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00:03What up, though?
00:04It is Leisha B. from the all-new Morning Rollout.
00:06And we are back with another Detroit Culture Shifters.
00:10And this one was nominated by our girl, Khadijah.
00:13And we got to say hello to Lauren McGreer.
00:16How you doing?
00:17I'm good.
00:17How are you?
00:18We're going to be talking about a lot,
00:19because you're a woman who does a lot of things.
00:22Not only are you a content creator, you're a mom.
00:24You're also the general manager of Elle Club.
00:27You got a busy weekend coming up.
00:28And you are also one of the co-founders for Girls in Sports.
00:32So we got lots of things to talk about.
00:33First of all, how are you doing?
00:35Do you feel like you are prepared for what you've got going on this weekend?
00:39How are you feeling?
00:41Well, we got an event Saturday, this Saturday.
00:46Today, we have Friday or Saturday.
00:49I can't remember.
00:51I live for every seven days.
00:53So I don't know anything past Saturday.
00:56I will reboot on Sunday.
00:57I know that's right.
00:59I feel like you can only do so much.
01:01And that's probably a lot better for your mental sanity to just compartmentalize.
01:05Okay.
01:06I know what I'm doing for the week.
01:07After that, don't ask me what I'm doing.
01:09I only plan for the week ahead.
01:11Anything two months down, a couple of little things sprinkled in.
01:15I know, but for the most part, because I have 200 events a year, week to week.
01:23Exactly.
01:23Okay.
01:23So for people who don't understand the role of a GM, specifically for the club scene, what
01:30does that entail for you?
01:31We make sure the business make money at the end of the day, but we're making sure that
01:36all parts move accordingly.
01:39So handling your accounting, handling your beverage, handling your production, um, security,
01:49and all of the people in between there are, we lead people that lead the, that assist in
01:55leading the business.
01:56And then we're that middleman between the employees and the owners.
02:03Owners.
02:03Right.
02:04So we're that, that voice on both ends.
02:06And then outside of that, as my, one of my biggest responsibilities as a general manager
02:11at a nightclub is making sure that everybody is safe.
02:15So that is, again, the employees, as well as the guests that are coming in to have a good
02:20time at night, that morning, whatever time they come in, I got to make sure that they are safe.
02:25So that's following city and state guidelines.
02:28That's making sure that my alarms are up to code.
02:32That's making sure the building is not falling apart because there are,
02:36I want to say annual inspections and they just make sure they come around and make sure that
02:40nothing is broken.
02:42Right.
02:42And that we are following things up to code.
02:44So I'm just that person that just, you balance a lot, um, but that's just the number one priority
02:53and making sure that people can have fun.
02:56Right.
02:56Like, is, but a safe fund.
02:58Yeah.
02:59100%.
03:00Just with the amount that you just shared for one job that you have, girl, I give you
03:04nothing but props.
03:05I understand why sometimes you're just like, a week is all I got mentally right now.
03:10A week is all I got.
03:10Cause you gotta, you gotta keep up with all these building standards while having an event every day.
03:15Making sure you have inventory and making sure that you got marketing and making sure you.
03:19Your hands in a lot of pots and it has to be top tier, essentially, because if one thing fails,
03:28that's a lot of other things that go down too.
03:30And I think a lot of times when people go to L club or any nightclub, they're not really
03:34understanding what goes into how they can essentially not think about what they're going through.
03:42And a lot of times people have those, um, dare I say, interesting moments when they're like,
03:49why are they telling me this? Or why can't I smoke? Why can't I do all this? And I feel
03:54like
03:54there is a reason why.
03:56There are laws. There are laws that mandate your fund.
04:00Yeah.
04:00There are laws that mandate your fund. You cannot smoke in any public, um, you cannot smoke weed
04:07or tobacco in any public establishment because it's illegal. Primarily weed, you can't smoke in
04:13an establishment unless the establishment has a license that allows you to smoke marijuana.
04:18But if a place has a liquor license, you cannot commingle the two. So when a police officer comes
04:24in and they smell weed or they see somebody passing a blunt, which people, any who, they try
04:30to get away with it. You cannot, they will, they will shut my, my event down. They will shut the
04:35club
04:35down.
04:36And that falls on your head.
04:37That falls. I'll get the ticket. I get the ticket. I got to pay it. I got to go to
04:42court.
04:43We ain't got time for that.
04:44I understand you want to have fun, but there are rules and regulations that we have to abide by.
04:48There are rules that mandate your fund. And then another, another one, a big one that I get
04:52complaints about is like reentry and people are like, Oh, well, this ain't no little season's
04:56arena. This ain't no, you can't reenter because it's a liability. I cannot allow you to go to your
05:01car and grab a smoke. I can't allow you to, or not to say you might be doing these things,
05:07but
05:07it's just a liability. Once I let you out of the building and come back in.
05:11And you can happen. So say you go to your car and you get high. So you go to your
05:14car and you get
05:15drunk. If, if something happens, once you leave my club, they coming back for me, they coming back
05:21for me. Why was this person drunk? Leave me your establishment. Why did you over pour them? Why
05:26did you over serve them? They got into an accident. They killed somebody. Yeah. That's right. Now it's
05:31your fault. No. Where'd you come from? That's why you can't reenter. You can't reenter because it's a
05:36liability. So those are the two things that like we get messed about. And it's just like,
05:40at the end of the day, I have to mandate, I have to mandate the fund. Like we just have
05:46to,
05:47so that one, I have a place of employment and the 20, 30 people behind me also have a place
05:52of
05:52employment. If we don't follow those rules, they can close my business. I just wanted you to share
05:56that real quick. Cause I feel like a lot of people just don't understand that. No, they don't. But
06:00let's take it further back into who Lauren is. What got you into the entertainment music industry
06:06as a whole? Cause I know that you've done more than just obviously the GM cause twerks and tequila
06:11has been a thing that people definitely have been talking about, but I know that you've done other
06:15things within the industry. So how did you get into entertainment in general? Well, ooh, that's a long,
06:23that's a long one. That's a windy one. We got time. Yeah, we got time. Okay. So I actually just
06:28talked about this on my YouTube. Okay. I talked about why I work in music, why I work in entertainment.
06:34It's really because throughout my adolescence, my mom and my, my parents in general just kept me
06:39around the arts. Um, my mom took me to this festival and I can't tell you what festival it was,
06:46but
06:46they were doing like this presentation about how everything is sound and you can make music out of
06:50anything. They called my little, I don't know, four or five year old tell up there to help make music
06:56with them. And I was up there having a ball. I can vividly remember this. I was having a ball.
07:02Once I got home that day, I'm still at home. Like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. And I, a year or
07:07two later,
07:08my mom put me in a performing arts school. I went from a Catholic school to a performing arts school.
07:13That's a crazy shit. So yeah. So I went to performing arts school and there they taught us violin,
07:19cello, um, vocal, um, visual art, drama, all of the good stuff. And all of our teachers were
07:26the cream of the crop people. Like they were people that toured, that had these awards that went to
07:31find schools to learn their craft. And they came back to an inner city school and taught this stuff
07:37to children. That's amazing.
07:38So from second to 12th grade, I'm amongst these people who are teaching us the way about
07:45day life and entertainment and the arts and all this good stuff. And I just so naturally had a draw
07:51to
07:53orchestra. And so I went from playing the violin for a couple of years to playing the cello.
07:57I played the cello from middle school to high school. And by high school, I was getting paid.
08:03I was getting paid. I was teaching at Wayne state in high school. I was teaching at Wayne state,
08:09little kids, how to play the violin and I would get paid for like weddings and church gigs and
08:16whatever. I was making money. Yeah. I was making money off music. So when it was time to graduate
08:22for whatever reason, I decided to, uh, I wanted to become a doctor. And when I went to Michigan state,
08:34and I walked past the blood bank, I was like, Oh no, this is not for me. So I had
08:38a phone call with
08:38a friend who, um, parents were big, big, big gospel people. And so they knew the industry since they
08:45were a child. And they were able to kind of tell me like, yeah, you kind of, it sounds like
08:48you want
08:48to go into management. Um, but you can also explore all these other things. Like once you get entertainment,
08:53you can kind of move around. Yeah. You can move and shake how you want to. So I was like,
08:57yo, like,
08:58okay, I'm in college. What do I study? And he was like, you don't really have to study anything.
09:01Cause nobody in the music industry or entertainment industry really has degrees.
09:05Not really. So I was like, okay, well, Ooh, I'll be an advantage for me. I have a degree.
09:11So, um, eventually I set it on settle on advertisement.
09:16And from there, I don't know. I just, my senior year of college, I started managing an artist
09:21named early Mac with a team of other people. And then we did that. I did that.
09:28I worked with Earl and Joe from, I don't know, from my senior year of college.
09:36Oh, it was, it was a nice little minute. And then Earl decided to kind of go the writer route.
09:43And I don't know, there was no room for me there. Right. And I took a second to,
09:50I was like, okay, I'm ready to make some real money. And so I worked a little job here and
09:55there.
09:55I managed a hair company for five seconds. And I was like, I want to get back into entertainment.
10:00So I quit the hair company. I was working at target. That wasn't nothing for me. So I was,
10:06I started to take odd jobs and I started to kind of like help people with their events.
10:13And it kind of became like me managing their events. And then I was like, I could do this
10:17better. And I started twerking tequila. Oh, that's right. And you did it. And I did,
10:22I did twerking tequila was, I thought I was going to be one and done. And for those who don't
10:27know,
10:28twerking tequila is my spin at a women's empowerment event. It's just a party where women shake ass,
10:33where they're allowed to shake ass freely. And my goal is for it to be fun and not in a
10:38sexual way,
10:38because twerking isn't sexual, but because black women do it, it's a sexual thing. Right. That's
10:44another topic for another day. So, um, I started twerking tequila. It was supposed to be this one
10:48and done thing. And after the first twerking tequila, one is sold out. It was crazy. They had to shut
10:57burner down. And I just remember like that next day, like having this very euphoric feeling within
11:05myself. And I was like, Oh, I have to do this again. And here we are eight years.
11:12I'm not about to write eight years. Like we took a break last year because mommying and trying to
11:16keep up with all the things was definitely taking a toll on me. And like I said, people got a
11:22problem
11:22with black women shaking their ass. So it's very, very hard for me to, um, garner sponsorships and
11:29stuff like that because you know, they don't want black women to have a good time, which is ridiculous.
11:32So I just got tired of the rejection and I just had to just focus on myself for a second,
11:40but twerking tequila is coming back. But all in all, that's, that's how
11:45me working in entertainment came about. Like it just was one thing after another.
11:48I tried PR, I tried artist management. I landed on, um, event production and curation for a nice
11:55little minute. And then my relationships with, uh, venues got me to the point where somebody was like,
12:00Hey, L club needs a general manager. I know you don't do this, but like, can you do it?
12:05And this was 2020. And I was like, okay, why not? And then like, when they called me,
12:11they was just like, here's what the job entails. Can you do it? And I'm like, well,
12:16you don't even know anything about me, but they gave me the job. And here I am five years later,
12:22still managing the plays and getting it done. I feel like that just your story in general is just
12:29a reminder that you can dibble and dabble in a lot of things and end up in a job that
12:34kind of
12:35film relates everything into one. I think that throughout your journey, like you just said, PR
12:39from managing an artist, you know how to communicate with artists when you need to bring them into the
12:44club, you know how to publicize the club and how to make the marketing work. And then also just your
12:50ability to talk to different people through different spaces, you're able to not only,
12:54you know, use that for your employees, but also again, the outside world and how to communicate
12:59with them. So what does it take to really cultivate and create the experience that you do? And I know
13:06that that's mostly your team, but like, how do you facilitate making sure that L club is authentically
13:12Detroit, but also, you know, branching off to other things. I think that what makes L club so special
13:17is that you, you guys talk about the, I don't want to say underground, but the people who are
13:22just about to blow. So what's that experience and how do you create that? You got to have a team
13:26of people that keep their ear to the street. And it's a lot of music venues that are just so
13:31corporate,
13:32like it's being, it's being bought out by these corporate entities. And it's like, y'all are only
13:37caring about corporate shit. And it's like that foster to a decent community, but it doesn't foster to
13:44every community. Yeah. And fun is one of those things that needs to be offered to every demographic
13:50and not every demographic is into the corporate as shit. Yeah. Sorry. So again, I just have a team
13:57of people that outside of me just have their ear to the street. They want to bring stuff to the
14:01club
14:02and we don't have a problem. And as long as you follow, you know, there are rules, right? There are
14:07rules. If you follow these rules, you know, if you are honest about the work that you do, then we
14:11can make
14:11it work. So, and then again, it's, it's definitely a risk, like not every local show or regional
14:18person that we might have in the club is, is going to be, I guess, um, profitable or successful, but
14:27that's not always the point. The point of us is making sure that we get the things in there
14:31to influence you that this is, this is cool. It's about to be cooler. Right. You, you was on the
14:36bandwagon before everybody else, right? Like I'm working with somebody now who I want to bring here.
14:40And there is, they're based out of New York. And I'm like, I don't know, we got to figure it
14:44out.
14:44You expensive. I don't know. But it's, I have my ear to the street, right? People got stuff going on
14:51in
14:51New York. I want to bring it to Detroit stuff going on in Ohio. You just got to keep your
14:55ear to the
14:55street. And then I just, when you, when you work in events in this magnitude where it's primarily concerts,
15:01you have to understand that not everything is going to be a win. Not everything is going to be a
15:06win.
15:07So we have to, again, we're people that influence the masses. Our little small stage will influence
15:14the masses. So we have to make sure that we're doing things that are influential. And so we have
15:18to take those risks, right? We have to put in a stuff that may not be the big win for
15:24the night,
15:25but we did it. Exactly. And a year later, they come back and they sold out. That happened with
15:30Skillababy. For real? That happened with Skillababy. 2021. Oh, I wouldn't have thought
15:38about that. 2021. Skillababy had a show at Elle Club. Maybe 50 people. Oh, wow. I'm gonna pull up
15:46the numbers. Skillababy had a show at Elle Club. Maybe 50 people a year, a year later in 2022. I
15:53was
15:54pregnant. I remember he sold out. Wow. You got to be on the bandwagon before everybody else. That's
16:00the point. And they might not get it, but you see it. Yeah. That's the point. So that's the point
16:06of Elle Club. That's the point of our room. We're here to influence people, influence the arts. So
16:12not everything is going to be a hit the first year. But that second year, they come back,
16:20sold out. That's the risk you take. I know that's right. And speaking of risks, I think that
16:23even outside of the entertainment industry, I think that just the idea of taking a risk
16:28and what you're saying is very poignant. So when those moments happen and you're like, oh, okay,
16:34that wasn't exactly the, the response or the hit that I want, how do you, what do you do? Or
16:41how,
16:41what do you take on so that you're not, you know, still stuck in that place? You're obviously
16:47accepting what happened, but you're not dwelling in what happened, if that makes sense.
16:50Um, I think cause I've been around for so long, you just get it. Yeah. It's like, I'm not,
16:55I got to move on to the next show again. I do 200 shows a year for the club. Right.
16:59And then
17:00I might have 50 side gigs outside of that. Like that's 250 shows out of 365 days a year.
17:07I don't, I got time. I'm a look at them numbers and say, okay,
17:12maybe not again. I got to move on. Like I don't have a, a heartfelt attachment to everything that
17:18doesn't do well. But again, everything for the most part, most of the stuff I do does well,
17:23you know? So, but speaking of, um, the other side hustles that you have inside things that you
17:29do, I wouldn't consider this aside, but girls in sports is you and Khadijah's baby. So can you
17:36explain what girls in sports is? Cause I think that the girls, especially right now with the way that
17:41us hockey came in and swole and the fact that we're getting, and we had a black woman on that
17:47team.
17:48Exactly. And that the fact that she's the first to ever play and then to medal. Yeah. So I just
17:54feel
17:54like we're in a renaissance or an insurgence, if you will. So can you explain what you and Khadijah are
17:59doing with girls in sports? So girls in sports is basically a community for women who either like
18:04sports or women who are interested in getting into sports. As I say all the time, Khadijah is the
18:09sports and I am the girls. Okay. Khadijah knows all these teams, their points that with the technical
18:16disc, I can't tell you any of that. I can tell you who Stefan Diggs is because he dated Cardi
18:23B.
18:23I know that's right. I'm just a girl again. Okay. But we, we host watch nights. We will occasionally
18:30go to some games for the most part. Most of our events have been free because funds should be
18:36affordable. So even in community building funds should be affordable. So we just make it as
18:42affordable as possible. Now. Yeah. We, when we get to this restaurant, you can go get your own food.
18:46Right. Okay. Or if we get a sponsor, we get a sponsor. We have had some situations where
18:50food has been sponsored, drink has been sponsored or the full experience has been sponsored. So,
18:56and it's only been a year. We've only been doing girls in sports for a year,
19:00year and a half maybe, but we've hosted boxing watch nights. And one of our first ones, we had a
19:07suite at
19:07LCA to see Clarissa Shields fight. Um, we just hosted another one at salt and cold,
19:12which was in Southfield and she won again. Okay. I don't know why people was doubting her.
19:18I don't know. She, she's two time gold medal. Has she ever lost? I don't think she has. She
19:25hasn't lost any of her matches. Right. No. Okay. Clarissa is a beast. And people be talking about how
19:31she crazy. She crazy. Did y'all watch that game? Did you see that game? She did all 10 rounds.
19:37Now,
19:37the lady she was fighting was, was putting them up too, but TT got tired. The one thing I took
19:43away
19:43from watching that, that match, I'm not supposed to say game. I'm going to say game. The one thing I
19:48took away from watching that, that match is Clarissa every round. She is, she is ready. She's ready.
19:57Whatever she does before. You are getting punched in your face, punched in your body. You boothering
20:02around the ring and you got energy? An hour later? How, what kind of endurance training do I got to
20:11do?
20:11Okay. Because, and I'm not saying this to be rude. So don't take this out of context,
20:16but you have to be delusional. And she kind of gives me that. She might be a little bit. You
20:20know,
20:21you got to be a little crazy. Yeah. Make it work because you're telling, like you said. But like
20:24she said, I can fight. Okay. She can fight. And if you want to say something about it,
20:28let's get into the ring and let's handle business. Let's fight. She said, I can fight.
20:32And she can. I see it. But I was, that really motivated. I don't know why seeing her like
20:40not tired, motivating me so much because I'm doing events every other day. I got to get up. I got
20:46to
20:47come home at midnight, be up at five, get a kid ready for school. Then I go straight to the
20:52gym.
20:53Wow. And I'm on for a couple hours, but I want to, I want to, I want to look that
20:57delusional.
20:58Okay. When I'm running around in an event, people, you, you good. You need no, I got it.
21:03That's why I got the endurance. That's why. And so I'm like, well, let me get more endurance.
21:08Okay. Whatever she's on. I want some. Okay. She be working out and eating good. Okay.
21:13So yeah. What has been like your favorite part about making these experiences for girls,
21:21whether they know sports or not? Just building community. Like,
21:27like I said, I don't know nothing about this stuff, but I get them on a whole bunch of girls
21:30that do.
21:31And sometimes when you go to like sporting events and it's all this, yeah, it can be intimidating
21:37because I don't know what's going on. I don't know what's happening. You get to ask questions.
21:42I'll be, I'll be, people be saying all these technical words and right in front of Khadijah
21:46or right in front of everybody, Khadijah, what that mean? I don't know. Oops, sorry.
21:49I don't know what that mean. Like, and she'll tell me and now I got a better understanding of
21:53this stuff or like, that's it. Like, um, you said, what was the most beneficial? What else?
22:02And just bringing people, I don't, I like bringing people together. So if that's for sports,
22:07if that's for dancing, if that's for concerts, then I'm just, I think I'm just fulfilling part
22:12of my life's purpose. Yeah. So as long as I got, you're a connector of fun. Yeah. I like that.
22:18I help build positive memories. That's what I feel like. I miss it. I got people who have
22:24met us working tequila that have been together for years, ready to marry. You know, I help somebody
22:29meet, meet their wife. I help somebody meet a business partner because the girls that come to
22:35the twerking tequila got shit going on. And it's girls that are interested in figuring out how to
22:40get shit going on. And then they meet this business woman that got shit going on. Now
22:44here's a new work relationship, you know? I love that. So it's just my responsibility. It's my,
22:50it's my, what's that word people be saying? You're calling. It's just the role that God gave me.
22:56That's right. God gave me again. He wanted me to bring people or he or she wanted me to bring
23:01people together, wanted it to be positive, wanted to be, um, memorable and I'm doing the work and it
23:09don't like, I can't, I can't like, of course I want to make $50 million off the work that I
23:15do,
23:16but I can't, I'm so happy where I'm at. That is so hard for me to go anywhere else. That's
23:23offering more
23:24or it's like, no, like I get to help emerge artists. I get to bring people in a room who
23:31have never performed before and they got this hit out now. And you know, or I get to bring a
23:37person to bring a person out who's been sitting at home for a couple months depressed and they
23:42came to a party and they had the best time of their life. Or maybe only five people came to
23:46a
23:46party that I had, but again, they still had the time of their life. Like those that's important
23:51because everything is so serious and fun is supposed to be light, heart, lighthearted and
23:58joyful. And there is not enough of that in the world. So if I can assist in that, some kind
24:03of
24:03way, amazing. I feel like that's what Detroit needs right now. I feel like we're so serious right now.
24:08And I understand that like, we need to be, there's a lot of things that need to get handled for
24:13sure.
24:14But where is those places where we could just like, okay, breathe, like, let me have fun for at least
24:18a few hours. My goodness. Like it can't just all be work, work, work, work, work, business,
24:23business, business all day. I mean, but they're not wrong. You got an economy where all of us were
24:27so, oh, go to college and life will be fruitful for you. And then we get out of college and
24:31can't
24:31get no job because the wealthy is hoarding the wealth. And it's like, well, what happened? Like,
24:38I went and got these degrees. I went and got all these credentials and I can't get a job. That's
24:42why
24:42people is just kind of like not good. Right. Y'all said that this was the path and this is
24:47clearly not the path. And we followed the path and it, this is not right. And then hell, you got
24:51a majority of black women are the highest educated demographic of people in, in, and we're the ones
24:57getting fired and the ones getting fired and let go. We're overqualified and underpaid. Okay.
25:05Are you one of the few GMs? Do you know that is a black woman? Like,
25:09do you happen to know that? In a concert space? Yeah. I've never met one. Don't know of any.
25:14I know that's right. If there are ones, we respect you for sure. Yeah. But we just don't know you
25:18at
25:18this point. And I even tried to like Google it, but I don't know. I can only imagine that you
25:25sitting in the positions that you're sitting are inspiring other people, not only in the
25:30entertainment business, but just as black women and people. So how do you move throughout your life,
25:36knowing that people are looking towards you, not only as a leader, but as someone who they admire?
25:43Well, that's, I'm very thankful that they admire me, but I mean, I want you to admire yourself.
25:49Admiring yourself is what's going to help get you to the next step. If that person don't want to
25:53give you the job, admire yourself to put the energy into yourself. And that's honestly what I did. I
25:58kept putting the energy into myself. Okay. This didn't work out. I'm a go. Okay. I believe in
26:03myself. I'm a throw a party. Yeah. Never had thrown a party in my life. And that's just what
26:09keeps happening. I keep believing in myself and I keep doing these things. So you already got that
26:13Clarissa delusion. And yeah, that's why I just need the endurance. I need the same kind of endurance as
26:18her, but I just, I don't know. That's, that's, did I ask you a question? No, you did. Okay. And
26:25with
26:25all of that, you're still doing even more things because we haven't even talked about the YouTube that you
26:29just nicely just threw in there real quick because connect with Lo is a whole thing. Yeah. I'm glad
26:34that you got that video out girl. So does that mean we, we back your business? We are, we're trying
26:40to be, I'm vlogging right now. Um, the goal is to do once a week, as long as I can,
26:45if that endurance
26:47is there. Right. Um, I'm really doing my best because I believe that I have a unique story to share
26:54and I'm sharing all parts of it. When it's good, when it's bad, when I get baby mama, when I
26:58have a
26:58baby in the midst of trying to figure out a career and I'm still doing that career with that baby.
27:04I know that's right. And yeah, like I think that so many of us or so we have influenced that
27:09like
27:09life is this linear path and that is perfect. And it's not. And I really hope that the people,
27:16the, the 573 people that are subscribed, that are subscribed to my YouTube channel are really picking
27:25up that I'm showing you the good, the bad, the ugly and my, um, and my journey to this
27:3350 million dollar income that I want to have. I feel like that's essentially what people did with
27:38Doshi. Like before Doshi was popping, she did that entire documentation of the, of her artist's way.
27:45Yep. And like that made her really popular. So, but she, what is she, she admired herself.
27:49Correct. Correct. She admired her. You, you gotta be delusional about you. And as an only child,
27:56I do have siblings, but in my household, I was the only child. And so that it's just a little
28:00natural that I'm self absorbed. Yeah. Okay. So you gotta be a little bit. Yeah. But you gotta
28:05believe in yourself. Even when people say it's not, it's not doable when people are winning the
28:10statistics day, this and that, blah, blah, blah. Believe me yourself because the world will move mountains
28:17for you. Literally. I've seen crazy stuff work for me. I, I went to college and I had a horrible
28:22ACT score and I graduated. Like you can't, you, I was self absorbed. I believed in myself. I didn't
28:28care about no, no exam. So. Because you have to, because who else is going to believe in you,
28:33if not yourself, no one is going to invest in you. If you are not investing in yourself. Like that
28:38doesn't make any sense. You're asking for other people to believe in you and you don't believe in
28:41yourself. That's crazy. Be delusional about you. So you have your hands in a lot of different
28:48pockets and I feel like there's probably some other things you want to dibble and dabble in.
28:52Is there any other like ventures or goals or things that you just would love to see happen
28:59in Detroit, whether you are the one to do them or not? I think our music scene is in a
29:03really,
29:03really good space right now coming from what it used to be to now. It's amazing. Like we have so
29:09many people that are blowing up that are signed. And so that's amazing to see when that wasn't,
29:14nobody even cared about Detroit music. I'll say six years ago, nobody cared. And now it's like
29:21that thing. So that's, that's beautiful to see. Um, I would love to see even more community. I would
29:28love to see it's very, we're still Detroiters are, especially if you're in the, in, in the
29:37entertainment scene. It's very dog eat dog. Like nobody is trying to share the wealth. Yeah. And
29:44it's like, you got to, that's what wealth is. Cause if you're sharing the wealth, there'd be more wealth
29:50for you and additional wealth for that person. So share it. So I would like to see more of that,
29:57more collaboration, more, um, just community, more fun. We ain't gotta be so serious. We are,
30:08I mean, our life do depend on this. Right. And that's, that's serious, but you can still have
30:13fun at the same time. Two things can be true. Yep. So just bigger community, bigger resources. And
30:19people need to get to Detroit. When I say people, I mean large corporations
30:23because we are the influencers. Okay. I was literally just talking to Jalen
30:28Rose about this the other day where he was talking about how
30:32Detroit has like influenced fashion and talking and how the industry moves and they don't get the
30:39recognition of it. Do you see black women in Detroit? Everybody is calling them cash dial curls.
30:45Oh my God. There's literally a wig on Tik Tok that is, that is cash dial or Detroit curls. Right.
30:51Detroit for real. We are the beauty capital. We was a beauty capital before the internet. Right.
30:58Come on. Then you got, nobody don't want to call us a fashion hub. Nobody want, we, we invented
31:03the soulful music. We are, we are, we are the culture sifters and it's like a RMB record or nothing
31:10don't pop until we say so. Okay. Until we put our little two step on it. So we, what's the
31:14little hustle
31:15we be doing? And now everybody lit. Everybody turns up. Like we really do. We really the ones.
31:20And I just think that the money you need to follow the way it should. It's like they give us,
31:26they
31:26sprinkle in a little money here and there and they'll give us the big dogs. Like you give LA,
31:29like you give Chicago to do these, uh, massive experiences. It's people here that can do the same
31:35shit. If not better. Give it to us. We want it. We want it now. Okay. Y'all, y'all
31:41want it.
31:42Everybody come here and they want to do this cool stuff, but it's like, they, they do this cool stuff
31:47and then they be gone. Like, no, they didn't ever come back. Give that curator that it, give that
31:51curator that, or that person who helps you and give them, um, a spot at your, in your offices.
31:57Right. So they can do that worldwide. Exactly. So a little stuff like that. No,
32:02I completely agree. And I feel like other people who are watching this agree too,
32:05but are you ready to play a little quick rapid fire? A little this or that? Okay. Okay.
32:11Are you more behind the scenes or are you in the front of the house? Where are you most comfortable?
32:15I love to be behind the scenes, but God tells me that I have to be in front of the
32:19scenes. No,
32:20I have to do what God said. Yeah. But I love it. I'm, I'm at my core. I'm kind of
32:25shy.
32:26And that's why I never pursued music the way I should have because I didn't want to get on stage.
32:31No, that's real though. I didn't want to. I was shy and I'm, I still be shy. Like,
32:35I don't want to public speak. Like this is doing great. This is nice. You know, it's one-on-one,
32:40but like a whole bunch of people, oh my God, my heart like will make me shut up. Like,
32:45so I'm, I'm very much a preferred behind the scenes, but God is like, get, get out there.
32:49So challenging you to push yourself. I like that. Okay. This might be hard,
32:54but twerk or tequila or a packed out night at L club?
32:56Twerk and tequila. Period. She said it wasn't hard at all actually. No. I mean, L club is nice.
33:01That's, that's both of my babies, but twerk and tequila is, twerk and tequila is born at L club.
33:07Right. So, but twerk and tequila is first. And even when I got my job, I said, Hey, I have
33:12a business.
33:12Okay. And y'all need to understand that. And they said, okay.
33:16And we need more people to understand that because I can still have my own thing while still accommodating
33:22for you. I shouldn't have to give up one for the other. And they said, okay. Cause I said,
33:27I wasn't stopping. I know that's right. What's your favorite night out of the week in Detroit?
33:34Maybe a Friday night. Okay. Cause on Saturday, I want to be very slow. If I don't got nothing to
33:39do,
33:40I want it to be a very, very slow day. I want to like get up without an alarm
33:45and go make me and the kid breakfast or go out for breakfast. I left me a little breakfast day.
33:49I love a brunch. I need the DC experience brunch to come up here. That's what I really need.
33:53And you know, every time I go to DC, I always leave on a Sunday and I miss it. But
33:57I hear that.
33:58It's like, why are you leaving on Sunday? Well, how are you, how are you going to miss brunch?
34:00Like when I go back home, come back with me. You from DC?
34:03Yes, girl. I'll take you to the spot. And then we need to bring it here.
34:07We need to infuse it. No, I tried, I tried to do a brunch, but brunches here to do them,
34:12ain't kind of expensive. And again, don't give me no money. And I'll be working out of pocket.
34:17Yeah. My pocket is only so big. They don't want us to have fun. I promise you. It'd be a
34:20time.
34:21Yeah. Oh, we'll figure it out. Okay. Mom life or nightlife? Mom life. I really, I go,
34:29I go out. I'm not a go out just to go out person. I go out to study. I go
34:34out to understand. I don't,
34:36I'm not fun out. If you take me out for a night out, I'm going to be the most boringest
34:40friend you,
34:41you can ever experience. Like, and I know that about myself. It is my truth. Like I'm, I,
34:47I do the fun, but I am not the fun. Coaches don't play. Okay. So I'm, I'm there to observe
34:54the DJ,
34:56observe the, the space deserve, uh, observe the sound, uh, they ingress, how they taking people in.
35:03I'm, I'm here to study all of that and to take that back in my mind and to figure out
35:07how to make
35:08sure that I'm just seeing what you're doing. Maybe make what I got going on better, but I'm not,
35:14I'm not a night out girl. I feel like I'm the same way. Obviously I'm not running L club or
35:19anything,
35:20but I feel like whenever I go to concerts or I go to like different events, I'm always
35:25looking at the host and the artists thinking, okay, okay, well, that sound isn't all the way there.
35:31That DJ, uh, transition was not heat, but like, okay, cool. Like, I feel like I'm so critical when
35:36everyone else is trying to be fun, but it's just what I do. It's my job. Look, if I go
35:41out of time
35:42with people and maybe want to go to the club, I'd be like, I will, I I'm, I'm here for
35:45the vacation,
35:45but when y'all go out, I would be at, I would be in the room. Okay. Cause that, cause
35:49it feel like
35:50work to me. Like, uh, if I'm in the mood to study what they got going on in Brazil that
35:56night.
35:57All right. But like, that doesn't sound like fun vacation to me. That's more work. It's gonna feel like
36:02work no matter. No. And I, I don't think people understand that, but I'm glad that you and I
36:07understand. Cause I always feel like people don't get me when I'm like, I don't want to go outside
36:11with y'all like that. Y'all know that's my job, right? Like I'd be outside from nine to five.
36:16That feels like work. That feels like work. I'm not going to the club with you
36:21unless I'm just here to see what's going on, but I don't, I don't really want to go to the
36:24club,
36:25sister. Exactly. And you have to be okay with that because regardless it's not going down. Yep.
36:29And last one I got for you, one rule, every guest should follow at any good event.
36:35Have a good time. Just have a good time. Don't have all these thoughts about what's going on. Like
36:41focus on what you got going on. People be going to the club, looking at, stop looking,
36:47hear that music, shake your ass, bob your head, get a drink, mind your business.
36:53Cause I'm sick of the wallflowers because we, what are you there standing looking for?
36:57Listen, at this point, we can save you sick of the wallflowers, but it's not,
37:02I'm not going to say it's a DJ's fault, but it's the, it's the music's fault. That music has not
37:06evolved to make people dance. We think about it right now. We go into the club,
37:13they playing the shit that we played in 2005, 2006. Yeah. To turn people up
37:18because that's the only music. That's the only music. The music that's coming out now is
37:23fucking depressing. Yeah. It's not fun. It does not. And this is not to be shade. It's just like,
37:29it's, it's music for what it is, but it is not music created to, to get people moving. And it's
37:34not for everyone to move. Yeah. Maybe it's for a small pocket, but not generational. We talking about
37:39blixing. Yeah. Like, bro, I don't want to like move. Your granny not going to turn up to that.
37:44Yeah. I want to move. Your mama not going to turn up to that. And so when you go to
37:47the club right now,
37:48all the music is old. Yeah. And it's not, it's not a DJ. And like, we can go to places
37:54where they
37:54play world music and blend that with hip hop sounds and all that good stuff. And that is nice. Right.
38:00But hip hop and rap has not evolved to a place that makes people want to dance. Unfortunately. And if
38:07you're not going to those world musics or those house musics or where they're blending that,
38:10you're not going to experience that. You're not going to experience it. You're going to go to a club
38:15where it's the new, the ghetto gospels. And it's going to be a whole bunch of people standing around
38:20because it's just not music created to make people dance. We need music to move to. It's music to
38:26make people stunt. Yeah. And like, I can, I can stunt, but I want to, I want to move. Right.
38:33And I'm not a dancer, but I want to. There are just songs that everyone will immediately be like,
38:38oh, and that's what I need again. Back that thing up. Came out in the nineties.
38:43Still running the streets. Still. Still to this day. Juvie is always in somebody household or
38:50somebody event being played. That's what I'm saying. So music just has to evolve in a different
38:58way. And now is the time. Please make people dance. Please, please. Well, Lauren, I appreciate
39:04you for being here, but we can't end off without you nominating the next Detroit culture shifter.
39:11So clearly you are shifting the culture so much so that you got nominated yourself.
39:14So who is someone that you think is changing the culture and shifting it in the right direction
39:18here in Detroit? My best friend, Giovanni Foster. She is not a public person, but she is from Detroit,
39:26but she is a assistant assistant principal in the Allen Park school districts for like high school
39:31students and the only black woman in the district. I know that's right. And she needs to share her
39:36story more. We going to be talking to her soon. Giovanni, I'm going to call you.
39:41She needs to make a wire. I'm going to figure it out for her. And then share your socials so
39:45that we
39:46can follow you and stay up to date with what you've got going on. And of course, what L club's
39:50got going
39:50on too. So my socials are connect with L C O N E T W I T H L O.
39:56That's on Instagram, YouTube,
39:57and Tik Tok. They might have some underscores up in there, but this is what you'll find her.
40:03This, this starts connect with L O and then there's twerk x tequila, T W E R K X tequila,
40:08however you spell that. Um, on also Instagram and Tik Tok and yeah, L club. That's my, my baby too.
40:18L club, Instagram, Tik Tok. Yeah. And our website is L club Detroit.com. So you can check out all
40:25of our
40:26shows. Um, girls and sports is G R L S dot sports. And yeah, that's all of the things.
40:34The Jane of all trades. Give it up for Lauren McGrill. Thank you.
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