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00:00105, Wonder Brown, Detroit. Stove back for your poppin' RB. It's your boy Showtime, Dazar.
00:04In studio with me right now, I have a special guest, man. Her project, okay, as told by Demi,
00:10is on all streaming platforms right now. Demi Elise, welcome to the show.
00:13Hey, how are you?
00:14Okay, so we went to school together, correct?
00:17Yes, we did. Yes, we did.
00:18I had no idea you was from the city. What part of the city are you from?
00:21West, mostly, but I moved all around. Me and my mom moved so much when I was younger.
00:25But I lived in Inkster for like two years and we moved back to the city. We just didn't tell
00:29nobody and I just kept going to school out there.
00:31Oh, okay. Got you, got you, got you. All right, so Demi Elise, tell people a little bit about
00:36yourself. I like to, when people first get to the show, okay, to explain to the audience
00:41who you are and a little bit about you.
00:43Okay, I am Demi Elise of Detroit, Michigan. I'm a singer, songwriter, and Beyblade enthusiast.
00:52And I love all things creative, all things black, and all things Detroit.
00:57Your project is titled, as told by Demi, right? So, obviously that's from the Nickelodeon
01:03show, as told by Ginger.
01:04I love a culture man that knows where things come from.
01:06Yeah, I know a little something, I know a little something. Were you a Nickelodeon kid,
01:09Disney kid? Talk to me about that.
01:11I was an insomniac who didn't rest. I saw it all. I watched it all. I even saw Brandy
01:15and Mr. Whiskers at 3 a.m.
01:17Okay, got you. That's what's up. Why did you decide to go with that title for your project?
01:22I went with Ginger for a couple of reasons. I was actually working on a whole different
01:26project. I was supposed to call it Japanese Cherry Blossom. But then as I was working on
01:31it, a whole bunch of things were occurring. Me and my man, we was on them rocks. And I
01:37just started to express myself through song. And then I was at the studio, shout out to
01:43Piranha Head. With Piranha Head and True. And he was like, this is the album right here.
01:48And I was like, what you mean? He was like, no, this is the album right here. And I was
01:50like, what you mean? He was like, you need to lean into it. I'm like, lean into it. I'm
01:53like, but I'm telling all my business. Like, what are you talking about? He was like, yeah,
01:57lean into it. So then I just really sat down and like kind of connected the dots from the
02:01single I had already put out and kind of like, you know, just filled in the spaces between
02:06like my two or three songs that I made that I was just kind of venting on. And then I
02:10let it go from there. And then we ended up getting back together, which actually ended
02:14up like ending the album, like the direction it went in. I got a song called Relapse on
02:18there. How did, did you let him hear it? Oh, yeah. I played this song to him before
02:22that all came out. How did that go? He was like, these are guys. I'm like, yeah, they
02:28are. He was like, he, I mean, he had, of course, conflicted feelings about it. He was like,
02:33I hate that I'm like the one that made you feel this way. He's like, also, you know, I'm
02:38getting, you know, you reading me the filth, but like they, they're really good. He always
02:41been a huge fan of like all my songs and stuff. Was he an artist too? So is that why
02:45he understood
02:45it or it was just like? He's not a musical artist. He like paints
02:48and graphic designs. He actually designed my shirts. Nice. Nice. How long you been
02:52singing? Forever. It's kind of like I sang before I talked. My mom's a singer. My grandma's
02:58a singer. Everybody's always singing. Were you singing in the church? We was talking
03:02about it on the way up here. Yeah, we love Jesus. We love Jesus. I sang at Ambassadors
03:06for Christ. I was on an adult praise team from when I was like 10 until I started like 17.
03:10I sang in the Perfecting Kids Choir when I was younger. My mom used to go there.
03:16I sang all around. And then there was a point where like Ambassadors for Christ had like
03:19a revival and it was like traveling. And then my, my dad, or not my dad, my mom and Pastor
03:25Plummer dragged me across Detroit, Deontay, Michigan, singing at everybody's churches all
03:30the time. What's your favorite thing about singing in the church, man? Because it's
03:34different. Oh, harmonizing for sure. It's when you sing when a lot of people, especially more
03:38experienced people, because everybody was always older than me, who've been singing a long
03:42time. It's like you learn so much and then you can like see your growth and like you can,
03:48you know, just being kind of young, everybody's pretty open to you. So like I always was welcome
03:52with open arms when I had questions or when I wanted to know how to do something. So it's
03:57like everybody was cool with mentoring me. Shout out to Darren Patterson. He was the praise
04:00and worship leader for a long time. He taught me a lot. I'm actually on his album that he just
04:05dropped like maybe in the last year, but it's from when I was 12. So he took me to the
04:09studio
04:09and I did like, me and my mom did all the backing vocals for it to sound like a choir,
04:13but it's just me and my mom. Choir. That's nice. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So singing in a choir
04:18and then singing by yourself, obviously those are two different things. What, I mean, what
04:22are the biggest differences in just like singing, harmonizing? Personally, I've always wanted
04:28to give Destiny's Child. I've always wanted to be a cheetah girl. I just cannot find nobody
04:32to sing with. My cousin and my older cousin, we always had like a little group. My family was
04:38really, really Christian. So we weren't really allowed to sing a lot of songs. So it was a
04:41lot of limitations on what we could and couldn't do when we were younger. And nobody really
04:45wanted to sing with us because of that. And then we had auditions at the house one day
04:48and got in trouble for it. Like get all these kids out my house. So we were always looking
04:52for a third and fourth girl. Never got one. Then my cousin decided she no longer wanted
04:56to be a singer. She wanted to be a model. And then it was just, I was like, I like
05:00songs.
05:01Like I want to make them. So I just ventured out when I was like maybe 11 and made my
05:06first
05:06song. I actually have a whole entire gospel mixtape that I will not let see the light of
05:11day. Why not? Because I was a child. I thought I was missing. I mean, you can sing them as
05:15an adult. Nah, you know what I'm saying? Mm-mm. Mm-mm. We're going to get that in the
05:19ball. All right, man. Mm-mm. You trying to get me in trouble. So what did your mom say when
05:24you obviously started switching from making gospel music to, um, I'm not going to call
05:29it secular music because that's not what I heard on a project, but expanding your, your
05:34horizons. Well, once I got caught in Shock basement.
05:36Toma, why you say get caught? Oh, you said got caught shoplifting. Okay. I thought you
05:39were going to say doing something else. All right, go ahead. I got caught making secular
05:42music in the basement at my friend's house. So shout out to Shock. Um, he got, he had recording
05:47equipment. When I recorded the gospel mixtape, we were at the studio. My mom like, like
05:52orchestrated. We was in a real place. But when I made R&B music, I was in the basement
05:56at my friend's house. I put it out on High New Hip Hop. And I don't know why I thought
06:01that was private. My mom found it. I did like a remix to Frank Ocean's thinking about you
06:05in like maybe like 10th grade. That's when she finally called me. She didn't catch me
06:09when I was in sixth and seventh grade doing it. She called me high school, High New Hip
06:13Hop, uh, cause it was on Facebook. I was sharing it. And then I got in trouble and I wasn't
06:18allowed to go to Shock's house. What'd she say? She was like, and your instrument is for the Lord.
06:22I was like, but like, what about my feelings? She was like, feel the Lord. I was like, Oh,
06:27okay. Oh, I'm just only allowed to love Jesus. And that was it. But it shifted as time went
06:33on. Cause I just kept on doing it. Um, I kept doing it. I kept making songs. I kept putting
06:38them out. And she, I guess at some point, rather it was because she felt I was talented
06:42or like, you know, it was inevitable, but somewhere around like college, cause I went to Mary
06:48Grove college and I, uh, trained classically. It was actually a very mixed program. I went
06:52to a music theater and a couple of other things and all of that jazz. Um, somewhere along the
06:57way, I dropped this song called receipts. That was also me sneak dissing a man I used to
07:01love. Shout out.
07:03What's going on?
07:04Yeah. I did you too. You hurt my feelings. Dang. That's deep. Uh,
07:11but, uh, no, um, my daughter's dad, he made me mad. So I made a song called receipts and
07:17then I dropped it. And that's when I started to like perform a lot more when my daughter
07:21was born. Cause I was like, I want her to believe in a dream. Like she don't have to like
07:25work at like a place and go to work and die. Like I was like, if I can do it,
07:30maybe she'll
07:30think she, she can do it. So that's when I really like started to, I was about to say
07:34something. Cause we on the radio, I cuss a lot. Oh yeah. Keep it clean a little bit.
07:39You ain't gotta, you know, be super, uh, simple. You gotta tell me keep it clean to keep it
07:43normal. But, um, that's when I really had to strap my head on and get focused and really
07:53like start performing. That's when I started hitting like open mics and all
07:56of that. So then around that time my mom would just show up and be an audience
07:59singing the words. And I was like, I never thought, I never thought I'd see it.
08:03And then when I really knew they were like on my side, on my side, they even
08:07started letting my little cousins play like music at the barbecues. And like my
08:12whole, one time I did this show, um, and it was like in a backyard kind of feel. And
08:17my entire family came, even my grandma, I'm like the minister and they say for my
08:22whole set, did they say for anybody else's? No, but they came, they saw, they knew the
08:27words and like somewhere along the way, I guess it was just like, she's doing it
08:30anyway. We love her. We're going to keep going. But at first it was like holy oil on
08:34my forehead when I woke up, all kinds of stuff. But now what was your feeling when
08:38you saw both your mom and your grandma, like singing, not only just being there,
08:41but singing the words. I was shocked. Right. The Negro was too stunned to speak. I
08:47never thought I would see anything like that, honestly. Um, but I was really happy. I was
08:50kind of overwhelmed a little bit, you know, a little emotional, but yeah, it was really
08:54cool. No, I'm a thud. Yeah. No, I ain't trying to hear that. I want to get into the
08:59project a little bit. You got the title song is as told by Demi. Um, you sample the Macy
09:04Gray a little bit. Then you got a line in there that says, wish I was a lesbian, a wife
09:09would be, uh, better or something like that. Who, who hurt you? Cause damn,
09:18that's crazy. You know what's funny about that? Um, I'm all like men, but like, I really
09:24haven't had many boyfriend boyfriends. Like I didn't really like all through high
09:29school. Like I, y'all went to school with me. I did not have a boyfriend. I didn't like,
09:32I didn't really like you guys much. Um, I liked my daughter's dad. I liked one other.
09:37I liked my daughter's dad and three other people, my whole life. And I'm 30. Okay. So
09:42it's kind of like, you know, where did, but that came from somewhere. Cause when I heard
09:48it, I told you me, my man was on a rock. Damn y'all. How long was y'all together?
09:53Situations shifts are strange. Oh man. The timelines of on and off and this and that, you
09:58know, we, we, I'm really calling him a man, but that's my man. That's not my man. That's
10:01my man. That's not my man to this day. Okay. So I feel like, um, a lot of your music
10:08comes from just like life experiences. Is that, is that accurate? Very, very accurate.
10:12Some of those songs I wrote were bridges between songs. I wrote like a night I got upset.
10:17Like the very first song, aside from ATM cause ATM, I wrote because I wanted to have fun.
10:23I was really, really sad and writing all this sad music. And I'm like, I want to be fun.
10:28Like, I don't want to be in a relationship. I just want to use men for money.
10:31I never did it. Um, I try and then hug me. Yeah, for sure. That's what I was saying in
10:36the song.
10:36You didn't hear it. Wow. That's crazy, man. That's what I said real loud too.
10:40Mind you, went on one date with a man. He tried to touch me. I was like, never saw him
10:44again.
10:45But aside from that, um, I wrote Wanshee Tong cause my feelings were hurt.
10:48Cause a man lied to me. And then I wrote 10 toes cause one night at the Tmino concert, things
10:54got real.
10:54I wrote about that. So, um, and then relapse was me like feeling like I just couldn't stop talking to
11:01a person.
11:02And then por favor, it's kind of like, while the song sounds fun, it was really about me.
11:06Like I must like being hurt or something. Like I gotta enjoy it at this point.
11:11You also got a track on there called Mean Drunk.
11:13Oh yeah. I cussed in my back. Are you a mean drunk?
11:16I'm a nice drunk. I'm a nice lady in general.
11:20That's what the song said, but okay. We go back there.
11:21That particular day, the oil.
11:23Ah, see, here we go. Okay.
11:25The oil was crazy.
11:27Um, you know, sometimes you, uh, you get mad and you say things and me being a lyricist, I kind
11:33of get a little accurate with how mean I can get.
11:35So although it's seldom when I do it, I do feel bad about it. And cause it's, it's mean, it's
11:41very mean.
11:42I can admit, I can admit when I'm wrong. I was dead wrong. I was real mean too.
11:45And I remember it. So I couldn't have been that drunk.
11:47The way music is today, especially R and B. Okay. How do you stay authentic in, in a, in an
11:52era where it's like going viral is the thing.
11:54See what I'm saying?
11:55I never been a fan of that. Like even when we were younger, I never been the kind of person
12:00who likes things because others like it.
12:03And I'm a little perplexed by that. Cause you gotta be you. So you're the one who has to listen
12:08to stuff. You're the one who has to wear stuff.
12:10And I always been like, I want to be the one who likes it. And I've noticed that usually outside
12:15of the popularity contest, even the popularity contest is here today going tomorrow.
12:20Like the things that have longevity is, is, um, people who are authentic, like people whose careers keep going without
12:26them really happened to cling to it for dear life.
12:29Like Beyonce isn't worried about what you guys want to listen to. She's expressing herself. She giving the body of,
12:36you know what I'm saying? A body of work.
12:37And I've always been a big fan of people of that nature. Like, and to be honest, it's unbeatable because,
12:43um, I was just watching a couple of interviews about Steve Lacey.
12:46When he dropped the bad habit and he dropped that album, it was going number one and it was doing
12:50all the things, but it was, um, I was watching Selena Gomez talk about how she was going store to
12:55store, trying to buy her own album to make it go number one to get the numbers up.
12:59And it's just like, she had the machine behind her. She had everything to do. She went to the, the
13:04pop Kings and stuff and was like, write me a number one hit.
13:08And like, I can always feel when people go into a studio, like let's make a hit. I think that's
13:12lame. I think like life experience and a love of music kind of just shines through.
13:17And despite like machinery and things being put in place to kind of like keep certain images or certain people
13:24on top, artistry always eventually just shines through.
13:27And like things just continue to collapse and rebuild because people always find a new way to push what they
13:33want to push.
13:33But like throughout time over and over and over, it repeats itself. Like real artists always end up on the
13:39top. So way, shape or form.
13:40You say you think it's lame when people like they're trying to make the hit?
13:44Yeah. Like I don't like it when I go to a studio session and their goal is like, let's make
13:51a number one hit. Like if we want to make a good song, of course you want to do well.
13:55Right. But like, let's not the whole like goal of what we're doing here shouldn't be what other people are
14:01going to perceive it as.
14:02I think we should collab on like our energy, see how we feeling, what we thinking about.
14:06Or maybe I just like this beat or we having fun or we went somewhere like I hate uninspired things.
14:11I hate when I can hear like machinery, like it's kind of things that fall flat to me, like emptiness.
14:18Rather it be like there's no feeling in the lyrics or there's no feeling behind the song at all whatsoever.
14:23And I think it's a lot of stuff that's viral.
14:26That's kind of just kind of like either punchline me, exciting for the time or like more recently, like the
14:31gag rap stuff or stuff that's funny or like outrageous.
14:34And it goes viral. And then that person is popular for a while.
14:39They come up with another song people don't really like that much or like they just cling it on with
14:43features.
14:44And then like, where's that person later on? Right.
14:47On the album, it's labeled R&B.
14:50But I hear a lot of like it's just what I interpreted neo soul in the music.
14:57Is it how you feel like that's accurate too far left, too far right.
15:01And the reason I say it's neo souls because I guess it's what I'm listening to today that's classified as
15:07R&B.
15:08It's not what I hear. I hear a lot of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott inspired music.
15:15Is that I'm a I'm a I'm a dip into a little history.
15:17OK, so I get what you mean sonically, of course.
15:21So around the early 2000s or late 90s, neo soul as a like subgenre started to emerge.
15:28But it wasn't the sound itself that emerged. It was just the title.
15:31So if we're going back to like 50s, 60s R&B, it's a lot closer to neo soul than it
15:37is our R&B that we call R&B now.
15:39The R&B basis that we utilize now is based off the R&B that kind of emerged in the
15:4690s.
15:46OK, so that 90s R&B sound kind of took over what it meant to be R&B.
15:52So kind of like the things that were stemming off maybe like a Stevie Wonder's R&B or Luther Bandraff's
15:59R&B or like, you know, like we're in Neo and perhaps early Beyonce set kind of like it was
16:05stuff that was like there that they still like qualify pretty much as R&B.
16:09But it was like leaning towards pop. And then it's the stuff that stayed with the roots that started getting
16:14called neo soul.
16:15OK, gotcha. So it's kind of like, yes, you're correct in hearing the sonic things that you hear for sure,
16:21like relapse is for sure neo soul.
16:23But I kind of lean away from it because I kind of don't like the beginning of it being called
16:27neo soul in the first place.
16:28But that's my own gripe. Do you not like neo soul at all?
16:32I love the genre. I just don't like how people box R&B in so tough when it's kind of
16:38like the catalyst for so many sounds.
16:41R&B isn't like one thing. It's like it's a it's an umbrella.
16:45And I feel like once people have decided what it was or what their favorite was, they try to tell
16:50you like they made it.
16:52They went as far as to have a whole sub genre for something that could have just still been called
16:55R&B.
16:56Right. And then like when you're black, they call everything you do R&B anyways.
17:02So it's just kind of like when it gets to calling things certain genres, I kind of steer away from
17:08it.
17:08I refer to myself as an R&B artist because I have like love for R&B is like what
17:12I fell in love with the most with music.
17:14But, you know, I just think even this album, I got a couple of songs on there that sonically are
17:19not R&B.
17:20They just aren't like ripped jeans. It's not an R&B song. Indigo is not an R&B song.
17:25But I do consider myself an R&B artist because it's where my roots are and it's what I lean
17:30towards.
17:30And it's like the flavor I add to it. But I got some straight up house songs on there.
17:34I got Avril Lavigne vibes on ripped jeans. You know what I'm saying?
17:39It's like I like to call myself an R&B artist, but like genre is tricky, especially as time goes
17:44on.
17:45Is there a genre that you wouldn't touch? For the money, I touch them all.
17:50I'll write you whatever song you want to touch.
17:52But what I'm going to put out as a person, I'm probably not going to ever like do country.
17:56Now, when I get bored and old, you'll never know what I'm going to do.
17:59Right. OK, because you have a background in like, you know, you said you grew up in the church or
18:04your mom wanted you to do gospel music.
18:07Who are some of your musical influences growing up then?
18:10I love Fred Hennan. My mom sang with him briefly, but I think like his voice is like magical, magical,
18:17magical.
18:17I love Beyonce. If you don't love Beyonce, I think something's wrong with you.
18:21My mom is a huge influence. Anita Baker, Brandy, Jasmine Sullivan.
18:26It's so many people that like really inspire me. Erykah Badu inspires me.
18:30I think she taught me like not to say Erykah Badu can't sing because that's not true. She can sing.
18:36But she taught me like music wasn't just about the technicality of what your voice could do.
18:41Because my mom is a really big, strong, powerhouse singer.
18:44And when you're in the church, there's people who can really blow.
18:46But like she's one of the people that taught me like it's not always about like how big you can
18:51sing or like how strong you can sing.
18:53Like you can create artistry in like the song. You can craft a whole song.
18:58And it's not necessarily about showing off all your local tricks.
19:02Was that something that your mom, was that some advice that your mom gave you early on that you kind
19:06of keep with you now as you create music?
19:08To be honest, my mom's biggest influence on me is technique and pitch.
19:13My mom is very militant when it comes to like staying in that key and staying on top of your
19:20note.
19:21Like you fall flat, she won't be like.
19:23Oh, wow. She one of those. Okay.
19:25I could be in the shower thinking my mom would burst in like do it again.
19:27I'm like, I'm just having a good time.
19:30She didn't care.
19:31If I was what you had to know even in the shower, that's funny.
19:33All right.
19:35So what do you feel like separates you from a lot of the R&B music today?
19:38Do you like the R&B music of today?
19:41Yes, I do.
19:42You stuttered there.
19:43The reason I stutter is because the R&B I'm listening to is not what everybody's listening to.
19:46It's not what's playing on the radio.
19:48It's people who are excellent.
19:51Like who?
19:52Jalen Josie.
19:53Okay.
19:53She's one of the best R&B singers in the nation right now.
19:58Okay.
19:58From style to approach to pen to songs to lyrics to her voice.
20:04It's just like she's like literally impeccable.
20:08Like amazing, stellar and never heard her hit a bad note.
20:10But you ask the typical person down the street who she is, they don't know.
20:14Like, do you know who Jalen Josie is?
20:16I have no idea.
20:16Exactly.
20:16I was just listening to you putting me hip.
20:17Okay.
20:18That's what I'm listening to.
20:18I'm listening to people who I got to travel to go to their concerts to go.
20:22Like I'm trying to go to Chicago and see her because you know like they're not doing
20:25a nationwide tour.
20:26Like every time I've been seeing somebody recently, I happen to drive somewhere to go see
20:29them.
20:30So I'm into that.
20:31The bigger artists who are pretty mainstream that I do like is like a Lucky Day, a Victoria
20:36Monet, who else is pretty popular at this time.
20:40But other than that, most of the people I know are considered emerging, I suppose.
20:44What is it about artists like Janelle Monet, the Lucky Days who are, I guess, because
20:49we know them, I wouldn't say underground because those are not, you know, underground names.
20:54But what is it about artists like that, that make you keep listening to them as opposed
20:58to somebody like a, I don't know, Beyonce.
21:01I'm not saying you don't listen to Beyonce.
21:02But you know what I'm saying?
21:03Like a bigger, well-known name.
21:05You know what I'm saying?
21:06I'm going to compare it to like more mainstream.
21:09Okay, there you go mainstream.
21:10Who would necessarily be comparing a Lucky Day and a Victoria to would be like how Ella
21:14May right now or Jacquees.
21:16Got you.
21:17I'm not into that.
21:18I'm not really into that.
21:20Like I'm not into Jacquees.
21:21Right.
21:22Is it just because how you sound or you just don't like the music he's making?
21:24Okay.
21:25So you don't like how you sound?
21:26I'm not a big fan.
21:27I love, I love a good vocal.
21:28I love a strong vocal.
21:29You don't have to be loud to be good at singing.
21:31Like, um, and they just kind of, it's like it either falls flat for me because it's not
21:35a lot of musicality or originality and it sounds a little bit uninspired not to sneak
21:39this people because that's what it feels like right now.
21:41But it's just like, I like to hear a song and it take me somewhere, rather it be sonic,
21:45lyrically story.
21:46And a lot of times, well, like some of the stuff that's more popular, it's not giving,
21:52it's not giving me anything.
21:52It don't make me feel.
21:53And music, a song don't make me cry right now.
21:56So it's kind of like, why would I listen to that?
21:58When there's people out there who I can look for, it might be a little harder, who make
22:02me feel, who make me think, who like, you know, do what music does.
22:05Mm-hmm.
22:06So.
22:07You wanted to evoke an emotion.
22:08Is that what that is?
22:09Emotion.
22:10Even if it's not a heavy emotion, like, you know, sometimes music just makes you feel
22:14good.
22:14Makes you want to dance.
22:15Makes you want to move around.
22:16It reminds you of a certain scene from a movie.
22:19You know what I'm saying?
22:20It gives something.
22:21I don't like it.
22:21Sometimes a lot of songs just feel like they're just on.
22:24Gotcha.
22:24They aren't bad.
22:25Right, right.
22:26It's just background music.
22:26Yeah, they're just on.
22:27They're just on the radio.
22:28Yeah.
22:28Was there ever a time when you felt like, I don't want to do this anymore?
22:32Yeah.
22:32And what did you do?
22:34So many times.
22:35I didn't quit so many times.
22:36I'm done with this.
22:38I quit when I was making this album.
22:40I quit all the time.
22:40Really?
22:41I'll quit tonight if I get mad enough.
22:43But at the end of the day, you know, I'm always going to come back.
22:46You know, we always come home.
22:47Right, right.
22:47Because I just, every time I like, I even stopped making music for an extended period of
22:52time and found a big lady job with, you know, desks and whatnot.
22:56And it's just like, that's just kind of not who I am or what I want to be and what
23:01I want
23:01to like do.
23:02I like create regardless.
23:04So it's like, I might as well just stop being afraid or safe and just pursue it.
23:08Like, I kind of just quit my job a little bit.
23:12I think.
23:13Okay.
23:13There's a lot going on there.
23:16Like, what time is it?
23:18I should be there right now.
23:20Wow.
23:20I hope I didn't get you fired or get you in trouble, man.
23:23You know, you can't fire somebody.
23:24That's just walking away.
23:26Okay.
23:27So what's, what's next for Demi Elise?
23:29Like, what are we?
23:30I'm all up in your face.
23:31I'm going to learn how to use contraptions and doohickeys to make the ticky detox and the
23:35non-stops.
23:36I'm going to network.
23:38That's something I really, my biggest thing networking and really like sticking to pushing
23:43a song.
23:43Cause like I'm an artist.
23:44So I made a song.
23:45My favorite song of mine right now is not out.
23:48You know what I mean?
23:49Like I've already moved, kind of moved on in my mind to like whatever my next thing is,
23:53but I'm learning that like, I'm never going to reach an audience if I don't show them what
23:59I have.
23:59So I need to learn how to do that while still staying like authentically me.
24:03Like I'm never going to get on Tik Tok all like that.
24:05But I need to learn how to share my music and keep pushing it and to connect with people
24:11and just look for more people like me who have common interests and like really want
24:16to get to the music and really like, you know, don't care about how everything looks all
24:21the time.
24:22I really don't enjoy being in spaces when it's all about optics.
24:24Got you.
24:25But then again, like I'm pursuing a career that's heavily dealt with optics.
24:30Right.
24:30So that's why I've enlisted a friend of mine to put me in check here and there to tell
24:36me, Hey, be nice, smile.
24:39You're going there tomorrow.
24:41All right.
24:41Couple more questions.
24:42I'm gonna let you get up out of here.
24:43So you talked about social media.
24:45All right.
24:46I'm bad at it.
24:48Yeah, me too.
24:48I'm getting better at it.
24:49But see, I didn't grow up like in the camera in my face in terms of like me doing it.
24:55You see what I'm saying?
24:55Like if y'all walked in here with a camera, I'm cool with that.
24:58But like asking me to do this here is a little strange.
25:02Is that why you feel?
25:03I don't mind it.
25:03I don't mind being on camera.
25:04I'm actually a big goofball.
25:06I love, you know, I love being weird and stuff.
25:08I can feel that from the energy.
25:09For me, it's not necessarily being in front of camera.
25:12I'm very comfortable in front of camera, stage, whatever.
25:14It's more so like when it comes to social media, it's not just about being goofy and silly
25:19and throwing it up there.
25:20It's about when you post, how you post, who you're targeting, when you do it.
25:24Trending sounds, trending features, style this, style that, what's in right now, trending.
25:29Even like clothes that you wear, like there's trendy clothes.
25:33Like I'm just not into doing all of that research when like, I don't know.
25:37I just kind of like wear what I wear.
25:38I like it because I like it.
25:40I do what I do.
25:41Like I'm learning instead of trying to create content.
25:44I need to be it, but I need to do it in my own kind of way.
25:47But I need to have consistency with it.
25:48So I'm still working out the nuts and bolts of it.
25:52But ultimately, I think it's a very, very good tool.
25:55Cause like back in the day, if you wanted to be famous, there was a wall.
25:59And now that wall, it's kind of like, it's still there to an extent, but it's kind of
26:03non-existent when you stay consistent and you break through, you can build your own audience.
26:08Like I just did a show in April.
26:09I had like 70 people pop out for me.
26:11And I'm just like, 70 people came and bought tickets to come watch me sing.
26:17Like, if I really, you know, buckle down and just continue to share myself and advertise
26:23what I want to do, I can build an even bigger audience.
26:26Cause if I had 70 people in each state, that's a lot of people.
26:30You know what I'm saying?
26:30Like, and I could even touch more people where I live.
26:33You know what I'm saying?
26:34So it's just kind of like, I think it's a very good asset.
26:37I'm just kind of like an old man on the porch about it a little bit.
26:40Yeah.
26:40Yeah.
26:40I understand that.
26:41Cause you're a millennial.
26:42So it's like, you know, we are millennials.
26:44They don't try to count us.
26:46You know, they've been calling us zillennials lately.
26:48People who are like between the ages of 28 and 32.
26:51Nah, I'm not claiming Gen Z.
26:52Never, ever.
26:52They've been calling us zillennials out there in the streets.
26:55They've been saying we're zillennials.
26:56You know how I seen claim a millennial, the little Lay Lay girl?
27:01Baby girl.
27:02Yeah.
27:02No way.
27:03Baby girl, no.
27:04Absolutely not.
27:05Not like Lay Lay, but it's like, absolutely not.
27:07Nah.
27:08But, um, okay.
27:09Last thing I want to ask you about, we were talking about social media and just
27:13like, um, what about music?
27:16Okay.
27:17So how do you tie being on social media to the music?
27:21Cause like I was speaking to somebody else and they was talking about constantly putting
27:24your music on social media.
27:25It's a plus side and it's negative side to that.
27:27How do you feel about that?
27:28I think it's true.
27:29Everything has a pro and a con, you know what I'm saying?
27:32Right.
27:32But it's just like when the way I've been seeing it, it's kind of no other way.
27:37When you meet with like management or labels or like distribution people or whatever,
27:45they ask you straight up, how many followers you got?
27:47Yeah.
27:49How many of this you got?
27:50Or when you're trying to do a deal with somebody is, it's not like, like it used to be when
27:54I was little, like I thought I was going to be walking in their grocery store and I'm
27:57just like, somebody's going to be like, you're a star.
28:00And the next thing you know, I'm at like Beyonce bootcamp and I'm performing at the malls and
28:06they taking me around and they're doing all of the work, like the stuff on the ground.
28:10Like all the artists, even the sound ones, their boots are like on the ground.
28:14Everybody has, they have to make posts.
28:16They have to like, I think it's just like us, my space kids really set the tone and we
28:22made it like social media is just the avenue.
28:24It's just, no, it's just, that's just the way of the world right now.
28:28It's no, even like I've seen a couple of like people doing like the album rollouts.
28:33And if they don't have a strong social media campaign, people don't even know they dropped
28:36the album.
28:37And I'm not talking like people like me.
28:39I'm talking about like, real, like, if they not, if they aren't following every event
28:46they're going to with the camera, it's like, it never happens.
28:49It's like a tree falling in the woods with nobody around.
28:51Yeah, yeah.
28:52I hate that for me, for sure.
28:54But, you know, get with it or get lost at this point.
28:58Some stuff I'm not going to bend to, of course, but like, I got to find my own way to
29:03get
29:03with the times, you know.
29:05I sound 80, but.
29:06I feel like I asked you this, but I'm going to ask just in case.
29:08Do you have a favorite song on your album?
29:10I do.
29:11Okay, what is it?
29:12I give you a dollar if you can guess.
29:15I want to say Mean Drunk, but that feels like that's too bad.
29:18Does that feel like your favorite at this point?
29:19No, I just felt like I was listening to you and I'm like, okay, no, I don't got, what
29:22is it?
29:23It's por favor.
29:24Okay.
29:25Why?
29:25I think, I was going to tell you anyway, you heard me.
29:29But I think it's so fun.
29:31And I think like, I'm a vocal producer.
29:34Okay.
29:34So I do all my own background vocals and I like decide where, what goes and like I arrange
29:40all the stuff.
29:40Like, so for me, that was a totally different like vocal placement.
29:45Like I never tried before or when I did do it before I didn't like it.
29:48Like, I just feel like I executed an idea in my mind.
29:52Exactly.
29:53And I'm kind of like a stickler for certain stuff.
29:56I will, I will like, um, Tess the Don got a running joke.
29:59Like, um, it's on all my takes at the studio.
30:02I'll be like, let me hear that.
30:03Cause over and over again, like, let me hear that.
30:05I will redo something until it sounds how I wanted to, but I went to the studio, I recorded
30:10Port of War in like 15 minutes, including the backgrounds.
30:13And I listened to it on my way home.
30:16And it was the very first song that I heard and I didn't go back to the studio and like,
30:19let's re-record that part.
30:21I just loved it.
30:22I'm like, that's exactly what I wanted.
30:2415.
30:24And I'm just like, it was it.
30:26I'm like, I love it.
30:27All the backgrounds.
30:28It was fun.
30:29I had a great time.
30:31Um, and it's just my favorite.
30:32I listened to it almost every day.
30:34Nice.
30:34All right.
30:35Tell people where they can find you at, find all your music at.
30:37Um, events you got coming up, all that good stuff.
30:39All right.
30:40I am Demi Elise.
30:41Um, that's D-E-M-I-A-L-Y-S-E.
30:45I'm streaming on all platforms, including YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, all of that jazz.
30:53It's Demi Elise.
30:54Um, that's Instagram and tis Demi Elise on TikTok.
30:57I post every time I have an event or, um, all of that jazz.
31:01I just did Miss Eva's.
31:02I wish I would have been here before Miss Eva's.
31:04Miss Eva's was the time.
31:05Nice.
31:05Hopefully I will be emerging there again.
31:07But, um, so far on the roster, I really wanted to make meaningful performances versus a multitude.
31:14Gotcha.
31:14So, um, I'm going to do so far sounds at some point.
31:17Um, they haven't given me the date yet, but I will put that on social media again.
31:20So I'm just looking to really get a win with this album.
31:24I really want to push it and put my best foot forward.
31:27So everybody, please love me.
31:28I love y'all back.
31:29You haven't heard of the project, man.
31:30A lot of layers to the project.
31:31Okay.
31:32Um, as you can hear, it's a lot of layers to her.
31:33So definitely go check the music out.
31:35Uh, Demi Elise, appreciate you for coming.
31:38Thank you so much for having me.
31:38I want to bounce at Showtime Nizar.
31:40Peace.