Latest / Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews / Grammy Winner DOE on Shiloh and the Wealth Only the Gospel Can Give

Transcript

Grammy Winner DOE on Shiloh and the Wealth Only the Gospel Can Give · Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hey Doe, thanks for joining.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Me, Hi, thank you for having me Michael.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Grammy winning singer Dough as our guest today. She has
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: a new album coming out August of twenty eighth. It's
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: called Shiloh. I think this is your third solo album,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: of course many of us first and new of you
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: from the group Forever Jones. This album has been described
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: as a deeply personal project forritrigid and faith, family worship,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: and generational legacy. Dell, you said that Shiloh is your
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: most personal album. Yet what do you mean by that
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: and what your goal is with this album?
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Okay, so I want to use another word other than personal.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: It is personal because my family was in it. It
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: has this The context right behind the album is all
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: about the generational transfer of eternal wealth, do you know
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: what I mean? Which can only be found through the
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Gospel and in knowing Jesus and a lot of people
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: at the top. I've never reached the top of financial success,
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: but they will always say or talk about how you
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: never really feel like you've arrived. There's always something else
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: that you just have to have, and so that content,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: contentment can only really be found in Christ. And you know,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: we do have this command, the great commission to spread
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: the gospel, and so someone had to make sure that
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: I understood who Jesus was someone. I was someone's posterity.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: You were someone's posterity at some point in time, and
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: so the album kind of just encapsulates the importance of that.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: That's the context in which the album was written and created.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: And so that's why it was very personal because the
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: other albums captured a few years of my life, and
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: this album is my life, this is my upbringing. My
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: mom is singing on it with me, So I guess
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: personal is the right word.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: So you brought your mom back for this album, but
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: to sing.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: With you, I did ten. In the videos, my three
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: of my siblings, they're singing behind me too. That is awesome.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: That is awesome.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about the style for this You said that
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Shiloh Blee's gospel worship, CCM R and B just about
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: everything that I liked there. Those are the sounds you
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: grew up with. How did you pick the styles for
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: this album?
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: I just I went into every writing room I knew
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: melodically because I'm a musician, so I'm able to kind
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: of lead if I need to melodically musically in the
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: direction I want to go. But I wanted to give
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: them freedom. I was looking back to a time when
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: songs did not have a bridge, or maybe they didn't
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: even have a vamp, because we didn't even know what
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: a vamp was, or even a pre course. You know.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: It was like we would sing the first verse, we
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: would sing the course, and then it'd be like Okay,
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: y'all got it, and we would sing the first verse again,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: and then we would go out on that course, you
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: know what I mean. So that's the kind of that's
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: how I set up, you know. So the stage for
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: writing sessions was like, Hey, I don't want to give
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: a song more than it needs. I just wanted to
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: be birthed and have everything that it needs to thrive
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: and live a long life and not pick it apart
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: too much. But this is the revelation that I'm going with.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: So I would lay all of that out, I'd read
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: the scripture and and we would just kind of see
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: what came of it. I think the one song that
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: like fully encapsulates that whole message is know your Name.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: I'm glad you said that, because that was gonna I
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: was gonna ask you about Know your Name. I'm assuming
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: that track will be on the album. I think you
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: just said it. It is because it's out right now, people
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: going to steal it right out. What what's what's the
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: story behind that behind that song?
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean I was in a write with Dia Viola,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: Anthony Brown and David Spencer and I just just we
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: were talking about the revelation of posterity or just the
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: word posterity, and I was like, man, I don't think
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: we have a song yet. That just says what I'm
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: trying to say. And I think I think that what
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: I'm trying to say doesn't need to be insinuated. I
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: think we need to make a statement. So, you know,
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: I was like, let's just I want something a little upbeat,
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: but let's try to dig into this thought and see
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: what comes in. And they every writer, everyone whose hands
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: are on this project, every photographer, they committed and submitted
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: to that the process that I was in as a
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: as a writer and artist, and I'm so grateful for that.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: It's very I guess it's partially about identity though, in
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: terms of your identity and Christ and knowing who Christ is.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Is that the central theme of the song.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: Well, the theme of the song is, if it's up
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: to me, every generation's gonna know your name. I'm going
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: to make sure I pass it on, and you need
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: to make sure you pass it on. But that does start.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: That begins with identity and you understanding that as well.
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: And then to that.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: I know you and your husband welcome your first child
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: into the world two years ag.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: I was gonna ask you.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: How has that changed your your music, if at all?
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: How is it impacted your faith?
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: I mean, do you have kids?
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, That's why I'm asking you.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: Know, it's so crazy. You know what I tell people,
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: and I'm a new parent, so I'm not preachy at all.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: I don't know nothing. But what I tell people is
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: it is the sharpest corner you ever turn in your life,
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: because you're there, and that's it. You're there. Even marriage,
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: you're interute, you're engaging with an adult, so you're you're
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: slowly turned. You're communicating three things. You know what I mean.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: It's hard, but that person's talking back to you. You know,
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: they're an adult. It's so motherhood is the sharpest corner.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: I think that I have had to have more grace
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: than myself than I ever thought I would need to,
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: and I'm okay with that. I'm also in my late thirties.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: I just turned thirty eight, so I'm a late thirties mom.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: So there are some things that are kind of settled
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: within me that I've learned along the way that I've
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: been able to implement into motherhood that I would not
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: have had those tools in my twenties. I was not
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: that confident and settled within myself. And you know what,
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: when you're in your late thirties, you got friends who'd
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: been through some things and they're telling you this what
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: you need to do. So I have a lot of
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: good advice.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: You know what it did for me, though, is that it
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: deepen my understanding of God's love for us.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: I don't know if.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: I don't know if that impact if if that had
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: the same impact on you in terms of just understanding
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: the love of Scripture. It's not as great as God's love,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: but it gives you a sense of it.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: Do you agree with that? Yeah, I think I'm understanding
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: how he sees me when I'm trying and striving and
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: don't understand, and He's like, I'm just trying to keep
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: you alive. Here. You know, I'm because that's where I'm
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: at in my relationship with my child right now. He's
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: so brave, he wants to do everything, and so I'm
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: creating boundaries for him because boundaries are important. I'm teaching
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: him to conquer his own will, which is obedience, because
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: obedience is important. Because I know you know, that's probably
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: more so the part that I'm understanding.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I also impacts your understanding. I'm disciplined as well,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Like like you're saying, I completely understand that. Let's switch
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: let's switch tracks here. You released a song with I
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: think a John Baptiste Black Boy that relieved a lot
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: of attention. I really enjoyed that. Tell me the story
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: behind that song in terms of the message, and you
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: know what were your goals with that? Yeah?
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: I mean culturally, within black culture, we have songs for
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: our women and you know, just celebrating skin tone and hair.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: Hair is a whole conversation for women in our culture.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: But there aren't songs that they give capacity and room
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: for Black men that are saying like, hey, the world,
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: we're here for you, we love you, and you can
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: be vulnerable. You don't always have to be strong. We
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: have room and space for the full spectrum of your emotions.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: And so twenty twenty was really hard for America, for
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: the black community, for the church. It was just a
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: really tough time. And it was an open wound for me.
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: And as you know, as my heart, you know, revealed wounds,
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: what came out was that song because I started to
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: realize maybe some of the pressures are the things that
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: my father, who's a good man, my brothers, my uncles,
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: both of my grandfathers, dealt with in life. And the
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: stories that I heard them tell. My grandfather who came
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: from Louisiana, the South, and stories that he never told
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: us but our mother shared with us that they walked through.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: And so I wrote that song for them. I wasn't
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: married and I didn't have any kids, but I knew
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: even if I married outside of my race that they
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: were still going to be a black boy if I
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: had a son, because they had me and them, And
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: so I just thought, well, well, if I ever, if
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: I ever get to love a black boy, this this
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: is how I'm gonna love him. I'm gonna make sure
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: he knows he's covered. And that's how that song came.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: So it's kind of funny because I got a black
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: boy husband and a black boy son now. And I
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: think this is what I said it because I sang
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: this song at Carnegie Hall recently for Juneteenth. I realized
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: that even our thoughts and hearts desires that we don't
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: we're not saying God give me this. We're just like God,
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: if this ever happens. This is how I want to
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: steward it. This Sometimes they raise up to Heaven as
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: incense in prayers and become answered prayers, you know. And
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: so I thought it was really cool that my first
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: child was a boy.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: You mentioned Juneteenth. Tell me what Juneteenth means to you.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: I know historically what it means. And I wish I
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: had you own before Juneteenth so we could talk about
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: this more in terms of leading him to it. But yeah,
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: tell me about I know historically what it means in
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: terms of how how I got it started leaving Texas,
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: But what does it mean to you?
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I want to go into the history
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: of it. But I just think that it's important to
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: celebrate huge milestones. And it's not just for black people,
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: it's for America. Yeah, Like we stopped enslaving other human beings,
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: We need to celebrate that forever and make a big
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: deal out of it. So I love that it is
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: a holiday. I love that African Americans are allowed to
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: take a day off of work to celebrate it. And
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: so it was just really Yeah, that's the way that
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: it carries for me. It will forever be a part
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: of America's beautiful overcoming story. Yeah, you need to make
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: a big deal out of it. And so I'm so
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: honored to be at Carnegie Hall for Gentineas and the event.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: The event was so surrounding financial literacy in the black
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: community and exposure and just having really beautiful conversations, and
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: that too is a part of a freedom as well.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: So I thought that was great.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, everything's so plegicized nowadays, but I've always viewed Juneteenth. Asked,
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: what you said a celebration of something great in America
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: like this, This is a good thing that we're celebrating,
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: don't Why don't we have to argue about everything? Oh yeah, anyway,
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: that's it. That's my soapbox. Yeah, what were your emotions
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: when you want a Grammy? Because you had been nominated
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: several times and you finally won a Grammy, I forgot
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: what year it was, but it was for the I'd
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Leave Out Seat, a contemporary Christian album in the year
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: What were your emotions when you want that?
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I know it was twenty twenty five because Shilah
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: was born in the Grammys our in February. So that's
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: that's all the reason I know that I'm not good
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: with dayting. And I had to go back to work
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: because I had taken what do you call it me,
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: you take a leave of maternity, leave maternally, my own
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: kind of matney leave as an artist, you know, And
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: so I couldn't get to the Grammy. So I had
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: to start working in and so I was in I
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: was actually in La and I was singing somewhere, but
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: I was in the airport when I my phone started
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: going off. I didn't see any of the phone calls
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: because I lost my milk bag. It was running ro
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: out looking for the milk bag. And then I get
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: in line to go talk to the didn't and I
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: see from the manager, my manager at the time. I
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: cried tears and I was like, oh my god, I
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: think that we won. And then you just see this
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: slew of red numbers of people that called you and
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: text ustages, and I got on a FaceTime with everybody,
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: and it wasn't a category that I didn't think I
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: even stood a chance. And you know, I thought I
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: stood a chance in the other category I was nominated in.
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: I think everybody felt that way. So we were just
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: really grateful. Like I was stunned, completely stunned. My husband
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: threw a party for me because I didn't really know
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: how to receive that. It was like, yeah, crazy time.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: Well, were you at a point like when you've been
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: I'm assuming when you've been nominating several times and have
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: but one, you get to a point where you just
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: don't want to make yourself excited about the possibility. Is
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: that kind of what's going on with you in your mind?
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll say this. I think it's too like age right,
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: Like I was talking to another good friend of mine.
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: We're both experiencing a lot of the same successes around
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: the same age, and you have to intentionally lean into
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: thankfulness in your late thirties when you've been working so
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: hard to get to a point because you realize that
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: certain wins are amazing. But it doesn't mean that the
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: work stops. It doesn't mean that you you know, what
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: I mean. You got to keep going, you got to
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: keep trucking. It doesn't a Grammy doesn't mean that you're
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: financially set for the rest of your life. And so
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: it was the whole thing of like, I'm I'm Postpartu'm
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: holding my greatest accomplishment in my arms while receiving my
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: greatest musical accomplishment. Do you know what I mean? I'm
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: in the airport with my baby. And so I really
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: had to force myself to be like, hey, I know,
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: you got real life going on here, or my husband, Really,
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: you got real life going on here. But this is
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: a big deal. I see the Grammys in every award
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: as our Employee of the Year award, and I think
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: they're important for your peers to say, good job, even
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: working so hard, we see you and we like your art.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: And so, yeah, it's hard because because of where you
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: are in that point in your life.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, where's the award? Is it all this shelf somewhere?
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, my husband's got it set up on like when
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: people walk in they see it.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: All right, I figured he would be Yeah, good for him,
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: Good for him. Let's circle back to the album Shiloh,
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: which is really to releases August twenty eighth. Tell me
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: how you want this album to impact the faith of listeners.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: Well, I understand that worship leaders in righte put words
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: in people's mouths. And I think also at this stage
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: in my life and my walk with God, I carry
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: a greater conviction and way like I've been leaning worship
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: my whole life, but now I'm in this place where
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: I'm questioning everything and like, Okay, where does that line
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: up with scripture?
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: Why have I done this my whole life? So I
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: understand the way to putting words in people's mouth in
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: a congregational setting, or I'm beginning to understand. And so
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: I knew when I woke up with a song. I
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: started waking up and with songs and like realizing, Oh,
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: I think what's coming to me are songs for congregational settings.
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: I think that's my next album. I'm kind of a
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: go with the flow tick, and so I just tried
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: to create a landing pad for all of those songs.
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: And so I want the words that I put in
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: people's mouths to line up with God's heart for the church.
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: And I started my prayer, was God, what do you
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: want to hear us say to you in a congregational setting,
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: and that was the prayer that I and into every
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: writing set with. So I hope that it creates strong
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: foundational conversations between just to the Body in Christ and
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: congregational setting an a. I hope it points back and forward.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: If you like today's episode, please subscribe and leave a
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: five star review. That's how we help more people just
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: like you find the show.
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: A big thanks to the team at life Audio for
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: their partnership with us on the podcast. If you go
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: to lifeaudio dot com, you will find dozens of other
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: faith centered podcasts in their network.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: See you next time.