Breakfast at Léa's w/ Teshay Makeda

Join me as I sit down and yap with the one and only, award winning empress, Teshay Makeda. We chat about our experience in the ever so growing London music scene, unpack spirituality and her personal journey.

Breakfast at Léa’s” is a candid and refreshing podcast where guests from all corners of the music industry share their stories, challenges, and lessons learned. Hosted with a perfect blend of casual, playful, and professional vibes, each episode invites guests to reflect on pivotal moments in their careers, tackle anonymous listener dilemmas, and vow, “May this situation never find me!” Whether sipping tea or taking a shot of tequila, the conversations are always relatable, honest, and a little spicy—just like the industry itself



Guest starring………..Teshay Makeda
 Host...........Léa Mondo
 Music……….. - Teshay Makeda - Roots soul (be free)
 Intro/outro song.......BAL theme tune
 Camera/sound/lights.......Louis Auneau
 Assistance.......Monét Auneau
 Set design/creative direction........Léa Mondo
 Video editor........Léa Mondo

Tags: musicinterviews music musicians #breakfastatleas #musicinterview #podcast #musicindustry #musicians

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Hello, and welcome to Breakfast at La Season Two. I'm so happy that you're you've clicked on this. Uh last year we made very uh great progress on the first season. All 20 of you guys have seen the episode. So um I'm really happy about that. Yeah, so that this is why I'm I'm doing season two because I have to give the 20 people that have seen this episode um what they like. So yeah. If you're new here, please like, share, comment, subscribe. It goes uh a long way. Um, maybe then we can get more people watching this show. So um, yeah. My name is Leia and I'm based in London, and I basically interview musicians all around me in the London uh music scene. Uh either jazz, soul, whatever. I'm here chatting shit and interviewing some of my favourite musicians and just musicians that I find online and who'd like to be part of the show. Alright, without further ado, my first guest of season two is Tashay Makeda. Tishe is a multi-award-winning ripstore artist from South London, known for her powerful vocals, uplifting lyrics, and healing presence. Blending reggae, soul, and spirituality, she reads stories of movement, empowerment, and the African diaspora through the Caribbean. As an international performer, Tishe has great stages across the UK, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, Africa, showing her unique sound rooted in her Jamaican heritage and Rastafarian upbringing. Tishe has also toured with the Grammy Award-winning Trevor Horn and collaborated with reggae legends Bez Hammond and Sean Paul. Tichay uses her music to spread messages of divinity and higher power. Her songwriting is a vibrant contemporary take on expressing spirituality through song. With support from the PRS Sustaining Creativity Fund, she released her proclaimed A-Track EP Omega Mother Goddess. An exploration of the roots and soul of the divine feminine. Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to Breakfast Set Layers. We have Tasha in the House.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Yeah, Tasha and Nikida.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Oh my god, I've been butchering names today. It's okay. I apologize about that.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Do you know what? It's really interesting because I never used to correct people when they would say my name wrong when I was a child. Um, I guess it's been a journey of speaking up, you know? And if someone is repeatedly making the same mistake, because it's sometimes it's intentional and other times it's not, but it's like in my adulthood, I've really had to speak up and be like, no, my name holds meaning, my name holds power, and not be embarrassed to correct people. So it's yeah, as you as you share it, I'm also like learning even more to be like Tasha, you should.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

I don't take it personally as well when someone tells me it's actually Tashaye, you know, like they correct me because I feel like when you're like black or cultural, like the minority, the global majority, darling. Honestly, like I hate that word of minority or what I am not, but actually not a minority.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Like most of the people on the planet look like us. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Yeah, what do you mean? But like there comes like a people-pleasing habit where like you're shrinking yourself to not say the wrong things in case you upset someone, so yeah. I think it's really good that like you're proactive at like correcting, and people would want to call you what they want to call you.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

I remember as a child, like, um, so my grandmother, she lives in the countryside in the UK, and there was this young, like, English girl we met, and we were playing, like, you know, you used to make friends when you go to the park. Yes, you do, yeah. And then she said, I uh sh sh I told her my name, she was like, Can I call you Tess? And you're like And I and I said, Okay, because I wanted to make friends. Do you know what I mean? And it's just like actually, you know, this is my name. My name means sunshine for those who don't know.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

Oh, I love that. Yeah, I feel like you've told me last time when we properly met. Yeah, you did tell me. But girl, your girl was drinking, and I have a really terrible memory. But you remembered me. Yeah, of course. I we remembered that now.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

I've always known you. That was the first time that we met.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

Yeah, let's actually talk about that right now. So, how did I meet Tashai? I met Tashai last year at the end of summer, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Properly met. Yeah, I think it was September, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Yeah, September was some, yeah, September.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

First week of September.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Yeah. Um, yeah, obviously, like the industry, the scene is very small, right? So like we know of each other and everything. And I played with James, who plays a lot with you. A shout out to James Shepard. Um, so I've seen to shy about quite a quite a lot, but like I officially like met her that day, and I was like, okay, I just have to build up the courage to just go and say hi. You know, them ones where like I definitely get too. Oh my god. Like sometimes I feel like whenever like I come across some girls who I've seen who I think they're very cool, I get I get so shy. In my perspective, I'm shy. But like from the outside, the other person will be like, Why should keep staring at me? Like, yeah, it's so interesting. And you get a bit like intimidated, like, but it's never really like that when you meet the other person. Sometimes, sometimes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

I would say a lot of the time, like, you meet people and they're actually really cool, and then other times you meet people and then maybe they're a lot more guarded because maybe they're like at a certain level in their in their career where they have to really protect. But they have to I I just see it as like maybe I try to look at things, yeah, and protection. And I remember like meeting certain like people that had really inspired my journey, and when I met them, I was like, oh, it was a bit underwhelming because I wanted them to like take me under their wing, and you know, and it was like, Oh, okay, but then they must get that like every day of their lives, like um, so but it is just nice to like when you meet another cis in the industry doing similar things to just yeah, I see why I see, yeah, it can be nerve-wracking though.

SPEAKER_00 7:01

Yeah, it's so oh my god, I was intimidated. I'm so scared. Well I've heard you, but like it's it's a good intimidation because like I am meeting someone who's fucking good. Oh so of course you should be intimidated. I think people should be intimidated by people that they think they're good. It's healthy intimidation, obviously. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 7:19

And then you just you speak to that person, you're like, Oh, we're actually human.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Yeah, like we're actually cool. Yeah, but all I had to see was like your big smile. Oh, she she she's she's gang, she can hang. And we're here in your space now having tea, camomile tea, and I baked some shortbreads with gram flor fresh. Delicious.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

So considerate because of course she asked me, like, do I have any dietary? And I'm really like doing my best to honour my body and honour my womb because it doesn't like gluten, doesn't like white flour and stuff like that. So, like, this was really so this is perfect for you. Yeah, so considerate.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Every time I ask people that, they're like, No, no, no, no, no. I'm like, no, I like accept it. Yeah, like this is what I want to do for you.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

And then you're also learning another recipe.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Yeah, so it's like it's me, it's like a two-way thing where like it works for both of us. But like, funnily enough, we're talking about like meeting other people that we admire or like just people that we know in the scene. I was just thinking then, like, um, there's this saying where like people, a lot of people say, like, don't meet your idols, don't meet your idols, yeah. Yeah, this happened to me in some weird way, but like hearing you say what you just said just made me think, like, no, it's probably self-preservation. So, long story cut, short. I run into um Fatumata Di Awara at um a festival, Yam Festival in like 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Yeah, that would have been 2021. One were you there? Yeah, I was there. It was it was someone thought I was happy. Oh really? I had locks at the time. They were like, You dance so amazing. I had that a lot as well. I was like, thanks. It's because I'm black and have locks. Okay, cool. These were black girls as well. Anyway, I digress. Share your story, please.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

No, no, no, no, it's right. Um, so I run into her, and obviously, like I'm fangirl because she's like mother, right? She's so sick, and um the reception was was like not what I wanted to be, but now looking back, I'm like they cut her her set short, 20 minutes. She's put your girl was probably like annoyed, right? Just come off the stage, and now she's been greeted by like, hey, hey, hey, my name is Of course, she'd be a bit like you know, hi, cool. You know, she'd be a bit reserved.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Yeah, what she had the capacity for.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

Yeah, but at the time, I'm like young, dumb, stupid. I just had to change. Not even just you know, like when you're young, you're like naive, you're like, oh my god, and she's just kind of like, hey, like very reserved. Right. And at the time I didn't see that, like she was just trying to like you know, persevere, her energy and whatnot. But um, all I had in my mind was like done me your idols, and I was like, She was terrible to me, but actually she wasn't, she was just like reserved, and she was just probably annoyed that they cut her set like 20 minutes short because Young Festival was like a sight to behold.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Yeah, that was the first and last one, I think.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Is it? Yeah, the first and last one, yeah. No, they they did it again the following year, and it flopped in a different space.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

I think that one was in Clacken Common, yeah, which was great because I could have walked I walked there because I I think I stayed at my mum's or something. I was like, yeah, anyway, but yeah, I hear you.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

It was interesting, yeah. Pilani was there, but the sound wasn't like the sound wasn't great.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Um we almost died seeing coffee because there was like a stampede in there. Me and my friend was just like, yeah, this is not worth it. For coffee, yeah, because they put her in the little tent. Okay, cool. So she wasn't on the main stage, and at that point in her career, like, yeah, it was like everyone wanted to see coffee.

unknown 11:08

Huge.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Yeah, it was like a couple the first gig after lockdown, you know?

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Yeah, them ones there were like people were just so excited to just like go. Be outside and just like socialise with everyone.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Yeah, I had a good time though. It was it was fun. We went for um a couple of my friends' birthdays that celebrate in August, so it was like a link up for all of them.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

A Leo ting.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

One's a Leo and the other one is Virgo.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

I'm a Leo, but I'm a July Leo. Yeah, July. What's the difference? Um, in terms of it wasn't in August.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

So normally like July Leo, do you think there's like a slight difference between July? I don't say that, but I just like people do say that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

I don't know, I am that I am, and you know, I think astrology, there's other things that play a part in that. So like your rising, your moon, your Venus, all of these other things. So yeah, I don't personally know what the difference is. Yeah. But yeah, maybe maybe I'm closer to cancer, so maybe that's why I'm so emotional. Who knows?

SPEAKER_00 12:12

Are you into astrology then?

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Um, I appreciate astrology. I am not an expert in any way, shape, or form. Um, I'm still learning. I have like friends that do astrology and they're experts, but definitely not me. I would love to learn more about it, but I have to create the space in my life to study. Yeah, of course, yeah. Do you know your big three? Yes, I do. Do you want to share or not? I can share. Go on. So I'm a Leo San, right? Oh, I love that. I didn't even see that. That's so cool. Yeah. But what does that say? Kanye. So it's um I believe it's um a South African word. I cannot remember if it's Shona or um or uh used or no, it's not that one. I think it's Gozza or Shona, one of the two. But it means like to shine. Oh, to shine. Yeah. To shine, to shine. Shine. Yeah. So nice. I love that. Um, the it was a a gift from a sister of mine, um, and the lady that makes it is um I'll put it in the in the thing. Yeah, yeah, you're gonna be. Yeah, because I don't want to say her name wrong, but she's she's so talented. But anyway, so Leo San. Leo Sun, rising. Rising is Scorpio.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

I love I live. Wait, I I think I did your chat. Is you is your moon like Libra? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that last chat. It's scary. That Libra moon scares me though. I'm scared of Libra's. Why? Because you guys people please a lot.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Yeah, I can definitely say that I am learning to uh um honour my emotional needs better and put myself first rather than others emotionally, yeah. And we can I can I do find that my Libra moon placement can sometimes mean that I am imbalanced emotionally, not like not in not imbalanced, because I do understand like the reasons for certain things, but like, yeah, Libra represents the scales, yeah. The scales sometimes, sometimes it's not in alignment, and when it's not in alignment, it can go yeah horribly wrong.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

Yeah, I I I get that as well. I have a lot of Libra placement. I feel like most of the things is that why you're scared of it? Yes, because I girl, I your girl has Chiron in Libra, that's not a good thing. You see, so Chiron is like the winded healer in like when it comes to like relationship, and then I have Mars.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Where's your Mars in um in Libra? It's it's it's not ideal. Mars is um pl like where's where's the one that's a planet, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:54

So that's like having these are very strong planets in one side, so that literally feels like I am I'm like obsessed with being fair, but it can like sometimes uh people please a lot, yeah. So I'm working on that in a way like I try to be fair, but like in a way that like is fair to everyone else, but not my own, not in detriment of yourself, in detriment to myself, yeah. So that's how it means we're learning that, yeah. We're learning that, but it's in the sixth house. Okay, so it's in like my uh work life and daily life.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

So you are an astrologer, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yeah, I try, I try. I'm like, yeah, I try to do that. What does that mean? I'm learning, and it's just really hard, like to and Mars is a very like fast-moving planet, so I'm very like obsessed with being third and um aesthetics and music and things like that. There's so much in like what you're learning, like one sign we can be here all day, but anyway, that's me. Um, I wanted to ask you, what is your go-to breakfast? What do you like to have?

SPEAKER_01 16:01

I love to have a smoothie of whatever is in my fridge or in my cupboard. So every morning when I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, okay, absolutely. Yes. Sometimes so when I'm on my cycle, I really just slow down and stop. And I don't always make it because I'm just resting. But um, yesterday's smoothie was I had a bit of watermelon left, I had some beetroot and ginger and a bit of apple. I've never tried that before. I've never I'd never thought to do the watermelon and beetroot, but it really worked really nicely. So watermelon, apple, ginger, and beetroot.

SPEAKER_00 16:42

Ooh, that sounds like a shot.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

It was really good.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

That's really good. It's really so good. Do you have like a juicer?

SPEAKER_01 16:48

I have a blender.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Oh, so wait, how do you do beetroot with a blender though? Because I need to figure that out.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

So sometimes you can strain it.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Oh, yeah, that's what he said. He said I should strain it.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

I didn't strain this one because the watermelon made it more what's the word? Liquidy. Oh, yeah. If that makes sense. So it was I didn't have to strain that one. But sometimes, yeah, the beetroot is long because I'm there like with the sieve, yeah, straining it, then I have to go and do something else, and then it will be ready. But yeah, cleaning a juicer is long.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Long. I used to do that work, yeah. It's really long.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

But um I was shout out to everyone that does that.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Shout out. Um it's funny, like I was I saw this meme the other day where it was like if you're doing a smoothie, just be aware that like banana is always the main character of everything. Have you ever have you ever done like a smoothie or something?

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Yeah, and it would just take that banana.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

It's just banana now.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

But I find that banana like makes it, it adds a sweetness and it adds a really nice texture. So like I love to do it.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

It just takes over. Do you not like banana? It's like a Leo in a room. It's just like, hey, I'm the son. I love that about Leo's though. You guys are in my fourth house, so you guys feel like home. Oh. I'm teaching you a lot. Anyway, next question tell me about um your music journey. How and yeah, what was the music that was playing when you were growing up? I wanna I wanna know.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

So uh it was a mixture. So my dad, I had his record player, one of his favourite bands of all time was Sly and the Family Stone. So bits of funk, but then also like Bob Marley is also my dad's favourite like artist as well. And Abyssinians, a lot of the music that my dad wrote, um oh, just mini repertins, a lot of like mini repertins, yeah. That I used to love that album. I think it's called Perfect Angel. So I used to like play that. Oh, I've not heard that one. Um, yeah, that's with what loving you're on with the ice cream. I'm sure it's called Perfect Angel, or is it Perfect Stranger? I can't remember.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Or is it Adventures in What is that?

SPEAKER_01 18:59

There's a song on there called Perfect, maybe it is called that.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

What is that? Adventures in Paradise. I love that album. That's the one where he where she has um the ones with the dungareens and the ice cream.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

No, that's a different one. That's that's the one that I know. Okay, cool. Um and yeah, um, just loads of reggae, loads of soul, loads of black like pop music as well. I used to watch Top of the Pops every single time. Of course, are you kidding me?

SPEAKER_00 19:30

Top of the Pops is the pillar of British TV music growing up in the UK, like it's inescapable. Yeah, unless you're too young. Yeah, unless you're too young. When did you stop earning it?

SPEAKER_01 19:43

I can't tell you that yeah. Probably like 2006 or something like that. Something like that. I feel like I was in secondary school when that happened. We old. I am as young as I look. Yes, whatever that means to the interpreter.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

So when you start to listen to that, is that when you developed like a feeling of like wanting to do music? Like, how did it start for you?

SPEAKER_01 20:09

So uh it's been nurtured from when I was really young. So my dad was is a songwriter, so he had his like vocals set, like his setup, his studio, the cassettes, all of this, yeah, and would play into it. And there's like recordings of me like three years old, like singing my own songs. So cute. So it was really it was nurtured. Um, but then he would write songs and then get me and my brothers to like to sing it, yeah, or do the harmonies. So music was something that was always encouraged. However, I remember first hearing music soul child. I must have been like eight, nine. Um, well, this is or maybe it's before then. Gosh, my childhood life, a lot of life has happened in my life. So sometimes my childhood memories are a little bit, you know, yeah, healing from trauma and all of these things. Word, right? Words. So I don't always remember the timeline, but I remember hearing Music Soul Child, Just Friends. I was like, I want to see. Yeah, Just Friends is so good. I want to sing. Like it really inspires me. But prior to that, I had I don't know if it was before or after, but I had done like showcases. I would sing in the school choir, done solos, um, yeah, done showcases with um TTI, which is the um Rastafari organization that I was part of, so they had a youth band and they would put on showcases for us, and yeah, when people responded to how I sang, I had haters, especially people my age.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

I mean, are you been good if you if you if you don't have haters?

SPEAKER_01 21:44

They just didn't like me, and I realised that not everyone, I'm really having to accept that. But when you was in school, I'm not everyone's cup of tea.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Yeah, same girl. But when you're in school, is it school or just like when you was young?

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Or in my um in the community that I Grew up in, yeah. Um, I've always felt a bit, I've always been different, so and I didn't quite I always I would try to fit in, so maybe that people pleasing element through the Libra is coming up and wanting to like be accepted, be accepted, but I just ne as much as I tried, I never was.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

Hey, that's usually what happens with like musicians, like we're meant to stand out, we had the oddballs, and it's yeah, and then I'm an oddball in the oddball.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

So I used to love like Janelle Monet, like in my like late teens, early adulthood, but none of my friends listened to her. It was like that was my thing that I loved. Um, and I remember a friend of mine at the time, she made a little comment, like, you know, just like, oh yeah, you like the alternative stuff.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

And I'm like, them ones, like you're an audio.

SPEAKER_01 22:57

Do you know what? Do you ever got that audio? She said that to my face. Yeah, they said it to my face. But they would say, I'm sorry that they said that. Um, they would say growing up, they'll be like, oh yeah, Tasha's from Clatham, or like, yeah, she speaks posh, or she's does open.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

What like black is we're not a monolith. Yeah. Black being black is not a monolith. Like, you know, like I am that I am. The funny thing is, like, we we created all this alternative stuff, and yeah, like it's been pushed out of us. We've been pushed out, and I was like, actually, being alternative is like white since when? So yeah, check yourselves.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

I'm just like at this point, at my big age now, I'm just like, I am that I am, yeah. And then when you accept to yourself who you are, you can heal that that that younger self that was like, oh, I was rejected because of these reasons. But I've always been this way, and it's led you to where you are now. This way, yeah, be misunderstood, and that's part of the journey. That's right. Sometimes where you go into your solitude and you do your writing, because that's the space that you have to express and to be free.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

Shout out to her song.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

Be free, times three. Hey.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

So, how did you decide, like, okay, this is the type of sound that I want to go on?

SPEAKER_01 24:22

Um it's been a journey because so I was part of this youth band, which was predominantly um like roots reggae music that we would do and up and coming stuff as well. Shout outs to um Sister Carol, shout outs to my dad, shout outs to Brother L that nurtured all of us, that was part of that. And then when I was about 15, um, we had other singers come into the space. Um Jamina and um Justice, they came in, we started singing together, and they were older than me, and they had that, they knew their voices, whereas I'm 15 and you're still discovering. I'm still discovering, but also being told what I should sing, yeah. And so they brought in a real soulful element that I had I didn't bring it into this Rastafari community. I would do my soulful stuff outside of that with vocal zones, and but they brought that in, and it gave me permission to want to open my voice, especially when you're with older women. Um yeah, they would write their music and had really intimate, intimate relationships with themselves, right? And I was always scared to write, like yeah, lack of experience in some way. I would say more so it's the emotional vulnerability that I was afraid of. Okay. So I don't know if I'm gonna start writing what's I don't wanna have to face what's gonna come up here, okay? Because I'm a type of like artist now that I express how I feel. Some people they they can watch a you know, they can write like fantasy worlds and songs.

SPEAKER_00 26:09

I really go from like the feeling, from the feeling so it's what I'm experiencing.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

So um I would say that kind of was a development of like my creativity and bringing the different sounds together. Those two women really inspired me. Yeah um, and then um yeah, I just loved when some people call it the revival movement of like reggae when um Janine and Chronics and Protejay first came out, maybe 2012, 2013. Yeah. Remember hearing Janine and being like I can do this, like it was like light bulbs. I can do this because I was writing reggae music before then, but just yeah, would perform it in community events, and then remember seeing her, and yeah, kind of took a few years for it to unfold, and then yeah, just met producers that kind of understood the sound, and yeah, just kind of flowed from that.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

Flowed from that.

SPEAKER_01 27:13

I feel like the music that I create is on a spectrum, so I call it root soul because it is inspired by my upbringing, but it's also the expression of what is inside my soul, yeah, my purpose, and that can take a shape of any type of genre, but it's gonna be rooted in me, it's going to be rooted in my ancestry because I am the I am, yeah, and then but it's also gonna have an expression, and you're gonna feel something when you hear my music because it's coming from here, my soul, yeah, so yeah, same.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

I relate to that a lot, yeah. I I to um to um do most of my music is like from either my experience or the things that I've observed, yeah. So it's like it's always coming from things that I've seen or lived through, and it is authentic that way, but um I know like a lot of people, a lot of artists also try to just like keep it separate, but um yeah, what do you mean?

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Like um artists, they they try to keep their music and their experiences their personal life, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

Um in in a way like they create altar egos and things like that. I I'm honestly like I find the term of uh having an alter ego quite interesting because it's like it actually makes sense. You get on the stage, you do whatever you have to do, you get dressed, you go home, and you you're yourself. So in a way, like I try like this eva that I'm in, I'm trying to like have that in a way where like I'm still speaking about things that's happened to me, but now I have a wig on and I'm this type of person now, okay, who speaks about her experiences and doesn't shy away from like anything that's like pissed me off or made me happy, but like the time that wig comes off, I'm Leia, spiritual Leia, down to a fleia, you know, I'm Locke's Leia. Do you know what I mean? So I think it's actually quite cool.

SPEAKER_01 29:14

So would you say that you have like the the you have different personas that are your artistic perspection, your art your artistic expression. So you've got let's call it wig layer.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

Yeah, wig layer who is the performer, yeah. The performer.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

And then you have the layer that is presenting yourself. Presenter right now, you're still in your artist mode.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

Yeah, but more grounded down to a more layer, yeah, if you might call that call that if that makes sense, and then you have layer that your friends and stage layer. Oh no, friends and family. Oh, that makes sense actually. See, I'm still trying to explore because I literally just got this wigger last year. Okay. Because I was pretty much like, you know, I'm like, I'm like you. We want to keep it natural, we want to keep it us, right? So when I I love the hair, by the way, and the colour. I almost cut it because I was like, okay, new era, let's cut the hair. But then I was like, I'm exact I'm exactly like you, honestly, like new era less likes to change it up, right? Yeah, as most black women do anyway. But like I got to a point where I was like, no, I I don't I don't want to cut it actually. I want to keep this here, but what I can do is just have a different expression of myself on stage. Where like if I have this Motown look, that's that's what the era is. And when I take that wig off, you're experiencing a different layer, down 12th layer, grounded layer, on the show here, grounded layer. This is like the layer that you will see on a day-to-day basis, not like stage layer where it's like I am sassy, I'm expressive, I'm like all this stuff. So um buying that wig kind of like made me realize that like I can have an auto-ego, but in a cool way. But anyway, enough about me. Okay, next question. Obviously, you're quite spiritual. I want to talk about more about um how you got into your spiritual journey and when did you have your first awakening? All the cringy stuff. Tell me things, girl.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

I would say that with the way that I was raised within Rastafari, spirituality is something that is in the heart of that. So I was raised to pray and to cultivate a relationship with God, like that was something that was encouraged and I guess taught to me, or like sh it was a community thing, so have that at home and then have that in in what we call HQ is where the community space that we grew up, so yeah, grew up with God at the center. Um became a little bit ra a lot more radical within my beliefs in my late teens, so maybe between 18, 19, I really was like a proper Bible student. I was like reading and I became quite extreme. Oh, really? And then I had my first awakening just after my 20th birthday.

SPEAKER_00 32:23

Oh wow!

SPEAKER_01 32:24

And it's when I was listening to an elder called Muta Baruch. Pardon? That's way earlier than me, but God And this is the first one because they don't think there's many, they don't stop. You have to unlearn stuff, but yeah, I was listening to some reasonings from um Muta Baruka as a Jamaican elder and sub poet and um an ancestor called Roniko Rashidi, who his work was about finding the African presence outside of Africa, and they I just remember like being at a friend's house at the time and just hearing this conversation, and then it just made me think, Oh my god, has everything that I've ever been taught a lie? Like, yeah, it just unraveled it, and I kind of went more into a space of not praying, not believing in like being really triggered by the word God, being triggered by the word Jesus, like really like oh my gosh, because it was so I was so extreme, but then now I'm like absolutely like what the heck? Huh? Like my whole it my whole world crashed before my eyes. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 33:38

Yeah, they don't know to shy, they don't know how it works.

SPEAKER_01 33:42

Everyone's journey is different, you know, and what resonates with me might not resonate with with another person. You have to find your own path and your own way, and that's what I had to do, and then I went deeper within Rastafari without the Christian side of things. So um I started to look at the divine feminine and looking at Empress Menin and seeing the feminine attributes of of God, and it was really empowering because growing up I really used to battle within myself. I remember as young as like five, thinking I was evil because Eve is the one that brought sin into the world and being like, I'm a woman. Yeah, all of that. Yeah, so it really like I really had to find ways to empower myself, and so would go to different like talks and little bits of like um chemet and being activated spiritually, and I started to learn about the chakras and started meditating and then cultivating my own relationship with the most high with like the rastafari teachings as well. Um, and then yeah, it's just been an unfolding since then. Just learning, unlearning. Does that resonate? Does that not? Okay, people in this part of the world, they're able to see God in all things, and that's something that we learn in Rastafari as well. Like, I and I, I is in everything, and I is you, and like there is no you, there's no separation, so there's no separation from us and these plants, like it's all connected, and there's so much different spiritual systems that have that oneness as well. So, yeah, I'm going off on a bit of a tangent.

SPEAKER_00 35:27

I understand. I'm here for it. We we can sit here and shout about spiritual all the time.

SPEAKER_01 35:31

It's just it's been it's been a real journey, and then awakening my own gifts within that.

SPEAKER_00 35:37

What triggered the awakening though?

SPEAKER_01 35:40

What triggered the awakening was listening to this reasoning with these two elders talking about some of the Bible stories, and like basically saying that does not represent us as African people, that they're not talking about us, and it took me down a rabbit hole and I started to do lots of different research about things and you get really into it, you're like, Yeah, I gotta find out, gotta find out, I gotta find out, and but it just it triggered something in me hearing that because I'd heard it before I wouldn't allow myself to listen to these people before because they were people you know would say, Oh, don't listen to that person because they're against what we believe. So I wouldn't allow myself to go and listen to other schools of thought, and so when I did, that's what happened. Yeah, so yeah, it's just it's just been an unfolding since then, and that was a long time ago.

SPEAKER_00 36:36

Yeah, yeah. But mine is quite different, actually. Yeah, I think like um mine was triggered by LSD, his corny is it's the corny is way to trigger your awakening sometime is like through LSD, like one who played that corny because no, it wasn't just LSD actually, LSD did play a part of it. Um 2019, I just like I felt a bit like lost, like I just you know when you're like sick of your own shit, you're like sick of your own shit, you get to a point where like I'm sick of having the same doing the same things and not getting anything different, if that makes sense. So I just started to search with them as well. I started to question everything.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

So what made you um like want to take LSD? How did that get introduced to you? Yes, and from a perspective of wanting to open your yourself up to these things, or was it more in a like leisure type of way?

SPEAKER_00 37:34

It was I met some guys in a park, they were skating, I thought it was cool. It was my birthday, I've always wanted to try LSD. Okay, and there was like, yeah, we're gonna do LSD. And I went, so wrong. Don't do this, don't do this.

SPEAKER_01 37:48

Lesson.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

I met them, and not everything was cool, it was chill, but like I am one in how many people who you just meet and you do drugs and it it goes the wrong way, but they were lovely. Um did that, woke up the next day and just saw the world in very different way. But prior to that, I was questioning a lot about what I wanted to do with my life and how I wanted what I wanted to change about my myself because like I wasn't just happy, I wasn't in a great place. I say that. Um yeah, that triggered it, and has as as you said, awakenings happen all the time. Yeah, different ways. I was thinking, like, oh yeah, that's just my first awakening. I'm good, like I know you don't. And you have to start facing all the stuff, all the face all your all your trauma, everything else, and uh and then you start seeing the world in very in in like different eyes all the time. You start learning different things about yourself. Um, yeah, it's I'm still in that journey. It's good, it's rewarding sometimes, right? But like obviously it's it it can get a bit toxic when you start to not live in the moment and start analyzing everything and wanting to question absolutely everything and not stopping at that. So um I'm learning to just live, yeah, and finding the balance, yeah, finding the balance and not trying to like always want to like psychoanalyze everything, every experience, and things like that. Yeah, but um alright, I want to talk about your voice activation workshop. Yeah, tell me about that. How did you start?

SPEAKER_01 39:25

This is a really interesting conversation to segue from the spiritual wave.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

Yeah, because not that I see you on my Instagram all the time because you're one of the people who are not muted. I've I mute so many things because you have so many advertisements and things like that that you just don't want to see, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:45

Fair enough. You have to protect your piece because what comes within that what you see on the screen is like it comes into your consciousness, so it's well done for doing that because yeah, I had to do that with Shade Barrow in like 2020. Oh, yeah, I had to unfollow Shade Barrow. But they keep trying to come back on with this new like Instagram where there's people that you don't follow. Yes, I'm like, I've muted you, Instagram. I've unfollowed you. Yeah, why are you here? Are you here to test me? Okay, the test failed. You failed, I didn't fail. Yeah, um, but yeah, really interesting to segue from that because I did a course. So within the music, I started teaching, so I became a vocal coach in a school. I worked with a a youth charity called School Ground Sounds, which no longer exists anymore. But shout out to all the School Ground Sounds family. I was a student there, and then they like offered me a job, so I would do like after school clubs and um work on their different development programs, so doing vocal support, performance support, just being like a mentor for young musicians at the time. Then I got a job in the school, and I was doing that for a bit, and then I did this course which was about like tapping into your inner abundance, so it was called inclusive abundance, and it just awakened gifts that I did not know that I had. And my mentor, she was like, I feel like you have you have so much more to offer than than what you're doing. Like, have you ever thought about offering some like one-to-one sessions? And I was like, So terrified, yeah, yeah, like terrified, and she was like, just do it, and I just did like a status or like something saying, If any, if I would do like voice, I called it vocal healing workshops. Yeah, I was like, if you want vocal healing workshops, like would anyone come? And then I had like quite a few sign-ups, and I was like, And this was like doing one-to-ones, and then so I used the things that I learned through the spiritual journey, so like learning to meditate with them, like to really find their inner voices, and yeah, it was really I it was all spirit-led because I'd never done it before, but it was weaving the things that I had learned along the journey, so that's how it began. That was in 2021, and yeah, I've worked with so many different clients, and then I started to do group workshops because I wanted to impact and build more community spaces for people. Um, I love it as well, it's like amazing, and so yeah, that's how that began. And I just feel like it's really important for us to have a space where we can express, especially like we started this conversation with me saying, No, actually, my name is Tashai. I've struggled to express my truth, I've struggled to um share how I'm feeling, I've struggled to write music about what's going on. It's been a journey, and it's something that I've been able to, you know, I'm on a journey of mastery with that, yeah, and the things that I learned along the way, I know how much it's liberated me to be able to find my voice and to use it and to actually support other people through my music or speaking up against um sexual, you know, trigger warning and sorry, I should have said that before. Speaking out against, you know, violence against women and things that I've experienced, you know, how much that I know that is liberating, and um my ancestors are like, wow, we've been waiting for these moments for you to heal these generational curses. So, yeah, creating spaces for ones to have that for themselves, and I'm just there to say, look, these are the things I know. I'm gonna meditate with you and let's see what we're able to cultivate, what we're able to release, what you're able to unleash, and what you're able to how you're able to like really tune in with the most high. Um, because for me, this work is about what the most high wants to come through us as beings. It's not about what you want, it's not about what I want, it's about what we allow to come through. Um, so it's quite spiritual. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 44:16

And then anyone can sign up and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 44:18

Yeah, so I did it. I did the last round, we did 13 sessions and it's over 13 months, and we'll be launching some different things um in the spring, which I can't really speak about yet. Okay, but you can like stay tuned.

SPEAKER_00 44:33

You gotta follow her.

SPEAKER_01 44:34

Yeah, so we'll be launching some new different activations.

SPEAKER_00 44:40

Don't say too much, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:42

If you don't want to, yeah, yeah, no, no, but we will be, so stay tuned.

SPEAKER_00 44:47

Alright, I want to talk about the award show that you went to you did last year. It was like with Jules Holland. What was can you tell us a bit more about that?

SPEAKER_01 44:58

Yeah, so I was nominated for an award for Emerging Artists of the Year at the um at the Boysdale, which is a venue that I first played at. Well, it's a few years ago now. Um, I've played there a few times, and yeah, I was really like honoured to be um recognised. Even the nomination was just like as emergent artist. Yes, I've been doing this for a long time, but there's still emergency. So it was hosted and presented by Jules Holland and Rebecca, Rebecca Ferguson. So Jules Holland does it every year, and he is a sponsor for that event. And I won the award, so I was crowned um that was so sick. I remember Emergent Artist of the Year at the Boysdale for presented by Jules Hollands, which yeah, it's you know, we don't do that for Jules. Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna share. So we don't always get to um we don't always do what we do for awards. We do what we do because we love it, right? And the song that I was requested to sing was a song that's really deeply personal to me. Um, trigger warning. It's about being a survivor and like writing a love letter to myself and also to the person that violated me and just being like taking my power back. And that song Oh, yeah, I remember you writing a caption about that. Yeah, so that song being the song that I was actually asked to sing was like wow, like it was so healing for that, you know, that younger version of myself. And um Jules like said I was amazing, and like it was it was she was yeah, it was just like because you asked me how was it performing for him? It was it was really nerve-wracking because of the song, regardless of who was in that room, it could have been my family, like that was the the second time ever sharing that song live. The first time I wrote it, I couldn't sing it because it was it it was just too much, yeah, it was too much, and yeah, just being able to be in a room full of people that listen to words that I had to say, and I know that I was in the audience, I was not the only person that had experienced those things. So being able to s use my voice to amplify the voices of others that may not be in a space where they want to share their experiences, they could relate to that and find you know some kind of encouragement that it it gets better, yeah, you know, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:41

Yeah, so obviously, like the subject's okay. The subject of the song was was what was most intimidating to do, but um what was the overall experience of the performance?

SPEAKER_01 47:58

There was a whirlwind because like I'm having to perform, I've just got this award. I'm like it's static, and then I'm like, oh my gosh, I have to perform, I have to perform.

SPEAKER_00 48:07

You perform first and then you get the award.

SPEAKER_01 48:10

No, I performed. I got the award and then I performed, I believe. It was such a blur. These things happened so fast, and yeah, it was just like we only had a certain amount of time as well, so I had to cut the song like in half. So I was there thinking about okay, when's it gonna finish? Like, yeah, so I'm just in performance mode. It was a whirlwind, but I did feel when people came up to me afterwards that they were with me and that they were present with what I had to share. Um, and yeah, really proud of myself actually. Big up me for singing that song in a space like that as well, where you know, we we were aware of most of the we like people use the term powers that be, but I don't even like to say that because you ain't got no you ain't got no power over me, darling. But in certain institutions and stuff like certain spaces, it is that is the culture, like people that have a lot of, you know, we've seen with all of these files coming out and like um stuff about P. Diddy, a lot of the music industry, a lot of these men and women, or people that have a certain level of power are abusing that. So being in a space where there's potentially people that could be perpetrators in that space as well was like a big I don't know if I'm allowed to swear, but a big fuck you to those systems that we are dismantling because it's an illness, it is an illness, it's an illness, and obviously my situation um was like me as a child, but there's been instances as as adults in the instances. Instances of adults where you know I've been you know had experiences where oh, did I really consent to that? Like when I really deepen it, and then I have conversations with women that that I know or strangers, and they share with me experiences, and I'm like, rah, like do you realize that that you didn't actually consent to that? And this is why it's really important for us as you know millennials, millennials, millennials.

SPEAKER_00 50:37

You're a millennial, I'm a Gen Z.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Are you a Gen Z? Okay, I'm on the I'm on the cusp, you know. So are you what 97?

SPEAKER_00 50:44

Yes, yeah, this girl's intuitions on the point. That's the third time today. That's the spare time today.

SPEAKER_01 50:52

Damn. Um, but yeah, like, and even the ones younger to be like, actually, this you have that sometimes my voice um to be able to advocate for ourselves and to know what is consent, what actually feels like a yes in your body, what doesn't, and being able to use your voice to express that, and even if start something does happen, not to keep it to yourself, tell somebody, yeah, report it.

SPEAKER_00 51:23

Yeah, it's yeah, or confide in a tiny bit. Especially as women, we don't realize that we're not consenting consenting to something until we're like in our in our bed, we're trying to sleep, and then we're like, wait a minute. What happened? What happened here? I wasn't okay with that. I have so many stories. Um that's a story from another day. Okay, now we're on to uh before we actually go on the next uh segment of our show. So when is Jules gonna have you in for the Jules Holland? Jules Holland, when are you gonna have me for the Hutanani? For the Hutanani. Not even just for the Hutanani, for the ones uh uh the one that he does every is it fortnight? When is that?

SPEAKER_01 52:07

Isn't that the Hutanani?

SPEAKER_00 52:09

Not the Hutenani, that's the Hutanani's like at the end of the year, but the ones that he does all way round, it's like Soon.

SPEAKER_01 52:15

Yeah When I drop my new means let's let's manifest that. Ashay, Ashay, Ashay.

SPEAKER_00 52:21

Okay, now on to the spicy questions. I'm gonna give you four spicy questions. Hopefully, just four. I'm scared.

SPEAKER_01 52:28

Oh, don't be scared. Let me pour some tea.

SPEAKER_00 52:30

Yeah, pour some tea, pour some tea. Okay, this one, we'll start with Venezuela's one first. Tell us a time. You have to be very quickly with these uh answers though, because we haven't got all day. We've got ten minutes. Tell us a time ten minutes for this segment. Tell us a time where you were close to giving up.

SPEAKER_01 52:52

Uh, probably in the last three years has been a lot of times. I'm like, you know what? I'm done with this music thing. I'm done. Trigger warning with this life thing. I don't want to do this, I don't want to be here. It's too much. Why do I feel so deeply? Why can't I forgive myself for the mistakes I've made? Why can't I forgive others for those who's forgiven me that have hurt me? Like carrying so much shame and guilt, and yeah, guilt is a big one for that has been like my deadliest thing, and yeah, it's just made it in the past, it's just like but I don't want to do this, I feel so pressured. Like, if because I've taken a bit of a break of releasing music as well, there's like expectations that and then you see there's also like you see like your peers that may have had a different situation doing so well, and you're super happy for them, but then you're also like, oh, but when I was in a different space mentally or emotionally within my physical health, maybe my situation would be different. But then I've had to tell myself, Tasha, ain't no one, ain't no, ain't no one giving you nothing. You better go and take it. Yeah, you better go and share your voice and do the things and connect and just keep going. I've had to because it's been so rough. It's been like I'm telling you, my close people they know, and I give thanks for the friends and family and the people that have you know been there for me when I've wanted to give up, like especially my mum, so grateful, and I've just had to yeah, keep allowing music on, yeah, and allowing music to inspire me because sometimes it's like when like you said before, like when music is not giving you your joy, you're finding other ways to be creative, and sometimes it was listening to music. I'm there listening to it, not from a joyful place. I'm like from like I have to do this, yeah, even if it's even if it's other people's music, and I'm like, no, like how can I become inspired?

SPEAKER_00 55:15

What can I do within my life that makes me feel inspired every day to want to firstly be alive and then yeah, people have to get cut off in those seasons as well, but you know when you're spiritual, you I feel like you feel shaped more deeply because you're like cons because there's an awareness, consistently awareness, because consistently like, oh what am I doing? Like, how how how am I looked? How am I perceived? Yeah, like what are they doing, and how do I feel? We'll continuously like want to improve ourselves, but like can get quite toxic, right?

SPEAKER_01 55:50

It can do um when you're overthinking things and not just being present. I think it is important to you know look back at like okay, how could I have done that better? But not dwelling into the mistake or into the into the pain. I think it's important to sit with that, but it's like okay, what have I learned? What can I do now? And how can I forgive, you know? All right, it's a long-winded answer.

SPEAKER_00 56:16

It's a long-winded answer, I suppose, find uh tell us a time when someone led you on in the industry. You don't have to say names, just tell us the situation.

SPEAKER_01 56:29

I I need to I need to think about what I want to share. Um, someone led me on in the industry. Yeah, I guess like little things like you might go to a festival and you meet the organizers and they're like, oh yeah, you're gonna be on next year, and then did they never put you on? No, but it's so hard. But then I have to put it like, and what I'm learning is okay, if Tasha, if you actually really wanted that, why don't you apply it or put pressure? Yeah or so there's always lessons, but yeah, that would be like a small there's so many people pleasing in this industry, it's like I've had that as well.

SPEAKER_00 57:12

I was so excited. I was like, oh my god, did I really ace it? Go home, watch the video. I'm like, I was shit, they were just trying to be nice. Oh, but yeah, I don't know what happens.

SPEAKER_01 57:22

Like our perspective, our perception of ourselves sometimes is not how we're being received by others. True, but it is good to watch yourself back, which is something I don't do enough because yeah, I literally cringe the whole time.

SPEAKER_00 57:35

I cringe too. I'm like, but I love watching you.

SPEAKER_01 57:40

You're so sweet. I'm like, I'm like, no, what is that? What are you doing with your hand?

SPEAKER_00 57:44

Oh, we all do that. I just watch it and I get he knows this. I always get like I get really like if there was a video of like how upset I get after every show, I will be cancelled. Like, no, no one in my band will want to play with me because it's like you you're too much, like, stop, it's not that deep. And when I look at it, like a few months later, I'm like, it actually wasn't that deep. But it is what it is, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:10

But uh as long as it pushes you to be better and not beat yourself up.

SPEAKER_00 58:15

Yeah, okay. If you could swap careers with anyone in our scene right now, in our scene, I would it be me from three years ago. Oh really? Well, you can't say yourself, anyone else. I don't know. I don't know. You have to, I don't know, you have to pick maybe like your friends in the industry.

SPEAKER_01 58:37

I don't really know. Yeah, you do. I actually don't.

SPEAKER_00 58:41

I can see it in your eyes. I'm joking. I don't know. I'm not really sure, but I'm gonna pass, pass um, last one. What's the funniest diva moment you've witnessed in music industry? Oh like some situation that you've seen that's like too diva. You're like, whoa, I didn't know people still do this.

SPEAKER_01 59:12

I'm like, that's definitely not the biggest one. There's bear that I don't remember. It's probably me being me being a diva, to be fair. Okay, what's your most diva moment? But yeah, I don't know about mine, but I feel like there was a time when I had a like we were sharing a really small dressing room with two other artists, and like one of the musicians, like so it was like females and male sharing a dressing room, and like one of the male musicians didn't want to leave the dressing room, but like us to change and stuff, and I was just like, You're being a like it's not about you, like that's you just like yeah. So I would say that would be a diva moment that was a bit unnecessary.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:00

Umne okay, one last one though before we we move on to the last segment. What's one thing about the industry people don't say out loud?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:12

Um I would say that not everyone's not everyone are friends.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:21

Not everyone's friends, not everyone's friends, unfortunately. It might look like that in the gram, but know who your friends are.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:29

Yeah, um, yeah, not everyone's friends.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:32

No, everyone's friends because okay. Well, on to our last segment of the show. May this situation never find me. Say shy. Tell us a situation that you have observed in the music industry that you want to vouch right now, it shall never find you.

unknown 1:00:54

Oh god.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:58

Um something that I've not something's happened to you, something you can do. No, I know.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:02

Um I feel like I have a brain where I delete things that I find traumatic. Oh, okay, cool. And I'm like, okay, I have I have to think about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:14

Think about it.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:15

Not like a person that can just like think on the spot. I I I need time. Um, which I think is because I got diagnosed with ADHD, and I'm like, okay, I'll make my brain work. Um, something that's happened in the industry that I hope never happens to me. Um that I've observed. Oh, like your rider needs not being met.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:41

Oh, really? Um that's all you're worried about?

unknown 1:01:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:44

Your rider?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:45

Absolutely, because your rider could include a dressing space for you to get ready in with all of the things that you need. And you get to the festival, and none of it's there for you. You have nowhere to get change, you have nothing. That's stress. I don't need that. And I've seen that happen to people, and then them being disrespected in the process, especially when it's a woman as well. Like, so yeah, I witnessed that and was told about it, and I pray that that doesn't happen to me. Um, something like that I witnessed when I was abroad with an um with an artist is that the promoters on the day said, Can you perform we should cancel it because there's like um a cultural day like that they're observing. Can you cancel it and perform tomorrow? And you're just like like they just change the dates.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:45

You're just like well, you turn up and they say, Can you do it tomorrow? Yeah, no, yeah, so that's terrible.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:51

That's bad. These are like ones that I can think of, yeah, like off the table.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:56

That's fine. Okay, so we have one question from our hotline May This Situation Never Find Me Hotline. Oh, okay. Okay, someone has said a promoter still owes me money. I played one of the biggest festivals in the UK last year, and the promoter still hasn't paid me. Any advice you can give? What? Turn up at his house, if you know his house or his office, um bring an AK 45.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:33

Uh is it? Yeah, I was like, what's a 45? 47. 47 and and shit. That's how I know you're a gentle soul. And go for it. That's how I know. Um advise. I have been in situations where you know people have taken long to pay me or cancel gigs or whatever. Get used to it, mate. No, don't get used to it. Have a contract. What is in writing? Oh, yeah, contracts for sure. What is in writing, and what can you um do legally to get this sorted? Like, are there any music lawyers that you can contact? Can you contact music uh musicians union and yeah, with the paperwork, come run me my money?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:19

Yeah, yeah, and I'm just here like get used to it, mate.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:22

Oh my god. No, there was a situation where made a situation where someone's I witnessed this thing happen where someone I know had traveled to do some gigs in a different country, and they were building their network and stuff, and someone approached them to do a music video, and then they're like, Okay, we'll sort the videographer's like, we'll sort everything out. We found the location that you want. Say the location is what three hours away by car, they've met at the train station. This person does not show up, does not show up.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:06

Abolish old artist. Why do we do that? There's a lot of people who are like this stuff in the industry, like lakey as hell. Like, why? Why would you say yes and then just like not do it?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:18

Like, and then after excuses, oh no no, yeah, something happened, my car broke down. Yeah, some people be making excuses, but still not trying to fix it. Yeah, my friend wanted to my friend was like, What's his address? I was like, I don't know. But yeah, that was that was an awful situation. I think like you sometimes can become desensitized to when people take the piss because are you desensitized or it becomes normal, but now I'm having to like come in my big woman energy and be like my contract ship my contract because there were situations where My name has been put on flyers that we haven't there's no paperwork.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:05

It's crazy. They just use your name to Jai McKenna and just never like told you about it. Like just use your your likeness and never like how if I had money right now, you would make if I speak.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:18

Damn. Yeah. And you know, some situations were innocent, others were innocent, others were not, and it's just like I have to, I have to like think, okay, what is it? Because we're talking about spirituality, right? And being aware of self. What is it about my energy at that time? Because people used to spell my name wrong on flyers and I wouldn't show up to the gig. What is it about me that is allowing this to happen? And I have to I have to look at self and be like, is there any places where my energy is leaking? Am I too accessible? Whatever that is, and then do what you need to do to move forward. So yeah, I would say to any artist that's watching this paperwork, paper trail, emails, if you had a phone conversation with someone, even if it's your brethren, right? You need to have um you need to have it in email or contracts.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:21

Because people like everyone every people will try to play with you.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:25

Yeah, and a lot of the time people are just trying to build up their own thing, right? Yeah. Some people are malicious, other people are just normal humans living their lives and they forget things or whatever. That's interesting. Yeah, they're just trying to sort out what they need to do, but how you can protect your you need to prioritize protecting yourself. You do. Um and that's something that I've had to learn um in different ways in all aspects of life, not just in the industry, you know, just it all kind of feeds in, and then you have to like take responsibility for and not take not be like I'm a victim.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:04

Like I've yeah, it's very easy to victimize yourself. Yeah, 100%, especially when you've gone through trauma.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:10

Yeah, nah, I'm not I'm not having that story. No thanks, that's not mine.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:15

Later, later, and with that, we've come to the end of this episode. Please give it up to shy. Thank you so much, thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Please tell us what your what you got coming up.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:33

So at the moment, we are in a space of transition. So, yeah, if the best way to keep up with me is to go on Instagram. Mostly that's the platform that I use. So it's Tashi Makeda, T-E-S-H-A-Y-M-A-K-E-D A underscore, and then it's Tashaimikeda on all other platforms. If you want to sign up to my mailing list, it's Tashaimakeda.com. And yeah, there's there's exciting things happening, um, but you just gotta stay in tune.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:05

Yes, you gotta make sure you follow, like, share, subscribe a lot, and see you on the next episode. Bye. I need to piss. I've been holding this tea for like me.