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00:00Essence Fest, make some noise!
00:07Y'all can do better than that, make some noise!
00:12Yes!
00:13I am so excited to keep this train moving with our next conversation.
00:17As y'all know, this marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
00:23I mean, can y'all show your love for hip-hop?
00:27Here at Essence Festival, we're celebrating that.
00:30And we aren't just celebrating the musicians.
00:32We also recognize the voices who have used their platforms
00:35to amplify this unapologetically black art form.
00:40Up next, we have a convo that you guys do not want to miss.
00:44Listen, it is the voice of New York, y'all.
00:46Who's the voice of New York?
00:48Who?
00:49I know that's right!
00:51In conversation with journalists and Refinery29's
00:54unbothered Vice President Chelsea Saunders,
00:57please give it up for none other than
01:00Radio Hall of Famer, New York Times best-selling author,
01:04media personality, the voice of New York.
01:08Give it up for Angie Martinez!
01:15The legend, the icon!
01:17Come on!
01:18Yes!
01:19Along our different paths.
01:23Sometimes we even make it out the group chat,
01:25and it's like no time has passed.
01:30No matter where we are, we're always intertwined.
01:34Our destination is us, and we feed each other's shine.
01:43Find your shine at Target.
01:49Hi, everybody!
01:52All right!
01:53Hello, hello, hello!
01:55How are we feeling, beautiful people?
01:57We good?
01:58Day three, we still in it?
02:00You in it with me?
02:01Come on, give me some energy.
02:02We have Angie over here.
02:04She needs the energy, okay?
02:05She deserves!
02:06Hi, everyone!
02:07Hello, everyone!
02:08Good afternoon!
02:09Yes!
02:10Yes, my love!
02:11Yes!
02:12Come on!
02:13All right!
02:14My name is Chelsea Saunders, and I have the singular pleasure
02:16of sitting here with the one and only Angie Martinez,
02:21podcaster, producer, entrepreneur, Hall of Famer,
02:24about to have a walk on the Walk of Fame, okay?
02:27That's crazy!
02:28That's crazy!
02:29Yes!
02:30I could go on, but we only got 20 minutes, so we're gonna hop right on into it, okay?
02:33Okay!
02:34Hi, Chelsea!
02:35Hi, everyone!
02:36I hope you're feeling good today.
02:37Thank you so much for coming by to hang out with us for a little bit.
02:40Yes!
02:41So, okay, like we said, it's the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
02:44Yeah!
02:45So, I gotta start with the throwback, all right?
02:47So, I was getting ready today, and I had my Angie Martinez playlist, all right?
02:52And, you know, number one is, if I coulda, okay?
02:56And my favorite lyric is, no concrete, just sand, okay?
03:01Yes!
03:02Okay?
03:03I'm a concrete baby!
03:04Take off your shoes, yes!
03:05Yeah!
03:06So, I wanna just ask you, from your lustrous career, all right,
03:10is there a song or a lyric for you that sticks out, that you would just let, you said,
03:15I, honestly, I ate that.
03:17Wow!
03:19You know what's so funny?
03:20We just got the streaming rights to If I Could Go, so it just went back on DSP,
03:24so finally people could stream that song.
03:26A businesswoman!
03:27It was gone for like 10, 20 years, just disappeared from the world, and now it's back.
03:31But, I mean, I think probably my Ladies Night verse is probably my favorite, if I have to pick one.
03:37Because it was such a special time and, I don't know, that probably, if you say it's on and it's on,
03:42it's pretty good, it's simple, but you know what I mean?
03:44It is what it is.
03:45I love, I gotta ask, there's been some stirrings of a modern day rendition of Ladies Night.
03:50Is that something that we think could ever happen?
03:53I love what the girls are doing now.
03:54I think we're seeing a lot of collaborations.
03:56I love that we have so many women in the game right now, so I love that.
03:59And I love that Ladies Night is like the pillar to like the, it represents women coming together and working together,
04:05which is so dope.
04:07I don't know, but I don't know how you make that modern.
04:09I kind of, I think it should be an inspiration for maybe some more collabs and that's great.
04:13But, and listen, if maybe somebody pulls it off, we'll see.
04:16But I think, I think it was kind of like good where it was and let's come up with a new one.
04:20No, I love that. It's giving one take Drake, you know?
04:23So, alright, so you are...
04:26Can y'all hear us, by the way?
04:27Yeah, can you hear us?
04:28Okay, just making sure.
04:29Alright, just making sure.
04:30Alright, okay, good.
04:31Oh, okay, I see y'all too.
04:32Alright, let me make sure I cheat out so y'all can see all of this.
04:35But, so, alright, you are now, you have lived so many chapters.
04:39You are, like I said, a podcaster, you're a storyteller.
04:42You just produced an amazing Hip Hop 50 special for ABC over Juneteenth.
04:48You have a new project, Iconic Records.
04:50You have so many different lives and you've written so many different chapters.
04:55We know your pen game is strong.
04:57So, what would you call this chapter of your life?
05:01What would you name it?
05:03This chapter is...
05:09Surrendering.
05:10I think, I think a lot of my career has been, you know, I started young.
05:16I'm like the same age as Hip Hop, right?
05:18So, I'm a baby.
05:19I'm starting out.
05:20I'm like everybody else hustling.
05:21Hi, Gia.
05:22Gia Peppers is here.
05:24So, she knows what I'm talking about.
05:26We're on the grind.
05:27We're working hard.
05:28You know, we're always trying and that's good.
05:30I'm not saying you shouldn't work hard and you shouldn't try.
05:32But, it took me a long time in my life to get to a point where I wait for it to show itself to me.
05:40Whatever I'm supposed to do next or whatever way it's supposed to take shape.
05:45And so, I'm seeing that even with my podcast.
05:48A lot of the times I sit with people and I don't even know where it's going to go.
05:51And I have faith in that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing and I'm showing up the way I'm supposed to.
05:57It's going to land how it is.
05:59Once you have that type of faith and that it's going to happen the way it's supposed to, it just makes the ride more fun and it gives it more purpose.
06:08And so, I think I'm enjoying that part of my career right now.
06:12Where I'm doing things with purpose and believing that I'm representing for people in a certain type of way that is beyond me.
06:19And just kind of showing up and letting him use me the way he needs to use me.
06:24Does that make sense?
06:25Yes.
06:26Yes, absolutely it does.
06:27Because I think a lot of times, you know, we push ourselves, we try to fit into a certain box.
06:32Yeah, because we think we're the boss.
06:33We think we're driving the ship.
06:35We're really not.
06:36We're really not.
06:37We are and we work hard and it's great, but like you got to listen and pay attention and follow, you know, the gifts that you were given and your instinct and your integrity and, you know, and show up and be there for people.
06:52And so, you know, and I think something that I love because you touched on sort of your, your interviewing is you are, you sit alone, right?
07:00In your style of interviewing because you come at it with such compassion and care and you're able to draw stories out of these iconic people as well and humanize, right?
07:12In a way that is so specific and so wonderful.
07:15So as you look on your career and as you're sort of surrendering to the loveliness and the grace of this, is there a moment that you look back on and you say that like, I'm so proud of that or an interview that you are.
07:27Oh, my God. I'm proud of all of it.
07:29This project, the podcast, especially I'm super proud of because I funded it myself.
07:34I did it. I did it with just sheer good intention.
07:37My first interviews, the first people that showed up for me, which are Lauren London, Mary J. Blige.
07:42I had no plan. I had no history of like, this is where it's going to live.
07:46I didn't even know. I literally sat across from Mary and I said, I want us to have a conversation that serves people.
07:52Whatever you're willing to offer as an offering, then let's talk about that.
07:57I'm not trying to get you. I'm not trying to get a headline. I'm not trying to get a clickbait.
08:01I'm not sure. I don't care. And the luxury of that in my career, in my life right now where I can do things for purpose and not for the other stuff.
08:09And so that's a great luxury. I don't say that with judgment.
08:14I know people are going to come up and sometimes you need a click and you need to get numbered because I understand.
08:20I don't say that with judgment. I say it as a privilege that I'm grateful for that I can show up and say, I don't care if five people watch.
08:27If five people watch and their life has changed and their life is made better, then we did good, girl.
08:33You know what I'm saying? So to be able to sit across from people and have those conversations.
08:36And then they show up and they deliver. Then Mary delivers. Then Taraji shows up and delivers.
08:41And then Lauren London shows up and she teaches us about how to grieve gracefully and evolve from that.
08:48And I don't know, I just learned so much from everybody.
08:51So it's really just having the faith to create something and then a safe space for other people to kind of share it.
08:57And it really it's been beautiful. It's not just the conversations that we get and I get from it, but also what comes back to me from the world, the way people say I needed to hear that.
09:08It makes me feel it drives me because it's like makes me realize I'm doing the work I'm supposed to be doing.
09:14And it's so funny because we were talking about this earlier of being able to be both a student and a teacher.
09:19Yeah. Right. And I think that's something I'm forever a student.
09:23Yeah. I love being a student. My favorite thing is to learn something new.
09:26I love it when somebody says something. I'm like, oh, man, I never thought about that.
09:30I got to Google that now. Honestly, every time I sit down for an interview with somebody, I look for that opportunity to learn from.
09:36I want to learn something from anybody, from any, you know, from Mary J. Blige to Moneybagg Yo to whoever is sitting across from me.
09:44I feel like we can learn from their experiences in their life. And so I love it.
09:49It's my favorite thing is to learn something new.
09:51And I think all that you're saying makes sense because the energy in which you created it is the energy in which it's received. Right.
09:59And so I think that's very clear. And that surrender just to the moment and to be present.
10:06And so I want to ask you because if the check is in.
10:09By the way, when I say that, nothing's perfect. Right.
10:12OK. Come on. When I say I'm doing that, it doesn't mean I do it all the time.
10:15It means I strive to do it all the time. And it means when I'm in my pocket and in my bag and I'm and I'm being graceful and I'm letting God talk to me and lead me and I'm doing that.
10:24It's great. But sometimes I got to check myself. Sometimes I get in my own ego or I get in my own competitive nature or I get in whatever we get in our way.
10:32Right. We have what we aspire to be. And then we have, you know, the reality of sometimes we miss our mark or sometimes we fall short.
10:38And that's OK. It's part of the process. You know what I mean?
10:41Yes. I want to ask you about that, because sometimes the loudest head, the loudest voice in my head is the one that's telling me I can't do it. Right.
10:50I hate that voice. I hate that stupid voice. Yes. And it's like, will you just be quiet? I'm trying to do something.
10:56Yeah. That's that imposter syndrome. Right. But I think a lot of us have to deal with a lot of, you know, women in the industry as well.
11:03So as someone who has had such a long career, how do you deal with that imposter syndrome or on those days when you're like, I just don't have it?
11:13Yeah, I still have those days all the time. You just look for the inspiration. Sometimes I feel unmotivated or I feel like I don't belong somewhere.
11:20I feel like I don't have something to give. I just I will sit quietly and wait for the motivation or the inspiration to come or try to look around and be inspired by somebody that's going to feed it to me.
11:31Like a friend, a colleague, somebody I work with, Brittany's here, Gia's here, Gia conspiring, like anybody.
11:38You just got to find inspiration to keep you going because we all have those moments. We all, you know, we get tired.
11:45We get, you know, weary. We get all those things. And so I think you just got to constantly look for inspiration to keep you motivated.
11:53And remind yourself that that's just noise. And give yourself tools. Figure out things that work for you.
12:00Like for me, one thing that I know is like if I remind myself that it's bigger than me, that helps me.
12:06If I just remind myself like, girl, get out your own way. It's bigger than you. You put here to do something that's bigger than you.
12:13For me, that works. I'm not saying I can work for everybody. But find the thing that works for you.
12:18And remember to keep telling yourself that over and over. I think it's helpful.
12:22And is that something, you know, are you doing daily affirmations or is it, you know, like you said, you get inspired by other people around you?
12:29Are you going like, give me a couple more tools. Like, are you eating your potassium? Are you taking a walk every day? Like, what's the schedule?
12:36No, I think, I think every day is different. I don't, I don't, you know, I believe in being present and being in the moment and figuring out what you need in that moment.
12:46Affirmations are great. Some people live by them and love them. They're only great if you use them or if they work for you.
12:51If you're telling yourself an affirmation and it ain't working for you, maybe stop that one. Maybe try a new one.
12:56So I think it's, you're always evolving, always trying to figure it out. None of us got it all figured it out, figured out ever.
13:02And so it's the constant, it's the fun. It's the enjoying the ride of like getting there to the next phase. Oh, I got through that. That was hard. Got through that.
13:11That, that worked. Let me do that again. You know, like just, it's a ride. Life is a ride, man. Full of ups and downs and we're all doing our best. And I think that's all we can really do.
13:21No, for sure. And I think also what I'm hearing you say is that you've allowed yourself to change, right?
13:26And you've given yourself permission to say, no, this isn't working for me anymore. Or, hey, this is kind of cool. I'm gonna lean into this, right?
13:35And not having to feel like you have to be perfect at it, but you can still change and do something different and you can pivot.
13:41Yeah, I think also too, you have to have, you have to have enough time to yourself to be honest with yourself about what's good for you in your life.
13:50Cause you might have a goal and you spent five years chasing that goal and you get really close and then you get there and you're like, I'm, I don't even like this.
13:58This don't even work. And then, so you waste a lot of time. So I think you constantly have to check in with yourself and make sure that you're, um, you know, you're operating from a place of truth and, and intention and, you know.
14:10Yes. And so for you, how do you, so like zooming out. So now we know you are trying to stay as present as possible and be honest with yourself.
14:19Yeah.
14:20But how do you do that when the industry around you is changing so much? Like you said, you've been here since the jump.
14:26Yeah.
14:27So how do you deal with the chaos around you or the entertainment industry has changed? Social media, podcasting, it's all just turned around.
14:36How do you sort of ride with the punches and still stay so relevant?
14:40Um, I get quiet. I do what I feel feels right. I follow my gut. I try to do things that are meaningful to other people.
14:48And that carries, that has carried me a lot. Um, like I said, surrendering, I believe like, anytime something goes wrong, like if something goes wrong, I could book somebody for the pod and I spent all the money and book the studio and blah, blah, blah.
15:03And then I get the call. She missed her plane. And that's not somebody's money. It's mine. And then everything falls apart. And I have to sit there and I have to really practice what I preach now.
15:13Now I say I'm surrendering. I got to really surrender. I got to believe that this wasn't supposed to happen. And so you really have to like lock into, um, to that.
15:22You really have to lock into what's, what's for you is going to be for you. That don't mean you don't work hard. That don't mean you don't be prepared and you show up and all that.
15:29But you really got to believe that what's for you is for you. And so if you remind yourself that all the noise of everything else outside gets quieter.
15:38Yeah.
15:39Because there's noise for all of us everywhere we go. Opinions, family, friends, social media. There's, you know, there's just a lot of noise everywhere we go, which is why now more than ever, it's important to find moments for you to get quiet, talk to yourself, talk to God, talk to whatever you need to fill you up and make sure that you're operating from a place that serves you.
15:59And so again, when you sort of, yes, please, you guys, she's dropping words. All right. All of this is words. I'm writing notes in my head, but I want to know, but I want to know, but I want to ask you, so when you draw that line, right, because also as someone who's been in the industry, you have a lot of friends in the industry, right?
16:26So how do you know when to turn on Angie, the interviewer, right? Versus Angie, the friend, right? When you go out into the world and you are being present, you're, you know, letting go of that noise. Where do you draw that line? Because I think a lot of us, you know, career bleeds into life and home and vice versa.
16:42Yeah, but you know what? Whether they're my friend or I just met them to the first time, I respect people and I respect, and I, and I honestly, and I don't say this from an egotistical place because I say it from a way where it has served me like well to care about people.
16:56So sometimes I can meet a new artist and she could be sitting there. And if she says something that I think is going to hurt her, a lot of times I edit it out just because I'm not in the business of helping a young girl hurt herself unnecessarily.
17:12I can't protect everybody from themselves. I don't try to edit people in a way, but if I can in some way do right by people, I try to do right by people, friend or not friend.
17:21And so if I'm sitting across from a friend, interviewing a friend, it's the same thing I want to give you. Even like I had this interview with Taraji where she, you know, she cried and she was very vulnerable about not being happy in her life at that time.
17:32And even during the interview, I put my hand on her hand and I was like, if after this you feel like it was too much and you don't want to share that, I will throw this whole thing away. I don't care.
17:43And she was like, no, I want people to know because I want people to know they're not alone because she's, she's in the business of serving too, you know?
17:49So she understands that she understands that. And so do I. And so, um, so I try to, I try to operate that, that way across the board.
17:57Yeah. And I'm sure people off and on the air, when you're done, ask you for your advice and ask you, you know, how have you done it?
18:06Like I'm talking about here. So what would be the best piece of advice that you would give to someone who is either starting out in the industry,
18:14whether they're a rapper, a podcaster, a singer, what advice would you give to them?
18:20I'm so sorry. I had my back to y'all this whole time over here. Sorry guys. Hello everyone.
18:27Um, tell me your question again. Sorry. I'm thinking about them.
18:30Right. No, you're again, you're in interview mode still. You're, you're, no, you come on.
18:34I know a producer when I see one, I know a producer.
18:37No, I'm just saying that I'm sure that advice. Yeah.
18:41The thing is, I think nothing's easy. And I think, I think everything is hard, right?
18:45Like, so whatever you choose, make sure you love it. Make sure it fills you up.
18:48Make sure you have something to offer.
18:51And it's crazy as I, I heard somebody say this on stage one time, they would perform.
18:55He was like a vocal coach teacher and he was telling his students and singers that who would get nervous.
19:00They were like, stop singing for yourself. Use your voice for everybody else.
19:05Think about how you, if you put your energy out and how you can serve and, and help other people.
19:10It really helps. It, it just really helps your purpose.
19:14And so I think find work that gives you purpose.
19:17And I think make sure that you love it because none of it is easy.
19:21Uh, there's ups and downs or whatever we choose in life.
19:23And so, so my advice is to find that thing.
19:26And if you have to pivot, if you, if you thought it was one thing your whole life and then it don't feel good no more,
19:32you might have to look at, you have to look at that.
19:34Yes. Okay. Um, and then just go block out the noise and go make a plan, learn your craft, be confident, know that you're put here for a reason and go.
19:47Yeah.
19:47Some of the best advice in that vein I've ever gotten is just to, to be consistent too, right?
19:52Just to consistently put out your art.
19:55Yes. If I would stop every time somebody said that was a bad idea or that didn't, every time, if I stopped every time something didn't work, I would have been gone years, years, years ago.
20:04You fall, you get back up.
20:06Something works, it doesn't work.
20:08You pivot, you keep going.
20:10The thing you can do is keep going. That's it.
20:12You can't control that you're up here all the time.
20:14You're never up here all the time.
20:15But if you just keep going and you keep going with purpose, uh, it'll be hopefully a good ride.
20:22Yeah.
20:22All right. And, and to close out here, um, I'm going to just geek out a little bit on y'all.
20:26So I was, I was reading an interview with you in Billboard magazine recently, and you said, I want to be the Angie Martinez that leaves something on the table.
20:36I just want to leave it all on the table.
20:38What?
20:38I said that?
20:39Yes. Okay.
20:40All of it?
20:40Oh, not, I have this quote written down, all of it.
20:45So what is it for you in this next phase that you want to leave on the table?
20:52I think I'm doing that now.
20:53I think, I think I'm probably at a point in my life, maybe, maybe because I'm a little older, because I've had some experiences, um, that I'm really being honest and present and not necessarily, um, so calculated all the time.
21:07Uh, and I think that allows you to deliver more organically, you know what I'm saying?
21:12So I think just sharing what I can, hopefully touching people, hopefully helping other people share their stories, because it's not just about me, really.
21:19It's, you know, I think one of the gifts that I've been given is to help people tell their stories.
21:24It's not necessarily about my story.
21:26Like, this is awkward to me, to be the one that's getting interviewed.
21:29Yeah.
21:30Uh, I don't think that this is necessarily my gift.
21:33I think my gift is probably helping other people tell their stories also.
21:36And so, the more I could do that, it, um, then I feel like I've, I've left something to hopefully touch people.
21:44And, and yeah, so that, I would say that.
21:46And, and just to keep going, man, and, and not be afraid.
21:51That's the work of service.
21:52Yeah, for sure.
21:53And that's what you are.
21:53For sure.
21:54And that's what you do.
21:55Thank you, my love.
21:56You're amazing.
21:56Thank you so much.
21:58Killed it.
21:58I love it.
21:59Thank you all so much.
22:01The Angie Martinez, y'all.
22:02All right, give her one more round of applause.
22:04Okay, thank you guys.
22:07Thank you all.
22:08Thank you so much.
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