Latest / The Breakfast Club / INTERVIEW: Sy'Rai Smith On Sharing Her Personal Life Through Her Music, New EP ‘Cold War’ + More

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INTERVIEW: Sy'Rai Smith On Sharing Her Personal Life Through Her Music, New EP ‘Cold War’ + More · The Breakfast Club

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We all finished or y'all done? Yes, it's the world's
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: most dangerous morning show, The Breakfast Club, DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Charlamagne Tha God, Envy is on vacation, but Lauren LaRosa
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: is here, LL Cool Bay, and we have a guest
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: in the building that makes me feel so goddamn old, okay?
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: I done interviewed her mother, I done interviewed her uncle
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: countless times, and now she is embarking on her own
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: musical journey.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. Good morning. Good morning. Sarai. Sarai. Yes, Sarai Smith. Sarai. Sarai. Sarai. See, no,
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: but he was saying Sarai. Huh? So I was like, uh-uh, no.
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: Because he was thinking about your uncle. So he was like, no,
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: it's Sarai. I said, no, it's not no damn Sarai.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: It's Sarai. Sarai. But there you go. Sarai, Sarai. Like
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Kate Sarai, Sarai. I was about to say that. Sarai, Sarai,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: whatever will be, will be. Yes. Hold up. You watch from? Huh?
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: You watch from? What's from?
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: My bed, because Kate Sarai Sarai is a theme song
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: to one of my favorite shows.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry. I'm a movie buff. My bed. I was
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: going to say, okay, we watching from. Okay. But you
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: got your EP Cold War. Yeah. Girl, I was listening
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: to this music and I was like, oh, my God.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: You like it?
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: No, first of all, not surprised by the musical talent. Like,
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: I've seen you do covers. That's how I first, I mean,
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: I figured you could sing because of Brandy. But when
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: I saw the covers, I was like, oh, no, no, no.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: She can, like, sing. But when I was listening to this,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: I'm like, she is a grown woman. Yeah, a little bit,
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: a little bit. No, ain't no little bit. Like, you grown, okay?
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: I'm singing about some grownness.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: Let's talk a bit about Cold War, right?
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: It's only, there's eight songs on it.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: The choice to make it, just keep it eight songs. Well,
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: eight is a magical number. So, you know, we kept
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: it at eight. It's not too much, but it's not,
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: you know, we're leaving y'all wanting, we're leaving y'all wanting more,
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: but you're satisfied. You know what I mean? Yeah. So, definitely,
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: it's a good, rounded number. project so i'm just i'm
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: excited it.
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: Comes out friday i love your runs you run like
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: your mama and i have never ever met anybody because
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: you know we we we all hail to brandy she's
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: the vocal bible me and chris brown used to always
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: say that together but yeah like you run like your
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: mom yeah is she is she your vocal your vocal
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: coach well no so well yes she's she's very much
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: involved in my music um Honestly, it's just genetic.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: I just hear the same as her. So naturally, it's
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: not like, oh, she'll tell me to go do a run.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: I just kind of do it, and then it sounds
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: like her naturally.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: And the fact that you didn't even know that your
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: mom was Brandy until you was eight years old.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: I know. Yeah, it was crazy. She was just so normal.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: She's just my mom. I thought that whole thing of
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: growing up on set or going to her rehearsals, I
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: just thought it was very normal. Um, plus I had, like,
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: I had to grow up really fast because there were
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: so many adults around me all the time.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: So, um, I just was behind my godmom just watching
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: her all the time. So, yeah. So what was that day, like,
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: when you realized that she was Brandy? What was that moment? Well, literally, so, uh,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: It was human, I think, and it was a CD
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: with her face on it. One of my favorite CDs.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: I know. It was with her face on it, and
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: I used to have everything. I had Gaga, I had
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: all these, Beyonce, everything on my CD players. And I
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: put it in, and I was like, this is mom?
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: And I was so confused on why she had her
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: face on it. And I asked her, and then she
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: had to explain it. And then two days later, we
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: go to American Girl Doll, and there's guys with cameras
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: just snapping at her. And I was like, oh, wow. Okay,
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: I get it. Then I got a kick out of it.
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: I used to think it was the funniest thing for
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: people to recognize her. So yeah, I didn't know. Yeah. Baby,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: your mama got a Barbie doll that I still have.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: Haven't opened it. Cinderella. Yeah. Yeah. But it's weird because
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: I was just like, I never differentiated it. Like when
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: I grew up watching Cinderella. I used to think those
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: people were actually being really rude to mom. So I
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: would cry a lot. And I'd be like, why are
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: they being so mean to my mom? So I didn't
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: know it was acting. I was really dumb. I don't know. No, no, no.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: You were acting.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: But you do know you was birthed on television.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes. I mean, I wasn't watching Special Delivery at
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: eight years old. I was watching. You know what I mean?
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: We saw her born. Right. So why name it Cold War?
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Why is that the name of the EP? Well, you know, like,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: it's just an all-around feeling that people just fight for
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: a lot and they feel like it's one-sided, if you
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: get what I'm saying. Like, I'm basically, like, I've been
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: through a lot and I'm done fighting. Just let me go. Like,
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: let me be Sarah rather than, you know, like, holding
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: me down and trying to actively fight something. So it's like, yeah,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: it's just dead. You know what I mean? You're fighting
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: against nothing. So it's like, just let me go and
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: let me go have fun. Let me be me.
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: Let me.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: you know, prosper. And that's what it basically was. And
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: then it's like, now it's out. Who's the enemy? I mean, anything.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: It can be friendships, toxic relationships. It can be opinions.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: It can be critics. It can be, you know, unhealthy
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: ways that you are in life. You get what I'm saying?
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: You know, mentally, it's everything. So it was really me
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: fighting against myself. And it's like, yo, I just got
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: to be me. And these... these lyrics are insane. So
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: it's like, let me just name the album it. You
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: know what I mean? Because it's one of the tracks
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: on Airs Cold War.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you, when the standard inside your
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: own house is so high, how do you learn the
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: difference between being inspired by that excellence and being intimidated
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: by it?
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: I mean, honestly, it's not, it's not easy. You know
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: what I mean? And it's really from the outside world.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: It's not in the house. So mom doesn't, mom, uncle, any,
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: my grandparents, like they don't. Put pressure on you. They don't.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: Cause it's like, it's other people that do. It's the outside.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: And so that's what we all get afraid of is
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: what the outside people can, what, what it can do
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: to me. And, um, so it's, it's in the house.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: It's all supportive. It's obviously very constructive criticism. That's for sure. Um,
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: but it's never like, you know, you have to be
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: me or you have to be better than they want
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: me to be better than them. Obviously every parent does,
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: but it's like, you have to like, be anything but
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: you're brilliant on your own you're fine that's why pursuing
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: singing could be scary very it's.
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: Great but I can do it well maybe you sound
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: amazing on this project but I think the scary side
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: is now you're like you're inviting us into your personal things.
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: And even though we know, you know, we know you
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: because Brandy, like the show, you were literally born on
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: TV and, you know, but we've only known what was
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: allowed to know about you and it's been protected for
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: some time. But, you know, I watched some interviews getting
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: ready for this interview and I was like, dang, she
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: been through a heartbreak. I heard you talk about living
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: with a boyfriend at one point. I was like, all
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: that life happened and we had no idea. But now
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: you're putting us in your business and that's a different journey.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: Well, cause now I'm in the mental space to handle it.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? Like obviously having public relationships is,
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: it's very hard. You know, people get attached to people
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: and there's been plenty of times like where I've loved
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: a couple and they break up and I'm as sad.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: Like you get what I'm saying? And I have the
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: opinions or somebody cheats or somebody does something wrong. It's like,
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: it's hard for everybody else to be in that relationship
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: too while you're only dealing with a heartbreak yourself. And
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: it's like, I've, kept a lot of things personal and quiet,
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: especially mom wanted that too. She wanted me to grow
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: up normal. She wanted me to have a normal life,
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: not with everybody, you know, especially cause I'm so sensitive.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: I'm like the most sensitive person on the planet. So like,
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: she just didn't want a lot of people, you know,
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: their opinions on me either, especially when I'm making mistakes.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: Cause she had a lot, she made a lot of
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: mistakes and that was really hard on her. So she
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: obviously didn't want that for her kid. Um, but now,
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: you know, I'm fine. I can handle it. I can
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: talk about it. It's been some time, so I'm good.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: So you out of the heartbreak. Oh, yeah, for sure.
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: Because in this project, in Cold War, I was listening like, damn.
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: I'm assuming this is all about one person or is
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: it different phases?
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: It's different phases because heartbreak feels the same. That pain
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: is pain at the end of the day. But it's
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: not necessarily like maybe some of them have similarities. I
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: don't know. But, you know, if the shoe fits, I mean,
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: I just slapped you lyrically, so. Have fun with that. No,
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: for real.
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: You take us through someone not appreciating you. Honestly, I
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: don't even think that the person you were talking about
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: even understood themselves enough to understand who you were to
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: them in the relationship. There were so many different phases
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: of the heartbreak. In all of that heartbreak, though, what
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: did you learn about yourself where now in this fun phase,
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: you're like, I don't want to do with that.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: I'm not taking that. Well, honestly, being in that place
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: is like, I got out of it. You get what
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: I'm saying? You can handle a lot, girl. You got
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: out of it. I learned my strength, a lot of
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: my strength, and my worth ethic came back because I
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: was in that bed for six months straight. I didn't
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: want to move. I didn't want to do anything. My
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: grades were down. All of it. I hated myself. It
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: was bad. And then I was like, you would have
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: never thought that a year or two later you would
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: be where you are. You got out of it. You're dope.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: And the next person, if I ever want to do
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: that again, I don't know, I'm so off with that
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: right now. But the next person's got to appreciate you
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: the way that you are and not want to hurt you.
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: These kids will try and really, really hurt you. They're boys,
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: they're not men. So it's like... Love to hear you
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: talk like that.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: Such a young girl, yeah. Mm-hmm. And I don't know,
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: I'm allergic to them right now. I get it. Maybe
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: in a couple of years. Mm-hmm.
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: Well, right now, so you're focused on your career, more
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: so focused on your career. And your mom is producing.
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, she's executive producing.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: How much is it mother and daughter versus... artist producer? Like,
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: is it hard for her to separate mommy from producer?
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: No, it's not very hard for her. She understands because
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: she's an artist. So it's like, she understands, like, I
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: was really, really scared to show her some of the music.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: So is it hard for you to separate? Yeah, so...
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: Mommy from producer. Absolutely, yeah. You know, sometimes when you
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: do certain things, you don't want your mama, you know,
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: judging you too much. You know, even my dad, I
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: was kind of scared to show him some of the stuff, too.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: I was like, oh, gosh. Did your dad hurt late night? Ooh,
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: that's why he didn't post it on Instagram. Because he
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: was like, I'm not promoting my daughter singing about no
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: come see about me tonight, okay?
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: But he loves it. He's supportive. But, yeah, I was
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: a little nervous. Yeah, I was a little nervous to
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: show him.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: No, she.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: Very opinionated. Loves all of it. My biggest critique. But
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: if I can get stamped by her, I know I'm good.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: I've heard you say there's pressure that comes with your
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: mother's legacy.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah. What does that pressure feel like? I mean, that
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: pressure is just to continue the legacy. And if I'm
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: doing her justice, she has a fandom. She has diehard fans. Yes.
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: So it's like, I just never want to disappoint, if
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: you get what I'm saying. But the pressure doesn't directly
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: come from her. It's like mostly on me because I'm
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: a perfectionist when it comes to music. And yeah, it's
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: just a lot of, it's just a lot. People have
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: a lot of opinions. And then, you know, vocally, she's
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: like one of the greatest. So it's like, dang, can
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: I like even amount to that? But I'm like, but
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: you don't have to. It's, you're you, you're Sarah. Like,
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: Brandy is Brandy, Sarah is Sarah, even though we are connected,
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: but it's like, I'm a whole different human being. You
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: know what I mean? So yeah, that, that pressure sometimes
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: is hard.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: Was there ever a moment when that pressure actually made
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: you question whether music was even worth pursuing?
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I was, I was kind of in that era,
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: like where my music was really stagnant and I was like,
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: and I didn't know, and I didn't know how to create.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: And I started sounding the same. Every song sounded the same.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: Like it was all really like gray instead of like
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: black and white, it's good or it's bad. And, um,
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: I was like, maybe I shouldn't do this. And so
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: then I, like last time I was here, I told
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: you guys I went to school. So I was, I
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: really wanted to be in business. I was just going
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: to be like what my grandma does, you know, manager, consultant.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: I was going down that road. And then, um, I
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: met my new team and we did this one. And
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: I was like, nope, I'm back on track. So now I'm,
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: I'm locked in.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And you're also working on a Christmas movie. Yes,
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: I am. You are exercising that actress muscle. How's that?
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: It was fun. It was, it was really, really fun.
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: So it's already done. Already shot. Yeah. We did it
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: in July in Atlanta. Hot as hell out there. And
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: we were all in sweaters, but, um, Yeah, no, it
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: was really fun. We're back at me and mom playing sisters. And, yeah,
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: it was really, really, really fun this time, though. I
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: can't wait for it. I can't wait for it either
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: because I want to see the whole thing. We don't
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: get edits or anything. The premiere is when we see it.
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: And I'm like, oh, God, I hope I look cute
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: in some of these because acting this time, I don't
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: think I can say what I am. Literally, the acting
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: this time was I had to act. I literally had
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: to act. So do you have, oh, I'm sorry. Do
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: you have a favorite album by your mom? Well, I'm biased.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: I'm the full moon baby, so full moon. Really? Yeah. See,
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: I thought you would say, see, full moon, that's my
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: issue too. But you know what? I thought you would
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: have said human.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: Because she dedicated right here to you.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Do you know that? Did she? Departed. Departed right here.
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: I did not know that. Well, call her and ask her.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: I think it was for you.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: I don't know.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: Because I was in the video.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Oh.
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: Where you get that from?
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: I swear I could have sworn that was about her.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: Like, I'm a brandy.
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: When you know you was just talking about fandom, crazy,
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: down fans, that's me all day.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: Like, I swear. So I hope I'm making you proud, too. Oh,
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: you are. Okay. That's why I complimented your runs. But
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: I swear, I don't know where I heard that, but
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: I remember her performing... She said that about Chris Brown earlier. Man, woman. Man, woman.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: Shut up. Brandi is Vocal Bible, my number one female singer. Well,
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: I'm the New Testament. Hello.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: Period.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: There you go.
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: Talking right, okay? There you go. All right, we got
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: Old Testament, New Testament.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: But no, I remember watching Brandi perform it on one
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: of those morning shows when Human had just dropped and
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: she performed live.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: Human right here.
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: And I could have sworn, I may be wrong, but
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: I thought she dedicated that to you. Like she has
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: certain songs that she dedicated to your uncle, Ray.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, best friend. I didn't know right here was
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: for me. I know High Heels, the song that we
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: did together. She did like a whole rap part together
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: for me. Yeah. And then her book is dedicated to me.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: Big phases. Yes, but I swear. Ask her. You got
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: to text and ask her. I'll ask her.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: Because I don't want to be out here like putting
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: things out there in the universe and it ain't really real.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: But I swear that was for you. Human's one of
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: my favorite. Human's probably number two because when I was
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: in that little era of me sad about the boys,
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: I would listen to Human.
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: Would you talk to her about that? Like as you're
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: listening to Human and like, oh shoot, we're going through
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: the same thing. My mom was here too, but you
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: wouldn't pick up.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: The phone and call her. No, I would call her.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: She wouldn't know, but I would call her bawling my
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: eyes out. But I wouldn't tell her I'm listening to
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: human because I would be in the car on the
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: way to the doctor or something. I literally would go
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: downstairs and just play human in my car and just
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: listen to it and cry about it.
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: Taking the hat off a us looking at Brandy as Brandy,
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: when you are going through these things that you're going through,
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: these real life experiences with boys and figuring out career
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: and all of that, you and your mom seem very,
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: very close.
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: We are.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: Like, watch y'all in person. She allows you to be you.
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: How does she talk you through those things in a
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: way that, like, people may not ever understand about her
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: because we just look at her as Brandy?
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: Well, literally, it's, she literally told me when I was
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: going through all that, you're stronger than you think. Like,
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: you're stronger than you think. You're gonna get through it. Like,
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: you're gonna get through it. Cry about it now, but, like,
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: You're a big girl. You can, like, you can handle yourself.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? So it's like, she's really, really, like,
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: the person that's like, come on, get up. You know
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: what I mean? She's not going to be, like, weeping
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: in your sorrows and, you know, like, she'll pat your
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: back or whatever. But she's going to be like, get up.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? Like, you're going to be fine.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: And you're so much stronger than you think. She always
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: sees things before eyes you. which a lot of moms do.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: They see a lot for their kids before. I'm not
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: a mother, so I don't know, but that's what she
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: tells me. Because they went through it. Right, so she
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: just sees me before I do, and she knows what's
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: basically going to happen.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: What did Uncle Ray say? About what? I don't know.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: Boys about the life experience. Uncle Ray J don't know nothing.
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: I don't talk to him about no boys. He thinks
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: I'm still dating the same guy since I was 17.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: Because he sees you as his little baby niece. He
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: does not. No, he's, I don't really talk to him
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: about that. Because he'll be the quick one to be like,
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: you need me to kick his ass? You get what
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: I'm saying? Like, that's how he is. But it's like. No, uncle.
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: You guys' relationship, I think, is adorable, too. I remember
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: when he was here and you were here with him.
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: You're so protective over him, but he's also so protective over.
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: You as well, too. The last time I was here. Yeah. Oh, no.
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: I love my uncle. Literally, he's my best friend, too.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: I love him. Even with all the shenanigans, you got
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: to love him. I don't pay attention to anything. Yeah.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: The only thing I paid attention to was the fight,
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: because it was funniest. It was so funny. He won, though. Well,
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: that one. He won the last one. The one before that. No. Oh,
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: my God. It was different. They looked a mess.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: You know, having a crazy Uncle Ray is part of
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: the black experience. It is.
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: I know.
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: That's peak blackness. Normally, they sit outside to look at stuff,
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: but yours is just on stream. That's peak blackness. Got
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: to have one of them, man. I do got a
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: crazy uncle. I probably got the craziest. How about that? Yeah,
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: but we love him. But he loves you so much, though.
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: I know, I love him.
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: Last time, literally, he was like about to cry just
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: hearing you talk about the first time we talked to
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: you about the first set of the Christmas movie experience
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: that you.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: And Brandi were doing. Yeah. Yeah, no, I love him.
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: He's amazing. He's funny.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: Does it ever feel like being the child of a
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: famous person, sometimes you have to discover who you are backwards?
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: Sometimes. I mean, I grew up so normal. So it
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: was like I already had so many experiences, like grew up,
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: went to high school with the same or middle school,
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: elementary school with the same people. Like, you know what
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: I mean? How everybody kind of does. And then I
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: just was really normal until I knew, but I didn't know.
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: And I still rebelled against them. I still, you know.
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: Took my mom's car with a permit, not a license.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? Like, I still did. I
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: still did. She was taking a Maybach, though, probably. I
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: was taking a Mini Cooper.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: Hello.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: I was going to say, don't do my mama like that, Lauren.
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: I was taking that Dodge Caravan. Oh, yeah, I forgot
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: your mom was a daycare mom. I think what I meant.
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: By that is, like, most of us figure ourselves out,
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: and then the world notices us. Like, the world knew
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: who you were before you even knew yourself.
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. How did that affect your life?
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: Identity if you haven't even figured out who you are
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: people trying to make you be something yeah.
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: It's a little i don't know i just i feel
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: like i i guess i did i guess i had
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: to learn myself kind of backwards because still you know
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: like growing up i i didn't really care that much
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: but um yeah i don't i don't know maybe i
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: mean a lot of people had a lot of stuff
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: saying when i was growing up especially like platforms that
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: are not known to be the most positive i was
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: in blogs like that a lot you know During mom's time.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: And it was a lot. So, yeah, maybe. Maybe I
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: did have to kind of relearn myself. But I like myself.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: Now.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: I think I'm cool. Yes, I love you. Look, you
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: was my niece before you even knew who I was.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: So good.
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: You now.
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: How was it working with Eric Ballinger? Oh, Eric Ballinger
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: was great. Eric is so dope. He's amazing. So yeah,
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: it was really fun. I went to his studio out
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: in LA and I saw like all the murals in there,
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: and I saw everybody I love, but then it was
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: crazy to see the full moon thing, and I'm really
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: in the studio, and yeah, it was amazing. Plus, he
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: writes for everybody, all of my favorite artists, so I
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: was like, ah. Who are your favorite artists? Let's get
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: to know them. Ooh, my favorites? Top three, if you can. Oh, gosh, no.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: All right, top five. I love music too much. I'll
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: do five. Top five, Brandy, obviously. I love Beyonce.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Nice.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Anita. Anita Baker? Mm-hmm. I know that's right, girl. Anita. Dang.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: I love Whitney, obviously. Obviously. And Michael. Girl, I knew
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: he was my niece. Listen, Anita Baker.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: Somebody's missing.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: Number three.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: Who? Bridget?
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: I said Brandi first. You talking about Bridget? I love
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: my uncle. Wait a minute. Oh, yeah, I do love Lyle.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: Sexy canine.
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: Ray J is like an alternate to the list. Like,
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: he's like there automatically.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: Oh, no, you playing games now. Ray got joints. Y'all
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: playing games. One wish was that he would not be
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: in her top five now. Come on, stop. Because she
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: just named, like, real vocalists. Like, take you to the church.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: He's a real vocalist. Not too much. No, I got you.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: Ray J is more of a vibe. One wish is crazy.
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: But see, Ray is more of a vibe. What I
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: need is my favorite Ray J song, okay? What I
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: need is my favorite Ray J song. See, I look
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: at Ray more like a vibe.
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: Like, when you get into, like, Anita and Whitney and
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: all that, like, you can't just be like.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: Oh, and Richard. Yeah, Whitney wouldn't be saying sexy, can I? Yeah. Right.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: It would have sounded way differently.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: No, stop.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: That's like me saying, I like Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes. Oh,
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: and Chingy. Let's throw in Chingy. You know what I mean?
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: You can't just do that. No shade to Chingy. No
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: shade to Chingy or no shade to Ray. But let's
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: just move on.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: At what point do you want people to stop introducing
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: you as Brandi's daughter? And do you feel like you've
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: earned that shit? I mean, I.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: Am her daughter. I never have a problem with it,
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: you know? I mean, I feel like that is also, like,
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: people are curious. Like, I wonder if she sounds like
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: her mom. You know what I mean? That's only going
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: to give me more streams. I never have a problem
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: with it. But then after, you know, I feel like
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: you're going to fall in love with me, fall in
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: love with my personality. And then it's, you know what
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: I mean? And I don't ever have a problem. I'm
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: always honored to be called that.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: I mean, if you say Brandy's daughter, Sarah, or Sarah, oh,
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: by the way, this is also her kid. You know
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: what I mean? Not just, hi, Brandy's daughter. Like, I'm like,
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: you have your own name. Yeah, like, I'm still a human.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? Just day-to-day life. Like, so,
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: I don't know. Now, that's something you could talk to
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: your uncle about.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: By the way.
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: Because this is art. I'm just speaking from an artist perspective. Well,
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: he did it a different way. But I... No, no, no.
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: But they used to always be like that's Brandy's brother
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: when he was an artist. You know what I mean?
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: But they did acting together and he kind of... They
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: did a lot of things together. That's true.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: And then it kind of trickled down. And then Ray
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: J is now Ray J.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean?
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: Like he's his own... And I don't know when exactly
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: that pivoted, but... Hopefully, I think it was like his
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: first album when it pivoted. Yeah. So this is my
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: first project. And he's a great businessman as well.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: Ray makes a lot of business moves, you know, that
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: sets him just apart from being Brandy's brother. Things that
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: he's done independently that you know about, that people know about.
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: So yeah, he's definitely... grown to have his own identity
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: absolutely Ray J was working with like Pharrell and like
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: you like.
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: Big doing your things you know when it shifted you
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: know what I mean like when people weren't like I
• 23:34
  Speaker 3: mean it's like you knew Ray J I think in more.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: Recent times when people started to know Ray's personality you
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: know what I mean it wasn't even necessarily the music
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: because he had big records from the beginning it was
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: when people started to actually know his personality like Ray is.
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: Because I didn't realize he was so funny like he
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: has a sweetheart too yes he is grew to love
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: him a lot sweetest human What is your favorite song
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: on your EP?
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: I like Stimulations. I love that song. But I love
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: Mind Your Business too. That's where I am. I'm in
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: that like fun hyper era right now. But Stimulations is like,
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: I love that song.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: I love that. That's my baby. I love that song.
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: All right. She's got a flight to catch, guys.
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: I'm so mad. All right.
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: Is it a song that you and your friends love
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: to vibe to? Do you have a group of friends
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: that you had a listening party at the studio with?
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: She wants you to be late on purpose. She said that. No,
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: I don't.
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: I just really want to talk to her. I've known
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: her since before she knew me.
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: Oh, Lord. Yeah. What song is that that you and
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: her friends be like, bitch?
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: I mean.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: Girl, that's throwing it. Girl, I be saying that word, too.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: We already knew that, probably. Yes, yes. That song is so,
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: so sick to me. All of them. I love all
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: of them. Go stream all of them, my gosh. What
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: are your fans like?
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: You don't meet in Greece, but who are your fans?
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: Are they your age? Are they girls that are like...
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: What is the vibe when we meet in Greece?
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: Sometimes it's more like auntie, niece vibes, or like, you
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: my cousin, you know what I mean? You know, we're family.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: There's so many people, I swear, on tour. that told
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: me that they are related to me some way, somehow.
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: I was like, girl, where's the ancestry? I'm like, okay,
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: all right, cousin, love you, bye. But probably more that.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: And then my friends are there, so they invite their friends.
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: It's really not really a meet and greet. I hate
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: doing that. Like, one, two, three, and then they leave.
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: It's like, no, I'm just hanging out there having fun.
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: Love that. So personable. Yeah, I love doing that. Yeah.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: Cool.
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: Well, I love this for you, Cold Wars. It is really,
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: really good. You come out the gate swinging, okay? Mind
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: Your Businesses.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: That girl. Yes, like she said, a mom is the
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: Old Testament, she's the New Testament. Yes, and it comes
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: out Friday. I'm really, really excited.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: What record you want to play?
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: Probably Mind Your Business.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: Mind Your Business.
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: Let's play Mind Your Business. Thank you for joining us.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: Of course. Thank you for having me. Which one is
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: your favorite, Lauren? I like Late Night, but it's a little...
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: I like Late Night. I like Cold War and Stimulations.
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: I do like Cold War. Listen, she in the pocket.
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: She telling him, come see about me. Don't play. Don't
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: waste your time. Don't waste my time. It's very... Look
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: at her face. Rage Age. No, no, it's not. No,
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: it's not at all. It's like Brandy to 11-ish. Yes. Yeah. Girl,
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: yes to 11. That is the bomb. That's the album, okay?
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: The bomb. The bomb. Stop it. Mind your business. Mind
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: your business for a while. It's the most PG. You
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: do it for the girl. Okay. All right. Well, thank
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: you for joining us. Thank you for having me. Make
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: sure you go get that EP on Friday, okay?
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes.
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: And it's The Breakfast Club.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: Thank y'all. All right. Hold up. Every day I wake up.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Wake your ass up.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: The Breakfast Club. You all finished or you all done?