Embracing a New Era with H.E.R.

I was feeling the teenage angst and I was like having crushes and like getting my heart broken

“And it was like, you know, you were allowed to go on a date”

By then yeah, so if you even get your heart crushed not really you weren't supposed to be getting your heart crushed This episode is brought to you by progressive insurance and midi health How are you? Hi Craig. I'm good. I'm a show. Yeah. Yeah, we're here. We're we are we are back. We got more great. I know I know people to talk to. I'm energized. I'm energized. You know I have to say though about LA

I usually don't have allergic reactions, but when I come to LA My nose starts running and I start coughing. It's going to be what I go through. I do that's like everywhere I go I have a running nose

I was known. I was the allergy kid growing out. It was horrible, but it got me out of the yard

So this it got my sister out of doing yard work because every time she go out there, it would be like And it would be that those the sneezing attack and your eyes would be so red and runny and Mom would just say go back to the outside and I'm out there pulling weeds And if you saw back yard, it was like maybe eight weeds back there

“But you know when it after the spring there would be all this growth in the back, right?”

And it would be cutting that stuff down I'm making it on like we had a back 40, but if we had like for sure, it was a city backyard But it was still you know

It was still full of green things that made me sneeze and you never had to cut the grass, right? Oh my god

That was your job no, I'm thinking after I left, but no any who we we digress But we do we do we have a really great Conversation as we always do one of my favorite little people. No, she's a grown woman But me she's a yeah, she's a baby out in the streets living her life and doing some good things So I and you know I you have known her

This is my first time meeting her. I didn't even get a chance to meet her at Baroque birthday party because it was so Hectic but she performed at the birthday party and My younger boys absolutely love her music, so which is which is interesting, you know, because they're more They're like 16 and 14 Her music is

Universal all ages. Yeah, you know, she's just that talented But why don't we do a proper introduction and get her out yet her out here her is a five-time Grammy award winning a Academy award winning an Emmy award-winning musician actor director and producer She is best known for her Grammy award-winning musical project her

She has started in movies like the color purple and she will next be heard as the voice of Joe In the dream works animated movie forgotten island. Yeah, it's a good one. So without further ado Ladies and gentlemen Welcome to IMO thank you so much. I'm sorry for being here. You know, I'm loving the super curls Thank you so good. Thank you so much so good. You've been doing that lately. Yeah, you know, this is me

I'm unmasked. You know, I don't have glasses on like this is me I know I mean about where my sunglasses today It's like that's old. That's old news

“Gabb is out here in the streets now. How does it how does it feel?”

sort of unmasking I know you you know you've been out here as you for a while And I know that transition was a little scary for you, too. Yeah, and still is and I haven't really Supprojects in a really long time. So I feel like I haven't fully thrusted myself into that era and really Got to show people what becoming no pun intended Like for me and I'm just excited like it excites me more than it scares me

But I just feel like a new Grounding and like confidence in myself and who I am aside from what I have to offer to the world and like that is like a whole different level of Me, you know, and the curls are just part of that. I feel like it's a symbol for that. Yeah That you guys I was just saying you guys know each other Yeah, how does that come about

I know

Where do we where do we first it's there been a bunch of you know, yeah, cross-sections?

Well, what's your memory of our first meeting because it feels like I it's been a lot Yeah, totally. I know I was even trying to think the first time I feel like I've known you for so long now But there was like a zoom or something

“It was like a video call like over the pandemic that's how I the show”

That I did the song for The song change it was like this beautiful animated like moment for We the people yeah, and that was really cool and then we had a great conversation when was it the lighter becoming came out Yeah, it was the light on Revolt yeah, and that was a really beautiful conversation. It was Tina knows and Kelly Rowland and

Angie Martinez who else when he's Yeah, yeah, and that was like the first time. I really got to look at your eyes and Say what's going on in there? Yeah, that was really special you have no idea what that conversation did for me Like a lot of the transition

I was going through and just like being around so many powerful women especially in an industry full of like a lot of men

It was so refreshing you have no idea like it really It sort of like catapulted me into finding my kitchen table and you know

“Just like doing this like outreach. I think artists like we're isolated a lie”

Yeah, that's it. We talked about like how surprising that is. Yeah, it's crazy. What do you think the reason is you guys don't Not collaborate, but sort of So socially hilarious. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a combination of things. I think I I feel like You know

I don't want to speak negatively Because I know there's there's so many layers to it, but I think for me at least I've found that like when you're just in the studio And you're going going and the only time you see people is like backstage at the orange shows

You know, you never really get a really artificial crazy not you know people think those shows are great

Yeah, you know, oh everybody's hanging out, but it's just a zoo. Yeah, it's crazy Yeah, so yeah, that's not a place to socialize You know, totally. Do you feel like it and I don't want you to say negative if you go negative if you don't want to But does it feel like competition a little or there's always gonna be a layer of that But I don't feel that necessarily for me. I think that

Honestly, there's a lot of people who you know Someone told me the other day artists and and a creatives were sometimes a controlled and contained substance You know that it benefits a lot of people who are in the music business Okay, to You know, oh, don't worry. We got it. We got you don't worry. Don't talk like we'll handle, you know, and and you become

sort of Insulated And and and isolated into this this island of people who are sort of filtering Yeah, and that benefits a lot of people in the business You know, because

It means more Control over the thing and sometimes it's good It's protective is a detective layer. I was just thinking about that because you started so young Yeah, that that probably was helpful to start with. Totally. I'm so grateful for that but

it definitely Became a little bit princess locked in a tower via a little bit. You know, and I think let me out Yeah, yeah, I want a friend Yeah, I definitely gave that and you know, I think the glasses even, you know, taking them off has made me feel even more connected to people but um yeah, anyway, I mean, I do think that

Now I'm in a place of just like talking to people and Realizing how it's crazy how similar our experiences are even if we're completely different artists completely different You know journeys like there are so many similarities like I just had the privilege of talking to a lot of different women Artists And even just in the past few months in the past few years like he said since our talk. Yeah, and it was like oh my gosh

Girl, you want to do that too or you felt this too. Oh, man I wish we would have you know reached out to each other. We would have talked about it and and so It's been a really great eye opening and you also you guys, you know

“When you're an artist you're often and as gifted as you are it it's that you're starting your career at a time when you should”

You would normally be flexing and learning that social

You didn't have a college experience and that's those are the beginnings

“I do that yeah, just start learning. Oh, I'm in my dorm. I'm going to figure out what to do. I got to make a new friend”

I've got to pick up the phone. I've got to walk across the the cafeteria and those are muscles, you know I'd like you so you know you play every instrument under the sun your voices on point But there's that there's that the practice of the the comfort level of reaching out to other people and I'm so glad for you that you're starting to to do that especially when it comes to women

We need those conversations so so powerful what you're saying because you know that just makes me think about

Especially when you're young and industry and you're learning and you're like this is so new and There are people who have been in the music industry for a long time and a lot of times what happens is You start to think like oh These are the professionals. I don't know anything and then you start Quieting your instincts or your inner voice and distrusting that and leaning on the quote on quote professionals

“But I think we're all trying to figure it out. I think like I think knowing that there's value to”

Your newness and your perspective no matter how Much experience you have and like learning you know how to like you said exercise that muscle of speaking up and you know asking questions and then Descerning like what what you're receiving you know what I mean and not outsourcing your Stuff all the time you know what I mean like really trusting your inner voice like that has been my whole journey

I think the past few years like I am now the professional

You sure and I I've learned a lot but I'm also always learning and always a student

But at the same time like my perspective is so important and valuable and There's always gonna be someone who has experienced more and knows more or quote on quote But that's not what it's really about My favorite word right now is autonomy I mean autonomy over my life and my career and you know keeping things for myself like and really

Keeping my own peace and center and like doing the things that give me that and surrounding myself with people who Respect that and honor that you know and also learning to Set those boundaries and honor my voice. Have you fired anybody yet oh We try to not be negative. No, but I'm just saying you know But that's also a part of create you know, it's like that's a big move right

Especially when you're young and you have when you start doing that and you look and go You're not working for me And so I'm just wondering have you done that yet? Yes, I am there you go girl and that was it wasn't fun It wasn't not fun. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life to be honest with you like I Such a great question, but no I honestly I feel like

Artists we sometimes especially in the beginning people make you think you work for them Like it's crazy and again when you're young and you know you're just trying to figure it out like you want to lean on your council You want to lean on the people that are there to support you and and help you and

nurture you but there comes a point where it's like way to second who's working for you know and so that is a really big

Big step in any one's career and that was really really hard and You keep talking about how young you are but you're pretty wise for a young person so your your

“intuition is gonna take you a long way like if you feel like you need to fire somebody that's”

Probably the right decision. Yeah, and I'm working on my reaction time because I feel like I was sick for too long Yeah, and there's also such a thing as move to quickly yeah, but like when you know you know Yeah, and it's like it's sometimes it's important to act on that and on every level, you know Not just when it comes to frying people, but some meat knows you okay, I want to get to know you But before I start at day one when there's a little kid I was born talk about we're got nylon

That looks like we got to get a little we got a little taste of it so so it looks really good and Tell me about how that all came about What it's like to voice a character that's you're not your first voice over for a character film Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah big deal. Okay, honestly, I mean, it's the perfect transition because again as I'm becoming and like really

I feel like forgotten island has come at the perfect time because I get to share With the world like a piece of my culture and my background and why I am and what has really made me me and

Yeah, that movie is like it is so special. I'm not just saying that because I'm in it, but it's like the first major

film that is highlighting Filipino culture yeah, which is a huge deal, right? So I remember I'm a huge Dreamworks fan. I'm like a huge animation fan Dreamworks specifically like Shrek, Metagascar Like while robot like all the movies a Dreamworks are my favorite I went to the building and I I had a meeting with the directors and they were just so excited to tell me about the project

“Well, I think I was in the building for something else, but they”

Wanted to meet me and we talked about it and I saw their enthusiasm and the the directors are also best friends like they're actually best friends in real life And One of them has a Filipino wife I was gonna say what the Filipino? Yes The line come in okay. Yeah, so one of them is Filipino okay, and the other has a Filipino wife

He's like so in the culture so yeah, they were like we want to highlight our friendship and like some of the women in our life

And the culture and it's it's such a big deal because like we never seem films with us in it

There's no representation and they took it a step further and talked about

“Well, the movies all about the Filipino folklore”

So it's like all these crazy Miss school characters that we were taught about when we were kids like my mom would say like watch out for this You know you'd be good otherwise the mononongol is gonna get you So there's all these like creatures that we grew up on right these stories Okay, and so the movie is about these two best friends that go on this crazy adventure and these really interesting characters and it's told in such a sweet way like when I tell you it's

So endearing it's so it makes you want to call your best friend. Oh, yeah, and like that is what I I really love about it

Like it has the heart, but it's also so vibrant and playful and fun And yeah, you really get to know fun in culture. Yeah, it's hilarious It is funny and I love the fact that they're they're two girls as the protagonist. You know, it's a it's a girl adventure story You know, and you don't often get the girls as the leads the ones who are taking the chances and your character is a mess Yes

She's the messy friend. Yeah, she winds up getting everybody in trouble. Yeah. Yeah Well, that's gonna be exciting like it said the trio gave us a little bit of a glimpse of it And it is really a beautiful beautiful project. Yeah, yeah, it's good. It's happening. It's really exciting Well congratulations. Thank you so much. It's really neat. It's so exciting. I'm like I can't wait for people to just experience the culture the way that like You know, what did your mom think? Oh my gosh. She hasn't even seen anything yet. Like I wanted to see the finished

Yeah, yeah, but um she is so over the moon like Filipinos are so excited like they're really rallying behind this movie Because it's like about time we had our our moment. Yeah. Yeah, it's really really really special This episode of IMO is brought to you by our sponsor MidiHealth I'm gonna talk about a topic that Fortunately is getting a lot more attention. Yeah, and it's rightly so it's getting it's getting more attention and it's impacting

a lot of families. Well, I want to invite someone here to help navigate this conversation and Let's bring out Dr. Kathleen Jordan, Dr. Jordan, some nice Jordan to see you. Great to see you. Welcome to IMO

“Yes, what's your favorite being in here? Oh, no, it's I think in my way of talking about all aspects of my life”

It just felt like my minipods journey was a part of that and in addition to being a founder of MidiHealth you are the chief medical officer at MidiHealth. Can you tell us what exactly is MidiHealth? So, MidiHealth is a telehealth clinic made for women and we really We're founded to really meet the huge care gap for women in perimenopause and menopause Which means we can help guide women through the hormone conversation. Is it right for them? If it is what

Formulation to take, but it's actually a lot bigger than that, right? We really built it to meet women's needs in

our as a woman our health stopped after childbirth. It is and you know, I was, I'm an internist by training and I wasn't trained in all this. I actually had to train myself afterwards and go through sort of a certification and really stay up on it. So I had to go out of my way to get the training. We joke at many, you know, there's pediatricians, there's obstetricians, and then there's geriatricians, and then there's there's whole middle ground, right? This is whole middle ground where we need to discuss this here.

I remember it was first term in the White House and they just would come on and I talked to my

“doctor about it. It's like, oh, you're in. That's what's going on. I wasn't sure, you know,”

I didn't feel like I needed to start taking hormones. I wanted to feel it out and see what it felt like, but these hot flashes were happening every 15 minutes, you know, and it's this rush of a feeling. I'm important to be safe for most women actually, but I want to be clear that the hormone therapy is not for all women and it's also not the only answer. Like, menopause care is a much bigger thing. It's about supporting women in a multitude of ways.

I'm still surprised that the number of women I run into who are talking to me about their symptoms, but they don't even know that hormone replacement therapy or any therapy is an option.

I mean, I mentioned it and they're like, oh, I never, you know, you know, they're not seeing

a doctor. They haven't heard about it. I mean, Craig, you would be surprised at how little most women know about the care of our our bodies. How does a woman think about using

“midi? We really wanted women to access care. And to do that, you have to make it easy, right?”

So we use telehealth. I love telehealth as an access solution. It means you don't have to live near an expert. You don't have to live in a major city, even. We can reach you in any zip code. But you're getting expert care delivered to you. And then we thought it was really important also to take insurance because for a lot of decades, this kind of expert care was really only available to women who could afford cash pay practices who provided wonderful care,

but really all women deserve this. And we really worked hard to create a platform that can deliver this care to women. So you can go to our website, which is joinmitty.com. Let's join myDI.com. And really the website helps you navigate. You can book an appointment right there. We have available in all 50 states. And you start your journey there. You can come with one question, one issue, or some women come and just say, what should I do? And that's join myDI.com.

That's it. So talk about growing up in a multicultural household that go back to your first

memories. And what was it like growing up Gabby? I was like going to Gabby. So my parents, my dad's African American from Arkansas. He grew up in Arkansas. My mom's from the Philippines. And she came here when she was 18. So I had one immigrant parent and one parent from the

“South, which I'm so grateful for. Like my parents are the best. I love them. I think I wouldn't”

obviously I wouldn't be who I am without them. And yeah, trying to think like, how did I grow up in the house? Well, kind of parents were they who was the strict one. And you know, because you were an only child for a while. I was yeah. My sister was born when it was like nine. Yeah. Yeah. So my mom was the sort of strict like about school, you know, Jason Mom, who's like, you know, don't focus on your looks, folks on the books. You know, she was very much like,

A minus unacceptable. Yeah. But it was a good thing. And my dad was strict in different ways, you know, no boys like all that. But he also was very much like the one who nurtured my love for music and all my different passions. Like he would take me out fishing like every weekend, you know, that's something we did as a family. You know, he would cook breakfast and it would be concert DVDs playing in the morning. And my grandparents, my mom's parents from the Philippines

lived with us. So I grew up in like a household with generational living. Yeah. And I loved that. I'm so grateful for that. Honestly, you know, they would take turns like dropping me off to school and at one point, my mom's brother lived in the house and all of them listened to different types of music, all of them were into different things. So I feel like I got to get like exposed to a lot of different. And where did you grow up? I grew up in the Bay Area in the town of Alboleo.

Cut your father wind up in Valeo. So he's a construction worker. And so I think he came down

came down for work. I think he heard like there was like a union there where he could like because his his dad, my grandfather was also an iron worker construction. So he came to the Bay Area for for work. And my parents lived in the same apartment complex. Okay. Yeah, they were like a cross

“for me, each other. That's how they met. Yeah. That's story. Yeah. Where you always gifted in music,”

singing was that when did your parents find out that you had a voice? Honestly, I was like three

years old, four years old. I was just singing all the time and like singing we're always singing

karaoke because that's what Filipino families do at the parties. And my dad had a band, a cover band. So that's a big part of my upbringing. Like my dad being like so in love with guitar and music, even though he was a construction worker on the weekdays. On the weekends he would play in a band, the Bay Area. And they would like do festivals and weddings like in the Bay Area and they would just do covers. They would do like James Brown and get band. And you know, sometimes they would do like

sweet home Alabama. Nice and brothers. Like there was a lot of there was a lot of music happening in the house already. And so they would rehearse in our living room and the instruments were there. So I would just end in a part of building in our in our house. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Eventually. Yeah. So was your dad your first piano teacher or guitar teacher with your first?

Literally. So that piano we went wrong. I know, right. We had it. Oh my god. My aunt, Robbie, it was just like she might ruin it in the military. She ruined it. Yeah. But yeah. But you had your dad. Yeah. Your dad must have been really fun. Yeah, it was. And he was big on like learning

“favorite songs. You know, that's how often my son is learning to piano because his teacher is like,”

what's your favorite song? She finds a music for it. And he's down playing old town bro. You know, like talk about it. Right. Right. I'm still running. We were running scales. I'm doing eight dudes in Sonata. That's boring when you're a kid. It's horrible. It's boring. It's not to know, but it's like, don't, you know, let a kid learn to love it. Yeah. Totally. Yeah. At how old were you when he started

teaching you? Like seven, seven, eight. I picked up the piano first. I was like playing a lot of

songs. And then I picked up the guitar. And then I stopped playing guitar for a while. I wanted to focus on piano. And then one time I'm in the store with my mom and Boogie Yogi by a taste of honey comes on. And she's like, I want that. Yeah. I want you to learn the song. And I was like, mom, like, that's a bass song. Okay. So we went to guitar center that day. And they got me a pink bass. Man, I started playing bass. I want to see that picture. Yeah. That thing.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was nine years old. I was like, pink bass. It was like, it was like, you know, pink bass. I did. Of course. You did. Very best. Yeah.

“Were you ahead of my tenidin? Were you feeling that? I think you have a little sparkle happening”

in your soul. There was a lot of sparkle happening. There was a lot of sparkle happening. There was a lot of sparkle. So how do you go from, you know, hanging out with that, learning C minor plus a chord, whatever that is, to singing on the view? Yeah. It's the view. I mean, what, what was that? Who discovered you? Yeah. How did that happen? So YouTube was kind of just starting. And there weren't that many people doing like covers on YouTube.

Like, it was like, when Justin Bieber started, like some of the other people who would post videos on YouTube. So my dad, I guess someone told him post videos of your daughter on YouTube playing and singing, all the information she plays and, you know, just post them. It's like 2008. Yeah. To the latest. And I'm little and, you know, he post videos of me on YouTube. And I think the first call my parents got was from the Mori Povic show. And it was like, we saw your

daughter's videos. Like, we'd love to have her on the show. And apparently Mori had to have like one positive episode in here. Where you weren't the father? Exactly. I don't even remember him ever doing. So you were on the one show. Right. And it was like a talented kids episode. Okay. And so I was on the talented kids episode. And they, I guess the producers from Mori were, you know, somehow connected to the viewer. You know, how it works. They're all connected.

So they were like, we love to have her on the today show. It was actually today show. First. And then it was from there. It was the view. And funny story actually, even before my

now actually Dylan Wiggins, who's doing Wiggins from Tony Tony tone. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. And he

and I started playing. And there was eventually actually we grew the band. And it was his brother playing with us and Kalani was. Oh my God. Yes. And we were all in the band together at one point. And day I was going to be in the band because they went to school together in Oakland. Wow. Yeah. But I lived in Baleo. So I would just see them on our rehearsal days on the weekend. But anyway, before we started doing the band thing, Duane Wiggins was like, we have an opportunity

for them to do short time at the Apollo. Like, we just have to go. We might be able to cut the line and like do this audition and like get them on Apollo, right? You know, the kids started tomorrow. Like they. And so we get there and I didn't know at the time my mom's already sent a video. To the Apollo because she wanted me to be on there. And you know, she smart. Yes. She's smart. She was like, you just going to cut the line. Your mom's like, no.

Right. You know, we're going to do this better. She was like, it's a long shot. But I'm just going to send it to tape. Like she did the like, okay, send in your video too. So I'm going to do the Apollo and she did it. And I think we forgot about it. Like about the video. We didn't really think about it. They probably didn't see it. Got to the audition. And we are about to play.

And they're like, wait, wait, wait a second. We saw your video already. Like you're, you're going.

“You must have like miss the voicemail or miss the cloud. Like we want you to actually cut the”

line. So I actually cut the line exactly. And I am not going with Dylan, but I think it worked out. But anyway, we ended up going in like singing through way of love by Ruth Franklin. And, uh, yeah, that was crazy. So that was right. The plane base. So where you plan that was just singing that time. Oh, just yeah, wow. So I did Apollo. And it was a really big deal. And we actually had to like put on like this fundraiser kind of concert in the Bay Area so that my parents could like afford

the tickets to go in. Because it was like so many ticks we had to get the hotel ourselves. Like

hello, they didn't, they didn't provide. Oh, right. They didn't have the budget exactly. Just like

y'all got a stand-in line. Exactly. So those were those like little moments that kind of one thing led to another. And eventually, you know, we're walking out of the today's show building and like Tommy Martala's like, oh, hello, Kenny, my dad, you know, uh, we want to meet your daughter. And he's like, what is happening? Like all these people started calling my parents. And then we ended up in LA having all the meetings. I met like Clive Davis and Jimmy Ivy. And I was 10 years

old 11 years old. What was that like? Were you aware of these people? No, you didn't know what was going on. Okay. You know, probably was like, I'm tired. I want to go back to my friends. Exactly. Literally. But it was going on with school and friends in the midst of that. When did

“you have to kind of transition from regular kid to to to the business kid? I feel like my parents”

did a really great job at not making my life fully a professional life. Like they really wanted me to be able to compartmentalize that. Because I was on today's show in the next day, I was back at public school. Yeah. You know, so it wasn't like, oh, we're going to home school her. Like my dad was big on like making sure I still was a regular kid. And I, yeah, and like I didn't have like, I mean, of course, my life was still very different. But he tried to, they tried to

make sure that I was, you know, both of them. They weren't like we're all going to move to LA. That's her. My mom was like anti that. She's like, no, we're not going to, you know, have these like dreams that are false. We're not going to move to LA and just forget everything like we still have our lives. And she was a lot more practical that way. And my dad was more so the like dream big,

“like this is going to happen. And this is, and I think the balance helped me a lot. Like I'm really”

grateful for that balance. And it was hard for them. But I think it, it really, it, it worked in my favor. So when did life change? Uh, when, how did her come to be? Right. So it was gradual. I mean, how much time do we have? No, we have. As long as you have that. So I actually got signed shortly after some of those meetings. I think my dad was sort of advised like, okay, if you signed one of these deals now, um, she'll be out of it, you know, earlier in her adulthood. So you

don't have to worry about whatever her being in it till she's 40. Right. Right. You know, that was sort of how he was advised. Um, and I was signed at, where do I begin? Actually, there's so much like

I met a lot of different like managers and my parents were sort of trying to figure out like, oh, who do we want to work with? And of course, like all the people in LA, when you come, they're like, come to this set. And I was like on set of like, I think it was Hancock that we'll Smith was shooting at the time. Okay. Because this guy that we met worked with overbrook entertainment. And so they're like celebrities like, oh my gosh, like we're hanging out with Will and Jayda and like, you know, they're

just like doing the show business thing. And so my parents were like, oh my gosh, like this is crazy. We're in Hollywood, right? And then we sort of, I sort of started working with overbrook at the time with Miguel who managed like Robin thick and like Jennifer Hudson at the time and Will and Jayda's kids Willow and Jayda. And so I was sort of one of their artists, but I'm like 11. So I'm still trying to figure out who am I using for me and all the exactly, but they support, they wanted to be a part of my

journey somehow. And then they stopped managing like other artists and they focused on like, I mean,

“I don't, I'm not exactly sure what was happening, but that's what I've heard what I heard was”

happening. And then overbrook introduced my parents to a mbk entertainment, which they managed Alicia Keys at that time and were sort sort of part of her journey. And they were like perfect. And there was another woman working with mbk names who's at Williams, who worked with Lauren Hill. And so my parents were like, this is a perfect piece. They're all your, you know, yeah, yeah, exactly.

Like those are the people that you sort of have always been inspired by whatever like this

feels like the perfect fit. And so I started working with them. We were traveling to New York. That's where they were based. And eventually, I got signed to mbk entertainment and the larger companies are CA. So I got signed to RCA when I was 13 years old. Wow. And it was this big thing. I was in the paper in my hometown. I bet my gosh, she got signed. Like a speak deal and all the kids asked me, oh my gosh, you're rich now. I'm like, no, I'm not rich.

Yeah, far from home. You're famous. I'm like, not really known. You know, so that time, I was still in high school. And I would travel to New York and work on music. And I would work with different writers or producers and different people. And I was just figuring it out. And I'm grateful for that time. And the fact that the label was very much like, oh, she's got to develop into the artists that she's meant to be. Because it's one thing to be a good musician. It's another thing to be an artist, right?

Or a writer like to have a authentic and real perspective. It's still learning what you like,

what you can do. Because were you even writing then? A little bit. Yeah. I was writing. My mom always

encouraged me to write. And on one of those crazy Hollywood trips, I met Mariah Carey and she was like,

“you need to always make sure you sharpen that pan. Yeah. She told me that when I was a kid.”

And when you when you say, right, are you mean, write the music or write the the words or lyrics? Yeah, explain to my brother why that's important. She doesn't know everything either. I know this. She doesn't know. I got the money part. Right. Totally. I mean, you want to make sure that you have ownership over your words. You know, words. Yeah. Exactly. The publishing is when they call it. Yeah. So when I got signed, like I was writing and trying to figure it out.

And suddenly I became a teenager and I had feelings. Yeah. You know, I had things to do. I was feeling the teenage angst and I was like having crushes and like getting my heart broken and it was like, you know, you were allowed to go on a date by then. Yeah. So you even get your heart crushed. Not really. You weren't supposed to be getting your heart crushed. But she worked. But I was. I was. Yeah. It was. My friends were like, I call them selectively strict.

Yeah. Yeah. No. No. But you know, you got to live. You got to live something to be able to write something to do. Exactly. Exactly. So as I was like finding my voice or whatever, I I started writing these songs. I came to New York with stories. You know, and I would be in the studio like, man, like, this is what I went through and this is about this person and oh my god,

“like, there's over everything's the end of the world, you know. And that's how I started making my”

first project. Wow. But even even before that, I think when I was figuring it out,

there was sometimes pressure. Like I released a song when I was like 16 under my real name.

oh, maybe this is the moment and it wasn't the moment. You know, I wasn't ready yet.

“And I was doing appearances and doing the things, but it just wasn't it wasn't the time.”

So I kept performing and doing these little showcases in New York and also just being in the studio, still being a high school kid, just like, I can't wait to get out of class and get back to New York. And, you know, keep working on this album, this project, whatever I'm working towards. Well, it's a trip, how a lot of people describe you or at one point has an overnight sensation, you know, it's like nothing rarely happens like that in the business, whether you're acting or,

you know, it is, and young people need to understand that. It's like, it's a long road, even when you're young to be coming known and even, you know, you could, you could get the deal, but you, you haven't figured out the right formula exactly. And that takes years and years of

“development. And it just so happened that you started at three. Exactly.”

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So was it your idea to become her and to talk a bit about how you thought about that and even knew that you wanted that kind of protection at that age because a lot of young people they

“wouldn't want to be known and you were the exact opposite. Yeah I think it was a combination”

of like the sort of like being vulnerable and I'm afraid I was already just like a teenager going through like teenage things and feeling like oh I don't want anyone to see me like I'm afraid and also I like I was scared of what my parents would you know think I mean not that I was writing anything crazy but I was just like oh no like I feel like I'm bearing my soul I'm like showing the world my diet in a way and I was I had this whole vision for like oh my gosh

like I'm going to name it her because I I've always been a perfectionist and a rule follower

it was always like I'm not going to fall for the wrong guy I'm not going to do the things I'm going to avoid that like the adults in my life told me all about that but I know better like what I was like a little know it all a little bossy know it all and so when those things did happen I was like oh it's unavoidable like this is life like I'm in it I'm deep in it and yeah that's I was like

“I'm never going to be that girl and I became her and so that was the sort of that's how that happened”

and I was like at first it was just like oh can I just release the music anonymously and then it was like well no I could I could be I could be her I could just be her and it was actually yeah there was a moment where I realized like okay I could be her and the the project can be called her and I and I can be literally anonymous and I and I thought okay the cover is going to be me as a silhouette in this like blue light and I like literally edited the cover like on

some cheap app on my phone like it was just like a thing and in the label they believed in the project but it was kind of like well you're just starting so like we're just going to like just throw it out there and see what happens like that was kind of the energy and it's also this concept that you have it's just like oh you you're going to release a project nobody knows you and nobody will know you right that's that was new exactly yeah but Carolyn Williams who was like

marketing RCA she believed in it you know and and she really championed the idea and you know had great ideas and just helped me bring it to life and I was super appreciative of that and so she really like had my my back and everybody had been so excited about my journey in general because of my musicianship and they're like okay like you have there's some weird talent yeah and that goes a long way to people supporting you right totally it's just like you good

yeah but they're like yeah we know like you play at the time you know they they knew that I played instruments but obviously the people who listened to my project didn't know about my musician they didn't know anything about me so it's just like oh yeah put put out your project and then eventually show people who you you know we really are yeah whatever that was at that time things change but yeah I mean during that time you know where I was sort of breaking away from

being like teenage you know to then I'm gonna commit and I moved to New York okay I was 18 yeah

my senior year so I could be in New York all the time and at that time my dad was like okay

like you got you can go you know and I and I started going in New York on my own and I was 18 and you know working with these these people and figuring it out and then I released the project at 19 and then I was touring a year after that and you know things didn't happen quickly and that's when they did when they did it was like okay let's go you know which was great so now looking back at that time when you went from sort of teenage gabby to 18 year old on your own and then you

do your project and then start touring what are some of the lessons as you look back now that you learn that you're like oh man I'm thinking I could have done this differently or I really

like doing this I learned this I I truly have no regrets like I've forgiven a lot of people I've

forgiven myself you know on the journey I don't mean to speak so critically but I do think there was there was you don't know what you don't know right that's you know what I mean you don't know what you don't know until you know it and it's gonna happen at the right time

“honestly and you have to trust the process so that is exactly what I love to hear trust in the”

process because so many young people today we meet me shows me say this all the time they they want to start at the front of the line and they and they don't want to work their way up and it really felt like you learned to enjoy I shouldn't say I don't want to speak to before you but you seem to handle the process and enjoy the process as much as looking at the results and I think that's really important for young people to know that you if whether you're

going to be a professional musician or an athlete or a carpenter if you don't like the process it's hard to be good at it that's true you have yeah the the pros have to outweigh you know but honestly I'm not going to say I like the process all the time like I actually think

“the process a lot but I trust the process yeah and I think that's really well that but that's an”

important distinction too yeah because you're not going to love the process not always yeah not always

for sure but to overall like like your the bigger picture the progress or the process and not just be in it for the result right all the time like I love music yeah I can't not do music so it doesn't matter what happens I'm going to do this regardless you know it's kind of a choose your hard type of conversation you know it's like well is this what you want to be doing because if I decided to be a surgeon that would be hard too you know what I mean but that's not my

things so music is my things so I exactly I think that I'm really grateful for the people that I have learned myself through you know what I mean like the people that have been a reflection back to me and I'm really grateful for for the times that I didn't know because like the dark times the times that I I felt like were terrible you know or were not good for me or anyone I am so much stronger because of it like my antennas for like BS are very strong my antennas for you know

when someone wants to manipulate me out of my own instincts very strong you know and I don't

“think I would have had them if I didn't go through a lot of the things that everybody honestly”

goes through in the music industry you know whether it's taken advantage of or what are the you know the typical stories here those things are real they happen and I'm not saying that everybody has to suffer I don't think everybody has to suffer but but the industry is designed like that it is designed to you know find young talent yeah take advantage of them you know to support them with the idea that I can skim off this and you're talented enough that you'll

make that up later on I mean it's designed like that and a lot of people don't understand just like you know it's not designed for you to solely succeed there are a whole lot of people trying to feed off of what you bring to the table totally you know yeah and that is that is part of the process yeah you know and through that process I feel like the thing that I would tell my younger self if I could just a little bit more it's like continue to trust those instincts you know

you know what's best for you and lean on your council but don't outsource you know your your purpose your journey is yours your life is yours like you drive the car you know what I mean

what you don't know and I'm I'm really grateful because I feel like I am exercising my free will

“more than ever in a way you know I'm like so much more creative because I know what it's like to”

not feel creative I know what it's like to be at that place where everything's great and then you're moving so fast you miss out you forget who you are you forget why you forget you're why and I've remembered my why and have been intentional about my why more than ever so you you're working on new music yeah yeah how's it feeling I mean again if you would ask me your

got to be like I'm like you don't never know never make it literally feel it I'm finally like

in it like I am on the other side of something I mean the music for me the thing that I forgot and I we've just we're talking about it is like the time to live and it's like I can't make

“music just to make music like it needs to be needs to feel like like it's of substance you know”

and that's the thing that I missed and I forgot about was all those times I was going back home when I was 18 17 16 living and then coming to New York with the stories and with the weight of like my life and the things that I felt and I forgot that you know and so this time I felt 18 again

I've been feeling like I'm 17 18 again like I have so much to say yeah I have so much to say

I have I live a full life I'm a human and I haven't felt human at a long time you know and yeah and I feel human again and and I that to me is the most rewarding thing out of like okay I hope people love it that's cool and all I love it that's great yeah I like the progression of this project is like oh my gosh like there's a person who has something to say you know it's in there and so I'm it's rewarding this process and why I'm so happy and excited about it because I'm

pretty much finishing up and when's it coming out I can you talk about no dates yet okay working on that we're good on that part I'm kind of mixing it right now but I've done the work internally not just in the studio but outside of the studio and this has been like a release it's like I've I've just healed through this I've been and I've allowed for so many emotions to exist and I put it into something that I'm proud of and that's a really tough idea I don't know

yes like thank you I mean you're a good before you you knew anything for a right yeah that's so beautiful I'm so happy for you thank you so much I really really am you are just you know you were you're a light and now this message is a pay partnership with apple card you know I like keeping things simple and that's exactly what apple card does when you use apple card with apple pay you can earn up to 3% unlimited daily cash back on every purchase you make no matter where you shop

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“years old and a social media manager before I started working I attended a prestigious university”

graduated with honors and interned at a few places related to what I wanted to do in other words I did everything right that my parents and professors said would help me get my foot in the door and into the industry but when it came to the job hunt I was often told I was overqualified for entry-level positions and when I got hired at my current company it feels like everything they liked about my resume was thrown out the window I am the youngest at the company and my boss likes

to make jokes that I am supposedly too young to get when I ask for more responsibility I'm given trivial tasks that don't really help me grow and if I take the initiative to do something more I'm told it wasn't done perfectly and not to do it again until my boss directs me to do so I understand I'm supposed to pay my dues but I don't pretend to know everything it's frustrating when I ask to have more responsibility doing work that I already know how to do just

for my boss to say I'm not ready for it so my question is how do I get my boss to take me more seriously so that I can continue to grow in my position and how can I stand up for myself and my professional instincts while also respecting the fact that my colleagues have more experience

the first thing I would say is Rachel you're you're right where you're supposed to be totally

sounds like a new job totally sounds like you're 26 sounds like yeah that's that's where you are

or you know how I've sounded in the past and I think I thought about a few things and

one of the things that I thought about was as a musician experiencing something similar being like the thing that gets you in the door and that actually gets you to the next level is often the thing that people try to change and shift and you know tell you know you got to change it up to you know to be X Y and Z and so that's the part where it's so easy to forget who you are getting lost in like pleasing what other people's idea of what your trajectory

“should look like and who you should be that's that's I feel like where that can be tricky and”

change and I think the first thing I would say is are you proud of yourself and the work

that you're doing and you have done because if you can sit in any room and say I'm proud of me I know I did the work instead of you know struggling with this like I'm not getting the respect I feel like number one is like respect yourself and honor yourself and and the work that you've done like say I'm proud of myself and I know I did good work you know and and walking with that I think helps but you can't please everybody and especially as a woman you know no matter what

profession you're in like we're gonna be picked apart regardless you know whether it's how we're

thinking what we're wearing what we say like we're gonna be picked apart so I do think it's

“it's important to maintain that like I'm proud of myself you know and I am doing the work”

and and trust the process you know it's gonna be hard everybody's not gonna respect you everybody's not gonna give you you know the thing that you want and the respect that you deserve and the other the other side to that may me think of the secondary part of the question I told you lost my train of thought can you repeat the last part of the question how can I stand up for myself and my professional instincts while also respecting the fact that my colleagues

do have more experience that we talked about that earlier and I've recently experienced that where I've had to stop you know I mean again it's important to be a student it's important to learn and listen and to you know not like get ahead of yourself necessarily but I think it's also important to know that you're perspective and your instincts are valuable like just because your colleagues or your you know the other people at the company have more experience it doesn't

“make you invaluable it doesn't make you less valuable like I think it's important to know okay”

they they have the experience and the knowledge but I have a unique perspective and I think you should empower yourself to speak up and it's better that you speak than not say anything and regret like I wish I would have said something and again that outsourcing your power or validation you know it's better you speak and then make a mistake and learn then not speak because you think someone is better you know equipped because I feel like you have the tools

you know I feel like she has the tools and well she may have some of the tools right she has some tools like you know totally and at 26 you know again you you are still developing the tools she's developing that's right you know just like you weren't you had some tools at 19 when you started this but time you know prove that now it's 28 you got a whole another set of tools totally and what I want what's her name again Rachel to understand is like that that period of growth

which is time based yeah is real you know there there it's real now yeah and to don't underestimate that you know because you know growth in the learning process is is how you get more tools right so but with that said I'd want to make sure for Rachel that the environment that she and I'm assuming it's not abusive you know and it's not dangerous and it's not you know debilitating in in any way because those are very separate issues right if you're dealing with some yeah really you know

and there's even learning in that environment too you know but you do have to distinguish

uncomfortable you know because there's learning to be had in that getting through that part just like

you said you don't like the process always yeah right the process isn't always fun and doesn't

“have to be but you still you have to get used to getting through parts of the process you don't like”

totally because guess what that is most of life yeah you know really being able to get through the part of the life that isn't fun and isn't fulfilling and isn't sure that's being a mother right that's being a parent that's being a partner that's paying bills I mean so much of life is like being able to withstand and sustain yourself and be resilient through the stuff that's not fun and you do not like and she could be learning that and starting to practice and build that muscle

in this first job that is frustrating and you know so think about that I've always found that

putting reminding your boss of what it was like to be in your position opens up a whole dialogue

“because bosses love to talk about what they went through so you mean asking your boss tell me”

what it was like for you when you were 26 and trying to break in you know a lot of times when we give some advice we hear it and we give them the sort of 30,000 feet but that last part where she was asking for practical advice talk to your boss is if you're interviewing him about his life and talk to him about hey how did you get to be where you want to be and I've always found that that is really impactful because supervisors love telling the old stories about what it was

like in the olden days and you will garnish something from that if nothing else then they will they will understand when you start doing some of the things that they did to get ahead so Rachel take that off all of these and hopefully these little nuggets will help you yeah well Gabby you are a treasure and I really appreciate you coming through I specifically asked for Gabby so I'm so glad you were able to make the time and we got you in a space where you had some space

so just great keep doing it girl thank you so much so proud of you really this was really a joy to be with you here you got you you've given a lot to our listeners and viewers so thank you for that this episode of iamo is brought to you by coligard and non-invasive colon cancer screening test there are certain things in life you keep meaning to get around to and for me health screenings

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