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- [00:00]
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- [00:30]
Sophia
Hi everyone, it's Sophia. Welcome to Work in Progress. Hello friends. Welcome back to another week of work in Progress. I am geeked about today's guest because I am such an enormous fan, not only of his art, but his activism and I cannot wait to pick his brain on all of it. Today's guest is Alo Black. You know him as an American singer and rapper. You know him from Avicii's Wake Me up and from his smash hit I Need a Dollar. What you may not know is that Alo never planned on being a musician. His life kind of happened by accident. He thought he would be an academic and somehow took a left turn. Touring around the world and major stages everywhere, he has managed to solidify his place in the mainstream music scene while also being an incredible advocate for change. From studying the methodologies of Nelson Mandela to being mentored by Harry Belafonte, Alo has been involved in so many charitable causes and in deep social justice work. He speaks out on the importance of mental health awareness. He has collaborated with the Biden Administration to promote its national strategy to prevent suicide. And his latest album, Stand Together is not only a beautiful musical journey that I've been waiting for for five years, but every song on the album has a partnered philanthropic initiative that fans can learn about. Talk about being a true artist in every sense of the word and spending your privilege and your platform for good. Let's hear from Aloe Black. Where are you today?
- [02:43]
Aloe Blacc
I live in la. I'm in Glendale.
- [02:45]
Sophia
Okay. I grew up in Pasadena.
- [02:48]
Aloe Blacc
Oh, are you there now?
- [02:49]
Sophia
Or neighbors? No, I'm actually on the east coast now, but my folks are still there. And yeah, we were like Miracle Mile kids. And then eventually my parents moved to Pasadena and they're still there.
- [03:02]
Aloe Blacc
Oh, crazy.
- [03:03]
Sophia
Normally I like to ask people about who they were as kids and so often when I'm interviewing parents that have kids in that kind of stage of developmental age that I know yours are in. They get to kind of see this mirroring of themselves as children and see versions of themselves in their own children at the same time.
- [03:27]
Aloe Blacc
Yeah.
- [03:28]
Sophia
And I wonder if you got to go back and hang out with yourself as a 10 year old kid the way you get to hang out with your kids. Would you see aspects of the man you are today in that little boy?
- [03:42]
Aloe Blacc
Oh, probably not. I don't know. I don't know. I see my son and there are a lot of similarities in him as a child compared to who I was as a child. And I think it's going to be, I think he might be the same. It's going to be like a night and day flip where the kind of rambunctious, unbridled energy of youth sort of meets with this, this moment of change where you become measured and, and more temperate and decisive. But no, also with the ability to navigate between both personalities. The extrovert, the introvert, the entertainer and the observer. Yeah, I feel like, yeah, he seems like he's probably gonna flip that switch enough in the next seven years. Probably.
- [04:51]
Sophia
Wow. And is that right around when it started to happen for you?
- [04:55]
Aloe Blacc
No, it happened for me earlier than I think it will happen for him. But I think that it's just different circumstances. You know, I had had two parents that worked full time. We were a very kind of middle class family. And what's different now is that there's, I think, a lot more attention that my wife and I give to the kids, a lot more comfort and intentional parenting versus fly by the seat of your pants, put food on the table, make sure the kids get to school. Parenting that I grew up with.
- [05:42]
Sophia
Yeah, I talk to my friends about this all the time because we're really the first generation that has been in this phase of life with all these resources, all the mental health studies and all the understanding of, you know, communication and the value of therapy and all these things that our folks didn't really have. And it's, it's so inspiring for me to look at parents in my life and watch the way they can acknowledge where their own parents fell short, still love them for it, and be choosing to create a different pattern in real time. Yeah, it's pretty incredible.
- [06:27]
Aloe Blacc
It is incredible. There's a lot, like you said, a lot of resources. We chosen a school that has a pedagogy that I think helps parents become better parents. One of the really special things is that before the Surgeon General's warning on social media, we were already engaged in a media free Campus media, free lifestyle. And so, you know, it was very limited the amount of television or TV programming that the kids would get. And they're, you know, they're, they're fine with it, they've learned to manage without it. And there's no pressure coming from the school because the other kids are on board with the program. So it's helped us be better parents, but also just more focused and intentional.
- [07:26]
Sophia
Yeah, it's an interesting thing, I think, for people in our lines of work to analyze relationships to media. And even when you talk about how the, the sort of flip happened in your young self, how as an adult you have to hold both your performer and your introvert, you know, I, I think about that a lot, being the, the performer, the entertainer, and also a listener who likes to be quiet. There's then the layer of how you have to participate in media on top of it. And when you've pursued a career in it. I mean, before you became a solo artist, you were part of a hip hop duo and LA in the 90s. I mean, everything about it was so incredible and music was so incredible and there's no way to be a musician without being in the media. Right. So like.
- [08:24]
Aloe Blacc
Right.
- [08:25]
Sophia
At least then there were, there was no social, there was no thumb scroll on the iPhone. What was that era like for you?
- [08:32]
Aloe Blacc
It was the best era. I don't know that we'll ever be able to have that again. I would love to try to replicate it somehow, but it would take concerted effort on everybody's part to recognize that what makes it special is sort of the exclusivity of, of the temporal exclusivity, the spatial exclusivity and the informational exclusivity. It's that you, if you know, you know, and once you're there, you get to experience it and then it's word of mouth and, and if you weren't there, then it's like the, the tail of, you know, the fish that you caught just keeps getting bigger and bigger. And so the hype gets, is real. So. But wow. When I was growing up and in the hip hop scene, we would have access to all of the artists, the stars nowadays, people that you kind of just look at like, oh, that's a bonafide, you know, superstar billionaire artist in hip hop. Those folks, we would literally go to clubs and see them for 5 bucks or 10 bucks in LA and just an awesome time of music and dance and art and culture. I know that it is possible and I know that was part of our mental Wellness, Right. It was our own modality for ensuring that we were healthy because we had a community and a culture that we belong to, that we subscribed to. Of course, my parents are from Panama. There was a whole community and culture from Central America, Latin America that I was part of. And then my friends that I went to school with, we had our, our own sort of, you know, suburban subculture. And then there were my hip hop friends and culture. So I had the opportunity to choose between and actually code switch between a lot of different cultures. But it's the. It was the beautiful mental. Well, I'm going to. Making it an association with mental wellness now. I didn't, I wouldn't have done it back then, but now I can see that the fact that we were in propinquity and proximity with one another, that we were engaged in physical activity, so it was dance or performance. The fact that we were free to make mistakes without the repercussion of forever documentation, all of that combined was, I think, the best and most nurturing soil to grow up in.
- [11:36]
Sophia
I love that, that idea that you could be free not only to make mistakes, but to experiment with your own art. Because sure, if you can make a mistake in private, you can have a normally sized consequence of sorts. To do it in public does something to, I think, a tiny human brain that it's not meant to experience. But I worry about this everyone recording everything all the time. I worry about what that's costing art because people are afraid to have something that's mediocre go on the Internet. But you gotta rehearse, you gotta try things. You gotta see. If you're a comedian, you have to see how a joke works in a crowd. Comedians workshop around the country, artists perform a new song, see what the vibe is, realize it's missing a synth or a drum or whatever and go back and layer. And nobody wants to do that anymore. People only want to give out what is perfect because it might go somewhere. And I'm scared of the generation of art we're costing ourselves because everyone's too afraid to take risks now.
- [12:51]
Aloe Blacc
Yeah, that's a real concern of mine as well. And I would add in the layer of algorithms and industry. Industry is so much smarter. And now with algorithms, they're even more informed about how to sell and market. And what's unfortunate is that it becomes this recursive loop, a reductive recursive loop that does not allow for better or more interesting or productive art.
- [13:27]
Sophia
Yes.
- [13:28]
Aloe Blacc
And I think about how we can, you know, try to you know, go back to square one. And I don't want to sound like, you know, back in my day, but there was something special about the garage band.
- [13:47]
Sophia
Oh, yes.
- [13:50]
Aloe Blacc
And now that it's more so, the discovery and engagement is online, and it's more insular, it's more solo than it is the group. And the groups that exist are all so manicured and perfect and pristine that it begs the question, will we ever be able to see kids just having fun for the sake of having fun anymore? Or is all of their fun for display? And does it have to be perfectly presented and rehearsed fun?
- [14:32]
Sophia
And when it works for these young artists, the blow up is so fast. You know, it's been interesting to watch Chapel Roan have this big year, and everyone's like, good for her. And she's out there being like, I'm trying, traumatized. Like, the Internet's wild. What people expect of me is really hard for me to process. A year, a year and a half ago, nobody knew this kid's name. And I think about the pressure, you know, we kind of got to be out there and make a thing and have a show premiere or drop an album and do the press tour and then also, like, go home, go to the bar with our friends. Like, not every outing was expected to be chased and tailed and photographed and packaged. And I. I think about things that are so. Like those moments that take me back, you know, almost like an olfactory hit when you smell something and suddenly you're. You're next to someone you haven't seen in ages. And when I was getting ready for today and I was thinking about all the phases of my own life that your music has been a part of, I even think about When I Need a Dollar was, you know, the theme song to make it in America. And like, my buddy Brian Greenberg from my first show, One Tree Hill, was on that show, and we were like, oh, my God. And it felt like this moment for us, like supporting our friend and this song that was everywhere on the radio. And it was. It was the theme song of the HBO show. Like, the possibilities felt so big, and it was. It's like one of my favorite memories as a young artist. And it wasn't even my show, but it was like we all had this connection in this way, and nobody was expected to be in, like, the head to toe look by the stylist and doing the thing. And, you know, now everybody's looking at these retro photos from the 90s and the early 2000s and being like, God, what Cool style. And it's like people were just wearing.
- [16:32]
Aloe Blacc
They were just wearing what they. Yeah. What was in the closet or in the drawer? There was no stylist.
- [16:37]
Sophia
There was none of this.
- [16:39]
Aloe Blacc
Thank you for mentioning I need a dollar because that was epic moment for me as well. That was exactly what you said. I was just making music for the few fans that I knew I had who would appreciate it. And I was like, and I'll probably go get another job in a couple months.
- [16:57]
Sophia
And now for our sponsors.
- [17:00]
T Mobile Ad
Go almost everywhere with the podcasts you love on T Mobile's network, because T Mobile helps keep you connected from the heart of Portland to right where you are on America's largest 5G network. Switch now. Keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off up to $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com KeepAndSwitch up to four lines of your virtual prepaid card card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days device and eligible carrier and timely redemption. Required card has no cash access and expires in six months.
- [17:33]
Sophia
And can I ask just a technical question for the timeline? How long was this after you embarked as a solo artist?
- [17:41]
Aloe Blacc
I need a dollar hit in 2009 or so. I had been laid off in 2003. So six years of kind of solo artistry. I'd always been engaged in art, doing hip hop music. I released I think 2005, maybe the last the hip hop album with my partner DJ Exile as Eminem, and then released a solo album in 2006 or something like that.
- [18:17]
Sophia
So this song hits and it's like, what? Yeah, I mean, when that beat starts and it just. The loop is so good. I think about walking down the street in New York and like, I don't know, it's so. It's Seminole.
- [18:34]
Aloe Blacc
Oh my goodness, you're right. It has a. An essence, a really, really powerful, emotive sound to it. And it does, it does make me think of, like the scene, you know, scene of staying alive, where John Travolta is just walking down New York. But I was, I was at a moment where I had no expectations because I'd been doing music for so long and music really wasn't supposed to be my career. It's just the hobby. And I knew that I could always go back to corporate or go back to school and kind of be a career scholar or something. But I was lucky. I was lucky. And I've been chasing this luck, riding this luck For a little bit.
- [19:26]
Sophia
Yeah. You. You said in an article. I suppose I should say an interview. It was an interview that an article was written from that you feel like serendipity lives on your front doorstep.
- [19:39]
Aloe Blacc
Oh, my goodness.
- [19:41]
Sophia
Can you. Can you say a little bit more about that as you talk about riding this wave?
- [19:45]
Aloe Blacc
Yeah, I feel like it's not fair. You know, I have a lot of friends who are struggling artists who are incredibly talented, but just haven't had what I consider the lucky breaks that I've had. And I wish that I could share, you know, the sprinkles of serendipity with them. But every. Everywhere I look, there's something positive happening. And my goal is to just try to pay it forward as much as possible with philanthropy and with message and engagement. But I was signed to an indie label. First of all, I wasn't. I wasn't signed to any label in the very beginning. I was going to work for a big corporation. And they pushed my start date back. And because they pushed my start date back, the opportunity to go to go on tour in Europe opened up because one of the members of this hip hop group decided to stay home. So there was an extra seat in the bus, an extra bed in the hotel rooms, and the idea was that I could join the tour if I paid my way. And I had just received, you know, just graduated from college, received this like, exit scholarship that I don't even. Again, another serendipity, right?
- [21:14]
Sophia
Yeah.
- [21:14]
Aloe Blacc
Money, money on the way out. Okay, I'll take it. So I had some money to pay my way on this tour, came home and started recording with the artists that I had toured with. And one of the recordings piqued the attention of the record label that that artist was signed to. So they ended up signing me as a singer and not an emcee. So all this time, this whole tour I'd done, I'm a rapper and I'm writing hip hop music. And I decided to sing on one track and the label considering me a vocalist, and now I'm signed as a singer. And so I had to really, like, bootstrap myself to become a vocalist and a singer. Trying so many different sounds and styles over the years. And then by the time I started working on my second album, Good Things, which holds the I Need a dollar song, I kind of had figured out where the best place was to use my voice. So it wasn't in pop, R and B, it wasn't alternative rock. It was in this kind of folk, soul, vocal. And it ended up being the hallmark of my early career.
- [22:31]
Sophia
Yeah, it's amazing. And again, I think about that thing. Would you have had the time and space to find the best use of your voice had. Had that moment in your early career been happening in this kind of algorithmic machine we're in now?
- [22:51]
Aloe Blacc
No, I don't think so.
- [22:52]
Sophia
Yeah.
- [22:53]
Aloe Blacc
I think because of my attraction to process, I would be trying to figure out the algorithm, how to beat it, and it wouldn't give me the opportunity to be my best artistic self. And I'm so lucky that in high school I had the chance to put in 10,000 hours of free, expressive artistic creation.
- [23:19]
Sophia
Yeah.
- [23:21]
Aloe Blacc
Without, again, without the repercussions of having to be perfect. Because it wasn't going online.
- [23:28]
Sophia
Right.
- [23:29]
Aloe Blacc
It was being vetted by my very close associates. And once they approved, then it made it to, you know, mixtapes that we then deliver to more people.
- [23:39]
Sophia
I miss the mixtape. When you talked earlier about, like, if, you know, you know, when you finally, when you're not a music maker, but you love art, you know, artists of a different vertical like to go, oh, now I, now I get the heads up when the mixtapes are coming. Like, nothing was cooler, you know, as a. As a young person finding the way in these creative scenes, I'm like, oh, my God. Just to hear you talk about, like, you workshop it, then it goes on the mixtape, then it goes out, then people come to see you in the venue. It's like, I don't know if we'll get it again, but I, I'd be so thrilled if we could figure out a way.
- [24:20]
Aloe Blacc
Yeah, again, I'm going to try to figure out how that can be possible. I think that there is a hunger for it, but I want to, you know, try to. My kids are a hop, skip and a jump away from high school, and so maybe, you know, I'll try to workshop it with them, rent a venue where they can go and, you know, have parties and be creative and explore. But one rule is that it has to happen offline.
- [25:01]
Sophia
Yeah. Phone free. Love it. I even think about what a big deal it was in that era when you'd hear about something after and then you'd see the, you know, the five photos that came out because some. Some great shooter was there and, and, but that was. Wasn't, you know, 600 grainy Instagram videos or whatever. And there's something, I think, really beautiful about all of that, and I do think it's why so many young people crave it. I. I hear from, you know, my friends with teenagers, we've kind of. We've kind of got two camps, like friends with little kids, like, you know, five and under, and then we've got friends with teenagers. And the teenagers want to ask questions about my first show because they're like, everybody has a flip phone. They. They all talk to each other about how they're feeling. No one's texting. And that kind of blows my mind. These kids are like, wait, we want that version of high school.
- [26:06]
Aloe Blacc
Yeah. The beauty is the art of story. And so what is, you know, missing is that with all of this video and all of these photos available for every event that happens, you. And also the ability to watch and experience in real time, you lose the art of story. And so nobody, Nobody tells the story in a way that is compelling. You're receiving it in real time, and you get to interpret it at your own level with. With your. With your own, you know, intellectual curiosity and your own ability to really process deeply. And we all have different abilities, but when you have a storyteller that's coming to you and narrating, dictating, really what you should feel and how you should feel, that's a whole different experience. And I think that's what is missing is the. The great narrator.
- [27:13]
Sophia
Yes. And. And what I miss about the great narrator is that it was being presented, as you said, with someone's story that also helped to encourage critical thinking and to question the story, to examine the facts of it, rather than just to look at a hundred images and decide you already know the story. The irony that we used to have narrators and that made us better critical thinkers is not lost on me and gets to the root of something I've always really admired about you as a, you know, a person in my age, peer groupish, like you're one of those people. I'm like, yeah, we kind of came up together, even though we never really knew each other. And I'm so happy you're here. But you've done something that I've seen be so important to so many artists in our generation, which is use your platform. Really spend the privilege of your platform for others as an advocate, as an activist. You know, you focused on mental health, you focused on criminal justice reform. You have so artfully told other people's stories to remind people that if we don't have community, we don't have anything. When. When do you. When did that spark get lit for you as an artist? Or was it always part of who you are as a person? And the artistry helps? Let it out, right.
- [28:40]
Aloe Blacc
I think there's definitely a moment where it was lit. And I would say right after I need a dollar. I was very, very excited to be, you know, kind of having this moment of visibility after being an obscure niche artist on an obscure niche record label. And I was asked to do some endorsements for different products, some luxury products. And one of them was a liquor brand that happened to be a gin that was my dad's favorite gin. I am not a drinker, never was. But I thought, I'll take some photos and hold a martini and then I'll have some bottles sent to my dad and he'll get the posters and it'll be a nice little father son moment. And the posters ended up being placed in the inner city across the country. And I got a phone call from one of my wife's friends who is an activist out of an organization called Community Coalition of South la, which was started by now Mayor Karen Bass. But back she was just a citizen of her community trying to make it better and she started a non profit organization. The phone call was a reprimand of my use of my celebrity and influence to sell alcohol and liquor in a community where this organization was trying to shut down liquor stores, which had become a blight on the community. And I had no connection and no idea. And I was really taken aback. So I used that as an opportunity to visit the org, learn what they were doing and recognize how much my influence was a responsibility that I had to take seriously. And when I signed with a major with record label after that, I promised that I'll use my music for positive social transformation and you know, tried to turn every music video into a PSA that could tell a story to humanize the most vulnerable.
- [30:58]
Sophia
Yeah, that's beautiful. And you know, from, from learning lessons and I think it's also very vulnerable, if I may say, to be willing to learn out loud. I think it's incredibly important to, to push back against this sort of weird algorithmic perfectionism to say, oh yeah, I did, I did something that seemed fun and it turned out to have an impact. That was terrible. FYI, this was my lesson. If you're ever in this position, ask these questions. You know, nobody gives us a handbook on how to do these things right and how to, how to pull the thread till you get to the end of it. And it's so interesting to hear about that feedback and the way you chose to receive it and then to think about what you've done with all of this since, you know, as you Said the way you use your music, the way that you've stepped up and, I mean, even helped join the president, you know, join President Biden to talk about him and Kamala Harris's national strategy for suicide prevention, you know, to. To take a crisis for our communities and say, this is something a lot of people keep hidden out of pain and shame. And. And let's go talk about it. Literally from the most powerful, you know, stage in America. What was that like for you? Was that unnerving in any way? Or as you've built this sort of series of learnings and voicings for others, did it just feel like the next right thing?
- [32:43]
Aloe Blacc
I would say the latter. It feels like the next right thing. I don't feel any real trepidation, and I look to my mentors and also heroes from the past that have basically educated me on what's possible. I think about, you know, was fortunate to meet Kwaku and Ndaba Mandela. These are the grandsons of Nelson Mandela. And the stories that I hear from them and understanding Nelson Mandela's story and also Winnie Mandela's story, that in the face of the most tremendous and horrendous adversity, torture, incarceration, that he still was able to maintain a level of humanity and compassion not just for himself, but for perceivably his enemies, which, you know, he wouldn't call them his enemies because he didn't punish them. When he came out of prison, he embraced everyone and moved forward with dignity. And I think about Harry Belafonte, who was a mentor of mine, someone that I had a chance to sit with and learn from, and how he used his voice and celebrity in a way to encourage, you know, transformation that otherwise might not have happened without his very privileged position. And there certainly was fear, death threats, physical altercations, but somebody's got to do the work. And if you're in that position and you have that access, then the job is yours and you have to rise to the occasion. So, I don't know. I just think. I feel like I've had the right guides along the way.
- [34:50]
Sophia
Mm. That's beautiful. And now a word from our sponsors that I really enjoy, and I think.
- [34:56]
T Mobile Ad
You will, too, go almost everywhere with the podcasts you love on T Mobile's network, because T Mobile helps keep you connected from the heart of Portland to right where you are on America's largest 5G network. Switch now, keep your phone, and T Mobile will pay it off up to $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more at t mobile.com keepandswitch up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card allowed 15 days qualifying unlocked device credit service port in 90 plus days device ineligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.
- [35:34]
Sophia
It's the, you know, the Harry's, the Jane Fondas, the folks who came before all of us that when the pushback comes and the fear kind of sinks in of like, oh God, what does it mean to say this out loud and to keep beating this drum and to refuse to be quiet when you feel in terrible thing that, you know, someone out there does, that falls under the category of threat. I think in, in moments especially like this one, you know, this many days into this new all hands on deck administration, I just think, well, they did it. They did this work. We don't, we don't get to do less. There is no world in which we can do less because we, for all the negative aspects of how interconnected we are, we do have the ability to do this. You and I can be in community from different sides of the country. We can get on a phone and speak to people and remind people of what's good and true. And yeah, when I get scared, I try to think about those people are there like leaders and mentors or folks you call, like, who do you turn to when you get scared?
- [36:54]
Aloe Blacc
It's mostly community. Mostly community. What reassures me is that Harry Belafonte was in the middle of all of the civil rights struggles. Many of his peers were murdered. Dr. King, you know, many were beaten. But he was able to also survive and for decades and decades later to be able to tell the story and to tool up and train a whole new generation of artists. So. But there are, there are others, you know, that in my circle who are the folks that I go to when I'm trying to think through how we position ourselves for the, for the next four years and beyond. What are the, what are the strategies? What is the goal, you know, and what are, how do we triage? What are the things that are not as important as what are our highest priorities and how do we make sure we maximize those highest priorities?
- [38:11]
Sophia
Yes.
- [38:13]
Aloe Blacc
And how do we do it in a way in this very information sensitive or hyper informed society, how do we do it in a way that is information sensitive in ways that doesn't make our strategy and concepts vulnerable to, to being thwarted? So there are lessons and from the past there are technologies that exist that didn't exist then and we just got to be thoughtful about, about how we. How we manage. But really what it comes down to is, as well, like making sure that we are using our influence for the betterment of humanity, all humanity, and we are standing up for the rights and dignity of the most vulnerable.
- [39:21]
Sophia
The weight of it feels very immense and close to me right now, but I. I do feel very grateful that so many of us in our little worlds that all kind of Venn diagram together in the ways that they do are both preparing and slowing down just enough to ask these kinds of questions. That has been one of the great lessons for me is that in the immediate, you know, fury or heartbreak that can come to witnessing injustice, like, I have a spicy Italian lady in me. Like, I can just get out there and start screaming and to hold that passion, but also take a breath and go to a friend and say, okay, what's the plan? How do I scream effectively? How do I instill the fear my grandmother knew how to instill in me effectively? And how do I also enter the spaces that require immense empathy, with that empathy on my sleeve and just be present to support people? And I wonder if maybe the root of that willingness to be curious is. Is from the thing we all share, which is being a storyteller.
- [40:47]
Aloe Blacc
Yeah. I believe that we all have the. The storytelling capacity, and we all have to. Those of us who are recognized for it have to lead with it, and we've got to lead with it in a way that's going to empower others, use their storytelling. You know, quite often we'll be at some public event, and my wife and I. And I kind of retreat because I feel like if it's not my show, I don't need to be on stage. And it's an opportunity for other people to be seen and on stage. And my wife always reminds me, she's like, but this is. People love your voice and is, you know, why would you restrict them of it? And part of me is like, well, they didn't. They haven't asked for it, so I don't want to impose. But she's right, though. There's, you know, there is always an opportunity with the right intention and with. With humility to, quote, unquote, impose if you can do something good with it.
- [42:02]
Sophia
I like that. Impose for good. Yeah, that feels nice.
- [42:07]
Aloe Blacc
You can use your. Your fiery Italian voice in some moments.
- [42:15]
Sophia
Yeah.
- [42:17]
Aloe Blacc
And as long as you're doing it for. For good, you know.
- [42:20]
Sophia
Yeah. Yeah. I think it's. I think it's crucial, you know, I know it gets said a lot. But truly, now more than ever. And I want to go back to something that you said earlier, you know, about how you began to realize that even a music video in a way could be a psa because the new album, I'm so excited it's here. We've waited as of, as of. I'm, I'm leaving and like coming back as a fan and then I' she'll exit stage left and your interviewer will be back. But you know, when you wait and you're so excited as someone who loves someone else's art, like, oh my God, it's here. And then of course I was like, of course every song is tied specifically to an action you can take for positive social change. Of course it is. And I just think it's so cool. So I'll join the chorus of people saying bravo. But can you talk about how you, how first of all, do you say, this is the album I want to release after, you know, six years noodling and finding this version of this year's voice? And then how do you kind of layer this larger mission so that we're not just your listeners, but we're also, we're also becoming a community of folks doing something right?
- [43:52]
Aloe Blacc
Well, I would say that, you know, again, the serendipity on my doorstep. I'm not a bleeding heart artist there. There's plenty of tragedy and things in my life to be sad about, but I have a very optimistic and positive outlook and I enjoy the, this opportunity to create and share with this megaphone that I have for the whole world. And I recognize that in the marketplace there's so much darkness, lots of, you know, depression and anxiety and misogyny and violence and substance abuse. And that's. I don't think I need to contribute to any of that. And I could tell an album worth of stories about myself and glorify myself in a way that would probably make me more popular than I am. But I also, I'm not compelled to do that. I don't feel that it's necessary. I think we have enough self promoting narcissists in the music business. And I feel like, okay, well, what can I do? Let me show up in the way on music, on tape, on record, as I show up in community. And how is that? That is, whenever I get a phone call or I get invited to engage with a nonprofit organization, I try to find a way. And I thought, well, posting your media assets online is certainly helpful to my, to my fan base. That works. Maybe shooting a PSA for A video or showing up to the gala and performing at the gala so you can raise funds. That I'm sure is very helpful. But if my forte is storytelling and songwriting, how can I lean in heavily on my passion and expertise using your messaging and work in the community so that two plus two equals five. And it's not that I came up with this idea. I know there's been the. We are the worlds of the past. There have been The Bono and U2, you know, one, there's Bob Marley with Redemption Song. There's so, so many artists in the past have done the message music or the positive social mission. But I thought, why not really lean in with an album that suggests to my peers that that era is not over and that we can continue to do that. And here's an album full of songs. The least you can do is one. Yes, you know, and so each song is inspired by a non profit organization or a positive social mission. One of the songs is called Breakthrough. It was inspired by a non profit organization called Breakthrough that is helping returning citizens matriculate back into society with jobs, education, housing, to reduce recidivism. You know. Another song on the album is called Don't Go Alone. It's written inspired by an African proverb, but really I'm promoting it in service of the the Phoenix, which is an addiction recovery organization that uses collective activity like exercise or hiking as a modality to combat substance abuse. This is your accountability family, your accountability team. And you just find new friends and new ways to engage to avoid, you know, going to the bottle or the pill. And so each song is. Is built around that concept. And I would be remiss to not mention that my wife was probably the most inspiring factor in making this decision because we were the spokes couples for an organization called Peace Over Violence here in Los Angeles that does awareness for domestic abuse. And there was a campaign every year there's a. There's an annual campaign called Denim Day which is messaging around sexual violence and how it's important for men just as much as any anyone to recognize that our role in sexual violence. My wife wrote a song after watching the Hunting Grounds. I think is the name of the film about rape on campus called Never said Yes. Because the conversation around, you know, sexual violence is always very directed and pointed at blaming the victim, saying, well, you know, did you say no? Did you lead the perpetrator on? You know, it's never a question of did you say yes?
- [49:27]
Sophia
Right?
- [49:29]
Aloe Blacc
And if you didn't say yes. So she wrote a song called never said yes. And I thought it was brilliant and, you know, great idea to take the social mission, put it into a mantra that can become the language to support that mission in the absence of, you know, a narrator. You know, now you have this, this quick, easy sound bite that helps to tell the story in a way that people can digest quickly.
- [50:03]
Sophia
It's really beautiful. And now a word from our wonderful sponsors.
- [50:10]
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- [50:46]
Sophia
One of the things that strikes me about the opportunity that you've come created here is with an album's worth of songs, each song having a focus for a cause, you. You offer up a board to an audience to say which of these things resonates with you the most deeply? Which of these things will you join the call for? Because, you know, I remember early in my career, people, people would always say to me, we have to pick something. Pick a cause. Like, how is working on a more civil society going to be accomplished with one thing that seems ridiculous to me, and I actually think one of our greatest strengths is the fact that when we get to speak to so many people, the more you can teach or showcase how interconnected these things are, the more likely you are to inspire each person. Paying attention to what you're sharing with the thing that most inspires them. Because not every fan is going to have the same cause, but everyone's going to be inspired by something. So what an amazing. What an amazing thing to. To layer this creative process with so many opportunities for real passion and connection.
- [52:10]
Aloe Blacc
Thank you. I'm really happy about it. I think it's just a volume one of many to come and I'm gonna keep exploiting this method for the long haul.
- [52:25]
Sophia
Do you have a favorite song on the album?
- [52:29]
Aloe Blacc
Very hard to say. Don't Go Alone is so infectious to me. The message, you know, being about if you want to go fast, you can go alone. If you want to go far, you go together. And that being this African proverb That really makes so much sense about how society and communities can. Can operate. And then deep inside the music is everything that I grew up with, parents coming from Central America via the Caribbean. So lots of, you know, Latin and Caribbean sounds and then African diaspora, African sounds in the music. But then there's. On the other side of that sonic landscape is this very calm and relaxed kind of story of father and son, which is daddy told me. So the concept of my relationship with my dad and the lessons that I learned from him. And there's. I guess there's a favorite moment or reason for every song on the project. But yeah, those are two highlights for sure.
- [53:55]
Sophia
Do you write a whole slew of songs and then start to narrow them down for the album, or are you a person who finds each sort of concept that you're processing in song and then you have an album?
- [54:12]
Aloe Blacc
I think that putting an album together is a sculpting activity. So I build up a whole mountain full of. Of songs, and then I peel away the layers so that the remaining songs are the ones that tell the story I feel is most necessary. And that's the general. The general way of writing for me. Just keep writing all the time and piece together, put together the album based on what the theme, overall theme should be.
- [54:52]
Sophia
So interesting. My last and favorite question to ask everyone, and I'm curious, from where you're sitting and all these things you're thinking about and this repertoire, this new repertoire of music you're about to give to us today, what feels like your work in progress?
- [55:16]
Aloe Blacc
Ah, what comes to mind is yesterday, last night, in conversation with my kids, we did cuddle time just before they go to bed and thinking about their eagerness to engage in the art world. And this work in progress is, you know, building kids that are resilient and thoughtful and full of heart and intelligent and fearless artistic executive. So, you know, just before they went to bed, they spent a few minutes coming up with some songs that they might. That might end up being their first. Their first project together.
- [56:23]
Sophia
Wow.
- [56:24]
Aloe Blacc
As a brother and sister, that's. I'd say that's my work in progress. It's like these beautiful lives that my wife and I have been fortunate enough to receive and steward to adulthood.
- [56:41]
Sophia
Stewardship. That's major. To watch your babies creating in front of you and looking at you like, dad, is this good? What a trip that has to be. I just love that for you.
- [56:54]
Aloe Blacc
Yeah.
- [56:57]
Sophia
Well, thank you so much. Thank you for joining me for this today. You know, as I said earlier, it's as a. As a fan for so long, it's such a joy to be able to talk to you not just about the work, but about the way you see the world. And I'm so thrilled for the new record. And I will say on behalf of many, many people I know who are amped about it, we all thank you.
- [57:21]
Aloe Blacc
Thank you. Appreciate it.
- [57:23]
Sophia
Yeah. Yeah. This has been such a joy.
- [57:25]
Aloe Blacc
Likewise.
- [57:41]
Sophia
This is Dr. Laurie Santos from the Happiness Lab at the Boston Marathon, presented by bank of America. Thousands of runners are raising funds for life changing causes and you can help make an impact. Visit bofa.com helpacause to donate and support a runner's fundraising efforts. Together, we're making a difference. One step at a time. What would you like the power to do? Bank of America.