Michaela Jaé Rodriguez On New Music And Being Starstruck By Lenny Kravitz

US Weekly

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00:00I love how I'm getting late 80s, early 90s, like cool, crazy, sexy, cool vibes from it.

00:05Is a lot of the inspiration of what, when you were growing up, the people that you idolized?

00:10Yes. I mean, around that time in the 90s and the 2000s, I was, it was nothing but Aaliyah

00:15N'Singh, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, you know, the list can go on. Rihanna

00:21at that time, she, Rihanna came in around like the mid...

00:242006-ish.

00:242006, like, you know what I mean? But those early times, all of those, like,

00:28artists were prominent in pop and that musicality stood very, like, strong in my, in my spirit.

00:35I think it's never left me. And I think that comes with a lot of 90s kids.

00:37Yes.

00:38You know what I mean? But the, oh, so you understand, but I feel like,

00:41oh, yes. And wasn't it great?

00:43It was a great time.

00:44It was fantastic. I mean, you know, it's cute now. We're not gonna lie. It's cute,

00:47but it's very technological. But yeah, I, I, I listened to that and I was like,

00:50how can we 2.0 it for the generation now? Because they're definitely living for the 90s aspect.

00:56They're bringing it back. And now it feels like I fit and I'm a part of this new generation. So.

01:02Yes. And what was the sort of hardest or, and like most rewarding songs for you to write or work on?

01:09Started From was one of my most rewarding songs to work on in Green Lights, for sure. I mean,

01:13my favorite song is Why. Thank you. That's my baby right there. Green Lights was simply for

01:20the storyline for Mikaela J33F7. She was built in a lab and she has no recollection of who she is.

01:26Or where she had come from. So she's trying to figure out, well, how do I fit in this new world?

01:30That's dystopian. And that's very technological compared to what I remember my present day self

01:38was experiencing. And even her, even a trans person would probably not understand because

01:44she's a robot. You know what I mean? She's truly something that is different and not

01:50fathomed in our world that we live in today. And I wanted people to see that so they can

01:54resonate it within themselves and look at themselves and look back and go,

01:58oh, okay. So this is actually truly what different looks like and it's succeeding and it's thriving,

02:04but it's also disheveled and doesn't know because people have worked on it for so long and have

02:08tried to pick her apart. And she's trying to figure herself out on her own terms. That's what

02:13I want the world to know. And I want, when the fans listen to it, I want them to always realize

02:17that that can be your journey. So you can always figure yourself out. No one has to tell you that

02:22you always can recollect your past, go back to your past so that you can get to the future and

02:26be present. And, you know, you, when you were writing, you know, Greenlights and you're blowing

02:31up with Pose and all these nominations and trailblazing, you got to meet a lot of amazing

02:36people during your time. Who were you the most starstruck by and what sort of meeting meant the

02:42most to you? Okay. I will say the person I was most starstruck, there's a couple of people that

02:46I've been starstruck by, but, um, Lenny Kravitz kind of like gagged me. I was at the Academy Gala

02:53and I was by myself, actually. I have an excerpt about my anxiety at the time and how I was trying

02:58to really navigate through it. It's a huge party. So many famous people there. And I'm trying to

03:04figure out how do I fit in the space being by myself. And I found that niche to get me out of

03:09my anxiety, which was watch the people and enjoy their energy and see how they're like, how they're

03:15feeling and how I can help myself. And while I was doing that, I got up and I saw a friend of

03:19mine named Darnell. Hey Darnell. He's like, girl, what are you doing here? Sitting by yourself. I

03:24saw you just talking to Hari over there. Come with me. I got some people to introduce you to. So he

03:28introduced me. And then I think somebody tapped me on my shoulder and I'm like, yeah, I turn around.

03:35It's Lenny Kravitz. He's like, my daughter loves you. And I love you too. I watch your show. I was

03:39like, wait, what? He's like, come on, come on. We got to take a picture. That's exactly how I felt.

03:45And I was just like, oh, so that was one of my starstruck moments. I couldn't speak. Cause he's

03:51so beautiful and cool. He's like cool, beautiful. And also so down to earth. So it's just a lot of

03:57greatness. It feels like he's got the answers too. I feel like he has the answers to life.

04:02I feel like he does too, but he's going to only give them to you when you really need it,

04:06you know? But yeah, that was my starstruck moment for sure.

04:09And what about, were there any interactions that really just meant a lot to you that you

04:13weren't expecting from, you know, people in the industry?

04:17Um, you know, as I think about it, the most poignant one for me and the profound one was

04:23Shirley Rouse. It was just amazing to know that I had been watching her ever since I was a child.

04:29I had been looking at her when she was Dina and when she was in Moesha and when she was in

04:34Sister Act 2 and the list goes on. She has been an inspiration for a long time. So to know that I

04:41have her in my corner, you know, I can call her when I need to and talk to her, you know, it just

04:46feels good to know that she's there. Tell the fans where they can stream your music, how to support

04:51you all over the place because this lady deserves it. Yes, y'all. I mean, they can definitely

04:56support me on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter. You can stream my music on all social platforms,

05:02all platforms. Deezer, iTunes, Spotify. It's there. Just listen to it, y'all. I think y'all will love it.

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