 Big shit, it's a unique hustle nigga, big shit, big shit, big shit, name another podcast like this. Check it, check it, check it, it's a unique hustle shit boy, E.C.E.O. And I'm here with the lovely, amazing official Miss Jamaica. What's going on? None of you know what they are going. Hey man, another day. Another dollar. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Exactly. Check it man, don't go to shouting just yet. We got a special guest in here today, y'all. She really don't need no introduction. Really, to be honest with you, she's a lady of sound. Miss J.Darnale, what's going on baby? Hey. Man, I'm so happy to get you here, man. Somebody sent me some music girl and I started listening to it. I ain't gonna lie, it got a little heated for me. I wanted to see my wife so I listened to a few of these songs. That's how you want to make yourself feel. That means I blew her by trap. No, you have a dope voice man. I mean, just to hear you, you know, sing, it was a delight. When we first seen you, it was at an awardee too large funeral. I don't even think you were paying attention. I was like, baby, listen to that. I'm like, she can really go. I'm like, who is she? And then I didn't have to ask that question very much longer because of course the preacher, he definitely said who you are. Yeah, and you definitely introduced yourself. So I'm like, okay, okay, okay. Let me make a note of that name. Exactly, man. And I just thank God for bringing you into our presence, man. No, thank you for having me. This is a dope opportunity so I'm happy to be here. Man, so we're gonna get into it a little bit. I know you like to run down through there. Okay, because I like to introduce you as a person to our listeners, not really you as a musician. Right. You want to know about you growing up with your parents or with your mom, dad, your siblings, where you're from? I mean, I need to know everything you went through as a child. Okay, so hi everybody. I am Jada Arnell. I have literally been singing since I was three years old. I grew up in Dallas, but we've lived in like obviously Duncanville, DeSoto, we've lived kind of south of Dallas. So yeah, I grew up there. I live in DeSoto now with my parents, but I have three siblings, older brother, shout out to Brian, his wife, my nieces. I have an older sister, Ariel, and then I have a younger brother. His name is Collin. Okay, I was about to say, are you the baby girl? I'm the baby girl. Yes, the baby girl. And then I have two parents. Obviously, they've been married for almost 30 years. She does a blessing. A blessing, blessed to have them in my life. They're huge, my whole family, just huge supporters. So they have literally been supporting me since the beginning when I was younger. My mom used to put me in these like singing competitions and she saw something in me. So she was just like, I'm just wrong with you. Did your mom used to sing? So the crazy thing is that nobody really, in my like immediate family, they don't really sing. My mom plays the piano. So where did you get that voice from? I don't know. So my dad's, my papa, he's no longer alive, but my dad's dad, he used to sing. So I think maybe that's where I got it from. But yeah, nobody like in, you know, my close, close family, they don't really sing. So I think when I was younger, my mom, she used to play in a jazz band. She actually still plays in a jazz band today. Oh, okay. And yeah, she used to take my sister and I to rehearsals with her. So I used to kind of just be like mesmerized. I don't know. I just would watch and... Can you play instruments? I actually cannot play like full-on plaque and dabble on the keys a little bit. I wish. You used to get your mom to teach you. I know. Trust me. She used to give us lessons when we were kids, but it's harder trying to teach your kids. Exactly, exactly. She can fuss at us and all of that stuff. So we kind of gave that up. But, you know, I'm definitely trying to dabble back into learning how to play instruments, because I think it's very important. Especially as an artist. Of course. You want to be able to offer... To offer more than just, you know... All around you. Of course. So, which is kind of why I... But nowadays, you can go on YouTube and learn... And learn... For sure. For sure. I actually started learning how to play guitar last year. So, that was fun. You know, it's very... It's not super difficult, but you know, you can get like calluses on your fingers because of the strings. So, that was kind of fun. So, you know, I'm going to try... You're like, no, I'm going to stop. I don't need no calluses. I couldn't get my nails done. I couldn't do nothing. So I was like, oh, I don't know if I can get my nails done. But, it's a great instrument to learn how to play all of them. So, even with, you know, my voice being my instrument. I think a piano would be great for you. For sure. Yeah. I like them all. And people play multiple instruments. Like, I think it's super, super cool. So, you had a love. You had very much a love of Prince, right? Yes. And Prince and her. Because her is definitely another person. I love her. She plays like five, six instruments. She's amazing. And I've gotten to see her live. Really? Have you gotten to meet her personally? No, I haven't gotten to meet her. I wish, but I did get to see her live and I watched her get on the mic. I watched her hop from the microphone to playing on bass, getting on the drums, guitar and getting on keys. Like, she's literally amazing. Oh, wow. It's really amazing. So, tell me about, like, the first time when your mom, because you said you started singing at three. Yeah. The first time your mom acted, I'm sure she would have told you the story that she heard your voice for the first time. I knew that you had something. So, I think, like I said, I've been singing since I was three. Right. I think my mom heard me at church. Singing. I grew up singing, obviously, in church. And, you know, I would just, I was one of those kids that was like, you know, I want to sing the lead, or I want to be not necessarily in the front, but, you know, just pick me, pick me. And so, you know, they kind of saw that people started, you know. So, you were an outgoing child from the get-go. Very outgoing. My mom, thank God, recorded our whole childhood. So, we have so many home videos of my sister and I. That's good. And my sister doesn't sing at all, but there's a cute little video of us. She can be the dancer. She's my high girl. You know, that's what she is. But there's a little video of us. My grandma had just bought us this, like, little play keyboard. And I had the mic in my hand. And I was, we were singing, I think, Silent Night, or something like that for Christmas. So, those are, like, some of my, some things that I can kind of remember. But I'm pretty sure my mom saw my talent in church, for sure, because I was always, like, eager to go to choir rehearsal with her. And just to be singing. So, you know, when I kind of told her that I wanted to do it, is when she took it upon herself to kind of take it to the next level. What's your favorite song that your mom used to play or sing or anything like that that you can remember? I don't necessarily remember a favorite song that my mom used to play. I can probably tell you my favorite hymn from Church, though, is I Surrender All. Yeah. So, it's, it's like my favorite. Yeah, let me get a little bit of that. Yeah, right now. Okay. Because that song can be very emotional. Like, when you start to put all, you're all into that song. Oh, no, for sure. I love it. I love it. Go ahead. Just go to Jesus. I surrender all to Him my freely rule. and trust him. His Presence. Man, hey, man, don't do that, man. I'm gonna get on my knees and get prostrate right here on the floor. I'll see you do some, I'm a little late. Yeah, I'm not gonna play with you today. Now, we're not gonna do this. I know. Man, hey, man. You sound like you was gonna hit them high nose, like you was about to- You don't expect this to come from this little body, okay? That I've gotten it. You don't expect that, man. You know, and I know we're gonna go down through it. We gonna say we gonna get her to do something else, but it was just- But you had training for that. You had to have training, man. Because that didn't come naturally to hit those notes. So the crazy thing is that, you know, before I got to high school, so I went to Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. That's where I actually trained. I trained there. So before that, I was just completely raw talent, you know? And so my mom, she actually went to Booker T as well in the 80s, and, you know, she had this dream, and I had the same dream, too, that I really wanted to go there, just to follow my mom's footsteps. And I knew that once I got to that school, I was gonna be able to perfect my crab and just get better at singing. I got to Booker T, and it was just straight from there, where I was just like, this is what I wanna do with my life. Like, you know, I was in choir. I was in jazz singers. I was in R&B. I was in gospel. Like, I was very- Did you get your opera training there as well? Yeah, so I became classically trained at Booker T. Okay. Yeah, so I was in, you know, regular choir. We did UIL, which is kinda where I, not necessarily fell in love, but I just grew a great appreciation for classical music. It's beautiful. I tell people all the time, if you're a singer, to make sure that you just know the basics. Like, same thing with dance, you know, make sure you know how to do ballet. And with theater, make sure you know, like, you know, Shakespeare and all that type of stuff, because, you know, the classics is, that's the foundation, literally. I got a question about UIL, because our kids be doing UIL, you know, they're in high school and, you know, middle school. But when you think about a school like Booker T. Washington, who have like singers like you, is that a different category of UIL, or is the same thing? I'm like, because it's unfair for y'all to be entering. You'd be really surprised. So a lot of schools, we all, every school learns the same music when we go to UIL. There are times when we'll do like our own pieces, but at the beginning of the year, every student who wants to answer and you wanna make it to like all state and stuff like that, we all learn the same music. So they're at like DeSoto, they have a great program. Duncanville has a really good program as well. I'm trying to think what other schools, there are a lot of other schools who are just as talented. Some kids just don't, some kids really just don't wanna go to Booker T. And I get it. Well, because that school, that it's mainly for performing arts. And a lot of kids wanna do sports. We don't have sports. So we had to, a lot of people had to sacrifice a lot. Like me, I used to cheer. So I didn't get to cheer. There was no track, nothing. But I was like, you know what, I mean, I wanna sing more than anything. I'm like, y'all can have that. So I went to Booker T. I actually did not get in my freshman year. I got in my sophomore year. Really? Yeah. I tried again. So it's hard to get in? It is a little harder to get in. Because they're very, they're just, they're very strict on auditions. What did you do the second time that you didn't do the first time while you got in? I don't know. I think maybe there were different people in the room, different judges, who probably just saw a lot of potential. Which is crazy because it is harder to get in after your freshman year than anything. So when I got in sophomore year, I was like, it's go time. I learned how to read music in three weeks because you have to know how to read music for, you know, UIO all day. You have to know how to read music for all of that. So that's honestly why I was just like, it's go time. So I got in. I'm like, I'm already a year late. I'm kind of behind. So I just kind of wanted to pick up the pace. And by the time I graduated, I was, yeah. So tell me about your first gig, after leaving there when you want, right, after leaving high school, when you said, you know what, I'm taking this year, because you already was taking it in series there, but to actually move forward and say, okay, I need some network and I need connections. I need to get where I need to go. Yes. So I didn't apply to any schools in Texas for college. So I took my talents to California. I went to college in Cali at a college called the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. And I went to California and, you know, I had already had really, really good training in Dallas. A lot of my work ethic came not only from Booker T, but a lot of it came from this place called the Black Academy of Arts and Leaders, T-Ball. That's home for me. So Mr. King literally just, you know. I'm trying to get him on here, Mr. King. When I tell, if y'all get that man on the show, he goes steady, oh, that's good. You have to get him here. We hit him up and they said that they gonna make it happen. You have to get him here. I just need to follow up. He is, you know, the reason why I am the artist that I am today, the performer that I am today, that man has taught me so much and still teaching me till this day. Still, you know, he's like a godfather to me, a great mentor. So a lot of my training came from there. So once I got to college, I was like, oh, this is easy. Like, and I knew I wanted to go to school for music. So I ended up going to school for musical theater. So I kind of became a triple threat in college. I was dancing, singing, and acting, doing it all. So I had to take ballet. I had to take jazz, tab. That's good. And I had to take theater as well as music. And musical theater is more centered around like Broadway stuff. Cause I kind of have like a passion for the arts, Broadway. So I did that, but I really just kind of wanted to go there because I wanted to become a triple threat. So I can do it all now. So I was, you know, learning a lot while I was there. And LA. And so young. Yeah, very young. And, you know, I finished four years. I was a 2020 COVID graduate. We graduated online. COVID graduate, yeah. I was. So, you know, I had a great time in LA. I don't think it was the city for me. Yeah, I was about to say, why did you move back? I moved back because... Cause there's more opportunity there. Yeah. Way more opportunities, but I feel like out there, a lot of people are very superficial. And because I am from Dallas in the South in general, we are, it's not really judgy. It has like a, like a fake feeling being out there. She too real for Kelly. And it's not necessarily the people who are actually from California. It's more so the people who kind of move out there and they make it, you know what I'm saying? I get it. They are kind of from Kelly. They chill, but you know, we don't really see them as much. So I was introduced to a lot of people who were, you know, just coming there, moving there and stuff like that. And I didn't really like the vibe. That's dope that you, that's self-awareness again. Yeah. I mean, for you to understand that that's not the place for you. Some people can't figure it out. No. Sometimes people fight with themselves trying to understand what they want to try to do. A lot of people wanted me to stay. And I was just like, I would rather, if I do ever decide to move to California, I would want to be an established artist because I have, I know a lot of people out there paying $2,000 for a studio apartment with a roommate. That's right. Working two jobs and you're still wanting to pursue a career. Meaning you really can't go audition. You can't, you can't book studio sessions. So you don't have the time. You don't have any time. You're literally living paycheck to paycheck. And that's just not some way I want to live. Especially when I know music is something that I really love. Or living on somebody couch. Do you hear me? Like no, I never moved off of campus when I was in college. Just for that reason. I'm not, I was like, I'm not, my parents are already paying enough money for me to go to school on top of you. You know, wanting to help me pay rent. It was just, I was staying on campus. And I did. You ever go down to Atlanta? There's just about to say. The thing red, ain't it? So you know, last year or no, it's been almost two years. 2020, I was going to move to Atlanta with my best friend, Kennedy. She actually ended up moving there because she was in grad school there at SCAD. But I was going to move with her because I actually do like Atlanta. And it feels a little bit more like home. And that's why I really like it. The opportunities are there, but you know, I just feel like God's timing is everything. And if something brings, pulls me out there, I'll go. But I feel like right now, he has me doing something in Dallas. I don't know what it is. I mean, obviously music, but I just think that something, you know, has really just settled here for me. And I kind of want to stay until I see, you know, obviously what that is and what, what I'm getting. What I'm feeling from what you're saying is, you've learned how to be still and let God, that's really what it is. Because when you get that increment from him, you just like, you know what, I know he has a big picture. So he knows a big picture. So I'm just going to sit and wait. Well, that's one way to look at it. But you know, a prophet is without honor in his own country. So you definitely want to try to spread your wings and fly a little more to different places. If you're not going there to stay at least frequent those places because people need to see you. People need to be exposed to your talent. Jada, you can only go so far here in Dallas. No, I agree. I agree. Jason Lyric, that's on your deal. I mean, he was here. There's people here that sound like they should be everywhere. And if you sound like you should be everywhere, then you ought to be everywhere. Oh, for sure. You know what I'm saying? It ain't no, it ain't no ill fans of butts about it. People will call me from LA. I'll fly out for gigs in LA and I'll fly to other places that people ever need me to sing. So I kind of, I dabble, you know, I'm just, I live here. Yeah, you can move anywhere. Yeah, but I know, I fly out to LA at least probably six, seven times a year to do gigs, sing at events. So, yeah. You just keep the connection going. Oh, for sure. And I haven't burned any bridges. So, you know, people still call. They want to have me. They want me to come perform, sing. So I definitely. As they should. As they should. You Texas finest. Y'all better stop playing. Y'all know y'all gotta tap in to Jada, but y'all don't know what y'all doing. You don't know what you're missing. What's the most beneficial thing you've learned living in California, as your career is concerned? Oh, that's a good question. The most beneficial thing that I've learned living in California, be true to who you are. Don't change for anybody. Not even if you think people will like you if you are a certain way. Always stay true to who you are. It's okay to evolve as a person, but just never lose yourself. And I learned that because in California, a lot of people go out there and you literally just get lost because there are a thousand, hundreds of thousands of other people trying to do the same thing that you do. So you become discouraged when you see everybody else getting put on. Are you like, when is my time coming? When is my time coming? It's not coming from me. They moved out here and they already singing behind so and so, so and so. And you know, you start to want to change who you are and you know, try to figure out what it is for you to get there. But I learned that just literally being myself is what gets me a lot of, not only gigs, but what draws people to me. And that's not tattooed my own horn, but a lot of people, they can relate to somebody who's just real, who's chill, who not, you know, very over the top and you know, blah, blah, blah. So I get told that a lot like, you have a really great personality or you're super down to earth or, you know, you seem really chill cause a lot of people think I'm mean before they meet me. I have like a resting bitch face. Not really, man, I've seen you. I've seen you at the. That's just the Sagittarius. You see that? She gonna say that. Man, you look so dope, man. But people think I'm mean. And you know what? I stopped thinking of that as a negative until when somebody DMed me one day cause I posted it on my Instagram and they were like, I don't think you're mean. I think that people sometimes are intimidated by your confidence. Exactly. And so I was like, oh wow. That's what it is. So I was like, hey, cause you know, I used to try to really soften up. Like I don't want anybody to think I'm an asshole or I'm mean or anything like that. So I just try to, I try to keep it. But I'm just like, it's just who I am. You know, but when people meet me, they're like, you dope. Like, you're super cool. You're super chill. So I'm like, yeah, that's just who I am. I didn't get to LA and act Hollywood. I'm like, I'm only here for four years. So I'm here to, you know, get my education. And at that time I thought I was gonna stay, but I ended up coming back home. You're a guilford make room for you. You know that? And like, everything you say wrapped up in a bow except for wearing this again. When you last spoke about being out there and still being who you are. It's still standardized around, you know? You know, the Bible said you're fearfully and wonderfully made. Yeah, you're a royal priest. So when you really know who you are and tapped into who you are, you can't nobody move you off who you are. You see what I'm saying? So you got to just stand in who you are and really be that confidence. I got it. Yeah, you got to have confidence to sit on these microphones and talk to that talk. Else people ain't gonna believe you. They can look at you and tell. They can tell if you're not really comfortable. And that's the whole game. So understanding who you are is the most essential element to success. And living in a world where so many people are fake. Do you hear me? Because you can be whoever you want to be. And I won't even dye my beard because I don't want to be fake. I just don't do nothing fake. She know it. I can't play no games with the fake. Yeah, do the, uh-uh. What you see is what you get. Literally. And if I talk to you, it's gonna, how is it gonna be? I get to operate whoever called me. They called me with robo calls and get a earful. The Jehovah Witness show up, they get a earful. Whoever you want it, you can get it. Look, I heard that. You gotta be straight up, man. You have to be. You have to be. So, I want to know, so we're gonna get into your album in a minute, but tell me the name of your first album you've ever done. Oh, this is, this is actually my first album. This is. Yes, this is my first album. But the funny thing is, this is really funny. So I used to be in a group with my cousins. What was y'all called? This is Jag. So they're twins, Jada and Garlin Garrett. Oh, okay. And we were probably, they're about two years older than me, so I was probably 11, they were probably 13, and we put out a CD. We had a show, we only had three songs on it. Okay. We had a showcase in somewhere in Dallas, I can't remember where, but we were like, we felt like we were superstars. You know, our family, family friends came from everywhere after the show they were running up. Like just, I mean, you know how you have the gas kids of like, can I get your autograph? So I used to tell people like, yeah, I put out an album when I was, you know, 11. I wrote all the songs. I didn't even know what I was talking about on the song. I was about to say, what inspired those songs? They were just typical 11 year old songs. Like I think, oh, I think one of the songs was, it was something about the way I walked and the way I talked, but I'm just like, I knew I was a boss when I was a kid, so I'm not sure, that's why I'm talking like that. But this is actually my very first album. So what took you so long? Life. I went through, and I sometimes go through a lot of these phases just being transparent where I'm extremely lazy. And I've gotten out of it now, but I used to be a long, were you extremely lazy for it? Well, not a long, a lot of it really kind of slowed down when I went to college because the producer who I work with, shout out to Gumbo. He is in Dallas and so I was in LA and obviously I was very busy when I was in college. I was in a lot of shows, classes. So I didn't, I didn't have time to get to a studio. I mean, I didn't even know how that would work. He is in Dallas, I'm in LA, so that kind of put a lot on pause. But my lazy spell happened in 2020 when I graduated from college because I kind of went through post-grad depression. Because you're like, what now? Literally. And because my senior year didn't end the way that I thought it was going to end, I didn't get to do senior showcase. Because of the anime. I got cast as a lead in a show. Didn't get to do that. We have this thing at AMDA called Spotlight where you kind of just go and sit in a room full of agents and managers and all that stuff. And they just, they start, you know, I want to be your agent, I want to, and I didn't get that opportunity. So I got home to Dallas. COVID kind of happened around March and you know, we got an email saying, you guys will be back in three weeks. Yeah, we never went back. I graduated at home with the TV, you know, everybody sitting around the TV just watching our pictures pop up. You know, we didn't get to walk. So I just went through a phase where I was like slightly depressed because I'm like, I'm not in school anymore. This is life. Life has officially started. You know, there is no, you got to figure out what you're going to do. You know, I was living with my parents and I still live with my parents and rent for me. Let me tell y'all, don't ever, if you're not ready to move out. No, you ain't got a bill. You don't have a bill that you have to pay. No, but let me say this right quick because Sean Cotton was on here from Say Cheese and he made a statement about that. And he showed the fact that if he hadn't been able to stay with his parents till he was almost 30, right, he wouldn't have been, he'd say cheese probably when it never came out. And he's very successful now. So you know, I think that's dope. And I didn't think of it that way because I kicked you out. You know, that's what I do. Wait a minute. Let me tell you how I do you. 18 you out. I got to get you up out here. Yeah, yeah, I'm not like that. I'm not like them parents. I'm not like them parents. If you was my child. Because that wasn't what happened to you. No, no, no. Life need to grab you a little bit and show you who in charge. You need a light bill. As soon as you turn 18, just so you can get a rough feel of it. Yeah, that's why I ask it. Do you pay any bills? I don't pay any bills in the house, but I don't ask for money. I don't. What the hell? No, they need to give you a bill. I mean, you shouldn't. As you should. Okay, no bills. And I think the reason- Do you buy food or anything? Yeah, I buy my own food. My nigga, you is over that little- But my nigga, you eat your parents' food, too. You is even. I don't ask for money. I wish I could get you over there with me for one day, boy. I kicked you out. I said, look, don't you, you know that little old, what is that thing, had a little stick with the bag on it? Yeah, yeah, you had to get the hell out. No, I think because she's a girl, too. I don't give a damn. My daughter had to get out. It is really- You know, my daddy was like that, too. I like your daddy. Sometimes he thinks my mom kind of babies my little brother, because, you know, he was like, well, I was doing this at 15, and that's not normal. It's not normal. Well, it is normal. Baby. I started working at nine years old. That's not okay. And I was very active. By 12, I was really pretty much getting paid a whole check. By the time I turned 18, I was a hell of a man. When you're that young, you need to just focus on being a kid. No! But you know, I really appreciate my parents, though, because, I mean, obviously, I work and I don't have to ask for money. I hope you save it. That's exactly what I was about to say. I hope you save it. Are you saving it? Of course. I don't want to leave my parents forever now. I believe it's coming, I mean, you know. You know. But I don't really have to ask for money, but you know, my parents, they will go above and beyond for their children. Like, I know if there is something that I actually, like my first music video, I was like, I tell my mom, I want to do this. She's like, okay, cool. I was like, will you go half? She's like, of course. Like, I don't know. I think my parents just really see a lot in me and they really want me to succeed, but they also don't want me to just, they also didn't want to just push me out into the world and then, you know, literally mess up to the point where there is no, not necessarily no return. But as a parent, hold on, but as a parent, if you, my child come to me and say, hey, will you pay half? Any parent will say yes. Nope, nope, nope. If you come and say, if you come and say, mommy, can you pay for all of this? Yeah. Then that's totally different. Not any parent. Uh-uh, no, no, let me tell you something. I got my parents right. My kids been working at this store. This store been here 15 years. That's really good. They've been working here the whole time. They've been alive. I am really crazy. Like, I really feel like they don't know nothing else, but to go when it's time to go. I really, at 10, I can remember Malachi saying, I know I got to get out at 18. I said, yeah, I think you got to get the hell on up out here. See, I don't know anything. I don't want that for my kids. But my daughter and my son, that's my son right there. He's doing this. I mean, I'm pretty sure. Yeah. Yeah, well, you wouldn't have saved me because I oughta kicked you out. I took care of you, though. See, some people really want to move out, but see, I don't even live in an environment where my parents make me feel like, oh, I got to get out of here. I'm just like... He stayed with his grandma. He didn't stay with me all his mom, but the nigga was different. That means, what that mean? That mean you was getting on his nerves? No, we never did really. No, I just buy him stuff. I just cash him out and keep going. Cash him out and keep going. See, uh-uh. No, but I get it. Everybody is different. I'm just, you know, my parents, they definitely believe in me. I think they're doing a dope job. And they know that, I mean, right now, like if I were to move out, a lot of, I just, I don't think I would really be. It'd have broke breakdown. Do you have a boyfriend if you don't mind me asking? You can't bring that dude over to my house? I can't do what? No, don't bring him over here. Why? What? Who I be mad for don't bring him over here. He's one of them. Don't bring that nigga over here. Why? Who I be mad to protect that nigga from somewhere else, but do not bring him to my house. I'm 24. I don't give a damn if you think I'm 44. I'm not 17. You ain't paying no bills in here. He's like, the only way you can bring him over is if this is gonna be. If you marry, this is real. That's real. I'm real like that. Because he don't want. I mean, I get it. He doesn't want to meet a guy. I don't play games. I don't want to play with nobody. No, I get it. No, I get it 100%. I don't want to meet you. Because then you might break up with him and then I don't want to meet you. I don't want to meet you. And you have to meet another guy. I don't want to meet you. I will slap you. I don't want to meet you. Oh, no, everybody don't come to me. I don't want to meet you. Everybody don't come to the house now. I don't know. Mm-hmm. Yeah. The whole game here was, listen, you got to understand, everybody was raised different. Life is gonna grab you over. If something happened to you, parents got to be it. For sure. But you better be ready for life because life is gonna tap you on your shoulder and say, Jada, I'm really ready to get down with you. No, I'm ready. You've been running for a while, but I'm here at the door whenever you leave, right? I feel like I'm almost there. I feel like I'm almost there. And I also, you know, I, excuse me, technically was in college for four years, so coming from college, obviously I didn't work while I was, I didn't have, I could not work while I was in college at all. That's amazing. I would start classes at nine in the morning. I wouldn't be done until six. And then if I was in a show, that was from seven to 1130. Mm-hmm. And then I had to still do homework, make sure I'm studying for tests, my mom was like, no, I don't want you working. Man, you do. Like I said, they had it, right? I mean, like, Jada, I'm just giving you hell, but if you really, if you're responsible like that, I'm gonna support you to the end. And you did go to school and where you, you was at the college, huh? At the college, finished. That was cool, like, okay, now what you gonna do? I've been coaching on the way. Now what you gonna do when you leave, girl? But the thing is, when you were talking about COVID and how it affected you. I know it was affected like that. I never thought about college students because, you know, our kids were in high school and middle school. They was affected. So she would tell us about how the seniors when they were graduating, they couldn't, you know, graduate in person and all of that. And even now, when she was telling us about this year prom, she's like, I gotta go. I gotta go because I don't know what next year, you know, you don't ever know. It's an insurgency in school right now. So you have to enjoy every day. Every moment, I'm so glad COVID happened. At the end of my college, you know, whatever four years, cause I had a great college experience. I had fun and not crazy fun. Cause like I said, we really didn't have a lot of time to do anything but me and my three roommates, we, and we are still tight to this day. One of them just left Dallas. He was here last week, but we're close. So we had the best of times whether it was just sitting in our little room cause we had like kind of on campus apartments, cracking jokes, watching movies, making up dances. Like we had a great time. So I wouldn't trade my college experience or anything, but you know, I'm just, hey, I'm in a place where I'm just trying to eat, take my time and hopefully by the time that I move out, when I move out, I can pay off my parents' house. I can pay off every car. I can buy them another house. Like I just kind of want to be, cause I know it's coming from me. Like I don't have a plan B at all because I know that my plan A will work. That's awesome. I want to get into your music a little bit. Yeah, that's what I was about to say. I want to ask you about, no, I want to ask about songs. I'm going to get into my songs. That one with Jason Lyric, being that he'd been on the show down for me. What was the whole inspiration that how did you guys make that happen? So down for me was actually written by somebody who's on my team. Her name is Michi. Shout out to Michi. Michi wrote down for me and obviously Jason wrote his verse. But she, where were we? I can't remember exactly where we recorded it, but my producer was like, so Michi wrote this song and I'm like, okay, cool. And he was like, so I want you to record it. And I'm like, cool. So I came in, I recorded it and I fell in love with it because the song is great. I actually just recently looked at like my streams and stuff and it's the most streamed song on the album. Really? Yes. At first it was the first song, What You Got, but after that, like down for me just kind of shot his way up. So I'm like, okay, down for me. But yeah, Michi wrote that song and we were trying to find somebody who would be great to get on it because I knew we wanted a feature. And I had met Jason maybe some months prior before I had even recorded the song. And so he came up in the conversation like we should get Jason on this. And so we asked and he was like, I got you. And like, that's my dog. So he did it, sent his verse back and I was like, this is hot, like this is hot. And so I was very pleased with it. And I recently had my listening party and everybody really, really was, they were vibing to the song. So I love the song a lot. I don't know where the inspiration came from with Michi when she wrote it, but I was like, your pin game is strong. And I applaud you for giving me this song. So yeah. That's dope, man. At your listening party, which one was the favorite? It was between down for me, what you got in Rain Dance, probably those three. Cause what you got is the very first song and I picked, I wanted that song to be first. I was just like, I don't know why, but it just gives me, let's start the album out like this. It's very simple, just like, you know, a little guitar strum in my voice. So I just wanted to make sure, I always want to make sure people know that I can sing. Above anything I can sing. So whether you know, you might hear me on the track with an extra little, with some production or something like that, but I can sing. So that's that song is very simple kind of pure and I like it a lot. But I would say what you got, Rain Dance and down for me. And a lot of people didn't really, I know that Jason was in the room until I was like, yeah, so shout out to Jason. And people are like, oh my gosh, like. What did you have a listening party at? I had it at the studio that I recorded most of the songs at G5 Studios in Irving, kind of the Irving area. So we had it there and it was a great night just surrounded by a lot of love, close friends, family and you know, they, everybody really liked the album. What you got for me? What's that song about the one that you saved the first one on there? What you got? What you got? You know? You think you can just check it out. Who wrote that one? Michi, myself and Gumbo, we wrote what you got. Okay. Yeah. Wow, all right. And so how was the process of making that one? Was it just, you said it was simple. So it's. It was very simple. So Michi, I believe wrote maybe the first verse, Gumbo or maybe she did the hook, the very ending of the song, cause there was no ending. The I'ma have you like, damn, she fine. Oh, she mine. I wrote all that. Oh, no, no. Yeah, I wrote that part. Cause I was like, the song is, it wasn't really missing something. But I was like, it's too short. It's too short and I like it a lot. So we added that part and I wrote that in. So is that the process like one person starts off and then the next person like, okay, it needs this? How does that work? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes we'll start from scratch. Like one of the songs, Open Flame that Michi and I wrote, we started from scratch. We were on FaceTime. We were up to probably about two in the morning. But we were delirious cause I was so tired. I'm a granny. I like to go to bed early. So I was tired, but we wrote Open Flame from scratch. And then what you got, I believe she had already had a verse written. So we were like, we might as well just finish it. So we finished it. But it just depends. Like I have a single that came out before the album, Niggaz Ain't Loyal. I wrote that one all by myself. My cousin, his name is Louie. He produced that one. So I was just, I asked him for a track and I was like, okay, I'ma write to it. Was that because something you were going through? At that time, actually no. Sometimes I just be writing. Cause I'm like, I mean, I hate to say this, but sometimes it is kind of easier to write like a song about somebody doing your own. Like it's just easier. So I wrote Niggaz Ain't Loyal. I wrote that in like maybe 2019. And I put it out in 2021 in January last year. So it just depends on what the vibe is. Gumbo, who is my producer, he writes a lot. He's a great writer. So a lot of the songs, sometimes he'd write a verse and be like, okay, let's do the hook. Let's do another verse. Let's do a little outro or something like that. So it really just kind of depends. He's definitely helped me push my pin game though, for sure. So who produced this music? Yeah, so Southwest Music, which is Gumbo and his friend Justin, they both helped produce. And then October first, who is another great producer. I've heard of him. Yeah, he kinda, Jason, he and Jason are kinda, you know. That's probably where he's amazing. Yeah. He produced one of the tracks on the song as well. So yeah. Wow, that's dope, man. So, you know, I really, really enjoyed just talking to you and I really like to sit down. So get the top three artists of all times out of this young group of staff out here. What is your top three artists of all times that are alive? My top three? Yes. Any genre? Does it have to be three? It's just three. Okay, for me? Number one. Michael. Number two. I should have knew that. Stevie. Number three. That's dope, Stevie was last night too, just letting you know. Number three is Beyonce for me. Beyonce, so if I was, if it was, I was somebody, say Quincy Jones and I was gonna give you a big break. And you had to sing a song for me. What song would it be? And how would you sing it? If I had to sing a song for Quincy, sheesh, that's a really good question. I know it, I get down like that. I don't even, if he's like, just sing something. You need to give me something. And this could make you or break you. Yeah, and he say, look, you, look, I haven't got, and you know what he gonna say next? Hey, look, man, I'm a very busy man, I ain't got all day. You're right. Most, it'll probably be a gospel song. I feel like that's what I feel like I could give a lot of, okay, go ahead. Some times you have to encourage yourself and some times you have to speak victory during the test and on my speaker word and you will be healed. Speak over yourself, encourage yourself in the Lord. Man, amazing, man, listen, man, I ain't playing with you no more, Jada. You know what, man? I, man, that's your gift, bro. Gospel music is something else, man. You gonna make a gospel album? I don't know. Girl, I got to have a gospel, or you can do a mix, it's a new day. The reason why I feel like it's easier, well, no, I could have sang probably anything. You could sing anything. When a lot of people, when they ask me to sing in the reason why I kind of pick gospel songs is because it's easier to show my vocal ability. Correct. I feel like because R&B has changed so much nowadays that people are expecting to, like people don't be singing like that, how they used to sing R&B songs, like they have back then. Even on my album, like I'm singing, but I feel like if you really are trying to hear my voice, if somebody is like, can I hear what you got? I'm gonna sing a gospel, because I know I can build, I can probably add a little couple runs in there, do a little something. And there's much more emotions in gospel songs than anything else. No, it's some songs, like I said, that Patti, that Renetta song, it's some songs out there. No, it's for sure a lot of songs. But it's just not the newer songs like you said. And I feel like for me as a singer, you got to know what you can sing. You definitely got to know what you can sing. Some people are like, do you hear me? Why is that so with R&B? Why R&B is not that way anymore? Because just R&B really used to be at the forefront of music, if you notice. Hip hop was not at the forefront. Exactly. Like I don't even, there was just a time where there were a lot of R&B artists. Now it's kind of, it's not dead. I don't believe that it's dead. I just believe that because hip hop now, you have these mega stars, you have the Travis Scott's and the little babies and the baby, you have all of the, you know, Megan, Cardi, hip hop is at the forefront now. So R&B has kind of been pushed to the back. And a lot of people enjoy these really subtle artists that kind of get on the mic and they sing like this. They like it because it's a vibe. It's a vibe for them. But you had Monica, you had Brandy. You had all of these girl groups and guy groups. Like Tame. Yeah, Whitney. Whitney, who was, you know, typically pop-ish when she first came out, obviously transitioned to R&B. But you have all of these people who are powerhouses. And it just kind of has, I think the expectation of singers has just gone down a lot with time. So which is why I'm trying to like, can't you bring you back? You, I'll try, I'll try. I said gospel and he was like, all right, well, you know, but I was just looking at, when I showed you that Kanye West the other night, it's something about the way, like when he did Jesus Walk, when he first came. Oh yeah. Let me tell you something. It's a thing, it's a niche where if you can get that, if you understand who you are in a way to where you can bring it across to the masses, it's dynamic the way that it can take over. And you can do anything that your heart desire if you really, really tap into your talent. I'm telling you. I believe that. But you have to understand that it's a place where it may be to where others have never achieved this. This can be something that has never been done in this way before. So you have to be willing to be able to take some criticism. Cause that had to be hard for him, but he ain't easy at the same time. Cause it's so, it became a hit. But at the end of the day, think about how that was coming out on his first album and people rapping, hardcore rap, gangster rap, all types of lyrics. And he go with Jesus Walk. It's definitely, when you come from the church, it'll never leave. Like, you know, it'll never, it'll never leave. I've noticed that with a lot of artists, like regardless of, you know, what type of music you make now, secular or whatever, I just know from, especially like artists, like Fantasia, she might have a show. She gonna sing her when I see you free yourself. But she gonna add total praise though, for sure. And it's just because you know what I'm saying, keep quiet, like she gonna sing her songs, you know, my first love with Yvonne, she gonna sing all of them. But she gonna, she gonna add, she gonna add some gospel in there because it'll never escape me because it's honestly who I am. That's what I grew up on. It's really where I first got my start. So I think that's why a lot of times I go back to it. Now what I will say, being a gospel artist, you have to be committed. Not saying that I wouldn't be committed, but I do feel like you cannot talk the talk if you're not walking the walk. And like I said, not saying that I am not, but I just wanna- Because of that criticism that you might get? Not even necessarily criticism. I just want people to know that it, there's a lot that comes with being a gospel artist. I feel like you are way more under the microscope than you are with anything else. You talking about like what happened to Kirk Franklin? When he was going in with his son? Sure. But no, not only that, again, I go back to the fact of even gospel, you're talking about traditional. Traditional, uh-huh. I'm talking about something that has never been done before. Like me, I'm talking about this new thing that could be, cause God is bigger than your gospel. Oh for sure. Y'all are not ready for me. It can be something that is new that he wanna give to his people. And it can be something that can transcend any type of music that we've ever heard. So we gotta be willing to understand that he can go there and achieve it anyway. I'm really serious about that. No, I hear you, I understand. No, I hear you. We try to put God in a box, but he's, you can't. Yeah. God is God. No, I believe that. Cause you have gospel rap and all of that too. Yeah, you do. Yeah, but I understand where you coming from too because people are gonna say this and say that, but they don't do that anyway. Of course. But you don't, man. And I think God got something in you girl that's totally different than what. I ain't had nobody sit there and say no gospel like that in this store. I don't care what you say. I'm being real. I'd have had 500 and 500 and some people in here. 500. And the expressions on your face when you're singing. I ain't even look at them. I'm trying to figure out, you know, how to enjoy this. I'm looking at everything. I'm just, you know, you gotta see me perform. When you see me perform, you'll be like, How you gonna perform at the funeral? No, that ain't perform. When I get off stage, it's different. You know, I just, I become a completely different person. Are you energetic? Very energetic. Very animated. Sometimes I'll get on stage and then I'll come off and they'll be like, you did something. I don't remember. I have to say that. Where are you performing next? I actually have a show tonight. What? Yes, I saw that. Why they be doing this? Like, we'd be stuck over here. Where you going, girl? So there is a, I guess a music kind of group production thing called Sofar. And they have a Sofar Dallas. They are very intimate shows, very intimate settings. It's almost like a D.F. Dub pop up. Kind of, kind of a little bit. And they really, they only, Exactly. So they'll tell you the location, maybe a couple of hours before. Really? Three hours is posted. Yeah, couple of hours before. You have to buy tickets, obviously. But, where is it at? Me and baby might get out tonight. We got a little money. She knows where it at. I actually have no idea where it's at. No. But can't you text it to me or something? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And give me, When I find out, I got you. And you send it to us, I'm being real. Can you buy tickets at the door, though? I believe you can. Now, what I will say is, I know the COVID rules are kind of strict, so you either have to have a negative COVID test or a vaccine card. I got all that. Of course, so. I need to be at that thing. I want to see you perform. This is what I want to see. Yeah. So this is a little bit more. What songs you sing? It's like, I can't tell you. You gotta come to the show. It better be jumping. Don't have me coming out there for nothing. Are you gonna sing all these songs on your album? No, I won't sing all of my songs. And like I said, the setting is very intimate. So it's a little bit more acoustic. You're not gonna have that. Are you the only performer? No, so I am the closing act. So there might be like two other people before me, but I finish it off. Are you the type of person that when you come into your own, you're gonna be late. Like Miss Diva late, just walk in like. Late? No, I try to be on time. Like I was here on time. No, yeah, you were. I try to be on time. But performance is, you know people always be like, acts always come in late. No, that's cringy. And the reason why I don't like being late is because I always like to do like a sound check. That's right, that's right. I don't ever wanna feel like I'm being rushed. So I will, if I need to be there an hour and a half early, I'll be there an hour and a half early. So I can make sure my sound is right. That way when I get on stage and no feedback, we not have no problems, nothing. So I always try to be on time. What I hate about like even sometimes live bands, I hate when the band is louder than you. Yeah, so that's why we, that's why you have sound check. You know, you gotta fix the levels. I will be in the building tonight, baby. I'm serious. I promise you, if you send me whatever, I'm coming. It don't take me nothing but a minute. We firing up that old Paisel, you know what I'm saying? No, the Escalade will be in the joint, right? Not the Paisel, not the Paisel. No, we'll be there. Lord, I'd say the same. If God say the same and you send us the information, me and my wife will come. Of course, of course. But sure, man, I just. Here somewhere to come tonight. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Day and night. What the hell is going on? 20 years, ain't no day and night no more. 20, whatever. You gotta keep it. You gotta keep it fresh, keep it spicy. Nah, we having a good time, man. I'm just messing with it. We just got back from out of state. She had a quick plan. No, but we definitely want to come and see you. I wanted to go see them guys last night. We had some guys that flew in that performed live band last night. I love live music. Yeah, we forgot we had more interviews. We had so many interviews. Yeah, y'all should. I mean, do y'all like to go hear live music all the time? Yes. I mean, obviously, like Deep Ella missed the scene. Yeah. The Freemans. Yeah, we've been through there. But we don't like to go anywhere that's too crowded at the same time. Yeah, no, I get that. And the younger crowd. Well, you know, T-Ball, the Black Academy, make sure you look at their website because there's always, like there's a show tonight there. Two guys, Jay Tillman and Lidarius, they're having a show at T-Ball. I was recently in a show a couple of weeks ago. So there's always something whether it's like poetry. Plays. Literally. I'm coming to see you. I ain't trying to hear about it. No, I'm just saying, you know, I'm trying to get my shout-outs in. T-Ball, the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, President Curtis King. Y'all gotta get them on the show. How can people get book you if they wanted to book you for a show? You can go to my Instagram and click on my email. And that's my book and email. You know, I'll answer it. My manager will answer it. Or if you just want to learn more about me, you can go to my Instagram and click on the link and it'll take you to everywhere. You'll be able to go stream the album. You'll be able to watch some live performances. You'll be able to go to my website. You know, you'll get the best of all. Did she say, you say your Instagram link, it's your name? Mm-hmm. Okay. My Instagram is jada.rnel, A-R-N-E-L-L. And then my, you know, TikTok, jada.rnel, YouTube, jada.rnel, Twitter. Twitter is more personal, so I'll just be on there talking. Have you done many features in all the people's? I haven't done a lot. Some of them, there are some that I've done. Like if you go on like Apple Music Spotify, you'll see, but a lot of them I did just like randomly throughout time. So some of them are kind of old. I know there's a guy named Princeton who is a very great rapper. He's amazing. I've done a couple of features on his songs. If you wanted to work with somebody, who would it be? Right now? Mm-hmm. Artists or producers? Biggest, smallest, no matter. Anybody. Who would you wanna work with? Somebody that you think that you would make magic with. Her? I have three. Dope. Her, summer, or Chloe Bailey. Hey, dope, dope, dope. I see a lot of, there's like, each of them is like a little bit of me. Yeah. You see? Well, thank you so much, man. You're doing great on this show. Thank you. I hope we done you justice. Yeah, I had a good time. Did you get anything else that you would like to say before we kick you out the door like if I was your dad and now I was at your house? Because you're trying to get me out the house. You're trying to get me out the house. I'm not going. So is it anything that we would like to let your fans know? Yeah, go stream the album, y'all, down for free on all streaming platforms, whatever, Amazon, Spotify. Look right into the camera and tell them. Go stream the album, all streaming platforms, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, wherever, anywhere, title, make sure you guys go stream it. Post video, send them to me so I can post y'all, make TikToks, all of that. Let's just keep, you know, R&B alive, y'all. I'm coming and I'm all gas, no breaks, everybody. Hey, check it, man. That's been another great segment of Boss Talk 101. And we have.