I get people telling me they love the fact that they have music that they can listen
to with their children and it’s actually something that’s positive.
Especially men tell me they glad they daughters got somebody like me to look up to.
I get what they’re saying.
It’s dope to have somebody who's actually speaking life into my child as a leader.
That’s the role I feel like I’m taking in society.
For “Build You Up” I wanted to make a self-love anthem for women.
Especially young ladies.
I feel like it ain’t no little girls that got that type of feeling no more.
They only got one sexualized message.
So I feel like they need the duality of the self-love too.
You need to build yourself up and understand that you don’t need somebody else to make
you love yourself.
You don’t need nobody else to make you feel wanted and secure with who you are.
That’s what the whole point is.
You done had so many people do all of these negative things to you, but what could you do
for yourself to take you out of that turmoil and build yourself back up?
Just keep telling yourself, “This is temporary. This is temporary."
"Whatever this feeling is, it’s gonna pass.”
Speak life into yourself.
Even if you gotta look in the mirror everyday ‘cause you’re feeling ugly like, “I’m beautiful."
"I’m beautiful."
One day you’re gonna walk out of that mirror feeling like you’re the baddest bitch on this Earth.
Even if you cock-eyed as hell.
What you put in the universe it comes back, so you just gotta keep telling yourself that.
I feel like people telling you your dreams not gonna come true, that’s the biggest
break for me personally.
‘Cause growing up so many people never get to live they dreams, so they will try to deter
you from yours because theirs never became a reality.
And sometimes you feel like you ain’t gonna never be good enough or
“Damn maybe I shouldn’t be doing this,” but fuck that. Just keep doing you.
You just wish that somebody can give you some type of words of inspiration.
To inspire you to get out of the depression you in I guess.
Certain songs give you that inspiration.
Like Tupac’s “Baby Don’t Cry.”
Whenever I was sad I would just turn that on like, “You gon’ be aight nigga!”
That was my song.
Don’t accept nobody treating you less than what you’re worth.
‘Cause a king gonna show you that you worth all this.
He ain’t gonna put you down, demean you and make you feel less than that.
With men it’s more so a verbal thing.
They try to make you feel insecure.
So you’ll start looking at yourself differently ‘cause of stupid shit somebody says to you.
It ain’t naturally all the time a physical thing.
Sometimes it’s just more mental.
Like, “I’ma keep picking at something ‘til it breaks you.”
And then you’re like, “Damn, why this nigga keep…” You know what I'm saying?
Then eventually you realize this ain’t cool.
I read a lot.
I used to always be into that ancient Egyptian Kemet shit.
And then listening to people like Tupac always speak so highly of me made me have this natural
profound respect for myself as a black woman.
So I’ve always had a certain level of respect and admiration for myself.