00:00Good to see everybody, as Roxy said, I'm Brandi Victorian, Entertainment Director here at Essence.
00:20Super excited to be here on center stage with you all.
00:23Good to see all your faces back here.
00:24Hello, hello, hello, everyone.
00:34How's everybody?
00:38How you doing, sir?
00:40I'm good, how are you?
00:41Good.
00:42Good.
00:43Tell us about this lovely lady that's coming on.
00:45Well, this lady that you're about to meet is my better half.
00:50She's an executive producer on many shows.
00:53Um, especially the being Bobby Brown, uh, every little step.
01:00And she did the documentary, uh, Bobby Brown documentary.
01:05Um, she's a wonderful woman.
01:08She's my queen, my everything.
01:11Miss Alicia Etheridge Brown.
01:14Yes.
01:18Y'all gonna give her some music to come out?
01:20Good morning.
01:21Let's clap again for Alicia as she comes to the stage.
01:29Yes, ma'am.
01:31Hello, everyone.
01:32There's my babies.
01:37Hello, hello.
01:38How are you?
01:39I'm wonderful.
01:40How are you?
01:40Good.
01:41Thank you so much for being here.
01:43We're so excited.
01:43Thank you for having me.
01:44To have this conversation.
01:45We could have talked to you about a number of things.
01:47As Bobby said, you've had an illustrious career in entertainment yourself.
01:50But why was this topic in particular important for you to have?
01:55Well, I think it's absolutely important always to learn from one another.
02:00As life and this journey that we're a part of, we have to support one another.
02:05We have to educate one another.
02:07And we have to be there for one another.
02:09And I just think it was amazing that this was the subject that they would like me to lend
02:14my experience with, my journey in my life, and how it's been so important that my husband
02:23stands strong in his greatness.
02:24Absolutely.
02:25Absolutely.
02:26Now, you all just celebrated a 10-year wedding anniversary last month.
02:29We did.
02:30Clap for that, y'all.
02:3110 years.
02:32Been together longer than that.
02:33Known each other much longer.
02:35Absolutely.
02:35So you've seen the ups and downs.
02:37You know, what would you say keeps you solid as a unit?
02:41Well, that's really important.
02:43You know, the foundation started from a friendship.
02:46And really, when you value each other as individuals, as humans, as friends, and you depend on one
02:53another before anything else gets crossed or in that way or develops, it's really important
03:01to have that self-respect and respect for one another.
03:04So, it's just been a journey.
03:08Bobbi and I have known each other for 30-plus years.
03:11Wow.
03:12We've been together for 14 lovely years.
03:15We've been through it all, through all those years, as you know, as we do with relationships.
03:20Anything good is worth working hard for and sticking with and staying true to yourself,
03:28you know?
03:28Being the best you so you can show up for others and be the best for them.
03:32Absolutely.
03:33And I want to ask you about that support.
03:35You know, something that often comes up in conversations like this and in relationships
03:39in real life is that, you know, when things get tough, men can shut down and it can be
03:44hard to kind of navigate that.
03:46How have you handled that, you know, over the years in times of just, you know, creating
03:51a safe space for Bobbi to tell you, you know, what his needs are, you know, and how you
03:57can support him?
03:58Yes.
03:59You know, we all react differently to trials and tribulations, fears, and just the journey
04:06of this life.
04:07And when your partner or somebody near and dear to you shuts down, you really need to
04:13find the gratitude in the small things.
04:17First off, I find that when I go to prayer or I go to meditation and I just remember and
04:24I'm grateful for the moment, the person, the situation, because it's always a lesson, then
04:31you can find patience when people do shut down, because that is often a reaction, whether
04:38it comes from fear-based, it can come from many different, you know, inner emotions or
04:47inner experiences.
04:49But, you know, you have to have patience.
04:51It gets very, you know, it can be frustrating, you can have challenging times, but I think
04:56if you find peace within yourself, you'll be able to get through it.
05:00Two good P words, patience and peace.
05:03Patience and peace.
05:03That's it.
05:04And I'm glad you brought up, you know, the meditation and therapy, because we saw on every
05:08little step, if you all have been watching, you know, Bobbi talked about those are some
05:12of the tools that have gotten him through these past couple years.
05:15What was it like, you know, kind of entering that and taking that step, you know, for therapy
05:19and meditation?
05:20Was that difficult?
05:22You know, was that something that had already kind of been a part of your lives?
05:25So I'm a big advocate for therapy.
05:28I've had therapy since I was a young child.
05:31I was introduced to therapy in different ways.
05:34And meditation as well, which I always go back to.
05:37Prayer is part of that as well.
05:39Having a safe space where you can shut down and listen to what your intuition is telling
05:45you.
05:46Give yourself the energy that really needs to pull you through things.
05:50So in a relationship and introducing that into a relationship was very important for
05:57me.
05:58So was it difficult?
06:00Yes.
06:01Is it worth it?
06:03Absolutely.
06:03So, you know, you've got to go through the fire to get to the other side.
06:08But therapy, you'll see that we do a lot of that in our show, in our daily lives.
06:14Meditation is big for us.
06:16You know, sometimes you just need to shut down all the noise around you, whether it comes
06:21from loved ones, people who aren't loving you.
06:25And, you know, just find that peace so that you can deal with your relationship in a loving
06:29way.
06:31And I want to talk about wellness overall, because that's also a big piece of it.
06:35You know, if you're not taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, that bleeds
06:39over into your relationship.
06:40And I know you all are launching a brand, actually, that leans more into wellness.
06:44So tell us about that a bit.
06:46If you know so far, my husband is a phenomenal cook.
06:50And he loves to put his passion as much as he does on the stage into the kitchen and
06:55into the meals that we eat.
06:57So we developed a food line, which is called bobbybrownfoods.com.
07:01We have sauces and seasonings and just real delicious, health-conscious, delicious foods
07:10that you can serve your family.
07:12And now we've branched off and we started our wellness line, which has just come out of
07:17the love and need that we need to for our mental health, obviously our physical and, you
07:23know, spiritual being.
07:24So we have launched our CBD and mushroom coffees, which you can buy now.
07:31And the difference with that and any other coffee is obviously we've taken out all of
07:39the high-end caffeine that we are often drawn to.
07:45You're still going to get that feeling, but you're cleansing your gastro, you know, insides.
07:53So the mushroom really cleanses your gut and gives you kind of a mood stabilizer.
08:00Nothing that's psychedelic, but that's good, healthy for you.
08:04So that's why we have a new line that's called Regenerate Wellness at bobbybrownfoods.com.
08:10We also have branded to do like alkaline salts, which balances your pH, which is very important.
08:16You can just put it in your water, your tea.
08:19We have a fiber regeneration, which is more something that you do daily in your oatmeal,
08:26your shakes, your water.
08:27And it is, we hold disease and unhealthy processed foods in our gut.
08:35Yeah.
08:36So these are all things that will help you cleanse that naturally daily.
08:39Okay.
08:39You'll feel lighter.
08:41Your brain cells are working better.
08:43Yes.
08:44You are chiller.
08:45You know, you're like, your mood can handle things.
08:48Okay.
08:48All the things we put in our body are very essential for that.
08:51So we're very proud that that's what we're launching now.
08:54Now, when is that going to be available?
08:56So the coffees are available right now.
08:58Okay.
08:58The alkaline salts and fibers you can find all on bobbybrownfoods.com.
09:03And we'll be introducing the rest of our CBD line coming later this fall.
09:09Congratulations.
09:12Now, I want to ask, you know, about you.
09:13This is about uplifting black men of greatness, but we also know you can't pour from an empty cup.
09:19You know, and you are a wife, you're a mother, you're a career woman.
09:22You know, how do you take care of yourself to be able to be there for your husband and your family?
09:27That's very important.
09:28You cannot take care of anyone if you're, forget about yourself.
09:33And as women and black women, we are driven from taking care of others.
09:38We just pour everything into everything we love, and that is the people around us and family.
09:45But I have realized that, you know, you can't run on fumes.
09:50So it's really important to have my mental peace, which, again, I do a lot of meditation.
09:58I do yoga.
10:00Playing tennis, for me, gives me that peace.
10:02Okay.
10:03It really gives me my endorphins, and I feel good, you know.
10:07Yeah.
10:07Tennis is something I'm passionate about, so when I do that, I don't feel like I'm, you know, working out, but I am busting my butt.
10:14Yes.
10:16You know, it's really important for me to have me time.
10:19I'm a mother of three young children, you know, and I'm always running, handling a lot of businesses.
10:25But it is very important for you to take time for yourself.
10:29Don't, the guilt and the anxiety, it's all real.
10:34I have a lot of that.
10:35Yeah.
10:36And I understand that we have a lot of that, just the noise of life alone.
10:41Absolutely.
10:41Things that we have no control over.
10:43But you cannot forget about yourself.
10:45Yes.
10:46It's very important.
10:47And when you want to spread that love to your partner, that's the best place to come from, sharing that, you know.
10:56Your partner could be your child, could be your husband, could be your parents.
11:02Yeah.
11:02Could be your sibling.
11:04It spreads in so many different ways.
11:07And I feel that the more I care for myself, I'm an example for others.
11:12Absolutely.
11:12Especially the ones around you looking up to you.
11:15Yes, yes.
11:16And I love that.
11:17I feel like everyone here, you know, take care of yourselves.
11:19Enjoy this time.
11:20Work will be there when you get home.
11:22Family needs will be there.
11:23But enjoy this time at festival.
11:26So I want to thank you for leaving us with that note and sharing your tips with us and being here.
11:31Thank you so much.
11:32Let's clap for Alicia, everybody.
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