Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Rushion Interviews Grammy Award-winning singer, Regina Belle | White House Correspondent and CNN Political Analyst, April Ryan.

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Rushion Interviews Grammy Award-winning singer, Regina Belle | White House Correspondent and CNN Political Analyst, April Ryan. · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

0:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversations. It's to show that she
0:07
Speaker 1: has the secrets of success experience firsthand by marketing and
0:10
Speaker 1: Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I will know he's given me
0:13
Speaker 1: advice on many occasions in ocasion didn't notice. I'm not broke.
0:17
Speaker 1: You know. He'll be interview with celebrity CEOs, entrepreneurs and
0:20
Speaker 1: industry decision makers. It's what he likes to do, it's
0:22
Speaker 1: what he likes to share. Now it's time to hear
0:25
Speaker 1: from my man, Rashan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Here we come.
0:30
Speaker 1: Welcome to my show, money Making Conversation Masterclass. I'm your
0:33
Speaker 1: host with Sean McDonald. I recognize that we all have
0:35
Speaker 1: different definitions for success. For you, it may be the
0:38
Speaker 1: size of your paycheck. Mine has inspired people to develop
0:41
Speaker 1: a plan to reach their dreams. It's time to stop
0:44
Speaker 1: reading other people's success stories and start writing your own.
0:47
Speaker 1: You can only exceed the expectations by believing in yourself.
0:50
Speaker 1: People always talk about their purpose or gifts. If you
0:52
Speaker 1: have a gift, lead with your gifts and don't let
0:54
Speaker 1: your friends, family, or coworkers stop you from planning a
0:57
Speaker 1: living your dreams. My guess is a Paul Ryan. She's
1:01
Speaker 1: a White House correspondent, CNN political analysts, DC bureau chief
1:05
Speaker 1: for The Grio, Arthur and speaker. And her book Black
1:08
Speaker 1: Women Will Save the World and Anthem. Author Apral Ryan
1:12
Speaker 1: celebrates black women's resilience and strength, champion those who have
1:16
Speaker 1: transformed their pain in the progress despite economic, political, and
1:19
Speaker 1: social challenges. The book celebrates America's founding black women are
1:24
Speaker 1: mothers as she rose, as well as today's black women
1:27
Speaker 1: leaders like voting right activists Stacy Abrows, Farmer Atlanta mayor
1:32
Speaker 1: teacher Lunch Bottoms pull A surprize winner, the co Hannah
1:36
Speaker 1: Can the Cohannah Jones, and Vice President Kamala Harris, to
1:40
Speaker 1: name just a few. Apri Ran also pays tribute to mothers, nurses, teachers, activists,
1:45
Speaker 1: and community leaders, knowing that all Black women make the
1:48
Speaker 1: extraordinary ordinary. Please welcome to Money Making Conversations Masterclass, April Ryan.
1:54
Speaker 1: Thanks for happening me. I'm so excited to be with you.
1:57
Speaker 1: Thank you well. You know you are a face I'm
1:59
Speaker 1: very familiar with, April uh. But first before I even
2:03
Speaker 1: get into that, you know, I want to acknowledge the
2:05
Speaker 1: fact that there you are an HBCU graduate Morrigan State.
2:10
Speaker 1: Sean Yes, Morgan State, and a good friend of mine,
2:16
Speaker 1: Kevin Frasier went to Morgan State too, didn't he Morgan
2:18
Speaker 1: State contribute? Good? Aer I Allas makes the league. Christ
2:23
Speaker 1: In food a Wilson Good. Come on earls, my man,
2:30
Speaker 1: that's my man. You know, because when when the that
2:34
Speaker 1: the George Floyd incident happens in color incident murder should
2:37
Speaker 1: be called a social upheaval in this country and in
2:40
Speaker 1: the world. You know, HBCUs will basically push to the forefront.
2:45
Speaker 1: And then there's a lot of corporate and um private
2:48
Speaker 1: donations made to hbc US and even this year it
2:53
Speaker 1: was over two billion dollar contributions to HBCUs. With that
2:58
Speaker 1: being said, and I was pretty black excellence. When I
3:01
Speaker 1: talked about HBCUs, we started noting the amount of academic
3:04
Speaker 1: success that really is found a lot of those schools
3:07
Speaker 1: into the everyday culture we call America. What is your
3:10
Speaker 1: reaction to going to an hbc U because your mother
3:13
Speaker 1: taught an hbc U and how its impacted impact on
3:17
Speaker 1: the world today. Well, my mother was director of student activity.
3:21
Speaker 1: She didn't teach, but she and a lot of those
3:24
Speaker 1: students um still here today. But now I'm an HBCU baby.
3:29
Speaker 1: I grew up on on an hbc U campus, Morgan
3:32
Speaker 1: State University. UM. Growing up on a campus, you're exposed
3:36
Speaker 1: to a lot of excellence. You're exposed to open mind
3:41
Speaker 1: and and and uh open open mind is UM if
3:44
Speaker 1: you would say, UM, I experienced a lot of exploratory
3:54
Speaker 1: pursuits about life before I even knew would life right?
4:00
Speaker 1: You know, and that allows you to be able to
4:04
Speaker 1: have that you know, that ability to the resiliency that
4:07
Speaker 1: you talk about in your book as a black woman,
4:09
Speaker 1: but also the resiliency to handle situation, that uncomfortable situation
4:14
Speaker 1: and when you're just trying to do your job like
4:16
Speaker 1: you've been doing, as we've seen play out at the
4:19
Speaker 1: White House, play out with the personal I felt attacked
4:22
Speaker 1: by then President Donald Trump. How did you handle that?
4:25
Speaker 1: And who were the people with the support system around
4:28
Speaker 1: you to allow you to continue to give you strength
4:32
Speaker 1: to do your job on a daily basis. Black women
4:35
Speaker 1: were my support. Black women to UM would see me
4:40
Speaker 1: on the street and be like, Sis, I'm praying for you.
4:43
Speaker 1: For UM. You know, people like, yeah, some black women say,
4:48
Speaker 1: I put my hand out praying. You know, when you
4:51
Speaker 1: came on so so God with God the conversation, you know,
4:55
Speaker 1: I mean, black women really rallied around me, and I
4:58
Speaker 1: heard somebody come frying. You know, I saw the microaggressions
5:01
Speaker 1: on the job and it reminded me of me, and
5:03
Speaker 1: I'm like, you just really don't realize what other people
5:09
Speaker 1: are going through and the common thread. Um. You know,
5:14
Speaker 1: I had so many people support me, and I don't
5:16
Speaker 1: want to just call out names, but there were so
5:19
Speaker 1: many people that supported me. But I want to think
5:21
Speaker 1: I think mostly about black women, particularly as that president
5:25
Speaker 1: vilified many black women during his time in office throughout
5:29
Speaker 1: it years. You know, the interesting thing about it is
5:34
Speaker 1: that you know, when you you became a face, you
5:37
Speaker 1: became a brand that you know, became an individual. You
5:41
Speaker 1: were forced into the public side. And I'm not saying
5:44
Speaker 1: that's what you wanted to accomplish in your career, because
5:46
Speaker 1: I don't know your career aspirations, But when you were
5:50
Speaker 1: being challenged consistent like that, how did that impact your
5:54
Speaker 1: personal life? I know people came up on the streets because,
5:56
Speaker 1: like I said, you you were constantly I felt on
5:59
Speaker 1: their attack. So and you said black women gave you support,
6:02
Speaker 1: but internally how to what what? What with the resiliency
6:06
Speaker 1: that that gave you the drive to say I'm right.
6:09
Speaker 1: I'm a stand for what I believe in. This is
6:11
Speaker 1: what I went to college for. This is my this
6:13
Speaker 1: is my dream, this is my career. And nobody's gonna
6:16
Speaker 1: back me down. All that you said, I mean, I
6:19
Speaker 1: didn't do anything wrong. I stand on the shoulders of
6:22
Speaker 1: my family. My answers is my late mother and father.
6:26
Speaker 1: I stand. There's of HBC, is the black community Baltimore City.
6:31
Speaker 1: I did nothing wrong. I asked him questions. He didn't
6:34
Speaker 1: want to answer questions about a black community, that about
6:37
Speaker 1: the black community that he could have cared less about. Um,
6:41
Speaker 1: that's just my fact um. And at the end of
6:44
Speaker 1: the day, Um, how was I attacked? I was attacked
6:48
Speaker 1: in every way. I had the FBI come to my home.
6:51
Speaker 1: I have had bomb spots come to my home. You know,
6:55
Speaker 1: it's it's it sounds like a movie, but it was
6:58
Speaker 1: my life and it was a price to pay. But
7:02
Speaker 1: why would I run? And maybe it was fight or flight,
7:05
Speaker 1: I don't know, but I didn't fly or run away.
7:09
Speaker 1: Maybe it was fight, But that did nothing wrong. Too
7:12
Speaker 1: many people worked too hard for me to get in
7:14
Speaker 1: that space for me to go somewhere because of someone else.
7:17
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. Absolutely, I'm speaking to April Ryan.
7:21
Speaker 1: She's White House correspondency and Pillows analysts. We're talking about
7:25
Speaker 1: her book, Black Women Will Save the World an anthem,
7:29
Speaker 1: also about her personal life and some of the journeys
7:31
Speaker 1: that she's had to endure being an HBC you graduate
7:34
Speaker 1: working at the White House, especially covering it during the
7:37
Speaker 1: Trump administration. Now, let's get to the book, Black Women
7:39
Speaker 1: Will Save the World, because it's really a history book
7:43
Speaker 1: and talking to about you know, the Civil War times
7:45
Speaker 1: and spies. We know that a lot of people may
7:47
Speaker 1: not know that Harry Tubman was really a spy, you
7:50
Speaker 1: know when she when she uh sought freedom. But you're
7:54
Speaker 1: talking you touched on a lot of different areas just
7:56
Speaker 1: to let us know how women have slid in their
8:00
Speaker 1: layer level of commitment and that you may or may
8:03
Speaker 1: not be aware of. What was the journey of the
8:05
Speaker 1: book and the purpose. Well, this book has been years
8:09
Speaker 1: in the making. Um I presented it to Harpercollums many
8:12
Speaker 1: years ago, and they knew that I wanted to write
8:16
Speaker 1: this and it just wasn't the time. And then when
8:19
Speaker 1: Kamala Harris was the Vice President of the United States,
8:22
Speaker 1: just aid, wait a minute, so you know, and they
8:24
Speaker 1: saw other black women in prominent positions, It's okay, let's
8:27
Speaker 1: do this. And then the stars lined up with Katanshi
8:31
Speaker 1: Brown Jackson being um nominated to the United States Supreme Court.
8:39
Speaker 1: I don't know. Maybe I was ahead of my time,
8:41
Speaker 1: but this was the right time, and it all came together.
8:44
Speaker 1: It wasn't We weren't plotting out of planning, but this
8:48
Speaker 1: is something I wanted to write for a long time
8:51
Speaker 1: and happened at this moment. The right You could not
8:56
Speaker 1: craft the best moment like this is the you can
9:00
Speaker 1: never think about back for the moment. We got the
9:02
Speaker 1: moment just perhaps. And you know, and now as we
9:07
Speaker 1: go to the polls, as black women are going to
9:10
Speaker 1: posts to make decisions for their homes, we are uh
9:16
Speaker 1: the black population. We're a large voting block for the
9:19
Speaker 1: Democratic Party. We are we are decider in elections. We
9:22
Speaker 1: have changed the red states blue Stacy Abrams and that
9:26
Speaker 1: the black women with Roy Moore and Doug Jones voting
9:30
Speaker 1: for Doug Jones in Alabama a few years back. We
9:34
Speaker 1: have power that they don't want to let us know
9:37
Speaker 1: we have mark the moment and say who we are.
9:42
Speaker 1: It's important, you know when you look at that, because
9:45
Speaker 1: that's that's you know, we always talk about the role
9:48
Speaker 1: of the black women. I have my six sisters, so
9:50
Speaker 1: I know the role of the black woman. And I
9:53
Speaker 1: grew up a five or older than me, and so
9:56
Speaker 1: they reminded me of my position in the family many
9:59
Speaker 1: times with loving, loving smiles. Um. But but but the vote,
10:04
Speaker 1: the vote of the black person, the black pession of
10:06
Speaker 1: the vote of the black woman. Right now, these elections
10:08
Speaker 1: are gonna turn on the vote of the black woman.
10:11
Speaker 1: Are the black populace? But in the end, you know,
10:14
Speaker 1: you have Democratic a Republicans. You have is so extreme. Now,
10:19
Speaker 1: what do you see the state of politics from your perspective,
10:21
Speaker 1: because you're right in there. You've seen the shift the dynamics,
10:25
Speaker 1: and when President Obama came into the office and they
10:28
Speaker 1: was heckling them during the state of his State of
10:30
Speaker 1: the Union address. You've seen this this kind of like
10:33
Speaker 1: verbal and social abuse that Cope called, that's being called
10:36
Speaker 1: out on a daily basis on social media. So where
10:39
Speaker 1: are we at as a black person in America, a
10:43
Speaker 1: black woman in America or is our vote being taken
10:47
Speaker 1: for granted? Is the is the power of the woman
10:50
Speaker 1: to shift the narrative? Is the who can be elected
10:53
Speaker 1: in the state or in the White House being taken
10:55
Speaker 1: for granted? April? Yes, most definitely. And I say that
10:59
Speaker 1: on apologetically and very straightforward. Um. It is because if
11:06
Speaker 1: it weren't, we would have a lot more push. It
11:09
Speaker 1: takes black women to go into the United Senate Office
11:14
Speaker 1: building to march about voting rights and then get arrested.
11:18
Speaker 1: Right but Martin is King the third got arrested in
11:22
Speaker 1: front of White House on voting rights. Black people and
11:25
Speaker 1: the vote have been taken for granted for centuries. And
11:29
Speaker 1: the only way from the unique perch that I sit in,
11:33
Speaker 1: the only way we see action is when the squeaky
11:37
Speaker 1: wheel gets oiled, and the wheel has got to squeek
11:40
Speaker 1: persistently and consistently. And when I say black people and
11:47
Speaker 1: the voters taken for granted, let's just look at this.
11:50
Speaker 1: This is not myth, This is not conjecture, is fact.
11:53
Speaker 1: The black community still has the highest numbers of negatives
11:56
Speaker 1: in almost every category. Award is not safe to drink
12:01
Speaker 1: in Jackson. It's not just in Jackson, Flint has never
12:06
Speaker 1: had its problem fixed. Okay, our housing costs. We have
12:11
Speaker 1: the one point five million units short to have affordable
12:17
Speaker 1: housing in this nation the way the government wants it
12:20
Speaker 1: to look. We're preyed upon financially, I mean, and so on.
12:25
Speaker 1: It's on our health care. Do we have it the
12:27
Speaker 1: way it should be? No, I mean our education. I mean,
12:32
Speaker 1: the list goes on and imprisonment, police, brutality, it just
12:37
Speaker 1: hits every climate change. We are impacted asthma. Can you say, Katrina,
12:42
Speaker 1: we live right in those dangerous spaces where we can
12:46
Speaker 1: lose our home. The list goes on and on, and
12:49
Speaker 1: if we were not taken for granted, these ills would
12:52
Speaker 1: not be so pervasive and so ever present as they
12:56
Speaker 1: are today. We'll be right back with more Money Making
13:00
Speaker 1: Conversations Masterclass with Rushan McDonald. Now, let's return to Money
13:07
Speaker 1: Making Conversations Masterclass with Rashan McDonald. You know, you know
13:12
Speaker 1: and reading your book or because you could have chosen
13:15
Speaker 1: a lot of different women there to uh to discuss
13:20
Speaker 1: your book. Black Women will Save the World an anthem
13:24
Speaker 1: and she's mentioned in the movements and then in the
13:26
Speaker 1: red of the book. I'm talking about former First Lady
13:29
Speaker 1: Michelle Obama. I thought, in the process of just reading
13:32
Speaker 1: your book and looking at you know, what's happening with
13:35
Speaker 1: Supreme Court Justice Brown and the Vice President Harris, that
13:39
Speaker 1: I felt that she was just as instrumental her role.
13:42
Speaker 1: How she played out, I felt enabled them to be
13:47
Speaker 1: considered by the country, be as a as a candidate
13:50
Speaker 1: for vice president, to be considered by the country, as
13:55
Speaker 1: to play the role as a Spring Court justice. When
13:57
Speaker 1: you were selecting the various imagery or stories that you
14:01
Speaker 1: was putting in this book, what did you see her?
14:03
Speaker 1: And I know, like it's till everybody. She's mentioned in
14:05
Speaker 1: the movement section of the book, But where did you
14:08
Speaker 1: see her? As we talked about it, our impact, that's
14:13
Speaker 1: a black woman in this movement? Michelle Obama? Oh, Michelle
14:19
Speaker 1: Obama most definitely. I mean people people who still want
14:22
Speaker 1: her to run for office, and she's like no, no, no,
14:25
Speaker 1: no, no no. You know, Um, she is very impactful. Her
14:31
Speaker 1: numbers and just as high, her whole numbers. Her fool
14:34
Speaker 1: rating to this day still just as high as the
14:36
Speaker 1: former president. They're called forever for a reason because people
14:42
Speaker 1: connect to her because she came from the South Side
14:44
Speaker 1: of Chicago, like um, Kataji Bround Jackson. You know, she
14:49
Speaker 1: was told she couldn't, you know, or or she felt
14:52
Speaker 1: she couldn't. But for Kataji, there was a janitor said,
14:56
Speaker 1: you can keep going, Please keep going. Don't you be
14:58
Speaker 1: so upset. But she's at Harvard. For Michelle, Michelle, from
15:01
Speaker 1: Michelle Obama. From Michelle Obama, there were people who told
15:06
Speaker 1: her she couldn't, and she chose to in spite of
15:10
Speaker 1: and I hate to say this, you know, it's a
15:12
Speaker 1: rag the richest story, but in a whole different way.
15:15
Speaker 1: Average American living in the South Side of Chicago going
15:18
Speaker 1: to the who looked like me, who ancestor of a
15:25
Speaker 1: slave slaves built the White House, and she so eloquently
15:30
Speaker 1: likes to remind people. But she rose to the highest
15:35
Speaker 1: of heights. If it weren't for Michelle Obama, the chick
15:39
Speaker 1: from the South Side, Barack Obama would not be President
15:42
Speaker 1: of the United States. If it weren't from Michelle Obama
15:45
Speaker 1: and her connection to Valerie Jared, Barack Obama would not
15:48
Speaker 1: be the President of the United States. Two black women
15:53
Speaker 1: helped move Barack Obama to become the most one of
15:59
Speaker 1: the most six US for presidents in our modern history
16:03
Speaker 1: two Black women, and the sad piece about it is
16:07
Speaker 1: from Michelle Obama. She's still invisible because when her and
16:10
Speaker 1: Valdie Jared would go out, you know, away from the
16:13
Speaker 1: White House and walk, you know, walk around. Michelle Obama
16:18
Speaker 1: is very statue used. You can't miss her, miss her.
16:20
Speaker 1: Even if she has a baseball camp on, people didn't
16:23
Speaker 1: pay attention to her. She is a marker for movement
16:27
Speaker 1: because she moved. She told us to move for our health.
16:31
Speaker 1: She told us, you know, when they go low, we
16:33
Speaker 1: go high. Sometimes we accept that, sometimes we do. But
16:38
Speaker 1: and she also helped stee Or. She she focused in
16:41
Speaker 1: on our military. She focused in on so many things
16:44
Speaker 1: that others had not. She kept it real um. She
16:50
Speaker 1: is part of the movement of black women who activate
16:54
Speaker 1: because they have to and for all intents and purposes,
16:59
Speaker 1: because of her illness, because of her proximity to power
17:03
Speaker 1: and her understanding of people and situations. She could be
17:08
Speaker 1: a politician if she wanted to, if she wanted to,
17:10
Speaker 1: she could be anything she wanted to be because she's
17:14
Speaker 1: she's worked for. She's got a pedigree by putting her
17:17
Speaker 1: husband in that space, by standing next to him, by
17:21
Speaker 1: working with Valley she is, She's a movement all into herself.
17:26
Speaker 1: And yeah, she she is a symbol of black woman
17:30
Speaker 1: whose strength and womanhood standing the side and sometimes behind
17:34
Speaker 1: her husband, but she is the strength of black woman
17:37
Speaker 1: how to get it done. Even as he has a shine,
17:40
Speaker 1: she's still shot him on the other side, on her
17:43
Speaker 1: own and making it happen. So yeah, she is one
17:46
Speaker 1: of those examples that has helped keep laying the groundwork
17:50
Speaker 1: for women black women to be in these spaces because
17:54
Speaker 1: every success that we see of a black woman just
17:58
Speaker 1: lays the foundation for the next success. Wow, I'm speaking
18:03
Speaker 1: with April Ryan. Black women will save the world. And
18:06
Speaker 1: anthem is the name of the book, an anthem. What
18:10
Speaker 1: do you mean when you room when you make that
18:11
Speaker 1: statement in anthem? If you're in the Black church, you
18:14
Speaker 1: know what anthem means over and over and over again,
18:18
Speaker 1: with over and over again and believing it over and
18:21
Speaker 1: over again. Black women will save the world. Black women
18:24
Speaker 1: will save the world. Not only will we save the world,
18:27
Speaker 1: we have, we are and we shall when we will.
18:30
Speaker 1: Just talk about something doesn't go away that's still in
18:34
Speaker 1: the news today is the January six riot or insurrection
18:40
Speaker 1: as they call it. Uh, how did that affect you
18:44
Speaker 1: when it happened and how I been watching it play out?
18:48
Speaker 1: What what are your comments max and Waters? People like
18:53
Speaker 1: Maxie Waters, commons want Maxie Waters who called it out
18:56
Speaker 1: As you read the book, he called it out, and
19:00
Speaker 1: they didn't listen to her. She asked questions. They didn't
19:03
Speaker 1: listen to her. And but Maximum Waters before January six
19:07
Speaker 1: and I did the interview, she said, don't you come
19:09
Speaker 1: here to Washington? She told me, don't come to Washington.
19:13
Speaker 1: Valley told me, don't you go to Washington On January six,
19:17
Speaker 1: I chose not to. I was in my home safe
19:21
Speaker 1: watching it on TV, losing my mind. I had my
19:24
Speaker 1: dog had done something to the carpet. Carpet cleaner was here,
19:27
Speaker 1: guy I've known for many years, and he was like,
19:30
Speaker 1: calm down. I said, no, do you not see what's happening?
19:33
Speaker 1: And he didn't understand why I was getting so hysterical,
19:36
Speaker 1: But once he really took time to look, I said,
19:39
Speaker 1: do you not see what they're doing? If one hair
19:42
Speaker 1: or any of those congressional leaders head, if someone would
19:45
Speaker 1: have died, we may not be sitting here today speaking
19:48
Speaker 1: about how black women will save the world and anthem.
19:51
Speaker 1: Just look what happened to Nancy Pelosi's husband, these conspiracy theories,
19:56
Speaker 1: is angst about the fact that Joe Biden's present all
19:59
Speaker 1: these things, that this ideology that Donald Trump has left
20:04
Speaker 1: with some of these people, it's still playing out. And
20:09
Speaker 1: these are scary times. These are very scary times. Were
20:14
Speaker 1: you right in the like like you said, you're right
20:16
Speaker 1: in the you can be listed as a target April
20:18
Speaker 1: and these scary times, That's what I guess. I guess
20:21
Speaker 1: huh again, I can't. You said I can't be I
20:24
Speaker 1: am a target? Well, you know, I don't want to
20:26
Speaker 1: go there. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna be the
20:28
Speaker 1: person that comes out or even say that on my show.
20:30
Speaker 1: But I will use the word can be listed as
20:33
Speaker 1: a target, because you know where you stand. Because give
20:36
Speaker 1: us comment. How do you how do you wake up?
20:37
Speaker 1: How do you get on the plane, how do you
20:39
Speaker 1: go to the grocery store? How do you go to
20:41
Speaker 1: a restaurant? What you're feeling that way? Knowing that, especially
20:45
Speaker 1: what happened to uh, you know, Congressman Pelosi's husband, Your safety,
20:51
Speaker 1: my safety is paramount, My children's safety is paramount. Well,
20:55
Speaker 1: you've got precautions and we work towards um safety. UM,
21:00
Speaker 1: my head is always on the swivel. But you know,
21:03
Speaker 1: we're in some very different times, times that I have
21:05
Speaker 1: never imagined we've been. But I mean, you know, without
21:10
Speaker 1: going into everything, you know, you never say oh I'm safe.
21:14
Speaker 1: You always you're always watchful. And you know I've had,
21:19
Speaker 1: like I said, I've had the FBI, the bomb squard
21:21
Speaker 1: and everything in my home, you know, and our detailing
21:23
Speaker 1: in the book. We're in some crazy times. And you know,
21:28
Speaker 1: people from my condemn this. No, you need to call
21:30
Speaker 1: for the people to go to jail, for criminal charges
21:34
Speaker 1: to be placed against Sese people. This has got to stop. Well,
21:40
Speaker 1: I agree, But you know, as you approach your twenty
21:44
Speaker 1: six year of being at the White House, what are
21:46
Speaker 1: your most memorable moments week? Everybody has a memberable moments
21:50
Speaker 1: of everybody I know in my life. When I look back,
21:53
Speaker 1: I've asked people questions and I go, I wish you
21:56
Speaker 1: shouldn't have said that, or I asked him the question,
21:58
Speaker 1: I get a reaction. I went wild. I didn't think
22:00
Speaker 1: they had to respond that way. But when you look
22:02
Speaker 1: at your career at the White House, what are your
22:05
Speaker 1: what are some of the moments that you stand back
22:07
Speaker 1: and go I thought my chest. Some of the moments
22:10
Speaker 1: go I wish, I wish I had asked that a
22:13
Speaker 1: different way. Oh no, I don't regret anything, but some
22:19
Speaker 1: of the some of the moments that stand out to
22:22
Speaker 1: me are not news necessarily. Those are the moments that
22:26
Speaker 1: that one percent when after you work so hard, you
22:28
Speaker 1: finally get the chance to let your hand out. But
22:31
Speaker 1: when it comes to news, you know, asking questions about
22:34
Speaker 1: the black farmers and and and and and their money
22:38
Speaker 1: and you know, the first time around with Bill Clinton
22:40
Speaker 1: and then finally the black farmers getting their money during
22:45
Speaker 1: uh the Obama years, asking questions about you know, UH slavery,
22:52
Speaker 1: asking questions about policing, asking questions about Katrina. It's always
22:58
Speaker 1: about the story, not about me. It's about information, asking
23:03
Speaker 1: questions for information to help people and their day, their
23:06
Speaker 1: life would have you And that's what it's about. And
23:10
Speaker 1: that when I hear people say thank you for asking
23:12
Speaker 1: that or I saw that story it really helped me.
23:15
Speaker 1: That's when what I do really makes a difference and
23:19
Speaker 1: it makes me feel like I'm in the career that
23:21
Speaker 1: I was chosen to be. Congratulation as we close out
23:24
Speaker 1: this interview. I'm speaking with April Ryan her both black
23:26
Speaker 1: women will say the world and anthem. What do you
23:29
Speaker 1: think is the biggest stereotype that black women face in general? April,
23:34
Speaker 1: we're not good enough? Um uh, we're angry and we're
23:39
Speaker 1: angry angry black women um or angry black woman um.
23:44
Speaker 1: But I try to dispel it every day. You know,
23:47
Speaker 1: I want you to know I'm very concerned. It's not
23:50
Speaker 1: angry about anything, it's very concerned. So concerned I moved
23:54
Speaker 1: by asking questions or the highest office in the land
23:58
Speaker 1: to make a difference as you as like, I told you,
24:03
Speaker 1: I have six sisters, I have my daughter, have on
24:06
Speaker 1: the one child as daughter. She's a just graduate from
24:09
Speaker 1: college and she has a voice. So I was following
24:12
Speaker 1: that young black girls who want to save the world.
24:14
Speaker 1: You know, she's very equal concerned about the trees, about
24:18
Speaker 1: recycling and all this. How would you guide her? I
24:22
Speaker 1: got those two. I call him feminist tree hug and
24:27
Speaker 1: I'm with days of April. She no joke to you
24:30
Speaker 1: to her dad, Okay, she looks at me like, okay,
24:32
Speaker 1: well we switched to role here. Okay, I'm your dad
24:35
Speaker 1: is But she is so concerned about our future, which
24:38
Speaker 1: rightfully show you know, I'm at the end of my future.
24:41
Speaker 1: She has to live her future old, so she should
24:43
Speaker 1: be concerned with the world. So what were you advice
24:46
Speaker 1: would you give? You have one? I'm I got one.
24:49
Speaker 1: I got to. I got to. Well, what do you
24:55
Speaker 1: say to your young your young voices that I can
24:57
Speaker 1: carry over to my young child because she's gonna listen
24:59
Speaker 1: to the and make sure she does because this book
25:02
Speaker 1: is fantastic and Africana. Make sure that you know she
25:05
Speaker 1: she'sn't used to us when she graduated from college. I'm
25:08
Speaker 1: based in Atlanta, so this book I'll be taking on
25:10
Speaker 1: the plane with me so she can get it and
25:13
Speaker 1: read it. Well, what if I do you give them
25:15
Speaker 1: so I can share with her? Um, I tell them that,
25:19
Speaker 1: you know, just pace yourself because they're ready to slay
25:24
Speaker 1: the dragon right now. And I'm like, you gotta you
25:27
Speaker 1: gotta watch the dragon, and then you gotta figure out
25:29
Speaker 1: how to slay the dragon. And I said, I know
25:31
Speaker 1: you're concerned, but pace yourself because you don't want them
25:35
Speaker 1: burning out too quick and getting hurt by their passion.
25:39
Speaker 1: But I support them, and that's the thing. I may
25:41
Speaker 1: not always agree, but I know in their hearts they
25:43
Speaker 1: feel it right and it's legal, so I support them
25:46
Speaker 1: in their efforts. I mean looking COVID. They went out
25:49
Speaker 1: marching and I was like, no, you can't, and they
25:52
Speaker 1: were like, we're going out in spite them. And I
25:53
Speaker 1: was like, I have never worried about my children leaving
25:57
Speaker 1: the house. Well then because they wanted to stand for
26:01
Speaker 1: George Floyd. And I said, okay, I said, just put
26:03
Speaker 1: your masks on, stay away from people. This was before
26:05
Speaker 1: the vaccine. I said. All I can do is support
26:09
Speaker 1: them and marvel at the young women that they are
26:12
Speaker 1: and the women that they are aspiring to be. I'm
26:15
Speaker 1: just so proud of them, and I'm proud of your
26:16
Speaker 1: daughter for being that way too. Tree hugging feminists who
26:19
Speaker 1: will march April. She no joe, she is no joke.
26:23
Speaker 1: I I don't stop her. I advise her. I tell her,
26:27
Speaker 1: tell my wife. I said, you know, you know I'm
26:30
Speaker 1: not gonna tell her what she can't do if she
26:33
Speaker 1: seeks in my advice. Um um, they and I will
26:36
Speaker 1: have an opinion, but I will not jump out in
26:38
Speaker 1: front of her and tell her to stop. But I
26:40
Speaker 1: will advise him. With goes with the world is look
26:43
Speaker 1: at the news. Look at the news. The news tells
26:45
Speaker 1: a lot, but look at all the news so you
26:48
Speaker 1: can hear both sides of the story. In April, over
26:50
Speaker 1: the years and watching you, you're courageous. I'm humble to
26:55
Speaker 1: interview you because I've seen you face adversity in the
26:58
Speaker 1: public's eye and you stood proud, and you made me proud,
27:02
Speaker 1: and you made America problem. You made Black America proud.
27:05
Speaker 1: And I want to tell you this book is a
27:07
Speaker 1: very good read. Like you said, it is timely and
27:10
Speaker 1: sometimes when you do it at the right time, it's
27:12
Speaker 1: time for everybody to read it. And I'm gonna recommend
27:14
Speaker 1: everybody to read this book. Black Women's Will Save the
27:17
Speaker 1: World and Anthem by April Ryan. Thank you for coming
27:20
Speaker 1: on Money Making Conversation Masterclass. Thank you. I enjoyed my
27:24
Speaker 1: master class. Thank you give me crying big time. Stay safe, Okay,
27:30
Speaker 1: we'll be right back with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass
27:34
Speaker 1: with Rushan McDonald. You are now tuned into the Money
27:39
Speaker 1: Making Conversations Minute of Inspiration with Rashan McDonald. Hi, I'm
27:43
Speaker 1: Rashan McDonald for Money Making Conversation Masterclass with your Daily
27:46
Speaker 1: Men of the inspiration. Recently, I spoke with two time
27:49
Speaker 1: Emmy nominated actor, producer, comedian, youth pastor and author of
27:53
Speaker 1: Blessed Mode, Cale Mitchell. He addresses the importance of following
27:57
Speaker 1: the path of righteousness and always leading with love. Righteousness
28:01
Speaker 1: is just really being obedient to God and thinking, uh,
28:04
Speaker 1: and the way he thinks responding in love, and a
28:07
Speaker 1: lot of times that's less hard for people. I mean,
28:09
Speaker 1: you know it was hard for me. You know, it
28:10
Speaker 1: wasn't just easy all of a sudden, I just I
28:12
Speaker 1: just got it, you know what I mean. I used
28:14
Speaker 1: to respond like, hey, you do me wrong, I do
28:15
Speaker 1: you wrong? Okay, revenge, you know what I mean. But
28:17
Speaker 1: now it's the thing of it's like no responding love
28:21
Speaker 1: because love kills all that all that craziness. You might
28:24
Speaker 1: be on one path and you'll go through something that's
28:27
Speaker 1: the time where you need to learn from it. Listen
28:30
Speaker 1: to this full interview with cal Mitchell. It's available on
28:32
Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations dot com. Now let's return to Money
28:37
Speaker 1: Making Conversations Masterclass with Rashan McDonald's. My guests is Regina Bell,
28:44
Speaker 1: with an illustrious career spanding thirty or five years chart
28:46
Speaker 1: topping singer, songwriter and Grahmed Award winning singer Regina Bell
28:50
Speaker 1: is back. It's time with a festive and beautifully soul
28:53
Speaker 1: for holiday album titled My Colorful Christmas, the ten track
28:57
Speaker 1: album which is on sale now from Bell's record record label,
29:01
Speaker 1: Toshi Entertainment. Who's did no matter the genre, R and B, jazz, gospel,
29:07
Speaker 1: even holiday music, everything she touches turns to go. On
29:11
Speaker 1: today's show, We're going to talk about her new album,
29:13
Speaker 1: About My Colorful Christmas, the lead single a Cradle in Bethlehem,
29:18
Speaker 1: one of her and my favorite holiday songs from the
29:21
Speaker 1: great Natkin Co Holiday Classic. We'll discuss a career spanding
29:25
Speaker 1: more than thirty or five years, family, faith, in marriage,
29:27
Speaker 1: please working the money making conversation masterclass, Regina Bell, How
29:31
Speaker 1: are you doing? I'm doing great? How are you awesome?
29:35
Speaker 1: You know? You know, we got a lot of talk about.
29:37
Speaker 1: But when I mentioned my favorite a Cradle in Bethlehem,
29:41
Speaker 1: the lead single on your album, My Colorful Chris, you
29:44
Speaker 1: hugged yourself. Why did you do that? Regina? This is
29:48
Speaker 1: the greatest song and I've loved it since I was
29:52
Speaker 1: a child. Um, you know everybody loves chest nuts, this
29:56
Speaker 1: nuts West thing on an open side. But but my
30:00
Speaker 1: favorite song has always been A Cradle in Bethlehem. And
30:03
Speaker 1: when I say that, most people don't even know that song.
30:06
Speaker 1: So when you when you embraced it and told me
30:08
Speaker 1: that it was your favorite as well, Oh my gosh,
30:11
Speaker 1: we're kindred spirits already. You know, you know, I got
30:14
Speaker 1: the classic Downpad done the Hathaway, I love them, I
30:17
Speaker 1: love it. But this song, yeah, you know it's it's
30:22
Speaker 1: it's a tribute to his brilliance. I'm talking about Matt
30:24
Speaker 1: Kine as a singer, as a person who he took
30:29
Speaker 1: the simple and made it special and made an emotional
30:31
Speaker 1: and that's what A Cradle in Bethlehem. And I was
30:33
Speaker 1: excited because sometimes you need to redo songs to reintroduce
30:39
Speaker 1: him into another era people, and this is the era
30:42
Speaker 1: I think needs a song like A Cradle and Bethlenham
30:45
Speaker 1: and for it to come out on your Christmas album
30:47
Speaker 1: is I think it's amazing and fantax and congratulations, Regina,
30:51
Speaker 1: thank you so much, Thank you so much. I I
30:54
Speaker 1: have loved this song for so many years, so you know, obviously,
30:57
Speaker 1: when I got ready to put my own flip over
31:00
Speaker 1: to it. I wanted to make sure that I didn't
31:02
Speaker 1: do anything that was going to insult you know, the genre.
31:07
Speaker 1: But I also wanted to say, well, I want to
31:10
Speaker 1: put a little Regina on it. So uh, you know,
31:13
Speaker 1: I had to put a little jazz in there. It's
31:15
Speaker 1: a little R and B is some gospel. I mean
31:17
Speaker 1: you can hear all of the flavor, all of the genres. Uh.
31:21
Speaker 1: You know that that are that I embrace that you
31:25
Speaker 1: hear me sing all the time whenever I sing a song.
31:29
Speaker 1: So um, I was really really pleased with the outcome. Yeah,
31:33
Speaker 1: here's the thing, the interesting thing about you, because you
31:35
Speaker 1: know I have been a part of your thirty five
31:38
Speaker 1: year career. Okay, and um and and blessed to hear
31:42
Speaker 1: your greatness and see your beauty, your natural beauty and
31:46
Speaker 1: music videos on live television, on television and a live concerts.
31:50
Speaker 1: You know that your your statue iss you project, you know,
31:55
Speaker 1: in a very profound manner. And you said, I gotta
31:58
Speaker 1: put a little Regina on it. You know what is
32:01
Speaker 1: a little Regina on it? Regina Bell? What is that?
32:04
Speaker 1: We gotta Regina rize you because because that's because when
32:09
Speaker 1: you're reginaizing it, it really makes it unique. And the
32:13
Speaker 1: reason I say that is that opt here promotions where
32:17
Speaker 1: on the show tamler Man and Regina Belle, you know
32:21
Speaker 1: that's another show? Did I on the show The Old
32:24
Speaker 1: Jays and Regina Bell. I've been going like, you know
32:29
Speaker 1: you're doing this, you know on the show. You know
32:32
Speaker 1: on the show you know Terry Lane Carrington and Regina Bell.
32:36
Speaker 1: You know, this is just unique genres that you're falling
32:41
Speaker 1: into and and and and excelling in. So how is
32:46
Speaker 1: that possible? Regina Bell? I have to say, it's to
32:50
Speaker 1: the Almighty? Is it has nothing to do with me? Um?
32:55
Speaker 1: I give God all the credit. Um. I do think
33:00
Speaker 1: God for the opportunity, and I have embraced every opportunity.
33:05
Speaker 1: I put in the hard work, you know, art work.
33:08
Speaker 1: As you well know, Rashaan can't just pop up one
33:11
Speaker 1: day and say I want to do this, and you know,
33:14
Speaker 1: put your mind, your heart, your soul and your gift
33:17
Speaker 1: into what it is that you're doing. Um, And that's
33:21
Speaker 1: what I did. I Uh, I was born with the
33:24
Speaker 1: gift to sing, but I wanted to polish the gift.
33:27
Speaker 1: You know, you can get a diamond, you can get
33:30
Speaker 1: a nine carrot diamond, right, and it can be full
33:33
Speaker 1: of flaws, it can have all kind of carbons in it.
33:35
Speaker 1: But when it's cut away, when you cut away all
33:38
Speaker 1: of the impurities and and make that diamond shine the
33:43
Speaker 1: way it should and the light passes through it. You know,
33:46
Speaker 1: the four carrot diamond is actually more expensive than the
33:50
Speaker 1: nine carrot because of the brilliance of it, because it
33:54
Speaker 1: is because of its perfection. And so I was born
33:58
Speaker 1: with the gift. But I couldn't stop there. I had
34:01
Speaker 1: to put in some work. So I studied music, played
34:04
Speaker 1: instruments coming up, ranging from trombone, baritone, tuba, uh and
34:11
Speaker 1: steel drums. And I took vocal lessons with Ingle Wolf
34:17
Speaker 1: at the Manhattan School of Music UM for Preparatory College
34:21
Speaker 1: in New York. And then I went on to Rutgish
34:24
Speaker 1: University and I studied piano with Kenny Brown, so famous
34:28
Speaker 1: jazz pianists. And so I have um. I've run the gamut,
34:32
Speaker 1: and I've been able to you know, rough shoulders with
34:36
Speaker 1: some greats like George Duke, being able to be in
34:38
Speaker 1: the studio with the late great George Juke Um for
34:41
Speaker 1: My Lazy Afternoon CD. I've been in the studio with
34:45
Speaker 1: pastor Shirley Caesar, which is you know the reason why
34:49
Speaker 1: I'm singing. You know, I patterned my whole singing style
34:52
Speaker 1: when I first started singing after her and Donnie Halfaway
34:55
Speaker 1: and Billy Holiday, so you know, bringing all of that
34:59
Speaker 1: together there, um, I found Regina Bell. And it's been
35:04
Speaker 1: my mantra that even at my worst, I'm still number one,
35:11
Speaker 1: being myself at best. Trying to be somebody else, I
35:15
Speaker 1: can only be at best number two. So I try
35:18
Speaker 1: to maintain my sound and all that I do, even
35:23
Speaker 1: if I do jazz, even if I do R and B,
35:25
Speaker 1: even if if I do gospel, I always have to
35:28
Speaker 1: be quintessential Regina Bell. And that's worked for me all
35:32
Speaker 1: through the years. You know, my life is really interesting, Regina,
35:35
Speaker 1: because you know, you know, some people say, you know,
35:38
Speaker 1: they look at who I am and they put me
35:39
Speaker 1: in a certain category as success. But I've just been
35:42
Speaker 1: a regular dude all my life, you know what I'm saying,
35:45
Speaker 1: And so I've looked, but I've looked at you, you know,
35:48
Speaker 1: you know, and being able to have an interview, you
35:50
Speaker 1: interview at this level about your career and look at
35:53
Speaker 1: where my career it's all about a journey. And I
35:55
Speaker 1: always tell people that I look at when I was
35:58
Speaker 1: twenty and then I didn't really see four. When I
36:01
Speaker 1: looked at thirty, I didn't really see fifty. Because it's
36:04
Speaker 1: about a career, you know, because you know, you know,
36:08
Speaker 1: even now, you go, am I gonna make it to
36:10
Speaker 1: seventy and eighty career wise? Because you know what it
36:13
Speaker 1: took to get to this point? How do you put
36:16
Speaker 1: that in perspective? Because you know, you just right off
36:18
Speaker 1: the early years, you know, when you just out there
36:20
Speaker 1: just being Regina. You know, I always tell people between
36:23
Speaker 1: the ages of eighteen and twenty four, you just being you.
36:26
Speaker 1: It's after twenty four that decisions can be made for you,
36:30
Speaker 1: or you can make a decision that could take you
36:31
Speaker 1: off your path. And that's when that career conversation comes
36:35
Speaker 1: into play. And then next time you look up thirty
36:37
Speaker 1: or five years later, we're talking now about your career,
36:40
Speaker 1: but you're also talking about your future. Because we had
36:42
Speaker 1: a beautiful holiday album next time and I called my
36:45
Speaker 1: Colorful Christmas. How do you talk about your career perspective
36:49
Speaker 1: when you talk about you know, before twenty four and
36:51
Speaker 1: then after twenty four. Well, it's interesting you say that
36:56
Speaker 1: because even though I was just kind of being Regina,
36:59
Speaker 1: the still made very important decisions, especially as it pertains
37:04
Speaker 1: to my image. Um, it was very important to me
37:08
Speaker 1: to maintain a certain image. And it's not to knock
37:11
Speaker 1: anybody else, but you know, UM, I sat at the
37:15
Speaker 1: feet of Nancy Wilson and free to pain and I
37:18
Speaker 1: got I glean knowledge from them. And one of the
37:22
Speaker 1: things that Nancy told me is that you know everybody
37:26
Speaker 1: can't take their clothes off, and that you know at
37:29
Speaker 1: the end of the day, she said, I want you
37:31
Speaker 1: to get your accolades for your gift. I want you
37:35
Speaker 1: to get your accolades for what you have inside and
37:38
Speaker 1: the prize that God has given you. And and based
37:41
Speaker 1: it based it on that. It's not it's not to
37:43
Speaker 1: say that you can't have gimmicks and things in your show,
37:47
Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, let the people
37:49
Speaker 1: go home with a piece of you, and you will
37:53
Speaker 1: your career will span the years. And so I tried
37:57
Speaker 1: to make decisions throughout my life, even as a twenty
38:01
Speaker 1: five year old, even as a thirty five year old,
38:04
Speaker 1: even as a forty five year old, I tried to
38:07
Speaker 1: make decisions that always appeal to who I am and
38:12
Speaker 1: where I want to be. So it wasn't just about
38:15
Speaker 1: I don't think I've ever just thought about where I am.
38:20
Speaker 1: I always kind of thought about where am I going?
38:23
Speaker 1: What what do I what? Where? Where do I want
38:25
Speaker 1: to end up? What do what we do? I want
38:26
Speaker 1: to be? You know? Um? Uh if I do this,
38:30
Speaker 1: how will that translate years down the road? Will that
38:33
Speaker 1: be a classic? Or will that end up being fat music?
38:37
Speaker 1: You know? Um? And so making those kinds of decisions
38:40
Speaker 1: in terms of image, in terms of you know, showing
38:43
Speaker 1: up for a picture here, um, versus being at my
38:47
Speaker 1: daughter's graduation. I ate those decisions to say, I know
38:52
Speaker 1: that's an important place to be and that it may
38:55
Speaker 1: add to my career, but guess what, I get one
38:58
Speaker 1: chance to be at my daughter's graduation. I'm going into
39:00
Speaker 1: the graduation to take a chance on it. If it
39:03
Speaker 1: comes around, and it's great if it doesn't find and
39:06
Speaker 1: I've made those important decisions and I'm I'm happy with
39:10
Speaker 1: my life. I wouldn't trade my life for anybody. Your brand,
39:13
Speaker 1: that's what we're talking about. Your brand and for Nancy
39:15
Speaker 1: wasn't free the pain where the boys? I can see
39:17
Speaker 1: it right now, and so trained singing, you know, bring
39:20
Speaker 1: the boys hard, free to pain, you know, you know,
39:23
Speaker 1: because that's that's a that's a brand. Because see, I
39:26
Speaker 1: don't know what she did off in her personal life.
39:28
Speaker 1: I don't know who she dated. I don't know you know,
39:31
Speaker 1: did she did she party and then? But some great artists,
39:35
Speaker 1: you know, they're off screen, it's sometimes dominate their talents
39:40
Speaker 1: that they produced to us on screen. And that's what
39:42
Speaker 1: we're talking about. You, your brand, we're talking about you know,
39:46
Speaker 1: what do you want to be remembered for. I'm just
39:48
Speaker 1: only remembering you from your great music. I remember you
39:50
Speaker 1: from a stage when you when I when you performed
39:54
Speaker 1: for me. When I left that venue, I took your
39:57
Speaker 1: music with I took your elegance with me. I took
39:59
Speaker 1: your your presentation with me. That's all I remember. And
40:02
Speaker 1: that's what you want as an artist. You don't want.
40:06
Speaker 1: You don't want what you do off stage, who your dating,
40:09
Speaker 1: who you're shaking, And sometimes when you're getting drunk, you're
40:12
Speaker 1: getting pulled over to undermine what your gifts. And that's
40:17
Speaker 1: what you That's what Nancy Wilson was saying to you.
40:18
Speaker 1: That's what Free to Pay with you don't let don't
40:21
Speaker 1: undermine your gifts that God gave you by being immature. Yes, yes,
40:26
Speaker 1: that's exactly what they were telling me. And they were
40:29
Speaker 1: telling me that you're this is what you're selling. You're
40:32
Speaker 1: selling music, You're selling gifts, You're selling a story. You
40:37
Speaker 1: you want people to buy into your story when every
40:40
Speaker 1: every time somebody comes to your concert, they're coming into
40:44
Speaker 1: your living room, right, what do you want to have
40:46
Speaker 1: prepared for them at your home? What do you want
40:49
Speaker 1: to talk about? What do you want to you know,
40:51
Speaker 1: what is your presentation? What do you want to display?
40:55
Speaker 1: And and those things? Who are the things that I
40:58
Speaker 1: thought about that I still can senue to think about,
41:01
Speaker 1: uh as I go from stage to stage, from city
41:04
Speaker 1: to city, from state to state, country to country, these
41:06
Speaker 1: are the things that I think about. UM. I got
41:11
Speaker 1: a chance to expand a little bit UH last year
41:15
Speaker 1: being in Kirk Franklin's UM Christmas Movie, and that was
41:20
Speaker 1: amazing because that's so you know, you know, different things
41:27
Speaker 1: are opening up for me to be able to do
41:29
Speaker 1: UM as a result of you know, this gift making
41:34
Speaker 1: room for me and opening up other doors for me.
41:36
Speaker 1: So I'm excited about it. UM. I'm looking forward to
41:41
Speaker 1: what the future holds. Uh. This Christmas record is just
41:45
Speaker 1: a little piece of me. This is my favorite time
41:48
Speaker 1: of year. Uh, not necessarily for the commercialism of it,
41:53
Speaker 1: but because it's a time when a lot of us
41:56
Speaker 1: as family come together. You know, we get a chance
41:59
Speaker 1: to sit down, we get a break from the crazy. UM,
42:03
Speaker 1: people are a little bit nicer. Um, we exchange gifts,
42:06
Speaker 1: we get to show each other how much we love
42:08
Speaker 1: one another. And so it's it's Um, it's my favorite
42:12
Speaker 1: time of being, always has been, and so this music
42:16
Speaker 1: being able to do this at this time. Uh, I
42:20
Speaker 1: can't even tell you, Shana, how it warms my heart. UM.
42:24
Speaker 1: My brother who passed away in June was a big
42:28
Speaker 1: part of this, and um, this is a piece of
42:32
Speaker 1: him that I get to carry with me for the
42:34
Speaker 1: rest of my life. We'll be right back with more
42:36
Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rushan McDonald. Now let's return
42:44
Speaker 1: to Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rashan McDonald. Well, I
42:50
Speaker 1: want to just commend you your articulation and it was
42:53
Speaker 1: moving and impacted me and I want to tell you
42:56
Speaker 1: some Regina. Uh, this show has been a sometimes a
43:01
Speaker 1: blessing for me. I get to interview individuals like you
43:05
Speaker 1: and um and I get to share with the public
43:07
Speaker 1: a story that they might not have heard. All they
43:10
Speaker 1: all they know is just the artists, the artist, and
43:13
Speaker 1: you know, they don't know about the family, don't know
43:15
Speaker 1: about the long term marriage and or the here things
43:18
Speaker 1: like where were Gina been? You know, Regina been raising
43:21
Speaker 1: five Kidsina been been a wife. Regina live in the
43:26
Speaker 1: Atlanta area. She's been living, she's been doing, living a
43:29
Speaker 1: successful life. And guess what, for thirty five years, she's
43:32
Speaker 1: been still having a career. And I remember I remember once, Um,
43:36
Speaker 1: you know Steve harperd who I was managing at the time,
43:39
Speaker 1: We did this contract with the Radio one and he
43:42
Speaker 1: was doing morning drive in l A. And we did
43:47
Speaker 1: that contract because of the fact that we gotta check
43:49
Speaker 1: every week, so that allowed us to do what we
43:54
Speaker 1: wanted to do. We didn't have to jump out there
43:57
Speaker 1: and do every movie that was offered to us. We
43:59
Speaker 1: don't have to jump out there and take every concert check.
44:01
Speaker 1: But people started saying, what what what happened to Steve Harvey?
44:05
Speaker 1: You know Sidric out there, Bernie mc at that deal
44:08
Speaker 1: out there. Now, Steve, we were clocking checks and planning
44:11
Speaker 1: in our career and planning. So that's all I'm chilling there.
44:15
Speaker 1: She she found a great man. Okay, she started having
44:20
Speaker 1: beautiful kids. She started controlling her destiny. Which once you
44:24
Speaker 1: started controlling your destiny, you can pick a choose. Yeah,
44:28
Speaker 1: when you want to do what you wanna do? Am
44:31
Speaker 1: I right? Regina? Important? You are? You? Are? You? You
44:34
Speaker 1: hit the nail on the head. I can't tell you. Um.
44:38
Speaker 1: I married my husband, uh thirty one years ago, um
44:43
Speaker 1: John Sydney Battle Um Fromer Hawks and Cavaliers basketball player.
44:49
Speaker 1: And we actually met each other at Rutgers University where
44:53
Speaker 1: we were both going to school, and he was my
44:57
Speaker 1: best friend for you know, years before we got married.
45:01
Speaker 1: So we were best friends for a nine years before
45:04
Speaker 1: we got before we went on a date. How about
45:07
Speaker 1: that look? That says something somebody who's listening to this
45:13
Speaker 1: show him being my friend is it speaks miles Because
45:21
Speaker 1: when I tell people that we've never ever gotten into
45:25
Speaker 1: an argument where we cussed each other out, some folks
45:30
Speaker 1: look and say, what y'all ain't No, No, Because he
45:35
Speaker 1: started out as my best friend, and even when we're
45:38
Speaker 1: in the midst of a disagreement, we have to respectfully disagree,
45:45
Speaker 1: and so that I think that friendship speaks volumes into
45:49
Speaker 1: our marriage. Um. It helped us to raise our children. Uh.
45:55
Speaker 1: They they are. We have a foundation that goes beyond
45:58
Speaker 1: our careers. And I think that's really really important because
46:02
Speaker 1: we don't get caught up in the height we we
46:05
Speaker 1: we know who we are. Um. Folks say, oh my
46:08
Speaker 1: God's with Gina Belle, And I said, we just folks.
46:10
Speaker 1: And I'm making that from my whole heart. Just folks. Um.
46:14
Speaker 1: My mother has always told me, and it's something that
46:17
Speaker 1: I carry with me every day of my life. She
46:20
Speaker 1: says that your reputation walks in the door before you
46:22
Speaker 1: get there. Um, these are pearls wisdom that I hold
46:26
Speaker 1: onto and they help. They helped my buoyancy. They helped
46:30
Speaker 1: keep me my head above water. They keep me afloat
46:34
Speaker 1: because it never allows me to get caught up in
46:38
Speaker 1: the moment so much so that I forget who I am. Uh.
46:42
Speaker 1: Raising my family was important because at the end of
46:45
Speaker 1: the day, when something doesn't go right, that's who I
46:48
Speaker 1: run to. I can't run to the one who I
46:50
Speaker 1: signed the autograph for. I can't to the grammy because
46:53
Speaker 1: the grammar is not gonna talk to me. You know,
46:56
Speaker 1: celebrity is not going to do much for me when
46:58
Speaker 1: I'm going through what I'm going through. But it's my
47:01
Speaker 1: family that embraces me and that knows me for who
47:04
Speaker 1: I am. And it's not expecting Regina Bell the stage person,
47:08
Speaker 1: but basically embracing Gina the family member. You know. So
47:12
Speaker 1: that that means when you talked about that, you know,
47:15
Speaker 1: being able to be home raise your family. Uh, that
47:19
Speaker 1: that speaks volumes because again that's the thing that keeps
47:22
Speaker 1: me level and keeps me keeps my head right. Let's
47:26
Speaker 1: get back to the album and regards to ten songs Holiday,
47:31
Speaker 1: because I'm teasing you know, I got my favorites. And then,
47:36
Speaker 1: like I said, when this album came across my desk,
47:38
Speaker 1: a cradle in Bethlehem, I win. You gotta be kid
47:41
Speaker 1: in me. You got to be kid in me and
47:44
Speaker 1: that kid cold because you know you always go, well,
47:48
Speaker 1: it's only in Bethlehem, you know what I'm saying. And
47:51
Speaker 1: what other what other classics or did you do any
47:54
Speaker 1: original songs pristimpher songs on the on the Timber records
47:58
Speaker 1: that you're dropping on this particular album. M no. I
48:01
Speaker 1: honestly didn't. There's one original song on there, but it's
48:05
Speaker 1: not necessarily a Christmas song, and I'll talk a little
48:08
Speaker 1: bit more about that. But I really wanted to do
48:13
Speaker 1: the familiar Christmas songs um, and I wanted to involve
48:18
Speaker 1: my family. So my my son is playing drums on
48:21
Speaker 1: a couple of the tunes, UM, my nephews playing um
48:26
Speaker 1: drums uh, Jamal Bell, my son Jalen Battle, and then
48:31
Speaker 1: my two daughters, Sydney and Nyla. UM. Sydney singing a
48:36
Speaker 1: baby changes everything, and NILA's singing the first Noel. And
48:40
Speaker 1: so I really wanted to make it a family affair
48:43
Speaker 1: because of That's why I call it my Colorful Christmas,
48:46
Speaker 1: because there's so many colors of what I love, you know. Um,
48:51
Speaker 1: the music is colorful because, like I said, we incorporated
48:55
Speaker 1: the jazz, the gospel, the the the everything all that
49:00
Speaker 1: I love. UM, and then I incorporated members of my family.
49:04
Speaker 1: But then they come in with a whole different another flights.
49:07
Speaker 1: So Nyla things differently than Sydney sets uh, Jamal plays
49:13
Speaker 1: drums differently than than Jalen plays trumps. So then we
49:17
Speaker 1: got a little, you know, a little Calypso Soca uh
49:21
Speaker 1: all little town of Bethlehem. Um So, so you know,
49:25
Speaker 1: we call it my Colorful Christmas because we added some
49:28
Speaker 1: colors of music. We added um colors of uh styles
49:33
Speaker 1: we added, I added different members of a family. Um uh.
49:37
Speaker 1: And the one song that I wanted to talk to
49:39
Speaker 1: you about is the last song. It's called a song
49:43
Speaker 1: from Bernie and that is my brother. For those of
49:46
Speaker 1: you that don't know, Bernard bell Is produced millions of
49:51
Speaker 1: records that have got above, above and beyond UM from
49:57
Speaker 1: Michael Jackson's Remember the Time to Whitney and Bobby we
50:01
Speaker 1: have something in common along with Teddy Riley um uh, myself, um,
50:07
Speaker 1: Patti La Belle Boy, George case Jahim. I mean, the
50:12
Speaker 1: list goes on. The wineens. He, my brother, was truly
50:16
Speaker 1: amazing um And this song is the last song that
50:20
Speaker 1: he and I did together. And I'm trying not to
50:22
Speaker 1: get you know, Terry out about it, but it's the
50:25
Speaker 1: last song that he and I did together. And it's
50:27
Speaker 1: a song that basically speaks UM from those that have
50:31
Speaker 1: gone on from and mostly I. I really wanted to
50:35
Speaker 1: do it because of COVID. COVID had us to realize
50:39
Speaker 1: some things that we had taken for granted, like being
50:42
Speaker 1: able to have a homegoing service, and and realizing what
50:45
Speaker 1: it meant to us to have people come in from
50:48
Speaker 1: other cities, other states to hug us and tell us
50:51
Speaker 1: how much they love us and how much they love
50:53
Speaker 1: your loved one. UM. Not being able to do that
50:57
Speaker 1: during COVID it was traumatic, not being to touch our
51:00
Speaker 1: loved ones who were sick and in the hospital, and
51:03
Speaker 1: sometimes we they passed on and we never got a
51:06
Speaker 1: chance to kind of bring closure to anything until they
51:09
Speaker 1: were gone. UM. This song simply says for all of you.
51:14
Speaker 1: I've been a caregiver for many years. UM. I was
51:17
Speaker 1: an ambassador for a a r P for many years. UM.
51:21
Speaker 1: And I at the same time of having a career
51:24
Speaker 1: with Shine with my mom, I was caring for my mom,
51:27
Speaker 1: my dad, and my brother. UM. Meanwhile, my husband and
51:31
Speaker 1: I pastor in two churches. I was on the road
51:34
Speaker 1: and in seminary. So you bet a holler at your girl. Okay,
51:38
Speaker 1: A lot going on with five kids and four grandkids. Yeah,
51:43
Speaker 1: so there's a lot going on. So this song simply says, UM.
51:47
Speaker 1: It says I had to leave, And it's basically saying
51:50
Speaker 1: that there's nothing more you could do. I know, as caregivers,
51:53
Speaker 1: we always feel like was there. You know, maybe I
51:56
Speaker 1: could have scheduled one more doctor's appointment and would have
51:59
Speaker 1: changed things. Maybe I could have had one more visit
52:02
Speaker 1: or something. Um. But you know, the song says I
52:05
Speaker 1: had to leave, meaning that my assignment here was up.
52:11
Speaker 1: It was my time. It was nothing else that you
52:13
Speaker 1: could do for me. Thank you for everything you did. Um,
52:17
Speaker 1: I love you, but I had to leave. And so
52:20
Speaker 1: the song is a little sad, but it's something that
52:22
Speaker 1: helps us to embrace, um, the feeling of loss with
52:26
Speaker 1: our loved ones that have passed on. Wow, I'm talking
52:30
Speaker 1: to Regina Bell. You know at Lester's career spand more
52:33
Speaker 1: than thirty or five years chart topping singer, songwriter, Grammy
52:36
Speaker 1: Award winner, she's back. Well should I say they were?
52:39
Speaker 1: I think that's an insult. So she's back. She actually
52:42
Speaker 1: has another project that she's delivering to the forefront of
52:45
Speaker 1: the entertainment business is from her record label To Entertainment.
52:49
Speaker 1: It's called A Colorful Christmas and and and it's a
52:53
Speaker 1: holiday album that's going to I think I would say
52:56
Speaker 1: it's a game changing for me because of the fact
52:58
Speaker 1: that it's allowing me to hear music that sometimes you know,
53:01
Speaker 1: because you know, they only play popular songs on the radio.
53:05
Speaker 1: There's a few of the like ten Up, they just
53:07
Speaker 1: play over and over and over, and then you have
53:09
Speaker 1: to go sometimes to like Sirius XM and then go
53:12
Speaker 1: that's my soul. Well, this song here a Cradle in
53:15
Speaker 1: Bethlehem is on my It's on my you know, my
53:18
Speaker 1: my playlists. So even when it's not Christmas, I listened
53:21
Speaker 1: to this song. And so to hear on your album
53:24
Speaker 1: is a blessing to have this honest conversation, Regine. I
53:28
Speaker 1: hope it resonated with me. It was powerful. It allowed
53:31
Speaker 1: me to speak to somebody that I've always seen from
53:34
Speaker 1: Afar and the journey that you've taken, and you have
53:37
Speaker 1: made Nancy Wilson proud my friend. Okay, you have followed
53:42
Speaker 1: her words and her understanding that it's about your brand.
53:46
Speaker 1: And when you walk off that stage, let what walked
53:50
Speaker 1: off is what we heard, what we experienced in that venue.
53:52
Speaker 1: When you go on that poolpit at those two churches,
53:55
Speaker 1: let people understand that the message you're giving is what
53:58
Speaker 1: you want to resonate in their heart and uplift them
54:01
Speaker 1: in their community. You are a blessing Regina Bell and
54:04
Speaker 1: the fact that you come off with a my colorful
54:07
Speaker 1: Christmas album led by the first single, A Cradle in Bethlehem.
54:11
Speaker 1: Tell everybody if we go, where can we find this song?
54:13
Speaker 1: And how about your social media too? Oh, you can
54:17
Speaker 1: go to my website. I am Regina Bell dot com,
54:22
Speaker 1: um and uh, you know, and you can purchase it there.
54:26
Speaker 1: I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, I'm on all the social
54:29
Speaker 1: media platforms. Um you can find me. Or you can
54:32
Speaker 1: go to h Apple Music uh anywhere pretty much and
54:38
Speaker 1: Spotify and and pick it up. You can stream it,
54:42
Speaker 1: just play it, play it because I'm telling you it's
54:47
Speaker 1: gonna bless you. Um listen. Being the boss it costs
54:51
Speaker 1: uh Rashana, thank you for pointing that out. It's on
54:54
Speaker 1: my own record label, Toshi three Entertainment. Uh. But uh,
55:00
Speaker 1: it was definitely a challenge, but it was also a
55:04
Speaker 1: labor of love. So I'm really excited about this because
55:08
Speaker 1: it's my first full project on my own record label.
55:12
Speaker 1: So you know, you can still do it. Don't let
55:14
Speaker 1: the gray hand fool is life. Life ain't fooling us.
55:19
Speaker 1: Thirty or five years in this business and we know
55:21
Speaker 1: we got another thirty or five years to keep changing
55:23
Speaker 1: the business. You're Uplift your blessing. Toshi three Entertainment. That's
55:27
Speaker 1: our record label. The single is a Cradle in Bethley Ham.
55:30
Speaker 1: The name of the Christmas album is My Colorful Christmas.
55:33
Speaker 1: Thank you for Regina for coming on my show, Money
55:35
Speaker 1: Making Conversation master Class for me. I hope I'll be bad.
55:38
Speaker 1: Oh you will. Yeah, we're gonna go off and talk
55:41
Speaker 1: about that. Reschedule it okay, But thank you for coming
55:43
Speaker 1: on Money Making Conversation master Class. You've been listening to
55:45
Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rushan McDonald. Always remember to
55:50
Speaker 1: lead with your gifts. Money Making Conversations Masterclass is a
55:55
Speaker 1: presentation of thirty eight fifteen Media Incorporated. You are now
56:00
Speaker 1: tuned into the Money Making Conversations Minute of Inspiration with
56:04
Speaker 1: Rashan McDonald. Hi Rashan McDonald for Money Making Conversation Masterclass
56:08
Speaker 1: with your daily minute of Inspiration. This week I Said
56:10
Speaker 1: That With comedian, actress, host, producer and Arthur Kim Whitley.
56:14
Speaker 1: She explains why it is important to make sure you
56:16
Speaker 1: feel good inside and out. I'm a firm a really
56:20
Speaker 1: really firm believer in how you feel on the inside
56:23
Speaker 1: will come out on the outside. A lot of water
56:26
Speaker 1: is what they really make you drink. You stay hydrated,
56:29
Speaker 1: your skin's gonna look good. Being happy on the inside, um,
56:33
Speaker 1: I think it comes out because people are always like,
56:34
Speaker 1: You're always so happy. I really try to maintain that
56:38
Speaker 1: because I like to be an inspiration to so many people.
56:40
Speaker 1: And when I look good and feel good, then I'm
56:43
Speaker 1: even happier. You know. It's it's an up and down thing.
56:46
Speaker 1: You know. Even if I lost through the powers, you know,
56:48
Speaker 1: I might have gained some back right now, and now
56:51
Speaker 1: it's just I get back on the journey. I mean,
56:53
Speaker 1: I never stopped. Listen to this four interview with Kim Whitley.
56:56
Speaker 1: It's available on Mighty Making Conversation dot com