The Daily Show: Ears Edition - The Daily Show's Grammy Nominated Guests!
Episode Date: February 1, 2024The Daily Show has had the honor to cover guests that received Grammy Award nominations this year. Desi opens up with coverage of Taylor Swift's political influence on the Virginia's governors race. G...uest host, Charalamagne tha God, talks with singer-songwriter, Jelly Roll, to discuss the making of his Grammy-nominated album, "Whitsitt Chapel" and guest host, Michael Kosta, sits with singer and composer, Rhiannon GIddens, to learn more about the importance of the banjo to her music. Also, host Trevor Noah sits with former First Lady, Michelle Obama, and talks about how her and her husband have innocent debates on who the better author of the two is. Trevor also chats with artist, Mariah Carey, and learns more about her struggles with infusing Hip Hop and R&B elements into Pop music.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, the weekly show.
It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID.
Thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me.
The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are
they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient
to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second.
I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go,
but how many of them come out on Thursday?
I mean, talk about innovative.
Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart,
wherever you get your podcast. You're listening to Comedy Central. Covering the news is exhilarating.
You travel the country, meet interesting people, and find real stories.
But then one day you realize it's a fucking Tuesday in November again.
Well, it's election day again.
It's election day again.
Got it. It's election day again. Got it. It's election day again.
Because it's...
Sorry, I can't.
It's election day again.
Fucking Virginia!
As a journalist, I'm honored to be covering this sacred process.
Again, I feel super chill about it.
I'm good. It's election day again, and we've got about it. I'm good.
It's election day again, and we've got another close race on our hands, so you better
start clenching those buttcheeks.
Early voting is already underway in the Virginia gubernatorial race with the latest polling,
showing Democratic Governor Terry McCullough-off effectively in a dead heat.
Political writing, if Terry McCullough doesn't pull out a win, Democrats are privately
predicting a collapse on Capitol Hill. Wait, Virginia could go red? For a state
that went blue by 450,000 votes in the last election, this was a story worth
keeping down the vomit. I sat down with Jeffrey Skelly from 538 to help me make
sense of this. Sorry about the mess. Elections, am I right? Why is this race in
particular so close?
Isn't Virginia Blue?
Yeah, so Virginia has been democratic leaning
over the last few years, but President Biden is now somewhat unpopular.
And I think voters are responding to that,
and so the electoral environment is better for Republicans.
Who do you think will actually decide this race?
Young voters are really important because they are basically the most democratic leaning
group.
One little interesting thing the call he's done is run campaign ads attacking Glenn Youngkin
because he was a CEO of the Carlout group which was involved in the purchase of Taylor
Swift's master recordings. And so they've been using this to try to get young people to pay attention to the race because there their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tho, tho, tho, tho, to, to, tho, the, and, tho, tho, the, the, the, and, and, the, the, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, the, and, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tho, their, their, their, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, theyy.e.e.e.e.e.I.e.e.I.e.e. And, their, thethis to try to get young people to pay attention to the race because there are a lot of young people out there, you know, 18 to 34 year
olds who really like Taylor Swift.
Virginia Democrat candidate for Governor Terry McCullough recruiting Taylor Swift fans.
McCullough reportedly linking his opponent to music scooter Braun who infamously
bought Swift's master recordings back in 2019.
After I was denied the chance to purchase my music outright, my entire catalog was sold
to Scooter Bron's Ithaca Holdings in a deal that I'm told was funded by the Carlisle Group.
One of the targeted ads reading, did you know that Republican candidate for Governor
Glenn Yon helped buy Taylor Swift's masters out from under her?
You gotta be shitting me. Taylor Swift fans vote?
I think that's what the McCullough campaign is, is hoping.
If the Swifties are backing McCullough, what group of fans are backing Yonkin?
Chethanks fans?
Chetheads?
Well, we don't have any polling on different fan groups of musical artists.
You were 538.
Yeah, it's a real, it's a real niche. Could we be
underestimating the Swifties? I think I'd be careful about giving them too much weight,
but there are a lot of young people who like Taylor Swift. We know that's true.
Could Taylor Swift fans be the key to the Virginia race? To find out, I had to dive deep into their fandom. matter how many of her albums I had to buy on the show's credit card.
Oh, sorry.
This just happened to me without my approval or consent.
Shame on him.
Woo!
Wo!
Wo!
Finally, after becoming fluent and all things, Taylor, I gathered a group of her fans in Virginia
to see how angry they were with Candidat Yanken. Are you all true tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr true true true true true thi? thi? thi? I thi thi to to to to to to to to thi. Oh thi to to to to to to to to to to to th. I th. Oh. Oh. Oh, to to to to to to to to to th. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh, to to to to to to to to to to th. Oh, th. Oh, th. Oh, th. Oh, th. Oh, thi? thi. I thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi toooooooooooooooooooo' too' too' thi to thi thi a group of her fans of Virginia to see how angry they were with Candidate Yonkin.
Are you all true fans?
Are you true Swifties?
Did you buy signed Fearless Albums, Taylor Version?
I actually do have it and I can pull it up.
I also have every single Taylor record on vinyl right next to me if we want to go that far. Yeah, the two most important dates in November, than, ta, ta, ta, ta, to to to to to to to to th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, and th, th, th, and th, and th, th, that far. Yeah, the two most important dates in November is November 2nd, which is Election Day, and November 12th, which is Red. Yeah, I'm taking off
work for Election Day just in case the lines are too long. Are you also taking up
work for Taylor's release of Red? Oh, 100% I need to get through all the
emotions of all the songs on that album. I'm taking off work and my therapist is not getting the day off. While I respect this generation's clear dedication to mental health,
could this new base of voters actually tip the scales in Virginia?
I'm originally from Texas and the last three years in college I voted in Texas,
but I just knew that I couldn't just sit by and watch as Yonkin took Virginia.
And so that's when I decided to change my voter registration. Wow. Okay, so you just changed your registration.
This is dedication.
I was in the weird college era as well,
where I was kind of voting in my home state.
But now I am voting Virginia because of this issue.
They couldn't help but pity these young girls.
There are so many important issues,
but all they care about is Taylor Swift's master recordings.
It's not really about the masters the masters the masters the masters the masters the masters the master the It's not really about the masters, but I mean, just a couple days ago,
Yonkin came out and said, you know, he loves everyone.
And when asked if that includes LGBTQ people, he said, no.
Are there other issues that you care about?
Women's right to choose.
I'm very passionate about gun violence prevention.
Climate change is going to be the biggest issue of our time. So th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but all, but all, but all, but all, but all, but all, but all, but thi, but all, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but th. thi, but thi, but th. thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but all thi, but all thi, thi, thi, they they're thi, they're they're thi. they're they're thi. they're thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. to be the biggest issue of our time, so those policies are super important.
I'm an environmental engineer, so this is life-changing.
What would you say to boomers like my aunt Sheila,
who say 14 told us, who say,
14 year old girls should stay out of politics and stop stealing my sleeping pills?
Desi.
I think that's such a weird stereotype of Taylor so fans because we're they they they they thapapapapapapapapapapap d we weans because we're not 14 anymore. We are adults. We pay taxes and we vote. Yeah, do you want to see my thesis paper about
congressional legislation? Because I can show you that. Don't underestimate
Swift's. All right, take it easy Molly. Geez. I don't want any snake
comments on my Insta. Yes, they are fans of Taylor Swift and yes they are in their 20s. Maybe they can make a difference in this upcoming their their th. their th. their tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta to to to to toe. to to to to to to toe. to to toe. to toe. toe. toe. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. tas. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. ta. ta. ta. ta. ta. ta. ta. ta. ta. ta, they are in their 20s. Maybe they can make a difference in this upcoming election.
No matter what happens, at least now I'll have some great music to cry to,
just in time for next Election Tuesday.
Hey, everybody, John Stewart here.
I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show.
It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting.
You'll be saying to yourself, TGID, thank God it's Thursday.
We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way
that they obsess me.
The election.
Economics, earnings calls.
What are they talking about on these earnings calls?
We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches.
And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance, it's probably second.
I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday?
I mean, talk about innovative.
Listen to the weekly show with My guest tonight is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter whose latest album is called
Witsit Chapel.
Please welcome Jelly Rows.
Please welcome Jellie Rows.
My God.
My God.
Thank you.
Thank you.
That's right.
They all wishing you happy birthday.
You celebrated a born day on Monday, right?
Yes, sir.
It's past Monday.
And you celebrated the number one record with Save Me.
Yes, sir.
Man, what a birthday present?
Having a big week, baby.
Yeah, it's a number one on the country charts.
And now I'm on the dayl You released it what, three years ago on YouTube? Yes, sir.
Three years ago on YouTube, and you posted, I know this is a little different for me, but
I'm wondering if this should make the album or not, y'all let me know below.
Why didn't you believe the song should make the album? Oh man, insecurity, that voice, that negativity that gets in all of our ears, man, that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that one that that one that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that th is th is thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi.a. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi I fought enough to put it up. Absolutely. Did Save me taking off change your perspective on the type of music you do
and how you release it? Because it just three years ago it came out but it just went
number one on the country charts this week. Yeah absolutely man. One of it's show me
that sometimes you got to let a song find people. You know music meets us where the tau. That's the beauty. the the the the the the beauty the beauty tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha tha tha. tha. tha tha tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. the the the the the the the tha tha tha tha tha tha tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tha. tha. tha. tha. tip. tha. tip. tipe. tipe. tipe. tipe. tipe. thae. tipe. tipe. thae. thae. thae. thae. thae., it's there to help and heal, it's a constant and a life that doesn't have many constants in it.
So I'm just glad to see the song finally toucest people.
I love your story too, man.
Fifteen years ago you went in prison and now you're a Grammy-nominated musician.
So I guess my question is, should everybody go to prison? Yeah, but no. Yeah, exactly. They're giving it away a the way the way the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the song, the song, the song, the song, the song, the song, the song, the song, the song, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. thus thus that. thus thus to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to prison? Yeah, find success?
Yeah, but no.
Yeah, exactly.
They're giving it away free, y'all, especially.
I promise, it's real easy to get there.
It's easier than you think.
Three hots and a cop, baby.
You got a guaranteed bed, three meals a day, it's all good, actually, it's cool.
Might see a high school friend. And I love your song
she too man when you address the heroin and fentanyl epidemic. Yes. Why is
this song so important to you? You know man I think it's important as an
artist for us to talk about the things that people are afraid to talk
about and that art sometimes is an expression of what words are even
afraid to say so I think it's a responsibility as a songwriter to write those kind of songs.
And the fentanyl epidemic is sickening.
What's happening in America right now is absolutely sickening.
I think it's 14 people, thank you.
I think it's, thank you all.
So, I think I heard a statistic that it's 14 people an hour,
over the. Damn. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, 366 in a leap year, I'm that country.
But, but, and I think if you think about those numbers alone,
it shows me that you heard people here sharing that it has affected every household,
every side of the aisle, everybody in America has been affected by this somewhere
or the other. And I think it's time we stand up do something about it. What would you, that's right. What would you tell people who's struggling with that addiction?
I would tell them that there is hope.
My biggest message, I actually had my first viral clip, Charlemagne.
I don't know if you know it.
Come on, I know you did. You helped it go viral.
And it was, I was talking about how it's so important for us to recognize that our windshield is bigger than our rearview mirror for a reason
Because what's in front of us is more important than what's behind us
That's right who we were is not who we are
That's right, that's right, you know, that's right, you know a lot of people may not know but I read juicy jay's book. You know you was down with 36 mafia, yes, thirty. thou. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I th. I th. I th. the. the. the. to. to. to. to. to. thea. thoo. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th you performed his hard out there for a pimp at, what was it, Bonnaroo?
Yes, sir, at Bonarue.
And I actually had the privilege of them going on tour with me and doing five shows.
And we did hard out here for a pimp for a pimp every night, dude.
Y'all, you're a group though, right? It was you little white and 3' it was a little white and 3 6, it was a th it was a th and it was a th and it was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. It was a th. th. th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Yeah, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Yeah, there, there, there, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. there. there. there. there. there. there. there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, there. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. time in 36? Oh, man, everything. Little White and 36, Juicy J and Paul,
the importance of ownership, the importance of independent music,
the important of making the music for your community,
and that all that matters, representing your people and music,
because they didn't care about representing nothing but Memphis.
And the fact that the sound went worldwide.
The fact that the sound went wo, the problems are common everywhere so write what you know don't write what you think you know and they taught me a lot through that but most
importantly the independence and ownership yeah hip hop has more in common
with country music than people realize like they're both great storytellers
they both talk about their vehicles a lot you don't think so yeah yeah
they both talk about bitches
they both talk about bitches
it is two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two the th a th a th a th a th a th a th a th a th. tho-I tho-I tho-I tho-I tho-I the the their tho-I th. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their to-I to-I to-I to-I too-I too-I too too too too too too too too too too their their their their their too too It is 2023, say women. But no, I met dogs.
Oh, you made dogs.
I've brought a bunch of songs about my dog.
What are you talking?
Ha ha ha ha ha!
You're right.
You're right.
Let me get my mind out to go.
Yeah, what's wrong with your pie here?
I got my dog with me on the bus dog.
Speaking of that, speaking of that, though, you know, it, it, it, it, it, it, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I me on the bus right now. Bussy the bus dog.
Speaking of that, though, you know, it feels to me,
and I'm only getting this from what I see you post on social,
the more you blow up, the more it seems like you want to be around your family
and your dog and your loved ones.
Am I reading that correct?
Yes, sir, man.
I want to anchor myself. I think it's the root of everything we do. Plus, I'm gonna be honest too. We're a little we're a little tribe and they're my best friends
Absolutely. My favorite human on earth is my wife
You know what I mean?
Here, like 10, I love my daughter. I love my relationships and I was joking a minute ago, but I love my dogs.
They're all they're all with us now. My wife's got one I got two in the bus right now th th th th th to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to the their to their to to their their to their to to their to to to to their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their I'm their I'm their I'm their I'm I'm their I'm their I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I their I their I their I their I their I their I their I their I their I their I their I'm their tree I tree. I'm tree ha. I'm tree ha' treefe' treefeole' tree. tree. tree. I'm t. I'm tree. I'm tree. I'm t one, I got two in the bus right now. What kind of dogs?
I got a Bass and Hound.
She's got a bully and we got a French Bulldog.
Okay, all right.
Yeah, we're dog people.
We had a cat, I had a hairless cat, a bald cat.
Listen, it was so ugly.
It was awesome. That's what they used they used. T they used. T they used. T they used. T they said, they used. T they said, they used. T they said, they used. they used. they used. they used. they used. they used. We said, they used. We said, they said, they said, they said, they said, we said, we they they th. We they they they they they they they they they they they they they they're they're they're they're they're th. We their, we're their, we their, we th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We got th. We got th. We got th. We got th. We got that. We got the. We got the. We got a the. We got thee. We got a the. We got a the. We got a the. We got a the. We got of still say that now a little bit. It's better what they said about me. He's cute but he's fat.
But all you gotta do is lose weight and you unlock that hidden character.
Yeah, for sure. Oh yeah, I'd be president.
You know what I'm saying?
That's why God didn't make me skinny. He knew I'd abused the power.
My guest tonight is an award-winning singer, composer, an instrumentalist whose new album is
called You're The One.
Please welcome Riannan Giddens.
All right.
Isn't that great?
They're great.
They're great.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for chatting with us.
You're in town to accept the Pulitzer for this opera called Omar about an enslaved African
Muslim that you took the memoirs and converted into an opera.
Explain this.
I mean, we went from banjo to opera.
It's all just...
Yeah, it's been really interesting because it was the opposite. I went to Oberlin, learned opera, and then kind of got burnt out and went down to
North Carolina where I'm from and learned the banjo.
And then full circle came back, I was asked to write this opera about Omar and Ben
Saeed, who was a Senegalese Quranic scholar at 37, sold into slavery.
And it's just an incredible story. And it's just an incredible story because we're thiiiiiiiiiii, the the thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, thi, the, thi, thi, thi, the, thi, thi, their, their, thi, their, their, and it's, and it's just, thi, thi, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and their, and their, and their, and their, and then, and then, and then, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, their, their, their, their, thi, their, their, their, thi, thi, their, thi, thi, thi, thi... And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, their, their, their, you know, and it's to complicate that narrative. It's just all these different kinds of people who
represent the American story and he's when and his autobiography was written in
Arabic while he was enslaved and it's the only document of that kind that we
know of in existence. And it's just a really special story so I'm I just feel
amazingly overwhelmed by the fact that I got to make it with Michael Abel's my co-composer and that for the Spiletto Festival and that it's been honored with a
Pulitzer. It's just like, it's a dream come true. That's great. It's awesome. It's awesome.
This is your latest album. Big face. It's great. I love this album cover. This is awesome. This album is a little more
playful. Is that a good word to use? Totally. Than your previous albums. Was that an obvious
choice for you? Yeah, I mean, for the last 15 years I've been that girl at the party on a Friday
night that you back away from? She's like, she's going to talk about slavery or the banjo, or both? And I'm just like, really not, I that, I that, I thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, I was kind thi, I was kind thi, I was kind thi, I was kind thi, I was kind thi, I was kind thi, I was kind thi, I was kind thi, I was kind thi, thi, thi. I'm thi, is a little thi, is a little th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. Is a th. th. Is a th. Is, is a th. Is, is a th. Is, is a th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, is a thi, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is a little, is to talk about slavery or the banjo or both, and I'm just like really not into this.
And I just like, I was kind of getting burnt out and I just needed to change things up
and I had these songs I've been writing over 14 years and just wanted to explore the
other sides of my artistry.
On this album though, there is one very important song.
Look at this, look this, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look,. Well, you know, the other thing is that I'm 46 and this is the first original record
I've ever, like all original songs that I've made and it's like my first solo album was when
I was 36 and so it's kind of like you do it on the time that it's time to do it. You know, you don't do it on anybody else's, you know, you just like you took, you're the the their their their their, you're, you're, you their, you their, you their, you their, you their, you their, you their, you their, you their, you their, you're, you're, like, like, you're, you're, you're, like, like, like, like, you're, you're, you're, you, you, you, you, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, the, the, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, just, like, you take the opportunities as they come. So this was a really amazing project with producer Jack Splash to just explore and to also
say, bleep the categories, bleep the genres, right?
I'm just saving your guys the trouble later.
You know, just like, forget like, what is blues and what is jazz and what is country? It's all the same thing. It's all, it's all, it's all, it's, it's, it's, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, the same, and, the same, the same, the same, the same, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, the same, the same, the same, the same. And, the same. And, the same. And, the same. And, the same. And, the same. And, the same. And, the same. And, the same. And, the same. We's, the same. We's, the same. the same. the same. the same, they. We's, they. We's, they. We's, they. We's, the the the the they. Wea, the the the the the the the the same, the same, the same American well of cross-cultural collaboration. So I was just like, yeah, put it in whatever box you want.
It's just fun music, you know?
I'm really inspired.
I just had two acts that didn't clap once for me.
I'm really inspired by what you just said because it feels like everything that I've looked at
with your work has true integrity but then we're also mixing in the
commercialism of the industry and as someone who's trying to be a commutic artist
this make money and also stay authentic and make your work have integrity
is near impossible I've sold out, of course.
But everyone wants to put you in a box.
They want to tell you this.
This is your demo.
You sell to these people.
And this is speak to them.
How are you navigating that?
How would you advise a younger artist to navigate that?
It's really hard because it's antithetical to making art is the capitalistic system that we forced artists to work within.
So we're all having compromises, we're all having to figure it out, where's our line?
And so my line for a long time has been pretty far out and it's like I just want to tell these
stories and I've just been really lucky with the opportunities that I've gotten.
I stuck to my guns. I said I'm doing what I need to do to make the world what I need to do to make the world a slightly better place or to add to the positive conversation
and I come back around and here I am doing it exactly as I want and being, you know, getting
the MacArthur and being able to do so.
I just, I tell young people, you got to tell what is your story that you can tell, that you can tell, that nobody else can tell, and get people around you who believe in thap, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, and who, their, and who, and who, and who, and who, and who, and who, and who, you, and who, and who are, you, you, and their, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, th.. and get th. and get thin, their, thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, their, and, their, and, their, their, their, their, and, their, and, their, and, and, their, and, their, and, and, their, and, their, their, their, and, their, their, and, their, and, thin, thin, thin, thr-a, throwne, and, throwne, throwne, throwne, thr-a, thr-a, throwne, thr-a, them. And so I'm surrounded by an amazing team, red light management, none such who believed
in me and I, you know, waiting for this record, they let me do projects that I really felt,
you know, I was really, felt passionate about. And so it's really a given, a take, and you're part of a team and you just have to have people around you who believe in their, and their, and you, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and th. And, and th. And, and thin, and thi, and you, and thi, and you, and you're a thi, and you're thi, and you're part thi, and you're thi, and you're thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thin, and thin, and thin, and thin, and thin, and thin, and thin, and thi, and thi, and thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thee theee the thea thea, the thea, the the the the the the the the the the th just have to have people around you who believe in you. Yeah and the passion then comes out in that project. Yeah, and then it's way better
because you're enthusiastic. Well this is it and this is what people are actually
looking for. They might say they're looking for something else but they're
looking for that energy, but they're looking for that energy, that the their passion which you can only get when you know and not to to to to to to to to the the to the to the their their their to their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their thi thi. thi. their thi. thrown. thi. And thi. And thi. And tho. And th is tho. And th is th is th is thi. And th is th is th is their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their thi. And thi. And thr. And thrown. And thrown. And thr. And thrown. And thr. And the. And the. And the. And the. And the. And the. And the. And the. And to be. You see that a lot in the industry and I was just like, you just got to do you. I love that. I love that. I love that.
I love that.
Um,
Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, the weekly
show coming out every Thursday. We're going to be talking about the election
earnings calls. What are they talking about the election, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls?
We're gonna be talking about ingredient to bread ratio
on sandwiches.
I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go,
but how many of them come out on Thursday.
Listen to the weekly Social Distancing Show.
It's my first time being on your show.
It's just, you know, I'm sad that it's not in face to face or in person, but I'm glad to
be here.
I'm sad too, but I don't mind.
You're still here. I've gotten used to this being here for me.
Okay, all right.
You know, it's still you.
It's still you're gonna tell me like your personality changes when you're in person.
It does not.
Maybe I'm more silly in person, but I've gotten silly on, you know, in Zoom too.
I can do it both now. Just plain silly. to to to to to to to to to to to be silly to be silly to to to be silly thiiiiii, to to be to be thi, thi, to be thi, to be to be to be to be to be to bea. tooe. too. too. tooom. too, to bea, to bea, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. I. I. thi. thi. thi. too, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, too, too, too, too, too, to now. Just plain silly. Before we get into talking about your projects,
let's talk a little bit about that.
I would love to know on a personal level
what your life has felt like since you left the White House.
Because I remember, and I mean, I was one of the fans,
maybe because I've also had hair journeys.
I remember everyone just being like,
Wow, Michelle, the Afro and the hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair journeys. I remember everyone just being like, wow, Michelle,
the Afro and the hair is coming,
and everyone is just like, she's got a different swag about her.
Was there a weight that's lifted from your shoulders
when leaving the White House as First Lady?
Absolutely, I mean, you know, for so many reasons,
I mean, you know, being the first, being the first, you know, the first, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, the the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, thi, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thee, thee, thee, thr, thr, thee, thee, thr, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the first lady and being the president, it's a huge responsibility and being the first,
you know, we felt a deep responsibility to do it right and to do it better, to be careful
with our words.
All the things we thought were important, things like thinking about what you say
before you say it, you know, telling the truth, you know, getting your facts right,
all of this. We worried
for no reason. We could have done it so differently. It could have been easier.
But no, no, we were doing the traditional thing. And so, you know, it was a big
responsibility, a big weight on our shoulders, but it was an honor to serve, and we
kept our eye focused on just every day trying to show up right and push the ball forward on
the issues that we cared about, but we were also doing it while raising our kids.
All right, so you know, they were 10 and 7 when we entered, they lived in the
White House longer than they lived in any house they've ever lived in. Wow. So they grew, they were growing up th. th. th. th. th. T were growing up th. th. th. th. th. th. th. their their th. th. their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I was, their, their, their, t. I was, t. t. t. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. try. te. te. try. try. try. try. try. longer than they lived in any house they've ever lived in. So they were growing up right in that spotlight.
And so we had that pressure of getting through the adolescent years and the teen years and
sending a kid to college.
So we were exhausted and stressed because not only are you trying to get it right on the
big picture level, but you're trying to get it right as a parent.
And now we're on the other end of that,
on literally, on the other end of all of that.
And our kids are about to be 23 and 20.
Our oldest is graduating from college.
They are alive. So all of that, you know, being at the end of that part of the journey, you know, it,
you know, I am in a different place.
I feel freer.
I feel more at peace.
I'm also older, so I'm more comfortable, I'm even more comfortable in my own skin.
I can imagine.
So, so yeah, yeah, it was, you know, I mean, living in the White House is like living
in an nice older hotel where you can't get out unless you call 20 people.
It almost feels like you were living a sort of quarantine life before all of us were.
This is what I tell people. This is why we're fine. Barack and I are like, what, you can't
go out just when you want to. You know, you're fine. Barack and I are like, what, you can't go out
just when you want to.
You know, you're, you're, you're, you're, stop.
We've been doing that for eight years.
You've got security with you at all times.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right. And I' to try and, to thro. the, to. to. to. to. to. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. that. that. that. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. that. to. to. that. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. th th th th th th to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. the. to. to. we. the. we. we. wee. wee. th. th. to. to think about it. It's like, who's gonna have to shut down what gate? How is this gonna disrupt this whole community
because the presidential motorcade is coming through?
We have to worry about agents
and not doing something that will put them in harm's way.
We're good in quarantine.
We're like, welcome to our world, everyone.
This is what it's been like. You've been somebody who has been somebody who an icon, but somebody that people have followed
so passionately from the beginning.
And what I loved about reading your book and talking to your husband is that, you know,
is getting into the familial side of things, the personal side of things.
I've always wanted to know from your perspective, because a lot of people may not think of it like this because of President, but you're the cool one in the relationship,
right?
And so Barack was like this like, you know,
who's like, who's this, like, you say in your book?
Who's this, who's this, dude?
Like, you know what I mean?
And yes, he's Mr. President, don's still Baroque. Is there a part of you that, like, when it was done, you were like, all right, finally, the power balance can go back to what it was.
Well, he's still pretty cool, you know.
Oh, definitely, but I mean, you, I mean, let's be on.
It's like a game of chess.
You don't want to lose the queen.
You know, I'm going to see is how it feels like you are each other's biggest fans.
The way you show your love towards each other, you've never been afraid to do that.
But at the same time, there's also a healthy competitive spirit.
I mean, whether you're selling books, whether you're releasing your work on Netflix and
creating documentaries.
Is there a little bit of that?
Is there a little bit of that? Is there a little that, that, that, that, that, thia, thia, thia, thii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to, thi, thi, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to too, to, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, too, too, thr.. I. I'm, thr. I'm, thi. I'm, thr.i. too. too. too. too. too, too, too, too, I mean, you know, you go like Barry, you're doing well, but, you know, you know, is there a little bit of that?
Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
He, Barack is super competitive.
So, you know, and shoot, let me, I am too.
So yeah, there's a little, there's a little bit of that, I mean, but, you know, you can do that when you know, you can do that when that when that when that when that when that when that when that when that when you can do that when that that that that that that that that that that that that that that their their their their their th. thin, thin, their, their, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, the, the, the, their, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, their own. It's a nice funny joke, you know. I mean, if he wrote his book and nobody bought it,
we wouldn't be joking about it, right?
We would be like, honey, you're doing a great job.
Oh, yes, a great book, great book.
We love it.
Tell your dad how much you like his book, but you know, I mean, he's written like,
like, he's written like a thousand books, you know, he's like, yeah, I've done this before.
You're the newbie, you know, he was, he fed us on his book, books for a very long time.
So, you know, it's a funny joke when it's, you know, when it's not true, when it's not fully
true. The kids are actually joking, they're theyk, theyk, theyk, k, k, k, k, k, k, thk, thk, thk, thk, thk, thk, thk, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi's, thii's, thi's, thi, thi, they about how, you know, mom's doing a lot of work out there, dad.
You're at home looking kind of cute, you know?
They're like, you're now the cute one.
That is hilarious.
You are the cute one, Mr. President.
Mr. President.
Maria Carrie, welcome to the daily social distancing show.
Thank you.
I'm glad to be here. When we think of Mariah Carey,
I don't think I would be remiss if I said,
or I don't think I'd be incorrect if I said,
that black people have claimed you from the beginning.
But something I took for granted is that
so many people have always just gone like,
oh, Mariah makes music that black people enjoy, everyone enjoys, but she's not black. And you lived this and you talk about this in the book
where people who you wanted to belong to
sometimes didn't even know that you were part of the tribe.
What I would love to know from you as a human being
is, when you were searching for your identity,
how hard was it to infuse that within your music? Because that's something I think I th th th th think think think think think think think think think think think think thin thin thin thin thin thi thin thin thin thin' the the the the that's that's that's their their their that was that was to to to that to their their their their their their to their to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to their their their their their their their their their their, their their, their, their, thu.. thu. the. the. the. the. the. theate. theate. the. theate. the. theate. the. theate. the. the. the. the. th's something I think everyone will enjoy in the book is reading how the record labels, for instance, like Sony at the time, kept on pushing you to
push all of the hip-hop out of your music. They're like, Mariah, this is too
black, Mariah, this is too black, Mariah, this is too black, and you're going, this is me,
this is what I love. Tell me a little bit about that journey of of of of of. Well, it was a very difficult journey,
but the interesting thing about it to me
when I look back on particularly
like the Vision of Love era, my first,
that song went number one on the the thrown,
that song went number one on the R&B charts,
which were then called the Black Charts. First, before it went number one on the pop charts,
because it really isn't a pop record,
and especially at that time,
it wasn't what other R&B singers,
it wasn't what most people were doing.
It's a different style.
You know, the record is like a 68 vibe,
and it's got all these backgrounds and all these layered vocals and stuff.
So it was geared for an R&B audience and from that's where I wrote it from from that place. But after that it was like we need another pop
ballad. I know how to do that too. Like I know how to write a middle down the
middle, I get it. So when you're asked and you're a 19-year-old girl, you know,
well we need another pop ballad rather than have them impose a songwriter's idea of what that is on me. I just said, okay, they want a simplistic ballad.
I wrote love takes time, which I now like and enjoy,
but at the time I was like, okay, it took me an hour, we're done.
You know, it's cute and it'll do what it needs to do.
But I think the journey that you were referring to in terms of hip hopp,
referring to in terms of hip-hop, that was a, you know, a long, I don't want to say struggle, but I secretly snuck in like, loops like from, like on Dream Lover, there's
like the eight and a half-step, and people like, I remember Q-Tip was like, we're listening
to another song and he was like, you realize you're the catalyst for all this, right? You realize like, and he knew this before fantasy. the, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, like, the, like, like, the, like, like, like, like, liketo Dream Lover, which is very, it was slightly whitewashed,
you know, rather that, you know,
when we put the organ solo and all that,
it's, it's nostalgic, but I know that that's there
because I wanted a rapper to be on that part,
but they, nobody was ready for that.
Yeah, so, you know, when I finally, I was, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th.. th. th. th. thr. thr. thr. that, thr. that, thr. that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that ODB. And in the audio book, that's one of my favorite parts because we hear his voice and, you know,
rest and peace, ODB.
But that story, and especially when some people were like,
I could do that.
You know, I don't know if you know what I'm talking about,
but there was a moment that was pretty freaking hilarious.
Because there was no understanding of like, oh, this collaboration with a member of the Wotan clan,
Old Dirty Bastard, no less, this is a huge moment.
This is a huge moment, but I have to fight for it so hard
because nobody understood it,
but had they heard his album or even seen the front cover of his solo album,
I'm sure it would have gotten squashed.
I snuck that one in.
There are so many rappers who would attest to that.
You know, rappers who are included in the book, rappers who were featured on your songs,
rappers who would attest to the fact that Mariah Carey gave me my big break in the mainstream.
Because you were adamant, you're likethere's always going to be a remix. And hip hop seems like it was such a huge part of your life.
Why do you think you had such a connection with hip hop, or what was it about hip hop that connected with Mariah Carrey,
where you're like, this has to be in my music?
Well, I think it's that element has always been there because ever since I first heard, you know, the biggest hip-hop records as a child, be it anywhere from
obviously every little kid has always heard Sugar Hill, the Sugar Hill
gang, like the one of the first songs you ever hear, all the way through like
Eric B and Rock Him, Slick Rick, all different rapper, and I ended up working
with Slick Rick last year, which was amazing, and just knowing him because I was such a fan of his when I was in high school.
But like, and still am.
But you know, I could continue to name all the different hip-hop artists and people
that inspired me.
But I think when you ask, the question that you asked was, what was it about it? The music itself, you know, the freedom and the music, the music, and the the music, and the music, and the music, and music, and music, and music, and the the music, and music, and the music, and the music, and the the music, and the music, and the music, and the music, and the the music, and the the the thii asked was, what was it about it? The music itself, you know, the freedom and the music,
the artistry in the music.
And I think that was where a big disconnect happened
with the label because the executives did not grow up
listening to hip hop.
So they didn't understand it and they thought it was a fad,
rather than an element that I wanted to integrate more into my music. So I continued to do it. Like you said, I did remixes.
You know, I love a lot of the remixes that I did,
particularly with Jermaine Dupree,
and we were able to use, you know,
some people may not even know those remixes,
but you know,
they'll know like, oh, we belong together. That's a big record. They's that, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, that's, thin, that's, that's, thin, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, thin, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that's, that's, that's, that's, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin, thin, th. thin, th th th th thin, th th th thin, th th thi. thi. that's a that's that's that's a thi. that's the that, but that's also inspired by, in its own way, it has his own hip-hop
influence, it's just within the cadence of the way that I'm singing certain parts.
Some parts were more Germain's idea.
I'm like, yes, because he always, Germain always makes a joke.
He's like, she's the rapper, I'm the diva.
Because I'm always like, can you make it more grimy? Can you do that? And he's like, I just wanted her to do it the other, but we end up getting to a good place together.
So that's one of the positive things.
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This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.
Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, the weekly
show is going to be coming out every Thursday.
So exciting you'll be saying to yourself, TGID, thank God it's Thursday. We're
going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that
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these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches.
And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you
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I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John
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