00:00Hello, Ira. Thank you so much for joining me today. How are you feeling?
00:03I'm feeling amazing.
00:05I'm so happy that I get to sit here and interview you today.
00:10No pressure. Thank you. Give me that love. If you give me me, I don't go.
00:15I want to say a big congratulations, not for your first, but now your second Grammy nominee.
00:20Exactly. Say it again.
00:21Okay. Congratulations for not the first, but the second.
00:25Grammy nomination. How are you feeling about that?
00:27It was too early to like, you know.
00:30Go crazy. I remember I was so excited. I was like, oh my God. Oh my God. I knew it. I knew it.
00:35But you know, every day I feel happy. I'm very grateful. Every day is like a new, like, oh, I'm actually.
00:40Two-time Grammy nominee.
00:42So what did you feel like that nomination mean?
00:45What happens to you now, like in your career and where you're headed?
00:48I think the first time I got.
00:50When I got nominated, it was like, oh my God, I got nominated. This is crazy. How? You know, like.
00:55I know how.
00:56Of course you know how. You're a bad girl.
00:58Exactly.
00:59But like.
01:00The second time felt like reassurance and you're just like, oh, I'm, I'm good at this.
01:05I know what I'm doing. You know, I'm going to trust God and myself a bit more.
01:08Amen. And one thing I love about.
01:10I think you have like this very calm and confidence demeanor about yourself, about whatever is meant for me.
01:15It's coming to me and it's going to happen. So I'm so happy for you and I love that for you.
01:19Thank you so much.
01:20Of course.
01:20I say you have the same. You have, you literally have the same.
01:23You know what? Yeah. I feel like, I think that's what makes me.
01:25You gravitate to you a lot where I'm like, wow, I see like the similarities.
01:28I feel you. We right here.
01:29What was.
01:30What was your favorite Grammys moment? What was a moment that stuck out to you?
01:34I remember when the first.
01:35The first time I went, Miley Cyrus was literally just like walked behind me.
01:40So why this means so much to me because of like, everybody knows I'm a huge Anna Montana girl.
01:44Like I grew up.
01:45I grew up on Anna Montana, like I used to like swear to people that I'm going to be the black, like Anna Montana.
01:50I was saying this every time, like I just loved Anna Montana and it made me understand like, okay, I want to be a pop star.
01:55You know, so it was really, it felt like a full circle moment, just even though she didn't see me just, but.
02:00But even so, like that just lets you know, like it's coming soon.
02:02It's coming, you know, like she was just like.
02:03She was right there.
02:04Exactly.
02:05It's coming soon.
02:06Okay.
02:06Well, I'm excited for you to be at the Grammys this year.
02:10And also hopefully you guys do get to interact with each other.
02:12I'm manifesting that for you.
02:13You give me that love.
02:15The song you're being nominated for is Give Me That.
02:19I know.
02:20You had some samples from Wyclef and 9-1-1 and Diallo.
02:23So can you tell us like, what was.
02:25the inspiration in that one made you decide these are the two songs that I want to sample.
02:30To be honest, I was born in 2002.
02:33Uh-huh.
02:35So I didn't really know exactly.
02:37And that's for you.
02:39I'm not going to lie.
02:40I didn't really know exactly until, you know, I was recording the song and Ganjazi was like okay.
02:45This is 9-1-1 sample and Diallo.
02:47I was like, oh, you know, then I went and I did my research.
02:49I was like.
02:50Wow.
02:50And the crazy thing was that the studio I was recording it was also Wyclef's studio.
02:55And I did not know that at that time.
02:57So it felt like everything was just like.
02:59A lot.
03:00To be, you know, it was crazy.
03:04Yo.
03:05To hear when you sampled it and you kind of like.
03:10reformed it and still using like, you know, the melody and the vibes of it like I thought that was.
03:15So cool because it was like transforming it a little bit.
03:18Yeah, it was a whole different.
03:19I used it in a whole.
03:20different, you know, way and that shows you how like, you know, music works, music can.
03:25mean different things.
03:26Exactly.
03:26You can be inspired by anything.
03:28I was digging deep into it because I'm like Diallo.
03:30What does that mean?
03:30And what I learned was that it's like a common West African surname.
03:33So I was like, wow.
03:35The song was Wyclef, it was like some tragedy in that.
03:37But then in your song, it was like.
03:39It was me.
03:40Like, you can tell me, yeah, exactly like it sounded so beautiful.
03:43Don't disappoint me.
03:44Like love, right.
03:45You know what, that's so cool.
03:47Yeah, we used it very differently, but yeah.
03:49I know you.
03:50You mentioned that you had lost your voice when you were going to record this.
03:53So what was that like?
03:55Like, how did you feel?
03:56First of all, I sounded horrible.
03:58That's impossible.
03:59Like.
04:00Girl, don't worry, I told you.
04:01Like, don't worry.
04:01I know.
04:02I know when it's honorable.
04:03Like, I can take it.
04:04It's fine.
04:04Like.
04:05I'm good, you know.
04:06I knew I sounded horrible.
04:07The engineer knew I sounded horrible because I was looking at him through the booth.
04:10Like, oh, like, you know, like I'm doing wrong notes and I'm just like, oh.
04:13But I sounded like bad.
04:15The first day, then I just, I was like, you know what, this, I'm going to go back in the
04:19studio and I'm going to try.
04:20And I went into the studio the next day.
04:23My voice was still all over the place, but I was just.
04:25Very, very, very, like, I knew I was going to do it.
04:27I wanted to do it.
04:28I wanted it to sound great.
04:29And I.
04:30Gave my all and we thank God for, you know, technology and everything.
04:33That was the key, right?
04:34Right.
04:34Right.
04:35It came out beautiful.
04:36It came out great.
04:36Oh, my gosh.
04:37And, you know, like, were you feeling nervous at all?
04:40Or is it just like, I just have to trust the process?
04:42I don't think I was feeling nervous during the process.
04:44Yeah.
04:44I was one.
04:45I was so nervous because I recorded this song maybe like six months or eight months before.
04:50It actually came out.
04:51I just kept pushing.
04:52I was like, I'm not ready.
04:54What about, what about.
04:55You've got to trust yourself, you trust yourself a lot.
04:56Yeah, and this is before Whiskey even jumped and it was supposed to be just my single one.
05:00And I was like, okay, I don't think it's the right time.
05:02And we got Whiskey on the track and I was like, you know what?
05:05It came together perfectly at the right time.
05:08I know you got to co-direct and.
05:10You know, creative, direct your own videos.
05:12So what was that like?
05:13I seen it myself and I was like, oh, she.
05:15I love how before it was like all soft, you're dancing, just in your own world.
05:18Then it came bad girl.
05:20The short hair, the fire, like literally the video is literally a representation of where.
05:25My head was at, at both times.
05:26I shot the first half of that video.
05:28Wow.
05:28The first, like the one with the.
05:30Long hair and that's where I was there.
05:31I was, I had brown, long hair, whatever.
05:34And I had a face where I.
05:35I was just like, I want to cut my hair and I cut my hair and it was like.
05:40Do you want to make it match up?
05:41It has to make sense.
05:43Okay.
05:44So let's just say that.
05:45Like, you know, oh, there I was in the car inspired by crazy in love.
05:48And just like, she.
05:50It blew up and now it's short hair, Ira is back.
05:52I feel like I didn't trust my creative direction early on.
05:55And now from that era, like just the long hair to like the short.
06:00whatever that was or how, whatever I was thinking at that time, you just, you could see.
06:05me transform and just like my personality transform.
06:07And I can see, I definitely seen that difference.
06:09And that's how I knew like.
06:10Oh, okay.
06:11I see.
06:11We're back on our bad girl, which also makes me think about because you said.
06:15Um, it was giving like crazy in love.
06:17I know you mentioned some of your influences were Rihanna.
06:20And say your mother, and most importantly, God.
06:22Yeah.
06:22So how have those influences alone like.
06:25shaped, you know, who you are and how you show up in your music.
06:27Everything shipped every single thing.
06:30You know, when I'm in certain situations and I don't know what to do is that I pray to God.
06:33I just say, what would my mom do?
06:35Or what would Rihanna do?
06:36Or what would my younger sister do?
06:38What would Beyonce do?
06:40I feel like, um, we're seeing a lot of diversity in the.
06:45nominees that we have for this year, especially in, um, Afrobeat.
06:49So it's you.
06:50You, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido, and then East African sounds from Eddie, and then.
06:55Rising Amapiano from Tyler.
06:57So do you feel like there's a sense of like a camaraderie.
07:00Um, between you guys?
07:01Of course.
07:01I feel like it's Africa's time.
07:03Music-wise, we've always made a.
07:05Amazing music every time, you know, and the world is just catching up.
07:08One thing I love about music is.
07:10Like, you don't have to know the language to feel it.
07:12So even when, before I was able to look at the lyrics.
07:15of your songs, like, I was just already feeling it and what you're trying to put out.
07:18You're just feeling the vibe and you're like, this is nice.
07:19So much.
07:20I'm like, okay, now I need to know the words and I need to say it.
07:22Just like, so I think that it's such a beautiful thing to see.
07:25How much African music is making such a global impact and seeing you like.
07:28It's just so beautiful.
07:29It is so beautiful.
07:30And even seeing you take off with it and like, be one of the big faces of it all.
07:34Like, how are you doing?
07:36Tell me more.
07:37Right.
07:38Okay.
07:39Tell me more.
07:40Tell me more.
07:40That's beautiful.
07:42I would start, you know, being nominated in your category, like any collaborations that
08:01you probably would want to play.
08:06Do you have any favorites or anyone
08:07that you're looking forward to running into?
08:09I definitely want to see.
08:11Leon Thomas perform.
08:12I want him to win.
08:13I'm the biggest Leon Thomas fan.
08:15Yes.
08:16Everybody knows this on Leon.
08:17Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon.
08:18Listen, he was, you know, our child.
08:21Exactly.
08:22Like, and now he's putting himself out there
08:24and really showing us, like, he is the artist.
08:26He is the artist.
08:26He's amazing.
08:27An amazing musician.
08:28What's a message you want to send out to your fans?
08:31The people that are watching you, watching your career
08:33and where you're going, what do you want them to know?
08:35One thing I'm doing this.
08:36This year is I'm creating whatever I want to exist.
08:40Whatever I want.
08:41And that's what I'm creating.
08:42So I think for my fans, do the same.
08:44Whatever you want or you think is missing.
08:46Just create it for yourself.
08:48That's a beautiful message.
08:49I hope that helps.
08:50What's next for you?
08:51What's something you want to share with us?
08:52What should we be looking forward to in Ira's world?
08:56What's next for me?
08:57What's next for me?
08:58What's next for me?
09:00My album.
09:01I'm working on an album.
09:02I'm not done.
09:03I'm working on it.
09:05But...
09:06By God's grace this year.
09:07My book.
09:11My book.
09:12My book.
09:13My book.
09:14My book.
09:15Is that what it's called?
09:16No, no, no, no.
09:17Maybe that should be what it's called.
09:19Let me cut.
09:20A lot of creative.
09:21Creative things going on.
09:22Creative things going on.
09:23Probably tour.
09:24Just the regular and regular.
09:26What about you?
09:27What's next for you?
09:28We got a lot of things coming up.
09:30Bye.
09:31Podcast movie.
09:32Listen, a lot in the works.
09:33Good, good, good, good, good.
09:34We're going to see what happened.
09:35But I'm very...
09:36excited for you and your career.
09:38I'm very excited for you too and your career.
09:40Oh my gosh.
09:41Let's hug.
09:42Yeah.
09:43No, that really means a lot.
09:45Wishing you the best of...
09:46Good luck in the Grammys.
09:48This year is ours.
09:49Okay?
09:50Amen.
09:51This was so fun.
09:52Wow.
09:56Has обычised feeling,
09:57They left the whole body of our body at home
10:08a corner.
10:09I think that we wanted to be looking for our hope.
10:15Hello?
10:18What a mess.
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