- 19 hours ago
Kierra Sheard talks about her new book titled "Big, Bold and Beautiful" along with releasing new music.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Don't live under the thumb of what culture says is beautiful. Look at what God is saying is
00:05beautiful. And sometimes what we say is our insecurity, the Lord may have attached that to
00:10us because it may be our part of like journeying through life to get an answer, not just for
00:16ourselves, but for a whole community of women. So I want to start with the book, Big Bold and
00:25beautiful. Tell us about deciding now, you know, to put out a book and settling on that title.
00:33Ooh. So actually I've been telling everyone the book actually was me just journaling through my
00:40life experiences as a form of therapy and just trying to get answers. And it wasn't an intentional
00:45book. It just turned out to be a book. And the really cool thing is I was searching an email
00:52account that I hadn't been checking. And something just told me that, I think it was God that told
00:57me, but, but obviously, but I went and checked the email account and there was a book offer. And
01:03of course they were like, do you have a book? And I'm like, I'm not going to say no, even if I had to
01:06write. So I'm like, yeah. And so I just kind of put my journal together and I explained to them how
01:12it could be a devotion, how it could help young women or even just adult women. And the title,
01:18I was like, can we please name it big, bold and beautiful? Because I'm a big woman. I'm a curvy
01:23woman. And I talked about my insecurities, you know, with learning to own who I am. So that's
01:30how the title came back. At first they were like, no, just bold and beautiful. I was like, pretty,
01:34please big. And so, because it was, um, which shout out to the publisher, uh, they were a group of
01:41women. So the team is a group of women who understood where I was coming from. And so I was really
01:47excited about the title. So that's how we got big, bold and beautiful. Okay. I love that. Can you talk
01:52about coming, you know, into your own and accepting, like, I'm a curvy woman too, you know, and there's
01:57so many words. Sometimes you're like fat, but you know, like just embracing that and being okay.
02:02Yes. So in the book, uh, is it Brandy? Yeah. Brandy. Yes. Thank you. Brandy. So I talk about in the
02:11book defining, like, I think one of the chapters is called, nevermind, I'm redefining it. And I was
02:18in this space where I was like, you know what the world at once upon a time, it was just a straight
02:22size woman. Now all of a sudden they're progressing, which is great. They're progressing to embrace body
02:28positivity, the curvy woman. They want to see more, more of the, I call it the juice. So the world calls
02:33it that, but I've defined it as the juice. And so talk about how it's so important that we don't live
02:39under the thumb of what culture says is beautiful. Look at what God is saying is beautiful. And
02:45sometimes what we say is our insecurity. The Lord may have attached that to us because it may be our
02:51part of like journeying through life to get an answer, not just for ourselves, but for a whole
02:57community of women. And so now, um, if I like, if I were to reflect and look at my sister mentorship,
03:03there are straight size women that are part of that community, but the majority of them are curvy women.
03:08And so they're finding out, Oh, I can relate, you know, and I am an advocate of health, but to answer
03:13your question directly, I've just had to say, you know what? I do all of these diets. I go into the
03:19fads. And at one point I was trying to lose weight for a man. And I'm like, listen, this is just who I
03:25am. And it's the juice, even when I at my smallest, so I was at least like 60 pounds lighter than what I
03:32am. But at my smallest, I was reaching for something that wasn't for me. And it was like,
03:38I want, I want to wear bathing suits so that my flap could go away. But it was like the flap wasn't
03:43going away when I was a size 12. So I'm like, that's just me and you can work out, but it's
03:48like your skin type and all of that. So that's when I was like, you know what? I'm about to reach for
03:52what's mine and not for what somebody else is saying is mine. Yeah. Oh, I love it. And you also have
03:58the Big Bold and Beautiful experience. Can you talk about putting that together?
04:02I'm really excited about the two day experience. So I asked other women and men who are influencers
04:09that can relate and who are going to be transparent enough to share their insecurities and how they
04:15overcame that. So I have Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Terrence J, Jonathan McReynolds, Pretty V, Sarah Jakes
04:22Roberts, Erica Campbell. So we're going to be talking, but there are also going to be performances.
04:27And I'm just really excited because they are planning to open up to me and they gave me
04:33that commitment. So I'm really excited about the two day experience. Then I do like every
04:38in every conversation, I'm going to talk about the book and say, hey, how can you relate to
04:43this chapter? So I'm excited to see their responses as well.
04:47Yeah. I was looking at an old live you did. I think it was March or early February. And you
04:55were talking about the chapter 11 God's way. And, um, you know, you talked about tapping into
05:01celibacy, but then you also were about to get into the conversation about successfully single.
05:06And I'd love if you could talk about, you know, being successful single, that's such a difficult
05:12period for some women. It can't be. Um, can you talk about just learning how to kind of master that,
05:17that period of your life? Absolutely. And thank you for reading. Um, so successfully single, I,
05:27I had a tendency to make a lot of, let me, let me backtrack. Okay. So I had a tendency to make
05:36relationships. Like the moment I dated somebody, I was like, okay, how are you going to be my husband?
05:40And I think I was looking for something that wasn't yet assigned for me to look for in my life.
05:46And, um, I made like a boyfriend, a husband, like I was giving him a wife like tendencies. And it was
05:55like, my dad was like, slow down, take your time. You can just date. And he encouraged me to understand
05:59here. The root word of dating is data. You learned that in science in middle school and that information.
06:05So you can draw a conclusion. And so, um, I had to really embrace that. And so when I embraced it,
06:12I was also the, the young lady. I was like, oh, I got to wait on a man to travel. And I was like,
06:16no, like, what if you marry somebody that doesn't want to travel? What if you marry a man that's
06:21afraid of heights? You're going to wait for him to travel. So that's when I was like, okay,
06:26I'm going to live my life, do what I need to do. And I was a player at one point. And I think I have
06:30a chapter where I said, I'm not a player. I just crush a lot. Or I made a quote from big pun or
06:36whoever originated from. And so that was, that's what successfully single meant to me. And it is to
06:42find who you are, find your voice, find the things that you like, and don't try to maneuver or adjust
06:48who you are. Just sit in who you are. Let the dust settle and whoever comes, they should enjoy what you
06:54have evolved to become. Cause you're going to still evolve and they have to love you enough. So
06:58successfully single is being in your bag, not worried about no man or living for a man that
07:05is not there yet. And I could go on and on and on, but I'll stop there. Cause Vaughn told me to work
07:10on my answers, but owning who you are, loving God, having that prayer life, doing your self-care
07:20and not waiting on anybody else to make that happen. Yeah. Now, how key do you think getting to
07:26that place was in then finding your, your now husband? Oh, so I think it was Brandy when I
07:34relaxed and was like, I'm going to live for me. And I kept, I stopped trying to figure out the
07:41marriage piece or the relational piece. And I became, if you allow me to say, I gained relational
07:47intelligence with just my friendships first. I think I was so interested in perfecting, you know,
07:53what it's like to be a wife to where I lost sight of, you got some home girls that's down for you.
07:59How can you be like really good in that? And so I just started perfecting me as a woman.
08:04And I didn't know that once I delve into my relationship with God, he was already molding
08:10me into what that good man was going to want. And, um, it attracted something and I was still,
08:17you know, kind of being a little player. I expressed my interest, um, for my husband to
08:24his sister-in-law and I asked her not to say anything and she said something. And so I stayed
08:31honest with him. This, I told him everything. These are my insecurities. This is like, I was owning it.
08:36So it's not just a title for me, owning the woman God made you to be. I literally do that in my life.
08:41And so that attracted Jordan. And he was like, I love that. You're just so honest and transparent.
08:47And that's how our relationship was built. It was built upon honesty, which is also another
08:53refreshing piece for me. Yeah. And so how's it been being newlyweds in a pandemic at that?
09:01You know, three, four months.
09:02It has been fun. We have gotten on each other's nerves, um, but it's been fun. And I feel like
09:11it's a blessing too. Like some people are like, y'all, I know y'all get, yes, we get on each other's
09:16nerves, but we're already having the opportunity to perfect our way of communicating and understanding
09:22each other. Where I feel like if we were just in our normal way of life, it kind of could slow down
09:29the progress, if you know what I mean. So it gives me the opportunity to be able to go out when it's
09:35time for us to go back to normal and travel the world and do my work. I can trust that my husband
09:40is saying this non-verbally, if you know what I mean. So I need to get back home or I need to,
09:46I can keep going. So it's been fun. We've been having a lot of fun.
09:50Good. And I know you talked about wanting to do a bigger wedding. I think maybe this year,
09:55like, are you still thinking this year you'll knock that out or you got a lot?
10:00Brandy, me and my husband, we've been house hunting. We both were like, we can totally do
10:07without the wedding. And go ahead and get this house. We won't. Right. Um, so we do want to do
10:15a reception because I want to do a reception. He he's a Q. So he's into whole, you know, having fun,
10:21you know, all about it. I can tell by your face, but I want to do it too, because I don't get to
10:27have like celebrations. I've not really done much with birthdays. I didn't do anything for my 30th.
10:34And it's not because of anything. It's just, I'm just always working or something. Yeah. Yeah.
10:40And I've already started paying on my dress. So I'm like, the dress got to be worn for something.
10:44Okay. It'll probably just be a reception. Okay. Definitely. We are going to cut back on what our
10:52original plan was now that we had time to sit in it. Got you. Okay. And this dress, I'm sure you're
10:58not going to tell us all about it, but you know, thinking about you having a clothing, um, you know,
11:02brand yourself. So you're designing your own dress. Are you doing that? Sort of. So first I'm going
11:08with a designer. Her name is Leah DeGloria and shout out to my event planner, Ellie B and my bridal
11:16stylist, um, from Van Glorious Bride, Selena. Um, so I kind of am telling them what I want and how I
11:22wanted to fit my body. They gave me the opportunity to, uh, choose my fabrics with, I'm so excited about
11:29it. So it's really pretty. It has pearls and some little embellishments, but not too much,
11:33just enough. And it's a mermaid fit. So I'm excited to see how it'll come alive. My training is, I was
11:40like, I want all of the drama. Okay. Yes. So that's where we are. Okay, good. So you also have your
11:50deluxe album coming out. Tell us what we can expect. We all were shocked with the collab with Nick Cannon
11:56that just dropped. So tell us, you know, what we can expect this deluxe version. Uh, well, shout out
12:03to my big brother, Nick Cannon. He's a genuine soul and spirit and it's so inspiring. He's not on the
12:08record. Okay. You do have, uh, collaborations with, um, we were just talking about it. The go-to
12:15producer. He's one of the go-to producers now, DJ Camper. And there's this really transparent song
12:20and he's singing on the record. So I don't know if he's singing on any of the other projects that he's
12:25worked on, but he's singing on mine and he's like the big brother. And so, um, DJ Camper and then my
12:31mom, Karen Clark Shearer, my blood brother, Jay Drew Shearer. There's a song that we did years ago
12:36and we didn't release it and it's still like really dope. So that, and then there's a song that I wrote
12:43that's dedicated to my father who just became presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ,
12:48which is really big, um, especially in the African-American community. And, um, I'm really
12:55excited. So those are some special things. So it's almost like a musical book, um, with these
13:00songs that were not released. And I think it's perfect timing. Yeah. I can't talk about too. I
13:05know the original came out a year ago, but naming the album Kiara, you know, you've had so many albums
13:11already, but the significance, you know, for this to be the self-titled album. So to be honest,
13:17um, I just, um, I just couldn't think of a title.
13:21You're like, girl, it ain't that deep.
13:24That's my truth. But when I actually, you know, when I did put some more thought to it,
13:30I was like, I never had a self-titled project. And I think that this is a space that has everything
13:36to do with the woman that I have become. And a lot of people are like, you're young. You know,
13:42sometimes they'll downplay the, the, the years that I have put into what I have done thus far,
13:48what I've been blessed to do only by God. But I was like, Kiara is perfect. You know,
13:53I've been breaking my butt off and I'm still working. So that's how it came to Kiara.
13:57Okay. And can you talk a little bit about, I'm sure you've been asked before, but, you know,
14:02has it been difficult for you or was it ever at any point, just defining yourself, you know,
14:07outside of, I'm Karen Clarkshire's daughter, I'm, you know, Dorinda's niece and that, you know,
14:12how has that been for you over the years?
14:15It was definitely a struggle to be honest, especially, I mean, the movie kind of says it
14:22all, the years that they put in and the influence or inspiration that they have had on so many of our
14:28favorite singers. Somebody posted not too long ago, the Clark sisters are your favorite singer,
14:33favorite singer. Period. And I was like, that's a lot of pressure to come from that blood. Yeah.
14:39And my mom is a true soprano, just even trying to play her role or her life. Her singing, Brandy,
14:48I was like, I literally got lightheaded and I was like, I can't do it because she's a true soprano
14:55and I don't know how to play. So they can sing a musical scale that I just probably wouldn't think
15:03of. Yeah. So it was a lot of pressure because some people would expect me to do what my mom,
15:07Aunt Dorinda, Auntie Twinkie could do. Auntie Twinkie was creating songs from her brain, but able to
15:13spell out by, you know, playing what she heard. So it was pressure, but I think I'm handling it pretty
15:20well. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, that, I mean, it was amazing just to watch the behind the scenes,
15:25like with the vocal training and all that was just incredible. You know, do you see yourself
15:31acting more? Did you enjoy like that experience? I enjoyed the experience and I counted a blessing
15:39and a privilege to have had that experience. I would like to, whatever I do at this point,
15:46I just want it to make sense. And that role made sense. And I think the effectiveness that came with
15:54the delivery or that opportunity, I just want everything that I do. Like it's sort of like how
16:00we've seen Denzel Washington choose his roles. I mean, of course I'm not on the level of Denzel
16:05Washington, but even Chadwick Boseman, I think even Jill Scott as an artist, she's been intentional with
16:12her roles that she's chosen. Yeah. So I would love to, but I would like to do it intentionally if
16:19that makes sense. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much. It's been so good chatting with you.
16:24Congrats on everything. It's so good to see you. It's good to see you too, man. You're so refreshed
16:30and I feel like we should be friends. Yeah, I know. We do.
16:32Do you want to see you too?
16:37Bye.
16:38Bye.
16:39Bye.
16:39Bye.
16:40Bye.
16:41Bye.
16:41Bye.
16:42Bye.
Comments