like this young lady right here, who's piping hot. Remember
Speaker 1: if one step ahead, allow you to go for it,
Speaker 1: but life want to take you back. Remember it's one
Speaker 1: step ahead.
Speaker 2: Just keep on.
Speaker 1: Going, keep on moving, don't give up. And remember we'll
Speaker 1: be back here next Sunday. We're gonna close out my
Speaker 1: twenty ninth anniversary twenty nine years and we're gonna have
Speaker 1: a big party in here next week. She was celebrated
Speaker 1: twenty nine years and I just thank God for the journey.
Speaker 1: So stay tuned, come back, Thank you for listening. Checking
Speaker 1: in the One Step Ahead radio show on Sosradio dot Live.
Speaker 1: I am your host about the side off. We'll see
Speaker 1: you next Sunday at five point thirty.
Speaker 2: Looping Looping
Speaker 1: Tect