Terrence Indie Spotlight

Big Thanks to Terrence for a DOPE Interview! 🎤🔥

We had an incredible conversation—real talk, real music, and real vibes. Appreciate you pulling up and blessing the platform! 💯

🎧 Terrence Interview NOW STREAMING!

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Hosted by AD Nova 🎙️

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So how you doing, man? Good, man. Glad to see you, man. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna do it. Can you see me? I can't see you. Alright, yeah. So what's up, man? Oh, bet, bet, bet, okay. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna do a quick bio about you. And then uh I'm gonna let Takor take over for the interview. Okay, hold on, because I can't. Should I be able to see myself? Yeah, I see you. Yeah, okay, I see you. I just can't see myself, but okay. Alright. So what I'm gonna do is, like I said, I'm gonna I'm gonna do your bio and then I'm gonna let uh he's gonna do the interview, and then we're gonna we're gonna let you do your thing and then we're gonna go from there.

unknown 0:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Alright, bet. Alright, so let me get this out. How your day going? Good, man. Good. I can't see myself because can you see yourself? Yeah, I see myself. Change of view on the app. Yeah, I don't know, bro. I can't see myself. Does it have a little camera button at the bottom?

SPEAKER_03 1:19

Yeah, so I did uh it doesn't matter. I mean, yeah, I can't see you, but that's hold on, let me see.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Oh, okay. Alright, cool. Uh uh So uh appreciate you taking your time out to uh interview with uh push the independent radio and Indy Hart uh with myself and Takor. Um really means a lot that you decided to take your time and to do this. So we're gonna get into it. You can hear me okay and everything? Yeah, I hear you rubber, man. Good. So we're gonna let you get you started. So check this out, ladies and gentlemen. This is AD and Takor getting ready for a sound that doesn't just cling, but it also moves. They were shining the spotlight on a truthful dictionary. Washington, D.C. owns Crash Country. I'm coming from a rich lineage of R Street, including his great aunt, the legendary Ed Baker, Cascar's tradition, but makes no mistake. He's here to provide it. Landing soul, rock, or emotion, it's what can only be described as alternative soul. His security sound feels like over place. If Chris Mark grew up in the church or you was released in Mississippi, Mississippi Davis sheltered. It's powerful, it's spiritual, and it's unapologetic and authentic. They recognize him from season 14, where he's turned all four chairs in under 30 seconds. With his unforgettable resistance of the temptation class in my moment again, just when hearts is tapping to the RP charts and cracked the top 100 overall. From tap pin up for Prince. And just three years old is becoming to becoming a drama force in music today. Terrence Cunningham is the definition of a home of working. So let's shout it up for a man. Kurt let me let you take it over.

SPEAKER_03 3:34

What's up, man? What's going on with you? I'm doing fantastic. How are you?

SPEAKER_00 3:40

I am great and I'm honored to be here today. This is gonna be let's call it like a flashback, take it back. Real chip, but we're gonna get to know you. What you got going on? So let's go ahead and jump right into it. He gave you a wonderful intro. We know a little bit about your past, but I want to start with how you feeling there. I'm good. I'm good, I'm blessed. Good, good. So a lot of people may think that they know who you are, but they really don't know. So I want you to tell me something that maybe people don't know about you. Oh wow.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

Well, I, as you know, because you know, we're friends in high school, I had a a daughter very young, that's 16, now 28, and I have a grandson that's five, six. And, you know, that in and of itself sort of give it gave me a sense of like a forced maturity. And I mean, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, it's the best day of my life still, when she was born, and she's thriving, she's doing well, my grandson's doing well. And I think that sort of was like the catalyst of me as an artist, even though I've been an artist since I was about three and four years old playing the piano, you know, my parents getting my first piano keyboard. I grew up playing piano in church and drums, awkward-friendly. Again, that's you, you know. It's interesting because I know you know a lot about me already.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

I do, but we look act like I'm enough.

SPEAKER_03 5:20

Right, okay. And so, yeah, I've made living as a full-time musician, and it's been it's been a blessing. It's taking me around the world, and I was fortunate enough to get invited personally by everyone at Universal to be on the board at Sonora BC. They actually sought me out. Most people don't know that. But they they sought me out, and it was a great time.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

That was gonna be one of my questions. Like, out of all the different types of shows you could have picked to choose from or to your talent, what made it the voice? But what the thing really makes the like different things.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

Yeah. Yeah, well, a lot of people don't know, and I probably they probably don't want people to know this, but they there are some ringers on the show, so to speak. Because you don't want to watch a show full of people that don't have talent. Right? So you they have certain people that they know, like, yo, he's dope or she's dope. He's gonna, you know, grow our viewership because what we my season was basically the comeback season, season 14, because the voice wasn't doing that well because America's got talent was starting. American Idol was still going strong. So they decided to bring Alicia Keys back to help promote it. So our initial commercial history, Super Bowl, of 2018. And we were getting like 15 million viewers an episode. So it was really the thing that catapulted the voice again back to Stratosphere. And that was Kevin Parkson's first time. Uh Blake Sheldon and Adam Levine were there since day one, if I'm not mistaken. So we were like the savior of the voice of DC. And it was it was a phenomenal opportunity. I did it mostly because when I was living in LA at the time, I was transitioning between LA and here in DC. And I was supposed to work on this gospel arts project in Dallas, but it fell through. So I was literally about to move to Dallas, and then, you know, the industry stuff happens, and I really didn't have anywhere to live. I mean, I could have come back here, honestly. But they hit me, it was like, yo, well, you'll be sequestered in a hotel. I was like, oh, well, I'll do it now. Because you gave me somewhere to live. You know what I'm saying? And so, you know, God really had me in the palm of his hand during that time because I was in LA and I didn't want to come back here. I wanted to stay in LA, pursue music. But LA, like DC, is not cheap. Right? And so I couch topped three years. That's something else people don't know. Like I never officially had my own place in LA, a couch hopped because I had wonderful friends that supported me and that believed in me. And so when I got the call from the voice, I was like, I'll absolutely do it because you give me a free place to live for six for nine months. And it's the voice. Like, I don't normally like music competition shows because there's a lot of politics, there's a lot of like Hollywood stuff that goes on. And honestly, I just don't like them. I don't need four people to tell me that I'm dope. I didn't have before I got here. Right. But I honored them, all for them. Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, Blake Sheldon, Adam Levine are captains of their industry. And I'm a fan of all of theirs. So for them to tell me things that I only wish to be true about myself already was a wonderful experience to work with them because they knew there's certain caliber of musicians, there's a certain problems that some musicians have. And I also I love the fact that they sort of like shelved their celebrity. So we're not gonna say that, whatever, whatever. So it worked out.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

That is an amazing backstory to a really like it's inspirational story for those people interested in the voice, don't know about it, or maybe not even know exactly how you guys parents. Yeah, absolutely. So let's you touch on something, and I want to kind of think the LA world is very different when it comes to music than the DC world. Can you share your light thoughts on what is what those changes and how do you feel on the east side?

SPEAKER_03 9:52

Well, I mean, music is music, no matter where you are. But LA is one of these spots where you could get a pilot just for being a star example and so on the scene shooting. So there is more gratitude in LA than DC. DC is a DC is what 66 square miles. DC is small. And LA is the interstate capital of the world. Right? So I think the difference between LA and one gig, one city that could change your entire life. I'm proof because it changed mine. Right? You know, LA is always about preparation, reliability, and ability. You know what I mean? Like if you're dope and you don't have, you know, ego, you don't have all this stuff going on. You were working in LA. You know what I'm saying? Just be reliable, know what you're doing, know your part, know the song, know the music, know the script, whatever it is. Because I think people have this thing about LA it's hard to make it is, but when the opportunity meets preparation, that's how things worth it.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yeah. Well, I I had to ask the question, because you know, people will always say that nothing here, but I do believe that shine just as bright as you feel about where you are. How happened to the indie artists couldn't do some bad. Maybe not necessarily a struggle, but some of the positive and to soint or in the indie world where some people get discouraged.

SPEAKER_03 11:32

I I think it's we have a responsibility to the craft of music. And that sort of is the catalyst of what keeps us going. In some way, as Adrian levels as a musician, we don't have a choice in this. Right? We've chosen God, you know, chose to give me a certain set of skills, and how dare I not do my part and you know, give God credit and give God thanks by doing it. I think it's very easy. So I think that's an album that's our responsibility to get back, whether you're doing secular gigs or you're doing church gigs. If God thought it doesn't allow me to bless the certain level, a certain algorithm of gift, it's my responsibility to the actions. So that's what keeps me going. It's like, yo, I I couldn't part this double night, but I couldn't not do this if I wanted to. Because there's a certain tool in me that I know that I have a responsibility. God forbid, I lose this.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

That's yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:45

Yeah, so you know, I it's like it's like a parent. I'm a parent, and this is my child, this is my baby. This is my responsibility to make sure that that baby grows, that baby drives, and that baby succeeds. So I view music the exact same way that I view uh my daughter and my grandson. I don't have a choice in this, you know, and what a privilege it is to you know be a parent or something, God knows. And now 28 years it's a never-ending thing. So I akin raising a child with sort of nurturing a gift.

SPEAKER_04 13:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:29

So growing up, I know we've all had people that inspire us locally family members as well. Give me first.

SPEAKER_03 13:49

Uh well, I mean, I I grew up, you know, in a church when, you know, AMUICB 1340 a.m. So my mother, who's a minister, I wasn't allowed to listen to sex music in the car. So it was a lot of gospel artists, you know, Garrett Coley and the like, and you know, Vanessa Armstrong and people like that. But my father, on the other end, was like in folk cover bands in South Carolina. So that's, of course, Prince and people like that, James Brown, Hollinette, you know, Mantrell's, Al Green. So I was really inspired by, I had the luxury of having both sort of like the dualistic thing of having soul army and having gossip. Stephen Wonderland, Prince, maybe my music for some sting as one of my idols. And so, and I was classically trained as a musician since I was nine. So I'm playing, you know, my sixth grade graduation from A. Queen, I was the special guest. I played furlough. I was a special guest. So they would like music prodigy, like, yada yada yada yada. And so I tried to use sort of like that on a copia of different styles of music to try to mesh them uh all into what AJ knows. AJ and I had worked together in church turn out, and like, well, let's try this way, let's flip the group this way. I want to incorporate some classical here, and some of the push-up moments, and some of the shout moments, some of the blues moments, some of the fun moments. That's one of the great things about the music that it's the culmination of pretty much every genre that exists.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

Yes. Right. Yeah, and um is always the foundation I think for a lot of artists. And so when it comes to your soul I watch it, so I know that when I'm watching different things that I know they couldn't do.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

I have to ask you, you are like that.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

What is your goat tooth? That's ghost power.

SPEAKER_03 16:13

Like, you know what? It it depends on the mood, right? It's like it's like a chef. Like asking the chef, who's they never say you don't have one. Right. I don't have one. Like I don't people like, yo, what's your favorite style? Depends on what mood I'm at. Sometimes I'm on a guitar, sometimes I want to listen to Roberta Polanco, sometimes I want to listen to Death Ninja. You know what I mean? So it really can draw a collude that I'm at. Like one of my favorite things have all time as well. So I said, Right. And so I think that's the beautiful thing about music is that it's so vast. It's like the microcosm versus the macrocosm, right? It's a huge thing to up to be heard squawking at the same time. It's a very real man thing that I don't know, that's too.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

And when those moods come that are not so friendly and unfriendly, what do you do to protection of people? Especially outside in the in the weather music. Um uh you mean music?

SPEAKER_03 17:18

Why is it just in general?

SPEAKER_00 17:19

Just in general, like just like okay, if you had to take off, you had to put the hand on and put the mic down for a second. Parents outside of that, who are and what in that food kind of makes you know. Uh I would say read it.

SPEAKER_03 17:40

I watch a lot of uh documents and I'm always watching something. Like I'm on YouTube, I think YouTube because I hate commercials. So I'm like watching some documentary or whether it's for like I'm actually looking down on uh Stanley Kubrick, who did Eyes Wide Shut. And it's about the underbelly of Hollywood and stuff like that. I know because I've lived there. And uh Philip K. Dick and people like that, that were these torrent geniuses, right, that were killed for telling you the truth. You know, because when Eyes Wide Shut came out, Stanley Kubrick died like the next week. Because he was exposing like the Illuminati and the Unovelli and Hollywood. He never saw the final today, right? He didn't late bunner, no, not Great Bunner, that was his shit. And so he did a lot of moves like that that sort of held the mirror up to society. But there's a certain sect of people, there's a certain sect of algorithms of what that truth could come out. And so when it does come out, yeah, people like Chris that, you know, wanted to own all his masters, what happened to him. When Michael Jackson bought Solving and bought the beauty's coming on, what happened to him. Right. So they have a way to get rid of the people that are willing to sort of like look at separated. You know, Jesus wanted to wake people up about their natural divinity, their natural price of what happened to him. Right? So it's I to get back, that was a long way to make this point. But I what I do normally is you call me things, hang out with, you know, friends, have a little whiskey every now and then, and try to practice like peace practices. I'm a very, as you know, I'm like a very kind of low-key, very chilly guy, I'm out the way. You know what I'm saying? And I've tried to, as much as I can muster, I've tried to make this into a lifestyle of just being like, I'm just calm. I always have been blessing, I'm not saying I always stress anybody's stresses.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

But you never giving me stress. Like talking to you and being in your presence, those did you tell him. It always just you you do, you like peace. So to see not peaceful, I ain't accept that. But I know that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03 19:57

I mean, I mean, yeah, I mean Yeah, I mean, you know, Nick is turned up right now, man. You know what I'm saying? But it's like it's more often than not, you know what I'm saying? Like, so I'm more so a very, and I always have been, a very same kind of guy. And I'm just trying to incorporate that into my everyday life.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

It definitely comes through through your music. If you don't follow him, you got to, because you'll get sometimes just random musical numbers that will, I mean, it just it takes you from a happy bad day to a happy day. I appreciate that. Um from you and yes, you teach in your huh. Um so let's ask another question. So before we get um into another area of your musical ability, um, are there instruments that you don't play?

SPEAKER_03 20:53

Say I'm sorry, say one more time.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

Are there any any any instruments that you don't play or have not touched? Really?

SPEAKER_03 21:01

I've always sort of had a thing for the guitar. I've always had a thing for like the guitar. I don't play it well, but no, piano is live prominent. That's where I'm most proficient. I mean, you know, every piano player, which is their word summer. I mean, all musicians, again, musicians and musicians, Adria don't have. We all wish we could play everything. But the reality is we're not always as proficient as we would like to be. Because I would pick up the guitar and I think I'm gonna be Eddie Van Haven, but I'm not. You know what I'm saying? So I would get frustrated and split it down. Because I'm thinking if I'm this good at one thing, I'm gonna be this good at everything. And that's just under the list of the less your friends, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Yeah, yeah. So we touched on your your musician side, but you've also got a song right now. Um I know that that sometimes puts inspiration. Where do you get your inspiration from from Derek?

SPEAKER_03 22:04

Uh uh, I feel like where everyone else gets them. I think it's from you know life experience, you know, triumph, you know, love, heartbreak issues, you know, social issues, religious issues, family issues, life issues in general. And I hate into deeper what's happening in reality. Right? And that's something that gave us from the answer is that we have a responsibility to talk about what's happening in the age. Right, as musicians and as songwriters. I'm not as much of a songwriter. Luckily, one of my best friends, Jason Reynolds, who now has been around with Spider-Man. He's written 99.9% violence. He's like a New York Times bestseller at the big 17 times. And he's having one of my best friends. I was very fortunate to let him, you know, to have him work to the building here to work.

SPEAKER_00 22:59

Yeah, so tell us what's coming up next. Where can people, what can the people look forward to coming from Mr. TikTok?

SPEAKER_03 23:08

Uh well, mostly being curating a lot of music like in the city for other bands. And I'm sort of like on my like Russell Simmons field right now, where I'm can I'm content like being in the background. Uh now I still, you know, I have things that I do that I curate a lot of the most important big days in the city. And I still, you know, get flown out to do shows all over the country and stuff like that. There's a project that I've been sitting way too long that probably come out at some point this year. Okay. Mostly now I'm also on my digital programming and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 23:53

We just have all the different usually, like I feel like that's what I know that it's not like whenever someone says Karen's Cunningham, the first thing I could say, who was someone that you would like to work with that you have people that you want to collaborate with. And any of the stink, sure.

SPEAKER_03 24:22

Oh, stink. Yeah, sorry. Stink for sure. Stevie, absolutely. I would have loved to have worked with Prince. Actually, a quick story about that. I did one of his songs on the voice, but Warner Brothers doesn't allow that. So shout out to Usuki. She made a personal fall.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 24:42

You know, my friend wants to do a song, watch Prince's songs, and then let me do it. Solely on the because at a person, like, no, you can't do that song. You won't you won't give them the rights and yada yada yada. So that's my home. Like she looked out for sure. And she let me play her after piano. She was like, I'll play my piano. You know what I mean? So, you know, gifts, recognized gifts. And you know, huge house. I wasn't so bad. They kept saying no for the end of now because we don't have you can't get the rights. She made a call, and I was saying, so Prince for sure, from that at the very top. Prince OC artists who's just shit. I try to mimic him, I try to sound like him. I try to sing them on a settle like, you know, my most popular song is one of these V signs. That song took me something definitely. So, you know.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

I I look, God gave me goosebumps as you're telling me. I can only have that when it felt like once you were on stage after that, after all of all the hoops of hurdles that it went through to get you. And I mostly wouldn't even know that that was not. I mean, I know you could, but that's all right. So you know how we could have some things happening. We have a project that you're gonna work on. If you're out there and you're listening, you want to do it as well. If you share one thing with us that you would like to share to try up or say into the music business and to think about no matter what options come they want.

SPEAKER_03 26:36

Um I think it's it's never necessarily about the eight goals, but it's about the journey that gets you there. And I mean uh offices are gonna come, obviously. This might be a very sort of trite attempt advice. But you know, things happen as long as your attention is pure. There's a law of Dharma that says if your intention is pure, then things will work in your favor. Things are gonna come in your way, of course. But that doesn't mean that it's what you have, is it sacred, what you have, is it beautiful? And most of what you have is it's necessary. Right? Like because art is one of the only things in this world that give people sort of a break from reality. And it gives them sort of a small vacation, if you will, from the day-to-day ills that every single person goes through. And what a responsibility that is on the artist or the person that shares, that is willing to push against and sort of sort out the summit of what's going on in their lives. But we haven't responsible enough. And I can be proud to have been chosen to be a part and of that.

SPEAKER_00 27:46

That was great advice. That was now people who are definitely a street bar who wants to be take that and I'm score they hide it somewhere because it's true.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

It's very, very, very um I take time with me, but before we left, I just tell people how they can know how to do that.

SPEAKER_03 28:09

Okay, sure. My Instagram is a friend to the world, all one word. And say this one. You can literally use the Terrence Cunningham and stuff that did the voice. I just published I wrote a book on behavior science in 2009. I got published 2014. So I published it on Amazon, and and it's it's basically to give them a sort of elevated speech about it. It's really the modern-day chicken. It's you know, plain advice, the book is like 40 pages, it's something you can just pick up to get your little you know in 12 shot, if you will, for the day. That's on Amazon. It's called Justin Case. Facebook is Terrence.glayam, of course, YouTube, put in my name, and those are probably the most essential channels to on which people.

SPEAKER_00 29:06

You all heard it.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

Catch him on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google, on all the way. Terrence, I really appreciate it if I'm on to say time out for the world to get to know a little bit more behind the scenes out here in this beautiful world. I appreciate the such time. And um, I know we'll be seeing you soon and more appreciated.

SPEAKER_03 29:35

And you agree, I think that's something good opportunities.

SPEAKER_02 29:38

All right, thank you guys for tuning in to Pusher Indians Radio. We got more energy coming, so make sure you tune around. Tune into us, stick around, because we got a lot more conversation to happen. Thanks again.