1 00:00:01,233 --> 00:00:10,733 ♪♪ 2 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,566 -Hello. I'm Audra McDonald, and welcome to "In the Making," 3 00:00:31,566 --> 00:00:33,633 a new series of documentary films 4 00:00:33,633 --> 00:00:36,400 on emerging cultural icons. 5 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,333 I remember my first time standing on a Broadway stage. 6 00:00:39,333 --> 00:00:42,766 The lights felt too bright, the audience too far away, 7 00:00:42,766 --> 00:00:44,366 my stomach in knots. 8 00:00:44,366 --> 00:00:46,233 But when the first note came out, 9 00:00:46,233 --> 00:00:49,100 the nerves faded away, and I felt the energy 10 00:00:49,100 --> 00:00:50,833 of not only those in the room, 11 00:00:50,833 --> 00:00:54,266 but those who had stood on the stage before me. 12 00:00:54,266 --> 00:00:56,900 This series offers a behind-the-scenes look 13 00:00:56,900 --> 00:00:59,466 at tomorrow's masters in the making. 14 00:00:59,466 --> 00:01:03,200 Like me, these artists have inherited rich cultural legacies 15 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,600 and are now reimagining them on stage. 16 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,900 Two women redefining their craft are J'Nai Bridges 17 00:01:09,900 --> 00:01:11,566 and Rissi Palmer. 18 00:01:11,566 --> 00:01:13,900 Country music sensation Rissi Palmer 19 00:01:13,900 --> 00:01:16,333 has performed on the Grand Ole Opry stage, 20 00:01:16,333 --> 00:01:19,933 but she has had to kick down a lot of doors to get there. 21 00:01:19,933 --> 00:01:25,066 -♪ Like a natural one, I'm built to stay, hey ♪ 22 00:01:25,066 --> 00:01:28,600 -Through her resilience as a singer, songwriter, and mother, 23 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,166 and by lifting up other country musicians of color, 24 00:01:31,166 --> 00:01:33,833 Palmer has charted her own path to success 25 00:01:33,833 --> 00:01:35,400 on the international stage. 26 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,333 On the opera stage, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges 27 00:01:39,333 --> 00:01:41,866 had just achieved a major milestone, 28 00:01:41,866 --> 00:01:44,766 a debut performance at the Metropolitan Opera, 29 00:01:44,766 --> 00:01:48,400 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut our stages down. 30 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,100 -[ Singing opera ] 31 00:01:51,100 --> 00:01:54,733 -But as the world also reckoned with the death of George Floyd, 32 00:01:54,733 --> 00:01:56,700 J'Nai Bridges reemerged 33 00:01:56,700 --> 00:01:59,400 as one of the most significant voices in opera, 34 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,600 singing truth to power with a formidable new work. 35 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,933 Two women who are masters in the making, 36 00:02:06,933 --> 00:02:09,366 breaking barriers and opening doors 37 00:02:09,366 --> 00:02:12,766 for other artists not only here, in America, 38 00:02:12,766 --> 00:02:14,166 but around the world. 39 00:02:14,166 --> 00:02:17,333 This is "In the Making." 40 00:02:17,333 --> 00:02:20,400 ♪♪ 41 00:02:23,466 --> 00:02:27,133 ♪♪ 42 00:02:27,133 --> 00:02:29,800 [ Line ringing ] 43 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:35,666 ♪♪ 44 00:02:35,666 --> 00:02:37,166 -Hello. 45 00:02:37,166 --> 00:02:39,700 -You ready? You ready? 46 00:02:39,700 --> 00:02:42,233 -I'm ready. I'm about to go on in about six minutes, 47 00:02:42,233 --> 00:02:45,500 so I just wanted to call you and say I'm ready. 48 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:48,066 -I love that look. Oh, wow! 49 00:02:48,066 --> 00:02:50,100 -Yeah, I've not worn this one.  -Let me see it again. 50 00:02:50,100 --> 00:02:53,166 Move back. Oh, my goodness. 51 00:02:53,166 --> 00:02:56,000 Look at that pink. Your pink lips. 52 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:57,066 -[ Laughs ] 53 00:02:57,066 --> 00:02:59,700 -You are fabulous! 54 00:02:59,700 --> 00:03:00,800 -Thank you! 55 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:02,833 I needed to hear it from my mama. 56 00:03:02,833 --> 00:03:04,566 -Did you do your makeup? 57 00:03:04,566 --> 00:03:06,100 -Mm-hmm. 58 00:03:06,100 --> 00:03:08,800 -You did that pink? That pink is gorgeous. 59 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:10,733 -Thank you. I actually have to go. 60 00:03:10,733 --> 00:03:12,500 I gotta go. They're knocking. 61 00:03:12,500 --> 00:03:15,033 -All right, go. Love you! You look gorgeous! 62 00:03:15,033 --> 00:03:17,000 -Thank you. Love you, too. 63 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:18,233 Say a prayer for me. 64 00:03:18,233 --> 00:03:25,000 ♪♪ 65 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,600 -Good afternoon, everybody. 66 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:31,100 -[ Vocalizing ] 67 00:03:31,100 --> 00:03:34,833 -My pleasure to welcome you to this exciting event. 68 00:03:36,733 --> 00:03:40,766 Those of you who may have been on another planet recently, 69 00:03:40,766 --> 00:03:43,033 J'Nai won a Grammy a week ago. 70 00:03:43,033 --> 00:03:46,166 [ Cheers and applause ] 71 00:03:50,466 --> 00:03:55,600 And now it's my great pleasure to introduce J'Nai Bridges. 72 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,833 [ Applause ] 73 00:04:00,333 --> 00:04:02,633 [ Cheers and applause ] 74 00:04:02,633 --> 00:04:13,666 ♪♪ 75 00:04:13,666 --> 00:04:16,366 -To a lover of the opera, there is nothing more glamorous 76 00:04:16,366 --> 00:04:18,433 or exciting than the opening of the Met. 77 00:04:18,433 --> 00:04:20,500 The glitter of the upper strata of society 78 00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:22,833 as they dismount from their shiny black chariots, 79 00:04:22,833 --> 00:04:24,666 sometimes known as limousines, 80 00:04:24,666 --> 00:04:26,166 adds to the air of the electricity 81 00:04:26,166 --> 00:04:30,133 that surrounds a formal opening night of grand opera. 82 00:04:30,133 --> 00:04:32,433 -[ Singing note ] 83 00:04:32,433 --> 00:04:35,600 It's really an exciting time in opera. 84 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:40,533 There are a lot of new works being done by new voices, 85 00:04:40,533 --> 00:04:45,933 especially that are not afraid to tackle difficult subjects. 86 00:04:45,933 --> 00:04:49,200 And a lot of our stories have been silenced. 87 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,033 -♪ It's not the same ♪ 88 00:04:51,033 --> 00:04:53,233 -There are many Black opera singers 89 00:04:53,233 --> 00:04:55,133 and opera singers of color out there, 90 00:04:55,133 --> 00:04:58,800 and it's a matter of creating space. 91 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:03,900 ♪♪ 92 00:05:14,833 --> 00:05:16,600 [ Water running ] 93 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,900 [ Vocalizing ] 94 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,566 Opera's incredible. 95 00:05:30,566 --> 00:05:33,300 It's a culmination of 96 00:05:33,300 --> 00:05:37,333 every emotion being expressed 97 00:05:37,333 --> 00:05:42,533 and poured out [chuckles] through the unamplified voice. 98 00:05:42,533 --> 00:05:45,800 For me, it's my best way of communication. 99 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,533 [ Water bubbling, Bridges vocalizing ] 100 00:05:50,766 --> 00:05:52,866 Mm. -It didn't -- It didn't quite 101 00:05:52,866 --> 00:05:54,966 get to the -- ♪ Mmm ♪ -- didn't get to the small spot. 102 00:05:54,966 --> 00:05:57,733 [ Water bubbling, Bridges vocalizing ] 103 00:05:57,733 --> 00:05:59,533 Just go -- Just go back and forth, invert the... 104 00:05:59,533 --> 00:06:01,733 ♪ Oooh ♪ 105 00:06:01,733 --> 00:06:04,366 [ Water bubbling, Bridges vocalizing ] 106 00:06:04,366 --> 00:06:07,166 [ Singing in foreign language ] 107 00:06:14,366 --> 00:06:15,733 -You know what actually works? I think -- 108 00:06:15,733 --> 00:06:18,100 'cause you seemed like you had lot of breath left, 109 00:06:18,100 --> 00:06:20,000 and it was the rapidity of the breath in the 16th... 110 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:21,433 -Totally. 111 00:06:21,433 --> 00:06:23,733 -[ Playing piano ] 112 00:06:23,733 --> 00:06:26,133 -[ Singing in foreign language ] 113 00:06:26,133 --> 00:06:36,266 ♪♪ 114 00:06:36,266 --> 00:06:40,766 Singing a full opera, which can last anywhere from two hours, 115 00:06:40,766 --> 00:06:42,866 an hour and a half -- which is on the shorter side -- 116 00:06:42,866 --> 00:06:47,466 up to six hours, if you're singing Wagner, for instance, 117 00:06:47,466 --> 00:06:50,266 it is much like running a marathon. 118 00:06:52,300 --> 00:06:54,333 -I'm sorry... -Yep. 119 00:06:54,333 --> 00:06:55,500 That's why I brought that down here. 120 00:06:55,500 --> 00:06:58,633 -[ Vocalizing ] 121 00:06:58,633 --> 00:07:00,566 -[ Vocalizing ] -Yeah! 122 00:07:00,566 --> 00:07:02,233 -That's it. -[ Vocalizing ] 123 00:07:02,233 --> 00:07:03,800 The piano liked it, too, eh? [ Laughs ] 124 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:05,466 -Yeah, I heard that. 125 00:07:05,466 --> 00:07:07,500 I make ugly noises in the practice room, 126 00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:10,766 finding what works best with my instrument, 127 00:07:10,766 --> 00:07:12,866 with my body, my voice. 128 00:07:12,866 --> 00:07:15,433 [ Singing in foreign language ] 129 00:07:15,433 --> 00:07:16,966 When you get out on the stage, 130 00:07:16,966 --> 00:07:21,466 the goal is for all of that work to come into play 131 00:07:21,466 --> 00:07:24,033 and the audience just never know. 132 00:07:24,033 --> 00:07:25,600 [ Laughs ] 133 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:26,933 Ah! 134 00:07:26,933 --> 00:07:28,566 -But this was -- -I know. 135 00:07:28,566 --> 00:07:29,733 -That's okay. -I tried. 136 00:07:29,733 --> 00:07:32,466 -An oak barrel, the slats bursting... 137 00:07:32,466 --> 00:07:33,633 -Yeah. Ah! 138 00:07:33,633 --> 00:07:35,066 -...because the water is so much, the slats -- 139 00:07:35,066 --> 00:07:36,466 you see the slats stretching... -Yes. 140 00:07:36,466 --> 00:07:38,100 -[ Vocalizing ] 141 00:07:38,100 --> 00:07:40,433 -The human voice is very internal. 142 00:07:40,433 --> 00:07:42,966 Sometimes that can actually be frustrating [chuckles] 143 00:07:42,966 --> 00:07:45,333 because you can't see what's going on in there. 144 00:07:45,333 --> 00:07:47,266 It's all based on feeling. 145 00:07:47,266 --> 00:07:49,600 -You wanna try it without a breath and just be like... 146 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:50,633 -Let's try it. -...I'm going, I'm going, 147 00:07:50,633 --> 00:07:51,966 I'm going, right there? 148 00:07:51,966 --> 00:07:53,133 And... 149 00:07:53,133 --> 00:07:56,333 -[ Singing in foreign language ] 150 00:07:56,333 --> 00:08:00,966 ♪♪ 151 00:08:00,966 --> 00:08:03,033 -One thing taking away the breath has the advantage 152 00:08:03,033 --> 00:08:05,600 of doing is it prevents you from overblowing. 153 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,933 -Your emotional state affects the voice. 154 00:08:07,933 --> 00:08:10,400 What you put into your body affects the voice, 155 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,166 your daily lifestyle. 156 00:08:13,166 --> 00:08:16,133 So it's a very [chuckles] sensitive 157 00:08:16,133 --> 00:08:18,300 and demanding instrument. 158 00:08:18,300 --> 00:08:24,133 Everything that I do revolves around these two little cords. 159 00:08:24,133 --> 00:08:27,900 It's a very peculiar existence, [laughs] I would say. 160 00:08:42,366 --> 00:08:44,266 People always ask me, 161 00:08:44,266 --> 00:08:45,933 "What do you do after you wear a gown?" 162 00:08:45,933 --> 00:08:49,100 And they're here. [ Laughs ] 163 00:08:49,100 --> 00:08:51,866 I actually wanted to sell some 164 00:08:51,866 --> 00:08:55,133 and give away a few, and I -- I still might. 165 00:08:55,133 --> 00:08:58,333 Um, but my mom is so funny, and she's like, 166 00:08:58,333 --> 00:09:01,433 "No, we have to save every gown for the archives 167 00:09:01,433 --> 00:09:03,100 one day when you have your museum." 168 00:09:03,100 --> 00:09:07,433 So my mom thinks big, [laughs] and I appreciate it. 169 00:09:07,433 --> 00:09:10,366 So, yeah, these are, I mean, all of my gowns, 170 00:09:10,366 --> 00:09:14,933 and I can think of every performance where I wore them, 171 00:09:14,933 --> 00:09:17,133 and it brings back memories, 172 00:09:17,133 --> 00:09:20,133 and actually sometimes it's very emotional. 173 00:09:20,133 --> 00:09:26,933 ♪♪ 174 00:09:26,933 --> 00:09:31,033 Singing has always been integral in my life. 175 00:09:31,033 --> 00:09:32,466 From a very young age, 176 00:09:32,466 --> 00:09:36,066 I can remember Motown in my ears. 177 00:09:36,066 --> 00:09:40,433 [ Laughs ] My parents -- they are Motown lovers. 178 00:09:40,433 --> 00:09:42,233 I'm from Lakewood, Washington, 179 00:09:42,233 --> 00:09:44,766 about 45 minutes south of Seattle. 180 00:09:44,766 --> 00:09:47,266 Two parents, three siblings. 181 00:09:47,266 --> 00:09:48,900 I fall somewhat in the middle. 182 00:09:48,900 --> 00:09:51,033 I'm the third child, so I definitely kind of 183 00:09:51,033 --> 00:09:53,966 had middle-child syndrome. [ Laughs ] 184 00:09:53,966 --> 00:09:56,900 My mother is a great appreciator of music, 185 00:09:56,900 --> 00:10:01,300 but my dad -- I would say I get my musical genes from him. 186 00:10:01,300 --> 00:10:04,266 He sings in the church choir actually to this day. 187 00:10:04,266 --> 00:10:06,533 [ Choir singing ] 188 00:10:06,533 --> 00:10:08,400 I grew up in the AME denomination, 189 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,100 African Methodist Episcopal, 190 00:10:11,100 --> 00:10:16,766 and hymns are a huge part of the service. 191 00:10:16,766 --> 00:10:19,866 And hymns are actually very operatic. 192 00:10:19,866 --> 00:10:23,233 So this classical sound was always in my ear 193 00:10:23,233 --> 00:10:25,533 from a very young age. 194 00:10:29,766 --> 00:10:31,700 My first introduction to opera 195 00:10:31,700 --> 00:10:34,533 was actually through my late godfather, 196 00:10:34,533 --> 00:10:36,833 Dr. Edward Williams, and he used to play 197 00:10:36,833 --> 00:10:40,333 classical music all the time in his car. 198 00:10:40,333 --> 00:10:47,433 And I didn't really know what it was that I was listening to, 199 00:10:47,433 --> 00:10:51,166 but I knew it was out of this world, unearthly. 200 00:10:51,166 --> 00:10:57,866 -♪ Ave Maria ♪ 201 00:10:59,933 --> 00:11:02,833 -He took me to my first opera at Seattle Opera. 202 00:11:02,833 --> 00:11:05,133 I was very young. 203 00:11:05,133 --> 00:11:07,200 I sort of don't remember the details, 204 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:11,100 but I remember feeling like I was in a different world. 205 00:11:11,100 --> 00:11:13,533 And I remember just thinking about it, 206 00:11:13,533 --> 00:11:16,600 thinking about this feeling 207 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:18,933 that felt really magical. 208 00:11:18,933 --> 00:11:25,033 -[ Vocalizing ] 209 00:11:25,033 --> 00:11:29,366 ♪♪ 210 00:11:29,366 --> 00:11:33,333 -♪ L'amour est un oiseau rebelle  ♪ 211 00:11:33,333 --> 00:11:37,133 ♪ Que nul ne peut apprivoiser  ♪ 212 00:11:37,133 --> 00:11:40,866 ♪ Et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle  ♪ 213 00:11:40,866 --> 00:11:44,900 ♪ S'il lui convient de refuser  ♪ 214 00:11:44,900 --> 00:11:48,600 ♪ Rien n'y fait menace ou prière  ♪ 215 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,900 ♪ L'un parle bien l'autre se tait  ♪ 216 00:11:52,900 --> 00:11:56,600 ♪ Et c'est l'autre que je préfère  217 00:11:52,900 --> 00:11:56,600 ♪ 218 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:01,600 ♪ Il n'a rien dit mais il me plaît  ♪ 219 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,000 I can remember wanting to sing "Carmen" 220 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,266 since I took my very first voice lesson. 221 00:12:06,266 --> 00:12:07,666 [ Chuckles ] 222 00:12:07,666 --> 00:12:12,000 And it's now one of the staple roles in my repertoire. 223 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,033 [ Singing in French ] 224 00:12:16,033 --> 00:12:18,066 I couldn't have done this 10 years ago 225 00:12:18,066 --> 00:12:22,866 because it's a very vocally demanding role. 226 00:12:22,866 --> 00:12:24,900 Also characteristically, it's quite demanding. 227 00:12:24,900 --> 00:12:27,333 I didn't have enough life in me yet. [ Chuckles ] 228 00:12:27,333 --> 00:12:31,300 ♪ Si je t'aime prends garde à toi  ♪ 229 00:12:31,300 --> 00:12:33,533 -♪ L'amour! L'amour!  ♪ 230 00:12:33,533 --> 00:12:38,466 ♪ Si tu ne m'aimes pas, si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime  ♪ 231 00:12:38,466 --> 00:12:40,033 Now I'm at a point where I can sing "Carmen" 232 00:12:40,033 --> 00:12:41,200 and it's like, yes! 233 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,500 I finally reached, you know, this point. 234 00:12:43,500 --> 00:12:47,766 So it's exciting, evolving into this new dramatic repertoire 235 00:12:47,766 --> 00:12:51,900 and unlocking new places and new doors in my voice. 236 00:12:52,933 --> 00:12:56,866 [ Singing in foreign language ] 237 00:12:56,866 --> 00:12:59,366 -This really historic production here -- 238 00:12:59,366 --> 00:13:02,533 It's so beautiful to behold this marriage 239 00:13:02,533 --> 00:13:04,733 of this staging and this music. 240 00:13:04,733 --> 00:13:08,800 -I am channeling every queen with this role. 241 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,700 Nefertiti was a big icon in my household. 242 00:13:14,133 --> 00:13:15,366 [ Singing in foreign language ] 243 00:13:15,366 --> 00:13:19,133 And so making my Met debut in this iconic role 244 00:13:19,133 --> 00:13:21,500 feels really just so right. 245 00:13:21,500 --> 00:13:24,133 -Some people referred to you as the Beyoncé of opera, 246 00:13:24,133 --> 00:13:26,733 playing a legendary queen, but to be sure, 247 00:13:26,733 --> 00:13:29,566 there is no other J'Nai Bridges. I mean, you don't need a -- 248 00:13:29,566 --> 00:13:32,066 you don't need another title, as well. 249 00:13:32,066 --> 00:13:34,666 -I'd just made my Metropolitan Opera debut. 250 00:13:34,666 --> 00:13:36,766 I sang the role of Queen Nefertiti 251 00:13:36,766 --> 00:13:38,966 in Philip Glass' "Akhnaten." 252 00:13:38,966 --> 00:13:42,433 I was in the middle of a run at Washington National Opera 253 00:13:42,433 --> 00:13:44,966 singing one of my favorite roles, 254 00:13:44,966 --> 00:13:47,266 Delilah in "Samson & Delilah," 255 00:13:47,266 --> 00:13:50,366 in a beautiful new production. 256 00:13:50,366 --> 00:13:54,666 We were three shows in, and we had to cancel. 257 00:13:54,666 --> 00:14:03,400 ♪♪ 258 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:07,700 2020 was catastrophic [chuckles] 259 00:14:07,700 --> 00:14:09,700 on so many levels. 260 00:14:09,700 --> 00:14:13,566 And it was just cancellation after cancellation. 261 00:14:13,566 --> 00:14:16,233 Financially, it was a huge hit. 262 00:14:16,233 --> 00:14:19,566 Every artist immediately felt it. 263 00:14:19,566 --> 00:14:23,666 And then I just got really depressed 264 00:14:23,666 --> 00:14:28,633 because this thing was not ending. 265 00:14:28,633 --> 00:14:30,500 And the murder of George Floyd... 266 00:14:33,700 --> 00:14:35,333 I just felt... 267 00:14:36,900 --> 00:14:38,133 Mm. 268 00:14:38,133 --> 00:14:40,466 I felt hopeless, if I'm honest. 269 00:14:40,466 --> 00:14:42,366 And I felt like, what am I doing? 270 00:14:42,366 --> 00:14:46,833 Like, what -- I even questioned singing. 271 00:14:46,833 --> 00:14:49,466 ♪♪ 272 00:14:49,466 --> 00:14:52,166 [ Cheers and applause ] 273 00:14:54,733 --> 00:14:59,166 -Genius -- Genius draws no color line. 274 00:14:59,166 --> 00:15:01,666 Ms. Marian Anderson. 275 00:15:01,666 --> 00:15:07,433 -♪ My country 'tis of thee ♪ 276 00:15:07,433 --> 00:15:11,566 ♪ Sweet land of liberty ♪ 277 00:15:11,566 --> 00:15:13,666 -I think of the shoulders I stand upon... 278 00:15:16,033 --> 00:15:20,533 ...all of the African American opera singers 279 00:15:20,533 --> 00:15:23,966 that went through so much adversity 280 00:15:23,966 --> 00:15:28,433 and brought so many audiences joy and hope 281 00:15:28,433 --> 00:15:32,833 and audiences that didn't like them. 282 00:15:32,833 --> 00:15:37,533 Yet they were able to break through those barriers 283 00:15:37,533 --> 00:15:39,700 and use their voice. 284 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:42,866 -[ Singing in French ] 285 00:15:42,866 --> 00:15:46,433 -Denyce Graves -- 286 00:15:46,433 --> 00:15:49,666 [exhales] Denyce Graves really exposed me 287 00:15:49,666 --> 00:15:51,733 to the idea that as a Black woman, 288 00:15:51,733 --> 00:15:53,600 being an opera singer is possible. 289 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:56,733 -♪ Prends garde a toi  ♪ 290 00:15:56,733 --> 00:15:58,800 -It blew my mind. [ Chuckles ] 291 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,566 -[ Sings in French ] 292 00:16:01,566 --> 00:16:02,833 -♪ Prends garde a toi  ♪ 293 00:16:02,833 --> 00:16:05,233 -There are many that came before her. 294 00:16:05,233 --> 00:16:08,766 I stand on their shoulders, as well. 295 00:16:08,766 --> 00:16:10,333 Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, 296 00:16:10,333 --> 00:16:11,966 Kathleen Battle, Florence Quivar. 297 00:16:11,966 --> 00:16:15,300 Simon Estes, Shirley Verrett, George Shirley. 298 00:16:15,300 --> 00:16:18,200 I mean the list goes on and on. 299 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,900 I channel all of them. 300 00:16:21,900 --> 00:16:26,233 So when I think of, you know, giving up -- 301 00:16:26,233 --> 00:16:29,533 it happens rarely, but it does happen [chuckles] -- 302 00:16:29,533 --> 00:16:32,433 I think of what they've gone through 303 00:16:32,433 --> 00:16:36,500 and what roads they've paved and mapped 304 00:16:36,500 --> 00:16:39,300 and what doors they've opened 305 00:16:39,300 --> 00:16:42,166 so that I can be here today doing what I love. 306 00:16:58,533 --> 00:17:00,466 [ Plays note ] 307 00:17:11,166 --> 00:17:21,433 ♪ This is my commandment ♪ 308 00:17:33,166 --> 00:17:37,166 "A Knee on the Neck" is a large choral work 309 00:17:37,166 --> 00:17:40,466 surrounding the life of George Floyd 310 00:17:40,466 --> 00:17:43,633 and others lost on account of police brutality. 311 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,700 The piece was written by Adolphus Hailstork... 312 00:17:51,700 --> 00:17:54,000 -They could form a more perfect union. 313 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,266 ...with the libretto by Dr. Herbert Martin. 314 00:17:56,266 --> 00:17:58,400 -It was the underpinning of that horror 315 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,166 that I was watching being televised. 316 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,000 -♪ Moment, moment ♪ 317 00:18:11,866 --> 00:18:13,566 Hmm. 318 00:18:13,566 --> 00:18:15,500 It's hard. There were times when I was learning the piece 319 00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:18,733 where I just had to, like, stop singing and cry. 320 00:18:18,733 --> 00:18:21,300 -Should we do four measures? 95? 321 00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:22,600 Two, three, and.. 322 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,566 [ Vocalizing ] 323 00:18:26,566 --> 00:18:29,300 -♪ This ♪ 324 00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:43,733 ♪ This is my commandment ♪ 325 00:18:45,666 --> 00:18:48,133 ♪ Oh, they ♪ 326 00:18:48,133 --> 00:18:49,166 -Yeah, okay, good. 327 00:18:49,166 --> 00:18:51,500 Yeah, so let's go back 328 00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:52,966 so we were a little bit more together. 329 00:18:52,966 --> 00:18:53,966 -Okay. 330 00:18:53,966 --> 00:18:56,533 ♪ This ♪ 331 00:18:56,533 --> 00:18:58,266 ♪ This is ♪ -So yeah. Yeah, so get -- 332 00:18:58,266 --> 00:18:59,566 Yeah, get off of "this" on three. 333 00:18:59,566 --> 00:19:00,800 -Oh, yeah, sorry. 334 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:02,733 ♪ This ♪ 335 00:19:02,733 --> 00:19:05,033 ♪ This is my comma-- ♪ 336 00:19:05,033 --> 00:19:07,200 -Yeah. My, two -- 337 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:09,366 -♪ Command ♪ -♪ Commandment ♪ 338 00:19:09,366 --> 00:19:10,766 -Ay, yi. Okay. I -- 339 00:19:10,766 --> 00:19:12,266 -Well, let's just take a look at the beginning. 340 00:19:12,266 --> 00:19:14,700 -Okay. That's why we rehearse. 341 00:19:14,700 --> 00:19:16,800 -By the way, your voice is beautiful. 342 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:18,633 -Oh. Oh, thank you. -[ Laughs ] 343 00:19:18,633 --> 00:19:21,466 I mean, I've heard it on, you know, media and stuff, but -- 344 00:19:21,466 --> 00:19:23,633 -Wow. Thank you, Maestro. 345 00:19:23,633 --> 00:19:25,633 I think I will stand. 346 00:19:25,633 --> 00:19:27,600 -If you ever wanna do anything again, let me know. 347 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,166 -I feel like I messed up so many times, I got it now. 348 00:19:30,166 --> 00:19:33,433 -Okay. So let's go, "in the jail." 349 00:19:33,433 --> 00:19:39,366 -♪ In the jail I do not know what I will find ♪ 350 00:19:39,366 --> 00:19:42,233 ♪ This ♪ 351 00:19:42,233 --> 00:19:44,700 -Yeah, yeah, yeah, but -- but tempo slowly. 352 00:19:44,700 --> 00:19:47,766 [ Both vocalizing ] 353 00:19:47,766 --> 00:19:49,000 -Oh, I'm rushing it. -Yeah, yeah, yeah. 354 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:50,633 -Okay. -Sixteenth notes very slow. 355 00:19:50,633 --> 00:19:52,333 [ Both vocalizing ] 356 00:19:52,333 --> 00:19:56,833 Yeah, yeah. So for now let's plow ahead. 357 00:19:56,833 --> 00:20:06,933 ♪♪ 358 00:20:06,933 --> 00:20:08,400 -You can take, like, multiple multiples. 359 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,100 -Okay, there we go. 360 00:20:11,100 --> 00:20:12,000 -Good. You're good. 361 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,766 -So you too. -[ Laughs ] 362 00:20:13,766 --> 00:20:15,366 -Oh, yeah, Russell! 363 00:20:15,366 --> 00:20:17,766 -I love it. 364 00:20:17,766 --> 00:20:21,600 [ Indistinct conversations ] 365 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,766 -When did you know that your artistry was enough? 366 00:20:24,766 --> 00:20:26,833 Like, I understand, you know, we have people that are coming 367 00:20:26,833 --> 00:20:28,400 and saying all of these different things, 368 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:29,933 but when do you just like, 369 00:20:29,933 --> 00:20:32,000 "Okay, this is what I'm gonna do"? And, yeah. 370 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,233 -I've always known where my strengths lie 371 00:20:35,233 --> 00:20:36,666 and where my weaknesses lie. 372 00:20:36,666 --> 00:20:39,600 For instance, like, I always knew that singing long lines 373 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,300 was one of my strengths. 374 00:20:42,300 --> 00:20:45,800 Coloratura -- not necessarily. 375 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:50,000 I think you just have to really know yourself [chuckles], 376 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:51,500 and that takes time. 377 00:20:51,500 --> 00:20:54,333 But try things, you know. Don't be afraid to try things. 378 00:20:54,333 --> 00:20:56,400 -Why opera specifically? 379 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:58,600 And, like, those moments where you feel like 380 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,066 you don't want to do the art form anymore, 381 00:21:01,066 --> 00:21:03,800 what drives you to keep on going, doing this? 382 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:05,766 -Mm. 383 00:21:05,766 --> 00:21:09,133 I just see the effect that it has on people. 384 00:21:09,133 --> 00:21:14,333 And I really, um, enjoy that, 385 00:21:14,333 --> 00:21:18,366 and it makes me feel like I'm making a difference, 386 00:21:18,366 --> 00:21:21,966 you know, in somebody's life and in the world 387 00:21:21,966 --> 00:21:27,066 and breaking down, you know, stereotypes and all that. 388 00:21:27,066 --> 00:21:29,500 I also just love the challenge of it. 389 00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:32,100 And burnout is real. I've experienced it. 390 00:21:32,100 --> 00:21:36,333 And I really actually didn't enjoy singing, 391 00:21:36,333 --> 00:21:37,800 but it was totally preventable. 392 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,466 I mean, a lot of things you just learn by doing and experiencing, 393 00:21:41,466 --> 00:21:45,000 but you deserve breaks. [ Chuckles ] You know? 394 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,466 I can confidently say that I have not had 395 00:21:49,466 --> 00:21:53,466 a quote/unquote "normal life." [ Laughs ] 396 00:21:53,466 --> 00:21:57,133 I mean, I watch my friends that I grew up with. 397 00:21:57,133 --> 00:21:59,433 They're all married and they have children 398 00:21:59,433 --> 00:22:03,366 and they have a stability in their life 399 00:22:03,366 --> 00:22:07,766 that as an opera singer is -- is more rare. 400 00:22:07,766 --> 00:22:10,400 With relationships, um... 401 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:12,366 I'm single, ready to mingle. 402 00:22:12,366 --> 00:22:14,100 [ Laughter ] 403 00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:16,533 Just sayin'. 404 00:22:16,533 --> 00:22:18,433 Right now, I don't have any children, 405 00:22:18,433 --> 00:22:20,466 and my career is my baby, you know? 406 00:22:20,466 --> 00:22:24,066 So it's like, right now, it comes first. 407 00:22:24,066 --> 00:22:28,266 And it's not always easy for people to accept that. 408 00:22:30,533 --> 00:22:32,166 It's tough. 409 00:22:32,166 --> 00:22:37,733 I'm essentially moving every few months 410 00:22:37,733 --> 00:22:42,500 to a new location and making a home wherever I am. 411 00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:44,866 Opera singers are truly nomads. 412 00:22:44,866 --> 00:22:48,833 ♪♪ 413 00:22:51,433 --> 00:22:53,133 -You're gonna cook for us. 414 00:22:53,133 --> 00:22:55,500 -Yeah, I'm gonna cook. -♪ It's a little treat ♪ 415 00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:57,233 -What is this little pouch of spices? 416 00:22:57,233 --> 00:23:00,166 -It's a pouch of spices and it's my -- it's my travel pouch. 417 00:23:00,166 --> 00:23:03,700 'Cause I was like, I can't keep buying spices. 418 00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:05,533 They're so expensive. You buy it on the road, 419 00:23:05,533 --> 00:23:08,300 and then I have all these spices and I have to leave them. 420 00:23:08,300 --> 00:23:13,200 -Mm-hmm. -So I'm figuring out my regimen 421 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,066 and, like, what works. 422 00:23:15,066 --> 00:23:16,733 But this is actually, like, really cool 423 00:23:16,733 --> 00:23:20,866 because I'm always cooking for myself 424 00:23:20,866 --> 00:23:25,600 and I'm alone, so it's nice to have family. 425 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,666 -Well, we love when you cook for us. 426 00:23:28,666 --> 00:23:30,133 [ Laughter ] 427 00:23:30,133 --> 00:23:32,133 -That salmon looks good. 428 00:23:32,133 --> 00:23:33,666 A little piece of home. 429 00:23:33,666 --> 00:23:35,866 I need to read this about my sister. 430 00:23:35,866 --> 00:23:38,300 -Oh, my gosh. What -- Guys. 431 00:23:38,300 --> 00:23:41,000 -Don't make her cry. -And this is... 432 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,133 Ooh, don't cry. So it says, 433 00:23:43,133 --> 00:23:45,500 "In the midst of the worldwide pandemic, 434 00:23:45,500 --> 00:23:49,066 she emerged as a leading figure in classical music's 435 00:23:49,066 --> 00:23:54,000 shift toward conversations of inclusion and racial justice 436 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,166 in the performing arts." 437 00:23:56,166 --> 00:23:57,433 That's deep. 438 00:23:57,433 --> 00:23:59,566 -All of the panels that I've been, you know, 439 00:23:59,566 --> 00:24:01,466 a part of... -Yes. 440 00:24:01,466 --> 00:24:03,733 -...concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion 441 00:24:03,733 --> 00:24:05,266 that's happening, it's always -- 442 00:24:05,266 --> 00:24:07,700 -What was the panel that you did? 443 00:24:07,700 --> 00:24:09,266 -LA Opera? -Yes. 444 00:24:09,266 --> 00:24:11,166 -Yeah. -That blew up. 445 00:24:11,166 --> 00:24:12,300 -Did you see it? -Yes. 446 00:24:12,300 --> 00:24:13,833 -It was necessary. -Aw! 447 00:24:13,833 --> 00:24:15,466 -It was -- yeah, I sat and watched it. 448 00:24:15,466 --> 00:24:16,833 It wasnecessary. It was. 449 00:24:16,833 --> 00:24:19,266 -It was, and it was kind of scary 'cause I had -- 450 00:24:19,266 --> 00:24:21,600 I was a little bit fearful, 451 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,533 just, like, of being so transparent. 452 00:24:25,533 --> 00:24:29,766 I was afraid of retribution, and you just never know. 453 00:24:31,500 --> 00:24:34,000 -I wanted to begin today with a reiteration 454 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,333 of LA Opera's statement 455 00:24:35,333 --> 00:24:38,000 in the wake of unnecessary violence. 456 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,400 As a community of believers in the healing powers of art, 457 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:43,866 we acknowledge the longstanding pain and frustration 458 00:24:43,866 --> 00:24:48,166 felt by so many, especially those in our Black communities. 459 00:24:48,166 --> 00:24:51,300 We stand with them in sorrow and solidarity, 460 00:24:51,300 --> 00:24:57,200 opposed to prejudice, violence, devastation, and inequality. 461 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:01,033 J'Nai Bridges, a supremely gifted artist 462 00:25:01,033 --> 00:25:03,433 and a leader in the operatic community, 463 00:25:03,433 --> 00:25:06,633 had the idea of hosting the discussion today 464 00:25:06,633 --> 00:25:10,133 about racial disparity and inequality in opera. 465 00:25:10,133 --> 00:25:12,300 -I've had these thoughts. I'm singing all over the world, 466 00:25:12,300 --> 00:25:13,866 doing what I love, 467 00:25:13,866 --> 00:25:19,166 and my people are being murdered every day, 468 00:25:19,166 --> 00:25:21,600 lynched publicly. 469 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:23,500 I'll start off by just saying what this is. 470 00:25:23,500 --> 00:25:26,566 I mean, I was asked to do a virtual recital by LA Opera 471 00:25:26,566 --> 00:25:29,366 and I -- as much as I wanted to accept that, 472 00:25:29,366 --> 00:25:31,833 I'm just not in a place right now 473 00:25:31,833 --> 00:25:33,666 to present in that way. 474 00:25:33,666 --> 00:25:36,100 Speaking of our experiences 475 00:25:36,100 --> 00:25:39,666 as Black artists in the world comes with something different. 476 00:25:39,666 --> 00:25:41,566 It comes with injustices. 477 00:25:41,566 --> 00:25:44,600 And that's not easy for people to hear. 478 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,300 It's uncomfortable to hear about them, 479 00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:48,400 and it's uncomfortable to talk about, 480 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,366 but it's time. 481 00:25:50,366 --> 00:25:52,533 It is -- It is beyond time. 482 00:25:52,533 --> 00:25:55,900 -There was something about the image 483 00:25:55,900 --> 00:25:58,200 of that white police officer 484 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,166 with his knee on that Black man's neck 485 00:26:01,166 --> 00:26:03,300 in the middle of the street. 486 00:26:03,300 --> 00:26:06,233 -You know, George Floyd -- it could be you, Morris. 487 00:26:06,233 --> 00:26:09,200 It could be you, Larry. It could be you, Russell. 488 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,033 And it could be us women, as well. 489 00:26:12,033 --> 00:26:13,833 [ Sighs ] 490 00:26:13,833 --> 00:26:17,066 As artists and as singers, we are required 491 00:26:17,066 --> 00:26:21,000 to bare our souls in front of people, 492 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,566 in front of huge audiences, 493 00:26:23,566 --> 00:26:26,833 in front of intimate audiences. 494 00:26:26,833 --> 00:26:32,366 That requires, um, a huge sense of vulnerability, 495 00:26:32,366 --> 00:26:36,600 and so how do you tune out the noise? 496 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:38,500 -It seems like we're always walking around 497 00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:40,766 apologizing for who we are. 498 00:26:40,766 --> 00:26:43,266 It's like we have to be in an environment -- 499 00:26:43,266 --> 00:26:47,000 environment and try to make everybody comfortable. 500 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:49,566 -I've never been hired by a Black person. 501 00:26:49,566 --> 00:26:52,000 I've never been directed by a Black person. 502 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,466 I've never had a Black CEO of a company. 503 00:26:54,466 --> 00:26:56,833 I never had a Black president of the board. 504 00:26:56,833 --> 00:26:58,433 I never had a Black conductor. 505 00:26:58,433 --> 00:27:00,233 I never had a Black director. 506 00:27:00,233 --> 00:27:04,633 I haven't even had Black stage managers. 507 00:27:04,633 --> 00:27:08,000 -Wow. -None, not ever for 20 years. 508 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:13,300 -What have we learned, and why aren't our arts organizations 509 00:27:13,300 --> 00:27:18,266 ahead of the curve, leading this? 510 00:27:18,266 --> 00:27:21,300 -I'm tired of having these conversations with you guys. 511 00:27:21,300 --> 00:27:23,766 I'm tired of having them at all, 512 00:27:23,766 --> 00:27:25,933 but if we're gonna have them... 513 00:27:25,933 --> 00:27:29,800 -[ Laughs ] -...why not here? 514 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:31,866 Everybody can just... -Absolutely. 515 00:27:31,866 --> 00:27:33,200 -...just hear us, see us. 516 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:34,733 Do what you want with this information. 517 00:27:34,733 --> 00:27:37,966 I hope and pray that it moves you 518 00:27:37,966 --> 00:27:42,733 as much as that video did of that cop murdering that man. 519 00:27:42,733 --> 00:27:45,733 And so I hope that this -- this talk definitely 520 00:27:45,733 --> 00:27:49,033 inspires people to make change. 521 00:27:49,033 --> 00:27:52,500 The conversation was monumental. 522 00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:55,600 It almost sparked a reckoning in the opera world 523 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,366 and the classical music world at large, 524 00:27:58,366 --> 00:28:04,733 about how there are so many underlying issues. 525 00:28:04,733 --> 00:28:08,400 I've done what I've always done, which is use my voice. 526 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:30,633 ♪♪ 527 00:28:30,633 --> 00:28:34,166 It's amazing to see you and be with you in person... 528 00:28:34,166 --> 00:28:35,766 -Hey, yeah. -...because we've been 529 00:28:35,766 --> 00:28:37,500 with each other... -Right, right. 530 00:28:37,500 --> 00:28:39,333 -...for about two years, actually. 531 00:28:39,333 --> 00:28:42,833 -Yeah, yeah, yeah. -Because of the "Tulsa 1921." 532 00:28:42,833 --> 00:28:45,500 -Which you sang magnificently. -Thank you. 533 00:28:45,500 --> 00:28:46,966 -Oh, it's a great premiere. 534 00:28:46,966 --> 00:28:50,366 -Adolphus Hailstork -- he is a living legend. 535 00:28:50,366 --> 00:28:54,366 He's a composer that has been composing for many years. 536 00:28:54,366 --> 00:28:58,400 And he's finally being given his flowers 537 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,433 that have been so long overdue. 538 00:29:00,433 --> 00:29:01,966 I'm always asked this question, 539 00:29:01,966 --> 00:29:04,266 and I actually don't know the answer. 540 00:29:04,266 --> 00:29:08,166 So does the music or the libretto come first? 541 00:29:08,166 --> 00:29:10,400 -The -- Herb sent me the libretto. 542 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:14,333 -Okay. -And, uh, it was within a week. 543 00:29:14,333 --> 00:29:17,266 I always tell everybody, at least one week passed 544 00:29:17,266 --> 00:29:19,766 and -- after the murder, and boom, there it was. 545 00:29:19,766 --> 00:29:21,933 -Mm. Ooh. -And I said, "Herb, do you 546 00:29:21,933 --> 00:29:23,633 want me to set this?" We were both -- 547 00:29:23,633 --> 00:29:27,133 Everybody was feeling fury who had ever seen the tape. 548 00:29:27,133 --> 00:29:28,933 And I said, "Do you want me to set this?" 549 00:29:28,933 --> 00:29:30,366 And he said, "Would you, please?" 550 00:29:30,366 --> 00:29:33,400 -He's always been a champion of social justice, 551 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:37,900 and I'm grateful to have worked on two of his pieces now 552 00:29:37,900 --> 00:29:39,266 in close collaboration. 553 00:29:39,266 --> 00:29:40,600 I've learned so much from him. 554 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,700 This piece, "A Knee on the Neck" -- 555 00:29:42,700 --> 00:29:46,066 it -- whew! -- it's emotional, you know? 556 00:29:46,066 --> 00:29:48,500 -Well, it's got that big orchestra buildup. 557 00:29:48,500 --> 00:29:51,200 -Yes. -And I said, "It's gotta come. 558 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,366 You've gotta have a magnificent, mezzo come in on that," 559 00:29:54,366 --> 00:29:57,800 because boom, after all this orchestra build up 560 00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:59,200 and trumpets and everything... -Yes. 561 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:01,600 -...suddenly the soloist comes in and says, 562 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,333 "This -- This is my commandment!" 563 00:30:05,333 --> 00:30:07,933 Yes. And wow, you do that. 564 00:30:07,933 --> 00:30:10,166 -I didn't know who the final performers would be, 565 00:30:10,166 --> 00:30:13,100 but I know I had a dream mezzo in mind, 566 00:30:13,100 --> 00:30:14,400 and she's sitting right here. 567 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,033 -[ Laughs ] Oh, my gosh. -It's true. 568 00:30:17,033 --> 00:30:20,200 -Whatever you need, let me know. 569 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,200 You know, I'm really open to that. 570 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,300 I'm open to notes. 571 00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:26,433 -Well, just the "B" on buttons. 572 00:30:26,433 --> 00:30:29,166 -Mm. Okay. Okay. Okay. 573 00:30:29,166 --> 00:30:32,133 -If I were to pick out one thing from this morning, 574 00:30:32,133 --> 00:30:33,400 the "B" on buttons. 575 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:34,733 -Yeah. Oh, wow. 576 00:30:34,733 --> 00:30:36,500 See, I'm glad I asked. -Right! 577 00:30:36,500 --> 00:30:39,233 Everything else was wonderful. 578 00:30:39,233 --> 00:30:43,633 ♪ Let goodwill be the buttons on your white shirt ♪ 579 00:30:43,633 --> 00:30:45,500 Okay. -Yeah. 580 00:30:45,500 --> 00:30:47,166 Listen to that. Listen to that, world. 581 00:30:47,166 --> 00:30:49,266 Listen to that. -Oh, gosh. 582 00:30:49,266 --> 00:30:51,200 Thank you for trusting me. 583 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,100 -Trusting you? -With your music, yes. 584 00:30:53,100 --> 00:30:55,133 -You don't know your stature yet, do you? 585 00:30:55,133 --> 00:30:56,333 Or are you getting used to it? 586 00:30:56,333 --> 00:30:57,566 -I'm getting used to it, really. -Okay, but -- 587 00:30:57,566 --> 00:30:59,666 -Yeah, it's hard for me -- -Don't let it go 588 00:30:59,666 --> 00:31:00,933 too much, too up here. -No. 589 00:31:00,933 --> 00:31:02,766 -Don't go to your head. -Yeah, I have to -- 590 00:31:02,766 --> 00:31:04,100 -Stay as nice as you are. 591 00:31:04,100 --> 00:31:05,433 I hope you will. -I will. 592 00:31:05,433 --> 00:31:07,533 And I have a great foundation 593 00:31:07,533 --> 00:31:09,033 and family and village. -Good. 594 00:31:09,033 --> 00:31:11,133 -If I were to get too big-headed they would say, 595 00:31:11,133 --> 00:31:13,100 "Um, excuse me, girl. 596 00:31:13,100 --> 00:31:16,600 What is -- What's going on? Come back down to Earth." 597 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,300 -That's good. -Thank you so very much. 598 00:31:19,300 --> 00:31:20,533 -Oh, the pleasure's mine. -Mm! 599 00:31:20,533 --> 00:31:22,200 First of many, the first of many. 600 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:23,466 -I hope so. 601 00:31:23,466 --> 00:31:26,200 -♪ Let goodwill be the buttons ♪ 602 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:28,133 Ah! He wanted "buttons." 603 00:31:28,133 --> 00:31:30,066 -National Philharmonic, this is your 10-minute call. 604 00:31:30,066 --> 00:31:31,266 -10 minutes. Okay. 605 00:31:31,266 --> 00:31:33,200 -Top of rehearsal, 10 minutes. 606 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:36,400 -Okay. 607 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:42,400 ♪ Let -- Let -- Let goodwill be the button, button ♪ 608 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:44,633 But-tens? But-tons. 609 00:31:44,633 --> 00:31:49,033 ♪ Goodwill be the buttons on your white shirt ♪ 610 00:31:49,033 --> 00:31:50,533 -Bridges to stage, please. 611 00:31:50,533 --> 00:31:56,033 -♪ Let goodwill be the buttons on your white shirt ♪ 612 00:31:56,033 --> 00:31:59,733 [ Orchestra tuning ] 613 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,866 [ Vocalizing ] 614 00:32:12,233 --> 00:32:15,433 ♪ This ♪ 615 00:32:15,433 --> 00:32:23,366 ♪ This my commandment ♪ 616 00:32:25,833 --> 00:32:30,433 ♪ Obey, you must obey ♪ 617 00:32:30,433 --> 00:32:32,800 Sorry. 618 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:34,833 ♪ You ♪ 619 00:32:34,833 --> 00:32:41,700 ♪ I do not know what I will find ♪ 620 00:32:41,700 --> 00:32:46,666 -♪ When you go downtown, dress yourself in politeness ♪ 621 00:32:46,666 --> 00:32:52,033 ♪ Let goodwill be the buttons on your white shirt ♪ 622 00:32:52,033 --> 00:33:05,800 ♪♪ 623 00:32:58,900 --> 00:33:05,800 ♪♪ 624 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,333 So I play the role of a narrator, a mother, 625 00:33:08,333 --> 00:33:10,400 warning my child, 626 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:12,800 advising them how to behave and act 627 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,266 if you are to be pulled over. 628 00:33:16,266 --> 00:33:20,400 The subject matter is, of course, difficult. 629 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:24,866 And I open up the whole work with my voice 630 00:33:24,866 --> 00:33:27,200 as a warning to Black men. 631 00:33:30,500 --> 00:33:31,800 "Don't aggravate. 632 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:36,766 Keep calm if you are to be pulled over." 633 00:33:36,766 --> 00:33:40,366 And then you have the choir who plays, like, the conscience 634 00:33:40,366 --> 00:33:44,866 of sometimes America as a whole, sometimes as the police. 635 00:33:44,866 --> 00:33:48,466 So there are a lot of different voices that ultimately 636 00:33:48,466 --> 00:33:51,766 are always in the subconscious of Black people. 637 00:33:55,466 --> 00:33:57,866 And I was just exhausted learning the work 638 00:33:57,866 --> 00:33:58,966 because it was just like, 639 00:33:58,966 --> 00:34:01,166 nobody should have to go through this. 640 00:34:04,466 --> 00:34:07,366 -Eugene, we covered an awful lot of ground. 641 00:34:07,366 --> 00:34:14,400 ♪♪ 642 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:15,700 -My name is J'Nai Bridges, 643 00:34:15,700 --> 00:34:17,633 and I will be playing three songs. 644 00:34:19,066 --> 00:34:24,200 [ Singing operatically ] 645 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:29,600 All artists go through phases where we doubt ourselves, 646 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,700 we don't think we're good enough, 647 00:34:32,700 --> 00:34:36,866 we don't think the sound that we produce is beautiful enough. 648 00:34:36,866 --> 00:34:43,766 So all of this stuff is baggage but real-life thoughts. 649 00:34:43,766 --> 00:34:45,533 And I think by putting myself out there 650 00:34:45,533 --> 00:34:47,933 and having people support me and in my corner 651 00:34:47,933 --> 00:34:51,866 and help refine my gifts, 652 00:34:51,866 --> 00:34:54,400 it's really given me the confidence 653 00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:58,400 and the assurance that I have today. 654 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:02,166 [ Vocalizing ] 655 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,866 It is my honor, pleasure, and joy 656 00:35:08,866 --> 00:35:14,133 to present to Denyce Graves the 2022 Opera News Award! 657 00:35:14,133 --> 00:35:16,833 [ Cheers and applause ] 658 00:35:16,833 --> 00:35:18,533 [ Vocalizing ] 659 00:35:18,533 --> 00:35:24,000 And there are still roles that I am not quite ready for 660 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,100 that are even bigger. 661 00:35:27,100 --> 00:35:29,500 In, you know, 5 to 10 more years, 662 00:35:29,500 --> 00:35:33,233 even more repertoire will become available for me. 663 00:35:33,233 --> 00:35:39,000 ♪♪ 664 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:41,133 [ Cheers and applause ] 665 00:35:41,133 --> 00:35:49,133 ♪♪ 666 00:35:49,133 --> 00:35:51,933 -...life and ministry of your daughter J'Nai. 667 00:35:53,133 --> 00:35:55,833 -People want to see themselves 668 00:35:55,833 --> 00:36:00,633 and feel like their stories are being told. 669 00:36:00,633 --> 00:36:03,600 ♪♪ 670 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:07,366 ♪ Here in the quiet ♪ 671 00:36:07,366 --> 00:36:09,766 There's a shift happening. -You got it. 672 00:36:09,766 --> 00:36:14,600 -It's slow, but I'm hopeful. 673 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:25,400 ♪♪ 674 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,500 [ Orchestra playing dramatic music ] 675 00:36:28,500 --> 00:36:57,133 ♪♪ 676 00:36:57,133 --> 00:36:59,566 [ Music brightens and tempo increases ] 677 00:36:59,566 --> 00:37:05,233 ♪♪ 678 00:37:05,233 --> 00:37:07,600 ♪ This ♪ 679 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:39,633 ♪♪ 680 00:39:41,700 --> 00:39:55,366 ♪♪ 681 00:40:07,300 --> 00:40:13,633 ♪♪ 682 00:40:32,966 --> 00:40:36,033 ♪♪ 683 00:40:36,033 --> 00:40:37,533 ♪ Hope ♪ 684 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:47,166 [ Up-tempo music playing in distance ] 685 00:40:47,166 --> 00:40:58,133 ♪♪ 686 00:40:58,133 --> 00:41:01,866 -In 2007, I became the first Black woman in 20 years 687 00:41:01,866 --> 00:41:04,500 to be on the Billboard country charts. 688 00:41:07,266 --> 00:41:10,300 And to this day, I'm only one of five 689 00:41:10,300 --> 00:41:14,133 Black female solo artists to even chart. 690 00:41:14,133 --> 00:41:17,433 So if that doesn't tell you everything that you need to know 691 00:41:17,433 --> 00:41:19,966 about the business, then I don't know what to say. 692 00:41:19,966 --> 00:41:21,966 [ Cheers and applause ] 693 00:41:21,966 --> 00:41:24,966 -Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to stage 694 00:41:24,966 --> 00:41:28,766 Grammy-nominated artist Rissi Palmer. 695 00:41:28,766 --> 00:41:30,300 [ Cheers and applause ] 696 00:41:30,300 --> 00:41:32,900 -♪ Hey, hey ♪ 697 00:41:32,900 --> 00:41:35,766 ♪ You don't have to be a Georgia peach ♪ 698 00:41:35,766 --> 00:41:38,900 ♪ From Savannah Beach to say ♪ 699 00:41:38,900 --> 00:41:44,366 ♪ From Arkansas to appreciate a Southern drawl ♪ 700 00:41:44,366 --> 00:41:47,266 ♪ Don't need no kin from West Virginia ♪ 701 00:41:47,266 --> 00:41:50,533 ♪ To have it in ya ♪ 702 00:41:50,533 --> 00:41:55,066 ♪ Show the world you're a country girl ♪ 703 00:41:55,066 --> 00:41:59,633 ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah, oh, oh ♪ 704 00:41:59,633 --> 00:42:04,566 ♪ See, I'm the kind of girl that says it with a smile ♪ 705 00:42:04,566 --> 00:42:05,933 ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ 706 00:42:05,933 --> 00:42:08,533 ♪ That sweet as molasses... ♪ 707 00:42:08,533 --> 00:42:12,833 [ Singing softly to self ] 708 00:42:12,833 --> 00:42:15,133 After I put out my first independent album, 709 00:42:15,133 --> 00:42:18,966 I became an entrepreneur, and it's a family affair. 710 00:42:18,966 --> 00:42:22,733 [ "Country Girl" plays in background ] 711 00:42:22,733 --> 00:42:25,233 [ Indistinct conversations ] 712 00:42:29,833 --> 00:42:32,800 [ All cheering ] 713 00:42:35,700 --> 00:42:37,600 I am a situational writer... 714 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:39,300 And a second verse. 715 00:42:39,300 --> 00:42:40,666 ...whether that's politics, 716 00:42:40,666 --> 00:42:42,733 like what's going on in the world, 717 00:42:42,733 --> 00:42:45,400 or, like, what's happening in the house. 718 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:47,233 And a chorus. 719 00:42:47,233 --> 00:42:49,900 Life is what makes me want to write, 720 00:42:49,900 --> 00:42:51,200 'cause it's so personal to me, 721 00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:54,566 and it started out very personal to me 722 00:42:54,566 --> 00:42:58,400 as journal entries and poems and that sort of thing. 723 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:00,900 So it's just kind of always stayed there. 724 00:43:00,900 --> 00:43:05,066 ♪ Phone rang at three in the morning ♪ 725 00:43:05,066 --> 00:43:08,933 ♪ Looked at the screen, it was you ♪ 726 00:43:08,933 --> 00:43:13,866 ♪ I was sleeping alone in the bed ♪ 727 00:43:13,866 --> 00:43:18,000 ♪ Wondering, what should I do? ♪ 728 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:22,800 Okay, so this is done. 729 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:24,733 So then... 730 00:43:24,733 --> 00:43:32,833 ♪♪ 731 00:43:32,833 --> 00:43:35,233 This is the busiest year that I've had 732 00:43:35,233 --> 00:43:38,233 since the launch of my first album. 733 00:43:38,233 --> 00:43:40,566 I have the radio show 734 00:43:40,566 --> 00:43:44,466 and other special Color Me Country events. 735 00:43:44,466 --> 00:43:48,333 I am a correspondent for CMT. 736 00:43:48,333 --> 00:43:50,833 -When you're not doing all this and playing with our house band, 737 00:43:50,833 --> 00:43:53,433 you are on the road yourself. Rissi on the road. 738 00:43:53,433 --> 00:43:54,533 -I am, I am. 739 00:43:54,533 --> 00:43:57,600 I just went on tour this year. 740 00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:02,133 ♪ Whoo-ooh-ooh, yeah ♪ 741 00:44:02,133 --> 00:44:03,533 And I'm a mom. 742 00:44:03,533 --> 00:44:06,633 Hi, babies. How are you? 743 00:44:06,633 --> 00:44:23,466 ♪♪ 744 00:44:23,466 --> 00:44:26,466 How are you? -Hey! 745 00:44:26,466 --> 00:44:29,700 Uh-oh. Guitars and everything. Hey. 746 00:44:29,700 --> 00:44:32,900 -I feel like we should hug, as much as we've corresponded. 747 00:44:35,466 --> 00:44:38,300 ♪ More than you find, dear ♪ 748 00:44:38,300 --> 00:44:43,666 ♪ Is love, love on ya, darlin' ♪ 749 00:44:44,933 --> 00:44:46,600 ♪ Let me be the truth ♪ 750 00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:48,633 ♪ I'm gonna work for you ♪ 751 00:44:48,633 --> 00:44:53,433 ♪ Boy, let me love on you ♪ 752 00:44:53,433 --> 00:44:56,933 ♪ 'Cause that's what I'll do ♪ 753 00:44:56,933 --> 00:45:02,033 ♪ I'm here to be your escape, your getaway ♪ 754 00:45:02,033 --> 00:45:07,666 ♪ I'm here to love on you, you, you ♪ 755 00:45:07,666 --> 00:45:10,600 -It's phenomenal what Rissi has been able to accomplish 756 00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:12,033 as an independent artist. 757 00:45:12,033 --> 00:45:15,900 She doesn't have to conform to corporate country. 758 00:45:15,900 --> 00:45:20,400 She can really lean into her authentic voice, 759 00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:24,000 and not only in her singing but in her writing. 760 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:26,866 And I think that that resonates. 761 00:45:26,866 --> 00:45:33,800 -♪ Boy, let me love on you, you, you ♪ 762 00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:37,633 So much of what we love about country music 763 00:45:37,633 --> 00:45:39,533 comes from people of color. 764 00:45:39,533 --> 00:45:42,233 And that's just the truth. [ Guitar playing ] 765 00:45:42,233 --> 00:45:45,466 The first string bands in this country 766 00:45:45,466 --> 00:45:47,366 were enslaved people. 767 00:45:50,300 --> 00:45:54,200 -Black folks have always made country music. 768 00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:56,833 And to be clear, what we call country 769 00:45:56,833 --> 00:45:58,966 is really more accurately -- 770 00:45:58,966 --> 00:46:02,833 it's more of an East Coast, picking style of the blues. 771 00:46:02,833 --> 00:46:05,333 [ Guitar continues ] 772 00:46:05,333 --> 00:46:14,733 ♪♪ 773 00:46:14,733 --> 00:46:18,633 Genre was always a construct of labels and radio 774 00:46:18,633 --> 00:46:20,500 to be able to divide 775 00:46:20,500 --> 00:46:22,666 and to market to different groups of people. 776 00:46:22,666 --> 00:46:23,966 It was all American folk music, 777 00:46:23,966 --> 00:46:26,700 but they promoted this as hillbilly music. 778 00:46:26,700 --> 00:46:28,633 Meanwhile, the music that Black people were making 779 00:46:28,633 --> 00:46:30,433 was called race records. 780 00:46:32,600 --> 00:46:34,333 -The commercialization of music 781 00:46:34,333 --> 00:46:36,533 and this drawing of this color line 782 00:46:36,533 --> 00:46:38,233 where Black people do race records 783 00:46:38,233 --> 00:46:41,166 and then white people are over here doing this other thing -- 784 00:46:41,166 --> 00:46:43,066 hillbilly was always set aside 785 00:46:43,066 --> 00:46:47,733 as this thing specifically for white people. 786 00:46:47,733 --> 00:46:51,200 And so country music, as we fast forward in time, 787 00:46:51,200 --> 00:46:52,633 it has grown out of that. 788 00:46:52,633 --> 00:46:55,266 And the people that have been put in place 789 00:46:55,266 --> 00:46:58,533 generation after generation in these positions of power, 790 00:46:58,533 --> 00:47:01,300 whether they're at country radio stations, at the CMA, 791 00:47:01,300 --> 00:47:03,266 at the labels, at the publishers, 792 00:47:03,266 --> 00:47:06,333 they are upholding that system. 793 00:47:06,333 --> 00:47:09,066 Black people that have succeeded in this industry 794 00:47:09,066 --> 00:47:11,300 succeeded in spite of that. 795 00:47:11,300 --> 00:47:15,466 -♪ Ee, ee, ee, ah-ha ♪ 796 00:47:15,466 --> 00:47:18,800 We have very complex, sometimes scary, 797 00:47:18,800 --> 00:47:21,333 oftentimes very dark, 798 00:47:21,333 --> 00:47:25,833 but real history that we need to revise 799 00:47:25,833 --> 00:47:28,000 and that we need to be honest about. 800 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:31,166 And so I wanted to contribute to this music 801 00:47:31,166 --> 00:47:34,933 that I love so much and to this genre that, 802 00:47:34,933 --> 00:47:37,500 you know, I've dedicated so much of my life to. 803 00:47:37,500 --> 00:47:40,766 I want to make sure that I'm helping and contributing 804 00:47:40,766 --> 00:47:43,533 and telling the truth. 805 00:47:43,533 --> 00:47:47,533 So, hi. [ Laughs ] 806 00:47:47,533 --> 00:47:50,100 I have a show on Apple Music Country 807 00:47:50,100 --> 00:47:53,033 called "Color Me Country Radio." [ Cheers and applause ] 808 00:47:53,033 --> 00:47:58,466 And its named after this album that this next song comes from. 809 00:47:58,466 --> 00:48:02,166 And Linda Martell is the patron saint of our show. 810 00:48:02,166 --> 00:48:05,100 Linda Martell has kind of just been lost to history. 811 00:48:05,100 --> 00:48:09,266 She was the first Black woman to ever play the Grand Ole Opry. 812 00:48:09,266 --> 00:48:12,000 To this day, she is the highest-charting Black woman 813 00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:13,600 on the Billboard country charts. 814 00:48:13,600 --> 00:48:16,466 She is kind of the beginning of the question, 815 00:48:16,466 --> 00:48:22,800 "Why hasn't there been a huge Black female country superstar?" 816 00:48:22,800 --> 00:48:24,633 This is "Color Me Country Radio," 817 00:48:24,633 --> 00:48:26,900 hosted by Rissi Palmer. 818 00:48:26,900 --> 00:48:31,000 Once I started this show, I realized that what I had done 819 00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:33,733 was create a safe space that I didn't have 820 00:48:33,733 --> 00:48:36,800 in the beginning of my career. 821 00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:40,733 I was 17 when I met my first managers, 822 00:48:40,733 --> 00:48:43,366 Dana Lyons and Leslie Leland, 823 00:48:43,366 --> 00:48:46,433 a.k.a. Us Girlz Entertainment. 824 00:48:46,433 --> 00:48:49,566 You know, I think people saw me, this little 17-year-old girl, 825 00:48:49,566 --> 00:48:52,833 and they're like, "Oh, pop star." 826 00:48:52,833 --> 00:48:56,733 That's what their wheelhouse was. 827 00:48:56,733 --> 00:48:59,466 I remember we were in a hotel room in New York, 828 00:48:59,466 --> 00:49:01,633 and I had my little notebook, and they're like, 829 00:49:01,633 --> 00:49:03,500 "What are you always writing in that notebook?" 830 00:49:03,500 --> 00:49:06,366 And I was like, "Just my songs." And so they said, 831 00:49:06,366 --> 00:49:07,966 "Well, why don't you sing a song for us?" 832 00:49:07,966 --> 00:49:09,700 And so I sang this song. 833 00:49:09,700 --> 00:49:11,966 It's called "Please Don't Call Again." 834 00:49:11,966 --> 00:49:13,333 Terrible song. 835 00:49:13,333 --> 00:49:16,433 But I wrote it for Reba McEntire. 836 00:49:16,433 --> 00:49:19,633 And they kept looking at each other while I was singing. 837 00:49:19,633 --> 00:49:21,166 They're like... 838 00:49:21,166 --> 00:49:23,966 And Leslie was like, "Rissi, why didn't you tell us 839 00:49:23,966 --> 00:49:25,266 that you like country 840 00:49:25,266 --> 00:49:27,633 and that you could sing country music?" 841 00:49:27,633 --> 00:49:29,266 And they said, "Rissi, that's your thing. 842 00:49:29,266 --> 00:49:30,666 Like, we've been going about this wrong. 843 00:49:30,666 --> 00:49:32,100 Like, this is your thing." 844 00:49:32,100 --> 00:49:37,333 And so that was the moment that sparked the change, 845 00:49:37,333 --> 00:49:39,400 the transition in our focus. 846 00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:41,533 -Please welcome Rissi Palmer. 847 00:49:41,533 --> 00:49:45,266 -♪ She laid down by the river ♪ 848 00:49:45,266 --> 00:49:48,533 ♪ And surrendered her tears ♪ 849 00:49:48,533 --> 00:49:51,733 ♪ Such a sweet little angel ♪ 850 00:49:51,733 --> 00:49:54,533 ♪ Little too wise for her years ♪ 851 00:49:54,533 --> 00:49:56,033 So after several years of trying to 852 00:49:56,033 --> 00:49:58,300 break into the Nashville industry, 853 00:49:58,300 --> 00:50:00,666 living between Atlanta and Nashville, 854 00:50:00,666 --> 00:50:02,766 we decided collectively to move to New York 855 00:50:02,766 --> 00:50:05,233 to see if there was a way in that way. 856 00:50:05,233 --> 00:50:09,033 ♪ She's got faith ♪ 857 00:50:09,033 --> 00:50:12,333 ♪ And it wraps itself around her ♪ 858 00:50:12,333 --> 00:50:13,966 ♪ She's got faith ♪ 859 00:50:13,966 --> 00:50:15,700 Nothing. 860 00:50:15,700 --> 00:50:18,166 No interest at all. 861 00:50:18,166 --> 00:50:19,966 And so I was like, 862 00:50:19,966 --> 00:50:21,600 "Well, maybe you're not good enough. 863 00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:24,066 Maybe you're not writing good enough songs. 864 00:50:24,066 --> 00:50:26,366 Maybe you're not pretty enough." 865 00:50:26,366 --> 00:50:29,500 And so I was, like, stupid thin 866 00:50:29,500 --> 00:50:32,133 and working out all the time. 867 00:50:32,133 --> 00:50:34,233 Like, I was really hard on myself, 868 00:50:34,233 --> 00:50:36,966 like, really, really not good to myself 869 00:50:36,966 --> 00:50:39,633 for most of my 20s. 870 00:50:39,633 --> 00:50:42,600 Nothing came, for years. 871 00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:45,566 I'm getting emotional. Um, I was like, 872 00:50:45,566 --> 00:50:47,466 [voice breaking] "Well, clearly you're not a star. 873 00:50:47,466 --> 00:50:48,666 So that's why... 874 00:50:51,533 --> 00:50:54,400 That's why nothing's happening for you." 875 00:50:54,400 --> 00:50:56,566 And I remember they used to say that. 876 00:50:56,566 --> 00:50:58,633 Like, the girls would say it, 877 00:50:58,633 --> 00:51:00,666 and that would just -- 878 00:51:00,666 --> 00:51:04,666 it just killed me because, again, like, 879 00:51:04,666 --> 00:51:07,433 these are the people that are supposed to believe in you. 880 00:51:07,433 --> 00:51:10,900 [ Sniffles ] So it was -- it was hard. 881 00:51:10,900 --> 00:51:13,400 It was hard for a long time. 882 00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:19,466 ♪♪ 883 00:51:19,466 --> 00:51:21,366 The music industry thrives 884 00:51:21,366 --> 00:51:24,966 on hungry, naive artists, 885 00:51:24,966 --> 00:51:30,000 and I was one of those hungry, naive artists. 886 00:51:32,566 --> 00:51:35,800 I jumped out of the frying pan with Us Girlz Entertainment, 887 00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:38,166 into the fire. 888 00:51:38,166 --> 00:51:41,000 I get a phone call -- "I know this guy. 889 00:51:41,000 --> 00:51:44,400 He's based in Atlanta. He wants to meet you." 890 00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:47,100 Terry Johnson was the gentleman, and he had a record label 891 00:51:47,100 --> 00:51:50,300 called 1720 Entertainment. 892 00:51:50,300 --> 00:51:52,866 So I remember meeting him and him asking me, 893 00:51:52,866 --> 00:51:54,266 "What do you want?" 894 00:51:54,266 --> 00:51:56,933 I was like, "I want to make music that matters 895 00:51:56,933 --> 00:51:58,833 and be famous." 896 00:51:58,833 --> 00:52:01,333 And he was like, "I think I can help you with that." 897 00:52:01,333 --> 00:52:04,233 And so I ended up signing the deal with 1720 898 00:52:04,233 --> 00:52:07,366 and then eventually moved full-time to Nashville, 899 00:52:07,366 --> 00:52:08,833 and we worked on this record. 900 00:52:08,833 --> 00:52:10,533 ♪ You don't have to be a Georgia peach ♪ 901 00:52:10,533 --> 00:52:13,166 ♪ From Savannah Beach to say ♪ 902 00:52:13,166 --> 00:52:18,033 ♪ From Arkansas to appreciate a Southern drawl ♪ 903 00:52:18,033 --> 00:52:20,800 ♪ Don't need no kin from West Virginia ♪ 904 00:52:20,800 --> 00:52:23,233 ♪ To have it in ya ♪ 905 00:52:23,233 --> 00:52:26,700 ♪ Show the world you're a country girl ♪ 906 00:52:26,700 --> 00:52:28,166 -All right, champ, let's do it. 907 00:52:28,166 --> 00:52:30,766 -Rissi is the first Black female to fight her way 908 00:52:30,766 --> 00:52:33,666 onto the country charts in almost 20 years. 909 00:52:33,666 --> 00:52:36,500 Maybe it helps that she boxes to stay in shape. 910 00:52:36,500 --> 00:52:39,400 -Please make welcome Rissi Palmer, everybody. 911 00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:40,866 -From that opportunity, I got to play 912 00:52:40,866 --> 00:52:43,366 the Grand Ole Opry, which was huge. 913 00:52:43,366 --> 00:52:44,933 And my family got to be there with me, 914 00:52:44,933 --> 00:52:47,666 which made it even more special. 915 00:52:47,666 --> 00:52:50,666 I'm so excited to be here tonight. 916 00:52:50,666 --> 00:52:54,800 I stood at the back of this theater almost five years ago, 917 00:52:54,800 --> 00:52:58,066 and I said, "One day, I'm gonna play the Opry," 918 00:52:58,066 --> 00:53:00,466 and I'm here tonight. 919 00:53:00,466 --> 00:53:04,000 So, thank you. [ Cheers and applause ] 920 00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:04,933 Ooh. 921 00:53:04,933 --> 00:53:06,066 You ready? 922 00:53:06,066 --> 00:53:07,966 Here we go. 923 00:53:07,966 --> 00:53:09,833 ♪ Ladies, if you understand ♪ 924 00:53:09,833 --> 00:53:13,100 ♪ Let me hear you all clap your hands ♪ 925 00:53:13,100 --> 00:53:15,233 ♪ If you hear me and you know you're bad ♪ 926 00:53:15,233 --> 00:53:18,266 ♪ Let me hear you all clap your hands ♪ 927 00:53:18,266 --> 00:53:19,700 ♪ Ladies, if you understand ♪ 928 00:53:19,700 --> 00:53:21,200 All these good things are happening. 929 00:53:21,200 --> 00:53:22,600 And, like, in the background, 930 00:53:22,600 --> 00:53:24,766 I was signing documents and not understanding 931 00:53:24,766 --> 00:53:27,500 the ramifications of what I was signing. 932 00:53:27,500 --> 00:53:31,366 I just trusted blindly and implicitly. 933 00:53:31,366 --> 00:53:36,766 So, like, when I was presented with a loan application to sign, 934 00:53:36,766 --> 00:53:40,366 I was told that this was for -- "Oh, it's for your record, 935 00:53:40,366 --> 00:53:41,966 and it's for your career. 936 00:53:41,966 --> 00:53:45,100 It's for us to be able to continue to keep funding things. 937 00:53:45,100 --> 00:53:46,666 And this is just a formality 938 00:53:46,666 --> 00:53:48,700 because we're gonna pay it back. 939 00:53:48,700 --> 00:53:51,233 It's just that we had to do this in your name." 940 00:53:51,233 --> 00:53:54,433 I was signing my name to contracts 941 00:53:54,433 --> 00:53:58,866 that they had worked out through their attorneys, for me, 942 00:53:58,866 --> 00:54:04,033 that were more beneficial for them than they were for me. 943 00:54:04,033 --> 00:54:05,933 -And then, um... 944 00:54:05,933 --> 00:54:08,066 -So they put you in things. 945 00:54:08,066 --> 00:54:09,466 Oh, then they insult you, 946 00:54:09,466 --> 00:54:11,033 like, tell you that you're like Milli Vanilli 947 00:54:11,033 --> 00:54:14,600 or that you have a big forehead and the sun's shining off of it. 948 00:54:14,600 --> 00:54:17,633 Yeah, so then you wait and then they set you up. 949 00:54:17,633 --> 00:54:19,766 Then they make you stand there and look natural. 950 00:54:19,766 --> 00:54:20,866 Hmm. 951 00:54:20,866 --> 00:54:22,733 Artistically, I started being told 952 00:54:22,733 --> 00:54:26,233 what songs I would record, and I started to feel trapped, 953 00:54:26,233 --> 00:54:29,200 like I didn't have any control over my career or my business, 954 00:54:29,200 --> 00:54:31,966 and I decided I wanted to be released from the label. 955 00:54:31,966 --> 00:54:38,166 But I was in so deep financially that there was, like... 956 00:54:38,166 --> 00:54:41,933 I'd have to sell so many records in order to pay all of that back 957 00:54:41,933 --> 00:54:45,133 that it was kind of impossible. 958 00:54:47,133 --> 00:54:51,066 The only recourse that I had was to file bankruptcy. 959 00:54:51,066 --> 00:54:53,933 And 1720 contested the bankruptcy. 960 00:54:53,933 --> 00:54:57,000 And so we had to have a trial. 961 00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:01,033 And I ended up winning the court case. 962 00:55:01,033 --> 00:55:02,800 I got out of the deal. 963 00:55:02,800 --> 00:55:03,966 I was granted a release. 964 00:55:03,966 --> 00:55:06,066 I lost my masters. 965 00:55:06,066 --> 00:55:07,800 I lost my website. 966 00:55:11,066 --> 00:55:12,600 And so all this stuff 967 00:55:12,600 --> 00:55:15,800 that I had taken all these years to build... 968 00:55:18,200 --> 00:55:20,800 ...all these years of, like, all the no's 969 00:55:20,800 --> 00:55:23,200 and the rejection and all this stuff, 970 00:55:23,200 --> 00:55:26,133 it went away with the filing of paperwork. 971 00:55:28,233 --> 00:55:29,900 It was like I hadn't existed. 972 00:55:29,900 --> 00:55:36,600 ♪♪ 973 00:55:36,600 --> 00:55:41,466 -It would've been easy for her to tuck her tail and run 974 00:55:41,466 --> 00:55:44,333 after her first experiences in Nashville. 975 00:55:44,333 --> 00:55:45,800 It would've been really easy for her 976 00:55:45,800 --> 00:55:50,466 to abandon her aspirations of being a country music artist 977 00:55:50,466 --> 00:55:53,700 or being influential in this country space. 978 00:55:53,700 --> 00:55:59,133 But instead, she used it as fuel for her fire. 979 00:55:59,133 --> 00:56:01,900 -This next song that I want to do for y'all is a song 980 00:56:01,900 --> 00:56:04,433 that I wrote about 981 00:56:04,433 --> 00:56:08,733 the small town where my mother is from. 982 00:56:08,733 --> 00:56:11,300 And Summerville is in the mountains, 983 00:56:11,300 --> 00:56:14,100 and it's just a really awesome place. 984 00:56:14,100 --> 00:56:17,633 And my great-grandmother lived in a house 985 00:56:17,633 --> 00:56:21,333 that my grandmother was born in and my mother was born in. 986 00:56:21,333 --> 00:56:24,066 Unfortunately, I've lost my grandmother, 987 00:56:24,066 --> 00:56:26,666 my great-grandmother, and my mother since then. 988 00:56:26,666 --> 00:56:30,333 But they're the reason why I'm standing here today. 989 00:56:30,333 --> 00:56:33,966 And so I wanted to write this song and do this song for them. 990 00:56:33,966 --> 00:56:40,766 ♪♪ 991 00:56:40,766 --> 00:56:44,133 ♪ Running barefooted through the summertime ♪ 992 00:56:44,133 --> 00:56:47,466 ♪ White sheet drying on that old clothesline ♪ 993 00:56:47,466 --> 00:56:51,000 ♪ You'd say, "Child, wash your feet ♪ 994 00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:54,266 ♪ Before you come inside to eat" ♪ 995 00:56:54,266 --> 00:56:57,566 ♪ I'd show up at the start of June ♪ 996 00:56:57,566 --> 00:57:00,666 ♪ August always came too soon ♪ 997 00:57:00,666 --> 00:57:04,433 ♪ As we'd pull away in our four-door ♪ 998 00:57:04,433 --> 00:57:07,933 ♪ You'd stand crying on your front porch ♪ 999 00:57:07,933 --> 00:57:12,766 ♪ Oh-ahh-oh-oh ♪ 1000 00:57:12,766 --> 00:57:15,500 ♪ Highland Avenue ♪ 1001 00:57:15,500 --> 00:57:19,300 ♪ Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ♪ 1002 00:57:19,300 --> 00:57:20,800 ♪ I left too soon ♪ 1003 00:57:20,800 --> 00:57:23,466 I know. I hear you. I hear you. 1004 00:57:23,466 --> 00:57:26,333 [ Song continues indistinctly ] 1005 00:57:26,333 --> 00:57:27,733 Hey, bud. 1006 00:57:27,733 --> 00:57:31,400 Hey. 1007 00:57:31,400 --> 00:57:33,600 Hi. 1008 00:57:33,600 --> 00:57:35,766 What's up? 1009 00:57:35,766 --> 00:57:37,900 [ Laughs ] 1010 00:57:37,900 --> 00:57:38,966 Hi. 1011 00:57:38,966 --> 00:57:40,633 I think the biggest thing that I've learned 1012 00:57:40,633 --> 00:57:43,233 from motherhood and career 1013 00:57:43,233 --> 00:57:45,600 is that there is no such thing as having it all. 1014 00:57:45,600 --> 00:57:49,166 And anybody that tells you that is a liar. 1015 00:57:49,166 --> 00:57:51,600 Good morning. 1016 00:57:51,600 --> 00:57:53,666 Something always suffers. 1017 00:57:53,666 --> 00:57:58,033 And so it's either, like, I'm super present with my girls, 1018 00:57:58,033 --> 00:58:00,800 but, like, work is -- I'm not writing, 1019 00:58:00,800 --> 00:58:04,933 I'm not really focused on the show, 1020 00:58:04,933 --> 00:58:06,566 or vice versa. 1021 00:58:06,566 --> 00:58:08,466 Like, I'm on it 1022 00:58:08,466 --> 00:58:11,466 and I'm just, like, sucking at this whole 1023 00:58:11,466 --> 00:58:15,433 adulting and mothering and wifing thing. 1024 00:58:15,433 --> 00:58:16,933 You know, I have to try every day 1025 00:58:16,933 --> 00:58:19,200 to take the pressure off of myself, 1026 00:58:19,200 --> 00:58:21,733 that there is no such thing as perfect. 1027 00:58:21,733 --> 00:58:23,033 There is no perfect mom. 1028 00:58:23,033 --> 00:58:25,933 There is no perfect artist. 1029 00:58:25,933 --> 00:58:30,466 And I'm trying to give everything 1030 00:58:30,466 --> 00:58:35,166 the respect and time and space that it needs 1031 00:58:35,166 --> 00:58:41,500 so that I can give an honest assessment through song. 1032 00:58:41,500 --> 00:58:45,566 ♪ Till I was your mother ♪ 1033 00:58:45,566 --> 00:58:49,000 ♪ Your mother, oh ♪ 1034 00:58:49,000 --> 00:58:52,233 My mother died of colon cancer when I was 7 years old 1035 00:58:52,233 --> 00:58:55,066 and she was only 38. 1036 00:58:55,066 --> 00:58:56,933 Yeah. Okay. 1037 00:58:56,933 --> 00:59:01,433 So the idea is, I've been thinking a lot about my mom. 1038 00:59:01,433 --> 00:59:03,933 I just -- I wish knew her, like, as a human. 1039 00:59:03,933 --> 00:59:06,100 I wish I knew her, like, as a friend. 1040 00:59:06,100 --> 00:59:08,733 Like, I wish I could say, like, 1041 00:59:08,733 --> 00:59:11,366 "Were there things that you gave up to have me, 1042 00:59:11,366 --> 00:59:12,933 and what were they?" 1043 00:59:12,933 --> 00:59:15,066 -All the things that you want to know about your mother 1044 00:59:15,066 --> 00:59:16,800 are the things that probably your kids 1045 00:59:16,800 --> 00:59:18,233 would want to know about you. 1046 00:59:18,233 --> 00:59:19,966 Like, unfulfilled dreams, 1047 00:59:19,966 --> 00:59:22,766 and, like, what did you give up to have them? And -- 1048 00:59:22,766 --> 00:59:27,366 -I can't really 100% go for it 1049 00:59:27,366 --> 00:59:29,633 because, like, to really go for it 1050 00:59:29,633 --> 00:59:32,333 is to be gone all the time...  -Yes. 1051 00:59:32,333 --> 00:59:33,933 -...and to be working all the time. 1052 00:59:33,933 --> 00:59:36,466 -So what type of mother do you want to be? 1053 00:59:36,466 --> 00:59:38,866 -I mean, I want to be -- I want to be their mom. 1054 00:59:38,866 --> 00:59:41,433 Like, I want to be here. I want to see the stuff. 1055 00:59:41,433 --> 00:59:42,733 Like, that's really important to me 1056 00:59:42,733 --> 00:59:46,900 'cause I didn't have that from my mother. 1057 00:59:46,900 --> 00:59:49,500 -Yeah. -So I want them to have it. 1058 00:59:49,500 --> 00:59:52,700 -That's totally what you're saying with the -- 1059 00:59:52,700 --> 00:59:55,966 with the "Best of all is mother," you know? 1060 00:59:55,966 --> 01:00:00,233 ♪ I make mistakes and I hold in ♪ 1061 01:00:00,233 --> 01:00:05,200 ♪ I'm growing into this ♪ 1062 01:00:05,200 --> 01:00:09,033 ♪ Growing into this ♪ There it is. 1063 01:00:09,033 --> 01:00:12,833 ♪ I was wealthy, running through the streets ♪ 1064 01:00:12,833 --> 01:00:16,466 ♪ Sayin' I'd be forever 23 ♪ 1065 01:00:16,466 --> 01:00:21,466 ♪ Something da-da-da-da-da ♪ 1066 01:00:22,566 --> 01:00:26,000 [ Vocalizing ] 1067 01:00:26,000 --> 01:00:34,166 ♪♪ 1068 01:00:34,166 --> 01:00:36,933 ♪ Till I was your mother ♪ 1069 01:00:36,933 --> 01:00:39,200 Oh, look at that -- a dimple. 1070 01:00:39,200 --> 01:00:41,633 Grace, this was the last trip 1071 01:00:41,633 --> 01:00:44,966 we took as a family before my mom died. 1072 01:00:44,966 --> 01:00:48,733 We went to Disney World, and we were staying in a hotel 1073 01:00:48,733 --> 01:00:50,833 and you see grandmother was very sick. 1074 01:00:50,833 --> 01:00:54,066 -Yeah. -Yeah. You can tell. 1075 01:00:54,066 --> 01:00:56,366 I didn't realize at the time. I was very -- 1076 01:00:56,366 --> 01:00:57,433 -You didn't realize she was sick? 1077 01:00:57,433 --> 01:00:59,000 -No, I didn't know she -- Well... 1078 01:00:59,000 --> 01:01:01,400 -So you never guessed... -I knew that she was sick. 1079 01:01:01,400 --> 01:01:03,600 Like, I knew in theory that she was sick, 1080 01:01:03,600 --> 01:01:05,833 but, like, I was only 7. 1081 01:01:05,833 --> 01:01:08,800 So I didn't know, like, to the depths of how sick she was. 1082 01:01:08,800 --> 01:01:11,300 And, you know, we kept having to go back to the hotel 1083 01:01:11,300 --> 01:01:14,233 and, 'cause she needed to go to sleep and rest. 1084 01:01:14,233 --> 01:01:16,433 And I just, you know -- 1085 01:01:16,433 --> 01:01:17,633 I was like, "Why can't we keep going?" 1086 01:01:17,633 --> 01:01:19,400 And I remember being really upset. 1087 01:01:19,400 --> 01:01:21,933 But I just -- I can't even imagine 1088 01:01:21,933 --> 01:01:25,300 what that must have been like for her. 1089 01:01:25,300 --> 01:01:26,933 I can't even imagine. 1090 01:01:30,766 --> 01:01:33,200 I've thought a lot about how my mother's death 1091 01:01:33,200 --> 01:01:37,033 at a young age affected me, and I think for a long time 1092 01:01:37,033 --> 01:01:42,000 I was trying to use fame to fill the little hole, 1093 01:01:42,000 --> 01:01:46,600 big hole, that my mom's death left. 1094 01:01:46,600 --> 01:01:55,300 ♪ Up above the world so high ♪ 1095 01:01:55,300 --> 01:01:59,500 ♪ Like a diamond ♪ I love you. 1096 01:01:59,500 --> 01:02:04,533 ♪ In the sky ♪ 1097 01:02:06,833 --> 01:02:09,666 [ Laughs ] It's really hard sometimes 1098 01:02:09,666 --> 01:02:12,700 after you've been working three jobs in one day 1099 01:02:12,700 --> 01:02:15,600 to sit down and try to write a song. 1100 01:02:15,600 --> 01:02:17,966 [ Indistinct music playing in background ] 1101 01:02:17,966 --> 01:02:20,333 I would say like 80% of my writing process 1102 01:02:20,333 --> 01:02:21,766 happens in my head. 1103 01:02:21,766 --> 01:02:24,800 Before it even ends up on paper, I've thought about it 1104 01:02:24,800 --> 01:02:28,300 and thought about how to say it, thought about how to sing it. 1105 01:02:30,200 --> 01:02:33,600 ♪ All you saints and sinners ♪ 1106 01:02:33,600 --> 01:02:36,300 ♪ Step on ♪ 1107 01:02:36,300 --> 01:02:39,266 ♪ Shine up your dancing shoes ♪ 1108 01:02:43,133 --> 01:02:45,300 ♪ Then play something funky ♪ 1109 01:02:45,300 --> 01:02:49,233 Don't like that. And I don't like that. 1110 01:02:49,233 --> 01:02:53,233 ♪ But it'll sho' 'nuff make you move ♪ 1111 01:02:53,233 --> 01:02:55,233 ♪ [Mumbles] playing something funky ♪ 1112 01:02:55,233 --> 01:02:56,433 Don't like that. 1113 01:02:56,433 --> 01:02:58,633 ♪ That'll sho' 'nuff make you move ♪ 1114 01:02:58,633 --> 01:03:03,300 ♪ Oooh, people coming from everywhere ♪ 1115 01:03:03,300 --> 01:03:06,633 ♪ Red, black, and white getting down tonight ♪ 1116 01:03:06,633 --> 01:03:08,833 ♪ Down at the Sip-n-Sing ♪ 1117 01:03:08,833 --> 01:03:11,100 ♪ Said, oh, yeah ♪ 1118 01:03:14,833 --> 01:03:16,300 Every album is a statement. 1119 01:03:16,300 --> 01:03:18,466 And so I want to make sure that this is a complete statement 1120 01:03:18,466 --> 01:03:20,200 before we go into the studio. 1121 01:03:22,300 --> 01:03:24,366 Two sparrows in a hurricane. 1122 01:03:24,366 --> 01:03:26,300 So it's easy to make that mistake. 1123 01:03:26,300 --> 01:03:30,233 I'm looking forward to getting on the other side of this album. 1124 01:03:30,233 --> 01:03:32,600 It's like a hungry child. 1125 01:03:32,600 --> 01:03:37,033 Like, it keeps asking for more and more things. 1126 01:03:37,033 --> 01:03:39,600 Um, we're doing two different things. 1127 01:03:39,600 --> 01:03:42,066 One, I'm gonna do vocals 1128 01:03:42,066 --> 01:03:43,633 on a song called "I'm Still Here." 1129 01:03:43,633 --> 01:03:46,200 It's a duet, so I'm only singing the first verse. 1130 01:03:46,200 --> 01:03:48,600 And then just choruses after that 1131 01:03:48,600 --> 01:03:50,966 and, like, some backgrounds. 1132 01:03:50,966 --> 01:03:53,966 So I guess if you give me a lead, 1133 01:03:53,966 --> 01:04:01,066 and maybe give me three background vocal tracks. 1134 01:04:01,066 --> 01:04:02,500 -Okay. 1135 01:04:02,500 --> 01:04:07,100 -♪ Mmm-mm-mm-mm-mm, yeah ♪ 1136 01:04:09,933 --> 01:04:13,166 ♪ Like a tree standing in a hurricane ♪ 1137 01:04:15,266 --> 01:04:21,733 ♪ You can't knock me over with a little rain, no ♪ 1138 01:04:21,733 --> 01:04:27,933 ♪ In the rolling thunder, you can hear my name, yeah ♪ 1139 01:04:27,933 --> 01:04:33,833 ♪ Like a natural one, I'm built to stay, hey ♪ 1140 01:04:33,833 --> 01:04:37,300 ♪ Built to stay, yeah ♪ 1141 01:04:37,300 --> 01:04:40,566 ♪ I'll never fall on shaky ground ♪ 1142 01:04:40,566 --> 01:04:44,466 ♪ Too strong and tall to cut me [voice cracks] down ♪ 1143 01:04:44,466 --> 01:04:46,333 Aahh [bleep] 1144 01:04:46,333 --> 01:04:47,333 Down. 1145 01:04:47,333 --> 01:04:50,166 ♪ To cut me doooown ♪ 1146 01:04:50,166 --> 01:04:51,366 That's how I'm gonna do it, I guess. 1147 01:04:51,366 --> 01:04:52,866 All right. Ah. 1148 01:04:52,866 --> 01:04:54,733 -[ Vocalizing ] 1149 01:04:54,733 --> 01:04:58,100 -♪ Down, oooh ♪ -♪ Down ♪ 1150 01:04:58,100 --> 01:04:59,400 ♪ I'm still ♪ 1151 01:04:59,400 --> 01:05:02,300 So I think it's better than, instead of going up... 1152 01:05:02,300 --> 01:05:04,300 -Go down. -...that you work down, yeah. 1153 01:05:04,300 --> 01:05:08,466 [ Both vocalizing ] 1154 01:05:08,466 --> 01:05:09,566 ♪ I'm still here ♪ 1155 01:05:09,566 --> 01:05:13,000 Like, something there. -♪ Ohh ♪ 1156 01:05:13,000 --> 01:05:16,300 ♪ I'll never fall on shaky ground ♪ 1157 01:05:16,300 --> 01:05:22,333 ♪ Too strong and tall to cut me doooown ♪ 1158 01:05:22,333 --> 01:05:25,066 ♪ I'm still here ♪ 1159 01:05:25,066 --> 01:05:27,966 -♪ Oooh, I'm still here ♪ 1160 01:05:27,966 --> 01:05:29,966 Like, that's kind of the stuff I think you want to go for. 1161 01:05:29,966 --> 01:05:31,300 -♪ Ooh ♪ -Yeah. 1162 01:05:31,300 --> 01:05:33,866 -♪ I'm still here ♪ Yeah. 1163 01:05:33,866 --> 01:05:35,166 -Yeah, I think that's more of the stuff 1164 01:05:35,166 --> 01:05:37,233 you're wanting to go for. -♪ I'm still here ♪ 1165 01:05:39,566 --> 01:05:41,266 One more time. 1166 01:05:41,266 --> 01:05:44,500 Let's do it one more time. 1167 01:05:44,500 --> 01:05:45,433 -You ready? -Yeah. 1168 01:05:45,433 --> 01:05:46,866 -All right, here we go. 1169 01:05:46,866 --> 01:05:49,633 -♪ Never fall on shaky ground ♪ 1170 01:05:49,633 --> 01:05:54,766 ♪ Too strong and tall to cut me doooown ♪ 1171 01:05:54,766 --> 01:05:56,633 ♪ Oh ♪ [ Laughs ] 1172 01:05:56,633 --> 01:05:58,800 No, no. 1173 01:05:58,800 --> 01:06:01,300 Let's just stop. We're gonna stop here. 1174 01:06:01,300 --> 01:06:03,600 -You wanna take a break? That's cool, that's cool. 1175 01:06:03,600 --> 01:06:04,866 [ Laughs ] 1176 01:06:04,866 --> 01:06:07,500 -Ugh. 1177 01:06:07,500 --> 01:06:09,466 [ Sighs ] 1178 01:06:09,466 --> 01:06:11,200 I'll be back. We're gonna schedule more time. 1179 01:06:11,200 --> 01:06:12,833 Thank you. 1180 01:06:15,666 --> 01:06:17,533 [ Walkie-talkie beeps ] 1181 01:06:22,900 --> 01:06:25,466 [ Mid-tempo music plays ] 1182 01:06:25,466 --> 01:06:29,800 ♪♪ 1183 01:06:29,800 --> 01:06:32,100 ♪ Brothers and sisters ♪ 1184 01:06:32,100 --> 01:06:35,100 ♪ Don't believe what you've been told ♪ 1185 01:06:35,100 --> 01:06:38,300 ♪ They can bury your body ♪ 1186 01:06:38,300 --> 01:06:42,266 ♪ But never touch your soul ♪ 1187 01:06:42,266 --> 01:06:43,966 "Seeds" was written in 2014, 1188 01:06:43,966 --> 01:06:46,366 shortly after the district attorney 1189 01:06:46,366 --> 01:06:48,600 in Ferguson, Missouri, decided not to press charges 1190 01:06:48,600 --> 01:06:52,800 against Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown. 1191 01:06:52,800 --> 01:06:54,766 You know, I went to school in St. Louis, 1192 01:06:54,766 --> 01:06:56,733 and I had a lot of friends in Ferguson, 1193 01:06:56,733 --> 01:07:00,433 so I remember seeing and hearing about this 1194 01:07:00,433 --> 01:07:03,900 the day that it happened before it made national news. 1195 01:07:03,900 --> 01:07:08,566 And watching the uprisings and the protests 1196 01:07:08,566 --> 01:07:10,733 and just people just sick and tired 1197 01:07:10,733 --> 01:07:12,400 of being sick and tired, 1198 01:07:12,400 --> 01:07:13,900 I wanted to say something. 1199 01:07:13,900 --> 01:07:15,900 I wanted to add something to the discourse, 1200 01:07:15,900 --> 01:07:17,600 but I was having a really hard time 1201 01:07:17,600 --> 01:07:19,266 trying to find something positive to say. 1202 01:07:19,266 --> 01:07:21,300 And so I found this quote, 1203 01:07:21,300 --> 01:07:22,366 and was, "They tried to cut us down. 1204 01:07:22,366 --> 01:07:24,133 They didn't know that we were seeds." 1205 01:07:24,133 --> 01:07:26,233 And I thought that that was really powerful. 1206 01:07:26,233 --> 01:07:28,166 ♪ When they bury our dreams ♪ 1207 01:07:28,166 --> 01:07:31,200 ♪ We push 'em up through concrete ♪ 1208 01:07:31,200 --> 01:07:34,166 ♪ We're growing where they can't see ♪ 1209 01:07:34,166 --> 01:07:38,800 ♪ These roots run deep 'cause we are seeds ♪ 1210 01:07:38,800 --> 01:07:41,466 ♪ When we rise up ♪ 1211 01:07:41,466 --> 01:07:44,466 ♪ No weapon can stop us ♪ 1212 01:07:44,466 --> 01:07:47,500 ♪ No wall can block us ♪ 1213 01:07:47,500 --> 01:07:50,166 ♪ No hate can't stop love ♪ 1214 01:07:50,166 --> 01:07:54,533 ♪ We are seeds ♪ 1215 01:07:54,533 --> 01:07:57,666 When we put that video out, we pissed off a lot of people. 1216 01:07:57,666 --> 01:08:00,900 People were mad, like big mad. 1217 01:08:00,900 --> 01:08:02,166 "You... 1218 01:08:02,166 --> 01:08:04,733 I-I-I can no longer support this." 1219 01:08:04,733 --> 01:08:07,700 And, "It's clear that you hate white people," 1220 01:08:07,700 --> 01:08:08,966 and, like, that kind of thing. 1221 01:08:08,966 --> 01:08:10,600 ♪ We're growing where they can't see ♪ 1222 01:08:10,600 --> 01:08:12,966 ♪ These roots run deep 'cause we are seeds ♪ 1223 01:08:12,966 --> 01:08:16,300 But I kept it up because I wanted people to see, 1224 01:08:16,300 --> 01:08:18,366 like, this is what your fellow Americans 1225 01:08:18,366 --> 01:08:21,200 are saying about things that are actually happening. 1226 01:08:21,200 --> 01:08:23,500 Like, you're more mad about the video that I made 1227 01:08:23,500 --> 01:08:26,500 than the fact that, like, there are children in cages 1228 01:08:26,500 --> 01:08:28,933 or that young Black men are being shot in the streets. 1229 01:08:28,933 --> 01:08:30,766 Like, you're more mad about that. 1230 01:08:30,766 --> 01:08:33,333 -♪ Hey, I said we... ♪ 1231 01:08:33,333 --> 01:08:35,500 -I saw her when she came back and did Opry 1232 01:08:35,500 --> 01:08:37,966 for the first time in like 13 years, 1233 01:08:37,966 --> 01:08:41,133 and she performed "Seeds" at the Opry. 1234 01:08:41,133 --> 01:08:42,966 And I don't know if y'all been to the Opry, 1235 01:08:42,966 --> 01:08:45,933 but [laughs] the audience at the Opry 1236 01:08:45,933 --> 01:08:49,166 is not the "Seeds" type of audience, okay? 1237 01:08:49,166 --> 01:08:50,566 Like, everybody's there in they jeans 1238 01:08:50,566 --> 01:08:52,033 and they flannels and they're looking like, 1239 01:08:52,033 --> 01:08:54,433 "Yo, what is this chick talking about?" 1240 01:08:54,433 --> 01:08:57,300 -♪ I said the battle is now ♪ 1241 01:08:57,300 --> 01:09:00,300 ♪ And we are the army ♪ 1242 01:09:00,300 --> 01:09:03,333 ♪ I said the battle is now ♪ 1243 01:09:03,333 --> 01:09:06,233 ♪ We are the army ♪ 1244 01:09:06,233 --> 01:09:09,166 ♪ Said the battle is now ♪ 1245 01:09:09,166 --> 01:09:11,866 ♪ We are the army ♪ 1246 01:09:11,866 --> 01:09:14,000 ♪ Said the battle is now ♪ 1247 01:09:14,000 --> 01:09:17,066 ♪ It's now, it's now, right now ♪ 1248 01:09:17,066 --> 01:09:19,633 ♪ Hey, when they bury our dreams ♪ 1249 01:09:19,633 --> 01:09:22,033 ♪ We push 'em up through concrete ♪ 1250 01:09:22,033 --> 01:09:24,266 The biggest advantage of being an independent artist 1251 01:09:24,266 --> 01:09:26,466 is that I don't have to answer to anybody 1252 01:09:26,466 --> 01:09:28,066 for anything that I want to do. 1253 01:09:28,066 --> 01:09:29,566 I can just do it. 1254 01:09:29,566 --> 01:09:31,866 I think, like, the video for "Seeds" is the biggest thing. 1255 01:09:31,866 --> 01:09:34,733 That's a video that I would've  never  1256 01:09:31,866 --> 01:09:34,733 gotten the green light 1257 01:09:34,733 --> 01:09:38,100 to do when I was signed. 1258 01:09:38,100 --> 01:09:40,666 ♪ No hate can stop love ♪ 1259 01:09:40,666 --> 01:09:44,300 ♪ We are seeds ♪ 1260 01:09:44,300 --> 01:09:47,066 ♪ Hey, hey, said we are seeds ♪ 1261 01:09:47,066 --> 01:09:49,266 I'm an artist advocate. 1262 01:09:49,266 --> 01:09:54,100 I care very deeply about how artists are able to maneuver 1263 01:09:54,100 --> 01:09:57,766 within the world and within the music business. 1264 01:09:57,766 --> 01:10:01,966 I care very much about empowering them. 1265 01:10:01,966 --> 01:10:04,566 The guard's got to change. 1266 01:10:04,566 --> 01:10:06,333 Like, it has to start there 1267 01:10:06,333 --> 01:10:07,966 because if it doesn't start at the top, 1268 01:10:07,966 --> 01:10:09,466 how can we expect it to start -- 1269 01:10:09,466 --> 01:10:12,000 How can we expect it to change at the bottom? 1270 01:10:12,000 --> 01:10:16,466 It's very exciting to see Mickey hosting the ACMs. 1271 01:10:16,466 --> 01:10:18,166 It's very exciting to see Jimmie 1272 01:10:18,166 --> 01:10:20,100 winning Best New Artist on the CMAs. 1273 01:10:20,100 --> 01:10:21,333 It is. It's wonderful. 1274 01:10:21,333 --> 01:10:23,166 It's amazing. 1275 01:10:23,166 --> 01:10:27,633 Next sentence -- who's on the boards of these things? 1276 01:10:27,633 --> 01:10:29,033 Who's making the decisions? 1277 01:10:29,033 --> 01:10:30,700 Who's directing the shows? 1278 01:10:30,700 --> 01:10:33,766 Who's doing -- Who's doing the choosing? 1279 01:10:33,766 --> 01:10:38,733 I don't know that it's a purposeful leaving-out. 1280 01:10:38,733 --> 01:10:42,233 I think it's just, like, this generalized idea. 1281 01:10:42,233 --> 01:10:44,466 "This is what it looks like. This is what it sounds like. 1282 01:10:44,466 --> 01:10:46,400 And so this is what I'm going to look for. 1283 01:10:46,400 --> 01:10:49,066 This is what I'm signing." 1284 01:10:49,066 --> 01:10:51,833 As an artist, it's frustrating. 1285 01:10:51,833 --> 01:10:56,633 And so I'm kind of at a place in my career, 1286 01:10:56,633 --> 01:10:57,833 where I'm just trying to figure out, 1287 01:10:57,833 --> 01:10:59,600 how do we get wins on the board? 1288 01:10:59,600 --> 01:11:01,400 [ Pots banging, instruments strumming ] 1289 01:11:01,400 --> 01:11:03,566 -♪ Going 'round the country, going on a run ♪ 1290 01:11:03,566 --> 01:11:05,833 ♪ Going 'round the country having us fun ♪ 1291 01:11:05,833 --> 01:11:08,300 ♪ Going 'round the country, going 'round the world ♪ 1292 01:11:08,300 --> 01:11:13,533 ♪ Going 'round it quick before you can see my girl ♪ 1293 01:11:13,533 --> 01:11:17,233 -The Long Road festival is a four-year-old music festival 1294 01:11:17,233 --> 01:11:20,833 in Leicestershire in the UK. 1295 01:11:20,833 --> 01:11:24,233 Pretty much anybody who's anyone in country music 1296 01:11:24,233 --> 01:11:26,033 or in Americana music in the United States, 1297 01:11:26,033 --> 01:11:31,000 as well as in the UK, has played this festival. 1298 01:11:31,000 --> 01:11:34,166 And they offered me the Front Porch Stage 1299 01:11:34,166 --> 01:11:37,000 for an entire day to curate with artists 1300 01:11:37,000 --> 01:11:39,633 and call it the Color Me Country Takeover Stage. 1301 01:11:42,066 --> 01:11:45,000 While coming up with the logistics 1302 01:11:45,000 --> 01:11:48,733 and the flights and the hotels and transportation 1303 01:11:48,733 --> 01:11:49,966 and all that stuff, 1304 01:11:49,966 --> 01:11:51,566 we've been trying to raise money, 1305 01:11:51,566 --> 01:11:53,333 because it was really important to me 1306 01:11:53,333 --> 01:11:57,200 that all of these artists get to go over, free of charge, 1307 01:11:57,200 --> 01:11:58,666 like, that they're being paid 1308 01:11:58,666 --> 01:12:01,366 and they're not paying out of pocket to do this. 1309 01:12:01,366 --> 01:12:04,600 Miko, we're about to go to London! 1310 01:12:04,600 --> 01:12:07,100 -I know! I'm so excited! -I'm so excited! 1311 01:12:07,100 --> 01:12:09,866 -We're about to do some real work together, 1312 01:12:09,866 --> 01:12:11,533 some music together. 1313 01:12:11,533 --> 01:12:13,933 -Aside from money, the other really big challenge 1314 01:12:13,933 --> 01:12:16,833 was trying to decide who we were gonna take. 1315 01:12:16,833 --> 01:12:19,533 And so I was like, "All right, well, 1316 01:12:19,533 --> 01:12:23,000 if this is gonna be the first Color Me Country Stage 1317 01:12:23,000 --> 01:12:24,633 and the first year of the show 1318 01:12:24,633 --> 01:12:28,800 was dedicated to highlighting women of color, 1319 01:12:28,800 --> 01:12:31,500 then why not make that the lineup?" 1320 01:12:31,500 --> 01:12:35,166 I've enlisted my band as the house band for this. 1321 01:12:35,166 --> 01:12:37,766 Brandon Williams, bless his heart, 1322 01:12:37,766 --> 01:12:42,233 is taking up the mantle of music director for this whole thing. 1323 01:12:42,233 --> 01:12:45,833 -[ Playing piano ] 1324 01:12:45,833 --> 01:12:50,933 ♪ Like a tree standing in a hurricane ♪ 1325 01:12:50,933 --> 01:12:57,666 ♪ You can't knock me over with a little rain, no ♪ 1326 01:12:57,666 --> 01:13:03,700 ♪ In the rolling thunder, you can hear my name ♪ 1327 01:13:03,700 --> 01:13:09,033 ♪ Like a natural wonder, I'm built to stay ♪ 1328 01:13:09,033 --> 01:13:12,300 ♪ I'll never fall on shaky ground ♪ 1329 01:13:12,300 --> 01:13:17,033 ♪ Too strong and tall to cut me down ♪ 1330 01:13:17,033 --> 01:13:20,100 I'm trying to lead by example, 1331 01:13:20,100 --> 01:13:22,166 'cause otherwise I don't see it. 1332 01:13:22,166 --> 01:13:25,666 I don't know how anybody else is gonna get through. 1333 01:13:25,666 --> 01:13:28,066 And so that's how I've decided to conduct 1334 01:13:28,066 --> 01:13:30,100 this part of my career. 1335 01:13:30,100 --> 01:13:33,266 Like, whoever I can bring, all y'all get in the car. 1336 01:13:33,266 --> 01:13:36,800 Like, we're going. 1337 01:13:36,800 --> 01:13:39,933 I want to welcome you all to London. 1338 01:13:39,933 --> 01:13:43,666 [ Cheers and applause ] 1339 01:13:43,666 --> 01:13:45,600 We're gonna eat fish and chips. 1340 01:13:45,600 --> 01:13:48,300 We're gonna do British things. 1341 01:13:48,300 --> 01:13:50,533 Be real proper-like. -Yes! 1342 01:13:50,533 --> 01:13:52,166 -Not use the F-word. 1343 01:13:52,166 --> 01:13:54,433 [ All "aw" ] 1344 01:13:54,433 --> 01:13:59,033 But tomorrow -- tomorrow is where we get up, 1345 01:13:59,033 --> 01:14:01,966 we put on our fancy clothes. 1346 01:14:01,966 --> 01:14:03,866 Some of us will put on SPANX. 1347 01:14:03,866 --> 01:14:06,333 [ Cheering ] 1348 01:14:06,333 --> 01:14:09,166 And by "some of us," I mean me. 1349 01:14:09,166 --> 01:14:11,233 And then we will go 1350 01:14:11,233 --> 01:14:14,733 and we will change the face of country music. 1351 01:14:14,733 --> 01:14:17,400 [ Cheers and applause ] 1352 01:14:17,400 --> 01:14:18,500 -Wow! 1353 01:14:18,500 --> 01:14:23,966 -♪ Na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na ♪ 1354 01:14:23,966 --> 01:14:26,366 ♪ Na-na-na-na-na ♪ 1355 01:14:26,366 --> 01:14:28,500 ♪ One more time, I said ♪ 1356 01:14:28,500 --> 01:14:34,000 ♪ Na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na ♪ 1357 01:14:34,000 --> 01:14:36,066 ♪ Na-na-na-na-na ♪ 1358 01:14:36,066 --> 01:14:37,766 Long Road, how you doing? 1359 01:14:37,766 --> 01:14:39,000 [ Cheers and applause ] 1360 01:14:39,000 --> 01:14:40,566 Thank you. 1361 01:14:40,566 --> 01:14:44,566 So, my name is Rissi Palmer, and what you are about to see 1362 01:14:44,566 --> 01:14:46,566 for the next six artists 1363 01:14:46,566 --> 01:14:50,400 is the Color Me Country Radio Takeover Stage. 1364 01:14:50,400 --> 01:14:54,066 And I created this show to give platform to artists of color 1365 01:14:54,066 --> 01:14:58,633 in the genres of Americana, roots, and country music. 1366 01:14:58,633 --> 01:15:01,233 I'm so excited for you to hear everybody today. 1367 01:15:01,233 --> 01:15:04,366 And so the very first artist that you are going to be hearing 1368 01:15:04,366 --> 01:15:05,833 is Miss Charly Lowry. 1369 01:15:05,833 --> 01:15:09,466 -♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ 1370 01:15:09,466 --> 01:15:15,233 ♪ Hey, yeah-ah-ahhhh ♪ 1371 01:15:15,233 --> 01:15:19,700 ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh ♪ 1372 01:15:19,700 --> 01:15:25,133 ♪ Hey, yeah-ah-ahhh ♪ 1373 01:15:25,133 --> 01:15:26,400 [ Cheers and applause ] 1374 01:15:26,400 --> 01:15:29,300 -I like to be around people that build tables, 1375 01:15:29,300 --> 01:15:31,033 'cause I believe that that's what's necessary. 1376 01:15:31,033 --> 01:15:35,700 Like, we got enough established tables with not enough seats. 1377 01:15:35,700 --> 01:15:39,366 And I would rather be at my own table 1378 01:15:39,366 --> 01:15:42,100 with all the people that I've assembled 1379 01:15:42,100 --> 01:15:44,100 that I love and trust and respect 1380 01:15:44,100 --> 01:15:47,200 rather than have the one seat at a table 1381 01:15:47,200 --> 01:15:50,866 that I'm not sure that I can trust or respect 1382 01:15:50,866 --> 01:15:52,700 anybody that's sitting next to me. 1383 01:15:52,700 --> 01:15:54,900 The first part of this would not have been possible 1384 01:15:54,900 --> 01:15:58,166 in the first incarnation of my career. 1385 01:15:58,166 --> 01:16:01,400 Not only did I want to be the only, 1386 01:16:01,400 --> 01:16:03,966 I wanted to be the top one. 1387 01:16:03,966 --> 01:16:09,300 And little things that happened along the way 1388 01:16:09,300 --> 01:16:13,166 made it clear to me that, like, that's not sustainable 1389 01:16:13,166 --> 01:16:15,100 and it's not healthy. -Exactly. 1390 01:16:15,100 --> 01:16:17,533 So it's actually like, no, we're building each other up. 1391 01:16:17,533 --> 01:16:18,900 -Yeah. -So I really appreciate 1392 01:16:18,900 --> 01:16:21,533 seeing that and seeing how real it is. 1393 01:16:21,533 --> 01:16:23,000 -Yeah. -And I think it's exceptional 1394 01:16:23,000 --> 01:16:25,433 'cause it's a group of women, as well, 1395 01:16:25,433 --> 01:16:27,333 and finding, you know, 1396 01:16:27,333 --> 01:16:30,133 expressing the strength and beauty in that. 1397 01:16:30,133 --> 01:16:32,866 -You know, it's -- it's bigger than one of us. 1398 01:16:32,866 --> 01:16:34,000 And that's the thing. 1399 01:16:34,000 --> 01:16:35,800 If we can take that on a universal level 1400 01:16:35,800 --> 01:16:38,866 and say, "It's bigger than me," then we got something. 1401 01:16:38,866 --> 01:16:41,466 A man couldn't keep us down. It's just not possible. 1402 01:16:41,466 --> 01:16:44,233 -♪ It's the way I think, not how I talk ♪ 1403 01:16:44,233 --> 01:16:47,800 I've just learned that you have to think globally. 1404 01:16:47,800 --> 01:16:53,033 You have to think, "How can I help all of these people?" 1405 01:16:53,033 --> 01:16:58,833 ♪ Come Sunday morning, palms up in praise ♪ 1406 01:16:58,833 --> 01:17:01,833 So I want to do something real special, 1407 01:17:01,833 --> 01:17:03,833 and I'm gonna call up my sister-friend 1408 01:17:03,833 --> 01:17:06,233 who you guys just got to enjoy right before me, 1409 01:17:06,233 --> 01:17:08,733 Miss Miko Marks. [ Cheers and applause ] 1410 01:17:08,733 --> 01:17:12,333 And we are going to world-premiere 1411 01:17:12,333 --> 01:17:13,866 our brand-new song. 1412 01:17:13,866 --> 01:17:16,633 Okay, look. 1413 01:17:16,633 --> 01:17:18,233 Okay, here's the secret. 1414 01:17:18,233 --> 01:17:21,400 So, next year, me and this chick, 1415 01:17:21,400 --> 01:17:23,266 we're going on tour together. 1416 01:17:23,266 --> 01:17:25,500 [ Cheers and applause ] 1417 01:17:25,500 --> 01:17:28,500 And so anytime you see Rissi Palmer on a stage, 1418 01:17:28,500 --> 01:17:31,300 Miko Marks is gonna be right there with her, 1419 01:17:31,300 --> 01:17:33,366 because that is my girl. 1420 01:17:33,366 --> 01:17:35,900 And that is what I'm trying to teach all these artists 1421 01:17:35,900 --> 01:17:37,200 coming up after us. 1422 01:17:37,200 --> 01:17:39,766 You have to be wave makers, open up a door. 1423 01:17:39,766 --> 01:17:42,100 When you open up a door, leave it open 1424 01:17:42,100 --> 01:17:44,300 so the people can come in behind you. 1425 01:17:44,300 --> 01:17:46,166 [ Cheers and applause ] 1426 01:17:46,166 --> 01:17:48,666 ♪ 'Cause I'm still here ♪ 1427 01:17:48,666 --> 01:17:51,466 ♪ Even through the mud and tears ♪ 1428 01:17:51,466 --> 01:17:54,466 ♪ Tried to make me disappear ♪ 1429 01:17:54,466 --> 01:17:57,600 ♪ Counting me out for all these years ♪ 1430 01:17:57,600 --> 01:17:59,566 ♪ But whom shall I fear? ♪ 1431 01:17:59,566 --> 01:18:02,066 ♪ I'm still here ♪ 1432 01:18:02,066 --> 01:18:05,266 I tend to try to make my art 1433 01:18:05,266 --> 01:18:08,266 into something that I can be proud of, 1434 01:18:08,266 --> 01:18:11,733 something that my girls can be proud of, 1435 01:18:11,733 --> 01:18:14,600 because I know that none of this is promised. 1436 01:18:14,600 --> 01:18:16,266 Like, when I'm not in the room, 1437 01:18:16,266 --> 01:18:21,466 I want something that remains that matters. 1438 01:18:21,466 --> 01:18:23,433 Come on, girl. 1439 01:18:23,433 --> 01:18:25,733 ♪♪ 1440 01:18:25,733 --> 01:18:27,333 -♪ Mm ♪ 1441 01:18:27,333 --> 01:18:32,433 ♪ God forgive me, couldn't see my strength ♪ 1442 01:18:32,433 --> 01:18:33,766 Come on! 1443 01:18:33,766 --> 01:18:37,766 ♪ Didn't know the power I was working with ♪ 1444 01:18:37,766 --> 01:18:40,200 ♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh, no ♪ 1445 01:18:40,200 --> 01:18:46,433 ♪ Walked through hell to reclaim my crown ♪ 1446 01:18:46,433 --> 01:18:51,466 ♪ They ain't made nothing that can burn me down ♪ 1447 01:18:51,466 --> 01:18:54,233 -♪ 'Cause I'm still here ♪ 1448 01:18:54,233 --> 01:18:56,666 -♪ Even through the mud and tears ♪ 1449 01:18:56,666 --> 01:18:59,733 ♪ Tried to make me disappear ♪ 1450 01:18:59,733 --> 01:19:03,066 ♪ Counted me out after all these years ♪ 1451 01:19:03,066 --> 01:19:04,733 ♪ Whom shall I fear? ♪ 1452 01:19:04,733 --> 01:19:07,166 -♪ I'm still here ♪ 1453 01:19:07,166 --> 01:19:09,666 -♪ Rooted in the truth I speak ♪ 1454 01:19:09,666 --> 01:19:12,700 ♪ Like the spirits that carry me ♪ 1455 01:19:12,700 --> 01:19:16,000 ♪ Burst out the struggle sharp as a spear ♪ 1456 01:19:16,000 --> 01:19:17,966 ♪ Whom shall I fear? ♪ 1457 01:19:17,966 --> 01:19:22,266 ♪ I'm still here ♪ 1458 01:19:22,266 --> 01:19:24,933 -♪ Walked through the fire ♪ -♪ Mm ♪ 1459 01:19:24,933 --> 01:19:28,300 -♪ To reclaim my crown ♪ -♪ Oh-oh ♪ 1460 01:19:28,300 --> 01:19:31,700 ♪ No, they ain't made nothing ♪ -♪ No, they ain't made nothing ♪ 1461 01:19:31,700 --> 01:19:35,400 -♪ That can burn me dooown ♪ 1462 01:19:35,400 --> 01:19:38,966 -♪ Ooh-ooh-ooh ♪ 1463 01:19:38,966 --> 01:19:44,266 -♪ I'm still here ♪ 1464 01:19:44,266 --> 01:19:47,066 [ Cheers and applause ] 1465 01:19:47,066 --> 01:19:54,400 ♪♪ 1466 01:19:54,400 --> 01:19:56,666 -Miss Miko Marks! 1467 01:19:56,666 --> 01:20:09,033 ♪♪ 1468 01:20:09,033 --> 01:20:13,500 -♪ Give me that crown, give me that crown ♪ 1469 01:20:13,500 --> 01:20:16,466 ♪ I'm still here ♪ 1470 01:20:16,466 --> 01:20:22,066 ♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh ♪ 1471 01:20:22,066 --> 01:20:25,733 -♪ Ooh, give me my crown ♪ 1472 01:20:25,733 --> 01:20:30,000 -♪ I'm still here ♪ 1473 01:20:30,000 --> 01:20:32,333 [ Cheers and applause ] 1474 01:20:32,333 --> 01:20:44,133 ♪♪ 1475 01:20:44,133 --> 01:20:46,266 Miko Marks. 1476 01:20:46,266 --> 01:20:50,233 ♪♪ 1477 01:20:50,233 --> 01:20:51,633 Okay, we got two more songs. 1478 01:20:51,633 --> 01:20:53,766 Y'all ready to dance? Here we go! 1479 01:20:56,433 --> 01:20:59,233 -I hope you enjoyed our two films on emerging masters 1480 01:20:59,233 --> 01:21:02,200 J'Nai Bridges and Rissi Palmer. 1481 01:21:02,200 --> 01:21:04,700 If you're interested in watching more stories like these, 1482 01:21:04,700 --> 01:21:06,466 you can find new episodes from our 1483 01:21:06,466 --> 01:21:08,466 "In the Making" digital series now 1484 01:21:08,466 --> 01:21:13,800 at pbs.org/americanmasters and on the PBS app. 1485 01:21:13,800 --> 01:21:17,466 Each short film shares the story of creators on their journeys 1486 01:21:17,466 --> 01:21:21,300 to becoming masters of their artistic disciplines. 1487 01:21:21,300 --> 01:21:23,300 -Stay tuned for a sneak peak of short films 1488 01:21:23,300 --> 01:21:25,400 about visual artist Sydney G. James 1489 01:21:25,400 --> 01:21:26,766 and actor Lily Gladstone 1490 01:21:26,766 --> 01:21:28,733 from our new season of "In the Making." 1491 01:21:30,000 --> 01:22:22,066 ♪♪ 1492 01:22:29,000 --> 01:22:34,000 ♪♪ 1493 01:22:37,833 --> 01:22:41,633 [ Crowd cheering, music thumping ] 1494 01:22:45,300 --> 01:22:46,533 -Fans, turn your attention 1495 01:22:46,533 --> 01:22:48,900 to the Cure Auto Courtside Club. 1496 01:22:48,900 --> 01:22:51,600 Let's all give a warm Detroit Pistons welcome 1497 01:22:51,600 --> 01:22:54,600 to Sydney James! 1498 01:22:54,600 --> 01:22:57,066 -I'm inspired by Detroit, first and foremost. 1499 01:22:57,066 --> 01:22:59,533 I'm a native Detroiter. My dad was a foreman. 1500 01:22:59,533 --> 01:23:01,800 My mom, you know, was born and raised 1501 01:23:01,800 --> 01:23:03,166 in the Jeffries Projects. 1502 01:23:03,166 --> 01:23:05,300 We're abundantly Detroit, if you will. 1503 01:23:05,300 --> 01:23:07,400 And that's where I draw my inspiration. 1504 01:23:07,400 --> 01:23:09,600 I draw my inspiration from current events, 1505 01:23:09,600 --> 01:23:13,366 the status of the Black woman in society, in the world. 1506 01:23:13,366 --> 01:23:15,566 That's really what I focus most of my work on. 1507 01:23:15,566 --> 01:23:18,700 Right now, my favorite is mural painting 1508 01:23:18,700 --> 01:23:21,133 because you have a bigger audience, 1509 01:23:21,133 --> 01:23:22,733 an unintentional audience. 1510 01:23:22,733 --> 01:23:25,933 The one that stands out the most is literally the largest 1511 01:23:25,933 --> 01:23:27,800 'cause it's 8,000 square feet. 1512 01:23:27,800 --> 01:23:29,166 [ Laughs ] Like, how can you miss it? 1513 01:23:29,166 --> 01:23:30,500 It's a tribute to Detroit, 1514 01:23:30,500 --> 01:23:33,233 it's a tribute to that area, which is the North End. 1515 01:23:33,233 --> 01:23:35,800 A Detroit, you know, dream, if you will. 1516 01:23:35,800 --> 01:23:42,433 ♪♪ 1517 01:23:42,433 --> 01:23:43,966 Hey, Ma. 1518 01:23:43,966 --> 01:23:45,800 -Hey, Syd. 1519 01:23:45,800 --> 01:23:47,300 -Hey, Kat! 1520 01:23:47,300 --> 01:23:52,266 The neighborhood I grew up in is Conant Gardens. 1521 01:23:52,266 --> 01:23:55,333 It's the first neighborhood where Black people were allowed 1522 01:23:55,333 --> 01:23:58,966 to build and own their own homes. 1523 01:23:58,966 --> 01:24:01,666 Pistons starter coat. 1524 01:24:01,666 --> 01:24:05,000 Detroit is such a special place to grow up in 1525 01:24:05,000 --> 01:24:09,766 because it's the epitome of Blackness 1526 01:24:09,766 --> 01:24:11,866 and all that it encompasses, 1527 01:24:11,866 --> 01:24:15,300 and Black love, specifically. 1528 01:24:15,300 --> 01:24:17,766 Like, the painting I'm painting right now, right? 1529 01:24:17,766 --> 01:24:20,633 It's my mom. She's one of 12. 1530 01:24:20,633 --> 01:24:24,000 Same parents, from the South, from Shorter, Alabama. 1531 01:24:24,000 --> 01:24:27,166 They grew up in a two-bedroom, and they would house people 1532 01:24:27,166 --> 01:24:28,966 that were coming up here from the South. 1533 01:24:28,966 --> 01:24:31,500 That's really, "I'm coming up here to make it, 1534 01:24:31,500 --> 01:24:34,100 and I'm gonna help you make it, too." 1535 01:24:34,100 --> 01:24:36,800 Hey, Ma. 1536 01:24:36,800 --> 01:24:40,600 -Now, that's my oldest sister, Thomasine, 1537 01:24:40,600 --> 01:24:42,733 but we called her Jean. 1538 01:24:42,733 --> 01:24:44,466 She was the one had the burden 1539 01:24:44,466 --> 01:24:46,833 of taking care of the rest of us. 1540 01:24:46,833 --> 01:24:51,100 So it was really a shattering moment 1541 01:24:51,100 --> 01:24:54,533 when she passed away, for all of us. 1542 01:24:54,533 --> 01:24:58,866 And I probably think that happens in every family 1543 01:24:58,866 --> 01:25:03,800 when the first person that's close to you pass away. 1544 01:25:03,800 --> 01:25:07,366 You don't know what you're supposed to do. 1545 01:25:07,366 --> 01:25:10,066 -What I see in my mom when I look at the image 1546 01:25:10,066 --> 01:25:14,866 is happiness in a real way, in a carefree... 1547 01:25:14,866 --> 01:25:16,100 It's crazy because I don't know 1548 01:25:16,100 --> 01:25:18,566 if I've ever experienced her this way, 1549 01:25:18,566 --> 01:25:20,600 'cause I feel like that probably changes 1550 01:25:20,600 --> 01:25:22,166 once you have children 1551 01:25:22,166 --> 01:25:26,500 and, of course, once you start dealing with constant grief. 1552 01:25:29,933 --> 01:25:32,833 I'm about to paint a mural 1553 01:25:32,833 --> 01:25:36,766 of a dear friend of mine, Waajeed. 1554 01:25:36,766 --> 01:25:39,433 He recently signed a record deal, 1555 01:25:39,433 --> 01:25:41,300 and part of the promotion 1556 01:25:41,300 --> 01:25:43,833 is they want a mural painted of him. 1557 01:25:43,833 --> 01:25:47,866 And he reached out to me, and I was honored to accept. 1558 01:25:48,600 --> 01:25:51,466 [ Fire engine beeping ] 1559 01:25:51,466 --> 01:25:53,166 -Our deadline is on the 18th. 1560 01:25:53,166 --> 01:25:55,600 -For real? -It is. 1561 01:25:55,600 --> 01:25:58,200 So what's -- what's gonna happen is, like, 1562 01:25:58,200 --> 01:26:01,033 we took pictures for Sydney to do what she does, 1563 01:26:01,033 --> 01:26:03,166 and then we take pictures of the mural, 1564 01:26:03,166 --> 01:26:05,100 and that'll be the album cover. 1565 01:26:05,100 --> 01:26:06,100 -No pressure. 1566 01:26:06,100 --> 01:26:08,366 So many cameras, no pressure. 1567 01:26:08,366 --> 01:26:09,900 -You got this. 1568 01:26:09,900 --> 01:26:11,700 -Yep, we got it, brotha. 1569 01:26:15,966 --> 01:26:18,466 -You can do the high spots, I'll do the low spots. 1570 01:26:18,466 --> 01:26:21,333 -[ Laughs ] -Put her up on the ladder. 1571 01:26:21,333 --> 01:26:23,133 -Oh, I don't work on ladders, baby. 1572 01:26:23,133 --> 01:26:26,100 That's dangerous. 1573 01:26:26,100 --> 01:26:28,633 -You just have to know how to do it, that's all. 1574 01:26:28,633 --> 01:26:30,700 It's all about technique. 1575 01:26:30,700 --> 01:26:33,466 -Oh, no. I-I operate lifts and buckets. 1576 01:26:33,466 --> 01:26:36,500 That's what I'm talking about. I'm not working on the ladder. 1577 01:26:36,500 --> 01:26:38,700 -What's the -- What's the biggest job you've done? 1578 01:26:38,700 --> 01:26:40,300 How high up have you had to go? 1579 01:26:40,300 --> 01:26:42,333 -108 feet. 1580 01:26:42,333 --> 01:26:44,866 -Really? -Yep. 1581 01:26:47,766 --> 01:26:49,200 [ Bus honks ] 1582 01:26:49,200 --> 01:26:50,600 -Hey, Syd, does that happen to you often? 1583 01:26:50,600 --> 01:26:52,433 Like, you've kind of got to be in a position 1584 01:26:52,433 --> 01:26:55,633 where you got to provide a [bleep] résumé 1585 01:26:55,633 --> 01:26:58,700 for people and [bleep]? 1586 01:26:58,700 --> 01:27:01,400 -Literally every single -- 1587 01:27:01,400 --> 01:27:03,533 -Why do you think that is, though? 1588 01:27:03,533 --> 01:27:04,900 -I'm a woman. 1589 01:27:04,900 --> 01:27:06,633 I'm Black. 1590 01:27:06,633 --> 01:27:08,900 I'm 5'4" with freckles. 1591 01:27:08,900 --> 01:27:10,033 You know what I'm saying? 1592 01:27:10,033 --> 01:27:13,500 Like, you would be surprised. 1593 01:27:13,500 --> 01:27:16,766 They even ask me, like, "Oh! Are you just -- 1594 01:27:16,766 --> 01:27:18,466 Is this your work, or are you just -- 1595 01:27:18,466 --> 01:27:20,066 are you just coloring it? 1596 01:27:20,066 --> 01:27:21,966 Did somebody else do this?" 1597 01:27:21,966 --> 01:27:25,566 Like, it's never me, 'cause how could it be? 1598 01:27:25,566 --> 01:27:28,366 -Right. -It's ridiculous. 1599 01:27:28,366 --> 01:27:29,866 -But I can't imagine what it's like 1600 01:27:29,866 --> 01:27:33,233 from your point of view, but I know I've seen it. 1601 01:27:33,233 --> 01:27:35,400 -But it's all good. 1602 01:27:35,400 --> 01:27:38,166 Waajeed, I can see you! 1603 01:27:38,166 --> 01:27:40,633 -It ain't all good, though. It sucks. 1604 01:27:40,633 --> 01:27:43,533 -It does suck, but this is why we create space. 1605 01:27:43,533 --> 01:27:45,200 This is why you're making a school. 1606 01:27:45,200 --> 01:27:49,633 This is why I co-founded BLKOUT Walls. 1607 01:27:49,633 --> 01:27:53,000 I never created in a space like a mural festival 1608 01:27:53,000 --> 01:27:55,466 where there was another Black woman creating a mural, 1609 01:27:55,466 --> 01:27:58,866 until  1610 01:27:55,466 --> 01:27:58,866 I created my own mural festival, 1611 01:27:58,866 --> 01:28:03,333 until I took on mentees and I started giving them walls. 1612 01:28:03,333 --> 01:28:06,900 The inaugural BLKOUT Walls mural festival came to Detroit 1613 01:28:06,900 --> 01:28:10,000 because we all agreed that Black love resides here, 1614 01:28:10,000 --> 01:28:11,900 Black creativity resides here. 1615 01:28:11,900 --> 01:28:13,866 It belonged here first. 1616 01:28:13,866 --> 01:28:15,900 It was conceived by myself, 1617 01:28:15,900 --> 01:28:18,633 Thomas "Detour" Evans out of Denver, 1618 01:28:18,633 --> 01:28:20,933 and Max Sansing out of Chicago, 1619 01:28:20,933 --> 01:28:23,100 basically because of our shared experience 1620 01:28:23,100 --> 01:28:24,833 participating in mural festivals. 1621 01:28:24,833 --> 01:28:27,266 And there was always a lack of representation. 1622 01:28:27,266 --> 01:28:29,766 When kids come by with their parents 1623 01:28:29,766 --> 01:28:31,433 and they see us creating, 1624 01:28:31,433 --> 01:28:33,166 it's really inspirational to them 1625 01:28:33,166 --> 01:28:36,900 because they can see there's a future in being a creator. 1626 01:28:36,900 --> 01:28:40,933 For many, many decades, we've seen dilapidation. 1627 01:28:40,933 --> 01:28:43,633 We've seen the wear and tear of the buildings. 1628 01:28:43,633 --> 01:28:46,466 We've seen them being unoccupied, 1629 01:28:46,466 --> 01:28:48,566 unattended, and ignored. 1630 01:28:48,566 --> 01:28:51,400 So when the BLKOUT mural festivals came, 1631 01:28:51,400 --> 01:28:53,600 it was like a type of surgery 1632 01:28:53,600 --> 01:28:58,033 because these buildings were being mended back together. 1633 01:28:58,033 --> 01:29:01,666 There are people here that have been here for 100 years, 1634 01:29:01,666 --> 01:29:03,300 and we're not going anywhere. 1635 01:29:07,100 --> 01:29:10,500 -I hope that this mural and Sydney's work, 1636 01:29:10,500 --> 01:29:13,800 you know, can bring inspiration, you know, to the space. 1637 01:29:13,800 --> 01:29:17,500 It's her spirit that really has put her where she is 1638 01:29:17,500 --> 01:29:20,433 and where she's gonna land. 1639 01:29:20,433 --> 01:29:25,100 I even notice that spirit in her mom and in her aunt. 1640 01:29:25,100 --> 01:29:27,733 It's the energy that... -Coming down. 1641 01:29:27,733 --> 01:29:29,200 -...that just represents those 1642 01:29:29,200 --> 01:29:32,533 who have been counted out and forgotten about. 1643 01:29:32,533 --> 01:29:38,466 ♪♪ 1644 01:29:38,466 --> 01:29:40,933 -This is my Aunt Kathryn. 1645 01:29:40,933 --> 01:29:44,533 Kathy is what we call -- or Kat. 1646 01:29:44,533 --> 01:29:46,466 She's an artist. 1647 01:29:46,466 --> 01:29:48,500 But, yeah, this is just my go-to person. 1648 01:29:48,500 --> 01:29:52,300 She's my aunt, but she's also my person. 1649 01:29:52,300 --> 01:29:53,566 And I'll take off my mask-- 1650 01:29:53,566 --> 01:29:55,966 -So you're gonna paint me as an angry Black woman? 1651 01:29:55,966 --> 01:29:58,200 -Yes. -Okay, that's very good. 1652 01:29:58,200 --> 01:30:01,000 [ Laughs ] 1653 01:30:01,000 --> 01:30:03,866 I'm probably still an angry Black woman. 1654 01:30:03,866 --> 01:30:06,500 -Aren't we all? How could we not be, honestly? 1655 01:30:06,500 --> 01:30:08,633 -True. True, true, true. 1656 01:30:08,633 --> 01:30:10,666 -What made you the angry Black woman? 1657 01:30:10,666 --> 01:30:13,800 -Probably being a well-educated Black woman 1658 01:30:13,800 --> 01:30:17,000 who couldn't find a job. -Yeah. 1659 01:30:17,000 --> 01:30:20,333 -And advertising agencies at that point... 1660 01:30:20,333 --> 01:30:22,066 -Weren't really hiring us. -...at least around here -- 1661 01:30:22,066 --> 01:30:23,766 Yeah, they weren't. -Nah. 1662 01:30:23,766 --> 01:30:25,833 -They weren't. You were the one, like, 1663 01:30:25,833 --> 01:30:30,000 who made my mom, and my parents, period, 1664 01:30:30,000 --> 01:30:34,233 comfortable with me pursuing art. 1665 01:30:34,233 --> 01:30:36,500 Like, think about it. You know it. 1666 01:30:36,500 --> 01:30:39,733 Like, even when that teacher said to my mom in kindergarten, 1667 01:30:39,733 --> 01:30:43,266 like, you know, "Your daughter has abilities. 1668 01:30:43,266 --> 01:30:46,033 When she gets of age, you need to get her some extra, 1669 01:30:46,033 --> 01:30:47,966 some art class, some real art classes." 1670 01:30:47,966 --> 01:30:49,366 She didn't know what that meant. 1671 01:30:49,366 --> 01:30:51,600 You guided her through that process. 1672 01:30:56,133 --> 01:31:00,333 In a lot of my most recent work, I focus on women. 1673 01:31:01,133 --> 01:31:04,300 [ People shouting indistinctly ] 1674 01:31:06,200 --> 01:31:07,933 This video in particular 1675 01:31:07,933 --> 01:31:10,966 is what changed the trajectory of my work. 1676 01:31:10,966 --> 01:31:14,366 -Call my mama! Call my mama! Oh, God! 1677 01:31:14,366 --> 01:31:17,400 -Hey! -On your face! 1678 01:31:17,400 --> 01:31:20,266 -Even Malcolm X himself said that the Black woman 1679 01:31:20,266 --> 01:31:23,466 is the most oppressed person in this country, 1680 01:31:23,466 --> 01:31:30,300 and the last few years have proven nothing else but. 1681 01:31:30,300 --> 01:31:34,533 Black women are treated as the doormats to the doormats. 1682 01:31:34,533 --> 01:31:38,100 Like, we are the last on the list. 1683 01:31:38,100 --> 01:31:41,533 I painted myself as a doormat, naked on the floor, 1684 01:31:41,533 --> 01:31:46,000 and I laid it at the gallery entrance for a couple shows 1685 01:31:46,000 --> 01:31:48,100 and I saw in real time 1686 01:31:48,100 --> 01:31:50,066 how people interacted with the piece. 1687 01:31:50,066 --> 01:31:51,533 And I didn't like it. 1688 01:31:51,533 --> 01:31:52,866 -I felt like a first responder. 1689 01:31:52,866 --> 01:31:55,000 Like, I wanted to be like, "Don't step on that!" 1690 01:31:55,000 --> 01:31:56,466 Like I needed to, like -- I felt like 1691 01:31:56,466 --> 01:31:58,500 I needed to do this for the whole show, 1692 01:31:58,500 --> 01:31:59,633 just stand here like this. 1693 01:31:59,633 --> 01:32:05,166 But when I saw footprints on it, I wanted to cry. 1694 01:32:05,166 --> 01:32:07,600 -It's interesting. It still doesn't feel good. 1695 01:32:07,600 --> 01:32:09,266 [ Laughs ] 1696 01:32:11,833 --> 01:32:16,033 All of the marks came from... 1697 01:32:16,033 --> 01:32:19,433 people's shoes, dirt on shoes, 1698 01:32:19,433 --> 01:32:23,300 people just dancing on it, literally. 1699 01:32:23,300 --> 01:32:24,866 Oh, it's beer stains on it. 1700 01:32:24,866 --> 01:32:28,500 -When we talked about, like, how this was gonna go 1701 01:32:28,500 --> 01:32:31,300 and what the concept was, I was like, "Oh." 1702 01:32:31,300 --> 01:32:34,733 -Yeah. -That's [bleep] brilliant. 1703 01:32:34,733 --> 01:32:37,100 We honestly carry that every day. 1704 01:32:37,100 --> 01:32:38,300 -We do. -We carry it and, like, 1705 01:32:38,300 --> 01:32:40,333 we prepare for -- we know as Black women... 1706 01:32:40,333 --> 01:32:41,700 -We do. -...that's what happens, 1707 01:32:41,700 --> 01:32:43,400 and we can talk about it in different circles, 1708 01:32:43,400 --> 01:32:45,666 about how the world steps on us or this or that... 1709 01:32:45,666 --> 01:32:47,166 -How we move out of people's way. 1710 01:32:47,166 --> 01:32:48,966 It didn't feel good 'cause it's my work. 1711 01:32:48,966 --> 01:32:50,133 You're walking on my work, 1712 01:32:50,133 --> 01:32:54,300 but you're also walking on me literally. 1713 01:32:54,300 --> 01:32:57,233 So I flipped it, 1714 01:32:57,233 --> 01:32:59,333 and I made the decision that day 1715 01:32:59,333 --> 01:33:02,733 I was going to paint nothing but Black women, 1716 01:33:02,733 --> 01:33:06,733 as large and grand as I could. 1717 01:33:06,733 --> 01:33:25,566 ♪♪ 1718 01:33:25,566 --> 01:33:27,066 -Being a part of this project 1719 01:33:27,066 --> 01:33:29,566 is more than just my face on the building. 1720 01:33:29,566 --> 01:33:31,400 You know, this is my neighborhood. 1721 01:33:31,400 --> 01:33:34,133 My family's been here for three generations. 1722 01:33:34,133 --> 01:33:35,966 My children are the fourth. 1723 01:33:35,966 --> 01:33:39,933 When I look at this mural, I see community. 1724 01:33:39,933 --> 01:33:41,433 -What isthe disruption? 1725 01:33:41,433 --> 01:33:43,366 -Putting a Black woman in those spaces 1726 01:33:43,366 --> 01:33:47,433 where most people don't acknowledge her existence. 1727 01:33:49,566 --> 01:33:55,666 -Like, our existence as Black female creators is activism. 1728 01:33:55,666 --> 01:33:57,533 And that's kind of crazy to me. 1729 01:33:57,533 --> 01:34:10,966 ♪♪ 1730 01:34:10,966 --> 01:34:15,533 [ Drumming and singing ] 1731 01:34:15,533 --> 01:34:18,500 After George Floyd's murder, a Facebook friend of mine 1732 01:34:18,500 --> 01:34:20,966 posted an old article about Malice Green, 1733 01:34:20,966 --> 01:34:25,700 who had been beaten to death by cops back in 1992. 1734 01:34:25,700 --> 01:34:27,666 We actually got a conviction. 1735 01:34:27,666 --> 01:34:29,533 [ Crowd chanting and shouting ] 1736 01:34:29,533 --> 01:34:31,366 Detroit artist Benny White Jr. 1737 01:34:31,366 --> 01:34:35,466 painted a mural of Malice at the scene of the crime. 1738 01:34:35,466 --> 01:34:37,933 The article made note that the mural 1739 01:34:37,933 --> 01:34:41,466 had been destroyed against community's wishes. 1740 01:34:41,466 --> 01:34:44,900 And I thought to myself, 1741 01:34:44,900 --> 01:34:46,500 "Oh [bleep] 1742 01:34:46,500 --> 01:34:49,500 I need to paint another Malice Green wall." 1743 01:34:49,500 --> 01:34:52,066 But at the time I wasn't painting men. 1744 01:34:52,066 --> 01:34:54,200 And I also don't do memorial walls, 1745 01:34:54,200 --> 01:34:56,233 because essentially a lot of people think 1746 01:34:56,233 --> 01:34:59,200 that that's all the public art that Black people do. 1747 01:34:59,200 --> 01:35:01,266 In my mind, like, I had to make it bigger -- 1748 01:35:01,266 --> 01:35:03,966 bigger than Malice, bigger than George. 1749 01:35:03,966 --> 01:35:05,500 It had to be bigger. 1750 01:35:05,500 --> 01:35:10,400 And my idea was for the names of the victims of police brutality, 1751 01:35:10,400 --> 01:35:13,933 from the time I was born, 1979, 1752 01:35:13,933 --> 01:35:17,700 all the way to 2020, would go on the wall. 1753 01:35:17,700 --> 01:35:18,766 It's impossible. 1754 01:35:18,766 --> 01:35:21,066 It was impossible. 1755 01:35:21,066 --> 01:35:24,666 -We all fell into a puddle of tears. 1756 01:35:24,666 --> 01:35:26,200 -Everybody said, "I'm tough. 1757 01:35:26,200 --> 01:35:27,766 I wasn't gonna let y'all see me cry." 1758 01:35:27,766 --> 01:35:30,833 [ Laughter ] -They helped you on that one? 1759 01:35:30,833 --> 01:35:33,233 -Not -- Not even helped. 1760 01:35:33,233 --> 01:35:35,300 Like, they took the burden. 1761 01:35:35,300 --> 01:35:36,533 -Oh, really? 1762 01:35:36,533 --> 01:35:39,100 -Because there is no database. It doesn't exist. 1763 01:35:39,100 --> 01:35:40,400 -It's very hard. -Yes. 1764 01:35:40,400 --> 01:35:44,633 So they, along with Halima Cassells, Sabrina Nelson, 1765 01:35:44,633 --> 01:35:46,100 they all researched 1766 01:35:46,100 --> 01:35:48,733 and found these names of these murder victims. 1767 01:35:48,733 --> 01:35:52,400 Many of the victims were under age 18. 1768 01:35:52,400 --> 01:35:54,266 They were children. 1769 01:35:54,266 --> 01:36:01,033 If the victim was trans or part of the LGBTQ community, period, 1770 01:36:01,033 --> 01:36:03,800 nobody was even looking for 'em. 1771 01:36:03,800 --> 01:36:07,766 Over 1,000 names graced the walls. 1772 01:36:07,766 --> 01:36:11,766 So, yes, I introduced men back into my work 1773 01:36:11,766 --> 01:36:14,366 because now I'm focusing on the bigger picture, 1774 01:36:14,366 --> 01:36:18,500 and that's creating a safe space for us. 1775 01:36:18,500 --> 01:36:21,433 So process is ever evolving, it's ever changing. 1776 01:36:21,433 --> 01:36:24,233 Today it's about family. 1777 01:36:24,233 --> 01:36:28,533 Family is not only your relatives, but it's community. 1778 01:36:28,533 --> 01:36:31,633 It's a feeling of safety and nurturing. 1779 01:36:31,633 --> 01:36:36,333 -What I can tell you about these 11 people -- 1780 01:36:36,333 --> 01:36:39,400 these were my first loves. 1781 01:36:39,400 --> 01:36:42,666 These are the standard bearers. 1782 01:36:42,666 --> 01:36:45,200 -When I think of this family, 1783 01:36:45,200 --> 01:36:47,800 they look like guardians, right? 1784 01:36:47,800 --> 01:36:51,466 -It is not the -- the pose of aristocracy that we know. 1785 01:36:51,466 --> 01:36:53,500 -Look at Kat. [ Laughs ] -That's not what -- 1786 01:36:53,500 --> 01:36:54,933 -She got that "whaddup doe" stance! 1787 01:36:54,933 --> 01:36:57,166 -That's Detroit! -That's a "whaddup doe" stance! 1788 01:36:57,166 --> 01:37:01,800 But for us, like, these areour postures. 1789 01:37:01,800 --> 01:37:05,800 That is the way auntie who is, like, holding it all down. 1790 01:37:05,800 --> 01:37:07,166 Don't try it. 1791 01:37:07,166 --> 01:37:11,033 I like that this is showing Blackness in its elegance, 1792 01:37:11,033 --> 01:37:13,333 in its aristocracy, right? -In its fullness. 1793 01:37:13,333 --> 01:37:16,466 -But in its own voice. 1794 01:37:16,466 --> 01:37:20,700 And that's why I paint loud and large, 1795 01:37:20,700 --> 01:37:23,500 even if I'm painting small. 1796 01:37:23,500 --> 01:37:25,133 I want you to see me. 1797 01:37:28,900 --> 01:37:35,933 ♪♪ 1798 01:37:40,633 --> 01:37:44,000 [ Women vocalizing ] 1799 01:37:44,000 --> 01:37:51,066 ♪♪ 1800 01:37:51,066 --> 01:37:53,633 -For me, something that is the foundation 1801 01:37:53,633 --> 01:37:56,300 of all the acting work I do is Alexander -- 1802 01:37:56,300 --> 01:37:58,166 and that's the technique that you see pop up 1803 01:37:58,166 --> 01:37:59,900 in a lot of therapy. 1804 01:37:59,900 --> 01:38:02,466 A lot of physical rehabilitation, 1805 01:38:02,466 --> 01:38:03,933 music training. 1806 01:38:03,933 --> 01:38:08,866 And it's very much about your physical form. 1807 01:38:08,866 --> 01:38:12,800 Finding a way to be balanced, to be centered. 1808 01:38:12,800 --> 01:38:16,900 And it also lends itself well to creating a home base 1809 01:38:16,900 --> 01:38:21,233 for your psyche within your own body. 1810 01:38:21,233 --> 01:38:23,100 Coming back to a neutral stance, 1811 01:38:23,100 --> 01:38:30,066 coming back to a aligned, grounded, calm place. 1812 01:38:30,066 --> 01:38:32,166 Your brain knows you're acting. 1813 01:38:32,166 --> 01:38:34,200 Your brain knows it's not real. 1814 01:38:34,200 --> 01:38:36,000 Your body doesn't. 1815 01:38:36,000 --> 01:38:38,000 It brings you home. 1816 01:38:38,000 --> 01:38:40,833 Because sometimes when you're playing these characters, 1817 01:38:40,833 --> 01:38:43,133 you can get pretty far out there. 1818 01:38:43,133 --> 01:38:50,700 ♪♪ 1819 01:38:50,700 --> 01:38:53,500 My name's Lily Gladstone. 1820 01:38:53,500 --> 01:38:55,100 [ Laughter ] 1821 01:38:55,100 --> 01:38:56,833 I think. 1822 01:38:56,833 --> 01:39:00,233 Most of the time, my name's Lily Gladstone. 1823 01:39:00,233 --> 01:39:04,233 I am from Browning, East Glacier, Montana, 1824 01:39:04,233 --> 01:39:07,466 from the Blackfeet Reservation. 1825 01:39:07,466 --> 01:39:09,500 And I'm a professional actress. 1826 01:39:09,500 --> 01:39:11,000 ♪♪ 1827 01:39:11,000 --> 01:39:15,066 -♪ Ooh-ooh ♪ 1828 01:39:15,066 --> 01:39:19,766 ♪ Ooh-ooh ♪ 1829 01:39:19,766 --> 01:39:23,433 -And now we're on my rez! 1830 01:39:23,433 --> 01:39:25,900 [ Horn honking ] 1831 01:39:25,900 --> 01:39:28,900 -[ Laughs ] -Oh, look at the clouds! 1832 01:39:28,900 --> 01:39:31,900 Ohh! 1833 01:39:31,900 --> 01:39:35,333 Ohh! Look at Chief Mountain right now! 1834 01:39:38,300 --> 01:39:41,866 Ohh! I'm home! 1835 01:39:45,100 --> 01:39:48,200 I always kind of grew up with the certainty 1836 01:39:48,200 --> 01:39:51,100 that this is what I would be doing with my life, 1837 01:39:51,100 --> 01:39:54,266 because my dad always spoke of it as a certainty. 1838 01:39:54,266 --> 01:39:55,666 It's like -- this is what I was good at, 1839 01:39:55,666 --> 01:39:57,433 this is what I love to do. 1840 01:39:57,433 --> 01:39:59,133 He just said it with such certainty, 1841 01:39:59,133 --> 01:40:01,133 and I was young enough to just believe him. 1842 01:40:01,133 --> 01:40:04,666 -Oh. Your nose is split, too. 1843 01:40:04,666 --> 01:40:07,766 Other than that, you don't look half bad. 1844 01:40:10,166 --> 01:40:11,900 -I feel like it's -- it's the kind of thing 1845 01:40:11,900 --> 01:40:14,800 that you meet halfway because I love it 1846 01:40:14,800 --> 01:40:18,166 and I always kind of direct my life toward it. 1847 01:40:29,333 --> 01:40:32,566 But it also has to love you. It also has to choose you. 1848 01:40:32,566 --> 01:40:34,933 It also has to keep demanding that you show up for it, 1849 01:40:34,933 --> 01:40:36,666 because there have been several times 1850 01:40:36,666 --> 01:40:38,933 where I've thought of walking away from acting altogether. 1851 01:40:38,933 --> 01:40:41,500 'Cause it's not easy. 1852 01:40:41,500 --> 01:40:45,333 It's -- You're at the whims of what the work is. 1853 01:40:45,333 --> 01:40:47,700 I mean, I expected if I was gonna do this as a career, 1854 01:40:47,700 --> 01:40:49,400 if I wanted to pursue acting, 1855 01:40:49,400 --> 01:40:52,966 I would be spending most of my time cashiering 1856 01:40:52,966 --> 01:40:55,366 or waiting tables or something like that. 1857 01:40:55,366 --> 01:40:58,033 And, really, it was only the first handful of years 1858 01:40:58,033 --> 01:41:00,133 that I supplemented cashiering, 1859 01:41:00,133 --> 01:41:02,500 but most of my income since I've been a professional 1860 01:41:02,500 --> 01:41:04,366 has been from acting. 1861 01:41:04,366 --> 01:41:06,766 So it's wild. [ Laughs ] 1862 01:41:06,766 --> 01:41:08,266 Acting is something 1863 01:41:08,266 --> 01:41:11,566 that you really surrender a lot of your life to 1864 01:41:11,566 --> 01:41:13,766 if you love it and want to do it. 1865 01:41:13,766 --> 01:41:16,566 And there have been periods of time 1866 01:41:16,566 --> 01:41:19,333 where I haven't always been comfortable with that, 1867 01:41:19,333 --> 01:41:23,333 but just the motion of how those things are, 1868 01:41:23,333 --> 01:41:25,366 every time I feel like it doesn't want me anymore 1869 01:41:25,366 --> 01:41:27,766 and I'm ready to walk away from it, 1870 01:41:27,766 --> 01:41:29,300 then the big job calls. 1871 01:41:29,300 --> 01:41:30,933 That's been pretty consistent. 1872 01:41:34,733 --> 01:41:36,766 -Riley! -[ Gasps ] 1873 01:41:36,766 --> 01:41:40,466 [ Breathing heavily ] Holy [bleep] 1874 01:41:40,466 --> 01:41:43,500 -I'm good at rising to occasion. 1875 01:41:43,500 --> 01:41:45,833 I'm good at stepping into form. 1876 01:41:45,833 --> 01:41:47,566 I'm good at collaborating. 1877 01:41:47,566 --> 01:41:49,766 I'm good at meeting the process halfway, 1878 01:41:49,766 --> 01:41:53,800 which is part of what working with other creatives is about. 1879 01:41:53,800 --> 01:41:55,700 And then that was also reinforced 1880 01:41:55,700 --> 01:41:59,033 by people from our community. 1881 01:41:59,033 --> 01:42:01,133 So that's one of the big reasons I ran back to Montana. 1882 01:42:01,133 --> 01:42:04,233 It's just the only place that I felt encouraged to act. 1883 01:42:04,233 --> 01:42:09,266 ♪♪ 1884 01:42:09,266 --> 01:42:11,100 [ Indistinct conversations ] 1885 01:42:11,100 --> 01:42:12,600 ♪♪ 1886 01:42:12,600 --> 01:42:14,633 [ Group chanting ] 1887 01:42:14,633 --> 01:42:18,733 ♪♪ 1888 01:42:18,733 --> 01:42:21,066 [ Singing in native language ] 1889 01:42:21,066 --> 01:42:29,700 ♪♪ 1890 01:42:29,700 --> 01:42:30,800 Spread out. Just make sure 1891 01:42:30,800 --> 01:42:33,233 you're not touching who you're next. 1892 01:42:33,233 --> 01:42:34,766 You can step a little bit towards me. 1893 01:42:34,766 --> 01:42:36,166 Is it "AJ"? -Yeah. 1894 01:42:36,166 --> 01:42:38,566 -AJ. Awesome. 1895 01:42:38,566 --> 01:42:40,766 Alright. Good morning, everybody. 1896 01:42:40,766 --> 01:42:43,800 My name is Lily Gladstone. I'm a professional actress. 1897 01:42:43,800 --> 01:42:45,966 I grew up in Browning and East Glacier 1898 01:42:45,966 --> 01:42:47,800 and then moved to Seattle when I was in middle school. 1899 01:42:47,800 --> 01:42:49,933 Then I came back to Missoula, Montana, 1900 01:42:49,933 --> 01:42:51,900 went to college there, studied theater, 1901 01:42:51,900 --> 01:42:55,200 and left Missoula about five years ago. 1902 01:42:55,200 --> 01:42:57,333 And I've just been bouncing all over the country 1903 01:42:57,333 --> 01:42:59,666 doing different projects since then. 1904 01:42:59,666 --> 01:43:01,833 So, yeah, first thing in the morning, 1905 01:43:01,833 --> 01:43:03,566 I'm still kind of stiff and tired. 1906 01:43:03,566 --> 01:43:06,933 And one of the most important things about being an actor 1907 01:43:06,933 --> 01:43:10,800 is being in touch with what your body's doing. 1908 01:43:10,800 --> 01:43:13,833 So you kind of start your day accepting what you've got. 1909 01:43:13,833 --> 01:43:16,366 But, um, the way that I work 1910 01:43:16,366 --> 01:43:17,833 and the way that I was taught to work in school... 1911 01:43:17,833 --> 01:43:20,333 I think the arts, in general, can be a fairly 1912 01:43:20,333 --> 01:43:24,266 solitary individual experience. 1913 01:43:24,266 --> 01:43:27,700 For me, one of the things that's keeping it -- 1914 01:43:27,700 --> 01:43:29,133 keeping me in it now 1915 01:43:29,133 --> 01:43:31,800 is just the continual positive reinforcement 1916 01:43:31,800 --> 01:43:35,366 from my community -- you know, Blackfeet community, 1917 01:43:35,366 --> 01:43:38,100 Indian country at large, especially kids. 1918 01:43:38,100 --> 01:43:41,066 [ Speaking indistinctly ] 1919 01:43:41,066 --> 01:43:44,000 A way that I sustained a love of acting 1920 01:43:44,000 --> 01:43:47,433 when it was slow for me was helping teach it 1921 01:43:47,433 --> 01:43:51,166 and encourage it out of others. 1922 01:43:51,166 --> 01:43:54,366 Not everybody who studies acting or takes an acting class 1923 01:43:54,366 --> 01:43:56,300 ends up becoming an actor, 1924 01:43:56,300 --> 01:43:59,000 but it does teach you how to stand stronger 1925 01:43:59,000 --> 01:44:03,100 on your own two feet, how to speak more clearly, 1926 01:44:03,100 --> 01:44:06,266 how to articulate yourself and your presence more. 1927 01:44:06,266 --> 01:44:10,800 It gives you a sense of autonomy of your own story. 1928 01:44:10,800 --> 01:44:12,600 -[ Knock ] -Who's that? 1929 01:44:12,600 --> 01:44:15,300 Are we -- I forgot. [ Laughter ] 1930 01:44:15,300 --> 01:44:17,633 -We don't drink anymore. Remember? 1931 01:44:17,633 --> 01:44:20,833 -That's right. I forgot. Get me a Coke then. 1932 01:44:20,833 --> 01:44:22,066 -Two Cokes. 1933 01:44:22,066 --> 01:44:23,866 -That was like 200% better. 1934 01:44:23,866 --> 01:44:25,533 Both of you are doing a really good job 1935 01:44:25,533 --> 01:44:27,266 trying to be respectful of each other's lines 1936 01:44:27,266 --> 01:44:28,766 and get it correctly. 1937 01:44:28,766 --> 01:44:33,766 I care less about the fact that you're driving backwards. 1938 01:44:33,766 --> 01:44:35,100 You know, that's incidental. 1939 01:44:35,100 --> 01:44:37,033 I just care about what this friendship is. 1940 01:44:37,033 --> 01:44:38,900 And you found that really easily. 1941 01:44:38,900 --> 01:44:40,600 That was really nice toward the end. 1942 01:44:40,600 --> 01:44:43,866 On this next pass-through, find some more moments 1943 01:44:43,866 --> 01:44:47,066 that are maybe not in the script like, uh... 1944 01:44:47,066 --> 01:44:49,166 Indian youth more than anybody 1945 01:44:49,166 --> 01:44:51,733 need to feel that sense of, 1946 01:44:51,733 --> 01:44:55,533 "I have something to say. My voice matters." 1947 01:44:55,533 --> 01:44:57,866 ♪♪ 1948 01:44:57,866 --> 01:45:01,500 Modern, colonized society 1949 01:45:01,500 --> 01:45:04,566 doesn't want us to -- to be empowered, 1950 01:45:04,566 --> 01:45:08,433 doesn't want us to stand firmly on our own two feet, 1951 01:45:08,433 --> 01:45:10,966 especially in communities like Browning. 1952 01:45:10,966 --> 01:45:15,066 ♪♪ 1953 01:45:15,066 --> 01:45:18,200 Stories are so central to our culture 1954 01:45:18,200 --> 01:45:21,200 and our understanding of the world. 1955 01:45:21,200 --> 01:45:23,633 ♪♪ 1956 01:45:23,633 --> 01:45:27,300 I find myself constantly confronting the perception 1957 01:45:27,300 --> 01:45:30,700 that I'm not really an actor, 1958 01:45:30,700 --> 01:45:33,400 which, in a way, is a compliment. 1959 01:45:33,400 --> 01:45:35,866 [ Laughter ] 1960 01:45:35,866 --> 01:45:37,200 ♪♪ 1961 01:45:37,200 --> 01:45:40,400 [ Laughter ] 1962 01:45:40,400 --> 01:45:42,166 -I was born for this. 1963 01:45:42,166 --> 01:45:44,066 -Because I think a lot of times if you're not somebody 1964 01:45:44,066 --> 01:45:46,200 who's a filmmaker, if you're not a director, 1965 01:45:46,200 --> 01:45:48,766 if you're not somebody who's used to working with the craft 1966 01:45:48,766 --> 01:45:52,533 and you see somebody just doing the thing, it looks easy. 1967 01:45:55,633 --> 01:45:57,366 You know, I think "Certain Women" -- 1968 01:45:57,366 --> 01:45:59,000 a lot of people had the perception 1969 01:45:59,000 --> 01:46:02,700 I was just a Montana ranch hand that happened 1970 01:46:02,700 --> 01:46:04,300 to be natural on film. 1971 01:46:04,300 --> 01:46:08,166 But that was very, very concentrated character work 1972 01:46:08,166 --> 01:46:10,766 that I did every day for two months 1973 01:46:10,766 --> 01:46:13,233 leading up to walking on set. 1974 01:46:13,233 --> 01:46:15,300 That was a character I stepped in and out of 1975 01:46:15,300 --> 01:46:18,433 that had a very strong physical map that was not mine. 1976 01:46:18,433 --> 01:46:21,433 It's really hard doing nonverbal acting. 1977 01:46:21,433 --> 01:46:23,000 When you're on cameras, 1978 01:46:23,000 --> 01:46:26,433 you always have to be very, very present. 1979 01:46:26,433 --> 01:46:29,066 You know, when you're watching it as the audience, 1980 01:46:29,066 --> 01:46:31,700 you're seeing the frame, you're seeing what's happening in it. 1981 01:46:31,700 --> 01:46:35,666 Where I'm sitting, I'm seeing Brooke, I'm seeing camera. 1982 01:46:35,666 --> 01:46:38,133 I'm seeing sound. I'm seeing this light. 1983 01:46:38,133 --> 01:46:39,866 I'm hearing the clock ticking. 1984 01:46:39,866 --> 01:46:42,300 There's a bunch of stuff in my view 1985 01:46:42,300 --> 01:46:44,800 that I have to just space out. 1986 01:46:44,800 --> 01:46:46,600 ♪♪ 1987 01:46:46,600 --> 01:46:49,166 Acting is something where I've sacrificed 1988 01:46:49,166 --> 01:46:50,633 a good period of my life, 1989 01:46:50,633 --> 01:46:54,166 sacrificed any semblance of security. 1990 01:46:54,166 --> 01:46:55,666 And that's the breaking point. 1991 01:46:55,666 --> 01:46:57,700 I mean, it's almost broken me several times, 1992 01:46:57,700 --> 01:47:01,666 but you have to be a little bit tortured and haunted by it. 1993 01:47:07,466 --> 01:47:10,066 Gotta look good for that. 1994 01:47:10,066 --> 01:47:11,400 Um... 1995 01:47:26,866 --> 01:47:28,366 -Ooh. 1996 01:47:29,833 --> 01:47:34,400 I was expressing a little bit of anxiety 1997 01:47:34,400 --> 01:47:37,533 about this rising star 1998 01:47:37,533 --> 01:47:39,500 that somehow I'm stuck to, that I'm latched to -- 1999 01:47:39,500 --> 01:47:41,266 like it's got its own trajectory 2000 01:47:41,266 --> 01:47:43,366 and I'm kind of along for the ride. 2001 01:47:43,366 --> 01:47:47,900 Um, there's a sense of losing some autonomy in that. 2002 01:47:47,900 --> 01:47:49,433 There's a sense of getting lost in it, 2003 01:47:49,433 --> 01:47:51,166 and I already went through it a little bit. 2004 01:47:51,166 --> 01:47:52,466 [ Photographers shouting ] 2005 01:47:52,466 --> 01:47:54,033 -Lily, straight ahead! 2006 01:47:54,033 --> 01:47:55,333 Nope. Right here. There it is. 2007 01:47:55,333 --> 01:47:57,233 -Okay, Lily. That smile right here, Lily. 2008 01:47:57,233 --> 01:48:00,033 -So, we interviewed you last year for "Certain Women." 2009 01:48:00,033 --> 01:48:01,566 -Yes. -You're back. We're excited. 2010 01:48:01,566 --> 01:48:03,933 -I am super excited to be back at Sundance. 2011 01:48:03,933 --> 01:48:07,000 Just lucky. It's Sundance, Toronto. 2012 01:48:07,000 --> 01:48:09,600 Sundance, again. It's the best film festival. 2013 01:48:09,600 --> 01:48:12,033 This is really exciting. 2014 01:48:12,033 --> 01:48:14,800 Like, "Certain Women" is -- 2015 01:48:14,800 --> 01:48:18,066 It's such a beautiful film, and it hits filmmakers. 2016 01:48:18,066 --> 01:48:19,533 It hit people who love film. 2017 01:48:19,533 --> 01:48:22,400 It hit people who watch film the same way that I watch film. 2018 01:48:22,400 --> 01:48:24,666 So there was -- there was buzz around it. 2019 01:48:24,666 --> 01:48:26,166 There were nominations. 2020 01:48:26,166 --> 01:48:29,433 There was the promise of -- or the possibility 2021 01:48:29,433 --> 01:48:33,533 of some big nominations beyond the critic circles. 2022 01:48:33,533 --> 01:48:35,466 There was a lot of flashing cameras. 2023 01:48:35,466 --> 01:48:36,900 There were a lot of red carpets. 2024 01:48:36,900 --> 01:48:38,533 There were a lot of things I was not used to. 2025 01:48:38,533 --> 01:48:41,466 And it was ungrounding. It was kind of scary. 2026 01:48:41,466 --> 01:48:43,566 So, just inherently, 2027 01:48:43,566 --> 01:48:47,166 you know that the audience has a perception 2028 01:48:47,166 --> 01:48:50,266 of you and your work that is theirs. 2029 01:48:50,266 --> 01:48:51,433 It's not yours. 2030 01:48:51,433 --> 01:48:52,800 It's really none of your business 2031 01:48:52,800 --> 01:48:55,233 how the audience takes your work. 2032 01:48:55,233 --> 01:48:57,666 So I always find it really intriguing, 2033 01:48:57,666 --> 01:49:00,200 even though it's frustrating in some ways, 2034 01:49:00,200 --> 01:49:02,933 especially when you're being thrown into the industry 2035 01:49:02,933 --> 01:49:08,233 and you become a marketable product for somebody, you know? 2036 01:49:08,233 --> 01:49:11,233 Your awards, recognition, any nominations, 2037 01:49:11,233 --> 01:49:14,300 your reviews -- all of that makes you 2038 01:49:14,300 --> 01:49:18,066 part of the marketing package. 2039 01:49:18,066 --> 01:49:19,600 Really, "Killers of the Flower Moon" 2040 01:49:19,600 --> 01:49:21,566 coming out I know is going to be my introduction 2041 01:49:21,566 --> 01:49:23,000 to a lot of people. 2042 01:49:23,000 --> 01:49:25,066 'Cause not everybody watches independent film. 2043 01:49:25,066 --> 01:49:28,166 I had auditioned for "Killers of the Flower Moon." 2044 01:49:28,166 --> 01:49:31,600 Ellen Lewis, Martin Scorsese's casting director, 2045 01:49:31,600 --> 01:49:34,100 had gone through the process, had really good feedback. 2046 01:49:34,100 --> 01:49:35,400 COVID happened. 2047 01:49:35,400 --> 01:49:37,300 I heard rumors about the project. 2048 01:49:37,300 --> 01:49:39,133 And then it had been long enough that I was just like, 2049 01:49:39,133 --> 01:49:41,033 "Oh, it didn't go my way. I'll let it go." 2050 01:49:41,033 --> 01:49:43,000 Kind of one of those moments 2051 01:49:43,000 --> 01:49:46,166 where I'd more decidedly started trying to walk away 2052 01:49:46,166 --> 01:49:49,366 from even the arts altogether. 2053 01:49:49,366 --> 01:49:51,300 It pulled me back in. 2054 01:49:51,300 --> 01:49:54,833 On Mollie Burkhart's birthday, 2055 01:49:54,833 --> 01:49:59,166 even though they didn't know that, I was offered the role. 2056 01:49:59,166 --> 01:50:01,400 -[Bleep] it. 2057 01:50:01,400 --> 01:50:03,033 [ Children laughing ] 2058 01:50:03,033 --> 01:50:04,600 Teachers, we have a runner. 2059 01:50:04,600 --> 01:50:07,333 I repeat. Teachers, we have a runner. 2060 01:50:07,333 --> 01:50:09,233 -Rarely do I find a Native character 2061 01:50:09,233 --> 01:50:12,533 that's allowed to just be on screen as a human being... 2062 01:50:12,533 --> 01:50:16,833 ♪♪ 2063 01:50:16,833 --> 01:50:20,200 ...with wants, with fears, with nuance, with complexity, 2064 01:50:20,200 --> 01:50:22,500 without them saying something 2065 01:50:22,500 --> 01:50:26,166 about basically a Western perspective on colonization. 2066 01:50:26,166 --> 01:50:29,133 ♪♪ 2067 01:50:29,133 --> 01:50:34,333 I feel like a lot of what I strive for in my work 2068 01:50:34,333 --> 01:50:37,600 is about having a strong sense of self 2069 01:50:37,600 --> 01:50:41,433 as an individual is a good starting point. 2070 01:50:41,433 --> 01:50:44,200 But it is the starting point. It's not the end point. 2071 01:50:44,200 --> 01:50:56,266 ♪♪ 2072 01:50:56,266 --> 01:50:57,900 [ Buzzes lips ] 2073 01:50:57,900 --> 01:51:28,133 ♪♪ 2074 01:51:28,133 --> 01:51:36,233 ♪♪