Sanya On-Air

90s R&B Nostalgia with Allure

• Sanya Hudson

Share episode

Send us a text

Remember the joy of 90s R&B and the golden era of music with the sensational group Allure. Join us on a nostalgic journey as we celebrate the host's birthday surrounded by the fabulous sounds of a time when music truly moved us. Allure shares the incredible narrative of their rise from high school harmonies at LaGuardia to signing with Mariah Carey’s label and collaborating with legends like LL Cool J and Nas. Through their stories, we uncover the passion and perseverance that defined their journey, and the supportive families that cheered them on every step of the way.

In a heartfelt discussion, Allure opens up about their early influences, drawing inspiration from iconic groups like En Vogue and Ex-Girlfriend, and the role church singing played in their development. As young women navigating the complex music industry, they candidly reveal the pressures of image, branding, and the struggle to stay true to themselves. Tales of excitement, mistakes, and the emotional highs and lows of touring provide an honest depiction of their experiences. Despite facing challenges and feeling sidelined at times, Allure's resilience and determination to remain authentic shine through.

Looking to the future, Allure talks about their ongoing performances, their exciting new mentorship program, and an upcoming podcast, "Grown Ass Girls Gag." They share their dedication to empowering the next generation and fostering the cyclical nature of musical trends. Through laughter and nostalgia, we celebrate the power of music to connect across generations and inspire new possibilities. With personal anecdotes and a fun game, this episode promises to be a delightful reflection on the past and a hopeful look towards what lies ahead.

Support the show

Sanya:

This is not me on here. What is the purpose? What am I trying to do? People are giving you keys, giving you gems, creating pipelines to access, talking to influential people, icons about how they've done it and sharing the tips so that you can enter into that space. One thing that I do know about marginalized communities is that the Pipelines to Access is often not there.

Sanya:

Now, if you're cleaned up on Saturday mornings and your parents played old school music, then this show is for you. Welcome everyone. You are now tuned into another amazing edition of Sanya On Air. I'm your host, sanya Hudson-Payne, and thank you for tuning in where I unpack celebrity pivotal moments and their milestones. But before I tell you about today's guest, as you can see from the banner, please make sure that you subscribe to Sanya On Air. Sanya On Air streams across every major streaming platform. If you're watching this episode on YouTube, not only subscribe, but make sure you hit the notification button. That way, every time I upload an all new Sonia O'Neal celebrity interview unpacking their pivotal moments and milestones, you'll be the first ones to know.

Sanya:

You'll be the first ones to know. Now, the second thing I want to say is happy birthday to myself. Yesterday was my birthday and let me tell you something I am just so grateful. I'm so grateful that God has allowed me another opportunity to pour greatness into the world and to leave an impact, to leave my footprint. So this is something special for me. I don't take it for granted. So I just want to also give a special shout out to all of the amazing and fabulous Leos of the world. I know everyone heard you roar, because Leos roar all the time. We can't even help it when I try to turn off this switch, this internal fabulosity switch, I can't do it. I can't do it, I can't do it.

Sanya:

So, talking about fabulosity and fabulous women, especially women of color, today's guest, let me tell you how I stumbled across today's guest. So I was just in my car listening to 94 the Block. Shout out to Miss Jones. I'm so glad that she's back on the radio. She's doing amazing things. So make sure that you tune in every single morning, if you're in new york city, to 94.7 the block.

Sanya:

Okay, so, like I was saying, I was listening, listening to miss jones in the morning and um, this song came on, this song that, uh, definitely defined an era, defined a moment in my life, by the fabulous R&B 90s group Allure. So when I heard this song Never Question, they did this song with LL Cool J I said, wait a minute, wait a minute. Whatever happened to Allure? What happened to that r&b group? They did collaborations with ll cool j, like I just said, with naz two major, major, major artists. And did you know that they were even signed to mariah carey's label? I don't even know that she had a record label. So make sure that you stay tuned into this conversation with r&b group allure, because we're going to talk about how they got started, how they navigated the music industry, getting signed to mariah carey's label, and what happened a lot happened and where they are now. So if you remember the R&B group Allure and you just want something nostalgic to remind you of the greatness of R&B music in the late 90s and the 2000s, this is a conversation that you definitely need to be tuned into. So we're going to take a quick commercial break and we'll be right back with Sanya on Air and Allure. Stay tuned and make sure you subscribe too. I'll be right back Eating T-shirts and more LLC is a proud Sanya on Air sponsor.

Sanya:

Get your customized tumblers, mugs, t-shirts, hoodies and passport holders for all of my fabulous Sonia On Air international travelers. But let's talk about these passport holders for a moment. Travel in style with a custom passport holder. This elegant holder not only protects your passport, but also personalizes it with space for up to four photos. So make sure you shop Edith's t-shirts and more LLC today. Now back to Sonia on Air. Yes, okay, well, welcome to Sonia on Air. We have the amazing R&B group Allure first. I want to start off by having each of you introduce yourself, so tell my audience who you are hey, what's up.

Allure:

I'm Lala. Hey y'all, I'm Aaliyah. Hey, what's up.

Sanya:

I'm Akisa and we're a lot nice, nice. So you know I'm gonna go back to high school days because I was doing my research and some of you went to LaGuardia High School but one of you went to Julia Richmond, who went to julia richmond?

Allure:

so wait a minute. So you three went to. You three went to la guardia.

Sanya:

Yes, okay, so I have a lot of friends who went to la guardia. So I'm assuming you went to la guardia for voice, right? Yes, so you know? Um, well, I'm not going to call his government name yet G-Fly, he went to Minivision. Oh yeah, we know, george. Yeah, george, I'm George from Georgia. Let me tell you, we've been childhood friends since we were seven years old Nice, that's a thousand One of my best best friends. So you know now that we're talking about the 90s and high school and all of that. When did you first realize that you wanted to be singers?

Allure:

and anyone can answer the question um, for us, like we said, we played around a lot, a lot, a lot, just because we could do it, so it wasn't really something that we took seriously until, like, our family started saying you know, you guys really should start trying to do this, and like make this a career because you guys sound great. And then we were like, okay, might as well, let's do it that reminds me of you know every child.

Sanya:

They're performing for their family at the barbecue and the mom is like but this time your family was honest and they were truthful. You ladies can really really sing thank you so how did you hone your craft? I know LaGuardia amazing school and I know that perfected your craft formally, but what other things did you do to perfect your voices?

Allure:

um, we eventually, as when we did get our record deal, we did a couple well, not a couple, but we have vocal lessons and, um, to be honest, like, as far as technique, as far as singing in the studio, we credit mariah for a lot of that, because she obviously had the chops and you know, right, yeah, to guide us, right, yeah nice and we're going to talk about your um relationship with Mariah Carey a little bit later on, but I'm glad that you touched on the vocal lessons.

Sanya:

I'm glad that you talked, uh touched base, about going to LaGuardia for voice time's. A little bit different now, I believe, but I'm not in the music industry. When it comes to these new artists, do you think that they are securing contracts a lot differently than when you first started off in the late 90s?

Allure:

oh, definitely. I even believe they might be even a little smarter, because they've had so many people to see what they went through throughout years of this industry right, I think they kind of got it a little better than even we did.

Sanya:

Right, we were like first getting started, yeah that's refreshing to hear, because there's a lot of artists that I talk to and sometimes they have a little bit of animosity at the end without we never said I mean, look, we never said there wasn't a little bit of animosity, but they did have it better because they learned from us all the mistakes that we made, right.

Sanya:

Mm-hmm, nice, nice. So the 90s it ushered in so many amazing R&B groups. You have like 702. You have Aaliyah, mary J Blige and Total. Was there any competition between your group Allure and other female R&B artists?

Allure:

Not that we know of, not with us, but yeah, there was there was a point in time where there was like this big comparison, not even comparison. There was just this big, um, uh, imperative feeling for people to create drama between groups, you know. I mean like we wouldn't have even met anybody, and right away it's there's like some secret beef and oh well, did you hear about this? And people created stuff. But as far as we were concerned, we just wanted to sing and we just wanted to, you know, pay tribute to everybody else and welcome everybody who was coming into the industry after us, and it was always all love with us. Yeah, we never had. Yeah, well, we always paid homage to anyone who came before us.

Sanya:

So where does?

Allure:

that come, we still have no problem doing it so where does that come from?

Sanya:

because you know, a lot of times they say female groups can't get along or women in general just can't get along. How did you navigate through when toxicity presents itself to you that you say that's not for me? How did you navigate through that?

Allure:

well, that's one of the reasons why we're a trio right, and also because a big part of it like a lot of groups not all, but a lot of groups were like put together, so you have to learn personalities. We grew up together. Plus, we have family members that make us take accountability, like something is being done wrong or whatever is happening. We have people in our circle that's going to let me know, like that's not it, we need to cut it out. We respect those people, so we take love from them and we're also naturally just not catty women.

Allure:

You know, women are known to. That's a little stigma we're catty, we can't get along.

Sanya:

there's always beef in between, and we're just not like that.

Allure:

We're girls', girls, if that makes any sense. We're literally sisters. Like don't get us wrong, like it's not hunky-dory all the time like we argue but it's never to the point with fist and cup right I love that gem.

Sanya:

I love that gem because I always encourage people to be mindful of who you allow in your village, who you allow around you, because accountability is so, so important. So I'm glad that you have people in your camp that were able to say don't do it that way, don't get involved in that, and that you have the humility and the foundation to know better and do better yeah, you briefly talked about some of the influences that you had growing up in this industry. Who your early musical influences?

Allure:

That I can speak it right for everybody but and Vogue and ex-girlfriend, whether it girls for us, like when we, when we finally sat down and said Maybe we should give this a chance and maybe we can do this because they know we can sing we just they were like the blueprints to everything. I mean we just can't dance like ex-girlfriends.

Allure:

Right, we weren't doing like cartwheels and flips and stuff, but just the energy behind them, the vocal ability behind them. Everyone was unique, but still it was cohesive. Exactly. There was that individual swag between each girl and then collectively, when they got together, it was just something serious. And then in Vogue it was just like you know all vocal, but also the classiness. Right, you know, and that's something that we always wanted, to make sure that we kept in the forefront and classiness for them, girl.

Allure:

I'm still trying to learn it, don't worry about it, she's very you know, you know Lolly's very, you know, very you know around the waist, so like if we take a picture, that's the cost Exactly. If we take a picture, I mean really I'm like Lolly's, more Lolly's, I get it, I'm a Brooklyn girl.

Sanya:

They're all from New York, so I understand the attitude. I get it. There we go, yay.

Allure:

That New York swag is definitely there, wow.

Sanya:

But you know you mentioned En Vogue and that is such an influential group. I had Dawn from En Vogue on my show, so I'm glad that you were able to pay homage to that, because a lot of times people don't pay homage to people who came before them. If you could name, let's say, another group that was influential, who would that be? Or another individual singer, who would that be?

Allure:

we can hold on for days, but if you still want to stay in groups, escape. We sang this song to get one of our deals, swv. We can go on and on and on. When Missing is in the room, supreme, we go back a lot of our inspiration really just is very diverse we can even go as far as people that sing lead in our churches. As we were kids, we would be here all day Like littlest.

Sanya:

But you just dropped another gem. I really lean in and I listen Church. You find a lot of the amazing singers. Their voices have just been ordained and blessed by God. So I'm glad that you dropped that, that you have a church foundation, and this is what demonstrates your blessings. And I tell you, never question. I've been blessing that in my car for a while.

Allure:

That's my least favorite song. That's my favorite song. Wow, we appreciate it, thank you.

Sanya:

My most favorite song. My daughter is 28 years old, she knows the Lord, she's singing the music. She's begging me to turn it off and I'm like uh-uh, but you said that's your least favorite song, why?

Allure:

To perform, to perform, why it's like the chorus to us happens 25 times it's a. The chorus to us happens 25 times it's a bop. Wait, wait, it's a bop, but we drop it. You know what it is. Trackmasters play the hook so many times. At the end we were like I don't have any more ad-libs.

Sanya:

It's like we got PTSD. It's a bop. That whole song is the vibe. Yes, how did you manage to get LL Cool J to do a collaboration with you? How did that work out?

Allure:

Oh well, we have to thank Trackmaster. They were very much big hip-hop producers at the time, so they were doing work with people like LL and Nas.

Sanya:

Right Ray Vaughn.

Allure:

So they had a lot of relationships and we just felt great that all these people wanted to co-sign our first project. We just were honored. We appreciate all of them. We thank them.

Sanya:

LL Cool J. You had Nas. I said what the hell? I mean, it was just amazing. So you mentioned Trackmasters, but specifically it was what Polk right. Polk and Tone Polk and.

Allure:

Tone, but yeah.

Sanya:

Polk and Tone.

Allure:

The ones that produced us Right, so they were friends of yours.

Sanya:

No.

Allure:

We actually I love it, I love it, I love it. We were rehearsing in a community center, love you.

Sanya:

Will Will Adams so Love.

Allure:

You Will. We would do rehearsals every week in a community center and he knew somebody, that knew somebody, that knew somebody, and they introduced us to Polk. And Polk came to the community center and we looked crazy, we looked hella crazy, you know and just you know, always eating, we were always eating.

Sanya:

We were always eating, but you know, we were eating and he came, we sang acapella for him. And that's how everything started. So if I recall, I think a few minutes ago you said that you sang an escape song. Is that correct?

Allure:

Yes, which escape song was that. It was tonight. We were singing that for every introduction to anybody I ever met. That was one of our favorite songs at the time. When she said, when Bo showed up, that's what we sang for him and that's kind of what got came, you know, like when she said when Bo showed up, that's when we sang for him and that's kind of what got, what you know brought the interest and got us our deal.

Sanya:

Wow, so singing like? Did you really say I want a record deal, I want to be on somebody's radio? Was that the goal? Or did you just say I just want to sing?

Allure:

We just wanted to sing. Actually, we really didn't know what it entailed.

Sanya:

Like everything.

Allure:

Like the music industry With the music business, so we would just like give us a mic and let us go, that's just how we were so we had to learn a lot of things the hard way, but you know, it is what it is here we are, so talk about signing your first record contract.

Sanya:

Where were you, how were you feeling and what did you do to celebrate?

Allure:

Oh my gosh, wow. It's funny because we were excited, we were happy about it, because we're young, so you know, we're just happy to do it. My mom always says that was the worst birthday of her life, because it was signed in October, because they had to wait for me to become 18 and I didn't turn 18 until September and they were signing contracts in October. Yeah, my mom always says that was the worst birthday of her life. That says a lot for you.

Sanya:

So again, and here, we are Right, right so looking back on your first contract. Do you feel as if you signed a good contract or you could have done better?

Allure:

Way better. She said it was the worst birthday of my life. What was wrong with the contract? We always looked at things like you know what? It's an opportunity right. Once we just do the music right, it's gonna be fine, everything's gonna work out. And we're like then we're gonna get up right and try. Shows are coming, like we always was trying to be positive with let's just get in the door, right?

Sanya:

you know what?

Allure:

I mean like, let's just and you know, sometimes that wasn't the best decision, but you know yeah I mean yeah I've learned that the kind of hard way too.

Sanya:

It's just not enough to say I just want to get in the room and just kind of figure it out later you have to have everything lined up so that you can step into the room the right way.

Sanya:

So I'm glad that you mentioned that because you know sometimes people will dangle a few couple of dollars in front of people and people will be like, well, you know, that's the most amount of money that I've ever seen, and sign basically their lives away. So you know, another gem that you drop so now you're entering into the music industry Was over sexualization of your brand ever a conversation.

Allure:

Oh gosh, yes, it was. I know there was a time. If you look at our album cover Baby, that album cover got us in so much trouble.

Sanya:

I did not know you could see through the net.

Allure:

You would think and mind you, fast forward to years down the line. We ended up doing Pink Magazine and Move Magazine. It's not Blacktail or, but it's not black tail or. You know it's not. You know it's very provocative, it's sexy and you know it's revealing, but still kind of dressed up, considering you know the comparisons. But that album cover we wore like these outfits and you know you could kind of see, but you didn't see everything, but just the fact that you could see a little bit of a hip bone baby. The families were not happy. They were like, right, and you guys are supposed to be classy, but we are it. Honestly, that day it didn't feel like that because, but when the lights hit, crochet, it's very see-through and again we didn't really have like what our look was gonna be. And then we were like in the middle of people, like track masters had a certain way they wanted to be.

Allure:

Mariah had a certain way and we didn't really have a say and we just yeah, okay.

Sanya:

So I know everyone wants to be heard and I remember when I was a teen like damn it, you're going to hear everything that I have to say. How did you feel being so young and not really having a voice over how you looked to the music industry?

Allure:

We thought that they were experts at the time because we came in very green, like, yeah, we came from church and you know the block right. So we didn't know the business of it and it's like, had we done more research, we would have known that other artists even before us took control of their identities. You know what I mean? Um it, it was just a learning experience. We trusted that they were the experts and they knew how to make us blow up, and we also understood that, in a very small way, that sex sells. But we didn't want to be sex, not sex, but we knew that there was supposed to be some type of sensuality to it and some type of allure. That's how we got our name. That was Polk's whole idea.

Allure:

We want something that people crave and that's exciting and for me personally I can't speak for everybody else. She said we were from the block and church and whatever. So we were used to being, a certain way, I'm a tomboy through and through.

Sanya:

So for me, I was like oh, we get to dress up and wear makeup and they told me how to do my hair, so I.

Allure:

But then you never know how it's going to affect your family and you know, and people looking, especially when the whole role model thing falls into place, and that's something that we never wanted to be. But we honestly didn't feel naked. I think it was just the album cover, because at the time they called us nuns, like sometimes you would be really covered up. Covered up, it would be fitted, but we would be covered up, yeah.

Sanya:

Wow, I'm kind of surprised by that because for me everything did look very um, classy, you know, um, but I don't know. I got my, my jacket buttoned down, so I don't know my definition of classy, I don't know, but it didn't seem as if you were being over sexualized. So to know that you did feel that way or that you did encounter that, you know, that's very surprising for me to hear and learn. What about, let's say, the R&B groups at that time, the escapes of it all, the 702, the Total, were there other R&B groups that you really built a strong connection with during those times?

Allure:

It's funny, really built a strong connection with during those times. It's funny, um, for us we always say this like even though we came up in the 90s, we did like spot dates with people, like we never like had like a tour with the person. We've always like kind of did tours on our own, like it was always us, and then, like I said, we meet up somewhere like we might have a show in philly with 702 and total and something like that, but we never had had, like we were traveling consistently. You know how they have the millennial tour and it's like a set, it's a set roster. We were never on a set roster. We were always promoting doing our own tour overseas.

Allure:

Or, when we came back, radio dates, like they had Jingle Ball, then we were on with Chumbawamba, like it's things like that, like we were always mesh. It was never like road city to city city. Because when people even ask us, like when there's kind of like these 90s toys that come out now, like how come you guys are not on there, and we have to honestly say like we really didn't have those relationships like that with those people for people to even say, oh yeah, sometimes it just takes a person that might say out of something and be like oh yeah, them and them, and then we'll do the other part, but we were never in a circle, it was always us.

Allure:

We just had us all the time I think the closest that we ever came to, really kind of like I don't want to say it before, I hate this word forming a camaraderie. But we were always at the label.

Sanya:

We were like label kids.

Allure:

We were always there getting CDs and you know, hanging out just for no reason, and black was always there as well, and I think we kind of formed a nice little relationship with like Brandy and the girls, um, because we saw them a lot, you know, quite, quite often. Once we were in Columbia right, but it just wasn't the type of situation I think, and I think it also stems from a lot of times, like a lot of these girl groups, they're like from the same area, like you know, you got a lot of atlanta girls and whatever.

Allure:

So that's kind of just basically what it is like we would like she said we were our own clique, you know. But it didn't mean that we didn't want to have a connection with anybody. It just never worked out that way, right?

Sanya:

so do you think that the record labels were in part to blame for that, for not connecting you to other groups so that you can be on tour and build these relationships?

Allure:

because the move, the music, it speaks for itself, you know but it's so weird our situation, like when we think back about it. Certain things. Maybe now we can say, yeah, that should have been done differently or this should have been. But hindsight is 2020 and I hate that saying, but you know, but when you look back, we were kind of like how your parents kind of shelter you?

Sanya:

They sheltered us yeah.

Allure:

When it came to those kind of things, Like everybody kind of had their own agenda of what they wanted, Like they didn't make sure of these things, Like we were going to make sure that they're a part of this Right.

Allure:

And then by the time like things really started building up, like when people were really starting to know who we were, that's kind of when things started falling apart with the label and the whole fire and Tommy Mottola and all that. So we were kind of like always in the middle of them right there. And then something happens and it kind of puts us a step back. Put it back now y'all. That's a perfect segue because you mentioned.

Sanya:

You mentioned Tommy Mottola, and as I was preparing for this conversation with you, beautiful ladies, I didn't even know that Mariah Carey had a record label and that Allure was the first group signed to the record label and that Allure was the first group signed to the record label. So my first question is how many labels did you go through before you were signed to Mariah Carey's record label?

Allure:

well, okay, so what it was? We were signed to a production deal with Trackmasters from, like I said, when I turned 18, right, we signed a production deal with Trackmasters Right and they had a situation with LA Reid, right. So, laface, we were first signed to LaFace Right, we met LA Reid, we sang for him and, yeah, we were signed to him for like five seconds Right, and we started working on the album and that's how the whole situation came. And then we were over to her founding right, yeah, as the first group signed okay.

Sanya:

So this screams success to me, but I know success is defined differently by the yes, so you get accepted to la guardia, huge, huge, huge, because I'm a performing arts kid so I know that that's a huge thing. Yeah, um, you are, let's say, supported by track masters, signed into a production deal. Um, now you meet mariah carey. Throughout all of that, when did you say, mama, I made it?

Allure:

um, I guess, when she said she loved us, yeah, because that's a huge yeah I mean, she was one of our idols, like she was being younger us right she was in love with me yeah, like. So she fell under the line of like. Oh, that's a voice, so, but to be um, to have the approval from a voice yeah, we were. Oh, it's on now, right.

Sanya:

Yeah, and that's what I'm talking about. It speaks volumes to your talent. So I'm just like what the F did the music industry do, where you know your name just isn't bigger than what it is. Not that it's not big.

Allure:

Well, we just didn't what you said. We didn't what the F Girl is, not that it's not big. Well, we just didn't what you said. We didn't what the f?

Sanya:

high five. I'm glad you agree, okay, so then. Okay, so now you're signed to mariah carey's label and then you know, I don't want to seem like I'm tainted by these men out here, but just like a man relationship over and then the record label gets dissolved and you ladies are dropped.

Allure:

Talk about that well, it was a sad day a sad day in the world we had just started, like you know, getting our feet wet with traveling.

Allure:

We were in Japan at the time. That was our first big tour away from home and leaving our families for the first time. Like I said, we had just left the label. We went to go visit everybody. The walls were dressed up with all our pictures and all the other artists and, whatever the case was, they wished us well. We go on tour. We got phone calls from Mariah, everybody's checking on us, whatever the case may be, and we get back. No, no, we were still over there.

Sanya:

We were still there.

Allure:

The only thing we did. The publicists you know how they always have the person Right. And they told us okay, so guys, Mariah and Tommy are going to be speak of it, don't speak about it Right, and we're like okay, but even that didn't make us think like, oh, that means the label was right, right, right. But okay, right, we still got to do what we have to do, right.

Sanya:

We do our tour.

Allure:

Singing everywhere Yay, yay, yay, not singing. And then to visit gone. It was like a ghost town. Yeah, it literally. It literally looked like the office was gutted out, like if it was never, like if it never existed, like it never existed. Yeah wait.

Sanya:

So that's how you found out you just showed up to an empty office. We always always did.

Allure:

That was that was like the playground for us. Yeah, people knew that we were gonna show up just randomly like bring the bell hey, it's us and they would let us up we just spent all day there eating or whatever. So we, you know, we came back to like tell everybody about the trip and you know, and tell them about the tour and how it went, and it literally fell. It fell like the twilight zone.

Sanya:

Yeah, we're like what the hell's going?

Allure:

on. We didn't know to that extent that it was that like, yeah, about the divorce, but we didn't know that, yeah, this was gonna happen. Yeah, like if we were music it would have been Halloween straight through. Like I'm like what in the Michael Myers is going on? We were just in shock.

Sanya:

And then we just got the call from track masters a little later.

Sanya:

That, okay, yeah, now y'all the signs of Columbia and we're like but once again, that speaks volumes to your talent, because as I was looking through your history, I said, okay, they were signed to this label, dropped, signed again, dropped, like you were never, in my opinion, just left to kind of for the tumbleweeds to just kind of come and just say you know where are they, you've always been there. And once again I'm looking at the, the music industry, the record labels, to say come on, they could have done a much better job.

Allure:

But then when it comes back, go ahead appreciate you for saying that, because a lot of times, because of what we went through, and when people see the oh, they were signed to La Fesa and they got.

Allure:

When they see that, they always look at it like, oh, it must have been them right and not realizing what we were going through, like we didn't, we weren't able to say anything, like we weren't able to make choices, to say, well, how about this label? Why don't we see what so-and-so? They might want to work harder for us, they might want to do more, but we will just always kind of like told this is what you're gonna do.

Sanya:

This is what you're gonna do. This is how it's going right, and it never was about the talent because obviously they had no problem moving us right.

Allure:

But um, yeah, when you become businesswoman, then right, there's a problem. And then for us being signed to Trackmaster's production. Then they became higher-ups in Sony and they're running parts of the label.

Sanya:

So now they're focused on everybody, not just us.

Allure:

So even like that, we really felt like you left us on the side of the step Like yeah, that's what I'm on.

Sanya:

Really, we were left with Miss Hannigan, no we were Wow, no, no, we were left with miss hannigan. Wow, but you just said something, and it reminded me of something that someone said to me most recently, something that I didn't even want to accept or admit that we are now in a space and it's been this way for a while that people don't really give a damn about your talent. It's all about who likes you.

Sanya:

Yeah, and that is so unfortunate because, like I said, you ladies are so, so talented. There's not an auto-tune anywhere, you know.

Allure:

So I appreciate it as it comes. Yeah, we don't have perfect pitch, but thank you, even when you're like or you're likable. Some people don't like that and that's a threat as well. So I mean, it is what it is. All we can be is ourselves. Oh, I like that.

Sanya:

I have my classy moments. I told you so wait a minute. But then okay, so the record label, my character's record label, gets dissolved. But then she writes a memoir and she doesn't even mention that allure was the first group that she signed and that left a really bad taste in your mouth.

Allure:

Talk about that unfortunately for us, we just are the type of people we didn't know the whole story.

Sanya:

We didn't know that the memoir was basically about her and her men like we didn't know that that was like a big part of like her first it was like everything so right.

Allure:

We just got sent a snippet and, being as though she had never, ever other than other than when we first started at Craven, we did our EPKs and she was doing interviews. This is is my new group Right After that, after the label was off.

Sanya:

There was no conversation. It was like the label didn't exist and we didn't either.

Allure:

You know she famous for the. I don't know her. We were fine with that.

Allure:

We were okay with that, yeah, but when we got the snippet, when whoever sent the snippet- we're thinking like oh, this time in your life with the label and you have the nerve to say so, and so was your, was your first, but tired of it, because we always felt like, with all of them from track masters, her, anybody it was like they always would skip over our era and it's like, yeah, we get it. Y'all had other people that became bigger and all these things, but we were all of y'all's first. Yeah, track masters you like, and the first r&b group and I was like we were feeling like what's the problem?

Allure:

and our thing was, this is not our doing, we didn't choose for these things to happen. Right, things were going up before all these things like started happening with the divorce and the label and all this stuff.

Sanya:

So it's not like we weren't selling records.

Allure:

It was just in the midst of our climb all these things started happening. But then if you say that it's like, oh they're bitter, oh they're this, you know how come y'all didn't and we just kind of got tired of it.

Allure:

And I think that day we were having a moment, we were having a moment, maybe thinking about all the stuff we went through and when we got sent that clip we just got mad. We're like this is ridiculous. But then once we realized like, oh it, our dudes. Oh yeah, we weren't with our dudes. Well, we weren't that. So, yeah, all right, but still, they weren't your first. They weren't your first, right? If you're going to mention, just give us our part of the history. Or just don't say that, right, my group. Social media is so big. You know, social media likes to flip everything, but if you really look at it, that's like anybody. I don't care who you are or what you do Once you put in hard work and you're discredited and you're not acknowledged at all all your life. Just tell the truth, no no, no.

Allure:

It's also acknowledgement too, because when you've been in this industry for 27 years, like we have, and we put in the work, people, people always think, oh, whatever, no, it worked. So for you to work as hard as we did and then for no one to ever talk, you know, you know what that feels like to watch tv and see you know award shows or things like that where people are talking about like big production groups, like how bad boy was always a click. You mention everybody you work with, but every time they mention somebody who worked with track master, somebody else, they'll mention Mary J. Oh, all these people. A law is never to be mentioned and it's like, yeah, did I read the wrong?

Sanya:

production.

Allure:

So for people to flip that around and say, oh, they're bitter, they're whatever, no boo, because if it was you yeah, that hard work and somebody that's you, you how would you feel? But we live in a world of you know what's good for the goos and good for the. You know what I mean. I get it. I had already been about a good 15 years into therapy, so for me it was the wording that bothered me the most, that triggered me the most For her to say that a group was her first and that was not the truth. I'm big on the truth and technically the major key in my life, like, yeah, especially when you experience it, you experience that first love, that first everything. And that was one of our biggest issues also that we thought that, like how it started, the way you know we were being treated and how it felt like a family union, whatever. We're big on family, so we're big on.

Sanya:

Okay, if you know, nothing else impresses us but loyalty money doesn't impress us, all these little, you know, material things, I mean that's the business part, that's right. But even, but, even, like when we first got signed.

Allure:

The money wasn't the aspect, it was the. We get to go and travel and really sing and let people feel you know us doing what we love, right? That's what was important to us right. So when you do little, stuff like that, like not even mention, like oh right this group that had this number one record. It had this it's like I'm sorry, are we alone here? Right?

Allure:

and it's almost like now, how in relationships, when you speak up and you say how you feel, and people want to gaslight you and say well, it, it's not about that, this was triggering, this was very about to go away. She's not going to ask you that question, I'm just saying I love it because people need to hear these things.

Sanya:

I've looked at Allure and all that you've done and I realize I'm smart. I was like it wasn't even them.

Allure:

It wasn't even them.

Sanya:

It's just this music industry. People really have to understand what they're about to get into If they have aspirations of joining the music industry. Have you all even ever had a conversation with Mariah Carey about what happened?

Allure:

No, we haven't spoken to her ever since.

Sanya:

So if she was in front of you right now, what would you say to her?

Allure:

Hi Mariah, hi Mariah, hey girl, hey, hey, keep it cute. Look, I told you we're healed like this. Yeah, I'm, I just told you I did about 40, 19 years of therapy, so I'm good like it just depends at this point it just depends on your energy, whatever you boomerang or give out to us we're boomerang to you.

Allure:

There's no hard feelings at one point you would have heard me say, oh, I'm a such a, but no, that's not me anymore. We're past that. We're grown like we. We saw her one time in between this whole you know, all these, all these years and she galloped away like somebody was gonna, you know, rob up, take a purse. And then it learned about her, like you heard that she happened to as well, because I do, but so it's like it just depends on where she's at. We can meet there.

Sanya:

And she's not okay.

Allure:

Don't want to say we're good, we're good.

Sanya:

Wow, wow, we should make that Right.

Allure:

We're part of the R&B.

Sanya:

National R&B Music Society. Shout out to Vanessa Jordan.

Allure:

We appreciate them, we go where we're wanted and welcome and not tolerated. As long as we're on stage, we're good, we're happy, that's our happy place, and as long as no one Takes that from us, there's nothing to talk about, there's no bitterness, there's no anger, it's just you know, and they love experience as a teacher.

Sanya:

Yes, it is, yes, it is so. That brings me To so what did you learn? Because you said experience as a teacher, what did you learn from that experience?

Allure:

you learn not to sign contracts. Follow the story, we learn how to write. We learn, we learn so much through experience like there's no book, there's no 101 book about the music industry that we could have read. That would have prepared us for.

Sanya:

Especially.

Allure:

God being our foundation? We would not. We, yeah, thank God give a little credit Girl.

Sanya:

you should have seen me an hour ago. Yesterday was my birthday and I'm just trying to hold it. Hey, leo, leo, leo, my such body and I think, one of you. You said your birthday is in September.

Allure:

Yeah, lolly's just passed, I'm coming up in. September. Wait, whose birthday Somebody else's in?

Sanya:

Leo and go ahead, twin, where have you been? Yes, I'm not going to talk about you, virgos.

Allure:

Virgos, stop Virgos, it never ends, no, no no, leo, energy never ends.

Sanya:

But I'm traumatized by you, virgos, because I grew up in a household full of Virgos. I was the only Leo and I'm like you. I've been in therapy for about 20 something years. So continue blessing, but wait a minute. So let's get back to this conversation and the music industry and these new artists. What new artists do you listen to today?

Allure:

Oh, it's so pretty One of my favorites is the Sacred Souls. I love them so much, oh, my God. They're amazing. I think they are so amazing. They're so dope. Josh, their lead singer, I love him, I love him. He's so dope.

Allure:

Right now that's who I'm listening to consistently like full time. I don't know them For me, no, for me. I love Jasmine Sullivan. I love there's this new girl, alicia Creedia, I think her name is. She's mad soulful. I love Friday. Friday is one of my that's my little fake boyfriend in my head. Hey, hey, hey. You get up on Wednesdays and Mondays. I get them every other day of the week and, truth be told, what's? Contrary to what everybody else believes, I love Chris Brown. I actually went to go see him recently and the show was great.

Sanya:

I'm not saying y'all.

Allure:

I'm just saying contrary to Chris Brown. I love me some Chris Brown, but there's a lot of artists out there right now that are really dope and I think they don't get enough credit. I'm going to remember right now that are really dope and I think they don't get enough credit. They don't get as much credit as some other people. I love Lola Brooks. Shout out to Brooklyn. Love Lola. Yes, I don't know, there's a lot that I don't really, we're very much old school. Our playlist consists of these sacred souls and Motown stuff and Face First album and stuff. Oh, kendrick stuff, yeah, oh Kendrick, yes, kendrick yes, they definitely not like us we feel the eyes.

Allure:

The laser beams are going to come from the side of the room.

Sanya:

Yes, you know I'm glad that you mentioned some artists that people may not have heard of or you know they're still emerging to get the the credit that they deserve, because I never thought that I would get to this space where I look at music and I'm just like I'm not really feeling it 110 percent, like I rely on music of the 90s, the early 2000s. Like I said, I've been blasting a lure for a few months, to the point where my 28 year old daughter is like over me, but she needs to hear good, good music. How do you feel about the direction that music has taken from the time that you were signed up until now, um?

Allure:

it's been up and down. I believe it's coming back, because every 20 years history repeats itself.

Sanya:

So I believe it's coming back to a good place.

Allure:

Now, this Caucasian guy, he's a big guy. He has a song with Joyner Lucas.

Sanya:

Oh.

Allure:

Joyner Lucas. I love him too. It's coming back, but there's a lot of gimmicky stuff as well, and there's a lot Good music is coming back. There's a lot of gimmicky stuff as well and there's a lot like but I mean. But I always keep in mind Talon is not twerking and bending over and patting you. I always keep in mind that every era said my music was better, right, even our 90s music. Our parents were like, yeah, I don't know what's happening here.

Sanya:

I don't know what's happening here.

Allure:

But okay, you know, in certain things I think every era goes through that thing where they feel like their time of the time. So I can appreciate what these kids are doing, even though I can't really relate. But when I see my daughter and my niece and my nephew relating to it. I'm like, okay, that's their thing, this is their time and they're loving it. So God bless, god bless those artists, yeah, but then also our kids are very much like us as well, like they're not.

Sanya:

I don't think, I don't know.

Allure:

I trust what they do Right their time I'm like okay, I trust it because they have good taste. Right, right, and they put us on to a lot of the stuff that's out now that we haven't seen yet.

Sanya:

I mean crazy that we were really born in the 1900s. Okay, so we were introduced to a law in the 1900s and now you know we're talking to a law, all grown up and your mothers. So I see that two of you have children. Do all three of you have kids?

Allure:

yes, yes, we all have kids and I have two grandbabies girl, you look good, you got the good black.

Sanya:

You got the good black. That may bend, but it don't crack none, it's old.

Allure:

I know somebody that like it.

Sanya:

What about the rest of you? Kids, grandkids, like what's going on?

Allure:

Kids, grandkids, let's see Five more weeks. Bird wants to come in. Stop playing with us, oh brother, like what's going on, kids grandkids.

Sanya:

Wow so, okay. So, based upon your experience and all that you've navigated through the music industry, have you ever thought about signing your own group?

Allure:

why not? No, I mean because we want to do it the right way, Like we've seen it done the wrong way so many times. So we wouldn't want somebody's destiny to be in our hands unless it's done the right way. If we ever said we had a group trust, and believe me, everything. All our ducks are in a row and they're about to go. Quack, quack, quack. Yeah, but honestly I don't think we have the patience. I don't have any patience either.

Allure:

That's the biggest thing. We don't have the patience. We just said we're mothers and I'm a grandma. Patience is a virtue. I don't have too much virtue left in me. We put somebody in the right direction.

Allure:

Yeah, we're being on mentoring and supporting organizations that have choirs and stuff like that, and we'll come and we'll talk to the kids. I think that's as far as we'll go. We're actually mentoring without because we're vendors for the Board of Education, so we're licensed to do the core as well as the big sisters, like a big sister mentor program. Yeah, and we're going to keep it as honest and authentic as we possibly can.

Sanya:

as you can see, I'm definitely going to keep it as honest and authentic as we possibly can. As you can see, yeah, I definitely want to stay connected to you. I'm a director of a high school oh, that's nice, yeah and I'm always bringing in individuals because I believe that not every child is college bound and I just want to have them explore other career options, because I'm a firm believer that children can't be what they don't see Right, and I want to bring excellence in front of them. But I have a question regarding your children, though. Do your children even know that their mamas are the shit? Do they know?

Allure:

They know they don't admit it and they don't care, they're not impressed. I mean, they hardly even want to come to our shows. They'll be like, yeah, yeah, yeah, sometimes they'll show up and they're like, all right, right oh my gosh, well wait how old are your kids?

Allure:

oh, like that type of yeah, she gets it when there was a tiktok but they were like oh, you were raised by so-and-so, but I was raised by this person and she did it and she posted, like you, like you know, posted our pictures and this is my auntie's. I was like, oh, you love us, but yeah they're very much, they're used to us.

Sanya:

It's like they're like our little sidekicks, I know, I know For the first time. Yesterday I went to my daughter's TikTok birthday and she called me the funniest person that she knows and I said you know when?

Allure:

you get that moment. You gotta hold on to it. Yes, I said. Oh, my baby, I said what you want, mama to buy you because it's something they hit you with, with the mom.

Sanya:

Yes, I love it, I love it, I love it. So let's talk about where Allure is today. You have your own record label, correct? No?

Allure:

No, that was years ago. We're not trying to have a label we don't have no label.

Sanya:

I hear you, I hear you, I hear you, I hear you, but you're still performing correct. Yes, yes, definitely.

Allure:

That's the main thing. We're still on the stage. That's doing what we love Yep, performing for audiences Like that's our thing. Yeah, and we have. We always say we know that people, anyone, that's a true fan of us knows that we take a long time with stuff. I think people just like us.

Sanya:

Yeah, right, when you do it, you do it.

Allure:

But we have our podcast coming called Grown Ass Girls Gag. But it's more than just a podcast. It's a lot more intricate than just a podcast. Soon come. Maybe not soon come, but come.

Sanya:

So where are?

Allure:

you going to be performing at next? This Saturday we have a show at. Is it Saturday? No, that's next Saturday. This Saturday we got practice for the other show. Yeah, she makes it up. August 10th is our next performance.

Sanya:

In Co-op.

Allure:

City Jones is hosting along with the Aquarius Boys. Shout out to Jones. In Co-op City. In Co-op, city Jones is hosting along with the Aquarius Boys. Oh, shout out to First John Booking. Shout out to Jones. Shout out to me. Yeah, shout out to Julie To Julie. First John Booking. Yes, but I'm saying that because I'm sorry. I went back to the 90s, the 90s Her show. She's going to be doing some more of that domestic violence, right, yeah, and that's to support domestic violence. But, guys, if you follow us on our yes, yeah, because we saw the agent show Wednesday, they were like, ah, yeah, yeah, when did y'all know?

Sanya:

You see, I just thought we had a show.

Allure:

This time I was getting ready to get dressed, right.

Sanya:

So official wasn't up to date. Yes, yes, keep it up. And I'm glad that you mentioned miss jones, because that's who I was listening to. I already recorded the um, the opener of the show, and I spoke about miss jones. I was listening to 94.7 the block and that's when I heard that you were performing on some 90s tour and she played your song and I said, god damn it, I'm gonna have a conversation with them because I am in love with you, ladies, and you really define an era of relationships for me when I was out in the streets. Thank you for that. I'm about to let you go, but I have a quick game that I want to play. The game is called who is Most Likely To? Oh Lord Me, you go, but I have a quick game that I want to play. The game is called who is most likely to?

Sanya:

oh, lord, me the first one real quick. Who is most likely to go from zero to 100 real quick, really? Oh, okay, I was wrong. I yeah, I thought it was you me.

Allure:

Yeah, well, in the past couple of weeks maybe okay who is most likely to be late? Accountability, accountability. I'm kind of better, but put your feet up. I'm working on me. Put your feet up both feet, okay.

Sanya:

Who's most likely to send you straight to voicemail? Me too, girl. Me too. Don't call me, just text me. Don't feel bad about it, girl, me too. I should just sit like it wasn't her, okay. Who is most likely to cook every single night of the week?

Allure:

Cook every single night of the week. Oh, both of them. Yeah, it ain't her. I'm doing it week cook every single night?

Sanya:

oh, both of them, yeah, wow. Well, you know what, ladies? Thank you so much for this conversation. Continued blessings when I leave here. No lie, I'm telling the truth. I'm still going to turn on. Never question, because that's my move that I'm in right now. Never Question what I do.

Allure:

You need me and I need you yes yes, yes, yes.

Sanya:

So, thank you, ladies, continue blessings and I'm going to be back in New York because I'm leaving for DC tomorrow night and I'm going to try to hit up your performance in Co-op City because, like I said, I'm just in Brooklyn and I would love to see you, ladies, in person. So, thank you so much.

Allure:

Thank you, we appreciate you.

Sanya:

Take care Bye-bye. So there you have it. Another amazing conversation, this time with 90s R&B group Allure. I had a great time talking to them. They're nice, they're so nice. There's a lot of lessons that I learned in that conversation and I hope that all of you tuning in you picked up on it too. And it's the first thing that I learned.

Sanya:

I'm sad to say I don't even want to say you see, I'm getting all choked up. I don't like hearing that sometimes talent just isn't enough. It's not enough to move the dial forward. Business is really big. How about the curse? That's how angry I am. Business is really big business and you know it's a numbers game and sometimes it's really about who likes you and the bottom line of it all. And the mere fact that Allure is still performing today, it really speaks volumes to their talent. The mere fact that the Voice Miss Mariah Carey signed them as her first group on her record label once again it confirms their talent.

Sanya:

It is so unfortunate that the personal got in the way of the business. Allure is signed to Mariah Carey's record label. Mariah Carey is married to Tommy Mottola Mariah Carey's record label. Mariah Carey is married to Tommy Mottola. Relationship is over. They get divorced. A lawyer gets thrown out the window. How messed up is that that your career is contingent upon a relationship with someone. It's just sad. It's just sad. And the foundation Make sure you have the right people around you, the right people in your corner. That's going to hold you accountable. That is not going to allow you to get into the toxicity of it all.

Sanya:

There are so many stories about girl groups breaking up. Too bad. My high school mate from Talent Unlimited that was inside Julie Richmond High School that's where I went to Talent Unlimited. Too bad that she's no longer in the group Didn't even want to go there. What happened? She just ain't there, no more. What their energy excuse me, what their energy confirmed for me. There's a sisterhood amongst those three and you can tell when you're around women long enough. You start to complete each other's sentences. You kind of lean in when you're talking and they did just that. It let me know they are really, really friends.

Sanya:

So if you decide to go into any type of venture and you want to have partners in this whether or not it is, you know, let's say, a corporate business, something in entertainment, whatever it is that you have multiple people on the leadership. Make sure you all get along. Please make sure that you all get along. Make sure that you find a way to kind of work it out and if people decide to leave, make sure that that doesn't stop what it is that you're trying to do and the direction that you're headed towards.

Sanya:

So I'm so serious too, like I've been playing Never Question by Lou for the past couple of months, I just can't get that song out my head. And, darling, don't let me get into a room where, uh, the acoustics is good. You can't tell me I'm not the fourth member of alura. You can't tell me that I can't hit a note. Never question. So I'm just gonna end on that. Make sure that you subscribe to sonja on air streaming across every major platform, and I'm gonna go on a little. Um, I ain't gonna say nothing. Keep my business to myself, but make sure you stay tuned to sonja on air for more amazing interviews. I'm just trying to find something right here, just a little quick, and I can't find it. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go. There we go. Subscribe like share, leave a comment. Yeah, okay, and make sure you stay tuned to sign your on there.