Funny story, I actually personally hate Monopoly.
I'm so sorry if this puts me in a bad place with that brand.
To take five hours of my time to end up losing is trash.
So, I'm just going to stick with the collecting part because you do always collect properties
but you may not win.
Me and Ari thought it was really funny to have a song called Monopoly because she knows
if anytime she asks me to play, I'm going to say, "No, thank you. Thank you, next."
It was February 1st, 2019.
One of the worst sessions I've ever had.
It was one of those scenarios where I had to find a studio and there was no other studios
available besides this one.
I didn't write anything down, but I'm pacing, for now two hours while he's trying to get
the computer to just work.
So, problem number one.
Problem number two, I finally get into the booth.
I'm in this closed dungeon space, and he's in a whole other room, and I have my headphones
on and I'm running through the lyrics, excited, blah, blah, blah.
And I'm at one point, I'm like, "One more time?
Hello?
One more time?
And this goes on for, I don't know, probably a minute and 30, while the beat still plays.
And this man comes back on into the talk back and he says, "Oh, my bad.
I went to get my Postmates."
I said, "Sir, you have to tell me these things.
Just tell me.
I'm in here vibing out and no idea that no one's listening to me, or being able to restart
the song."
So, I was just like, "I'm gonna take my things, I will not be returning."
Just to clarify, Tim Suby is the producer of the song, not the really trash ... I'm
sorry if he's listening, but you were pretty bad.
You know, I'd be willing to pay for some classes for Pro Tools for him.
The more you're in the public eye, the more people try to connect to you or try to get
at you.
And so I'm just very meticulous and particular about who I allow to do that.
I'm friendly with everybody but I also like ... there's a very strong, thick line between
me, my soul, and your motives, and everything.
So it takes a little bit of work to get through that line.
And there's very few people that have crossed that, so just a little protective, shawty.
Do you even have a plan?
Do you even know where you're going?
Do you have goals?
Even if I know where I'm going, I'll put the address in so I know how much time it takes.
And I feel like with your life, you kind of have to lay things out like that.
So, keep your GPS on, y’all.
I'm not going to let your journey or what you have to say come into my energy, my vibe,
because I feel good over here.
We good over here.
You take a fly swatter and swat that shit away.
It's like when you're the shit and bad vibes are like flies.
Get, get, get out of here.
You just got to protect yourself.
I had written down in printed out some of my goals for just last year and one of them
was to have two top 10's at the same time.
And the shit happened.
Looking back on that goal list, you realize how many things have actually happened for you.
So it's really important to make sure you map out your life, make sure you have a plan,
make sure you have your goals written down and ready, even just for yourself to view
because it's really incredible how you can manifest a lot of that shit and look back
on it and be like, "Wow, I'm kind of on a roll."
Dichotomy means just basically something like two opposing things, things that are said
to be different.
And so I thought ... man I thought it was a little Jay-Z.
I was trying to use a double entendre.
And so I was thinking of it like dyke-chotomy because I like women and men.
And also making sure people know that I could do more than one thing, and I swerve both ways.
Like, "I'm about to shake your ass and still score."
I think it's important for people to be aware of my sexuality just because of the misrepresentation
that ... the lack of representation that bisexual, black women have in the music industry.
And I want people to know, who look like me and feel like me, that that's fine and that's
tight and you can do that.
You don't have to hide, because I did that for a really long time.
And it's okay to like the P and the D. Or the P with the strap-on D. Or we can just
kiss. Whatever
I would love to be able to be more than one place at one time, like the Jabbawockeez.
They're probably making money in the Philippines and Vegas right now because of the masks and
shit.
So, I think it's really cool to work yourself so much that you could use another you.
It's nice to be selfish now and look nice, but when your kid sees you in those flashy
chains and you guys can't afford a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when she's eight,
then sir, ma'am, you fucked up.
The line before, where I'm saying, "When you hit the club and you barely got in," that
actually was me.
I went to this event called Shabba, which is so popping.
I would imagine it to be like the studio 54 of our generation.
Literally, I had to sneak in as a group with Usher's team because they let his ass in.
So I slid in and I was in that thing.
But I was like, "Damn, I had to do all that to just come to this shit?"
I guess it's just a matter of the image that you are able to obtain by being VIP, being
in the front of the line, when really your mentality should be being VIP at your bank.
Ariana, and I, and Tayla Parx, Njomza, Kaydence, Tommy Brown, Social House, we spent two weeks
in New York making the bulk of ‘Thank U, Next’, Ariana's most recent album.
Any time you were to walk in that room, there was champagne.
it was very emotional to make.
We went from crying, to laughing, to venting, to being angry, to me losing my phone over
a balcony in New York and it was on the next balcony.
"Remember when we made a fucking album, off that Clicquot."
Clicquot is one of my favorite champagnes ... is my favorite champagne, who am I kidding?
Eric Vetro is a really amazing vocal coach of the stars.
What we mean by tracking vocals is sometimes performers who dance a lot, performers who
aren't as talented live, they'll record their vocal and then kind of lip sync over it or
do it in some parts where it gets harder.
Ariana doesn't ever do that.
She's hitting all the high Fs and Zs or whatever every night live, and so she just gives a
shout out to her vocal coach, who she warms up with before every show and cools down with.
It's just a really nice sentiment.
When we played him the song, there's a video of us on FaceTime with him and his reaction,
and it brought him to tears.
It just really was special to see because I don't think that he ever gets the recognition,
especially in song form, that he should.
Eric Vetro, we love you, we're thankful for you and what you've done with and for Ariana's
vocals, and you're tight.
After I wrote that line, I shortly figured out that Home Depot supports Trump.
Tsk Tsk Tsk Shame on you.
There's been a lot of time spent with Ariana and I in our personal lives.
Whenever there's a problem, I'm able to run to her.
It's almost like she senses it when there's something wrong.
She'll be like, "Hi, miss you," as I'm crying.
To be able to work with her on this level and write songs, it feels like cheating.
I'm like, "There's no ... This can't be this easy.
I don't even know how else to describe it.
It just feels unfair, how fun and natural it is, and how successful it's been because
of just that.
I always see pop divas like Mariah and Whitney, when they have done studio recordings together,
they're in the same room at the same time with two different mics.
Ariana and I did that but we were sharing a mic.
At one point, we were ad-libbing and just ... I don't know why I said, "Where you been,
Cletus?" and she literally stopped her vocal and she was like, "Who?
What the fuck?"
I think it just shows, I guess, a cultural difference, that we're so alike but we're
so different.
She introduced me to First Wives Club.
I guess I'm introducing her to Nutty Professor.
we're like two opposites but so much of us is magnetic and makes sense, so it's just
really funny and interesting that ... That really captures the dynamic of a lot of our
friendship right there.