The Questlove Show - Questlove Supreme: WILLOW

Episode Date: May 29, 2024

While the world may have been introduced to her as Willow Smith, the artist now known as WILLOW is actively transforming into her most authentic self. In a one-on-one, in-studio interview with Questlove, WILLOW describes the growth in her music, the drive in her spirit, and the key parts of the journey along the way. This interview celebrates WILLOW's new album "empathogen" and surrounds it with wisdom about creativity, fame, and perception.  Photograph by Christian GermosoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 2%. That's the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%. I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange, modern world. Put yourself through some hardships and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person.

Listen to 2%. That's TWO percent on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Questlove Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. Okay, this is not going to be awkward, is it? No. Well, let me let our listeners know. This is one of those rarity one-on-one sessions. I actually often in the group chat say that we should do more one-on-one sessions

because it allows us to deep dive without having to have. having five people kind of attack you from each angle, us fighting to get our questions in. So, of course, ladies and gentlemen, this is Questlove Supreme. I'm your host, Questlove. Shout out to the fam, Sugar Steve, Fonticillo, Unpaid Bill, Lai. When people often say, you know, I don't have any regrets in life, no regrets whatsoever. I might have a slight regret. Oh, my goodness.

I would say my slight regret is that it took. me five decades to reach a point of, and I'll say this with, air quotes, enlightenment. And even that's questionable. Would you say musical enlightenment? No, life enlightenment. Oh, okay. And often dream and fantasize, like, what my life would have been had the mind state I've reached now in my fifth decade of life. like what would it happen to me if I had this power well I've always had the power but I just never

turned the light on if I had this at say in my early 30s or even my early 40s and you know I dream about like how magical my life could have been if my like self-confidence or my creative process or my spiritual grounding all those things or just the overall philosophy of just dealing with things that we deal with every day. 100% people pleasing and all those things. Yes. And that's just me wondering about like

if I were in my 30s and 40s. And, you know, I'm giving the honor of talking to a human. Secretly in my mind, I say pleading. Yes. I love that. Yeah, but you know, you're of the age I was

when I first got in this industry. When my first album came out, I was 23 years old. And it took me three decades to finally get grounded. Like, my life is just starting now in my early 50s. And so, you know, I'm only wondering, like, what will your life be like in 2054 when you are in your 50s? 2054 doesn't even sound real. That sounds like a...

I'm gonna tell you something. So when I started in 92, and maybe because, you know, when you're a 12-year-old and Prince releases his fifth album, 1999, and you're 12, just even looking at the album cover, 1999 seemed like the future. Like it seemed like, you know, whatever I thought... Distant.

Yeah, like... And now, you know, I often joke that Now when I think of 1999, I just think of like the matching denim that Justin and Brittany wore on the MTV. Totally. Carpet. And so, no, 2050 Ford is, you know, that's when you'll be in your 50s. And I just wonder, like, what that's going to be like. I'm absolutely gobsmacked at our guests' rapid growth in songwriting and her singing, her song arrangements, her musicianship, her abilities to pick the.

you write collaborators. And most importantly, her willingness to be vulnerable kind of on a public stage, which is really, really truly hard, I think, for black people often don't allow emotions or feelings into their lives. That's true. There's often a penalty. Or we say that there's a penalty for it. There has been.

There has been. So whenever I see someone even removed. going there to do that because I'm also noticing that if we don't allow, be it dark emotions or light emotions, if we don't allow that stuff to process, then that's the quickest way to winding up being an obituary because you, you know, you died of whatever. Trying to escape those feelings. Exactly. Yeah.

And so I really applaud that. So our guest today is giving me the honor of a conversation in helping her celebrate the release of her excellent new album and pathogen. Not to mention your new novel, Black Shield Maiden. What can I say? I'm talking to Willa Smith. Willow, professionally known as Willow. How are you?

I'm so good. I'm honored to be here. All right. So for me, album releases are like giving birth. Yes. And as a person who's been holding on to his 18th child for 10 years now, you know, Tarika and I had a conversation of like, okay, we cannot let an 11th year go by and not release this record. Yes.

What is the feeling when you let it go into the public? Talk to me about 24 hours before. What's the thoughts in your head? The thoughts in my head are, oh my goodness, I've been talking myself up this hill and it's going to come out and no one's going to think it's special. And I'm going to be sitting there going, oh, shouldn't have trusted myself that time. That's the dark end of it. Oh, so you thought there's going to be yet another tree that falls in the forest that no one's just people shrug? I was hoping in the depths of my heart that it wasn't going to be because I really put my heart and soul into this and crafted it in a way that I felt like it deserves.

a little bit of recognition even. But no, those are the dark thoughts that go through your mind. But then there's this feeling of excitement like, oh, my goodness. Like, what if it really is as special as I really think it is? And so those two sides are kind of warring with one another. Yeah, I'm going to explain to you how I let your art into my life. Because it was the most unlikely. I mean, yes, I've always been aware that you existed.

Yeah. I'm a guy that takes in everything. but I think when you take it and everything, you don't sit with it. And so it takes a lot for me to sit with it past the purchase date. Yeah. Like I'll listen to each record and not the obligatory, like, okay, I'll give it a 30-second test next on, 30-second test next on.

Like, I'll sit with an album or so. And there's some artists that are so amazing that I actually see their artwork at, okay, so of course, to give full context. Totally. We are speaking, let's say, a week after the, what I'm calling the unfortunate sparring rounds of Drake and Kendrick Lamar. And of course, you know, hip hop is one of those things in which, you know, it's, you know, it's almost like prayer. If two more are gathered, then, you know, it's going to be a conversation about it.

And I told a friend of mine, I said, you know, I love Kendrick's work, but I see Kendrick's work. It's so almost so overwhelming that I take it in like a movie. Like, I love Raging Bull by Scorsese. There's so much information. Right. Yeah. I've seen Raging Bull like seven times. Totally.

I've listened to Thriller probably 300,000 times. And it's almost like what Kendricks. The whole album. Yeah. But with Kendricks work, he doesn't release the kind of music that, like, I'll just put it on the background and, you know. Yeah, no. You got to listen. You got to look and stare at the speaker.

Yeah. And especially with this latest around. of work. Like, I found myself on YouTube, like, slowing the pace down to the slowest to, you know, to absorb it. That's the one thing I love about old school rap. You can hear what they're saying. Or my mind's just getting older. No, no. No, I feel the same way. No, but I feel like your generation is way more advanced than my generation, as it should be. It's evolution, as it should be. I'm tempted to be, like, advanced in, like, what? ways because I would be the one to say that, like, you being like, let me slow this down so I can

listen to it. Like, to me, that feels like, oh, no, we're just getting so fast, fast, fast that the idea, like, our minds are we like chipmunks. You know what I'm saying? Like, we're getting to where it's like, ah, like, what are we even saying? I was really shocked at how blatant and direct you are with your messaging. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, the second you said the word feelings, I stopped. And I was like, wait, black people never. We never talk about feelings. Yeah. We avoid feelings at all.

At all costs. Right. And then I, and then when you went to the bridge about I had big problems and kept repeating it, I was like, way, I have problems too. Yes. Wait. Is she singing about me? Like literally. Big feelings is, I used to call it an anti-pop song, but I legitimately feel like it's actually a pop song.

Like, it's crazy. It is. So George Clinton once explained the magic of Funkadelic songs. Great examples. Not Just Knee Deep, where Not Just Knee Deep is like a 10-minute song on their album and which there's about maybe 17 micro courses. Totally. All courses, not verses.

And it sticks to you. And thus it's like, okay, well, this part, well, yeah, Dayla Soul used that for me, myself and I. And Snoop used that for this. But then, like, just the small messaging, it's almost like you get to pick which part of the song you like. Yes. So that to me is the smartest way of even though it might be boxed up in what might seem like a very complex. It's gift-wrapped in a very complex wrapping.

But it's simple. Exactly. And that to me is also the magic of you're doing something I haven't seen since the days of Prince. The idea of Prince is that, oh, he was this really complex musician. No, no, no, no. He made three-tier work. Exactly. He gave something for the mathletes and the nerds in the back.

Yes. And he had something that even five-year-olds could file. 100%. And somewhere in between. So you do that. So what I want to know is I have reason to believe that your evolution journey starts the day. And, you know, disclosure, yes, I've read your dad's been more twice. Totally, totally, yep.

I've read it twice. Wow. And so when he talks about the haircut. Yeah. In that moment, my first thing was like, wow, like what young teenager has that much? I wasn't even a teenager yet. Well, you were 11 and 12? Yeah, I was like, wow, that's serious.

Like, where a person has that much conviction to know. I just knew in my heart of heart, I was like, I'm not the whip my hair girl. Like, I am the whip my hair girl, but like I'm not, though. And I was so deathly afraid. Like, in my heart of heart, I was terrified. First of all, what was the process of what? Look, as a person with this hair, like, for me, that's like my life, my superpower. But I often wonder, like, what would have to happen if I were to, like, is that a new life for me?

Because, you know, Lenny Krav is, like, everyone's done it. I mean, in the Rastafarian tradition, they say that, like, your hair carries, like, so much energy, it is your power. Right. But I think that they say it's your power, so they don't cut their hair off. They're like, no, we're going to keep it. but with your power comes so many years of like, you have to work for that power, and that power comes with pain.

That power comes with, like, a sense of, like, whatever you had to go through to gain that power is in your hair. And so for me, I was like, I want to shed this pain that I've experienced. I want to shed this. And, you know, in my weird, like, preteen mind, I'm like, also kind of want to piss my parents off a little bit. But you knew that at 11? I didn't know that at 11, but my heart was like, my heart knew that.

My mind was like, oh, I feel uncomfortable, and the only way that I can express this uncomfortability is through doing this. But I look back and I'm like, no, like, I knew, I was just, I was terrified. I knew I was not this person. I knew I was not this person. Amazing. So did you know that you were going to wind up being this person? I didn't.

That's the part. That's the part that's really funny to me. me. I really didn't, but I hoped and I prayed. I remember I might have been like, might have been like 12 or 13 years old. And I remember just breaking down into tears one day and being like, am I ever going to be a real musician? Like I know that like I sing songs and stuff, but like I don't feel like a real musician. So that must mean that I'm not. And I legitimately had a whole moment where I was like, oh my gosh, like, I don't want to, I don't want to be in this middle ground anymore. Like, I want to be, I want to be a real musician. And then I started

playing the guitar at 14, which is late. To me, that's late. And that was me starting my journey of like, no, I'm not just a singer or a person who just like writes songs sometimes. Like, I want to create myself. I want to create this journey of musicianship. 2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%. I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more, to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry.

We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's T-W-O-Persent on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So at 14, you had zero knowledge of how to handle this? If somebody played me on the piano, like a major third interval, I wouldn't be able to tell them that it was a major third interval. So like in my mind, I'm like, that's like, okay, like, are you really a musician or like you just like making songs?

So we will say that the pandemic started, well, like March of 2020. Let's go to like July 2020. What's your morning routine? Like the world still stopped. I assume that you, I mean, I know my world stopped. Yeah. I assume that even for all of us who are stopped. Yes.

So what's your morning routine? Because it wasn't until my guitar player said, yo, man, you follow Willa on Instagram? So your guitar player brought me to you. Dog. Wow. The top musicians. That's amazing.

The top musicians. He said, yo, you follow Willa on IG? And I said, yeah, I think I am. He's like, dude. Like, her advanced. Wow. Now, here's the thing. There's a period between 2003 and, like, 2015.

Yeah, I feel that. Where I was eye-rolling every hip, like, there's a point where, like, okay, Andre's doing prototype on the BET T-boards. With the guitar, not knowing how to play guitar, but it looked cool. Yes. And then Wayne came on stage, and then guitar, not guitar, but it looked cool. Even Jay-Z had a moment where he had the headline, you know, he had the whole. ordeal with Oasis about him headlining the thing and he started

his show doing a Wonderwall with a guitar in his hand and so suddenly I was just like okay now we're just in the age where a guitar is an accessory but people don't know how to play it but let me tell you something don't just real quick before you continue the guitar is also

a symbol a lot of people I feel like you're vibing with the aspect of like a lot of people use it performatively not like oh I can actually play this instrument, it's like, oh, da-da-da-da. Like, I'm holding a guitar. That's cool. Right. But I look at it in the sense of, like, underneath all that, people know that the guitar has

always been a symbol of the culture. The guitar has always been a symbol of, like, I am stepping out and speaking on something of the culture. And the guitar has always been the driving force of that, you know. And I personally, when I see things like that, I'm like, wow, they are recognizing and they want to use the guitar as a symbol, not necessarily as an instrument. Right. Which.

Whatever I represent? You know what I'm saying? Okay. You know, it's like a... You're a black-ass full person. You know. Pre-2020, I was very dark, cynical. I feel that.

And, you know, I'm changed now. But back then... So when he said that, instantly, I was like, all right. She's just holding it. Another guitar. Yeah. And he's like, no, dog. Like, I'm serious.

Yeah. And I'm like, well... The fact that it was your... Right. So that's the thing. And I was like, wait, you see in her play, he's like, dog, she's kind of killing it. Wow. That's a word? And, you know, sometimes the algorithms might not have you see a person. 100%. And I went there and I was just like, oh, snap. When did I miss this? When did I miss this? And so how did that process? Soop the nuts. Okay. So I started playing the guitar at 14. And I personally was like, oh my goodness, like, I had tried to play the piano before, like when I was younger. I had tried other instruments and they never really stuck. And I've kind of felt like, man, like, I kind of felt a little bit of failure energy. Like I was like, damn, like I missed it. And so then I missed my opportunity. And then I was like, you know what, Willow, stop, get out of that mindset. Like, just play every day. Just play every day. And, you know, I went through, I had a moment where I was doing like classical. guitar nylon string. Like I had a moment where I was doing flamenco guitar. I went through a whole bunch of different phases that nobody really saw because I was just trying to find it. I was like, what is like, how do I want to play the guitar? What do I want to do? And, you know, I feel like. Well, let me ask. When you decided, okay, this is going to be a part of my life, you know, because you also have to see something, visualize it or whatever. Yeah.

What were you visualizing in terms of like your mastery of this thing? Back before I ever was like obsessed with jazz or ever like really was like listening to stuff, I would do an exercise before I ever had a guitar teacher, whatever, where I would try to sing. I would sing a melody and I would try to play that melody. Right. So I would sing a melody and I would try to play it or I would try to be like, I'm thinking of a note in my head and I'm singing it.

Can I play the melody as I'm singing it? Can I play it as I'm singing it? Which, you know, now that I see, like, I see a lot of beautiful jazz musicians who do, like, fully improvised things where they're just, like, scatting, but they're following each line with their guitar. And even before any of this, that was my idea of mastery. So I would, I sat down and I was like,

I'm trying to sing these things, I'm trying to play it. And weirdly enough, it's like, from that seed, you know, it's just pick it up every day, bro. I'm honestly like... How many hours a day? So, I want to say like a year ago, I started practicing the most I've ever practiced in my whole life. So I would wake up in the morning, I would do yoga,

I would come back home and I would practice for at least three hours. At least three hours, at least. Okay. Which, you know, to some of my friends are like three hours, like that's nothing. For me, I'm like, after the third hour, My mind starts to like, I can't. People say, you know, you practice smart.

Don't practice like, you have to practice smart. Like not just sitting there doing scales. It's like, no, let's practice for what we really want to be able to do. We want to practice for the music. We want to be able to create. Not just like, oh, people say I should play scales. So let me play scales. Who do you like practicing to?

So there's this app. It's called I Real Pro, and it has a bunch of stuff from the real book. It has like random, like, MIDI. recreations of things in the real book. And so they give you all the chords. They give you the key or whatever. And I just play that. And I'll just like play along to these like jazz standards, basically.

For our listeners out there, there are two kind of bibles in the world of jazz. There's the real book and there's also the fake book. I'm part of the fake book generation. So in general, if you are a supper club musician or just in general, you know, it's almost like you have to know all the books of the Bible and all the verses. So if you are a jazz musician, you have a real book on you and basically has all the standards, from all of me to Autumn leaves, to like basically, you know, I'm familiar with the piano version, which is basically just chord changes.

Yeah, yeah, totally. But there's a real or a fake book for a guitarist as well. No, no, no, no. I'm just going off of the real book, like the keys and the different, like, chord changes, and I'm just improvising on the guitar through those changes. So you even have to teach yourself how to read. So no. So the really cool thing about this app is that there's no actual notation.

It'll just be like D sharp or like it'll give you like this, like when it changes. Do you see what I'm saying? Like it will actually say like D sharp like A flat, da da, da, da, all this stuff. And so I'm sitting there and I'm like, okay, A flat, let me find my, let me find my shapes. They're playing the court and you have to found. Yeah, I'm trying to find the lines through the changes. Like if it's changing keys, you know what I'm saying? I'm not asking you as an interviewer.

I'm asking you almost for inspiration. Yeah. Oh, that's how I should do it. No, totally. Totally. Like just playing through the changes. And I'm not, my mind doesn't work in the way of like, oh, like now I'm in this key, now I'm in this key.

Like I'm, my ear, I just go off of ear, usually. But I've been trying to like get that strength of like, no, no, no, no. I know what key this song is in. You didn't even have to. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm trying to get my ear right. I'm trying to get my improvisational skills right. Like, oh, let's say I go and play with Questlove in his band one day.

Right. I don't want to be sitting there going, oh, guys, what, hear me it? Do you see what I'm saying? You just feel and you know where we are. Yes. I want to be able to be like, ah, okay, I hear that rhythm. I know it's in seven. Ah, okay, I hear that chord progression.

It's going to the five. It's going to the four. It's going to the, you see what I'm saying? So that's what I'm trying, right now, that's what I'm trying to learn how to do. I think you did it. There's always more to learn. Oh, no, you're always learning. You're always expanding.

What is your morning routine? So my morning routine when I'm on my path. When you're on your path. All right, give me the good version. Yeah. Today, I got to admit this week, I've never, since the pandemic, I've been like rigorous with, you know, the affirmations, the meditation, the breathing.

Yes, yes. I've let three days go by and I didn't do that. Right, and now I'm already in my head like, ah, man, I didn't do my stretching and my breathing or my affirmations, but. That's why I had that sciatica, bro, because I usually wake up every morning I do yoga, hot yoga for an hour. Okay. So I do a hot yoga for an hour. Then I come back, then I come back home. And if I'm working, I pretty much only get to practice like two hours.

Like if I have to work, like if I go to yoga, 7 a.m. get back to that. So you go somewhere to go to yoga? Yes, yes. Okay. So 7 a.m. I do my hour. Come back home. By 9, I'm practicing.

By 11, I'm, like, getting ready to, like, leave the house. Okay. You see what I'm saying? And so then if I have my day, I did it, whatever. I have six animals. So I come back home. I'm trying to. You have a menagerie.

I know. I know. I have three dogs, three cats. And they like each other? They love each other. It's nuts. So I'll go do my day. I'll go to our day working, working, whatever.

Come home, got to take care of the animals. It's a whole thing. You see what I'm saying? Hopefully I'll be able to get an hour of reading it at some point. And you swear by this app that this is... I wouldn't say I swear by this app, but I would say that it helps to be like, oh, that's what it sounds like when the one changes to the five.

That's what it sounds like when the da-da-da-da-da. Like instead of just seeing it as like mathematics on a page or seeing it like a concept, it's like, oh, wait, no, that's what it's. sounds like, you know what I'm saying? So do they guarantee that you will... They don't. I just use it as a specific tool.

I don't even think people actually... I think people just use it to like, oh, I'm going to play this song at a jazz club later tonight. Let me shed to it or something. I think people just use it like that. Explain to me the Elefits Dural Obsesson. Okay. So I pretty much, during coping mechanism, so that was my last album.

Yeah. I made friends with a really amazing music. His name is Chris Grady. And the way that he was, I've always been a harmony addict. So like whenever I start a song, I'm like, oh, harmonies and I just never end. I'm like, okay, I need to stop. So he had that same thing, but while he was going through it, he was explaining to me like, these, this is like the layers of the harmonies.

Like he was explaining to me music theory from a point of view that I had never heard it before. Do you see what I'm saying? So before I met him, I was like, oh, this sounds good. I'm gonna layer this. This also sounds good. I'll layer this. I'm not thinking like, oh, that's the sharp four. That's the major third. And how are you meeting your community? So I'm very, very grateful, you know, I opened up my heart and I was like, please God, I was like,

I had not lost some friendships, but had some rocky roads and, you know, friends that I had had from a young age that I kind of felt like we're not really growing together. You know, so that was really painful for me. And I remember being like, oh, I'm opening my heart and I'm like, God, please allow people into my life that are going to inspire me and lead me towards the person that I actually want to be. So I made, I was like, I'm being intentional with this. And I legitimately feel like the universe was like, you shed some leaves. Here are some people in your life to like uplift you a little bit. That's my biggest fear.

Well, you know, and why is that your biggest fear? What? See, it's weird to do this episode. because usually the other four will chime in and, you know, like kind of whip me in this shape. But the way that I've structured, okay, so this is what I realized. Yeah. If you don't know much about me, you know, my main addiction was working, workaholic. Yeah.

And if a person is a workaholic, it prevents them from dealing with life or whatever it was in the rear of view mirror. Totally. Totally. Too busy. And thus, as a result, you know, relationships I have might fall apart after a year and a half. Totally. Are we having kids or not?

Are we getting married? Yeah. I got to work on this project. No, I feel you. So thus, you know, at one time during a session, I was told to, you know, like, well, name your friends. Yeah. And I named them.

And, you know, my person was like, well, aren't they on your payroll? And I was like, yeah, but, you know, like, they're my best friends, and we go to basketball games together, whatever. And so then when I had to list people who are not on payroll, who are my friends. But you're working with, you're with them all the time. Like, I get it. I get that. Yeah, but then the other side of that coin is that once they leave, then I have zero contact with it once or so it. So it is a professional relationship.

Yeah, totally. you're paying for it. Yeah. So, you know, I'll say that for the last two years, I've been struggling to find, like, friends whom I have no professional ties with. That's the struggle of my life. That's the struggle of a lot of artists' lives that I remember I used to go to my mom and I'd be like, am I just too weird?

Like, am I like, what is I? I've always been so driven. Right. And I've always had such vision. And you're saying like, oh, you're seeing it as like a workaholic thing. And it can definitely turn into that. And it does turn into that. But we're people who have a vision.

And we're people who really maybe too much care about that vision and making it come to fruition. And even so much so that we might be like, this stuff over here. No, no, no, no. I'm intoxicated by the vision. So I get that part of it But I would go to my mom and be like And she would always tell me You're going to find your tribe

You're going to find your tribe How do you avoid the trappings Of what People outside of your dome or your world Would see as an easily Like you know As far as what we know of Anyone raised anywhere near Hollywood

Or that sort of thing Like it's almost like a one-way ticket To the same filtered path. To the same unhappiness and disillusion. But here's the thing. I don't want to be judgmental

to say like, well, obviously that person is unhappy, whatever. It's like they are what they are, but like you could easily just like, okay, and who knows? You might come up with a sneaker line one day or whatever. I mean, I'm not being reluctant. I might come out with a sneaker line or go to rehab.

Who knows? The world's my oyster. But you know what I'm talking about. I do. Like, for you to, to have not fallen down the same path that I've seen everyone your age go down. Totally. That's miracle enough. Yeah.

So it's, but almost feels though you didn't necessarily had to hit a rock. But based on your lyrics also, I'm like, okay, there might have been a rock bottom point that we don't not privy. People who have watched the Red Table Talk know things. Right. Exactly. But what I will say is we all experienced. darkness. I've experienced crazy darkness in my life, but that darkness has informed, weirdly enough, informed and inspired my, like, just like my love for life in such a weird

way. Like, when you really sit in that loneliness and you really sit in that, like, Pema Chodran, she's a Buddhist monk. She calls it being on the edge of a needle. Like you're a beetle on the edge of a needle. And if you move and you move, you're going to impale yourself. See what I'm saying? You're like, oh my God, this stings. I'm about to die.

And then you're like, ah, you impale yourself. You know what I'm saying? But if you can just be still, and it's painful. You know, you're on the tip of a needle. But if you can be still, you won't impale yourself. You know what I'm saying.

Okay, so what I've learned about feelings, coming back to feelings again, is oftentimes when the dark feelings come through, What I've learned about emotions is, I mean, some people say 37 emotions, some people say 280 emotions. Yeah, totally. When we get to those dark places, suddenly this is uncomfortable. Yeah. What makes me happy.

Yeah. And let me get to happy. Happy is the good feeling. Exactly. But I maybe learned two years ago that you even have to let dark emotions process. Man. And how do you get? to that place where you're comfortable.

Weirdly enough. I'm just, I'm a year into this. Self-soothing is actually a good thing. Self-medicating. You see what I'm saying? Self-soothing is actually what we're all trying to learn. Self-soothing is, I personally believe, one of the important hallmarks of adulthood.

Because, you know, when we're still, and shit, I'm a fucking child. I'm talking shit. But when we're still in that mindset of like, we're born and we need our parents, you see what I'm saying? And throughout our whole life, we're trying to gain our parents' attention, their love, you know, because deep in our evolutionary biology, deep in our minds and our hearts,

we are wired, we see our parents and we go, you give me life, like you sustain me. not just with the laughs and the cuddles, but you feed me. Like if I'm not with you, I die. You see what I'm saying? And so as life goes on, you know, you have a boss or you have your, or you have your, you know, your partner. And you're like, well, how am I going to get love from them? How am I going to get attention from them?

You see what I'm saying? And I feel like very few humans ever get to the point to where we realize, like, oh my goodness. Like, it's not about me trying to push myself in all these different shes. and to stretch myself into all these ways so that these people will love me or these people will validate me. It's about me really just loving them and loving myself. But getting to that place, I mean, no one gets to that place. You know what I'm saying?

I'm not at that place. I'm talking from a position of reading a million fucking self-help books and just wishing and hoping every single day. You know what I'm saying? So for you, it's a daily struggle to... Oh, my goodness. Are you kidding me? Great, I don't feel so alone now.

Oh my gosh. The darkness be chokehold, bro. Like, it's crazy. 2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more,

to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's T-W-O-P-P-Cent on the I-Hart Radio. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm working on a project right now.

I'm going to tell the story of Sly Stone. Yes. Here's the thing, though. Sly Stone is, in my opinion, the first post-Civil Rights figure. Yep. Which basically means that his level of celebrity is slightly different than, say, Ray Charles or Chuck Berry or. or Chuck Berry or James Brown. Whereas like, okay, if you're famous in the 50s,

yeah, James Brown cannot eat in the same supper club that he can perform it. Yeah, totally, yeah. And it's not like, okay, in 1968, everything was right with the world. We still do it with bullshit every day. However, Sly is the first black celebrity of his caliber that kind of gets draped in a kind of, zero fucks given level of celebrity.

Totally. Basically gets what we think we want. You know, when we think of what a celebrity, what is being famous, what's being rich, what's being popular. Like, he gets the dream. Totally. And depending on who you ask, and it's almost like I'm wondering if I wound up doing this documentary for me instead of for sly, depending on who you ask when it comes to

his fifth album. He'll release an album, there's a riot going on, in which I'm still sticking, no matter what he says or anyone is camp or any of the experts I interviewed, I still feel as though there's a ride going on

is one of the most painful 41 minutes to listen to you. Because, whereas you're very transparent in all of your work and you're, not just this album with all your records. But there's a level of pain and vulnerability there that I think people are generally blinded by simply because on the other side of that coin, he's such a genius.

Yes. Like essentially, right, in my opinion, is his 27 club injury, even though he's still alive. Totally. He's still live at 81. Okay. Yeah. No, I feel you. I get it.

But it's someone falling on their sword. And it's a self-sabotage. Yeah, totally. So essentially, I have a thing. theory that black success is just as traumatic as failure because there's oftentimes in which when something really good happens to me. Totally. Suddenly I feel guilty about it because I start thinking about all the other people.

Who you're going to alienate, who won't talk to you anymore because like, oh, you're too important to talk to me. Or it's a more isolated loneliness. culturally speaking, you're always feeling like, well, am I doing too much? Am I selling out? Totally. Missing my connection with where I started.

Yeah. And what I started to notice was, you know, because people would often ask me about, like, my modern peers now. Totally. Why does blah, blah, blah, wait 10 years between records? Why does da-da-da-da-da-da always show up late?

Why does da-da-da-da-a always go to jail? Totally. Why is everyone dying before 60? Yeah. Why, like, why do we start addictions and all these things? How do you deal with, especially now? Which I'm assuming that you've had an outpouring of love. Out the gate.

We didn't even talk about with my hair. Like, the fact that out the gate, you got this love. But I almost feel like the love you're getting now for this record, which is why, you know, I'm always telling you, like, I'm so, like, I'm only telling you, like, 3% of the excitement. I feel about this record. Totally. Because what I don't want to do

is make it so overwhelming that now when you start to go to another direction, you're in your head about, well, damn, people really loved me when I was... I had that experience with coping mechanism. I felt the energy of people being like, oh, well, people love you doing rock music. People love you in this area. And I did have a moment where I was like,

well, do I just make another rock album? Because it seems like people really liked that. but in my heart of hearts I don't know I don't know I'm just super connected with my gut feeling and my gut feeling has led me through my entire life and I hope that I can

stay connected enough to it for it to lead me till I'm no longer here but my gut feeling was just like you can't make another rock album bro like you just can't do it like do you feel like you're speed dating to find like what's my fit

or who knows what you'll feel... I think that I have been experimenting with so many different kinds of music and gaining so many different tools to continue to make so many different kinds of music and continue to gain so many different tools. I think my favorite musicians are the ones who do whatever the fuck they want and who do it well.

Right. With like a scalpel. Like do whatever the fuck you want, but do it with like the most trained scalpel in the world. And that's what I'm going for. That's what I'm going for. Okay.

I'm going to try a new twist on an old question. Please. Okay. House on fire. Okay. All right. Well, you live in L.A. anyway.

I know. So that's pretty... You can think about that. Okay. So you've saved your menagerie. Yes. You can only save five records from your collection.

I'm going to ask 23 of you that question and then I'm going to ask 13 year old you that question as well So 23 years old Which five albums are you saving from your record collection? Okay Purple Rain

That's gonna be That's gonna be number one That's your go-to prince record? That's gonna be number one for me Or sign of the times Okay, okay, okay, no no no Let me not get it out I'm gonna put both of them in there

I'm gonna put Purple Rain and sign of the Times in there. So there's two in there. Okay. I'm going to put DeAngelo. I'm going to put DeAngelo in there. I'm going to put voodoo in there. Which one, though?

I'm going to put DeAngelo voodoo. I'm going to put, I'm going to put Goldfrapp, Felt Mountain. Word. Okay. How is that four already? You're up to four. And then I'm going to put, that one hiatus coyote album. First one?

Moot, Valiant. Yes. That's the one. That's the one, mood valiant. Okay. Yeah, so that's my 23-year-old. Okay. One.

Oh, man, 13. Well, I feel like you were even musically advanced at 13, so I might push this back to, like, nine. Oh, my gosh. Nine? Come on, man. We all have those records. I used to really love this artist named Lenka. Lanka.

She was really cool. She had a song. Weirdly enough, I think the song was called Like a Song. Ha. Lanka. Yeah, Lanka. Lanka. The song was literally called

Like a Song, which is so weird. So we have Lanka. Imogen. I mean, I actually didn't get into Imogen Heap until much later. Hold on.

Nine, nine. Man, when I was nine, I was listening to some Lady Gaga, bro. I can't even lie, dude. Hey, man. Steph is a friend of the show. You know, you know.

I was listening to some lady Gaga. Nine. Lanka. At this time, I also was getting into a ballet. So I was listening to a lot of classical music during this time as well. So when you're practicing ballet,

that's all you listen to is classical music. Wow, 9, 9. I wish I could look at me. Can I look at my phone? Yes, you can go look at your phone. Okay, because I'm like, I still have music on my phone when I was 9. Yeah, you can't throw away your history.

Yeah, like music on my phone from when I was nine, that's nuts. Ooh, wait, my mom got me into the cocto twins. Nice. Yeah, my mom got me into the cocto. Yes, I love that song. My mom got me into the cocto twins? Yes, my mom loves the cocto twins. All right.

Yeah, she got me. Yeah, she got me. My mom actually gave me, like, my musical taste from like nine to like 15s. like all my mom, honestly, which is kind of insane. You know what's weird? What? And this is very controversial, but I'm going to say it anyway. Hit me.

Eminem was like one of my favorite musicians when I was like nine. It's not controversial? Yeah. I love, like I literally had like my heart like, I was like, he's special. Like nine years old, I'm like, this guy's special. I don't know how many that was. You kind of went over. Yeah, I went over it.

I'm sorry. All right. So I see. Wait, I never told you how I wound up discovering you by accident. I don't think so, yeah. You know, I work at 30, right. Now, I've been there for 16 years. Wow.

So. That's amazing. Back in 2009, I still felt like I was a part of the fabric of the world, not like, whatever. I'm supposed to be now, like, the beginning stages of the sage elder. Like, I don't want to be that guy, but it's like. But you are that guy, though. It's beautiful. Come on.

You're a sage. Okay. You are. Thank you. But, you know, there was a time period where I started getting fatigue, and I have two occupations that don't allow that. Yeah. Being at the Tonight Show, I'm always asked, hey, man, what do you think about that-da-da-da?

Hey, what do you think about dirty projectors? Hey, what do you think about that-da-da-da-da? I love the dirty projectors. Right. And so it keeps you sharp. And then as a DJ, now, yes, there's sometimes where I put myself in positions of which I'm allowed to play what I feel. But then there's the once in a blue moon time where I actually have to like catch up to society.

Yeah. I got to play the role. And the thing is, is that oftentimes my interns, and even now, like my, my people that work with me now, you know, they're in their 20s, they're 30s. So they keep me sharp as in to who's who and what's what. And so I think this is right when Olivia Rodriguez-Rodrigo was starting to pop. And I heard one song and my old guy, grumpy, cynical stance wasn't there. Yeah. And I was like, oh, that song's not bad. Totally. And then one of the interns was like, well, yeah, because the producer she works with is like kind of your age. Yeah.

Like I heard a lot of reference, like MTV rock references in there. And I was like, oh, okay. So that's why her music sounds like, it sounded wise. And I was like, there's no way that someone her age knows this reference and stuff. So I get home and I put my speaker on. And I was like, all right, let me see what else she has in her catalog that I might gravitate towards. So I was listening, listening, listening, listening. And I'm the kind of person that when I'm still, no matter what,

Yeah, I feel you. Instantly asleep. The thing is, the music's blasting. Yeah. And so I was sitting there all right. And at 509 a.m. I heard something. Yeah.

I said, damn. Olivia and Rob Rico is kind of incredible. Yeah. It's amazing-ass shit. And but the thing was, I was such. I mean, this is beyond the alpha and the beta state of sleep. Like, sometimes I actually have the ability to sleep and over my eyes but still be asleep. Totally.

Occasionally, like, my eyes will open, but I can't move. Yeah. I don't know how to describe it. Like, I'm still asleep, but somehow my eyes are active. Totally. And I realized that I was sleeping on top of my iPhone. Yeah. And I felt the heat thing in the back, but it was such a deep sleep that I couldn't move it.

Totally. So I fell asleep again And then at around like Maybe 6.37 a.m. Another song Came on. I was like, yo. And this time I got up,

I looked. That Willow Smith? Yeah. Wait a minute. I got up at maybe 8 in the morning. Totally. Entirely in the gym, I went through your whole

catalog. Wow. And this leads back to the whole friend thing. I was like, yo, how come no one put me on to this? Totally. Like, what the fuck? And then I called Kirk. I was like, dude, you remember what you told me about Willow?

Yeah. I said, she was always hitting like this. And Kurt was like, yo, I was trying to tell you. Wow. And I was like, dude, how come you? I said, wait, Kurt, how do you know about this? And Kirk's like, Amir, I got kids. Totally.

My kids put me on the, I felt like, you know, I get mad when something's so dope and no one puts me on to it. I feel you. I feel you. You're like, where have I been? Right. And literally, it's like I was aware, but I never. But not really aware. I never deep that.

Yeah. Like, to me, a mark of a true artist is when they're filler. Totally. Not the songs, you know, this is beyond. This is not, oh, wait a minute, came on Olivia Rodriguez-Ra-Rigo radio. Like, they, I know you said you're anti-technology. So when you're on Spotify, when an album is done, then they'll automatically put you on on whatever artist you chose, their radio station.

Yeah, totally. Of which then they'll start playing their music, maybe two of their songs, and then someone that's adjacent to her. Yeah, totally. But then they run out of that, and whoever the next artist is under her. Totally.

So then, apparently in my sleep, I just heard two hours of your music without knowing it. Yeah, totally. Sorry, Olivia. Look, I thought you had those amazing chord changes, but it wasn't. And so... We love everyone.

Right, right. And so I spent like maybe four days just like asking people like, I went to our bookers. Totally. How come this is not on the show? Literally, I just went on a mission. And that's how I was able to discover. I love that. Like, I love that so much.

So for you, what is, because I know that this level of magic that's happening for you right now. It's new. But I feel like this is a result of a manifestation. ask or something. Oh, no, it is. It's a result of manifestation and just, just not meet,

just no giving up, dude. Just like, I put out albums and, you know, I, my second album, it was like orchestral. There were a lot of, like, cellos and stuff.

Yeah. And that was the first album that I actually played guitar on. This is the first? This is the first. Okay, good. Yeah. The first as in the title.

The title, yeah, I know. You and your titles, man. I wanted it. I want it. I'm not even to go into that. I'm just a fucking weirdo. But, so that was the first album I actually played guitar on. And, yeah, I don't know.

Like, I just feel like every time I've been challenging myself, challenging myself, challenging myself. And I make it a point, like, every album, I want to be able to do something I never was able to do before. Okay. And so I feel like, you know, my sixth album, I'm like, I just grew up a little bit. Like, you know, my tools. have kind of, I know where they are. I know I have a little bit of a more of a mind to know how to use them, you know what I'm saying?

Just getting acquainted with the tools that I've been that I've been just trying to gather, you know what I'm saying? All your collaborators, from Dev to Tyler to and on, how do you choose them? And like, what's the process at the top of a project when you're creating this stuff? I never go before I make an album like, oh, I want these people on it. I always have to make...

Jack Antonoff said something really, really insightful. He said, whenever you're making an album, there's always that song that's the door into your album. It's like, think of your album as a house, and you want to bring people inside. Like, what song is that open door bringing people inside of this house? That is your album. And I never like to think about features until I have that.

song that is like this is the entryway into empathogen. This is the entry way into coping mechanism. And once I have that song, then I'm like who embodies like who embodies the feeling at this entrance?

You know what I'm saying? Like who embodies that's why having John Battiste on the first song of Empathogen he's like, ah! I love everything. Right, the first voice on the record. Literally of everything, I was like, dude, Do you know how amazing an honor it is for you to be the first voice of what I feel is her arrival to the light place?

Yeah. Like of all the honor that he's gotten in the last. I know. Like forget his Oscars. Forget all that. Literally. The fact that he gets to red carpet and be the first voice of your new arrival. And that's him being himself.

Like him just being, oh, I love everything. That's so him. Yes. And I felt like, oh, my goodness, like, what a perfect entryway into this house that I have created. How do you decide? Because even with your album titles, does it come first or does it come last? Because, like, how do you decide what the overall theme is as far as your album titles? There's usually a theme, like, for my first album, Art Apithicus.

That's the scientific, like, artipithecus ramidus is like a scientific word for the first hominid bones that scientists found that were standing upright. And so for me, nerd, nerd, nerd, nerd. I know. I know. That's when it screams. It just screams nerd because I am a nerd. But in my head, I was like, the title always comes first. And in my head, I was like, this is my first album.

It's going to be a part of an evolution. Like I saw, I was like, this is the first step on my evolution. a musician and artopithecus ramidus being like it's not quite human yet you know what I'm saying but we're but we're almost you know what I'm saying we're almost and we're getting there you know what I'm saying and so each album I am like okay I know the feeling in my heart that I want this to express and what this means to me like coping mechanism I was so depressed through the entire recording of that album I would like all the escapisms I was trying to escape You know what I'm saying?

But yet you let us in when you're that vulnerable. How hard is that? Because a lot of the artists I know hide in plain sight. Totally. The first time I ever heard of this term, Barry Gordia was the only one not impressed. Totally. With Marvin Gay's mastery of multiple tracking. Yeah.

And I don't know if you know this story, I've got to give it up. But he actually made a bet with Marvin Gay. He says, look, I'll give you. a $100,000 check. If you can give me one song when you're not trying to hide behind all your background vocals and you just sing one lead

and it has to be clear words that we know. Totally. He said, if you could do that for five minutes and that song goes to number one, I'll give you this $100,000 check. So Marvin Gay did got to give it up. Wow.

And sure enough, like right after the five-minute mark, suddenly all the background vocals came in. Exactly. Exactly. But when I went back to listen, I was like, oh, okay, Marvin Gaye hides in plain sight where he's hiding behind all of his background vocals and you can't make it out and what's he saying and all that stuff. Because you're very clear on your intentions and on sharing what you go through. Like, what was the decision to be that honest? I never really thought there was any other way. I feel like being a kid and being like,

I don't want to be the kind of, like, I don't want to be a pop star. I don't want to have people pitching me songs and writing me songs and have other people producing them and then I just show up and da-da-da-da-da. Like, I don't want to do that. That whole realization was a part of me being like, this is not vulnerable. I'm trying to get to the most, I'm trying to get to the top of that vulnerability hill.

You see what I'm saying? So that whole thing for me, me going away from that way of doing things, was also me searching for a way to be more vulnerable. And I've never really gotten off that path. I just knew that the artists that I love, the artists that make me feel like life is worth living, they don't hold anything back. And they really tell you how it is.

And I've always wanted to be one of those artists. I never, that was never an option in my mind to like play it safe. Did you fear that we wouldn't receive it because we might- It has not been received many times. It hasn't been received well, you know what I'm saying? Wait, timeout. You read your press or you read your whatever, reviews? I don't, but when you're on social media and you just put out an album or people are talking or whatever

and you just get a vibe from your peers, you get a vibe from, you know what I'm saying? And there have been many times from like, ah, that just didn't hit. Like, that's okay. You know what I'm saying? Like, that one didn't quite land, you know. Oh, wow. And that's okay. 2%.

That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health. health and fitness experts, and more, to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong.

Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's T-W-O-P-Sent on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What is your biggest fear in life? Not reaching my potential. Do you visualize what your potential is?

I do. What is your dream then? That's a big question. You're so vulnerable right now. You can share it. Nothing's too silly. Nothing's silly. What is my dream?

I want to be like. a shaman who brings people closer to themselves, but I want to be a shaman through music. Yes. You see what I'm saying? Like the interconnectedness, like the science and also the spiritual aspect of it and have it integrate completely.

I thought you were going to give me the nerd alert, nerd alert, but it's true because I am a nerd, but I also... Yeah, like since... I've talked about this on the show. Like, yeah, before 2020, I was hiding in plain sight, running from my shadow, raised in a very strict religious, like anything outside of, like, my next project. I can't announce it yet, but we started. My next project is going to deal a lot with metaphysical living. Yes.

And my goal is, if I have a dream, my dream is just. to pry people away from what they've been taught. Totally. In terms of spirituality, the R word. Yeah. And letting go the R word and letting more metaphysical spirituality in. That is so beautiful. Which, I mean, it's a lofty goal, but it's going to be hard because if you know us, you know that safety.

Safety is our homeboy. And rather like, you know, that idea of what we relate, you know, raised it as far as religion is concerned is that. So, yeah, no, no, no. Expanding the scope of what it means to be a black person, like, you know, what it means to be a black person connected to God. You know what I'm saying? That whole aspect is like there's so much room to expand that. Yes. There's so much room to expand that.

No, I did my first journey like, I mean, 2017. Wow. And so I was like, yeah, I want to be a shaman. Totally. But it's also like, well, I got to be this guy too. So how do I work my way into that? So I'm glad you said that. At least with you, I'm like, okay, I'm not crazy.

No. Being a shaman is like being a monk or a shaman. That's what I always say. Being a shaman, yes, that's my thing. Okay, you say you were anti. technology but I wouldn't say anti-technology I would say I just television I do what do you binge what do I binge I really love that one show blown away where they blow glass that's all they do they blow glass and they like

make these insane glass sculptures okay where do I find this yeah Netflix okay yeah blown away yeah I thought you're gonna say like the Gaia channel or something like that no it's like art it's super artistic but I wouldn't say I wouldn't say I wouldn't say I mean, blowing glass can be spiritual. It's a script to show, or is it a... No, people just go and they're artists and they blow glass and they compete. Wow. Lown away.

Like, yeah, it's called Blown Away. See, the business guy in me is also like trying to figure out what that pitch meeting was like. Literally, yeah. Like, okay, here's the deal. It's beautiful. We're going to do glass torch and... All right, blowing away. No, it's fly, yeah.

What is your all-time favorite cereal? Cinnamon. Cinnamon toast crunch. Really? Me and my brothers would down some cinnamon toast crunch back of the day. Love. Yeah. Okay.

Well, as a person that's always displayed her talents on her social media, I think there's anything left. What secret talent do you have that we don't know about? Listening. That's a talent? Yeah. Okay. Some people don't do it well. Most people don't do it well.

Facts. Okay. You're right. What is your go-to order at Starbucks? Oh, yeah, hybiscous, the iced, hibiscus something tea. The red tea? Yes.

Yeah, I like that. Right. I'm new to Starbucks world. I've avoided tea and coffee for the longest. No, I feel you. As of lately, I've been. It's just so sugary. Yes, exactly.

Yeah. What is the one conception of you that most of us get wrong, that you would like to correct. That I am somehow exempt from feeling deeply because I have privilege. That's real. That's real. That's another part of this sly thing.

Like, we often think that once you get to safety, oh, there's money. That's actually when the problem starts. Yeah, totally. That's when the, again, I don't know what the one to ten level, of what your reaction was to the pandemic. You know, I went through like maybe three weeks of like,

balled up in the corner. Totally. Feetal position, like level panic. Totally. And then, you know, that's when suddenly you get, you know, Amir, you need to learn what meditation is and all that stuff. Yes. So there was a period, even though, yes, 2020 was somewhat of a horrible year

because also on my side of the fence, like the amount of people are lost, Yeah. A lot of amount of people in the hospital, like, you know, Amir, can you help us out with da-da-da? So, like, just the weight of my world and my family. Carrying your community, trying to, try to. Right. It was hard. But I think for the first time this year, I started, like, looking at 2020, like, ah, the good old days. Which, I don't know.

Yeah, like, how is that happening? So, like, now that we're in 2024, like, how do you look at? 2020. Like, was it the good old days or was it like never again? 2020 was dark. 2020 was dark. Okay. 2020, 2021, 2022. It was dark. Okay.

But I will say the thing that really kept me present, this is going to sound weird. But if I didn't have so many animals, I probably would have been way more dissociated and not grounded in reality because you got six animals looking at you like, I need this, I need this, I need this all the time. 100%. And so that kept me always so in the present moment.

Are the dogs the same breed at least? No. They're all different. One's this big. One's like, it's a lot. Jackie Marlantito, Michael, Randy, and Germain. I'm starting putting them to work. Where their names?

So the cats are Lola, Tubbs, and Aria. Okay. And the dogs are Abby, Corn, and Rocky. And Rocky's the big one, the big German Shepherd. Abby and corn are tainy. Okay. Last three questions. When's the last time you cried?

Huh. A little bit this morning. Okay. Yeah. I cry every day. That's amazing. Yeah, I cry every day. Oh, damn.

One of my biggest shames was, like, doing one therapy session, and they asked, like, when's the last time you cried? And I was like this decade. Ha, wow, really? And they were like, whoa. They were like, you basically said that you haven't taken a piss in a decade. Is that what you're saying? And I was like, well, you know, maybe five years ago in my boy's funeral, I think I cried.

It's so good to God. Pre-20, 320, me. Wow, that's amazing. I wish I had that. That hyper-emotionality. Sometimes I'm like, stop, stop. No, I got to get to your level. I got to do that.

At least your emotions are running. Moving. We got it, yeah. All right, what's your favorite word? Recently, I've been saying voracious a lot. Okay. For future Scrabble games. Veracious.

No, like, I just love, like, I'm a voracious reader. Like, I love. Like, it's like, you're so into it. You're so, like, consumed by it. Last question. You're in your 70s. You have the luxury to retire. And let's just say the Earth is still here.

Oh, man. I hope so. Yeah, flip a coin, yeah. Where are the three cities that if you did not have to work a day in your life ever again, would you just want to be and exist? What three cities? I feel like I'd be down to pass away, live the rest of my days in, like, Oregon. Or?

Portland? Yeah. What do you know about Portland? I love Portland. Like, I love Oregon. Like, I literally road trip down there all the time just, like, for nothing. Or India. Doug, Portland until the kind of fuckery of 2020 that happened,

Portland was my number one city ever. Because they have more used record stores. Totally. Their food truck game was amazing. So good, bro. Wow, I thought it was the only one that wrote, like, Portland and Austin were always, like, my two favorite. Yeah. The vibe is just so there.

Like, I don't know. Look, I cannot say this enough. I've been, as a guy who's been constantly. grumpy of like just dealing with life well no not dealing with life as a person who's married to music like I've been in show business with like since the age of five yeah and you know there's a point where suddenly I didn't like music anymore and then I became indifferent and then I just had no hope for the future whatsoever I want to thank you for just allowing yourself the space to be this artist. Like, I needed to see it. You know, because sometimes we often feel like we're alone. Totally. And I was looking ahead for a leader and, you know, maybe I had to realize that, well, you ever think that one day that a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, A black woman, three decades, your junior might be the leader that you're looking for.

And I'm just, and I don't think it's by accident of discovering your music and all those things. Like, I want to thank you for allowing yourself the space to grow. And I know that if other people see it, it makes them feel that they can do it too. Yes. And maybe this is the paradigm shift I've been hoping for. Oh, my God. You're going to make me cry. Yes.

On behalf. Thank you so much. On behalf of my QLS fam, shout out to Chick-Steeve and Bill and Laiia, Fon Tigolo, Jake, and Britt. Thank you very much, Willis Smith. This was an overdue conversation. Oh, come on now. I'm sorry.

Tell me a joke. All right, we'll end on this. Tell me a joke. I can't. I'm just so grateful for you. Thank you so much for this. Oh, my goodness. You're welcome.

Thank you so much. All right. Goodbye, people. Wow. That was awesome. That was amazing. Thank you for listening to Questlove Supreme. This podcast is hosted by Amir Questlove Thompson,

Laia St. Clair, Fonte Coleman, Sugar, Steve, Mandel, and myself, unpaid Bill Sherman. The executive producers are Mir Just walked into the goddamn room, Thompson, Sean G, and Brian Calhoun. Produced by Brittany Benjamin, Jake Payne, and Laia Sinclair, edited by Alex Conroy. I know Alex Conroy. Produced for IHeart by Noel Brown.

West Love Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. For more podcasts from IHeart Radio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 2%. That's the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator. Available. I'm Michael Easter. I'm on my podcast, 2%. I break down the signs of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's TWA% on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

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