Congratulations on the release of your powerful new single, ‘Woman To Woman!’. What inspired the track?
Thank you! This song Is about experiences that I have been through.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, I battled addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine, weighed just 93 pounds, and bore the visible scars of a life consumed by pain. Trust was nearly impossible due to early childhood trauma and being trafficked at 16 years old. But then came Angie Thomas Brown—a woman of integrity, love, and strength—who took me in, nurtured me, and taught me what it meant to truly love one’s self. She loved me until I could love myself. She was like a mother, like a big sister. She never backstabbed or gossiped about another woman. She simply led by example. Years later, in 2004, Polly Pistole became another guiding light, further shaping my understanding of love and self-respect. Through Polly and her husband Dave’s beautiful marriage, I learned what it meant to be cherished by a kind and respectful partner. Polly stood by me through heartbreak, reminding me, “You are worth more than this.” Polly’s unwavering support helped me break free from the cycle of toxic, narcissistic abuse. Today, I have a safe group of women who I can lean on, and they can lean on me. One such beautiful soul is my sister from another mister, Brandy Ledford (star of Baywatch Hawaii, and many other shows and movies) is the woman helping me in the music video, Woman to Woman.
A notable feature of the song is your signature soulful vocals. Did performing a song with a meaning very close to your heart help you to evoke raw emotion in your delivery?
I would love to take full credit for how my voice came across on the song. Even now I still get help from incredible coaches. I have the emotion, but I wanna make sure that I convey them to the best of my ability. Mike Goodrich is always helping me with my vocal strength, placement and endurance. Brandon C. Rogers is the coach that helped me on this song in the studio. He is a powerhouse who knew how to bring out the best with me in the studio. Many times, I am too self critical to objectively hear myself. Let me add that Damon Sharpe, my producer and brother from another mother is incredible at vocal production with me and would chime in on this one when I was hard on myself. It takes a village, and I always want to give credit where credit is due.
Lyrically, the track serves as a deeply uplifting anthem. Do you hope people will continue to resonate with the track following International Women’s Day celebrations?
I believe this song is so powerful because we had Lindy Robbins in the studio writing with us. She and Damon are both musical geniuses! I was super intimidated as I had never worked with Lindy before, and I get that way working with anyone new, but she made it so comfortable for me. Working with Damon is always like that, and I’ve been working with him since 2017 so I’m passed the stage fright aspect. All of us hope that this song will continue to resonate with people following International Women’s Day. Every day is an opportunity to lift each other up.
Do you wish you’d had a song like ‘Woman To Woman’ growing up? How do you hope it will inspire listeners?
Yes. I think it would’ve helped me a lot. Hearing, “Woman to Woman”, when I was younger, especially after dealing with unsafe people and needing comfort. I hope that it will give listeners the courage to reach out to safe women. How do we know who is safe? Does she talk about others, or does she keep a confidence? Does she tell the truth? Does she walk her talk? Does she encourage? That is how I learned with the first woman that I became vulnerable with. I watched how she treated other women. I also hope it will inspire women to reach out and help other women. That we don’t need to buy into what society tells us. That we are powerful when we are together. WE Is Women Empowerment. Together we can do what we cannot do alone. We are better and we are stronger together.
What does your usual creative process look like, and what did you differently in ‘Woman To Woman?’
Every song that we do is slightly different in the creative process. For this song, Damon came up with the background music. Then, we met in the studio with Lindy and started coming up with words and melodies. Most songs that I work on are from my own experience and it’s very cathartic and therapeutic.
What women currently inspire you?
There are so many that I could name who inspire me. Here are just a few: Marie Curie, Helen Keller, Frank Marian Anderson, Chien-Shiung Wu, Maya Angelou, Mahsa Armini, Mother Teresa, Lata Mageshkar, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Miriam Makeba, and so many others…
Do you think the song will help those in need of empowerment, upliftment and community?
Absolutely! Music Is the universal language. I know that music has empowered, uplifted and made me feel less alone. I believe that “Woman to Woman will do the same for people.
How are you hoping to spend International Women’s Day?
Celebrating the release of this song and reaching out to women who have made a difference In my life and remembering the ones no longer here.