Pod Insights Baby, this is Keke Palmer ‘Love Me Not,’ Healing, and Growing with Ravyn Lenae About this episode Ravyn Lenae joins Keke to talk Chicago roots, choir beginnings, and crafting a sound that’s both nostalgic and new. They unpack the slow-burn rise of 'Love Me Not,' touring with Sabrina Carpenter, and the dream collaborators on Ravyn’s radar (Tyler, you listening?). Ravyn opens up about casting her estranged father in the 'One Wish' video and healing after heartbreak. A rich, reflective conversation about growth- musical and personal.
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Transcript 10,170 words · 2 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:05 Keke Palmer? Raven Lanez has been releasing music since she was in high school and making waves ever since. She grew up on the south side of Chicago, trained in classical music, and blends that with the futuristic R&B sound that's all her own. Her song "Love Me Not" went viral a full year after it dropped. And now with this anthem, she's having a major moment. She had her debut at Coachella and Lollapalooza, and she's touring with Sabrina Carpenter. We're talking about her album, "Bird's Eye," the real story behind "One Wish," and what it means to take control of her voice on and off the mic.
1:07 Keke Palmer? Before the holiday rush kicks in, I'm partnering with Airbnb to help you plan that perfect autumn escape. From dreamy mountain retreats to spacious homes perfect for gathering with friends and family. Airbnb has amazing spaces for every kind of getaway. Now let's get into it.
1:26 Keke Palmer? Okay, Raven, first of all, I'm so excited because I got to introduce your music through my friend and my makeup artist Kenya.
1:31 Speaker 01 Have you heard of Raven Lanez?
1:34 Keke Palmer? After that, literally every time that I'm getting glam, I'm listening to your music. And then I had to DM you.
1:39 Speaker 01 So you need to do a cover.
1:40 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I'm obsessed with you. And then now you're on the show, so thank you for pulling up.
1:44 Speaker 01 Thank you for having me, boo.
1:46 Keke Palmer? Chicago girl.
1:47 Speaker 01 Chicago girl.
1:48 Keke Palmer? Now, I had you do the pre-show pull-up, so I'm about to get into what your answers are.
1:51 Speaker 01 Okay.
1:52 Keke Palmer? I'm very excited. So today, I'm giving whimsy, period, because I feel like you live there, with the side of Black Swan. Now, what is the Black Swan, this is the edge, it's the like edge.
2:01 Speaker 01 That's the edge, that's the edge, and then obviously with the...
2:06 Keke Palmer? Yes, the boot, I mean, I love this, is this a custom skirt? Like, where did you...
2:09 Speaker 01 Oh, it's the designer. Okay.
2:12 Keke Palmer? Period burglar Goodman, I know that's a drive. The car ain't declining. Okay, today's mood in one word here, present. We love a present, girlie. I'm in the moment. What did you listen to on the ride here? Unreleased shit.
2:26 Speaker 01 Yeah.
2:27 Keke Palmer? Girl, I need to be hearing that. What is the other name?
2:29 Speaker 01 I sent you some links.
2:30 Keke Palmer? Yes, please. So you're working on a new project already?
2:33 Speaker 01 New album.
2:34 Keke Palmer? How long?
2:35 Speaker 01 It's been maybe five or six months.
2:37 Keke Palmer? Would you say that's the beginning for you still? Or are you deep in it? Like, do you have a timeline when you're like, I'm closing it out?
2:43 Speaker 01 It's usually the same amount of time. So by this time, I'm deep in it. And like, that's all I'm listening to. That's all I'm thinking about. I gotta take NyQuil to go to sleep.
2:51 Keke Palmer? Girl, because you can't turn your songs down in your mind, probably. You're probably writing around the clock. And I know you were just in with Tayla, my girl.
2:58 Speaker 01 Yeah, she coming back next week, I think. Yeah.
3:01 Keke Palmer? I know that's gonna be some fire. Okay, one thing that makes you instantly laugh, my mama told me her Uber Eats driver stole her Amazon package. What in the ghetto? Now, you know times are hard. One corporation stealing from the next. That's crazy. And what was the package? That happened to me recently.
3:21 Speaker 01 She said it was a candle.
3:22 Keke Palmer? That happened to me actually recently. I don't, it wasn't the Uber Eats driver, but it was definitely somebody. They stole my package. I'm like, it ain't nothing but sagorum flour. What are you gonna do with that?
3:34 Speaker 01 Enjoy that.
3:35 Keke Palmer? Yeah, you ain't got no stole if you're stealing. I can't even... Girl, these people, okay. Last screenshot on your phone.
3:43 Speaker 01 What was the last screenshot? Did I answer that?
3:45 Keke Palmer? You did. You said a cute head of cure set.
3:47 Speaker 01 Oh, yeah. I saw, I don't see that many like gemstone designs on people's feet. And I saw it come across my Instagram. I was like, I'm doing it.
3:55 Keke Palmer? I do feel like that Y2K is coming back.
3:57 Speaker 01 It's coming back.
3:58 Keke Palmer? Somebody just put acrylic on my toe the other day. I said, damn, what am I doing? I said, oh, it's cute.
4:02 Speaker 01 It's cute, and it probably lasts.
4:03 Keke Palmer? Yeah, but I thought, like, are we in 2005?
4:06 Speaker 01 No, for real. I may need to start doing that because my big toe be getting a beating. So every time I come back, she like, what you do now?
4:13 Keke Palmer? It's so crazy how our feet, we gotta be careful with our bodies as we get older, all them heels and stuff. I don't want the corn, some auntie corn.
4:19 Speaker 01 I got one.
4:21 Keke Palmer? So hurtful when that happens.
4:22 Speaker 01 It's real hurtful.
4:23 Keke Palmer? You know I got one on the end.
4:24 Speaker 01 Ain't no going back.
4:28 Keke Palmer? And it's like, literally, how do you go back?
4:31 Speaker 01 You can't go back.
4:32 Keke Palmer? Anyway, I'm glad you're here. So excited to, now, when I was getting my information, I'm like, hey, we, we, I mean, you're from the South Sub, but you said you lived in Harvey a little bit. I grew up in Robbins, but I was born in Ingalls, which is in Harvey. Um, but you also went to Christian church? So you sang in the choir?
4:50 Speaker 01 I sang in the choir.
4:50 Keke Palmer? I grew up singing in the choir too.
4:53 Speaker 01 Yeah, my grandpa, he was a preacher. They came from Panama, like, in the late seventies. Um, he came from missionary work and ended up staying and, uh, started preaching at this church in Palma. Um, and stayed there. So that's where I went to church every day, or every Sunday. I sang, it was my first crowd I sang in front of.
5:13 Keke Palmer? Same with me. My mom was the choir director. My dad was, my dad became a deacon later on. In the beginning, we just were, you know, going to the church. But yeah, I grew up in the church as well. And then you went to Chicago High School for the arts. So, I want to know how you feel like those influences really prepared you for the kind of artist you are now. Because one thing I've always loved about your music is it's so eclectic, like, it's soulful, it's R and B, but it also has, like, some punk elements. So I'm wondering how you hodgepodge all this together.
5:41 Speaker 01 I think the most natural parts of me are the things that came so second nature when I was little and, and whatever I grew up around or was listening to. And then the older I get, the more I, like, attach other things to that. But church was such a big part of my music journey. Uh, my first mentor was the pianist and the music director at church. So I learned a lot of things from him and, like, piano and just, like, vocal arrangements and just really getting comfortable in front of a crowd. That was, that was my first experience with that. But then, also, hearing what's going on in the city and my mom, and she was in her twenties when she was raising me. So hearing what she was listening to. Destiny's Child, Denise Williams.
6:25 Keke Palmer? Denise Williams.
6:29 Speaker 01 Minnie Riperton, and then my dad. Listening to a lot of like Outkast, Pharrell, Devin Adu.
6:37 Keke Palmer? A lot of greats, like they had an array of different things that you were listening to. Who was some of your favorite artists or inspiration you would say growing up? Did you ever listen to Fifi Dobson?
6:45 Speaker 01 No.
6:46 Keke Palmer? I feel like you would have liked her.
6:48 Speaker 01 Okay.
6:48 Keke Palmer? I loved Fifi Dobson growing up. She was kind of like an alternative rock type of chick.
6:52 Speaker 01 You gotta send me that.
6:53 Keke Palmer? I'm gonna see Canadian artists. I was like, I wonder if Raven ever listened to her.
6:56 Speaker 01 Send me that, please. I love any, any black women occupying those type of spaces.
7:01 Keke Palmer? That alt space.
7:02 Speaker 01 The Macy Gray, you know, like Khaleesi.
7:05 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, Khaleesi. I think as I got older, I really realized how important her representation was with experimental sounds. I don't think I, I took it for granted when we were younger, but when I think about it now, I'm like, damn, she really was doing stuff that we wouldn't, we wouldn't have even seen nobody do if she wasn't with, yeah, she was pushing.
7:22 Speaker 01 Even with just how she dressed.
7:24 Keke Palmer? I hate you so much right now. Ah! Yes, scream.
7:28 Speaker 01 Scream. I wanna scream.
7:30 Keke Palmer? Yes.
7:30 Speaker 01 She was pushing it, but also like playing with her hair color.
7:33 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, yes.
7:34 Speaker 01 You know, just free.
7:36 Keke Palmer? Mm-hmm.
7:36 Speaker 01 Yeah, that inspires me.
7:37 Keke Palmer? When do you think you realized that music wasn't just something you were doing in church or just, you know, listening to, but something you wanted as a career?
7:44 Speaker 01 Well, when I got, first got into high school, I think that was subconsciously a big decision for me to commit myself to like being in school from eight AM to five PM, doing academics and doing like music afterwards. That was a big decision. I think I didn't, I didn't realize in the moment, but that was me kind of inserting myself in a way. But um, once I started like really getting in the music scene in Chicago and like the poetry scene and um, SoundCloud, I was really heavily into. So um, I started putting out my own music and even like ripping Kate Trinata beats. Sorry, Kate. Repetitive nada beats from online and making my own songs to them or Flying Lotus.
8:29 Speaker 01 Just really figuring out what my identity was. And I think that's when I figured out, oh, I really like being a part of music in this way. Um, I don't know where that's gonna take me, but I know it makes me feel something.
8:42 Keke Palmer? Yeah, was it nerve wracking for you? Because obviously, women, when we're in, really in anything, but especially in music, it can be really, really hard, like stepping out and going to the scene. I even remember for myself, like, it was one thing when I was a kid doing music, but then when I got into my, my eighteen, nineteen, twenty.
8:56 Speaker 01 Right.
8:57 Keke Palmer? Being on your own in the studio, just trying to, I don't know if the word is network. We say network, it has a weird, uh, connotation to it, but we're like, meet people and collaborate with them on what you want to do. It can be tough, because sometimes they don't really want to do the music, they want to do other things.
9:11 Speaker 01 That too.
9:11 Keke Palmer? So how was it?
9:12 Speaker 01 I was underage.
9:13 Keke Palmer? You know what I mean?
9:13 Speaker 01 When I first started. So my mama, and we have this too.
9:17 Keke Palmer? In common?
9:18 Speaker 01 Yeah, my mama went everywhere with me. Yeah, the traveling, the shows, like, I'm seventeen in a bar, you know? So she right there like.
9:28 Keke Palmer? I love that you were both doing that, though.
9:32 Speaker 01 So they're like, I ain't gonna, I ain't gonna, I'm not gonna even try, because her mama looked like she gonna.
9:36 Keke Palmer? I love that.
9:37 Speaker 01 Also, I think what was so important for me was finding my community there so early on. Smino, Monty Booker, like, just a great group of men who were around me, who protected me.
9:52 Keke Palmer? And respecting you for your talent.
9:53 Speaker 01 Yes.
9:53 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
9:54 Speaker 01 Yeah, like, Monty would take me home, drop me back off home after the step, the studio, because I couldn't drive yet. So I'm just fortunate to have had, like, solid men in my corner.
10:04 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I mean, like you were saying, you've been doing music since you were twen- when you were a teenager.
10:08 Speaker 01 Yeah.
10:09 Keke Palmer? Moon shows came out. How old were you?
10:12 Speaker 01 I was like fifteen, fifteen.
10:14 Keke Palmer? So when you were doing those first shows, what is, what are the kind of the early things that you remember about being on stage as a performer that has maybe changed or maybe stayed the same?
10:22 Speaker 01 I remember being so nervous, to the point where I couldn't, like, I remember my voice trembling. I know I probably sound crazy looking back at videos, but also. I remember just feel like there's something so electric about being onstage and addicting about it.
10:42 Keke Palmer? It is.
10:42 Speaker 01 That I just, I felt like I wanted to do it over and over and over. I still get nervous before stage. I sweat crazy before I go onstage because I'm so excited and
10:53 Keke Palmer? It's that adrenaline.
10:54 Speaker 01 It's that adrenaline. That still exists, but I think the more shows I do and the more like people show me that they love it, the more comfortable I get and the more I feel like I'm growing into who I really want to be onstage.
11:08 Keke Palmer? Yeah, but I mean, you've already toured with so many incredible people and getting ready to tour with some more and do headline your own tour.
11:14 Speaker 01 Yeah.
11:14 Keke Palmer? So I remember you also toured with SZA during the Control era, which for me was huge. I think for many of us was huge. The conversation she was having with Control and what that did for us was so impactful. What was it like for you being on that tour with her during that time?
11:28 Speaker 01 I was such a SZA fanatic, still am.
11:31 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
11:32 Speaker 01 Um, but to be a part of something that was so generational, like it's really special. And I think sometimes you don't, you don't recognize that in the moment, but I think we all felt that.
11:44 Keke Palmer? Yep.
11:44 Speaker 01 In the moment. So I'm just happy that she wanted me to be a part of it. And literally from that tour, so many of those fans that I was able to get on that tour are still with me today.
11:56 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
11:56 Speaker 01 So that's the value of those type of things, I think.
11:59 Keke Palmer? And it's so interesting because obviously Love Me Not, I think it's a year old, but it's become the soundtrack song of the summer.
12:05 Speaker 01 Yeah.
12:06 Keke Palmer? I mean, your first Billboard 100, but it's also different to me from a lot of the records that I learned about you from.
12:11 Speaker 01 Yes.
12:12 Keke Palmer? Um, but it's opened you up to a totally different audience. I mean, you're gonna be touring with Sabrina Carpenter, Renee Rapp.
12:18 Speaker 01 Yep.
12:18 Keke Palmer? How was it, A, when you saw that song get a new life?
12:22 Speaker 01 Yeah, I, well, when I first, when we first finished the song, I felt like I knew that it was special and my team knew it was special. But then you hit with the question of, okay, how do we get this to as many ears as possible to feel it the way we feel it? And that was a challenge for me. And like, it's been so rewarding seeing that feeling be validated even like a year later.
12:47 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
12:47 Speaker 01 Because it just makes me want to keep trusting what I'm doing and trusting my team and the music I'm making and it'll reach. The ears are supposed to reach. So, I, I think that's been the biggest lesson I've learned through.
12:59 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I mean, my mom always says the cream rises to the top. And like, timing is everything. So, we don't know how stuff is arrived. I remember that was the same thing also with Lizzo. With, um, her big, I can't think of the name right now.
13:09 Speaker 01 Truth hurts.
13:10 Keke Palmer? Truth hurts. It was like, it was around for a while. And I could actually also with Lady Gaga. Same kind of thing, but what's meant to be will always be.
13:16 Speaker 01 It'll always rise.
13:17 Keke Palmer? So, now with that being said, and with this record, obviously, it still sounds like you, but it's different from some of your other stuff. It's most commercial, I guess I would say.
13:24 Speaker 01 Yeah.
13:25 Keke Palmer? How does that make you feel now, getting all these new fans? But then also saying like, I want you to know all of me. Like, I got these fans, those fans. I want all y'all bridged together. What, as an artist, maybe that hasn't been something you've been thinking about? Or maybe it is?
13:38 Speaker 01 It's definitely something I'm thinking about, especially because I don't view what I do as, as one thing, and I like to dabble in so many different puddles.
13:47 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
13:48 Speaker 01 Um, I don't want to look at it, as, at it as even a challenge, but I know that the thing for me is going to be muddling all my people into one pot. You know, the people who love me for my R and B bag, or my pop bag, or my more alternative, alternative, or alt-pop bag, you know? So, I think that allows so many different types of people to come together in one space. And that's, I think, what's most exciting about what I'm doing.
14:15 Keke Palmer? Yeah. And what type of space were you in, do you think, when you wrote Love Me Not? Because I know in people, they were like, okay, is this 50s? Is this 70s? Is this 60s? Was that something you were intentionally thinking about when you went in the studio and wrote it? Or did it just, was that just the vibe and it fell into it?
14:30 Speaker 01 I think there's something about, like, the through line of my music is that there's always that classic, almost nostalgic thing about it.
14:40 Keke Palmer? But it's still so fresh.
14:41 Speaker 01 Yeah.
14:41 Keke Palmer? It like, it doesn't sound like anything I've heard, but at some point.
14:44 Speaker 01 Like, I heard this before.
14:46 Keke Palmer? It feels like in my soul, you know?
14:48 Speaker 01 Your soul, you know? I love that feeling. Yeah, I love that feeling. So, when people describe my music as that, I'm like, that's exactly how I want you to feel.
14:57 Keke Palmer? I mean, what is it like when you were in the studio? Like, in my mind, I'm like, it could be one of two things. Either you're casual as hell, and you're just like, hey, turn the [BLEEP] on.
15:04 Speaker 01 Yeah.
15:04 Keke Palmer? Or you're like, light the candle.
15:07 Speaker 01 I'm actually casual. I wish I was one of those.
15:12 Speaker 01 I wish I was her. I'm not her yet. I'm not her yet, like, didn't the lights?
15:16 Keke Palmer? Right, I'm like, that's because that's how I feel when I'm listening to it.
15:19 Speaker 01 That's what everybody says.
15:20 Keke Palmer? You also could be very like, yeah, hey, let's just get in the book.
15:22 Speaker 01 Yeah.
15:23 Keke Palmer? You know?
15:23 Speaker 01 That's how I am. But people are like, I know you on shrooms. I know you doing something in there. I'm like, I'm like.
15:29 Keke Palmer? Oh, my God, you're such a compliment when people think that drugs got you there.
15:32 Speaker 01 Yeah, I love that. I'm like, you know what? Keep thinking that.
15:36 Keke Palmer? So you're kind of like vibes or chill. Do you have like, what are some of the people that you love working with the most?
15:41 Speaker 01 Well, as a late, I love working with Daheen. He executive produced my last album and we're working closely on this album too. But I cling to producers really hard. Like when I first came out, Monty Booker was my guy. He's still my guy. And then Steve Lacey, like whenever I find my people, yeah.
16:03 Keke Palmer? You and Steve, you and Donald.
16:06 Speaker 01 Yeah.
16:07 Keke Palmer? I mean, there's just like, so did you just call them up? Did they find you? Did you send them the record? Like, because to me, those are people that ain't doing stuff with people that ain't together. You know what I mean? You gotta be in the room. You're not gonna just, like, Steve ain't just rocking with everybody. You know what I mean?
16:22 Speaker 01 Yeah.
16:23 Keke Palmer? And I feel like it was such a perfect connection with you and him, with you and Donald. And so like, how did y'all find each other?
16:29 Speaker 01 Yeah.
16:29 Keke Palmer? You know?
16:30 Speaker 01 So me and Steve, I was, I was a fan of the internet. I was a fan of Steve, like, high school randomly. I remember I was taking a nap and my phone was buzzing crazy and I looked at it and I saw a DM from him.
16:42 Keke Palmer? No.
16:43 Speaker 01 And he had tweeted out my recent project at the time and he was like, whenever you in L.A., I need to get with you. I love what you're doing. I was on the next flight, I'm just flying out.
16:52 Keke Palmer? Pretty much.
16:53 Speaker 01 Well, a few weeks after, I came to L.A. for the first time and I met him and it was just that instant, instant feeling. And that's rare to me. Like, whenever you work with a producer, you feel like, oh, you get me and I don't even have to explain it. I cling to that super hard. I just love those type of pairings, like the Timbaland and Aaliyah or Dark Child and Brandy. I love, or Quincy and Michael.
17:16 Keke Palmer? Just stick with it is what you think to yourself. Like, the fact that Quincy and Michael didn't do more, it makes me just so mad.
17:22 Speaker 01 Like, it's working. Stick with, that's how I, that's how I am.
17:26 Keke Palmer? Yeah, and it was the same with Donald. How did you guys end up doing that? Records?
17:29 Speaker 01 So, Donald, we actually met because he was working on his album.
17:34 Keke Palmer? Okay.
17:34 Speaker 01 And he wanted me on a song. So I, um, I was working on something with him. And then I was like, you know what? I had this open verse on One Wish for so long and I couldn't think of who I wanted on it. And I was like, oh, this is perfect. And he loved it.
17:46 Keke Palmer? And you sound, you remind me of Minnie.
17:47 Speaker 01 Yeah.
17:48 Keke Palmer? On that song.
17:49 Speaker 01 I love Minnie.
17:49 Keke Palmer? Your false add-on. It's such a beautiful song.
17:52 Speaker 01 Thank you.
17:53 Keke Palmer? That's one of my, I think, my favorite records from you.
17:55 Speaker 01 Thank you.
17:56 Keke Palmer? Yeah. And I think it's interesting. I'm curious what you think. Obviously, how are you handling the new visibility? Because to this point, people in the industry and real music heads, they've been listening to, like, you're, when they be like, this is your artist's favorite artist? You're that.
18:08 Speaker 01 Yeah.
18:09 Keke Palmer? Um, so how does it feel now seeing all this visibility in this new way?
18:14 Speaker 01 Yeah.
18:14 Keke Palmer? You know, how does it affect you?
18:16 Speaker 01 I feel like I'm still, um, getting used to the transition and also like, like, it's so crazy how you can be operating at a certain rhythm for so long.
18:25 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
18:25 Speaker 01 And then something just changes that. And you're like, oh, okay, okay, okay. So it feels like that.
18:30 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
18:31 Speaker 01 You know? But also, I'm just happy that I'm here and that I'm getting to welcome so many new faces and spirits into my world.
18:39 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
18:40 Speaker 01 And that's all I can ask for. So I just gotta catch up to the, the momentum of it. Um.
18:46 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
18:47 Speaker 01 And then hopefully, I just hope that people are here to stay and not for the moment, you know? Because I, I think of my career and my music as that. So I hope this is the, the, the bridge.
18:59 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
19:00 Speaker 01 To like lifelong fans.
19:02 Keke Palmer? Absolutely. I mean, this is, we feel that way about any of the artists that we love. Beyonce, each album, she finds new fans, but the same ones from the beginning are always still holding on.
19:10 Speaker 01 Yeah.
19:10 Keke Palmer? Um, how do you look at like fashion and stuff with your music? Because when I first, you know, when you hear somebody's song, you're like, I gotta go to their page.
19:15 Speaker 01 Yeah.
19:16 Keke Palmer? What they look like, what they vibe like, what's their look? And you've had so much consistency with your, look, you've been the red ginger from the beginning, whether it's straight.
19:24 Speaker 01 Yeah.
19:25 Keke Palmer? Like, I've seen so much consistency from her. Because I went down your page, I was like, what's my girl giving? And I was like, I live for her. And so like when you think about your imagery and look, cause that's a part of like storytelling and artistry too.
19:35 Speaker 01 It is.
19:36 Keke Palmer? How do you feel like that complements the music? What are you trying to kind of put together for people visually?
19:41 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's a, I agree with you, it's a huge part of it. And with the red, I don't know, that's just been something that stuck with me. Red feels bold, it feels passionate, but I just like loyalty with certain things too. So like that feels good for me. Um, but I think as I grow, as I get older and as the projects change and evolve, I kind of figure out where I like to sit, um, like in the fashion world, I guess. But I know that there's something so like whimsical and classic about me as a person. And I'm like, however I can express that, you know, with my clothes, I like to.
20:23 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I definitely feel that whimsy. It's like what you said coming in, whimsy but a little back swan.
20:29 Speaker 01 Yeah, something a little like.
20:30 Keke Palmer? It's like, yeah.
20:33 Speaker 01 I felt that.
20:34 Keke Palmer? A little awe, it has to go, you know, but still serving down. Um, speaking of serving down, you served down at Coachella, girl.
20:42 Speaker 01 Thank you.
20:43 Keke Palmer? And I know that was, I mean, that's huge.
20:45 Speaker 01 Yeah.
20:45 Keke Palmer? What was that like for you? Has to be a bucket list situation, right? So what was that experience like performing at Coachella?
20:52 Speaker 01 That was a huge bucket list for me. And before, while I was working on the album, I decided to write down every single thing that I wanted out of the season and on a sticky note and put it on my mirror in my bathroom. And I've been doing that since then. And Coachella was one of those things. And I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna get it, but we gonna see. And it happened and so many of those things have happened for me. But I remember Coachella being kind of the first, uh, public show moment since the song had been moving.
21:21 Keke Palmer? Uh huh.
21:21 Speaker 01 And I had some anxiety going into it about, oh, like, is this just an internet moment? Or is this a real life thing? And I remember being side stage, like, ain't nobody here, nobody came, you know, having all those thoughts. And I got on stage and it was packed. And I was like, oh, this is a real life transition happening for me.
21:42 Keke Palmer? For sure.
21:42 Speaker 01 And like, that gave me all the confidence in the world. So Coachella was a dream for me.
21:48 Keke Palmer? It's so true because you already have, like I said, the validity, but it's just like, again, with us as entertainers. And people say the same thing to me all the time, like, I've been in the industry for over 20 years and people be like, this is your moment.
21:57 Speaker 01 You like, girl.
21:59 Keke Palmer? This moment done came, it done went, it done came back again. And it's kinda like, as entertainers, as artists, we always have to... Those are the ways we're always riding. But there are certain moments where we're like, nah, this is a little different. Like, it's like, I've always been me. But I'm like, I'm feeling that juice in that I'm in. You know what I mean?
22:16 Speaker 01 Exactly.
22:16 Keke Palmer? It's crazy.
22:17 Speaker 01 That's what it is.
22:18 Keke Palmer? Now, what are you looking forward to about going on tour with Sabrina, going on tour with Renee? And then, I mean, you have sold out dates already for the tour, you're headlining of your own.
22:27 Speaker 01 Right.
22:28 Keke Palmer? Um, what can fans expect from this show? Uh, that maybe they didn't get from other shows that you've developed as an artist?
22:35 Speaker 01 I think with this one, I was, I've never played, um, arenas before. So I think it's a huge deal, and I just wanna, I don't know, reimagine my show for those type of spaces. Because I'm gonna be there one day, and it's just exciting that I get to do this and see their show, too. And see how they approach it.
22:56 Keke Palmer? Yeah, whatever you're gonna, inspiration, whatever it could be, yeah.
22:58 Speaker 01 All of that. So, um, yeah, it's that. And also, like, whenever I get to open, for me, I like the challenge of, like, having to win over a crowd.
23:08 Keke Palmer? Mm-hmm.
23:09 Speaker 01 Cause that's what it is, in a way.
23:11 Keke Palmer? Sure.
23:11 Speaker 01 Um, but I feel like I'm going into it with a little more ammo with the song, and people, like, maybe being a little more familiar with me this time. Um, but yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm pumped. Hopefully, I win over so many people, new people.
23:25 Keke Palmer? I'm sure you will. And I know you talked a lot about bringing your weird, kind of, like, R&B alt to the pop crowd. Yeah. I know a lot of times as artists, and even as fans, we can be like, no, this is my thing, I want it to stay niche. But it's like, that, it's a beautiful thing when you can bring something that, A, could be considered niche, to the whole world. That's another level of, of, of something. And I know that's something that you're interested in, wanna do. So I think this is gonna be a really step, great stepping stone.
23:49 Speaker 01 Yeah.
23:49 Keke Palmer? And people that wouldn't know this type of sound, realizing how much you're gonna really be obsessed with the sound.
23:55 Speaker 01 Yeah.
23:55 Keke Palmer? Cause sometimes people don't know how to find music that they have no way into.
23:58 Speaker 01 That's so true. That's so true. That's a great point, yeah.
24:01 Keke Palmer? So, you catch your real dad in your music video for "One Wish", and I was like, this is some deep [BLEEP]. She's deep. Um, who was kind of not a part of your life. Not to go so [BLEEP]. But I mean, when I was finding this information, now I'm like, okay, my girl is really on that black swan.
24:22 Keke Palmer? So, tell me about the process of being like, let me call this [BEEP] up.
24:26 Speaker 01 Yeah.
24:27 Keke Palmer? Let me call him up.
24:28 Speaker 01 Yeah.
24:35 Keke Palmer? Here's the thing about traveling. While postcards are nice, the real magic happens when you dive into local life. And trust me, there is no better way to unlock a culture's heart than through the kitchen. When food's on the table, we're all speaking the same delicious language. Speaking of which, I've got some exciting news, y'all. I'm hosting my very own Airbnb Original Experience in Chicago on December 17th. And it is all about cooking up some love in the kitchen. Imagine this culinary dream. You, me, my pops, and a local chef with mad skills, all in one kitchen cooking up a storm. We're talking flavors so good, they'll make your taste buds do a happy dance.
25:17 Keke Palmer? We're talking delicious recipes, kitchen secrets, and plenty of laughs. We're about to make this kitchen feel like the hottest cooking show in town. And y'all know when my dad and I get together, there is bound to be some entertainment. We might even share our secret ingredient for the perfect comfort food. I don't know about that one. The best part, it's not just about what's cooking in the pots and pans. It's the laughs we'll share, the stories we'll tell, and yes, the absolutely incredible food we'll devour together. When good people gather in the kitchen, that's where the real magic happens. So whether you're a kitchen pro or novice, this experience is for everyone who loves good food and good company. And trust me, by the end of our time together, you'll feel like a culinary superstar.
26:02 Keke Palmer? So if you're ready to roll your sleeves up and join me for some culinary fun, head to airbnb.com/kiki to learn more about my Airbnb Original Experience. Let's make some magic in the kitchen together. This message is brought to you by Apple Pay. As many of y'all know, holiday shopping as a working mama is no joke. Between prepping for my next guest on the podcast and chasing after my little one, your girl needs everything to be efficient. That's why I'm obsessed with Apple Pay. The other day, I'm recording and during my break, I realized I still need to order those matching pajamas for our family Christmas photo. But instead of stressing, I just pulled out my iPhone for some last-minute shopping,
26:45 Keke Palmer? found the cutest PJs online, and easily purchased them with Apple Pay. I just tap the Apple Pay button at checkout, a quick Face ID scan, and ding, transaction complete. Trust and believe, holiday magic isn't about filling out payment forms. It's about creating special moments with family, and Apple Pay gives me more time for that. And when I'm ordering all those fun stocking stuffers for my baby boy and those perfect gifts for my parents, Apple Pay makes it quick. No more juggling a million things between takes. For real, though, whether I'm ordering holiday decorations or booking a Santa photo experience, Apple Pay makes it seamless. Just look for that Apple Pay button when you're shopping online or in apps. Pay the Apple way. Terms apply.
27:31 Keke Palmer? What was the conversation like? Were you were like, let me call my dad? Let me have him in this video? Let him, let him know and understand the impact that his absence had had on him?
27:40 Speaker 01 Right. Um, yeah, that's a big thing.
27:44 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
27:45 Speaker 01 I remember when I wrote the song, it was so easy to write because it was from memory and from experience. Um, but even prior to that, me and him had already started talking to each other. And he, I remember I called him one random day. We hadn't talked in so long. And I was like, this feels weird. We missing birthdays, we missing holidays, we missing time. And I- I'm at a point where I turned 25 and my frontal lobe went.
28:12 Keke Palmer? Isn't it so funny how that happens? It's like, I'm here now.
28:15 Speaker 01 I'm here now. I'm thinking. I'm having thoughts. But I was like, if we all thought of our parents as like humans and thinking of them as the my, my, my parents had me as teenagers.
28:27 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
28:28 Speaker 01 So just thinking about what that mindset is and, and, and wanting to approach him with a little more understanding, I think, is where I'm at in my life. So I called him and I said, let's talk it out. Let's figure it out. Let's try. I would, I would feel horrible if something happened to either one of us and we didn't try. Um, so since then, it's been, we've been having a lot of difficult conversations, some awkward conversations, but also some good times. He went to Disney, Universal, he comes to all the shows.
28:58 Keke Palmer? Your dad, he's the one that's Panamanian.
29:00 Speaker 01 My mom's side.
29:01 Keke Palmer? Your mom's Panamanian. Okay, okay.
29:02 Speaker 01 Yeah, my mom. Yeah.
29:03 Keke Palmer? Okay, so.
29:03 Speaker 01 My dad from Inglewood.
29:07 Keke Palmer? Okay. I'm howling. So what was that day like? Being on the, on the set and everything?
29:14 Speaker 01 So there were weeks before I told him there was a, I told him about the song. I said, I wrote a song about this particular moment. Um, and then once we started going through the creative for the video, I was like, this would feel so weird if I casted somebody else to play this part, you know? I feel like it would be a good moment for us to share and for him to even understand what, what I'm feeling, you know? But obviously, once he got on set and he saw certain scenes with the little girl running behind the car, and I could tell there was a shift in his brain where he was like, oh, this is in a fun, lighthearted video. Yeah. So the next day, I was like, let's go to Roscoe's. Let's have a talk about what
29:58 Speaker 01 we felt that day.
30:00 Keke Palmer? It'll always heal it, won't it?
30:04 Speaker 01 But it just opened up a important, hard conversation that I feel like we might have been avoiding for a long time. And that's, that's what music does, I feel.
30:14 Keke Palmer? And it's absolutely what music does. Music does it for the artist, music does it for the person that's watching it, the fans. And for me, it was like, it can mean something. Like, I didn't even realize that that was where you were coming from. So I was thinking about love.
30:25 Speaker 01 Yeah.
30:26 Keke Palmer? You know what I mean? And obviously, love is so many different kinds.
30:28 Speaker 01 Right.
30:29 Keke Palmer? Parental love, familial love.
30:30 Speaker 01 Friendship.
30:31 Keke Palmer? Friendship love.
30:32 Speaker 01 Yeah.
30:32 Keke Palmer? Romantic love.
30:33 Speaker 01 Yeah.
30:34 Keke Palmer? I think that's also the marker of a really great song is because no matter the scenario you're in, it can apply to you.
30:39 Speaker 01 Yeah.
30:40 Keke Palmer? And the fact that it came from such a deep place for you, I think is probably why it had that kind of... Yeah.
30:45 Speaker 01 Yeah.
30:46 Keke Palmer? So how is that for you? Are you always... Because you deal with a lot of different
30:49 Speaker 01 Yeah.
30:49 Keke Palmer? big themes. Break up, love, all these things we're talking about.
30:52 Speaker 01 Yeah.
30:52 Keke Palmer? Is it always something personal? Or are you also the kind of artist where it could be a conversation with a friend? Or someone that you knew? Yeah.
30:59 Speaker 01 I'm that type of artist. Um, sometimes I don't got that much going on.
31:05 Keke Palmer? Wait a minute. I didn't ask. Your sign or your big three?
31:08 Speaker 01 I'm an Aquarius sun.
31:09 Keke Palmer? I should have known. Aquarius are brilliant. There's something about y'all.
31:14 Speaker 01 I love that.
31:14 Keke Palmer? Airy side of energy.
31:15 Speaker 01 I love that. We usually get hate, so I'm loving this good press.
31:18 Keke Palmer? That's because them people are born.
31:20 Speaker 01 Thank you.
31:21 Keke Palmer? Y'all don't like born people. So Aquarius sun.
31:24 Speaker 01 Aquarius sun, Aries moon, that's the black swan. Yeah. Aries moon, and then Gemini rising.
31:31 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, you got double air. That's the creative, genius stuff going on. Yeah. Period. Okay, anyway, sorry.
31:37 Speaker 01 So what are you?
31:38 Keke Palmer? So I am a Virgo sun.
31:40 Speaker 01 I love Virgos.
31:41 Keke Palmer? I'm gotta get down to business.
31:42 Speaker 01 Yep, two plus two.
31:43 Keke Palmer? Girl, it's whole.
31:46 Keke Palmer? My moon is Sag. That's the fire. So I got fire too. Very like in your face with the like, ah. And then my rising, this is the thing that really gets me is the Cancer girl.
31:55 Speaker 01 Cancer.
31:56 Keke Palmer? I be out here crying.
31:57 Speaker 01 Oh, you be crying? You be sliding down a wall?
32:00 Keke Palmer? Like that sting of, oh, Kerry Washington, that mean?
32:04 Speaker 01 That's you.
32:05 Keke Palmer? Why did Carrie do that?
32:07 Speaker 01 I felt her though.
32:08 Keke Palmer? It's so extra. We love the memes though.
32:12 Speaker 01 It's so good.
32:15 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh. Okay, so yeah, so you're kind of one of those people where it's like, I'm sitting back, but I'm watching.
32:18 Speaker 01 I'm watching, I'm observing, I'm feeling like, yeah, so sometimes I pull from something my mom might have been through, or my friend, or, I don't know, something in a movie, I don't know. I like to like leave it open.
32:32 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
32:33 Speaker 01 Yeah.
32:33 Keke Palmer? You said something interesting. I'm curious what you mean, that you weren't an active member of your life after Hypnose. But a breakup helped a lot of, you know, helped the clouds clear up. What do you mean by this?
32:46 Speaker 01 Um, I felt like after I released Crush, things felt foggy for me. I felt like I didn't really have a clear direction on what I wanted to do. Um, I knew I wasn't comfortable, but I didn't know how to see beyond that in a way. I felt like I was really, like my, my, my initial reaction to things would be negative, or no, or closed off. I don't know. I, I, I just felt like I wasn't in a place where I was open to all things. And like, and that's also can affect like your mental, but also like your relationships with people.
33:28 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
33:29 Speaker 01 Your relationship to music and my career as a whole.
33:32 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
33:33 Speaker 01 So when I say I don't feel like I was an act, active member in my life, I feel like I was so sunken in that I wasn't allowing myself to take control.
33:42 Keke Palmer? And be truly present.
33:43 Speaker 01 Yeah.
33:44 Keke Palmer? Yeah, and I think those phases are important. I think we all go, you know, have that, go through that, where you're kind of just like, uh, I'm watching it pass me by.
33:51 Speaker 01 Yeah.
33:52 Keke Palmer? Um, until you decide, or there's a moment, or there's something that lets you know, hey, I gotta wake up and I, it's not gonna happen if I don't say it.
33:57 Speaker 01 If I don't do it, if I don't do it, I can complain about this, I can complain about that, or this. But like, at the end of the day, this is my life, and I want to take the reins, you know?
34:08 Keke Palmer? And Hypnose, you think that process of creating that project was a part of helping you do that?
34:12 Speaker 01 It definitely helped me do that. And so by the time I got to Bird's Eye, I felt unleashed in a really crazy way. And I think seeing like the success of the song for me right now is all like, like, it's not just about like career success. To me, it's, oh, this was something that I pushed through. And I'm seeing the reward of like internal like resilience.
34:38 Keke Palmer? Yeah. And you also were saying, and this is, I'm pulling this from the interview you had with the Guardian, but you said something I think is so important. It's a good thing, and it's also a tough thing as a black person, where you said, I have to, I felt like I had to prove myself to black people and to the R&B community that I really love R&B. And I feel like that's so annoying that we have to do that. I understand what you're saying. And like, you know, but it's like also, what is R&B? We're evolving it in real time. It's had so many faces. And by the way, it has to evolve. I think the strongest thing about R&B that should always stay the same, that it needs to survive, is a narrative. And we've lost that a lot of times in artistry, where it's like, what are you talking about? What's the storyline? R&B needs that. But as far as sound and sonics, I mean, there's an element of soul that's there,
35:21 Keke Palmer? but we're supposed to evolve it.
35:24 Speaker 01 I think so too.
35:25 Keke Palmer? You know what I mean? So for you, I do resonate with that because that's something we all carry as black artists. But how did you find the balance between what that looked like for you?
35:34 Speaker 01 Yeah. I think that when I said that, that was more so a critique of my state of mind.
35:43 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
35:44 Speaker 01 And like not understanding that black music is everything.
35:48 Keke Palmer? Like, black music is, we're black.
35:49 Speaker 01 Yeah. So it's gonna be black music. And there'll be black people who love what you do regardless. So I think that I had to change my perspective on what I think I bring to black music and feel free in that.
36:03 Keke Palmer? Yeah. And it's a lot of what we were talking about with Khaleesi. That's why I was thinking about Fifi Dobson. Fifi Dobson was one of the first albums that I bought. And it would be, she's a black artist, but her album would have been considered, I mean, she was like Avril Lavigne or something like that. And I was like, I love it. You know what I'm saying? She's representing me in this space. And I like. Avril Lavigne, but I ain't never seen nobody doing that music that looked like me.
36:21 Speaker 01 Yeah.
36:22 Keke Palmer? Um, so I think that's really, it's, it's important.
36:24 Speaker 01 It's powerful.
36:24 Keke Palmer? You know, Black isn't a monolith.
36:26 Speaker 01 Yeah.
36:26 Keke Palmer? It is what it is. We bring what we are to it.
36:29 Speaker 01 Yes.
36:29 Keke Palmer? Um, so I really think that's important.
36:31 Speaker 01 Yeah.
36:32 Keke Palmer? You also said in The Guardian that what's left out of a lot of songs is the growth on the other side of a breakup.
36:37 Speaker 01 Yeah.
36:38 Keke Palmer? So let's talk about that. What does the, the other side of growth look like to you? And it doesn't have to be a specific breakup, because we know so many of them. So many things. Um, so if you can, you know, like a, a lightweight where you are now.
36:51 Speaker 01 Yeah.
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37:43 Keke Palmer? And don't even get me started about the swivel screen situation, because it's everything. One minute I'm conquering a 45-minute run, then with one smooth spin, I'm flowing into a five-minute stretch. The personalized plans, though?
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38:26 Speaker 01 I think when I mentioned that, I was talking about the last song on my album, "Days," and I love that song so much because it does mention like the heartbreak aspect. But then, I think sometimes you get out of situations and feel so much fuller, so much closer to yourself. Like, maybe that sparked conversation with your friends and now y'all have a whole different layer to y'all relationship than you had before. Or maybe you feel smarter now, or maybe you eat in the foods you like to eat, and you forgot that you like to eat. I don't know, like those small things that I think sometimes we forget about once we attach ourselves to a person. So, just looking at the other side of it and seeing, what did I gain
39:11 Speaker 01 out of leaving this situation is something I like to do.
39:14 Keke Palmer? So important to always, I always talk about reframe as like, we can look, if in life, there's never gonna be a solid answer for much because there's not. You know, we wish it was like always true and false, but it's not. It's all perspective shifting. And if I have to live with myself every day and I have to decide how I feel about something, why would I pick the one that makes me feel like a loser?
39:33 Speaker 01 The worst, yeah.
39:33 Keke Palmer? That feels crazy.
39:34 Speaker 01 I'm gonna pick the other scenario.
39:35 Keke Palmer? I'm gonna pick the one that says, "And you dodged the bullet."
39:39 Speaker 01 Exactly.
39:39 Keke Palmer? And look at how much money you save.
39:41 Speaker 01 Right.
39:41 Keke Palmer? You know, random [BLEEP]. Look at the fact that you don't have to get a new hairdo for weeks. You know, whatever it might be, to pick yourself up. So I think that's really important.
39:50 Speaker 01 Yeah.
39:52 Keke Palmer? I'm curious, how did you find your team? Because I think with artists, that's a big difficulty, right? When everything aligns, I think, and not only does it align with time, but it also aligns with like, I got my stuff together. So what was your journey of, like, did you immediately go to labels? I don't know your situation, but what was your journey of finding your support system within music?
40:10 Speaker 01 It definitely took a while. Early on, like when I first started putting music out on SoundCloud, that's when labels started coming into the picture, very early on. And I had had two managers in that time, but I remember feeling like I haven't found like my clan yet. And I think... Um, I don't know, the more time passes, the more I I understand my needs and what I want to. But my recent, my most recent manager I've been with for like five years now, maybe six years. We met around the time I was kind of going through this like emotional transformation.
40:53 Speaker 01 And I remember thinking like, I feel like this person was brought into my life for a reason. And I want to see it through. I want to learn to trust again because I felt like I had been burned in music.
41:05 Keke Palmer? Really can be.
41:06 Speaker 01 Yeah, yeah. So a lot of that was a healing thing for me and him. So, but but now like with that anchor and like having been with him for six years. I feel like we're just attracting all the right people who are supposed to be a part of what we doing, so.
41:24 Keke Palmer? And are you with the label or did you have a different, I don't know.
41:27 Speaker 01 So I've I've been signed since I was like sixteen to Atlantic.
41:33 Keke Palmer? They they gave me my first record at twelve. Yeah, they weren't good with me.
41:43 Keke Palmer? But you know, Atlantic always was really good with art. Like, the reason why I wanted to sign it was Brandy.
41:50 Keke Palmer? Absolutely. So, you know what I mean? It does make sense. But it's interesting because it's easy to blame the labels. And I do think labels can be tough, but at the end of the day, it's about us and the system we have and how we can make the labels work with us. Especially when you're an artist that's coming in and you don't necessarily have.
42:07 Speaker 01 Fit into one.
42:08 Keke Palmer? Exactly. And then don't have like, there's some people, you know, people try to call it a, what is the name they have for it? Industry plants. You know, not necessarily industry, but if you don't know anybody in the building. Or if you don't come from money, you don't have no advocate. Anybody could get lost. So how do you feel like you found what power is for you? You know, as a young black woman in this industry navigating corporations and also trying to, yeah, advocate for yourself.
42:34 Speaker 01 That's a big question.
42:36 Keke Palmer? It's tough out here.
42:37 Speaker 01 I think I'm I'm.
42:40 Speaker 01 I think I'm still figuring it out, but I think having a team that you believe in and that you trust is everything. You can walk into any building and feel like. Uh, bulletproof, I think. So I think once I changed management and felt like I had a real advocate. And then my A and R at the time, who signed me, who I've been with forever, um, that was my advocate. But then he, he left, uh, maybe a year ago now. Austin Rice.
43:08 Keke Palmer? Austin Rice.
43:08 Speaker 01 Yeah, but he saw the vision very early on. And like, I remember those people. When like, nobody cared, nobody got it. That means the world to me. So, um, yeah, but you know, Atlantic went through a huge transformation, like a lot of labels this past year.
43:24 Keke Palmer? So what happened with them? I mean, what like, did they, did people get fired?
43:29 Speaker 01 A lot of people got fired and they're just restructuring, I guess.
43:32 Keke Palmer? Do you feel like it's no, no shade to those people? But do you feel like it's better now?
43:36 Speaker 01 I think there's a better system for sure. And there's a better, I don't know, understanding of even where I sit. That I'm appreciative of, um, so.
43:48 Keke Palmer? I feel like in general artists, artists are in a better scenario than they were before because of social media. I know everybody talks about, oh, well, streaming doesn't do that. But I just mean like building your brand.
43:58 Speaker 01 Yeah.
43:59 Keke Palmer? You know what I mean? And I really do credit Rihanna for that. Like I think her shift of using digital as a way to narratively tell her story and be at the forefront of her brand. I think it's given so many people and artists in general, no matter what they do, whether it's acting, music, you know, whatever.
44:15 Speaker 01 Yeah.
44:16 Keke Palmer? Tell their stories and be in front of it and get their fan base to follow them, even if the labels aren't pushing them.
44:21 Speaker 01 Right.
44:21 Keke Palmer? And I'm sure you, I mean, with you, starting with SoundCloud, you know that probably to be true.
44:25 Speaker 01 Right.
44:25 Keke Palmer? So I think it's better than how when I first came in the industry, there was really no internet or, I mean, it was internet, but it's like, you just go on somebody's website.
44:33 Speaker 01 Right.
44:33 Keke Palmer? It's no more than that.
44:34 Speaker 01 And it's almost like if the label didn't make it happen, you got lost.
44:37 Keke Palmer? Exactly.
44:38 Speaker 01 Versus like, I can go online and post this song right now.
44:40 Keke Palmer? Yeah. So I feel really hopeful for artists today and just would, would say to any of them is just like, whether you're signed, whether you're not signed.
44:47 Speaker 01 Yeah.
44:47 Keke Palmer? Just push your brand.
44:49 Speaker 01 Yeah.
44:49 Keke Palmer? Tell the story of you, no matter who you're partnered with or not partnered with, because that's really what counts.
44:55 Speaker 01 It's no rules right now. It's that, that I think people are looking for.
44:58 Keke Palmer? Yeah. Critics call you one of the best melody writers of our generation, and I completely agree.
45:04 Speaker 01 Yeah.
45:04 Keke Palmer? Where do you think that comes from? And how do melodies show up for you in the studio? Because it's just so, uh.
45:11 Speaker 01 Melody is my.
45:14 Speaker 01 I don't like when I first hear chord chords are so important to me. I'll sit on chords for like an hour and be like something not right, something not right. Like I just, I'm so, I don't know. The, the process of these, I don't play. I need to.
45:32 Keke Palmer? But you could produce based off, I mean, you do produce, you are producing, hearing you talk like that.
45:35 Speaker 01 Yeah, like in the, yeah, I definitely give feedback and like I know what I want to hear as far as being a producer. Um, but melody is everything to me. Like when I, when I hear a song of anybody's, I'm hearing melody first and that's what draws me in. So I feel like you know, when you got a special one or one that can live. If like you still thinking about it when you leave and like you could be listening to the beat for hours and you still come back to that melody. Um, and usually I like the thing that sticks is the first thing I do, but for some reason I don't think so. Like I had to have people telling me that like, girl, you, you've been going for hours, but it was the first thing. So that like instinctual thing.
46:15 Keke Palmer? Yeah. I mean, I know the person that I would love you to collaborate with, cause I don't think you have, Solange.
46:20 Speaker 01 Oh, I love Solange.
46:21 Keke Palmer? I would love, I mean, they already kind of forced to collab with y'all with the whole TikTok thing. That's how badly we all wanted it. Um, but is there anybody on your wishlist like that you're like, I think me and this person would be cool. You know what I mean?
46:34 Speaker 01 So many people, I love, um, Tyler the Creator.
46:38 Keke Palmer? Girl, you and Tyler would be jowls at a girl her round.
46:42 Speaker 01 I'm like his production, like I can hear it. Love him. I love, um, um, Andre 3000, I love.
46:52 Keke Palmer? We need to get him back on it.
46:53 Speaker 01 Come on, even if, even if it's a little flute thing, I'll take that.
46:57 Keke Palmer? Killer.
46:58 Speaker 01 I'll take that.
46:59 Keke Palmer? I was listening to international players the other day. Wouldn't that be a great wedding song?
47:02 Speaker 01 No, for real.
47:02 Keke Palmer? I know it's crazy, but just imagine, you know what I mean? Walking down the aisle, family and friends. It's fly.
47:11 Speaker 01 Family and friends.
47:12 Keke Palmer? Family and friends, you like.
47:15 Speaker 01 They got so many wedding songs.
47:17 Keke Palmer? Girl. Okay, so definitely him.
47:20 Speaker 01 Them. I love so many of the girls right now. Um, Tyler, I love.
47:25 Keke Palmer? Yes.
47:26 Speaker 01 Uh, Olivia Rodrigo, I love.
47:28 Keke Palmer? Olivia, you would cook something up, but she's also a great lyricist.
47:31 Speaker 01 Yeah, she-
47:31 Keke Palmer? Great writer. Yeah, yeah. That would be fire.
47:34 Speaker 01 She's amazing.
47:36 Keke Palmer? I love the animation of it all.
47:39 Speaker 01 It's so many amazing artists right now. Dochi again, we have a song, but I would love to work on it again.
47:44 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, yes.
47:45 Speaker 01 Um, just anybody who is themself right now.
47:49 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
47:49 Speaker 01 That's what I'm into.
47:50 Keke Palmer? Yeah, everybody that you named, I think they very much have a clear sound and a clear storyline of what they're saying. And so do you.
47:56 Speaker 01 Thank you.
47:57 Keke Palmer? I'm so happy that you came on the show. I'm not letting you go just yet. We have to play a little game.
48:01 Speaker 01 Okay, yeah.
48:01 Keke Palmer? It's called Off the Hook. And it's like a little bit like word association.
48:05 Speaker 01 Okay.
48:05 Keke Palmer? Um, and pretty much I'm gonna give you a list of my songs. I'm gonna have a list of your songs. And you're pretty much just gonna say the word and we gotta sing the hook part of the song.
48:16 Speaker 01 Okay.
48:16 Keke Palmer? So hopefully we remember it.
48:18 Speaker 01 Okay.
48:18 Keke Palmer? When we say the words. Okay, so I'm gonna go first. Magic. Whenever I use that.
48:28 Keke Palmer? They could be wrong. The producers are wrong this time. Let me do another one.
48:32 Speaker 01 Not the same.
48:33 Keke Palmer? Let me do another one. Here we go.
48:34 Speaker 01 I'm sure I said magic.
48:35 Keke Palmer? Sticky.
48:37 Speaker 01 Um, spinning, spinning round and round, sticky, sticky, y'all be sticky.
48:41 Keke Palmer? Ay, got it. Okay, well, give me one.
48:45 Speaker 01 Okay.
48:45 Keke Palmer? This one we got.
48:46 Speaker 01 Bossy.
48:48 Keke Palmer? Oh, um.
48:50 Speaker 01 Um, why can't I remember my own damn thing?
48:55 Keke Palmer? I know it, y'all, but my mind keeps thinking of something else. Oh, my gosh.
48:59 Speaker 01 What you thinking of? I'm bossy?
49:00 Keke Palmer? Yes.
49:01 Speaker 01 Y'all know I know.
49:02 Keke Palmer? Exactly, um. Charming in the tulip, you ain't popping in the stool.
49:05 Speaker 01 Okay.
49:06 Keke Palmer? Cash out with my jeweler while you stuck and looking stupid. I'm winning while they losing, get your cousin choosing.
49:10 Speaker 01 Okay.
49:11 Keke Palmer? But I didn't say bossy.
49:12 Speaker 01 So the N?
49:14 Keke Palmer? Y'all know the damn song. Damn. Moving on. I told you it was gonna be hard.
49:20 Speaker 01 I'm like, who?
49:21 Keke Palmer? Okay, skin.
49:22 Speaker 01 Homie now, skin tight. Are you round? Come by. That's my song.
49:28 Keke Palmer? Hell yeah. Okay, I'm scared of mine, too.
49:30 Speaker 01 Okay. Enemies. It ain't enough for me. I gotta be honest, I don't want you to lust for me. Enemies comes to some point.
49:45 Speaker 01 Fresh?
49:45 Keke Palmer? Or vocal. Wait, what does it say? I hate this.
49:49 Speaker 01 I hate this now!
49:50 Keke Palmer? Isn't it so tough? And it's like, it's us. It's us. Y'all know.
49:56 Speaker 01 It's embarrassing.
49:57 Keke Palmer? I'd rather be enemies.
49:58 Speaker 01 Yeah.
49:58 Keke Palmer? That's what it's about.
49:59 Speaker 01 There we go.
50:00 Keke Palmer? Okay, um, glass.
50:02 Speaker 01 Glass flows, me and me. Walking light on these glass floors. My tippy, I'm toe up. You know what? I'm thinking, I think I... So, I know that one.
50:11 Keke Palmer? That's melody jet again.
50:12 Speaker 01 A feature, I know that one.
50:14 Keke Palmer? Okay, I'll do mine, last one.
50:16 Speaker 01 Hands. Go on and do it, mama, like you want to. Ooh, I can't resist, lay you on me. Then baby, you play like a vandal. Let me return the favor, do it, hands free.
50:26 Keke Palmer? There we go!
50:27 Speaker 01 Finally!
50:28 Keke Palmer? Cause that was gonna be crazy!
50:31 Speaker 01 That was tough.
50:32 Keke Palmer? Thank you so much, Raven. You are amazing. And I cannot wait to be at one of the shows, your own show.
50:36 Speaker 01 Want anyone, let me know. We can twin out.
50:41 Speaker 01 I love you!
50:42 Keke Palmer? I love you, you're so awesome.
50:46 Keke Palmer? Raven's not new to this. She's been putting in the work for years. From going viral to going deep in love, loss, and family. She's using her music to tell the whole truth. With her album, Bird's Eye, she's showing us growth in real time. And proving, you don't have to fit into a box to break through. Keep your eyes on her, because Raven Lenae is just getting started. And baby, this is Keke Palmer.
51:20 Keke Palmer? Baby This Is Keke Palmer is hosted and executive produced by me, Keke Palmer. Lucas Siegel is our post-producer. Our producers are Lauren Hampton and Molly Nester. Hillary Esti McLaughlin is our executive producer. Production services provided by Evolution Media. Our original theme song was written and performed by me, Keke Palmer. For Team Kiki, my producer is Sharon Palmer. For Wondery, our managing producer is Olivia Fonte. Senior managing producer is Nick Ryan. And our executive producers are Emily Feldbrake, Erin O'Flaherty, and Marshall Louie.
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