How Mali Wilson Went From Behind the Board to Behind the Mic

0:00Hey, everybody. Welcome to the episode of Butternomics. I'm your host, Brandon Butler, Founding CEO of Butter ATL. Today, we have got somebody special in the building. The one, the own Miss Molly Wilson. Molly, how you doing today? I'm so good. I said it earlier. I really do feel like I'm blowing on a magic carpet, right? I'm glad. Well, thank you for stopping your mission. That was my grandma, I say, blessed and highly favored. Look, that's what all the grandma's saying. So, mine always says, it's better to be seen and not viewed. And I'm telling you right now, that's how I feel about a lot of things. So, it's been a year, you know. I tell people all the time, I'm just happy to be here. And that's why, because there's a lot of change going on. So, I'm glad you stopped your magic carpet by here for a second. You know, for those that don't know what you please, tell them, like, who is Molly Wilson? Molly Wilson is in love. Okay. I'm in love. You know, for the last 15 years, you guys never saw me with anybody. So, it's been a shocker to a lot of people to see me over the last few years.

1:04Kind of go from that caterpillar to the butterfly. I always been cold and fly and whatever. But I'm grateful. I'm about to drop a record. March, that 20th. It's called retro and real time. My husband named it. We actually wrote the project together. Shout the E. Yeah. Yeah. And it wasn't like, hey, let's write a project together. It was me sitting in the room with Grammy winning nine, ten times. I don't know how many times Mark Batson has been nominated. But, you know, when you with somebody who's your best friend, you're home, you're trying to say a word and they all, you mean? And they come up with the word. And it happened at a session. I was in with Mark and he came up with the hook and I'm like, my brother, you got the hook and he's like, no, no, no, I'm like, no, no, I would never take anybody's credit. You got the hook and so that started our Ashford and Simpson journey

2:05for your young people who don't know Ashford and Simpson looking up. Our parents loved them. They wrote together. They produced together. They performed together. Well, that's great look. So yeah. So we're making doing business together. We did business for a very long time. The black banker is his handle. If you guys don't know when Gigi says I own all of Atlanta, he was the partner and making it happen. So he helped a lot of people. I helped a lot of people and after helping a lot of people, I fell in love and started singing around the house. And here we are sitting here talking to you. You know, I appreciate it. We'll get Eric up in here one of these days. Now, no, we can say if he makes some time for us, you know what I'm saying? We're going to get him up in here. But I know he's working on you all stuff. Y'all got some amazing project coming out. We don't get into that. But, you know, like I said, my first connection with you was with, you know, my boy Ryan Stewart from the two lives to shout the stew. Shout out to Stew. We texted this morning. Yeah. He brought me over to a tree sound. You know what I mean? And he was like, man, come over here, man. I want to take you to this thing. I want to introduce you to Molly.

3:06You know, and I didn't know what I was walking into. Walked in. Family reunion. It was amazing. It was amazing. It was a great space. He was in there cooking. He was doing all kind of stuff all of a sudden. And then he gets up and starts singing. I'm like, what is this? What kind of sorcery is this? And, you know, like, and a lot of people I think probably know you through tree sound. Even though you've got a lot of other stuff going on. But just out of curiosity. Like, what did that chapter kind of represent for you in your career? That chapter is very reminiscent of this one. I mean, I pivoted at the time. I made a very difficult decision to pivot out of, you know, selling out shows and paperwork with Charlie Walk and Clyde Davis in front of me to decide that, you know, no one was selling records at that time. The digital hadn't caught up. So the world around me wanted me to make this decision. And I made a decision not to. And so at that time, I was a partner in a studio in New York. And I came down and shout out to Ethiopia. She connected me to tree sound.

4:06And the owners were going out of business. And $300,000 in debt. We talk about butter now. It makes, you know, it all looks glamorous in this industry. And a lot of times, it's a lot of people on some front street, you know. And so, you know, they needed me. I wanted to work with a producer who produced Nappy Roots groove. And he said, let's be partners. And Paul Groove and I became partners was great because, you know, I never had a boss or a real job. Waitress in bartending that kind of thing. And, you know, they were like, we need you to run the ship. So I had full autonomy to run the ship. And shout out to little Wayne. That was my first real like, okay, who needs to be in here, you know. And so after Katrina, here comes Wayne. And he was loyal for the 15 years. I was the Harry brought Drake. And, you know, it was just, it was amazing. I mean, big show with Khalifa.

5:07Shout out to trade the truth. He's like, yo, you were the first person I ever got me out of my house. All those records before trade worked with me, he did at home. And so, the full circle moment that's happening with Retro in real time now with this record is, which is amazing because I never helped anybody. You know, if you didn't have studio time, you could talk to everybody from Teddy Boy, to kill a mic today. If you didn't have it, Mike will anybody. Come on. Because I know when you have it, I can look you in the eye. I know you're going to give it back. So the fun thing is it's not the story that, you know, Cinderella made the dress for the ball for everyone else. And she wanted to be singing, nah, nah. You know, it's been a business person since my first lemonade stand. And I do believe in God's timing. And so that time in my life, not just prepared me on, you know, 10 years on Atlanta and company in the morning and own network and A&E,

6:11and the media training that happens by seeing your friends, fuck it up, skew it all up, sorry. You good, you good, go ahead. Mess it all up, you know, and, you know, now I'm at a space where it's like, okay, Eric and I is like, if you got a good heart and you got the spirit of God, and you want to work with you, which eliminates a lot of the people of that. I love, it's sorry to say, because I think some people aren't there yet, but I do believe you'll get there in your time. But the people that are coming forward, shout out to Drummer Boy. We got a bunch of songs of Drummer Boy, Mike Will. Eric and I went down to get up with Juvie, Juvenile, and Trombone Shorty is like, when you talk about my last chapter, I think I just was trying to figure out, how does this business work? You know what I mean? Before I stick myself in as an artist, and then I have an empathetic heart. So I'm like, man, you need to know about publishing,

7:13and I'm seeing people who made great records that had the wrong business managers that didn't understand that you could look in your bank account and see that you're not blind all over the world. And, you know, seeing what happened to Whitney, that kind of made me not want to do it. So the fact that I have the desire now to sing and to share my gift is, it's a miracle from God after everything I've seen. You know what I mean? It really is just this love story. This retro and real time record is, I say each song is a chapter. All the records used to be where you could just put them in a ride, the whole song. It's not meant to just pick one song. We dropped, I think, three songs off of this record. We dropped five total, three songs off of this record we dropped. And now we got ten. That's a love story. It's really like, we went viral, Eric and I. Because nobody ever saw me when everybody, that was Big Sister Molly. Yeah, I mean, it's so, you know, it's been great, you know.

8:15You said you and Eric came up with the whole concept and the name retro real time. Like, what is that? He actually came up with the title. I love his, I think his pen game really got me in a text message. First of all, nobody was ever really that bold, because I don't put off the energy of, you know, you know, I never dated nobody down here. It wasn't, you know, I've had love in my life, but it wasn't never, I never had butterflies. And I always thought there was some Disney like, y'all making us up. Like, it's interesting. This is my first time being in love. And I've been married before. I've had relationships and been in really great relationships. But the fact that you have somebody that you could write with, and you just really, the love is there. Thankfully, our relationships started off business. And then we started talking and realized, okay, we both grew up with great grandmothers in the church. You know, DC Chicago, he's DC. He got the go-go.

9:15I got the house music. And our character is a lot the same. So when we're writing, we pray before every session, Lord. You know, you hear Michael Jackson talk about how the song, if he didn't write it, he wanted to hurry up and get it out here before Prince got it, right? And so for me, it's not like a, this isn't a competition. This is Lord. Just bless us with the songs that will bless our community. Because I feel like in the music side, love in general, not just black love, but love in general, it's like, I got my own money, I don't need you. Or it's, you know, heartbreak love. And so this love is not a heartbreak love record. There are some, you know, lyrics I talk about. I gave my heart my soul and, you know, you broke me in half because we all go through that. But the just to the record is, you know, we, I think the reason why he chose retro in real time, he just resonated with me is obviously I love vintage clothing and I love, you know, how I felt as a young person knowing that.

10:18You know, there were good people around. I think when we talk about retro, we talk about when people really cared about each other and there was community. And so when we go back to my old days and my old studio versus where we are with Stonewood, we have a community. We have a space that's, you know, over eight acres and people come and it's not just about the record release parties or the book signing events that I used to do. It's more like, let's do, let's have love. Let's support each other, you know, like your, your butter like your 404 day, this is everybody in this entire 404 and beyond needs to come together and support what you're doing because when you do that in a community, you're stronger. And so there's a song on the record called Side Lines. It's already out after the shows. We've been selling out, shut out to the Midwest. We've been selling out at home. But it's like when you're in a relationship and you're a strong woman like me to have somebody who wants to champion you

11:19and isn't intimidated or jealous of you is so huge. And it goes for women too, like a lot of strong women. You want a good man, but you got to be able to be on the sidelines. And so we have a song called Side Lines and it talks about that. And there's also some songs that the guys really love. And I think because we're writing it, there's a man's perspective. There's a song called Chico. Just let him chill and watch the game, get out of his face and go do you. You know, it's like, I'll be in the other role. I'm cool. You know, and that's really who I am. So this record is really who I am. We went viral when we posted. GZ knew me as a, you know, he told Eric. He was raw. And now we had on the Disney dress. But, you know, all in all, I think that I'm just, I'm really grateful. This is a God thing. And if you know me, you know, I've never been a religious person, but I've always believed that if you do good with what's in front of you

12:19and you do unto others, as you want them to do to you, you'll be blessed. And that's literally what's happening. You know, you've got to go down to Memphis. You don't, you've been doing the blues with your Chicago people. And out in SoCal, you've got to go where the soul is. And so I'm singing on a wreath this mic. And Al Green's mic. And in the same building at Boolean Mitchell studio in Memphis. And, you know, did a whole project. Shout out to Boo Mitchell on that one. And we'll come up. We'll come back when we've released all. We got about 100 songs. So this is the first ten. That's amazing. Now look, we're going to get to this, but hold on a second. This is my, like, in that whole thing, you dropped up some receipts. And I don't think people have put some respect on your name, okay? Again, you talk about Clive Davis and Drake and drummer boy and two chains. Yeah, yeah. It sounds very name dropy if you don't know me. Right, then I know it. I know you've got the receipts to pack it up. Whitney Houston, you know. It's my world. Chris Brown, right? Like, you work with some people. Obviously, there's a global superstars at the biggest scale.

13:21Like, what's something that you notice that's kind of consistent with those types of individuals that have made it that level? Now, it depends on when you say what and when you made it. Made it to where your music touches the world. You got a great team. Made it to where you're mentally, physically, emotionally stable. It's not many that I've seen that's made it. And if they've made it, there's times where you fall off or you say something, you know, we've seen Kanye at his best. And I haven't had the pleasure to work with Kanye. It just, I'm an energy person. You know, time and energy has to be right. There are times where you watch his interviews and he's amazing. There are other times when you're watching this like, okay, you're going through some, we're all human, right? So I think when you talk about these names, I was very fortunate to have a grandmother that told me. Work with people who ain't cheating on their wife.

14:22Work with people who are good people, right? So in the future, you have a future with them. And so these people that I'm talking about, a lot of the names, nobody knew who Drake was. Nobody knew who Big Sean was. Nobody knew who Jay Cole was. Nobody knew who Cameron was, Khalifa was. You know, everybody knew Wayne from Young Money because he started so young. But when we talk about the rappers, nobody really knew them. When I say these names, a lot of people, she named her. Who is she? Well, I always say, you know, my friends say, Miley, you're famous to famous people, but nobody knows you. And so now this is my opportunity to share who I am through the music, how I love through the music, my faith through the music. And I'm hoping, you know, my attorney who did the deal with Clive, Allison, Finley, Shaw, it's Allison. She said, I had you, John and Kanye, John.

15:22And she's like, all of them are doing great. When you look at John, he spends half his time, you know, singing that give back. Hold on, you're on one, John Legend. Yes. Okay, guys, we'll make sure people. And John and I aren't close like that, but just seeing his journey with him. And hopefully we will be one day because I have a lot of respect for him. And he has work in my space and I have had chats with them. But just seeing what he does, like he gives back, he believes he ain't no punk about what he believes in. And he raised a lot of money for a lot of good cause. And so for me to share this music, it couldn't just be I'm in love. Oh, look at, she's cute. She can sing. It had to be for a purpose. And so I got the honor when we dropped our first record, I'm not sorry. If you get a chance, go listen to it. I was supposed to go on tour with Angie Stone, so she wrote a little quote for me for my press release. And it said, you've helped so many people.

16:25Nobody knows you could sing like this. I can't wait for our voice as a sore two days later, she passed away. And when something like that happens, and we've had a lot of loss when it comes to physical lately this year, John Forte. They were both my friends. And we were on the way to work together. And so I get a call from the Billy Holiday Theatre, Molly. You embody what Billy Holiday is. We want you to headline. So it's always this double edge sore that happens, right? And it's just exciting. Like for me, there's a lot of names that we drop. And if you realize everybody puts their pants on the same bed, it's like people that I know work for P&G. You think they're name dropping when they say Kara at shame oyster or they talk about SE at Unilever? No, this is my world. You know what I mean? And so for those who think I'm name dropping, go do your research on Molly Hunter. That was a caterpillar that's now the butterfly.

17:26Molly Wilson. Absolutely. Now, I can't be remiss, especially as a woman in this industry, I'm sure there have been some challenges and stuff like that. Like, what was that moment that you really feel like you earned your respect amongst your peers? Because I'm sure there was some hard rooms to walk into. There was probably some different people to kind of work with. But when do you think you had that like real breakthrough breakthrough moment? You know, it's interesting because I don't care what people think. And it comes from me having, I don't know, over 61st cousins that are boys. Well, many women in my, I'm named after my great grandmother. So I kind of was made for this industry. You know what I mean? Like, having a great grandmother, everybody in the city is that's their big mama. And I had some, I got some rough cousins who taught me the streets. And I haven't always been, you know, as kind and gentle as I am now as Molly Wilson, Eric soften me up a lot. But, you know, one moment that I can remember really realizing what I had done was,

18:30it was before I was nominated for my Grammy with Chris Brown and Usher. The Grammys were like, Molly, we usually don't have anybody speak, you know, at these panels, if they haven't won or been nominated. And I'm like, but I have 4,000 earth girls in the greater Atlanta area. So you won't be able to go out. You know what I mean? I kind of got what they were getting at. Like, no, we also respect you and what you've done. And so, rolling full of girls, these girls raise their hands telling me stories. And I'm sitting here like, wow. I never did it for a famous fortune. I always been a businesswoman to make money. And if there was a room that was dangerous to walk in, and I didn't think I could handle it, my spirit wouldn't have let me walk in that room for any reason, for any money or anything. And so, for the women who are out here, you know when your gut tells you with some funny business, are they rubbing on your shoulder, are they trying to, you know,

19:34I think one time I can really, when you say that I made it, and when I add, it really had happened, I don't think there was one point. I think that grammy thing when they said, Molly, you never felt this way. And I'm like, but don't try to be me. You're sitting on these panels. You're paying to go to these panels. And that's my journey. That's not your journey. My journey was, I had a rough, awful, hard journey in the streets. In North Chicago and Milwaukee, and in Chicago to get here, to kind of get me ready to talk to these cats. If I didn't have that tough journey, I could have never talked to Jay Prince, whether it was Jay the truth, or TI, or two chains in the way when we were younger, that I did to gain that respect. You know, and so I think, when Tip came out of his situation, and was doing trouble man in my building, he practically lived there. And he was like, Molly, you have your hands and everything.

20:35I have so much respect for you. And he shouted me out on several different podcasts, and he says that. My hand, everybody has so much respect for you. You like mine. And I think those kind of moments, when people like Jay Prince, thank you, or trade the truth, or the real guys that you could look in your eyes and it ain't the business is business kind of thing. And you know that, they'll have your back. And that's what we're seeing now, like, you know, drama boy pulling us down the Memphis, juvenile pulling us down, trombone, shorty, and Louisiana. It's just the different, you know, calls that I'm getting. It's not the, hey Molly, did everything for everybody. Now what's everyone doing for you? It's the everyone saying what you need. And I'm like, I just need to enjoy this, this chapter right here, this retro real time. Let me enjoy the journey because I watched so many of my friends be stressed while recording. That's one real reason why my old building was successful.

21:38Because the labels would say you got this many days, how many, what song did they do today? And I'm like, in what world can you create? In the Motown days, they started a song and came back to three days later. And you know what I mean? And so what I'd be like, you don't feel like recording today. I could see it in your eyes. You don't waste this money. We'll tell them you recorded and when they asked me what songs they are, I'm gonna tell them to go fly a kite. And when you feel like coming in, come in. And I might throw a few extra days on it because music is not supposed to be, you know, synthetic and mathematical. It comes from, where does it come from? It's beautiful, you know? So we've really enjoyed creating with friends. I mean, a lot of this record, Kenneth Whalum, came in. After we'd done 80 songs with so many other people, it was just like this retro real time. What he knew of me, you know what I mean? And he knew me when he was touring with Max Wan. You know, came down to my old space.

22:38I'm like, come on, you ain't got a bread. Come on, come on in. And now we're creating songs together, so. It's wild, man. Just even talking to you to hear myself say these things because you definitely can see that it was a divine journey and everything that I went through is led up to this moment. And if I'm blessed to live another day to the other moments that are ahead of us. Yeah, like I was, like we're just saying, you know, Steve Jobs said you can always connect the dots looking backwards and I think that is kind of testament to that. And as you, you know, think about the stuff you're working on right now, you've been supporting people behind the scenes for so long. What really made you say this is the time to step back and to be an artist? Not that you ever stopped, but like what? No, I stopped. Inspired to kind of come again. I wanted to, but I had people around me who really were making so much money and just living off of the energy of me helping other people. Nobody really wanted to see me step out

23:38because if you know my voice, I've been singing since I'm three. It's not new. It wasn't like, you know, this kid that wished she could sing. I was put out in front of the church and in front of people from my whole life. But it really was my husband saying, no, you don't sing like this and have helped everyone else. Because it's a full circle moment retro and real time for him too because his dad worked with the likes of Nina Simone and Nancy Wilson and helped create the Maryland Jazz Festival. And so, you know, it was him saying, nah, and he's a businessman. It's done very well and helped a lot of people who was like, I never gave nobody alone who didn't pay me back. I bet on you. And so for the first year, it was like, frickin', what'd you call it in poster syndrome? I hadn't sung it so long. And I get a call from my old creative partner Craig Schneider in Chicago and he said, man, that's great to tell you. You know who are the best writers and producers that I know?

24:39And I'm like, what? Because I had taken that hat off. You know, every time I popped my hat in and helped Justin. Count Justin really produced a whole, you know, song and it got moved around for New Flame for Usher and Chris Brown or I had my Grammy and I just would tap in a little bit. Tap in and size like, hey, can you sing this? I'm on one of his records. But it was tapin' in and then the fear of what happened to Whitney and the fear of, you know, people's opinions in your personal life. And I was rough. I had a rough start, you know? So it really was my husband saying, I believe in you. And I said, well, if God gives me the desire to do it. And the next day, Mark bats and calls them finishing Lisa Keys' record on Broadway and you're next. I knew what to do with her in Indiana. I really know exactly what to do. And two years, he took my husband, took me out and said, come on. Let's go get with Mark. Craig came down. Craig Snyder came down from Chicago.

25:39I hadn't seen him in 15 years and we started creating. So it really was the universe. I always say, when you have a dream and a desire in your heart if you're a good person, and I never was like, oh, I'm not going to do it. I was just like, if I get the desire, it has to be bigger than me. So now I have the desire to stand on the shoulders that paved the way before me. You know, the L is at as the earth is the Dino Washington. All these girls out in the UK who y'all hear Amy Winehouse said Dino Washington. All these people love Billy Holiday. It's like we're, we're these young men and women need to see not just us in strip club magic. You know, I love magic. So did you and everybody. I've been there 100,000 times. I know every girl probably. But there has to be a balance. And so for me to be able to realize that as a woman of color, we didn't get to walk through the front door radio city musical Carnegie Hall.

26:43There's a kind of a God to do this. I got a shine of love on light on that. And then I have to shine the light on the on the love that God's blessed me with. Because I wasn't looking for love. Everyone else. Hey, you want even looking at the black banger. That's what you normally find it, right? When you're thirsty Thursday looking around on nobody wants you. You thirsty looking around. I'm like, come on out. As somebody that's been on kind of both sides of the business, right? On the business side as an artist side. What is something that you think artists that are coming up should be a little bit more aware of? Like what kind of advice would you give them to help them find their own voice and hopefully find their own success in that business? Staying true to who you are in your gut and your heart. So you're not running around with your underwear on in the middle of the street. And in California you lost your mind sitting on the curb eating fried chicken in the hood. And you're famous.

27:43Keep yourself. Keep yourself. Keep yourself. And then don't believe nobody in this industry. I've been nominated for Billboard Women of the Year probably 20 times. I never won because I'm not an industry person. I've got a lot more people than a lot of people who won. But I never cared about the accolades. So my my advice is don't care about the accolades. You know, you care about the business side. How is the bread? How is it? Okay. You don't do a deal with a major labor for what? Because you're a cloud chaser and you want all this team was going to push you. And everybody got to get a paycheck. Every little coffee you get going to have to get reimbursed and paid for. Or do you not be afraid of small beginnings? I think that's my biggest advice. Do not be afraid of small beginnings and learn how the money is collected. And there's so many ways. It's annoying and daunting. Who collecting off radio?

28:44Who collecting the shows? Who's collecting on a sink deal? Who collecting on a brand deal? How do I get paid on my merch? What is BMI doing? What is ASCAP doing? What? I mean, it's a lot of stress and depression. That's why you see a lot of artists not end up with anything after touring the whole world. It's sad. Now, you know, beyond the music again, you've done that and done amazing stuff. And again, you got the album coming out soon. But Earth girl, that's also something that's important to you. Tell us about how that got started. And what is it? It's huge. Somebody said that you got your own B high, huh? And we really literally have Bs on our land because we care about the Earth. It started when I was a little girl saying, don't throw that paper on the ground and have it to garden with my grandmother in the projects and our little garden. And then go to my other grandmother's house in North Carolina every summer we were sent from the city to be in the Earth and plant and be gardeners and farmers with my grandfather,

29:45Robert Hunter. So I think that's where it originated. 2008, I just saw a need, you know, you asked me about when did I know as a woman like I just saw that girls did not have strong leaders. I didn't have any real woman to look up to. All my men, tours are men. Except for one, Camille Cook. She helped me. She was running her own production company and helped me. We did the hard night life tour. We did all these different tours. But I just knew girls needed to be helped in 2008. Dub underwrote my program and I brought a hundred girls from around the country. And they were all twin, twin-agers, I called them, that junior high because I feel like if you catch them early, you can give them the strength and the power to reject and rebuke what the world takes away from you. And now it's guys too that we're helping, it's Earth Angel, that's the nonprofit. But that's when it started, when I decided to leave my old partnership, I had just started

30:50doing camps, more camps and camps and camps. And then M. Can, J. Cole's team was like, yo, so you doing these camps? My partner at the time had told him, Groove has said to J. Cole, you should do your camp here. And so I hosted a 14-day camp and I knew that was the end of me at that space because I had a prior bought of my studio now, Stonewood. And I had two producers in it. And so the Earth Girl movement really exploded big time 2019 because I knew that I was going to call Swissbeats, Caled, Rick Ross, TI to come when J. Cole would be calling Wale Kendrick, the younger guys, right? And so we built this whole thing, this camp, and that was my last in my mind. And then somebody made this rumor. Molly did this camp, but one of the females there was all men.

31:54We had Ari Lennox, Baby Rose, Mariba, who are all popping now, and a couple other girls. And I wasn't singing at the time, so I'm setting up mics outside my office like, man, why y'all like it? Man, the guys won't. And me, I'm pushy. If you don't let me in to play Double Dutch, I'm snatching the ropes, and I'm the one doing, come on, you have to be fair. You know what I mean? I just, just because I grew up bossing my cousins around and, you know, and being them including me. It's like if they didn't include me. So the girls weren't getting included in that article, and I'm like, okay, I'm going to do a whole camp before I leave this partnership. And we have 4,000 women come to the camp. We had everybody coming in every, all the kids came, Lil Wayne's daughter, tips daughter, Zaniq, there's so many, Cody Shane, all these girls that are popping now, they all came out. But then we had the moms. We had Wiz's mom, T-Pain's mom, Futur's mom, to talk to the girls and their mothers.

33:00And I remember this moment where Elle Varner was in the middle of the room with her guitar, crying about the label and how they shoved her and how she started drinking. And she just didn't put out music. And that was the jump of her getting back in and now she's produced her own record. So Earth Girl started because everybody was like, Molly, how are you doing it? And I'm like, looking around, I'm like, ah, I had a very strong father that said, don't we know punk, everything got made me, don't get pimped, I had a, you know, I came from a strong background where my dad didn't have any boys. So I was that, I was the G in that family, you know what I mean? So, you know, that's where it started where it is now, camps, monthly camps, shut out to the brands that really care. The last one we had, Lori, I'll be a part of. And, you know, there's been several beverage companies and we try to be really careful about who's being sustainable and who's not, you know what I mean?

34:02That's important to us. And so, yeah, we've placed almost 200 songs, maybe over on girls in this, you know, in this community on Paramount and Viacom, shout out to Anita and her teams and, you know, Jennifer and Song that Annie. We've placed a lot of music and done a lot of good and talk girls how to get their money and figure out how the paperwork and do their split. She's, it's bigger than just wanting to be creative and I think that's the beauty of Earth Girl. And if it becomes my beehive, because they love my music and I'm able to be the flagship artist that pushes these girls out to have their own labels not be signed underneath me, we can partner then that's something that will be organically beautiful and flower one day out. That's amazing. Now, when you think about the music and especially with the new album, you've got, you know, you got jazz, you got blues, you got gospel, all these things have kind of influenced you. You know, why was it really important, especially with the stuff you're working on now to really

35:03kind of like lean into those things that were authentic to you and not just be out here chasing trends like other people do? The thing coming from a mixed background, my mother is white, she's 100% Eastern European, my dad is a real one. You know, you think back in the day, you just thought he was a black Panther, but just being taught to be everything that I am and I grew up in the church in my grandmother's sister's church and with my great-grandmother going to her church, Ebenezer. And so that had to be, I mean, it's who I am. The blues, you know, all of it, you know, people don't realize the history of music. The blues was creative because black people built this country off their backs and then they were ostracized and treated awful and they thought it was freedom. Going up to the Midwest where I'm from, they were told, come on, my grandmother said, there were poor white people that were our family in North Carolina that we left to go up north and we're living in these slums now.

36:05We got tricked and that's where the blues came from. And so I've had a lot of blues in my life. You know, it's trouble teenager and getting arrested several times, you know, and, you know, the blues is a part of me, but what we love is that Eric and I said, let's call it the sunshine blues because there's always a redemption at our songs. It's not that let's put this on and be in misery. It should happen, man, you know, you're not the only one when you're not a narcissist and you realize you're not the only one, you can move on from it and then soul, it's in me, you know, you know, thank God for John Baptiste because he won't let you put him. I met him when I was managing Carly Simon and I had her on Corbere show, John Baptiste was like, I'm not a John Rom, I'm going to do whatever's in me creatively and that opens a door for artists like me to just be like, you know, some songs are leaning more toward the soul, more toward the gospel, but my voice is jazzy. I can't, everyone's like, where do we put this?

37:08Where do you put me as a human being? You know what I mean? All of us really in America are mixed with something. But if your bloodline isn't, you have a lack of culture that's influenced you, like no other country, you know what I mean? This is an amazing conversation. I know you got the magic carpet outside, you've got to make some moves, so I'm going to respect your time, but I do appreciate you pulling up before we get out of here. I appreciate you having me, you have a lot of respect for you and what you're doing, you don't have to share butter ATL, you didn't have to create 404 day. And from the moment that you and I brand and met, I knew that God had blessed you with something special, that you could really look someone so powerful in the eyes, but the humility that you have is, it's not normal to be an ATL, it's like New York in the 90s, boy, you living, you made something happen in the ATL, quit playing with me, so you get

38:10your flowers from me always, and I appreciate you having me. I appreciate you buying. I'm going to get my daughter out there with the Earth Girls too. That's please. She's in that tween state. Oh, that's what we're focused on, and we have every, we have Earth Girls that are in their 80s, but we have that team, that 10 to 15 group, Dale, try you. She telling me, well look, Molly, before we get out of here, please tell people, I know the album comes out in the 20s, how can they get it, how can they find you support you, like give them all the thing. Molly Wilson.com, you can get my record, you can support me, it take a lot of money to do these records, you know, because we pay people, you can get t-shirts, you can go on my Instagram at IAM underscore Molly, and it's Molly like the country in Africa, M-A-L-I. You know, used to be able to Google me as Molly Hunter, but now it's Molly Wilson, and I'm very proud to have such an awesome partner, and be sharing this music with you guys.

39:15So yeah, that's where you can catch me. Absolutely, and we don't get air, and I'm but anomics period. That part. Well look, Molly, thank you so much for pulling up, congratulations on the new album, congratulations on everything. You've always been amazing, you've always been supporting, you're just one of the nicest people I know. I don't care what nobody says. It's the nicest people. Well, it's either one, you know, they're just saying that you get what you give, and I don't always give back that, but there are some people who, the door gets closed if your spirit ain't right, you know, I count, I'm a Libra, so I like balance and connecting, but most of the time, even if you're hurting, you're not very kind, I'm going to be kind anyway, because why not, right? Absolutely. Well, you know, this is amazing conversation, y'all, Molly again, thank you for pulling up. Thank you for having me. And with that said, y'all, that's the part, we out. We out.