Interview With Mia Paris: Daughter Of Roger Troutman

Streamed live on Feb 4, 2026  Freakapotamus Podcast

Today’s guest carries a legacy that changed the sound of music forever.

She is the daughter of a funk pioneer, a voice behind the talkbox era, and the mastermind who gave us timeless hits that still move the culture today.

Roger Troutman didn’t just make music—he created a sound that shaped hip-hop, R&B, and funk across generations.

And today, we’re honored to welcome Mia Paris—his daughter—who joins us to share personal stories, untold moments, and her perspective on preserving one of the most influential legacies in music history.

This isn’t just a conversation about the past…
It’s about family, impact, culture, and keeping the funk alive.

• #RogerTroutman
• #RogerTroutmanForever
• #Zapp
• #ZappBand
• #ZappAndRoger
• #FunkLegend
• #TalkBoxKing
• #Talkbox

Funk / R&B Culture
• #FunkMusic
• #OhioFunk
• #80sFunk
• #ClassicFunk
• #RNBHistory
• #SoulMusic
• #BlackMusicHistory

Legacy / Influence
• #FunkPioneers
• #MusicLegends
• #FunkInfluence
• #OldSchoolVibes
• #GoldenEraMusic

Hip-Hop Connection (huge engagement booster)
• #WestCoastHipHop
• #Gfunk
• #2Pac
• #DrDre
• #HipHopSamples

YouTube / Content Growth
• #MusicDocumentary
• #MusicDeepDive
• #FunkStories
• #MusicHistory
• #classicmusic

• #RogerTroutman
• #ZappAndRoger
• #ZappBand
• #TalkBoxKing
• #FunkLegend

Funk / R&B Community
• #FunkMusic
• #Classic

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

You're watching the Freak Eponis podcast with the Real Russell. All things are being funk and print. Let's get into it.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome to the Freak Eponis Podcast. You ready for someone being funk? Soul and print. Let's go. Now, your host, the real Russell.

SPEAKER_10 0:36

It really works. Watch this. Ladies and gentlemen, you're my song. And make you feel us. Don't you believe it?

SPEAKER_02 0:52

But yeah, I was using it on the I was really using it like a slide. And uh, you know, it it just seemed to um it gave the the the voice box a whole new character. It seemed to uh it seemed to give it a more of a a sexy character in a way.

SPEAKER_07 2:17

What's up everybody and welcome back once again to the Freak Epotomus Podcast, the show where we bring you the voices that shape the sound of yesterday and also the voices that shape the sound of tomorrow. I am your host, the real Russell. Today we got a special treat for you. You just saw the magic of Roger Troutman there for a second. What an intro. Anyway, today's guest carries a legacy that changed the sound of music forever. She is the daughter of a funk pioneer, a voice behind the talk box era, and the mastermind who gave us timeless hits that still move the culture today. Roger Troutman didn't just make music, he created a sound that shaped hip-hop, RB, and funk across generations. And today, we're honored to welcome Mia Paris, his daughter, who joins us to share personal stories, untold moments, and her perspective on preserving one of the most influential legacies in music history. This isn't just a conversation about the past, it's about family, it's about impact, culture, and keeping the funk alive. So without further ado, let's welcome Mia Paris. Hey hey, what's up, Mia? How are you today?

SPEAKER_03 3:36

I'm doing really good. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_07 3:39

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for joining. I don't know what was going on with my uh Freakopotamus intro in the beginning, it was like frozen for the first time. So hopefully we will not have any more issues going forward. But uh once again, I thank you for joining.

SPEAKER_03 3:56

No problem, happy to be here.

SPEAKER_07 3:58

All right, awesome. So, for listeners who may not know you yet, how do you usually introduce yourself?

SPEAKER_03 4:06

How do I introduce myself? Oh man, I'm just so regular. I I've only done a podcast maybe like a handful of times recently. Um, but just my name is Mia Paris. I'm from Ohio, I'm a Jesus follower, and and we're here to talk about the fact that I'm the daughter of Roger Trotman. So I don't know. I need to get a good intro together for myself. I don't really have it down yet.

SPEAKER_07 4:35

Yeah. Yeah, I saw one of your uh your TikTok videos where you were talking about the fact that you know a lot of people don't know your dad's music, and and when they hear it, they don't know what's going on, but when you hear it, you know what it is. I found that really interesting that you know people around you may not know that's actually your father and his music, but when you hear it, you know exactly who it is.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

Yeah, it's a weird experience for sure. But I'm I'm glad you understood what I was what I was saying, because a lot of people didn't.

SPEAKER_07 5:11

Really? Wow.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 5:14

Okay, let me see if I can uh make this a little bit larger here and keep that graphic.

SPEAKER_04 5:19

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_07 5:26

I'll just keep it like that. I don't want to make that too small so people can't see it, but anyway. So what are some of your earliest memories of your father? Not not the legend, but but but the dad.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Uh I have so many, but the first one that just popped into my head, I guess I'll share that, is that my dad would take me to the bus stop. Me and him and my mom didn't live together, but when he would come stay the night or visit or whatever he was doing, um, he would take me to the bus stop and he'd be at the bus stop. I was probably five, is like early memories that I have him doing this. He'd come to the bus stop, he'd do magic tricks because my dad was really big into just like goofy stuff. So he did magic tricks for the kids at the bus stop, he would entertain us and everything. And there was actually a time, I don't know how many times he did this, but he actually rode the bus with me to school.

SPEAKER_06 6:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 6:24

I don't know, he wasn't even that tall, and like he was 5'9, which is like average height for a male. But yeah, I'm I'm this little tiny thing, and he's on the bus with me. He rode the bus with me all the way to school, and hung out at school with me and my classmates and my teacher, my kindergarten teacher, for I'm not sure how long, but that's like one of my most interesting memories, like coolest memories. I I'm I remember it pretty vividly for it to be so long though.

SPEAKER_07 6:51

Oh wow, that's a great memory.

SPEAKER_03 6:53

Yeah, yeah. He was he's a he was a goofy person all the time. All the time, never turned it off.

SPEAKER_07 7:02

I can see that because I think I saw a couple like a video of him. I've seen him do like Donald Duck impersonations and stuff.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

Oh yeah, yeah. My mom has like a lot of recordings, um, like videotape and voicemails or something like that that she somehow figured out how to save. And he would talk in that voice to me, and every he would talk to grown people like that. No, because everybody just loved it. It was just it was just such a strange thing that he did, but it was really funny. He was really good at it.

SPEAKER_07 7:32

Yeah, he he came across like he could possibly be a like a comedian on the side or something.

SPEAKER_03 7:37

He definitely could have, uh not to skip too far ahead, but when he did the California Love video, and Chris Chris Tucker was in the video with him. My mom, he called my mom on the phone and Chris because he wanted my mom to talk to Chris Tucker. Like he would do that pretty often to call her when he was with a celebrity, you know, she would be excited about or whatever. And um he got on the phone and was Chris Tucker said that my dad needs to be a comedian. Chris Tucker said about my dad. So there's just like something that I just think is insane. Yeah, but my dad was very, very, very, very funny.

SPEAKER_07 8:14

Yeah, I I g I can see that. So when did you first realize that your dad was a musical icon to so many people?

SPEAKER_03 8:22

I don't think I ever had a realization that I remembered. Um because as I he passed away when I was nine. So even as young as I can remember, he's been famous. You know, he's been famous before I was even born. So I don't know that I had a true real maybe the realization came the older I got, even after he was gone, because people still talk about him. So it becomes like a real like before the internet, of course, like he's on the radio, he's on the TV. People know that he's my dad and they talk about him, but then even after, and the internet comes, and then that blows up to where everybody knows who he is, even more. So I don't know because I was so young, I don't know that I ever had like a moment where I was like, my dad's famous, it was just my the normal, the normal life for me that he did music and I probably didn't appreciate it as much being so young. It was just like this is my dad, like it was just my the normal for me, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_07 9:24

Yeah, yeah, it does make sense. So can you remember what it was like growing up in a household where well you you said you didn't live with your mom, but do you remember growing up in a household where music was always present where you're around it?

SPEAKER_03 9:39

Yeah, even um I feel like my mom influenced the music I listened to more than my dad. I think that might sound strange to some people, but my dad would play his music, or I would see him in the studio. And a lot of the times when I would be with him, like in a car or something to listen to music, we were in a limo, so we weren't always playing music. To be honest with you, my mom was my biggest music influence for me, like Madonna, Sade, um Prince. We can talk about Prince a little bit if you want to, because I feel like if Roger wasn't my dad, Prince would come be my that sounds crazy. Hopefully, my mom doesn't see this, but um well, you know what?

SPEAKER_07 10:24

Speaking of that, my podcast is probably 80% Prince anyway. So yeah, we can talk about that.

SPEAKER_03 10:30

Yeah, yeah, we can talk about Prince a little bit.

SPEAKER_07 10:33

But um I know they actually worked together a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 10:36

They did. They I don't know if it was like a small time, not small time, but like a a what are those venues called, the smaller venues. What do you call those? Just a small venue? I don't know what to call it.

SPEAKER_04 10:48

Yeah, small venue.

SPEAKER_03 10:49

They did a tour. Somebody was on somebody's tour, but it was it was before I was born. It was when my mom was like probably in her 20s or something like that. So I know they did some sort of tour together. Because my mom had like the poster or something, or the you know, yeah. Sorry, I don't have the the lingo together.

SPEAKER_07 11:11

Yeah, yeah, I think that happened in the early 80s. I can't remember exactly which tour it was. Probably one of the dirty mind tour or something like that, like 8081, something like that.

SPEAKER_03 11:23

Possibly, yeah. There's a picture that my mom took. I don't know if you've seen that picture, or is that the picture you're talking about? My mom actually took the picture that I've posted. She posted on her social media first, and then I posted it, and then it's gone, like it's kind of circulated around. Okay. But it's a picture of my dad and Prince at that tour.

SPEAKER_07 11:42

Okay. They were making faces or something like that.

SPEAKER_03 11:44

Yes, they were making Prince was making like a weird face.

SPEAKER_07 11:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

People try to say that that was a Photoshop picture. I'm like, my mom actually has that picture in her house somewhere, so yeah.

SPEAKER_07 11:57

Yeah, yeah, I remember that one. Oh, I mean, let's see. Did he um did he ever talk to you about his creative process? I mean, you were really young then, so did he talk to you about music at all?

SPEAKER_03 12:12

To be honest with you, my dad was really just like a girl dad with me. That was my experience. Like, he didn't force me to like sit here and listen to this and sit here and like he would talk to me about some of it. Like, if I go to the studio, he would, but he would always want me to be entertained, so it was never like a teaching process. He did buy me a guitar, which I still have over in the corner. If you want to see it, I can show it to you, but I would have to get up. But he bought me like a guitar for a small person. Um, so I think he had aspirations for me to get into music, um, but it just never, you know, it just never happened. But yeah, a lot of memories that I have are also fuzzy, so he could have taught me more things than I remember. Um but I mean, we were never not listening to some sort of if he had options to control the cassette player thing, or if he he always had some gadget, he was always doing something moving at 100 miles per hour. So I just feel like he was more of a a girl dad. He wanted to do more things that would make that I was interested in or that would make me smile, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_07 13:23

Yeah, yeah. All right. So some of the questions you already answered, we talked about how funny he was. I was gonna ask you, was there a side of your dad that fans might be surprised to learn about? But uh, I think you answered that with the uh with the comedy.

SPEAKER_03 13:41

Oh, there's more stuff. He he was I always share kind of the same stories that I remember, but I can share more if you want me to.

SPEAKER_07 13:49

Um yeah, is there another side that um people would be surprised to know about?

SPEAKER_03 13:54

I think people will be surprised that he was very funny. Um, that he was really well, he has a lot of kids, so maybe they're not surprised by that, but he was just very personal, he's very personable, like he commanded a room, um, but in a humble way. He's also very, very, very humble. Um, and he just was silly like all the time. On Christmas Day, one time I was sick. My my parents overdid my Christmases. It looked like it was like 10 kids in a house, and it was just me because I'm my mom's only child. Um, and one time I just didn't feel good, and he just could not be not be goofy, so he's like mixing up chocolate milk, and he's like, We're making 10 CC's. He was making making it like I was like we were in the hospital, and I'm sitting there not feeling well, he's just being goofy. Like, there's plenty of experiences like him just being silly. Also, my dad had a uh cuss a lot, so that may rub some people the wrong way, but I heard all types of cuss words in front of me. He just it it didn't bother me, um but it's just how my dad talked, but it also didn't come off as like off-putting for some reason. He just was he just was a silly person. Um a story that might be inappropriate, but it's not because I didn't know what was happening. But we were in the car or in a limo, I think, and he POC's album came out. I think it was Crazy Sexy Cool or one of those before that or something. And there's one part where there's a skit on the album, and the man is like trying to have a can I say things on here, or what can I not say?

SPEAKER_05 15:30

You can cuss.

SPEAKER_03 15:32

Okay, I'm not gonna cuss, but it's in French, anyways. The man says something about a menage tois for Chili and the the girls on the skit, and my dad busted out laughing, and I'm just sitting there because I don't know what he saw, I don't know what's going on. He said, Do you know what a menage toit is? I said, No. And he just cracked up laughing. He didn't tell me what it was, obviously, but that's just the type of like personality and humor my dad had. Like he just he was just funny, like he was just goofy. My mom was always laughing. Like I've never seen my parents argue, which is a blessing. Um I just saw her constantly smiling, laughing. Like he just that's just the type of energy that he carried. So he was hilarious. I think that is one thing to answer your question. That's one thing that I don't I don't know if people know, because I think a lot of musicians can be serious. Um, maybe some, I don't know, but he was not this, he's serious about his music, he didn't play about that. Right but his personality was very funny, goofy, like energetic.

SPEAKER_07 16:36

Oh, yeah. And I I've seen some footage of him in the studio, you know, uh in serious mode, like in music mode, and then like all of a sudden he'll break out with something funny, say something funny, do something funny. So I I can see that.

SPEAKER_03 16:52

Yes, yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_07 16:56

Yeah, as a huge fan, I've over the years I've I've done research and like watched a lot of videos, you know, trying to see who the man was behind the behind the music. And this is all making sense. This is all coming to fruition now.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

So yeah, good. I'm glad.

SPEAKER_07 17:16

Yeah, um are there any lessons or spoken or unspoken that he passed on to you?

SPEAKER_03 17:26

I think it took me a while to like realize this and receive it and apply it in my life, just because you know, we go our own paths, we go our own ways. But my dad was really, really, really, really humble and he was really kind to people. I've never seen my dad when I was out with him, like we'd go to the mall. He took me to the mall. That was like a playground in with my dad, like that's where we would go. Um, he would take me to the mall, he would take me to just like do fun stuff, the Disney store, anywhere we would go, and someone would come up to him. He took he stopped and he took a moment to have a conversation with them. Um, one of the memories I share a lot because it's just like burned in my brain. But I'm holding my dad's hand and we're walking, we're probably at the mall. I don't really remember where, but a man came up to my dad and he was like, Hey, um, Roger, I know you. I used to do this for you or play because everybody's been in the band with my dad. I'm like, how's everybody in the world been in the band with my dad? But that's neither here nor hit nor there. Um he said, uh, Roger, I I was in the band with you, or I know you from this or this or that. He was like, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's like, I remember you. Okay, what's up? How you been? And they had like a small conversation, like a few minutes or whatever. And then me and my dad walk away. And I said, Daddy, who's that? And he said, I don't know. And I'm like, as a little kid, it was confusing to me because I'm like, why did he act like he knew this man, but he didn't know this man? And he just literally would do that, like he would take time out of his day to make everybody feel special. Like he would come up to my school, make all the teachers laugh and blush. He was a ladies' man, of course. Um, but also like made all the kids feel special. Like he was just a humble, humble, humble man. Um, he made time for all of his fans. He really, really actually cared. So that's something that I took, you know, I walk away with realizing because I've met celebrities before in my life, and they don't owe us anything at all. But there is these rare cases with people who are just exceptional beyond their talent and their music, and that's what my dad was. Like he had flaws just like everybody else, but he was just a kind person to people. Even if you walked away, he may have said a little joke about you or something, but he made you feel good, like he made you feel special in the moment. Like my dad was really good at that. So that's something that stuck with me, and I noticed it as a little girl, so yeah.

SPEAKER_07 19:56

Yeah, fun funny you say that he was good to people. I was telling you earlier off screen that I actually met your dad in the mid-90s and yeah, brought something for show and tell. Um he was on tour overseas. I was living in Japan at the time. And uh he did an autograph session and he signed this poster for me to Russell from Roger. And these are these are the ticket stubs from the show that I went to. Um he was really nice. I had my daughter with me at the time, she was three at the time, and kissed her on the cheek. Um, I had a demo tape, of course. Everybody knows that watches the show here. I'm a struggling musician, or I was a struggling musician. And I had my demo tape, gave him my demo tape, gave it to his manager. We sat and talked about music for a while. And he just listened to what I had to say. I listened to what he had to say, and it's like he was just a normal guy on the street, you know, we were just having a conversation. And he actually took the time to do that, so I was really impressed. Very, very cool, dude.

SPEAKER_03 21:06

Yeah, it's a it's a lost art, but I know the world is different with uh the internet and social media. I think it makes it a little bit harder to be a celebrity. I I think about how my dad would have handled that that aspect of everything. Um I don't know, but yeah, I'm glad I was telling you earlier, I love to hear I've honestly never heard anything bad ever in anybody's experience to say, oh, I met your dad and he was just rude to me. I've never heard that, not one time.

SPEAKER_07 21:35

That's a good thing to carry with you through life.

SPEAKER_03 21:38

Yeah, yeah, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_07 21:40

Yeah, so how do you um personally experience your father's music now as a fan, as a daughter, or both?

SPEAKER_03 21:49

Um, when you say personally experience it, like do you mean like me listening to it or me reacting to other people, or what do you mean?

SPEAKER_07 21:57

Yeah, a little bit of both.

SPEAKER_03 22:00

Um, I am a fan. There are I have a few favorite songs. Um I Wanna Be Your Man is cliche, but that's like my dad's favorite, like my favorite song of my dad's. I also like more bounce. I like how the the production is done and how the song changes throughout.

unknown 22:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:19

Um, so I love my dad's music. I don't know. I it's not I'm not like always listening to it. I will have to be honest with you. Like that might sound bad, but um, but it is cool to experience other people's experiences, is what I appreciate more than like my own experience. Because I've I've this has been my life, my whole life, you know. But people everyone may not know my dad's name, but they know his music. If I say it, if I say computer love, you know the song. If I say California love, you know the song. So that's what I love. That's that's the thing that leaves the lasting impression on me, and everyone uses the same verbiage to say, like, he's a legend, a musical legend, and yeah, all of these like positive things, a pioneer in music. So that's the coolest thing to me. And then people are still using his music and sampling it and using it in movies and commercials and whatever else to this day. So it's just there's like a car commercial that's out now that people keep sending to me. Yeah, and it's just like I don't know what is on that music, what type of it's just it's been almost 30 years that he's been gone. So it's just it's just insane. Um, hopefully I answered your question.

unknown 23:40

Sorry.

SPEAKER_07 23:40

Yeah, does I was gonna ask, you know, how do you feel when you hear his music sampled or you know referenced by today's artist? But um, you know, so many people have done it, so many people are still doing it. Like you said, it's featured in uh car commercials, right? I'm sure it warms your heart, makes you feel good.

SPEAKER_03 24:00

Yeah, yeah. When it sounds good, I'm I'm happy because some people sample it and it's just like, come on, like sometimes you gotta leave, sometimes you gotta leave stuff alone, you know. Um but overall, the my perspective, I can't speak for my siblings or other people in my family. Yeah, it's keeping the music alive. So that's what I appreciate about it. Um there's been many artists who have been inspired by my dad, artists I would have never guessed, like, or even artists, people that know who my dad is, I would have never thought they even cared, you know. Um so I'm just happy it's it's keeping the music alive. There's like ebbs and flows with grief, you know. Like sometimes things are super easy, and it's just like, oh, I'm good, you know, and then other times it's not. So it just depends on the day. Like, but honestly, when I hear when sorry, what were you gonna say?

SPEAKER_07 24:56

Yeah, I was gonna say, how did you learn to navigate through all that, you know, while your father remained a public figure?

SPEAKER_03 25:02

Yeah, yeah, not good, not good. As a as a young, as a child, I did not deal with it well at all. Um when his music would come on the radio, like if my mom, because I I didn't like to see my mom hurting. I feel like there's I don't know what it's called exactly, but there's like when you lose a parent, you become super paranoid about your other parent. So it's like, I don't want to see her, I don't want to see her gone. Um you have this like anxiety and then and this paranoia now with your other parent. So as we all know, when somebody passes away, or even like it's an artist, or their their stuff blows up. Like, so when my dad passed, it was on the T, it was on TV every second of the day, it was on the radio every second of the day, like every other second they were playing my dad's music, and I did not like to see my mother sad because it made me sad. So I would turn the music if she went to the because this is back in the day when we would get left in the car. So if she would go in the gas station or something and leave me in a car, if his song would come on, I would turn it off. And I was doing this as a little kid because I just didn't deal with the grief. So I will say when I was younger, I did not, I didn't, but how do you deal with something you don't understand? You know, like you can only cope with it as you can, like as you, you know, so getting older helped me understand and process my feelings. So when I hear his music now, I'm very happy about it. Like I'm not shy, I'm not, I used to shy away from talking about my dad because people are rude and disrespectful and ignorant, and celebrity is like not off limits, so people think that they can just say whatever they want to say. So I shy away from it. Um, but now people like you reach out to me to talk about my dad, I probably would have never did this, or I'll probably be on there just a wreck or a mess because I just was not dealing with the grief. But yeah, now I'm happy. Like I'm I mean, I I want to hear it, you know, turn it turn it up. So I'm happy about it. It can be hurtful at times, but I I'm dealing with it in a healthy way. It doesn't right.

SPEAKER_07 27:20

And as you get older, as you get older, it and it gets a little easier.

SPEAKER_03 27:25

Yeah, it does. Yeah, it does. Time heals, time heals. I think it time heals, but you also have to heal too. Like you have to deal with it. You can't just brush it under the rug, then you'll be popping off on people, and you know, somebody say something I might, you know, I don't know, handle it the wrong way. So, but time has made it easier for sure.

SPEAKER_07 27:49

Yeah. All right, we got a comment coming in. Uh this is Gregory Cornegay. We actually went to high school together. He says, Good evening. Yeah, good evening, Pia. Pia. He calls Mia's cool too. Good evening, Mia and Russell. I'm so thankful that I caught this episode. Roger is one of one.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

I I know they do. Me too. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_07 28:15

Yeah, thanks, Greg, for tuning in, brother. All right. Um, are there any misconceptions about your dad that you wish people understood uh better?

SPEAKER_03 28:31

Misconceptions. Oh, just something really small. I hope people know that my dad did not invent the talk box. He is a pioneer. Like he there's there's another I can't remember the name of the man who invented it or the vocal order. I don't know if vote quarter and talk box go like hand in hand, if they're like the same thing.

SPEAKER_07 28:52

Um I want to say, I want to say Peter Franklin, way back in the day.

SPEAKER_03 28:55

I think so. Yes. Yeah, so people think that a lot of people think maybe my dad invented it because he's the first he's the person who literally made it worldwide. Yes, he did not invent the talk box, right? He took a sound that he heard and he ran with it. He created his own lane. Um, so that's one thing, and then the other thing, I don't like to rain on people's parade because I'm from Dayton, Ohio. I'm a date, I'm a dating girly, but people always say, Roger, he's from Dayton, Ohio. He's from Dayton, Ohio. I'm like, that man is from Hamilton, two different cities. He is not from Dayton, it's about 45-minute drive. So it's not, I mean, it's not a big deal. I just let people say it. But my dad is actually from Hamilton and he's not from Los Angeles. A lot of people think that he's from Los Angeles because he pioneered a West Coast sound, if you will. Um, because Snoop Dogg, I heard him do an interview recently where he said that you know, a lot of people thought that my dad was from the West Coast because he's created sound. That is my dad's from Hamilton, Ohio. Not Dayton. But honestly, I can't think of anything like I said, everybody's always had great things to say about my dad, so I can't think of anything that would be like controversial. Not that I need to think of anything, but those are two things that come to mind.

SPEAKER_07 30:13

Okay. Speaking of Ohio, and that we he had a studio in Ohio, correct?

SPEAKER_03 30:20

Yep, he had uh Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, like in inner city Dayton. Was it called Dayton Labs? Don't give me the lion, because I was I I was young, but there is like a a statue, like a thing they created, a memorial, because the the studio is no longer there, or it can't remember if they tore it down or if it's just not open. Um, but there's like a mural that is up of my dad. There's one of him, and then there's one that says zap. Um, but it's all like right where that studio was.

SPEAKER_07 30:55

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 30:56

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 30:57

Oh man, I've got to travel to to Ohio and check that out one day.

SPEAKER_03 31:01

Yes, you need to see it. It's it's it's pretty cool. I've taken a picture of it uh in front of it on my Instagram.

SPEAKER_07 31:07

That's pretty awesome, uh statue and a memorial of your dad.

SPEAKER_03 31:12

I know.

SPEAKER_07 31:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:14

So me and my mom, she drives by it a lot. Like when I'm home, she always wants to make sure I see it.

SPEAKER_07 31:19

And yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

So it is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_07 31:23

Awesome. So, how important is it to you that his story is told accurately and respectfully? I know it's very important, of course.

SPEAKER_03 31:32

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, what you want, yeah. Honestly, I mean, like I said, I there there aren't really that many negative narratives about my dad and who he was as a person. There's just a lot of disrespectful comments about how he passed, and and people just asking distasteful, insensitive questions to me. It's like I'm his daughter. If he wanted to ask his band or bandmate, might be too much, too. Like, it's just, I think people I think about if it was your family member, you know, when you speak to people, you should be have enough empathy to realize like, what if this was your story, you know? So just to be a little more tasteful and kind in that regard. Um, but other than that, I I hope that answers your question. I don't really have like anything else that I could touch on that. I don't think.

SPEAKER_07 32:33

Yeah, that that's kind of a tricky question, isn't it? Absolutely. Anybody wants a story told about uh a family member or a father, they want it told it accurately and respectfully. Yeah. So, you know, I I would love to see his story told one day on the big screen or the small screen, either one.

SPEAKER_03 32:55

Oh go ahead, sorry.

SPEAKER_07 32:56

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 32:57

I was just gonna say my sister has been kind of trying. Um she has tried. My sister, she's in the picture right there, um, on the the my right.

SPEAKER_06 33:09

She's the yeah, right there.

SPEAKER_03 33:12

And she's on the left right there. Look at crazy. She looks just like like my dad right there. Um she really is like the the matriarch of my me and my siblings. Like she really is the one fighting for us. She's really the one who because there's legal things, and I don't really want to get far into any of that, but just like she she really is advocating for us and for my dad's legacy. And it's just so much red tape, if that's the right phrase to use, that trying we do need to tell my dad's story. Um, and I would love to tell my dad's story. I really want my mom to write a book, and that's I've been thinking about that because honestly, he has a bunch of kids and he has different mothers, and everybody's gonna have a different perspective um of who he was. Not to say that he was just inconsistent, but this is just different people's stories, and then you have people's stories from the bandmates and everything. So it would be wonderful if we could get on one page and tell his story. It's it's a story that I think would be amazing to tell. Um, and people love a sad story too. So there's gonna be the there would be the laughs, the tears, the happiness, the joy, the the dancing, and all of that, and then there would be the sadness, unfortunately. Um, but I would love that. I don't know what steps I would need to take or what I would need to do, but I would love to be able to do it.

SPEAKER_07 34:37

Yeah, families play a big role in preserving uh music history like that. So I think you know, with a good family effort, um, it should be it should be told.

SPEAKER_03 34:49

Yeah, I'm gonna keep hope alive. I need to, you know, you get caught up in like having your own life, and I haven't walked, I haven't forgotten my dad, or just like I don't care that this is my legacy. I definitely care, but I also have my own aspirations and goals and dreams and things of that nature. But I'm happy you say that because I need to I need to be having that in in somewhere in here, you know.

SPEAKER_07 35:17

Right.

SPEAKER_03 35:18

I love to do it, honestly.

SPEAKER_07 35:20

So how uh how has being uh uh Roger's daughter shaped the woman you are today?

SPEAKER_03 35:28

Oh man, um I think it has shaped me in good and bad ways. Um I am very I'm I may not seem that way here because some of this stuff makes me nervous a little bit, and you know, but I'm very much goofy of the same goofiness as my dad. Me and my siblings basically all do. I'm just like her, it's like passed down this like insanity. Um but yeah, I I am very goofy because of him, and I also feel like just in a in a negative light, just because of his passing and how it shaped me and how it kind of broke me so young that it had me kind of lost in life. Right. Um and then I'm I feel like I've always had the a microscope on me in a sense because I was I was at the only person at my school with a famous father, um like a the as a lead singer in a band, because my cousin's, you know, Zap's daughter is she went to my school too. Uh but also I'm the only one who has a you know deceased famous parent. It just like put a microscope on me. So that could have been in a negative light, but in a positive light, I just feel like I don't understand why God picked me to have the dad that I had, you know, and the light that he had. I feel like he was kind of like an angel on earth, like in my opinion. The presence that he carried, this some of the stuff I explained earlier, just who he was and how people literally were drawn to him. Men and women, women for obvious reasons, men because he just he just was that dude. Like, I just don't know how to explain it. So I don't know. It it it strengthened me, it hardened me, it broke me, but it also made me realize like it I feel like we're all special and important and loved in God's eyes because that's what he says about us in his word. But also, I'm like, you picked me to have this dad for a reason. So I've held on to that since I was a kid. It gave me like a different mindset, and also it made me grow up mentally a little bit more than I probably would have wanted to. So all of those things I just said that probably don't go together, that's the best way that I could answer the question. Sorry.

SPEAKER_07 38:09

That was a good answer.

SPEAKER_03 38:11

Okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_07 38:13

Now that we're talking about you, um, yeah, I told you earlier we wouldn't uh we would also talk about you and not focus entirely on you. But um, what passions or projects are you currently focused on?

SPEAKER_03 38:28

So this year I'm trying to focus more on work, like businesses, like passion projects, and things that I feel like I know God has put in my heart to do. So I already have an apparel business, it's called Jesus Apparel, it's a clothing line. I have the hoodie on right or the crew neck on right now. Um if you guys want to follow the Instagram, it's We Love Jesus apparel on Instagram. It's spelled just like exactly like it sounds.

SPEAKER_06 38:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 38:58

And the website is not up right now because I had to switch bank accounts because Amex it upset me. So, but I'm doing that now, so the website should be back up like pretty, pretty soon. Um, so I have that that I'm doing that I've been doing since 2019. And then also I do have a little bit of a TikTok following. So I do post about my my lifestyle, fashion. I talk about the Bible. I'm very passionate about uh teaching the Bible as best as I can as I learn. Um and just my personality. I'm very my personality is pretty much there on my TikTok. I tell funny stories, I tell dating stories. So I'm kind of I don't like to say influencer because that's not my vibe, but it's just I have like a personality on over there basically.

SPEAKER_06 39:48

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:48

Um, and then I do have a business that I'm working on right now. I don't want to say what or because it's in the very, very early stages, but I just feel like I'm being graced to just go out and do everything that I've had in here and just give it all a fair shot, like really, really try. So that's what's going on with me right now.

SPEAKER_07 40:10

Nice, nice. Yeah, I'll uh if you could send me the links to all of your stuff, I'll put them in the in the in the description. Yeah, so when people go back and watch this video, they can click on those links and get to where they need to be for your stuff.

SPEAKER_03 40:25

I definitely will. Thank you.

SPEAKER_07 40:28

All right, awesome. If you if you could have one more conversation with your father today, what would you want them to know?

SPEAKER_03 40:37

I don't think we would even I wouldn't even say anything. I just would want to sit with him. That's it. Just want to sit with him, get a hug. My dad used to give the big best hugs. He I was small then, so small smaller than I probably would have been to to him now. But he would pick me up all the time and fly me around and dance me on his feet, you know you how you stand on your dad's feet. Yeah, so that's that's all I would want, and then just be able to say dad again, you know.

SPEAKER_07 41:11

Right, yes, that's sweet, yeah. Uh, what do you think your dad would say about how his music continues to impact generations? What do you think he would say?

SPEAKER_03 41:26

He would say it's cool, man. It's really cool. That's like something I heard him say a lot in interviews. It's really cool. It's really cool. I'm honored, um, I'm humbled. He would say, uh the people before me that influenced me are the reason why I'm doing what I'm doing now. So it was really cool, man. I like to see people dance and smile. Like, I know he would have the same sentiments that he had. Like you anybody can go Google an interview with Roger Troutman to just hear how he'd speak. Like he had a good great voice too when he talked. Um I think he would, I think those are like along the lines of what he would say. And I honestly feel like he would have surpassed what we all could have imagined him doing beyond music. He was such a good producer that I feel like he would have, if he I'm sure he would still be making music, but I think he'd have his hands in other people's, you know, his hands would be all over the place in the music industry. I'm just yeah, I'm pretty sure of it. So yeah. He had an interview with Easy E, and you can like kind of hear his um humbleness because Easy E was like, you're just like, you're the man, like you're you're he's just like, no. He's like, it's it's his something, I think he mentioned God, or but he was just like, no, he never he never said anything and was just like, yeah, I know, you know, a lot of art artists are arrogant these days. And it's like to know you're dope is is cool, you know. Like, it's nothing wrong with boasting yourself up and you know saying you're a good artist. It's nothing wrong with that. But my dad was just always like, nah, nah. I'm I I don't know. It was like a but it wasn't like a fake, like a fake humbleness. It was just it was like real, right?

SPEAKER_07 43:11

Right, right. What would you like fans uh of your dad to remember most about him?

SPEAKER_03 43:19

Um that he loved his fans for sure, right? And he loved his music, like he he ate, slept, and drank it. Like literally. My mom would I've one time I think I remember if my mom brought me to see him or I was already there. Because some memories just you know, you go through something traumatic, your brain is like trying to preserve you, essentially. But my dad came out of the studio, he had a robe on, his hair was all crazy, he just looked dusty, and I'm like, he looks crazy. But my mom would talk about how when he went in the studio, he probably wasn't sleeping, he probably Was barely eating anything, he was just drinking coffee. He drank a lot of coffee, and I love coffee. So I my mom loves coffee too. My whole family loves coffee, but he would just be he didn't drink, he didn't smoke, he didn't do any of that stuff. He just would be drinking coffee and he'd be in the studio. And to my understanding, he was not leaving that studio until what was done needed to be done. So he really cared about the music. Like he he really cared. Um and just I just keep listening to him, you know. Keep keep it alive, share it with your kids, share it, share it, because that's what keeps that's what keeps his legacy alive.

SPEAKER_07 44:41

Exactly right. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think we got a question coming in from my boy Greg Cornegay. Uh, do you have a video catalog of your dance concerts? I had the pleasure of seeing him perform no less than three times. I must say my favorite was Zap Gap Band and SOS band in Columbia, South Carolina, around 82.

SPEAKER_03 45:05

Wow. That's cool. I wasn't here yet. I wasn't with us yet. Um, I don't have my mom literally has everything. So I wouldn't be surprised if my mom didn't have something of the sort, or maybe the band members have something of the sort, but not me. Not me. But my mom kept a lot of things.

SPEAKER_04 45:29

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_03 45:30

I have memories of being at concerts, but I don't, you know.

SPEAKER_07 45:35

How's your mom doing? How's your mom doing?

SPEAKER_03 45:37

She's good, she's really good.

SPEAKER_07 45:39

Like I know her, but no, it's okay.

SPEAKER_03 45:42

It's nice that you're asking. Yeah, I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_07 45:46

Good, good, good. Um let's see, is there anything you'd like to say directly to those who still celebrate in love as music? Just keep listening to the music. You mentioned that before.

SPEAKER_01 45:59

Um thanks.

SPEAKER_03 46:02

Just thank you. Thank you. Yeah, it's very much appreciated, and it's humbling to me. It's it's almost to a point, sometimes it's not overwhelming in a bad way, but it's just kind of like, wow. Like y'all really, like people, I could go anywhere and people just know who my dad is. It's just insane to me. Like, um somebody I had bought something from my neighbor, and they were helping me carry it in my house, and I have my dad's like um albums and stuff on my wall, like in the entryway, and they're like, Oh, you you related to Zap or Roger? And I was like, Yeah, like, and I just don't expect and he's like, someone that's my age, which you know, we were alive. I was I was I think California Love came out, I was like five. But you know, it's like I remember his music too, but it's just I just don't expect it's just sometimes just very unexpected. And then people people have actually knew I knew because I look like him. They were like, This is your dad, and I'm like, how do you know that? Because they say I look like him so much. So I'm just like it's just crazy, but I just I'm just very, very, very, very, very appreciative. Like it just it just feels it's just a good feeling, it's great. So that's all I was to say.

SPEAKER_07 47:29

Yeah, you you'd be surprised how many young people, especially millennials, are familiar with his work. I mean, because like I work with a lot of people, uh, millennials in their 20s and 30s, and they're music enthusiasts and they know they know his music from front to back as well as other artists from that uh time period, you know. It's just amazing. Yeah, uh how much longevity their music has on today's society as well, as back in the day. It still goes on. And yeah, you know, we gotta do what we can to keep keep their legacies alive. Yeah, by playing more of the music, and you know that's hard.

SPEAKER_03 48:17

I do appreciate being asked to do stuff like this because I don't I'm not just every day just talking about my dad, you know, he passed away almost 30 years ago, so it's not like I'm just constantly every single day having these conversations. Yeah, so I do appreciate doing this, and I think this maybe this is just some way of me keeping it alive because I'm not an a musician in any way, like I have talents and things of that nature, but I feel like if I have a platform, I'm absolutely gonna use my platform to speak about Jesus, but I also do feel I have a duty to speak about my dad, my father, who is that's just part of my legacy. So it's the least that I can do.

SPEAKER_07 49:03

Yeah, and you're doing a great job at it. This was great. I really enjoyed this interview and I appreciate you for coming on once again.

SPEAKER_01 49:10

Thank you. No problem. Can I tell you one more funny story?

SPEAKER_07 49:15

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 49:16

Because you like prints, yes, and we're supposed to tell you my mom.

SPEAKER_03 49:21

Loves Prince, she has a she has the tattoo on the back of her uh back. Okay, true fan.

SPEAKER_07 49:30

Yes, once you get tatted, you're a true fan.

SPEAKER_03 49:33

She is a true fan, okay. So she has the tattoo, right? My mom has always loved Prince, always. So I as much as I grew up on my dad's music and everybody else's music, I grew up on Prince. Like, so my mom told me this story where she met Prince. I don't know if it was at my dad's concert or like when they were doing the concert together or somewhere, but Prince was hitting on my mother. Like, if you know what I'm saying, yeah, I'll keep it PG. He was hitting on my mom, okay, and she turned him down because she was with my dad, and I was just like, and I joke with her sometimes. I'm like, I could have been Prince's daughter, mom. Like, come on. I joke with her. She's like, you stop it right now. Like, but she's met him and she's a huge fan. Like, she she she loves him. But my dad was the love of her life. She's like, I made no mistakes, I was with who I was supposed to be with. But I just think it's a funny story because I I I when he passed away, I was very sad about it. My mom was very sad about it, and I've made jokes like that's like my that was supposed to be my other dad, so it just hits home for me.

SPEAKER_07 50:41

Like that's hilarious. Good story.

SPEAKER_01 50:46

Yeah. But thank you so much.

SPEAKER_07 50:49

All right, thank you, Mia. I really appreciate you. Appreciate you hanging out with us tonight. Of course. Um, hopefully we can do this again soon someday. But anyway, where can people uh find you on all your socials? I know you mentioned your clothing line uh information earlier. If you want people to check you around.

SPEAKER_03 51:06

Um, so on TikTok and my regular Instagram, it's Mia Pia, but it's not sent, it's not spelled that way. It's uh spelled M-I-A-A P I A H. Mia Pia. And then my Jesus Apparel Instagram is we love Jesus Apparel. The website is also we love Jesus Apparel, and it will be back up. But if you want to keep up with me, my TikTok, my Instagram, I'm a little more um active on TikTok, just being goofy and crazy and serious all at the same time. Um, so those are the main places that you can you can find me.

SPEAKER_07 51:46

Awesome, awesome. All right, I'm gonna drop you out, but once again, I thank you, and uh we will stay in touch. And I wish you all the best and all your future endeavors and everything you've got going on, and we will talk to you again soon. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 52:01

Thank you. It was nice to meet you. Thank you for everything, and thank you everybody for watching.

SPEAKER_07 52:06

Yeah, thanks everybody. All right, take care. All right, that wraps up today's conversation, but the legacy lives on. Huge thanks to Mia Paris for joining us and sharing her story, her heart, and her connection to one of the most influential voices in music history. Roger Troutman's sound changed the world. But hearing it through the eyes of his daughter reminds us that behind every legend is a real family, real love, and real purpose. If this conversation moved you, inspired you, or taught you something new, make sure to like, subscribe, share this episode with someone who loves real music and real stories. Uh, once again, you can hit me up on all of my socials over on uh YouTube. Make sure you subscribe there, hit the bell for future notifications for whenever I drop a new episode. You'll be the first to be notified. And then also on Instagram, TikTok, I have two Facebook groups, and I'm also now on Twitch, all under the Handle Freak Apotamus Podcast. So we will be back with more culture, more history, and more voices that deserve to be heard. Until next time, guys, as I always say, live, love, and dream, y'all. Peace.

SPEAKER_10 53:29

First, watch this. Ladies and gentlemen, you're watching video so and it makes you feel good. Yes, it does. Don't you believe it? But yeah, I was using it on a I was really using it like on the sound like uh using this.

SPEAKER_02 54:51

It seemed to uh seemed to give it a more of a a a sexy character in a way.