GRAMMY-winning, Mercury Prize-shortlisted, genre-defying icon Estelle joins CCTV: The Nonstop Pop Show for an exclusive POP 101 deep dive into one of the most unboxable careers in modern pop music.
Chris and Chantel Nicole sit down with the West London native to take it all the way back, from her early days at the legendary Deal Real record shop sharing stages with Roots Manuva and Rodney P, to becoming the first artist signed to John Legend's Homeschool Records, to delivering "American Boy," one of THE defining pop songs of the 2000s.
We get into "American Boy" almost 18 years on, the journey through "Shine," "All of Me," "True Romance," and her full reggae statement "Lovers Rock," and the building of her independent label and brand Established 1980. Estelle shares her observations on the current global wave of Black British artists, from FLO to RAYE to PinkPantheress, after being honored at the inaugural Black Women in Entertainment Honors. She also opens up about her recent full-circle moments with John Legend on the Get Lifted 20th Anniversary Tour, performing with Slick Rick at the MOBOs, and the iconic "American Boy" Usher moment at The O2.
Then we dive deep into "Stay Alta," her sixth studio album, exploring highlights such as "Roses (Now's the Time)," the title track with Channel Tres, "Let It Drop" with Durand Bernarr, collaborations with D-Nice, Teedra Moses, Russell Taylor, and the philosophy behind choosing joy. Plus her brand new single "Live, Love, Learn" and what's coming next.
Catch Estelle live at Blue Note Hawaii in June and Splendour Festival in Nottingham this July 2026.
Join us on Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/CCTVPOPS
Follow us on social media: https://linktr.ee/cctvpops
Follow Estelle: @EstelleDarlings
- 0:00 - Intro
- 1:56 - The Beginning
- 5:38 - "The 18th Day"
- 7:18 - John Legend and "Shine"
- 10:20 - "American Boy"
- 14:13 - Black British Women in Music
- 16:40 - "All Of Me", "True Romance" and "Lovers Rock"
- 21:45 - Being an independent artist
- 24:27 - Garnet and Steven Universe
- 30:40 - "Stay Alta"
- 51:59 - "Live, Love, Learn"
- 53:55 - 2026 live shows
References
- “1980” MV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9FjfHoIMCw&pp=ygUMZXN0ZWxsZSAxOTgw
- “Wait A Minute” feat. will.i.am MV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vAJsJa3fWo&pp=ygUVZXN0ZWxsZSB3YWl0IGEgbWludXRl
- “American Boy” feat. Kanye West MV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic5vxw3eijY&pp=ygUNZXN0ZWxsZSBob25ledIHCQkoCwGHKiGM7w%3D%3D
- “Break My Heart” feat. Rick Ross MV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ5zgVlh6uY&pp=ygUWZXN0ZWxsZSBicmVhayBteSBoZWFydA%3D%3D
- “Conqueror” feat. Jussie Smollett (Empire) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwmaGPxlEqI&pp=ygURZXN0ZWxsZSBjb25xdWVyb3I%3D
- “Love Like Ours” feat. Tarrus Riley MV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T1tlWZI03A&pp=ygUWZXN0ZWxsZSBsb3ZlIGxpa2Ugb3Vycw%3D%3D
- “Thank You” MV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUuEYM9vjlw&pp=ygURZXN0ZWxsZSB0aGFuayB5b3XSBwkJKAsBhyohjO8%3D
- “Stronger Than You” from Steven Universe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OWq38TikzU&pp=ygUQZ2FybmV0IHN0cm9uZ2VyIA%3D%3D
- James Brown CNN Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQmqcaS5LIM
- “New Direction” feat. LaRussell and Keyon Harrold MV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B5IeRylT_8&pp=ygUVZXN0ZWxsZSBuZXcgZGlyZWN0aW9u
00:00:00 --> 00:00:15 She's a girl with flowers in her hair. You might know her for American Boy, but she's on a whole nother altitude. We are here with Estelle. Oh, that sounded good. We know more fire. Fire girl.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:30 I love it. Hi. Yes. Hello. We are CCTV, the nonstop pop show, a global pop music podcast where we deep dive into the artists and music that we love. Yes. Oh, my gosh. And we are so excited because we have...
00:00:30 --> 00:00:58 Today, part of our Pop 101 series, we're sitting down with Grammy-winning, Mercury Prize shortlisted, Apple Music show host, Crystal Gem, genre-defying icon, the one and only, Estelle. So many titles. Listen, every day, every day I wonder, how did I make this? How did I get these titles? Who did this? Who put this together? Come on, you're the world champion. Oh, why, thank you. You know, you proclaimed it on that first album. You said, I'm going to win. Oh, God.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:19 She win it. I'm going to do it. So Estelle, thank you so much for joining us today. You are here in New York City for your Blue Note run. So we really do appreciate you carving out the time to be here with us and our CCTV crew. Thank you. How are you feeling? How have the shows been? Oh, God. Yeah, the shows have been a great reminder. Yeah.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:37 of doing shows in New York City. No, I moved to New York first, so this is kind of like, it's always homecoming, you know, whenever I get to touch a stage in New York. And it was fun. It was genuinely fun. The city's got energy like nowhere else, you know? Sure. For sure. Good and what am I getting into?
00:01:39 --> 00:01:55 Yes, one of those. Like, is this good? And then this is a, what did I sign up for? Like, hold on. But the city loves me and I love the city. We had fun. Absolutely. You fit right in. Look at the fit. You know. We don't do fit checks on the show, but we might not. The fit's on. Thank you, Heidi. Thank you.
00:01:55 --> 00:02:13 Yes. So before we get into the brilliance that is Stay Alta. Thank you. Let's take it all the way back. Yes. So you grew up in West London, Hammersmith, in a big family. And you've talked about how secular music wasn't really allowed in the house growing up. So what was the soundtrack of Young Assel's life? And when did you first realize that making music was your calling?
00:02:13 --> 00:02:31 Oh, my goodness. So secular music wasn't allowed, but, you know, we found it. Oh, yeah. Right. My mom was like, what is this? What's this rap music? What's going on? And, you know, we hit it, you know, like you listen to it outside and stuff and then you kind of sneak in and it's under my pillow at night. Yeah.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:58 So that was kind of my thing. Jodeci, SWV, all of that, as well as Church, Shereen Hawkins, Clark Sisters, the Winans, you know, and further back. And then my parents are African and West Indian, so I'm hearing reggae music. I'm hearing African music, all the artists, everyone from Pepe Calle to Dennis Brown, you know, on both sides of the world. And that's just, that was my life. Like there was no differentiation between...
00:02:58 --> 00:03:09 oh, we primarily listen to this or that. It's all the things, all the music, you know. And so that's why I have so many influences in my songs and in my albums. I like what I like.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:29 Yeah, come on now. You can definitely hear that. I mean, it's like you're working at this legendary London hip hop record store called The Deal Real. Deal, yeah. So you have all these influences so they'll be kind of like inside the music. I mean, you're young, you're like, oh my God, I'm at Mecca right now. So it's just like I've made it. I walked into the record store like,
00:03:29 --> 00:03:56 Yeah. And it was tiny, but my little, I was shorter than this, guys. Can you imagine? I was shorter than this. I'm 5'5 now. I was probably like 5'3 in my head. Anyhow, point being, I was short then. And it was very much like walking into like, oh my goodness, these are all the records I wish I owned. And the owner kind of looked at me asking for a Mace and Cameron record and was like, let me put you into real hip hop. I was like, I know real hip hop.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:25 Do you have the record? And he did. And he played it for me. And then he played me the flip side, which was a song called 357 Pull It. And I was like, yeah, I love that hip hop can exist in both sides. You know, like you have the jiggy, as they called it. And then you have like real lyricism. And that was part of who just who I was, like who I am. Like I like both sides of everything. Give me some party. Also, let me hear what you're talking about.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:53 For sure, for sure. Yeah. So while you were there, your co-workers pushed you into an open mic. Yeah. And the next thing you know, you're sharing stages with Roots Maneuver, Rodney P, and some of the most respected figures in UK hip-hop at the time. So what was the early London scene like? And what were some memories from that time? So I have to equate it to, like, if you're from New York, you know the Lyricist Lounge and all of that era. And, like, Philadelphia, the Jazzy Fat Nazis, like the Black Lily era. So, like, squish that together. Yeah.
00:04:53 --> 00:05:05 And that's kind of what the UK scene felt like. Everyone was really trying to be really authentic. Like, riggedy raps, we doing these raps. And I was in there like, I also like Jay-Z.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:30 You know, I was also like, oh, I like Jay-Z too. I like to dance in the club. Like, I'm with Nas with the hate music. You know, like, I was out there like, woo-woo. Like, I was out there. And also, I was like, let me hear the bars. So, they were just, I think they were intrigued just looking at this little woman, like, little girl at the time. Like, really out there, like, not afraid. Not scared to, like, really be like, voila.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:57 You know, I have these bars, too. Right. I wrote the house and I'm going to spit them for you. Yeah. Oh, yeah. For sure. Yeah. It's fun. Nice. So in 2004, your debut album, The 18th Day, dropped. Yeah. In 1980s, a hit. You win Best Newcomer at the Mobos, started touring and you're on the come up. So what was that first chapter as a recording artist like? Just so happy. Because, you know, like I'm from, again, I'm from a churchy background-ish with like spurts into secularism. Yeah.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:26 To put it plainly. So, you know, we weren't supposed to kind of follow that tradition. And it was a lot of like my mom going like, are you sure? Right. Okay, I don't really know this scene. You'll get it. But like, oh, and it's a little dangerous. But, you know, also I was outside every day doing what I was doing, coming home unscathed. So she was kind of like, you'll be alright. So winning the MOBA was like, oh, okay, I'm not insane to want to try this. You know, my mom was kind of like, okay, you got it.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:42 You know, and that's the only kind of cosign I needed. Yeah. And when she was like, oh, you got it. You straight. I was like, all right, back. I'm moving to America. I'm going to do all the things. Yeah, the cosign, the para-cosign matters for sure. It does. It does. It really did. You know, and I got it.
00:06:47 --> 00:07:04 Yeah, you had some nice ones. I mean, I was reading the track list and then I was listening to some of it. I was like, wait, I kind of know some of this. I think it's one of those things where it's like, artists know artists, so if it pops up on YouTube or something like that. But I remember hearing dance, I can't say dance beat. And I was like, not this being a title, let's go.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:23 Yeah, it's very spicy. Right out from the gate, there's some personalities, not just like, you know, you're telling like a story, kitchen sink kind of story. There's like some fun, like you said. So definitely appreciate that. And I love hearing that backstory behind your project and the come up, of course. And back then, John Legend was featured on your project, which is crazy because you guys are both kind of like.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:42 coming up together. I mean, his album was around the same time, 2004, right? So, and then you signed, you were signed as the first artist to his imprint, Homeschool Records, and he executive producer, a second album, Shine. So with all of that, how did it come together and what steps were taken to give the fans and even new listeners a fresh sound, but something that was still Estelle?
00:07:42 --> 00:08:09 You know, the reason why John signed me was because I was already doing it. There was no like he found me or anything. We kind of found each other to a degree. He was coming up and writing his first album when we met. And so like I met him. I kind of put it in the air like, I really want to meet John. I really want to meet John. I know I have to meet John Legend. I have this song and I really want to sing it. And I said it so much that I guess the universe was like, okay, you know,
00:08:09 --> 00:08:37 Go, meet. Pretty much. And it happened like that. And so we became friends. And so he worked on my first album. Well, he did a song on my first album with me. And as we were working, I started working on the second one by myself. And I asked him to help me with it. And he said, sure. Like, we work well together. Why not? And then I left the label. And he was like, what's wrong with them? And I was like, I don't know. And he was like, I'll sign you. And I was like, okay, bet.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:41 Pretty much. And it was more just along the lines of...
00:08:42 --> 00:09:08 You're already doing it. There's no version of me that needs to change you. I just want to help, you know, so do your thing and call me in when you need me for sessions. And we went in on sessions. I was like, I want to work on this and make my songwriting better. And that's where I learned with him. So I kept me, you know, he wasn't like, change your melodies. He was like, no, your melodies are A1. Yeah. I wonder how. Yeah. You know, so I want to, you know, and that was kind of the whole, that was our, you
00:09:08 --> 00:09:34 our work thing. He was lyrics or he was say the sexier. That was literally a quote. I was like, I think I had to say the sexier. It was just, you know, and so I would listen and learn from the way that he would sing lyrics and say words. And that's how we found our groove. Yeah. I want to be better phrase. And he, I would go in and melody just, you know, and he'd be like, how, where did that come from? And I'd be like, I don't know.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:42 You know, and so we learn from each other like that. So that's how I kept the Estelle about it. Yeah. You know, and then obviously I say some words in English.
00:09:43 --> 00:10:11 or British. Right, right. He was like, what is that? So it kept to me, you know, it also kept to me. Oh, that's dope. That's so awesome. Yeah, you really defined your sound very early on, which is awesome. And going back to that album, like we've just been listening to your discography just fully this past couple weeks. Thank you. So many bops on there. So many great collaborations as well. Yeah. Love, wait a minute. Thank you. Just a touch. That one is just, ah. His vibes. Ah, yes.
00:10:19 --> 00:10:23 We do, of course, have to mention American Boy, though.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:57 became one of the defining pop songs of that era. Number one in the UK, top 10 in the US. You won the Grammy for best rap song collaboration. And almost 18 years later, the song is still making records, you know? Yeah. You recently went out with Usher. He brought you out at the O2 during his tour to perform it. You also went with John Legend as well recently. So tell us about American Boy, how it came together and what that moment felt like when it exploded as well.
00:10:57 --> 00:11:26 I wasn't aware that it had exploded when it did because I was performing it. It sounds working when it was working. They had me up under everything. I don't think there's a continent or a place in the world I've not performed it other than maybe the South Pole. Quite literally. I say the North Pole because we've been to like Iceland and like Greenland and that's close to the poles. Yeah. Yeah. But I haven't done it on the South Pole and it's pretty much everywhere like that. I'm so serious. Awful domination. New Zealand, South America, everything.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:45 Russia, India, China, everywhere. And I've had to flip it to like, I'm liking this. Whatever. So like I performed it. So I don't know that. I don't know. I didn't know when it was blowing up. I was just like working it. I think maybe it hit.
00:11:46 --> 00:12:15 One of the moments I realized that, oh, this is something special was, I think we had to get off a plane train in an automobile in Cannes and go sing it. And I was like, they still want me to come? In my head, I was just like, it was a give or take gig in my head to me, but they were like, no, no, you have to be here. So we have to figure this, it was like two in the morning. I was like, it's not late. People don't want to, no, they waiting on you. I was like, like gathered myself.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:34 threw the things on, took a shot of whatever drink was available and went and sang it. And I realized, oh, this song is bigger than me. I didn't hurt you. Yeah, I mean, apparently a 5'7 guy's bigger than you, too. Apparently. I was 5'5. Anybody's bigger than me. I'm 5'5. I'm also 5'5. 5'8 is my minimum.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:55 I'm seven. I got to ask now. It was melody. It was melody. I just met this. So the melody, the original song came about John freestyling a melody. Zab, zab, zab, zab, zab, zab, zab, zab, zab, zab, zab. And he literally did that. So we're thinking lyrics and we took the lyrics from the, we never like moved too far away from the sounds of the lyrics in the melody.
00:12:55 --> 00:13:17 because when you're doing melody and you're recording, you're lightly channeling. So you're just like... And whatever the sound is, we kind of stick to that lyric-wise. And I'm a rapper, so I'm listening for the rhyming couplets and all the things. I was like... You know, and that's what it was. So five and seven wasn't weird. And I wasn't thinking about what I actually look like in real life. Yeah.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:36 All right, people? Everybody, cut it out. Leave me alone. I wasn't thinking. But it rhymes and it works. It does. It works. I mean, I watched a recent performance. You turned it to five foot something. Yeah, because people are going to give me the blues left, right and center. Yeah. And I say that five foot something. All right, guys, it's short. Cut it out. Everyone stop.
00:13:36 --> 00:14:02 sure I had to ask because I was like that's okay 5A's my limit so I get it 5A I don't have a height limit I don't have a height limit my dad's 5A I love I think he's a very handsome okay but that's your dad so like that's what you've been growing up looking at you know you're right the standard you're right you know I always wear tall shoes too you know the shortest I've been in years okay she said this is the shortest I've been I cosplay as a tall woman um hilarious
00:14:02 --> 00:14:27 But yeah, the whole thing was iconic. The dress, the hair. Yeah. The hair, it was given. Right? So we do have a question, just kind of like a little, not random, but one of our Patreon members, Dwayne, has a question. He'd like to ask specifically about Black British artists going global. And you are really, truly the perfect person to answer this because you were doing it when few people from the scene were breaking through internationally. Yes.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:55 Like we're now seeing this incredible wave with Flo, Pink Pantherist, Olivia Dean, Ray, and obviously so many more. And earlier this year, you were honored at the inaugural Black Women in Entertainment Honors. Fire! Okay, fire. You've watched the music industry change. You've been a part of that change and so much over your career. What has been some of the observations navigating all of these changes, especially as a Black British female artist? Oh my goodness. The observations, nothing changes.
00:14:55 --> 00:15:11 Oh, you know, it's on the negative side, it feels like nothing changes. On the positive side, I exist. So that's probably not true. Oh, two things can exist at the same time. Exactly. That's true. That's true too. Yeah. I know what you mean. There's a lot of like...
00:15:11 --> 00:15:32 There are a lot of British artists who have to fight harder and work harder, even as I exist. And so I don't complain about it more than I just provide the platform. If people are looking at me as the thing, the person. Well, let me let me bring some over here and so you can see them, too. You know, if I'm the sunshine, well, hey, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:56 It's also this, this and this and her, her and her and him, him, him. Yeah. You know, and I do that intentionally. I have a radio show on Apple Music and I play as much as I can. Yes. When I do my live shows, I pull them up to perform with me. I make sure that they're there and they understand, hey, this isn't just about you. I want you to be here and understand that your existence opens the eyes of another young black girl, another young black artist that.
00:15:56 --> 00:16:03 is looking at this is something I want to do, but I don't see it at the house. Yeah. I don't see it at home. Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:30 maybe I could do it though. You know, like you exist for that reason. Yeah. You know, part of your existence here, not just the music is so that somebody else can say I can do this. Yeah. You know, so I just do my best to put people in the sunlight too. Yeah. You know, yeah. We feel it. We feel the glow. We feel it. You've done such a really good job of it. The dresses, like even like even in the beginning, you've had a classy vibe about you. Like, so I was like, I get this kind of vibe. I'm like, why am I hearing? I'm like, you might be getting like a little bit of miss Lauren Hill.
00:16:30 --> 00:17:00 right but i was like there's something else here like she is jumping genres and so we're going to talk about a little bit later but there is something very consistent there on that we're definitely going to get into thank you yeah yeah so we do have to highlight some more of your discography here so after shine you do go on this incredible run you have all of me in 2012 with break my heart featuring rick ross yeah we get true romance in 2015 which gave us conqueror which was even on empire and it's actually brought out jesse last night yeah sing it with you i did
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 Thank you.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:42 Looking back at your catalog, are there any songs that you actually connect with more now than you did at the time? All of them. It's like looking at like your life trajectory and looking at all these songs. I'm kind of like some of them I was resistant towards. Like Break My Heart was the first song from all of me. And I recorded that and then just kind of started on the album. And then and I did that on a whim.
00:17:42 --> 00:18:03 One afternoon on a Saturday, like, oh, I have this, this beat's good. You know, and then I just recorded it at the house and left it. That's the original vocal from the house. That's dope. That was still dope. Threw it out. And then, like, the whole album went off, and Thank You came from the album. I didn't want to sing that song. It was the last song on the album. And then I had a breakup.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:15 I love that song. Does that resemble thank you? I love that song. Thank you. I love that song. Push through, push through. I feel like this is her in there. Okay. Push through now. Thank you, though. But thank you.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:39 And then the other albums, they're all just pieces of me at any given time, you know. Conqueror, I needed that. I needed that record to push through that period too, because it was like the beginning of, the full beginning of Independence as an artist. Yeah. Back again, after a couple of years with a major.
00:18:39 --> 00:19:03 Yeah. And obviously the industry was changing. People that don't know, not obviously, the industry was changing around 2014, 15 too. So it was a great changing of the guards or the artists were being moved from young and hot to legacy. Yes. And my age, I was like 30 in my 30s. So apparently I was legacy, even if I was young and hot. It was just a lot going on. I was like, no, I'm not. I guess I am. I don't know. Here I am.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:18 And so in that period of Conquer, I get calls from like a lot of the few of my OGs, like people that I respected. And then Prince calls me out the blue. And, you know, that kind of solidified, yes, girl, you're fine. Everything will be okay.
00:19:18 --> 00:19:38 And so, you know, and then Love as Rock came with a moment of awakening for me on a personal level. Just, all right, time to revamp, time to face your stuff, time to relearn yourself and ask hard questions and be OK with asking hard questions and checking to your mom and checking to your dad. Yeah. Checking to yourself.
00:19:38 --> 00:20:03 and I emerged you would stay out and diamonds in my hair okay this was in my hair because baby I know the more I know the more I know I know nothing oof yeah came that this is true the call she said the call was coming from inside the house it was loud too the call was loud I mean some of us are hearing it so we definitely appreciate just hearing someone else like I don't
00:20:03 --> 00:20:27 know how to always articulate my thoughts and they listen and they're like oh that's what I was feeling. Oh I should have just said thank you even I don't want to. This is me taking the thank you is me taking the high road and I didn't realize that like the song was so well written. It's one song I didn't write. One of the songs I didn't write and it was so well written and I just hated the idea that you had to say thank you to some man.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:57 Like, ah, I don't want to say thank you. I want to be like, knock all this over. Right, right. Get them out of here. In the dust. Just like, ah. But I had a chance to channel all that rage and all that through singing it, you know, like getting it out and the performance of it is a choice I had. Yeah. And that was why I was saying thank you. I was always like, I don't, I don't. You know, at the end, like going crazy. Yes. And, you know, and I had to kind of like,
00:20:57 --> 00:21:06 use it. There was no way for me to like, I don't want to say like a lot. There was no way for me to get the energy out without, um,
00:21:08 --> 00:21:34 out of me in that period of time, especially physically going through it with the guy. Yeah. If I didn't sing it out because I had so much to lose. I don't want to break anything. Or Lisa left that Lopez something. Yeah. Like go be, you know, do some passive regret, like the blogs get hold of it. And now we both beef like, nah, it's too much. You too classy for that. We don't do that. Come on now. Stay out of there. Sisters and brothers, look at me. Don't look like, no, I ain't like it. I'm not going to diss to you on the internet.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:56 I'm a woman so be sadder than that. Okay? And the great ones are Zee Beyonce and Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Right. Okay? That's how I survived. Come on now. Okay, how? Yes. Okay, so in running through all of that, like you said, you stepped away from that major label system and then you built and established 1980, which is now your record label and your clothing line. Are you wearing that?
00:21:56 --> 00:22:20 I'm not today. Oh, my bad. I was last night though. Oh, I thought she was last night. I was like, give me some. I got you. I'll come to it as well. But yes, what pushed you to take that creative control? Like you did say it was like a kind of a switching of the guards, truly. But some people stick with the label because they're like, it's confident for them. And then what have you learned about being independent? I've learned that I've always been independent.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:48 So from the beginning, I've always had my own entity within any system I've been in. I've always had established 1980. It was just putting it to the front. It used to be called a different name. I would sign to any deal under my company. So that was ownership. And I learned that from looking at artists like Jay-Z, from looking at artists who started their own hub, Rockefeller Records. And I was like, oh, that's how you do it? Cool. Got it. So anywhere I signed to, it was always my company within that company, within whatever.
00:22:48 --> 00:23:15 And so that was always my thing. So I had certain infrastructures in place already, business infrastructure in place. So when it came time to leave Atlantic, it was like, oh, I'm straight. The business is a business. Now I just have to get the effective work infrastructure going. You know, and again, Prince calling me having done this 20, 30 years ahead was the right cosign. You know, the purple one. I'm glad I'm proud of you do it. Yeah. You know, I was like, OK, it's amazing. It's done.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:37 That's awesome. And very smart of you, too. It's a tough industry. And it was a header. But, you know, again, if you're if you're an artist like me, again, I looked at I never looked at this like they've got to do everything. Yeah. Like and I think the artists today don't have that luxury because of that, because people realized you're just borrowing money. Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:37 --> 00:24:02 You got to pay it back. You got to pay it back. So do as much as you can by yourself. Always own as much as you can by yourself. It's a saleable thing, product you have. Own as much of the saleable product that you can and sell it back to them. You know, make them pay for it because, you know, don't get it done for free. Come on out, Pimp says. Okay. Come on. It's the business, baby. Yeah. You learn that early. I learned that early. It was just from looking at.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:26 the structures and the business and reading the books about it too. Yeah. Good. Read y'all. Read folks, please. There's so many books. There's a book called everything you need to know about the music business by Donald S. Passman. There's so many iterations of the book. It keeps getting updated. Get it and use it as a reference book, if nothing else. Yeah. And learn the business. It's your inside of a business and have the fun with it. Yeah. Yeah. That's it.
00:24:26 --> 00:24:55 Nice. Well, we can't have a full Estelle conversation without talking about the multi-hyphenate of it all. You did voice Garnet on Steven Universe for years, which built you this entire other generation of fans, especially in queer and animation spaces. So what does that role mean to you now? Oh, my goodness. At the time, people were like, what are you doing? Like, go make another album. I was like, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, mind your business. But at the same time, I called it.
00:24:57 --> 00:25:14 Me and the universe have this agreement. I called it in. I was like, I want to do voiceovers. I want to do voiceovers. And it was like, get clearer. I want to do animation. Yeah. What kind of animation? An international show that allows my nieces and nephews to hear my voice. And that was my criteria. Yeah.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:43 And along came Steven Universe. And they asked me about, do you want to know what it's about? I was like, well, what's the character about? And they said, well, she's the big sister or the big, the grownest in the scenario taking care of these younger gems. And I was just like, okay, well, what's the name of the character? Garnet. I was like, what's my birthday? So yes, absolutely. Let's go. I know what this is. Right? And anyway, I'm the oldest of six girls and three boys. There's nine of us total. So I understood the idea of,
00:25:43 --> 00:26:03 how you speak to your siblings and I, you know, and it was all voice work. So it wasn't tough. And then they told me I could do it in my voice. Yes. So no stretch. Absolutely. I didn't have to like do too much, uh, contorting of my voice. Right. Like, you know, your actual speaking voice is fine. Yeah. Do it. Be more sarcastic. I was like, yeah.
00:26:03 --> 00:26:25 Wonderful Awesome And that's it You know And the role to me Has morphed over the years I didn't know The character arcs I had no clue I was just honoured to Play it once I found it You know Once they told us After the fact Like I get in the studio Like well this is They didn't even tell us Like hey this is going to be The great episode They were like Look at the screen I was like Oh Oh
00:26:26 --> 00:26:36 Oh my, wait, so they, so it's a they? It was a whole, you know, a whole change. And then as it started coming out, the episodes came out.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:58 the reaction was was mind-blowing to me because i just i was just reading these words you know and i knew it and like it meant what it meant to me like in the world like oh this is hella cool people are gonna really feel seen but the pictures the tats the meeting people at shows and comic cons who were like holy crap thank you and i'm here like
00:26:59 --> 00:27:14 I just said words, you know, and they're like, no, no, no. Yeah. It's the way you said it. Yeah. The fact that you had the guts to keep doing it when people had their opinions. And I was like, hey, man, like, you know, we make commitments and we stand by our words. Yeah. You know, and they were like, even more.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:40 You know, it was just, but to me, that's the way I was raised. That's who I am. Yeah. You know, and I'm just happy that we were able to be there and do that. You know, be that character. She thought it was fun. Yeah. She is a lover. I love it. She's like, I watched it when I was coming from school. I had to watch my class. I used to watch it. Yeah. Random episode line. It's not even like heartfelt. Like she had an admirer. She's like, you wrote me your missive. And she said, I didn't write that.
00:27:42 --> 00:28:00 Just like hard, deaf and like, I was like, yes, it's perfect. Of course, she has the moments where, you know, she's heartful and things like that. And of course, you sang on the show, which was, oh my God. But yeah, just moments like that. I'm like, oh, is that a style? I was telling you, it's a style, it's a style. It's a style.
00:28:00 --> 00:28:27 I'm glad you're proud of it because it makes people feel so good And so many black girls were cosplaying People who are in black, they were like, oh my god, she's afro And they got it right because it was like, purple Like, bro, she's purple There was no racist There was no racist moments It was like, people were purple Like, you got it, it's purple You're not conflating the two, you understand the point here And it was Smartest, our fans are the smartest I love that show Yeah, yeah
00:28:27 --> 00:28:41 You want to sing with me? We are the Crystal Jams. I'm shaking it up. No, y'all ain't paying us for the cup of rats. We're not shaking our rock. All right.
00:28:41 --> 00:29:08 So as we mentioned, you have been everywhere as a collaborator. You're on Slick Rick's victory and perform with him at the Mobos. You're on the Deidre Moses's complex simplicity. You've got features with Adam Blackstone, Dean Nice, Theo Coker, excuse me, Coker, excuse me. And there is a beautiful John Legend full circle thing happening, joining him on stage in Birmingham and at the Hollywood Bowl. Yeah. Like, that's amazing. So what have all of these moments meant to you?
00:29:08 --> 00:29:33 It all just means I'm on the right path. You know, like I just I think about all the different types of eyes I can perform with. And I have been. And it makes it kind of not vindicates, but it's just like a tap on the shoulder. Like, yeah, he was doing right. He was good. People expected this. They said I should do that. What are you doing? You're too broad. Get more focus. Black girls ain't supposed to do that. You're supposed to not do that. Do this instead. Why don't you...
00:29:33 --> 00:29:51 And I was like, yeah, no, I'm not focused on none of you people. Right. You know, I'm very focused on what my spirit tells me. That's always led me right. Yeah. And it's been fun. Come on, spirit. Yeah, no, I stay in touch. And it's been fun watching...
00:29:51 --> 00:30:04 the claps and the applause regardless you know 20 years after the fact when people were like 20 years before like don't do that it's gonna be the end of your career and I'm like welcome to the show it's so good to see you at the show still hello
00:30:05 --> 00:30:29 But you said I wasn't going to have 20 years ago. Right. Thanks for paying for the ticket. Appreciate you. I'm glad you could come outside. You know, not in a, like, in a clear way, but more in a way, like, I wasn't crazy. Right. There was something behind this. You're here. I'm here. We're here together. You enjoyed yourself, right?
00:30:29 --> 00:30:39 Because I had that wealth of experience and because I had the world of all these different influences. This is why I can do what I do today. Yeah.
00:30:39 --> 00:31:01 Nice. Well, let's get into the album. Stay Alta released in May 2025, your first album in seven years. The title itself, Stay Alta, is about staying in the highest vibration, choosing joy. And you shared that a lot of this album was actually written and recorded back in 2020 during the pandemic and the George Floyd protests. So talk us through the overall concept for the album and what the writing and recording process was like for you.
00:31:02 --> 00:31:30 Well, the whole thing actually started in 2012. I was recording All of Me and Bits of True Romance. I record all the time. The songs make it or I pull another one from a different... So I had this idea for different albums. I pull different things for different albums. And I had this idea for like a funk disco, like James Brown. I think we were watching that clip when he was on the news talking about like, turn away at.
00:31:30 --> 00:31:36 You know that one with the glasses? Yes. How did all of this trouble begin? Living in America.
00:31:38 --> 00:32:01 We had that on repeat in the studio, like just crying, like, yo, wait, wait, wait, write it back. Like, I think I might go with him for Halloween this year. Like, we had that for real, like on the studio on repeat and just watching all these old James Brown clips. I was like, that was such a fun, like ridiculous era. Like, and it was just living. There were these wild things living. And so I wrote this song called Ride the Whip.
00:32:02 --> 00:32:08 She's a woman being like a pimp. Like, I like to ride in the whip, but it's the morning. I want you to go home.
00:32:09 --> 00:32:37 And that's the lyric of the song. I'm like, all right, now go home. And I need to go home, one of the two. And that was a bedrock song for this album because it was just so full of joy and nonsense. Yeah. And so I went to the producer of that song and I said, we have to work on something new now. I think, I feel, I think in 2018 after Lover's Rock, I was out doing the shows and people got so much joy in that moment of doing the live shows with Lover's Rock. Yeah.
00:32:37 --> 00:32:55 you would literally see them kind of like, do, do, do, do, do, do, after the show, like, like, they went back into the world and it just kind of felt like, oh. Mm-hmm. I was like, I feel like we're feeling crushed into sadness whenever we leave this moment of light or...
00:32:55 --> 00:33:20 go away from seeing our favorite artists or watching our favorite show, the rest of the world is so crushing. And I think music was reflecting that at the time and I was like, I don't wanna make that. I wanna make something that is directly related to joy, directly to give you something to pull you up out of that. Cause the world is heading there. I could just feel it. And here we are. And so in 20, maybe 2018, 2019,
00:33:20 --> 00:33:40 I think 2019, I did my first for real session for Stay Outer. Take us like three, four hours to write the song. I did Like He Is. And then 2020 happened. And I was like, all right.
00:33:41 --> 00:33:55 I still have these songs coming out at me though. It's like me and the producer, we'd be in the sessions and like masked up. It's just us, but you know, just in case because he has kids and anybody who, I was scared. Yeah.
00:33:57 --> 00:34:20 So we'd be masked up for four hours and I would go in pre ready to go, have a sample in my head, have a song in my head and just, hey, I had this idea and play with this sample. Or you see how this feels? Let's do something that feels like this. And within four hours, you'd have a two hours, you'd have a bass. And then within that hour, I'd have the song. And in the fourth hour, we'd be like, this is good. Go finish that.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:42 And then he'd go and finish it and then come back or that night he would send me a record. And that's how we did the album on repeat, four hour sessions. And so I said, what's not broke, don't fix. Just keep going. Four hour sessions. And we did them. And that's how Stay Outta came. And then I just fixed things. I added people after the bands were lifted. People could leave the house.
00:34:43 --> 00:34:55 And that's it. The intention was joy. Yeah. Totally felt. Joy, love, choosing something else, knowing that you have agency over that choice, you know, and just go for it. Yeah. Do that thing instead.
00:34:55 --> 00:35:16 Yeah, I can definitely hear it. I feel like after listening through everything and just listening to this, I'm like, oh, it sounds different. It sounds different, but it still feels like you. The focus track for the album is Roses, Now's the Time, Which Samples, Love Thing by First Choice. I heard that and I said, ma, what it is!
00:35:17 --> 00:35:38 We were driving for a family member. I was driving and I was playing this album over. And she's like, okay, who's this? I said, Ma, you don't know? She don't really know. She don't listen to music. My aunt listens to music. But my mom was like, I like it. It's nice. It's a nice beat to it. Why do I know it? I said, girl, because you know it. Yeah. I said, you know the original. That's why I know. My parents are anxious. That's okay.
00:35:40 --> 00:36:01 Yeah. So I love that song. I mean, you've mentioned that this song is a tribute to trailblazers who've come before you. And you're also accepting your own roses. Yeah. This song feels so true to your ethos, like as a person, just getting to know you right now and even just listening to your music. You've always been like, I loved this. I love this now. And you're all going to love that. Yeah. You know, so I think I really appreciate that.
00:36:06 --> 00:36:21 And you've integrated samples throughout your career without it feeling like a cheap trick to keep things fresh, which is not the easiest thing to do. Or I mean, it can be depends on the. But why do you think your music, even with the samples, resonates with so many people?
00:36:22 --> 00:36:43 I don't know. I think I don't, I can't particularly call the why. I do, I do attempt every single time to just be truthful and not judge it. You know, I think that's, that's, that might be the why. I don't overthink the lyrics. If it feels clunky and awkward, I just try and make it sound sexy.
00:36:44 --> 00:37:08 But I don't overthink the lyrics. I don't overthink the words. I just go with the original intent and put it in the air and try to be as honest as I can in the studio. Do my best singing as much as I possibly can and allow the producer to do his magic. But I don't, I don't overthink it. I think that's like a thing that artists really mess themselves up with. I feel like. Yeah.
00:37:08 --> 00:37:30 to me the muse however you quantify God spirit angels your granny the weed whoever whatever you quantify the muse is going to give you what you need yeah and I think we get in the way as humans we overthink it yeah and we pull it apart we do the wrong things to it and then say that's it and the thing's like this is not it this is not
00:37:31 --> 00:37:40 And I can say this having been, having done that. Yeah. But when I just do, and I put it out, and it feels like that sometimes. Yeah.
00:37:41 --> 00:38:06 I'm always surprised with how good it or how good it feels. And we don't listen to music. We feel it. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's the thing. We listen, we feel vibrations. And so it's the intention behind the vibration is truth and non-judgy and just, hey guys, this is what came out me today. Y'all take it. Or maybe it's not for you. Right. I don't mind. Right. Here we go. Yeah. No shackles on that.
00:38:06 --> 00:38:30 Come on, Anna Tua. I won't judge it. Like, people have done worse and gotten more. You know? There's artists out there who have, like, and I mean worse in the sense of, like, I didn't understand that then, but I get it now. There's records that are, like, rock records where I was, like, back in the day, like, what are you talking about? Yeah. Now I'm out here, like, let's go! I understand the thing!
00:38:31 --> 00:38:52 This is my song. Don't stop. Believe. Like, hold on to. Like, songs like that when I was a child. What? Yeah. What does that mean? Now as an adult, I get it. Don't stop. Believe. Hold on to the feeling, baby. Like, you know, like, just a small town girl. Going out. From big London, but a small town girl. Right. Right.
00:38:52 --> 00:39:09 Like, you know, it's so funny. It was feeling behind that. He knew what he was emoting. Yeah. As I was saying, get out the way. It was the feeling. Yeah, that frequency is very high. Yeah. Okay. You understand? Okay. Stay up here. Come on now. Stay high. Stay up here. Hello.
00:39:09 --> 00:39:29 There is definitely an ease to it. Like, it's such a great morning album. It puts you in such a good mood. Yes. You know, and yeah, it does feel like it does feel like it's just flowing out of you, which is awesome. So that definitely comes through. But we have to highlight some of our favorite tracks. I love the title track. Thank you. With Channel Tris. Yeah, Channel Tris. Yeah, yeah.
00:39:34 --> 00:40:03 It's doing something really interesting because you are going back to your MC roots there. And you've said in the past that some of your older fans are always wanting you to get that. So yeah, talk us through that. Yeah, they want me to rap a rap specifically the way they want me to rap. And that's the part where I'm just like, I am not 23. And I mean that to say like, 23-year-old me knew what she knew then. That was lovely. She's very pleased with 46-year-old me though. She thinks I'm amazing. I can tell you that because I am her.
00:40:03 --> 00:40:23 Oh, you know, we developed, we found some other things and we're not afraid to try out a genre. You know, like try different things. 23 year old me did like UK rap. Yeah. 2046 year old me understands that I was also listening to Garage and hearing all the different MCs. Yeah. And so it was a bit simpler and it got the message across better. So let me try that.
00:40:23 --> 00:40:33 And then we do it well So to me that's Stay Outer That's the vibe That's the first track Stay Outer It's me doing my best scarring MCing
00:40:34 --> 00:40:56 Thank you. All right. So mine is one of my one of mine is a letter job featuring the mayor of threads. The mayor of threads. I said congrats on your new title, sir. Congrats on your new title. This is the title that matches. It's given to you by the people. Yes. Don't know.
00:41:01 --> 00:41:30 Yes. He's the one singing the Chinese music. Yes. I just wonder how he knows so many things. Like, bro, what? I said to him, what is happening? Like, what is this? Have you ever been? Yes, no. What is happening? He felt the spirit. He felt the energy. He sings it nonstop. And then the memes of him running for his Grammy. You deserve it. Running for his life.
00:41:30 --> 00:41:51 And then his publicist ran behind him and I said, both of you are insane. Wow. I mean, it's interesting because he's not singing. Right. He's not giving a. He's speaking. He's almost like the MC. I found him. I found him. I found that clip. Yeah. I followed him on the ground before. You know, we were friendly on the ground before. But I found the clip he did in the pandemic.
00:41:51 --> 00:42:08 And he had like had his, you know, he did this fingers. Come here. Yes. Down to earth. And he did that. And he was talking about the whole clip is him talking about having to go do his laundry outside. That's what he's actually talking about. He was like, you know, I don't need this kind of negativity in my life.
00:42:10 --> 00:42:38 I thought it was the funniest thing ever. And I was like, bro, this guy's insane. I love him. But it was just the commitment to the bit. He was very clear and focused about what he meant and what he said. I said, bro, this is insane. So I took the clips and I put it on the song in the pandemic. Oh, my God. And after the pandemic, I said, just come in and add some spice to it. So at the end when he was like...
00:42:38 --> 00:43:06 You think I have the time and I'm not even wearing a Rolex? Just because I'm wearing a Rolex. And the watch broke. It was just little moments of like Duran brilliance. Yeah. You know, that just roll off his tongue, off his head. And I was like, that's what I want from you. Because people have to understand how funny you are just in the words you say. Just say some words. The Rolex line had me. Yes. Imagine he's doing this like you're sitting there and I'm sat next to him on the sofa like,
00:43:06 --> 00:43:17 Trying to put my hand in my, not laugh so you can hear it on the mic while he's recording it. He's over here like trying not to crack up too. It's a whole mess. A whole mess, yeah.
00:43:22 --> 00:43:43 You mentioned some of the collaborations on this album. There's a ton of amazing talent here. You have D-Nice lighting up Love on Love with that club quarantine energy. You got Grateful with Tidra Moses and Russell Taylor. New Direction is another favorite with Russell and Keon Harold. Those harmonies. Thanks. So good. So yeah, any really fun memories from some of these other collaborations?
00:43:53 --> 00:44:12 Oh my goodness. New Direction is one of my favorite records. I think it was one of the, in the last batch of records I recorded. And I recorded it because it was in the middle of the pandemic and the protests had started. And I was like,
00:44:12 --> 00:44:26 Man, where would I want to go? Where do I see us going as a people? I'm not a big fan of like sitting in the moment and being, not sitting in the moment, but I'm not a big fan of like accelerating fear.
00:44:27 --> 00:44:56 You know, so I was kind of like, well, where would we, where would I want to see us heading towards? And at the moment, in that moment, in that time, I was like, I just want to go dance with my friends again. I just want to be outside. And so this, I want to go in a new direction. I don't want us to have to fight this hard. I don't want us to have to be in this much turmoil with each other as people. But there's absolutely been times when we could just squash all this with just a party. Like, you know, I've seen people be at parties and...
00:44:56 --> 00:45:26 they're beefing, but also I'm a singing clap. Yeah. You know, like I'm also over here, like, and not to sound like, like I'm trivializing real issues, but I know that people would prefer peace over war every time. So new directions, one of my favorites. And, you know, Michael Jackson was one of those people that did that for us in this, my generation, like bad was a, was a let's squash this with a dust bowl. Yes. Do this. But it's not. Yes. Yes.
00:45:26 --> 00:45:51 You know, like, who's bad? Yeah. That whole scene in the underground. Was it him or was he Slime? Was he Slime? Yeah. Let me go, man. Right. Whatever, man. Yeah. We're fine. We're good. But that was the whole energy of it. It was kind of like, yo, you really enjoy peace and love more than you enjoy drama. Yeah. And so let's head in a new direction. I kind of wanted to put...
00:45:52 --> 00:46:15 Something in the air and in people's energy feels like, hey, man, we don't know when we're going to get to be. Let's just go dancing with our people. Let's smoke something. Let's have a good time and just do it all. Yeah. Free fly. You know, and that was not. And people might say, oh, the drugs. No, no. It was just be free and be in your soul about some stuff about this life instead of let's be beefing. You know, what are we doing?
00:46:17 --> 00:46:40 It just needed to be a thing, like just like a little poke of light in the midst of the darkness at that time. Yeah. You know, instead of saying, yeah, the protests are crazy. They really pepper spraying and shooting my friends in the face. What's going on? Right. You know, my real friends. Yeah. What's happening there? You okay? Right. So it was a lot, you know, and I thought, you know, this is a time when artists create.
00:46:40 --> 00:46:51 And so I was in there writing songs that would speak to the future and speak to the light instead of trying to feed the darkness. Yeah. So that was my thought. And that's my favorite record.
00:46:51 --> 00:47:11 Okay. Yes, it's solid. Cause I was listening to it and he was like, oh my God, this guy was like, yes, it's so good. Thank you. We do listen to our artists that we have on the show. And we had an artist named M and she's more about like female rage, right? So she has opinions about things. And I was like, it's beautiful how you're so brave to say, cause so many people try to bash her.
00:47:11 --> 00:47:31 And it's like, you need the female rage. You need rage in general if you're a young lady. She's like, I'm angry about this. Speak up. And it's like that inspires me to write what's on the other side of that. Exactly. So I can hear that and be like, thank you for telling me how you feel. Yes. Let me give you an option. So it's a spectrum of emotions, not just like sad, feeling defeated. So, yeah, it's just like, ah!
00:47:31 --> 00:47:54 Harmony. I'm tired. Can we go dinner party now? I'm hungry. I was like, we're literal, freaking houseplants and babies. This is who we are as people. We're houseplants and babies. Give us some lights and food. Put us to sleep. Literally. Take a nap. Literally. At the base level. Just base level everything. It's crazy. I cannot. Shut the curtains. We'll be all right.
00:47:56 --> 00:48:12 After the party, after the party. So now you have said that you have your favorite track, but is there any track on the album that you don't get asked enough about or you feel like deserves a little bit more shine? I would like for people to hear Honey, Honey on time. That's one of my other... The whole album is my favorite.
00:48:12 --> 00:48:34 But that one to me is my musical exploration part. People don't know I'm a huge fan of like Spanish music or Latin music. And Hedda Laveau and them are, you know, they're our cousins. So, yeah. Diaspora. Yeah. And there's just some, there's something about the way that he played and the way that him, like in all his, his cousins played together.
00:48:34 --> 00:48:54 you know because there's so many of them to like name but there's something about that era Fania All-Stars Celia Cruz yeah and there was a couple like Hector and Celia Hector Laveau and Celia Cruz not my friends they're icons yeah there's something about the way that they played and the way that they sang and the way that they uh
00:48:55 --> 00:49:13 just gave us music that is reminiscent of my family. Yeah. Like as real African, you know, real. Yeah. We ain't changed nothing. Yeah. Yeah. We didn't change. We didn't, we didn't colonize the thing over here. Right. You know, like the drumming, the way that they sang, the energy.
00:49:13 --> 00:49:33 It was just ancestral. Yeah. And so that to me was me just connecting the dots in today's time. Like, hey guys, don't forget we're all connected, you know? Yeah. And I had my friend, Aida Rodriguez, who's a comedian. She's funny. Oh, she's ridiculous. In the best way. And I had her speak some words in Spanish. And I told her the theme was...
00:49:33 --> 00:49:49 Speaking to your future, if you could find the biggest love of your life or the person who was your person, what would you say to them? She did. She said all the things in Spanish to that. And then I had my friend who's a Mexican drummer and he's Mexican. And same way he plays in the same way like that, you know.
00:49:50 --> 00:50:05 like Sheila E, you know, she would play. And he came on and just came in the studio and hit the drums. And we was in there like, play the diaspora, baby. We are here. Yeah, we are here. It's the thing.
00:50:10 --> 00:50:35 Okay. All right. Y'all heard it. Listen to it. Stream it. Make those numbers go up. Also, I just have to say, start over. Start over. I love that song so much. I've just had it on repeat sometimes. It is so joyful, which is the word, I guess. That was another one of the direct records that came from looking at the protests. And I've just felt like, you know, we're going to win.
00:50:35 --> 00:50:53 At that point, I was like, no, we're going to win. I have a feeling. I know it's going to get worse before it gets better. We're going to start all this shit over. This has to go again. The cycle has to begin again. You were right. You took your time. You had time. You said fight well and in fact.
00:50:53 --> 00:51:17 our fight wasn't in vain neither was your pain yeah you were the one but Gen Z were the ones like the young millennials were the ones who said absolutely not like the new Gen Alphas that's them this is their fight and they're doing it like I was having this conversation it's not a foregone conclusion that everything's going to crap it's not because the kids are telling us it's not they're doing what they want to do start this shit over
00:51:17 --> 00:51:26 Let's go. Got your back. Let's go. We do have your back. Like, millennial. Is it millennial? Is it elder millennial? We were not the ones. Yes.
00:51:27 --> 00:51:53 I classify myself as an elder millennial. We were not the ones to do all of this. I just want to take us out of the mix. We were listening to music. We were watching movies. We were everything you were. Like, we want to live. We need the trees. We love it all. Please. Okay, we were with you. Okay. This is not a foregone conclusion. You're doing the right thing. Let's go. We have your back. And so start this over if you got to start over. Yeah. Yeah. Get reset. Come on. Yeah.
00:51:58 --> 00:52:19 So we've already got some new music this year. You released Live Love Learn in April. And sonically and emotionally, it's quite a different mood from Stay Alta. So where did that song come from? From about 12 years ago. Oh. So I have a thing I just record to record whenever the spirit leads. But this was brought to me in a different session, maybe around 2012.
00:52:19 --> 00:52:36 And my team were like, just try it. And I was like, I'll try it. Let's see. And then we had it sitting there for the longest. And I think the team that was producing Me, You and Tuscany came to us and were like, we need like a ballad. And we were like, well, we have a ballad.
00:52:36 --> 00:52:53 Oh, but I love the lyrics to it. I love the thing. No one's really used to hearing me sing those kinds of songs because when I do my live shows, we don't focus on that. Like, that's not really, I'm not a ballad girl, per se. Because then you have to do them all the time. And I absolutely not.
00:52:53 --> 00:53:13 It's a lot. It's a lot. You know, let me get into my Aretha Patti LaBella and I might start busting out the ballads. But for now, you know, so for that song for me, it was just like it fit perfectly and I was happy about it. It's a beautiful love story, you know, and there's going to be more of those, I think.
00:53:13 --> 00:53:39 I don't know. No, there's more, I mean, more of the type of movie. I was happy to contribute to that. It's like, I like to hear the women be happy. I like to hear the girls be happy. That's it. Yeah. I mean, for the girls. Right and wrong, left and right. Hilarious. Oh, hilarious. So there's just, there's going to be a lot more of that, I think, in the world. And however you put love in the world and in any of its formats, I think that's what we need to do. Yeah, absolutely. Good times. Get you in your love.
00:53:42 --> 00:53:50 Yeah, I was listening to it. I was stuck in traffic. I was like, don't cry. Don't cry. Love. You look, you love, you learn. Yeah.
00:53:51 --> 00:54:20 Please remember the words. That's true. All right. So as you've mentioned, you are in the middle of your Blue Note run and you did your NYC show last night. I did. All right. So what has been performing this material live been like after a little while away, you know, get back into it and any songs that that got a special live remix or something extra special added to give it new life? Let's me even perform some songs for a while. Oh, yeah. We do it. We do medleys. Yeah. Let's go on down.
00:54:21 --> 00:54:41 Prince taught me that We do medleys now Bobby Jackson taught me that James Brown taught me that Like no Like I watch And I study them So you know Watching Lauryn Hill Be vilified And eventually praised For how she remixes Her show Was like Oh yeah I'm remixing everything What we're not gonna do Is be bored out here Because it shows Yeah
00:54:41 --> 00:55:05 And I've done, again, I've done American Boy in several formats. Yes. So the other songs are more just like, to me, almost like a music history class to a degree. And then it's just like a reminder, a tap on the shoulder that, guys, we have music, real music in this world that you forgot. Yep. We didn't just land. I didn't land here by myself. I landed here because there's...
00:55:05 --> 00:55:28 for 100 years of Black music. Yeah. And other artists who have great songs that I grew up on. Mm-hmm. I listen to every day of my life. Yeah. I want you guys to hear them too. Yeah. And I want you to be influenced. Yeah. This is me as an influencer. This is how I do my show. Come on, Influencer. Yeah. All I do as an influencer is influence by my shows. Yeah, you're great at the curation for sure.
00:55:28 --> 00:55:42 And it makes it fun. Like, imagine you're singing like, I don't know, whatever 80s pop song and you're like, oh, and then she did the one that I love. And I'm like, that's the plan. You're having a good time. You definitely do that role.
00:55:42 --> 00:56:00 So next you're headed to the UK. We have Mighty Hoopla in London. We even have Splendor in July. And you also have Hawaii as well coming up. So we are flying to London in a couple days ourselves to attend Mighty Hoopla. We will be there for your set. So what are you looking forward to with all of these summer shows?
00:56:00 --> 00:56:15 Oh my goodness. You know what? Meeting the people, seeing the people again. Yeah. That's the thing. I've been, it's been six, seven years since I've been fully outside. I've just been popping up on people's shows. Yeah. And also like, I needed a break, you know? Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:56:16 --> 00:56:42 2020, I hate to say the pandemic, but 2020 gave me some space. Yes. To like sit down and reorganize my life a little bit, which I was really grateful for. But, you know, sometimes you got to get back outside and say hi and really do it because anytime I popped out for Usher or John or anybody, it'd be like, so where's your show? I was like, wait, wait. I just left the house today.
00:56:42 --> 00:56:56 It was just today, guys. Right. You want a full show? You really want a full? And there's a lot that goes into that. There's like a lot physically that goes into that. So I'm ready. Yes, you are. Come on now. We're ready. We're ready.
00:56:57 --> 00:57:25 Thank you. I'm excited. Her first time in London, actually. Yeah. Oh, yes. I don't leave anywhere. Oh, this is good. Yeah. This is good. You're coming at the good weather time. That's what I mean. Good. Okay. It's good weather. That's good to know. Okay, yeah. No, I don't go nowhere. Not on purpose. You know, life. You think life? Yeah, things cost money. It does. Is this true? Trying to make art and stuff. Art or the flight art. Like, you know. I make it sound so fascist, but I do care about my art.
00:57:29 --> 00:57:53 But yes, all that being said, class was kind of over, y'all, a little bit. But it's okay, fine. But it doesn't mean that Estelle's story is over, obviously. She is starting up some new shows. Listen to the music, obviously. Thank you so much for joining CCTV Pops. We are honored that you stepped into our studio. It has been everything we have hoped for and more. My goodness. Do you have any final fans for your daughter? Thank you.
00:57:53 --> 00:58:08 Hey, it's lovely to see you all again back outside. In between me being at the show is make sure you listen to my show on Apple Music on Saturdays and Sundays, 12 to 2 p.m. PST, which I think is like 5, 3.
00:58:08 --> 00:58:26 Do the translation. Y'all do the translation. Y'all do the translation. 2 p.m. PST all over the world. And it's fun, man. It's good vibes. If you love me at the shows, you're going to love the music selections. You're going to love the banter. It's good vibes. Yes, and bye from 1980.
00:58:26 --> 00:58:54 Buy from EST1980. Go to the, at EST1980, Inc. on Instagram and buy the sweats. I'm not wearing it today. I should be, but it's the most comfiest flight wear. That's what I've been told. Yeah. So like, I have to get you guys some for your flights, but it's like, it's real. It's very, it's, I don't know. I wear them all the time. And people tell me like, this is my standard flight wear. So I'm like, well, fly in it then. Good. Come on now. Come on. It's just comfy. Okay.
00:58:54 --> 00:59:21 It's about comfy clothing, comfy options, feeling good in your body. Come on. Plug, plugity plug. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, my gosh. Also, everyone, please go stream. Stay alta. Please. Please. And follow Estelle on Instagram at EstelleDarlings as well. And if you want to follow us, we are at CCTV Pops on all social media. So we're everywhere on every podcast platform. Yeah. So until next time, that's Shantelle. That's Chris. And that's Estelle. Wow. Wow.
00:59:21 --> 00:59:24 We are CCTV. Thank you. Bye, guys.