Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, and Ravyn Lenae are three distinct voices who define R&B today. In the premiere episode of ELLE’s "Three Generations," the legendary superstar, the global hitmaker, and the trailblazing newcomer sit down for a rare conversation about the journeys that brought them here. From Mariah sharing an exclusive story about her first song and Kelly looking back on the legacy of Destiny’s Child, to Ravyn navigating the whirlwind of building a career in the social media era, the three women bridge generations and find common ground while reflecting on influence, legacy, and the timeless spirit of R&B.
#MariahCarey #KellyRowland #RavynLenae #ThreeGenerations #ELLE
#MariahCarey #KellyRowland #RavynLenae #ThreeGenerations #ELLE
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00I love songwriting, but to talk about, like, the hits.
00:0219. You have 19, number one.
00:05But I only wrote 18 of them.
00:07That time, people liked to put you in a box.
00:09No, you're pop. No, you're R&B. No, you're rock. No, you're this.
00:12And you're like, no, darling, I'm all of it.
00:13I used my $300 to book that studio session,
00:17and I was like, good, because I don't got no more money.
00:20That's a reveal for the first time.
00:22No one's ever heard that.
00:24I think that they think we get in the studio with men,
00:26and they tell us what to do, and we do it, and, you know.
00:28And that does happen sometimes.
00:30Right.
00:31But a lot of...
00:33Sorry.
00:58You look beautiful.
01:02You look so gorgeous.
01:04You look amazing.
01:06Let me see these rings.
01:09They're gorgeous.
01:10I want to do gold again.
01:12I love you in gold.
01:13I want the thick, real...
01:16What do you call it?
01:17Gold gold.
01:18Gold gold.
01:19Oh, gosh.
01:23Where shall I start?
01:25Where shall I start with you, Mariah Carey?
01:29Hello.
01:31I will start with thinking that I actually was you,
01:37dancing in the fields to Dream Lover,
01:41holding flowers to my face.
01:43Yes.
01:44The hair with everything and whipping my hair.
01:46Like, I was like, oh, no, I am Mariah.
01:49I had the shorts like Mariah.
01:51I had the tops like Mariah.
01:53I decided to get into butterflies like Mariah.
01:57Somebody was like, for God's sake,
01:59like, like dragonflies or rainbows.
02:01I was like, no, it's about the butterfly.
02:04Leading up to today, I was thinking about, you know,
02:16my first moments with your music.
02:18And it's so vivid in my brain of the summers with my sister,
02:24my little sister and my little cousins in the basement,
02:27putting on your album and making up dances
02:29to the whole thing, talk to bottom.
02:30And I was stripped.
02:32I was like, y'all remember what we did yesterday?
02:33Okay, okay, let's hit it again.
02:36But also seeing women of color float so effortlessly
02:41between R&B and pop and whatever she wanted to be
02:44was so divine and important for me.
02:47It wasn't effortlessly.
02:49To me, it was.
02:49I went through some stuff.
02:51Yeah.
02:52But, yeah, thank you for seeing that.
02:55Yeah, but you weren't scared of it.
02:56And I think that's something to note and remember.
03:00And you just did it with so much grace.
03:04You do it with so much grace.
03:06And then...
03:07I love you.
03:08Oh, I loved you.
03:09Period.
03:10And, you know, the first time I met you, it was with the ladies.
03:14And I remember we were so stoked.
03:16And I was like, we're going to look crazy when she turn around and see us.
03:20Because we were like...
03:24I remember it was at Soul Train, and we shared the same publicist, Yvette.
03:27Oh, yes.
03:28I love Yvette.
03:29And Yvette was like, Mariah said she was going to meet you.
03:31I was like, oh, my God.
03:33We had all pulled from the trailer.
03:35Was it the trailer?
03:36There was a trailer when I came to see you.
03:38Not you, like, really killing on the memory and I'm not.
03:42Oh, my gosh.
03:42I came to see you and you guys were in there.
03:45And I just remember...
03:46I was just like, let me come in and say hi.
03:48We were so happy.
03:51Anytime there was an encounter with you, period.
03:54And you were always very warm and very cool.
04:05Do you remember when you sang Fantasy?
04:07Yes!
04:08I was nervous AF.
04:11Like, nervous AF.
04:12I was so excited that night.
04:14That was BET, right?
04:16Yep.
04:17You were being honored.
04:18I was being honored.
04:18Yeah, it was BET Honors, and you were being honored, of course.
04:22Yes.
04:23It was an honor to have you there.
04:27And she just sang my song, Fantasy, and it was amazing.
04:32And you've just done so many, well, really great things for me.
04:38So thank you, darling.
04:40All right.
04:41I was telling you, my mom, she had me at 19, and I remember all of her 20s.
04:49Destiny's Child was a soundtrack to her life.
04:52And I've seen her cry.
04:53I've seen her laugh.
04:55I've seen so many transitional moments happen with that music.
04:58And I think that's the beauty of it.
05:00So, Raven, I'm just getting to know your music, but I really do like Love Me Not.
05:15Yeah.
05:15It's really good.
05:18And it just has something about it that, I don't know, it just takes you back to childhood.
05:28Yeah.
05:28I think the most interesting thing that people say is that it feels like it could be from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s.
05:36So that, to me, is like what you ladies have done with your music, and I'm so inspired by.
05:41I remember the first time I heard your record.
05:43I remember thinking, oh, she likes to break the rules.
05:47In the best way, like not putting you in a box, I think that's the best thing about listening to all your records.
05:54Because, like, coming up, what, 2001, 2, 3, 4, like, that time people like to put you in a box.
06:02No, you're pop.
06:02No, you're R&B.
06:03No, you're rock.
06:03No, you're this.
06:04And you're like, no, darling, I'm all of it.
06:06And that's what it really feels like.
06:08And I love that about your work.
06:10I always loved writing songs, even as a little girl.
06:22Just, you know, like being a little kid and just drawing, writing, you know, little things like that.
06:29That's how I grew up to become a songwriter.
06:32Do you remember what your first song you wrote was?
06:35Oh, my gosh.
06:36There are so many from a little bit older.
06:38I'm trying to pick up when I'm little.
06:39A little.
06:40Okay, yeah, yeah.
06:41But, you know, other ones, I had this song, I'll Get Back At You.
06:45Ooh.
06:50I'll Get Back At You.
06:51It was terrible.
06:52It was, I'll Get Back At You.
06:53Ooh.
06:54What the heck?
06:57Oh, my gosh.
06:58Do you know how old you were?
06:59I was, like, 12.
07:00Oh, wow.
07:01Working in this guy's house.
07:03I was doing, like, commercials for them, little ads and stuff that they would sell.
07:08Yeah.
07:08And then I started writing over there and doing that.
07:14Yeah.
07:15I'll Get Back At You.
07:16I know.
07:17I know.
07:18That's a reveal for the first time.
07:20No one's ever heard that.
07:22That's hilarious.
07:24Somebody made you mad.
07:26I know.
07:26That's the thing.
07:27I just made up a story and was like, I'll Get Back At You.
07:30I love it.
07:34How old were you when you first started writing songs?
07:36I wrote my first song when I was 15.
07:4015?
07:40Yeah.
07:41Wow.
07:41Yeah.
07:42I remember I was working with a producer from Chicago at the time, and there was a studio
07:47named Classic Studios literally right around my high school, and I was a freshman.
07:52I was doing a summer program for kids where you would go, you would do music all day, and
07:57they would give you a stipend for it at the end of the summer.
08:00Oh, wow.
08:01So I used my $300 to book that studio session, and I recorded that song, and the studio owner,
08:08he said, you don't ever have to pay for studio time ever again.
08:11Really?
08:11And I was like, good, because I don't got no more money.
08:13That's it.
08:15I enjoyed songwriting when it's like with a whole bunch of people.
08:19I don't actually think I've ever sat down to write a song by myself.
08:23Yeah.
08:23To be honest.
08:24Yeah.
08:24But I should actually really try that, this recording process that I'm in right now.
08:28It releases stuff, or even if you have someone just playing on the keys, and you're telling
08:34them which way to go, and then you're...
08:36I will do that.
08:37Yeah.
08:37Or we can get together and write whatever you like.
08:40Okay.
08:41I would love that.
08:42I love that.
08:43Yeah.
08:44I like picking up, like the storytelling that starts with it, like how a song is like,
08:49it's nothing on the paper, and then it's just building itself.
08:52Yep.
08:52You know what I mean?
08:54And then you go in and you're like, no, no, no, I don't want to write it down.
08:57Let me just put it down.
08:57Yeah.
08:58Like all the excitement and urgency around it, and the spontaneity of it.
09:03It's just a rush.
09:05It's a rush.
09:05Absolutely.
09:06We begin this morning with Mariah Carey.
09:09It is one sweet day for the singer, as she has been named as an inductee into the Songwriters
09:14Hall of Fame.
09:15I love songwriting, but to talk about like the hits and how many songs.
09:20Oh, I'll give you 19.
09:21You have 19 number one.
09:23But I only wrote 18 of them.
09:27You've written 18 number one records.
09:31Yeah.
09:32That in itself.
09:34Is crazy.
09:35Is incredible.
09:37Yeah.
09:39I'd probably have it on a shirt and on the back of a jacket.
09:42Yes.
09:43And maybe on the front of a hat.
09:44Exactly.
09:46A bumper sticker, maybe.
09:4818.
09:48What does that mean?
09:49Oh, darling.
09:49I've written that many times.
09:50No, but the thing is, people don't want to give you your propers.
09:55Right.
09:55Yeah.
09:55They don't.
09:56They just, you know, oh, she's this and she, you know, we don't know if she's a songwriter
10:02or all this stuff.
10:04And I'm like, hello, I'm in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
10:07Right.
10:07Yes.
10:07You know, that was a huge deal for me.
10:10Yeah.
10:10Yes.
10:10That was, I can't even explain it.
10:13You deserve it.
10:14But thank you.
10:15You deserve it.
10:16When I first heard about women writing and producing and then watching, like, you know,
10:22certain, like, MTV and, like, VH1 specials and, like, you would be, like, working everything
10:26out.
10:27Even what you did with the One Sweet Day with Boyz II Men, like, you could tell you were
10:30in it.
10:31You know what I mean?
10:32And everything was so consistent.
10:34The sound and the way you put things together and even how you found, like, just these moments
10:40to just, like, slide down notes.
10:42Like, it was just honey.
10:43No pun intended.
10:44But it was just so empowering to know that you could write and produce.
10:51Right.
10:51And people everywhere would love it.
10:54Right.
10:54You know?
10:55Well, it's also at that time, I didn't realize that people were allowing me to do that.
11:00I just was like, I was just doing it, you know, bring up these two tracks in the background
11:06or do this or that.
11:07And it was never a big deal to me, but I guess it was.
11:13Yes.
11:14Taking control of your vision, period, is producing.
11:19And I think that's left out of the conversation a lot with women.
11:22It's very well said.
11:22I think that they think we get in the studio with men and they tell us what to do and we
11:27do it.
11:27And that does happen sometimes.
11:30Right.
11:31But a lot of times.
11:32Sorry.
11:34Because I felt like I just heard every single last one of her stories and now one.
11:37Well, that does happen sometimes.
11:40I heard all of it.
11:43But then, even if that's not the story, some people don't believe it.
11:46So, I started producing my vocals when I was working on my demo, like, before I had a record
11:57deal, before anything.
11:58And I was singing on a PZM microphone.
12:03Anyway, I was doing background vocals and loving it, like, just deciding what parts were
12:09going to go where.
12:10Yeah.
12:10And I was in this woodshed.
12:14It was, like, a woodshed that this guy had.
12:16What are you doing in a woodshed?
12:17It was in New York.
12:19It was not New York inside, but it was, like, a woodshed that his father had, this place.
12:23Okay.
12:23And so, I was in the woodshed working on vocals.
12:28Wow.
12:28And with this guy that was, like, my writing partner at the time.
12:33And from there, I just, I kept doing it.
12:36I just kept, you know, once I got a deal, I still did that.
12:40I was doing all my own backgrounds.
12:42I think, if anything, my main thing is, like, the background vocal production.
12:46That's what I love to do the most.
12:48But not necessarily in a woodshed.
12:52Although, we got some magic in the woodshed.
12:55We got some magic in the woodshed, for sure.
12:59I think backgrounds are the first thing that I hear in music.
13:02It's my everything.
13:04So, people like you or Janet Jackson or Patrice Russian.
13:08Like, those people was, like, I heard those.
13:12And I was, like, how do you make a world with your voice?
13:17You know, in different tones and different feelings and colors.
13:20So, that, I think, is the most memorable thing to me about music.
13:25And then, you know, how you use your voice, too.
13:27And then, when you can really flex and go for a whistle tone.
13:30Right.
13:31You got to teach me.
13:32No, then when you can flex harder.
13:34Yeah.
13:34And I'm going to just harmonize this whistle tone and this whistle tone.
13:38And maybe one more.
13:39Right.
13:39For fun.
13:40Just for fun.
13:41For sure.
13:42For laughs.
13:45Sometimes, I like to do vocal production by myself.
13:47And sometimes, I like someone in there with me.
13:50Oh, yeah.
13:50And what I love the most is, like, bringing out the sass and personality.
13:54Like, when you say certain words, like, a certain way.
13:57Yeah.
13:57Or, like, are noticing, like, what things need to be caressed or finessed more than others.
14:01And when you think you're done with a song and then you go in there.
14:04I don't know if you guys do this.
14:05Yeah.
14:06But I'll go in there and I'm like, oh, we should scratch it.
14:08Can I do it again?
14:08Right.
14:09And then it's, like, maybe two more times.
14:12Right.
14:12Because then you've kind of, like, wiggled your way in the song.
14:15Yeah.
14:16I've done that a lot.
14:17Okay.
14:18Over and over and over.
14:19Yes.
14:20Over and over.
14:20Yes.
14:20It just somehow finds a way to just, like, evolve and get better and better.
14:25You don't know what you mean to me.
14:27It doesn't matter what I do.
14:30All I think about is you.
14:33I remember Dilemma's video.
14:35Yes, oh, God.
14:36And the red fire.
14:38I want red hair.
14:40Oh, wow.
14:41I don't know who's brilliant idea it was to text on Microsoft Excel.
14:54But it chases me everywhere that I go.
14:59And everybody's always asking me, why were you?
15:01I said, I don't know.
15:02I was given the device.
15:05It had this on it.
15:07And here we are in the video.
15:09They're like, oh, we need a shot of it.
15:10I was like, okay.
15:11I guess this is right.
15:12And here we are.
15:1425 years later.
15:16Why are you texting them?
15:17Man, I don't know.
15:17I don't know.
15:18I don't know.
15:19People ask you that a lot.
15:20I'm literally asking that every week.
15:23We're at a billion streams.
15:25So I'm just so stoked about that.
15:28It's so strange when they pull certain things just out of the blue.
15:33And this thing goes viral.
15:35Whatever it is.
15:36Oh, it's hard to see you when I wish you were right here.
15:40Oh, it's hard to leave you when I get you everywhere.
15:45With me right now in Love Me Not,
15:48gaining traction on TikTok first.
15:50That was interesting for me to see.
15:52And then it also changed my idea of how we throw around a TikTok song or TikTok this or that.
15:59I think that with that platform, people just find the things that they love.
16:05And I found that great songs have been able to find the rest of the world through something like TikTok.
16:12But I think there's something really cool about people not needing, you know, the money or the backing or the label or the whole production to get their music out into, you know, the world.
16:25It's a conscious thing for me to have to think about, you know, even with the new music.
16:29Like, not feeling like I have to outdo what just happened or follow it or try to chase it.
16:37I think that's something I'm having to be mindful of.
16:39But you do.
16:40I'll do, yes.
16:42But the chasing thing.
16:44You are so honest that I'm asking for it.
16:47In my head, I'm going, oh, like, but I mean, truth be told, like, it is a new part of, like, the cachet for labels.
16:54Yeah, I think it was Adele that said, you know, everybody's making a song for the TikTok.
17:00And I'm thinking I'm supposed to make a song for the TikTok.
17:02And I ended up making a song like who's making the songs for me.
17:06And I was so happy I heard that because I remember I was actually, like, warped minded.
17:10Like, when I thought about that for a second, I was like, oh, gosh, and I'm supposed to be making songs for TikTok.
17:14And I'm like, well, how many times are you supposed to say this one word?
17:17You know what I mean?
17:18Does this go with this move?
17:19Like, I don't want to think about songwriting like that.
17:22It doesn't even make any sense.
17:23And how that whole trend started is somebody just making a great song.
17:28Exactly.
17:28You know what I mean?
17:29But, like, the rest of it is, like, wild, how it's just so spontaneous.
17:33So you still got to make music for yourself.
17:35Absolutely.
17:36I think it's a combination of everything that goes into making a song successful.
17:43Yeah.
17:43And, you know, some of that is obviously streaming.
17:48A lot of people still look to radio as a place for a song to live.
17:54Yeah.
17:55It's interesting.
17:56You said you didn't want to have to chase things.
17:59And that's why I said, but you do.
18:01Yeah.
18:01Because now you're competitive.
18:04You know what I mean?
18:05No, I feel, you're from Chicago.
18:07I know you're competitive.
18:08Somewhere in there.
18:09Everybody got a little piece of it.
18:12Ain't nothing wrong with that.
18:13You're going to try to literally outbeat yourself every single time.
18:16My mama said don't do that.
18:17Just have the fun when you're doing it.
18:19Yeah, just have fun while you're doing it.
18:21Yeah.
18:22Talk your shit.
18:23Tell your great stories.
18:24Yeah.
18:25And where you are, they will come and find you.
18:27They will follow.
18:28How do you approach longevity, Ms. Mariah?
18:33I think that having longevity is almost impossible for most people.
18:40Because if you look at it, it's really tough.
18:43Because you've got to try so hard just to figure out where you're going and figure out like what type of style you want to reinvent yourself with.
18:55It's a lot of reinvention in my little world that happens.
19:02And it's not because I don't like myself or I don't want to be like my former self.
19:08But I haven't really fully reinvented myself.
19:12I haven't done like your color hair or pink color hair.
19:17I really haven't done that because I don't see that.
19:20I don't see myself there.
19:22So I just try to do my best, write my best version of what a song is.
19:30It's just feeling emotions.
19:33I was looking back at some of my like stuff from back in the days and this show that I did called Unplugged.
19:50It's like I don't like that hair, the way I did my hair.
19:54What is that?
19:55Are you serious?
19:56Yeah.
19:57I wore this hair because of that.
19:59No, but that's dream lover you're talking about.
20:03Girl, I'm talking about vision of love, emotions.
20:06When I saw you do Just Nod Your Head, that's why my hair is doing that.
20:09Because if something was definite on the song and Mariah said, and you put your head down and threw your hair back and then you smile, I was, yeah.
20:19Oh, that is sweet.
20:20That did happen.
20:21Okay, I can like it.
20:22I can like it now.
20:23I can like it again.
20:24Yeah.
20:25And All Black was fly.
20:26It looked so like dope for that time, especially for that time.
20:30You always knew like what was going to be fly years later.
20:34It's like it didn't matter what you were.
20:36It was timeless.
20:37I appreciate you.
20:38I'm curious about doing it in front of everyone's eyes and people watching, like that development.
20:53How did that feel for you?
20:54I don't even think I thought about it.
20:55Okay.
20:56To be honest.
20:56You weren't hyper aware of it?
20:57No, no.
20:58I was, it's just like trying stuff out and like see what works.
21:01Yeah.
21:02I mean like with life and experience and you have to evolve.
21:08I think when you evolve and you write from an honest place and where you're from and
21:13or even where you've been or like, you know, having something but losing it, whether it's
21:19a relationship or esteem in that time for self.
21:24You know what I mean?
21:24Like all these things matter in the music because you can't, you're not the same person you were
21:30five years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago.
21:33I think I would agree with that.
21:34I don't know.
21:42I think similar to what you said, Kelly, of just showing up as your most honest self in
21:48that moment and the best you can, that's what creates the waves of longevity and timeless
21:53music.
21:54And I don't know, a spirit that lives, but also like, you know, looking at the trajectories
21:59of, you know, so many amazing women in music and looking at the things they did to, you
22:05know, create a legacy and a body of work and a spirit in the world that people love and
22:12remember.
22:12When I said, but you do, it really, it really, I really meant it like, you're going to have
22:20to get, to get after these things.
22:23Come on, girl.
22:24Yeah.
22:25I felt that.
22:26I did.
22:26She said, come on, girl.
22:30That's funny.
22:31Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:34Yeah.
22:42Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:43Yeah.
22:44Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:45Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:46Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:47Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:48Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:49Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:50Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:51Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:52Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:53Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:54Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:55Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:56Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:57Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
22:58Could somebody be a lamb and hand me this water?
Recommended
8:07
0:58
1:13
1:26
1:58
Be the first to comment