1 00:00:09,422 --> 00:00:12,402 Jay Ray: Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-American vocalist, 2 00:00:12,412 --> 00:00:14,372 songwriter, and composer, known 3 00:00:14,372 --> 00:00:16,942 for her electric stage presence, innovative sound 4 00:00:16,972 --> 00:00:19,082 and vibrant cultural activism. 5 00:00:19,892 --> 00:00:20,072 Her 6 00:00:20,072 --> 00:00:26,782 latest EP, titled Ethio Blue, was released March 8, 2024 and spent nearly 2 months 7 00:00:26,992 --> 00:00:30,162 at #12 on the NACC World Charts. 8 00:00:31,212 --> 00:00:35,782 Meklit’s Ethio-Jazz performances have taken her to renowned stages across 4 9 00:00:35,782 --> 00:00:36,462 continents. 10 00:00:36,942 --> 00:00:40,402 Her albums have topped world music charts across the US + Europe, 11 00:00:40,832 --> 00:00:44,372 received rave reviews, and been covered extensively by the press. 12 00:00:45,212 --> 00:00:45,912 Meklit has 13 00:00:45,932 --> 00:00:50,572 collaborated with renowned artists such as Kronos Quartet, Andrew Bird, 14 00:00:50,962 --> 00:00:56,102 Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the late creator of funk music, Pee Wee Ellis. 15 00:00:56,102 --> 00:01:01,572 Meklit has always straddled her creative practice with her passion for cultural 16 00:01:01,602 --> 00:01:02,322 activism. 17 00:01:02,812 --> 00:01:06,832 She is the former Chief of Program at Yerba Buena Center for the 18 00:01:06,852 --> 00:01:11,502 Arts in San Francisco, where she helped design and implement a 19 00:01:11,502 --> 00:01:14,612 slate of radical programs supporting social justice 20 00:01:14,612 --> 00:01:16,972 focused artists during the height 21 00:01:17,002 --> 00:01:18,002 of the pandemic. 22 00:01:19,062 --> 00:01:22,482 She is a sought after thought leader and speaker and has given 23 00:01:22,482 --> 00:01:27,472 talks on multiple TED Stages, at the UN, and at the National 24 00:01:27,472 --> 00:01:28,772 Geographic Storytellers 25 00:01:28,782 --> 00:01:32,412 Summit, as well as at institutions, organizations and 26 00:01:32,412 --> 00:01:34,612 Universities around the globe. 27 00:01:35,722 --> 00:01:40,382 Meklit is a National Geographic Explorer, a TED Senior Fellow, and a former 28 00:01:40,882 --> 00:01:42,652 Artistin-Residence at Harvard University. 29 00:01:43,202 --> 00:01:45,662 She is the co-founder of the Nile Project, a 30 00:01:45,662 --> 00:01:52,192 featured voice in UN Women’s theme song and the winner of the 2021 globalFEST 31 00:01:52,262 --> 00:01:53,212 Artist Award. 32 00:01:54,352 --> 00:01:58,672 Meklit has been a guest DJ on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, 33 00:01:59,012 --> 00:02:03,712 created new works via commissions from Lincoln Center, MAP Fund, Center for the 34 00:02:03,732 --> 00:02:10,002 Art of Performance at UCLA, Stanford Live, NYU Abu Dhabi and many more. 35 00:02:11,232 --> 00:02:11,362 Her 36 00:02:11,362 --> 00:02:17,142 music has been featured by the New York Times, BBC, CNN, NPR, Washington Post, 37 00:02:17,172 --> 00:02:21,782 Vibe Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe and many more. 38 00:02:22,812 --> 00:02:28,512 Meklit is co-founder, co-producer and host of Movement, a podcast, radio series 39 00:02:28,692 --> 00:02:32,512 , live performance series and community building initiative uplifting 40 00:02:32,512 --> 00:02:36,702 the stories, songs and cultural power of immigrant musicians. 41 00:02:37,312 --> 00:02:39,232 The show airs monthly on PRX’s 42 00:02:39,472 --> 00:02:43,202 The World to an audience of 2.5 million listeners. 43 00:02:43,842 --> 00:02:45,812 Season 2 of Movement launches 44 00:02:45,862 --> 00:02:50,792 July 16, 2024, wherever you get your podcasts. 45 00:02:51,187 --> 00:02:52,549 Enjoy the show. 46 00:02:52,948 --> 00:02:56,328 DJ Sir Daniel: Greetings and welcome to another episode of Queue Points podcast. 47 00:02:56,328 --> 00:02:58,008 I am DJ Sir Daniel. 48 00:02:58,288 --> 00:03:01,368 Jay Ray: And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my government 49 00:03:01,408 --> 00:03:03,708 as Johnny Ray Kornegay III. 50 00:03:03,728 --> 00:03:04,578 What's happening y'all. 51 00:03:05,388 --> 00:03:07,858 DJ Sir Daniel: Listen, Queue Points podcast is the podcast dropping 52 00:03:07,858 --> 00:03:10,148 the needle on black music history. 53 00:03:10,418 --> 00:03:16,838 And Jay Ray, I am so proud that we are a podcast, a movement that, um, is a 54 00:03:16,848 --> 00:03:21,108 staunch supporter of all black stories. 55 00:03:21,788 --> 00:03:26,888 Coming from not only here in the United States, but of course, all the stories 56 00:03:26,888 --> 00:03:28,898 that are coming from the diaspora. 57 00:03:29,228 --> 00:03:33,488 And we have a special guest on this episode, Jay Ray, 58 00:03:33,488 --> 00:03:35,188 please introduce our guests. 59 00:03:35,588 --> 00:03:40,408 Jay Ray: Folks, um, we are incredibly excited to welcome 60 00:03:40,748 --> 00:03:43,958 Meklit Hedero to Queue Points. 61 00:03:44,258 --> 00:03:46,118 Meklit, welcome to the show. 62 00:03:46,118 --> 00:03:47,328 How are you? 63 00:03:48,738 --> 00:03:49,648 Meklit Hadero: Oh, I'm so good. 64 00:03:49,688 --> 00:03:51,338 It's so good to be here with you. 65 00:03:51,848 --> 00:03:54,078 I love talking about all things diaspora. 66 00:03:54,078 --> 00:03:56,018 So here I am at home, you know? 67 00:03:57,608 --> 00:03:58,418 DJ Sir Daniel: We had to do it. 68 00:03:58,858 --> 00:04:00,538 Jay Ray: Absolutely. 69 00:04:00,548 --> 00:04:04,468 So we have several things we want to discuss with you. 70 00:04:04,498 --> 00:04:08,268 Of course, we want to get into your podcast, but here's what's interesting. 71 00:04:08,268 --> 00:04:09,508 Your podcast is a radio show. 72 00:04:09,508 --> 00:04:13,768 So it's like podcast radio show all the movement. 73 00:04:14,303 --> 00:04:15,863 And all the things, right? 74 00:04:16,303 --> 00:04:25,773 But before we get into that, so I recently caught, um, that you did a performance. 75 00:04:25,773 --> 00:04:27,043 This was back in August. 76 00:04:27,083 --> 00:04:30,683 It was at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. 77 00:04:31,148 --> 00:04:31,618 Meklit Hadero: Yes. 78 00:04:31,843 --> 00:04:33,933 Jay Ray: I wanted to be here so bad. 79 00:04:33,933 --> 00:04:35,833 So you did this performance. 80 00:04:35,873 --> 00:04:40,403 It was, um, called Meklitz Movement Immigrant Orchestra. 81 00:04:40,803 --> 00:04:44,053 And from the description, it was 13 musicians. 82 00:04:44,603 --> 00:04:48,753 representing 11 countries, including India, Mexico, Ethiopia, 83 00:04:48,763 --> 00:04:55,483 Cuba, Italy, Taiwan, Spain, Iran, Mali, Haiti, Palestine, Meklit. 84 00:04:56,803 --> 00:05:04,713 Let's talk about you and your musicianship and a bit about what inspired you 85 00:05:04,713 --> 00:05:07,893 to convene all of these musicians. 86 00:05:09,378 --> 00:05:12,158 Meklit Hadero: Well, thank you for asking about that moment, because I 87 00:05:12,158 --> 00:05:16,828 have to say that was like one of the highlights of my entire musical career, 88 00:05:17,198 --> 00:05:19,588 and I think, you know, the underlying. 89 00:05:20,643 --> 00:05:24,583 thing for me is that I like to tell bigger stories together with other 90 00:05:24,583 --> 00:05:26,183 artists than I can do by myself. 91 00:05:26,753 --> 00:05:34,013 And I think when you get people together, um, there's from across, you know, 92 00:05:34,533 --> 00:05:39,573 boundaries, whether those boundaries are invisible lines on a map that 93 00:05:39,573 --> 00:05:45,648 are called countries, or whether they are, um, you know, uh, from different 94 00:05:45,648 --> 00:05:47,868 communities and cultures of all kinds. 95 00:05:47,898 --> 00:05:51,328 I think there's always a power in gathering folks and 96 00:05:51,328 --> 00:05:52,618 there's an X factor in it. 97 00:05:52,628 --> 00:05:56,068 So that actually, the movement immigrant orchestra actually started 98 00:05:56,078 --> 00:05:59,528 out of this series of gatherings of immigrant musicians that we were having. 99 00:05:59,798 --> 00:06:03,968 I was like, you know, our communities are under attack in a way that 100 00:06:03,978 --> 00:06:06,468 is just constant and oppressive. 101 00:06:06,468 --> 00:06:10,268 And we need to be together and understand from a place that 102 00:06:10,268 --> 00:06:11,858 starts from our cultural power. 103 00:06:12,198 --> 00:06:13,568 So we just started. 104 00:06:13,873 --> 00:06:18,453 having gatherings and food and what happens when you get musicians 105 00:06:18,453 --> 00:06:20,073 together is that they want to play. 106 00:06:20,503 --> 00:06:26,423 And so we would, but people also had this very deep understanding of the struggles, 107 00:06:26,423 --> 00:06:30,653 you know, like a lot of times immigrant communities can be siloed across ethnicity 108 00:06:30,683 --> 00:06:36,693 or language or But we actually have a lot of the same struggles, we all, that's what 109 00:06:36,693 --> 00:06:41,483 solidarity means, like actually we are all the same forces that are oppressing, you 110 00:06:41,483 --> 00:06:43,553 know, it's, it's a cross, it's a cross. 111 00:06:44,043 --> 00:06:50,783 Um, so we just, like, we started gathering folks and realized we had so many 112 00:06:50,783 --> 00:06:52,953 stories that were echoes of each other. 113 00:06:52,953 --> 00:06:57,503 And then we would be sharing these very deep, powerful stories with each other. 114 00:06:57,653 --> 00:07:03,003 And then people would be like, you know, you get into an emotional space. 115 00:07:03,003 --> 00:07:06,128 And But then you're like, okay, we're going to put it in the music and we 116 00:07:06,128 --> 00:07:10,868 would have these jams that would just last and they were, you know, I was 117 00:07:10,868 --> 00:07:17,128 like, yo, this, you know, the first one, there's this, um, uh, Malian and 118 00:07:17,128 --> 00:07:23,748 Goni player called Mamadou Sidibe and he grows the gourds in Chico, California. 119 00:07:24,223 --> 00:07:28,869 And then in Oakland, he builds them and they are these artworks. 120 00:07:28,869 --> 00:07:32,053 They are these, I mean, they're literally like sound artworks. 121 00:07:32,053 --> 00:07:34,033 Like they're so beautiful. 122 00:07:34,963 --> 00:07:43,053 And he started playing with, um, a cellist from Korea and a guitarist 123 00:07:43,063 --> 00:07:45,503 from Spain, and everybody was like. 124 00:07:46,288 --> 00:07:50,848 Uh, I, it, uh, but like we, we literally, like, actually, 125 00:07:50,848 --> 00:07:52,138 it's not a place for words. 126 00:07:52,138 --> 00:07:55,228 It's a place for sounds and we just wanted to be together and 127 00:07:55,228 --> 00:07:57,838 play together, and that's how the immigrant orchestra started. 128 00:07:58,138 --> 00:08:02,908 But what I, but then what I didn't totally realize was how cathartic it would be 129 00:08:02,908 --> 00:08:06,598 for the audience, you know, because we came from this, like, we built a 130 00:08:06,598 --> 00:08:09,878 love amongst each other and, you know. 131 00:08:10,193 --> 00:08:13,383 And then we were able to bring that to the audience and they wouldn't 132 00:08:13,383 --> 00:08:18,353 let us go for two hours, two hours telling us the experiences that 133 00:08:18,353 --> 00:08:21,313 they had had in this concert. 134 00:08:21,323 --> 00:08:22,663 So it was very special. 135 00:08:22,663 --> 00:08:24,083 We will be doing more of it. 136 00:08:24,643 --> 00:08:26,973 Um, we need solidarity. 137 00:08:27,333 --> 00:08:31,403 Um, and when we can do it with cultural power at the center, then we 138 00:08:31,623 --> 00:08:35,743 can invite so many others into that space of, of love and connection. 139 00:08:36,163 --> 00:08:36,453 Jay Ray: Yeah. 140 00:08:37,153 --> 00:08:37,573 Mm-Hmm? 141 00:08:37,638 --> 00:08:43,798 DJ Sir Daniel: know, McLee, as I listen to you speak, um, what stands out to 142 00:08:43,798 --> 00:08:47,488 me is something that I've always, that I always talk about on this show when 143 00:08:47,488 --> 00:08:54,748 we discuss the power of music and the fact that musicians, singers, musicians, 144 00:08:54,988 --> 00:08:58,508 when you're in that moment, there is. 145 00:09:00,198 --> 00:09:03,908 Being in that moment of being on stage and playing together as a 146 00:09:03,908 --> 00:09:11,498 collective is a cracking open, cracking open of your spirit to allow the 147 00:09:11,498 --> 00:09:13,508 source to come and move through you. 148 00:09:13,928 --> 00:09:16,578 That's what happens during our praise and worship at church. 149 00:09:16,588 --> 00:09:20,798 You know, when, when music is involved and those emotions get high, there's 150 00:09:20,798 --> 00:09:24,638 a cracking open of your spirit and it allows the source to come through. 151 00:09:24,638 --> 00:09:26,118 And I say that all the time. 152 00:09:26,608 --> 00:09:27,868 And that's what I'm hearing about. 153 00:09:28,108 --> 00:09:32,018 That experience that J Ray was speaking of, but you also get 154 00:09:32,028 --> 00:09:36,388 to experience something that I feel is also life changing. 155 00:09:36,398 --> 00:09:39,398 And that's travel, travel changes. 156 00:09:39,398 --> 00:09:41,888 You travel makes you a different person. 157 00:09:42,378 --> 00:09:47,588 And as an, as an immigrant myself, I experienced that as a, as a child. 158 00:09:47,988 --> 00:09:54,318 So what, what are you hoping or what is your plan to bring that 159 00:09:54,318 --> 00:09:56,838 experience to a larger audience? 160 00:09:57,388 --> 00:10:02,388 Um, To create, to let, to allow everybody else to feel that shift, 161 00:10:02,658 --> 00:10:06,298 because like you said, right now, immigrants are under attack. 162 00:10:06,658 --> 00:10:10,378 Black people are, Black people are under attack and they don't understand. 163 00:10:10,908 --> 00:10:14,748 And a lot of times we don't understand that we're all one in the same. 164 00:10:15,418 --> 00:10:19,038 And just because we may have been born someplace different, 165 00:10:19,518 --> 00:10:24,428 there are, there are powers that be that are trying to eliminate. 166 00:10:25,593 --> 00:10:27,183 Um, large groups of people. 167 00:10:27,183 --> 00:10:31,133 So in your messaging and in your travels and all the work that you're 168 00:10:31,133 --> 00:10:37,843 doing, you're doing, what is your game plan to, to use your, your powers 169 00:10:37,883 --> 00:10:40,243 to crack that collective experience? 170 00:10:42,698 --> 00:10:46,828 Meklit Hadero: Oh, you just got right to the heart of 2024, didn't you? 171 00:10:47,913 --> 00:10:48,133 DJ Sir Daniel: That's 172 00:10:48,148 --> 00:10:49,498 Jay Ray: It's what we do here on Q. 173 00:10:49,773 --> 00:10:50,613 DJ Sir Daniel: That's what I do. 174 00:10:50,813 --> 00:10:51,603 That's what we do. 175 00:10:54,998 --> 00:11:00,408 Meklit Hadero: you know, I, first of all, there's so many, like, 176 00:11:00,698 --> 00:11:04,188 when it comes to cultural strategy, there's never, like, you can't 177 00:11:04,208 --> 00:11:06,178 actually come at it in just one way. 178 00:11:06,198 --> 00:11:11,058 So what I, what I want to say is that there's a few different ways 179 00:11:11,058 --> 00:11:13,808 that I can answer that question and I'll just run through them. 180 00:11:13,848 --> 00:11:17,178 And then you stop me if you have questions in between, cause you know, I could talk. 181 00:11:17,518 --> 00:11:17,908 Talk 182 00:11:18,283 --> 00:11:18,933 DJ Sir Daniel: Love that. 183 00:11:19,028 --> 00:11:20,608 Meklit Hadero: I could just keep going. 184 00:11:21,058 --> 00:11:22,548 Um, okay. 185 00:11:24,278 --> 00:11:25,828 From a personal place. 186 00:11:25,888 --> 00:11:28,038 I just want to speak for a moment about my music. 187 00:11:29,033 --> 00:11:31,353 I make music that's Ethiopian jazz. 188 00:11:32,913 --> 00:11:35,213 I stand on the shoulders of Giants. 189 00:11:35,303 --> 00:11:36,993 I am on a continuum. 190 00:11:38,053 --> 00:11:42,443 The music that I make is deeply influenced by Ethiopian pentatonic 191 00:11:42,443 --> 00:11:45,583 scales, melodies, and rhythms. 192 00:11:46,383 --> 00:11:49,153 African music and jazz is also African music. 193 00:11:49,238 --> 00:11:49,778 Jay Ray: Yes. 194 00:11:50,373 --> 00:12:00,398 Meklit Hadero: And so it There, for me, making Ethio Jazz is a place where 195 00:12:00,428 --> 00:12:09,618 I have turned my experience of African diaspora solidarity into a sound practice 196 00:12:09,958 --> 00:12:12,338 that I speak about everywhere I go. 197 00:12:13,028 --> 00:12:17,993 Um, There's an amazing story about the origin of Ethiopian jazz, which 198 00:12:17,993 --> 00:12:24,623 is that there's a man by the name of, um, is the creator of Ethiopian jazz. 199 00:12:24,623 --> 00:12:28,443 And if you know, like the Ethiopiques, like the, like all those first 200 00:12:28,443 --> 00:12:29,973 Ethiopiques that folks would hear. 201 00:12:30,333 --> 00:12:34,433 That was him as the composer and vibraphonist and conga player. 202 00:12:34,893 --> 00:12:41,103 Now, itio jazz came about because Murata Astatke was the first African to graduate 203 00:12:41,103 --> 00:12:42,673 from the Berkeley college of music. 204 00:12:42,773 --> 00:12:47,033 And he went to New York and he was playing congas with a bunch of Cuban congeros 205 00:12:47,073 --> 00:12:50,193 and he saw, Hey, they're bringing their. 206 00:12:50,473 --> 00:12:53,313 Traditional music into a relationship with jazz. 207 00:12:53,993 --> 00:12:58,843 And then there's a famous story of him, uh, playing with John Coltrane 208 00:12:59,103 --> 00:13:03,343 and Coltrane took him aside and said, yo, you gotta bring your 209 00:13:03,343 --> 00:13:05,333 traditional music together with jazz. 210 00:13:05,343 --> 00:13:06,743 Like you bring it to the root. 211 00:13:07,473 --> 00:13:11,993 He ended up moving back to Ethiopia and created Ethio jazz from there. 212 00:13:12,003 --> 00:13:16,623 So there would be no Ethiopian jazz without not only the mentorship 213 00:13:16,993 --> 00:13:19,953 of African American giants. 214 00:13:20,478 --> 00:13:23,178 Of music, but also Cuban musicians. 215 00:13:23,208 --> 00:13:28,538 And we know that the, the histories of forced migration that birthed, that 216 00:13:28,548 --> 00:13:34,238 birthed the music of the Americas runs deeply, deeply through every single 217 00:13:34,548 --> 00:13:40,118 time that I stand on a stage and sing, I sing solidarity like that is my. 218 00:13:40,678 --> 00:13:45,008 So there's, sometimes I like to say that we use music to talk about the 219 00:13:45,018 --> 00:13:48,738 things that are hard to talk about the places where our tongues get stuck. 220 00:13:49,038 --> 00:13:49,668 And so. 221 00:13:51,188 --> 00:13:56,408 The, the first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to, the first thing I'm 222 00:13:56,408 --> 00:13:59,848 going to do is I'm going to write songs that acknowledge history, that look 223 00:13:59,848 --> 00:14:05,848 history in the eye, and do not erase any peoples from any, from any story. 224 00:14:05,848 --> 00:14:09,598 So that's number one, number one, number one. 225 00:14:11,028 --> 00:14:15,558 Number two, the, the project, you know, Movement is a podcast, it's a 226 00:14:15,558 --> 00:14:19,688 radio show, it's a live performance experience that is about the 227 00:14:19,688 --> 00:14:21,638 intersection of music and migration. 228 00:14:22,698 --> 00:14:23,858 Here's the way I think about it. 229 00:14:23,868 --> 00:14:28,868 We have a national strategy that is our podcast and radio show that's 230 00:14:28,868 --> 00:14:34,978 about narratives of migration based in the people who have experienced it. 231 00:14:35,358 --> 00:14:40,568 That means our stories coming from lived experiences with nuance. 232 00:14:41,078 --> 00:14:51,008 With tenderness with a focus on ancestral wisdom, continuum, epiphany, um, right as 233 00:14:51,008 --> 00:14:58,138 we can look pain, trauma, and difficulty in the eye and say that we get to make the 234 00:14:58,138 --> 00:15:00,848 meaning out of all of those experiences. 235 00:15:01,768 --> 00:15:06,278 Now, at the same time, understanding that we're in a place where oppression 236 00:15:06,278 --> 00:15:10,438 must be challenged every single day, but oppression cannot be challenged 237 00:15:10,448 --> 00:15:14,718 only on You know, only in this way, like what I started to understand 238 00:15:14,718 --> 00:15:18,328 was that, like, I loved making the podcast and the radio show, but I 239 00:15:18,328 --> 00:15:20,348 needed it to live in my community too. 240 00:15:20,698 --> 00:15:24,778 I needed it to be in my everyday where I walked down the street and to be able 241 00:15:24,778 --> 00:15:28,878 to have an impact on my direct community and the movement and the movement 242 00:15:28,878 --> 00:15:31,908 gathering strategy, the immigrant orchestra, our solidarity building 243 00:15:31,908 --> 00:15:34,698 strategy really comes out of that. 244 00:15:35,358 --> 00:15:41,298 So, and it's also, uh, solidarity also for me means that. 245 00:15:42,193 --> 00:15:45,843 We understand that in the age of climate crisis like things are 246 00:15:45,843 --> 00:15:48,763 probably about to get a lot more difficult before they get better. 247 00:15:49,083 --> 00:15:53,513 And we need each other we need interconnection to be able to be, 248 00:15:54,233 --> 00:15:57,673 to be able to not just withstand but to create new systems that 249 00:15:57,673 --> 00:15:59,683 are based from the ground up. 250 00:16:00,033 --> 00:16:00,783 And so, 251 00:16:02,813 --> 00:16:08,723 So, so the Immigrant Orchestra, our gathering strategy, building solidarity, 252 00:16:08,723 --> 00:16:13,173 not just within immigrant communities, but across oppressed communities, is a 253 00:16:13,183 --> 00:16:18,503 part of how we create new systems that will actually get us to the place we 254 00:16:18,503 --> 00:16:23,543 want to go, which is non hierarchical, which is based in culture and cultural 255 00:16:23,543 --> 00:16:29,693 power, which is, um, organized, which is being able to say what our communities 256 00:16:29,713 --> 00:16:34,783 need and pressure the people who are in power to support us in getting where we 257 00:16:34,948 --> 00:16:36,608 folks what they need every single day. 258 00:16:37,528 --> 00:16:38,378 I think I'll stop. 259 00:16:39,003 --> 00:16:39,713 Jay Ray: Wow. 260 00:16:40,363 --> 00:16:43,273 I have a question in here. 261 00:16:44,983 --> 00:16:45,583 It is. 262 00:16:46,023 --> 00:16:57,893 I find it so innovative that you as a multifaceted creative also decided 263 00:16:58,353 --> 00:17:03,793 to insert podcasting into your work. 264 00:17:06,683 --> 00:17:07,393 Wind. 265 00:17:07,393 --> 00:17:07,543 Wind. 266 00:17:08,423 --> 00:17:10,213 How did that come about? 267 00:17:10,283 --> 00:17:14,253 Because I, seeing this is like, Oh my goodness. 268 00:17:14,283 --> 00:17:20,523 This is like the perfect way to extend these conversations, these stories, right? 269 00:17:20,943 --> 00:17:23,273 That, that impact people so deeply. 270 00:17:23,273 --> 00:17:26,023 So how did that epiphany come? 271 00:17:27,738 --> 00:17:28,978 Meklit Hadero: It wasn't an epiphany. 272 00:17:29,008 --> 00:17:29,838 I wish it was. 273 00:17:29,888 --> 00:17:34,928 I wish I had a great epiphany story for you, but you know how sometimes things 274 00:17:34,928 --> 00:17:36,618 are just one foot in front of the other, 275 00:17:36,723 --> 00:17:37,273 Jay Ray: Yes. 276 00:17:37,868 --> 00:17:42,038 Meklit Hadero: you know, sometimes it's like, well, you know, anyway, um, I had 277 00:17:42,038 --> 00:17:44,038 a very dear friend called Julie Kane. 278 00:17:44,598 --> 00:17:51,823 She is now, um, Senior editor at through line, which is, um, a new show 279 00:17:51,823 --> 00:17:54,953 on NPR and they do, um, long form. 280 00:17:54,963 --> 00:17:58,253 They do hour long documentaries weekly, which are amazing. 281 00:17:58,263 --> 00:18:01,723 And Julie was, um, Julie invited me. 282 00:18:02,278 --> 00:18:07,338 She basically was like, Hey, I want to make a podcast about world music. 283 00:18:08,368 --> 00:18:09,108 What do you think? 284 00:18:09,138 --> 00:18:12,418 And we started to, at the time I was, I had a booking, I had a 285 00:18:12,418 --> 00:18:13,818 booking agency with my partner. 286 00:18:13,828 --> 00:18:18,528 It was like a very little boutique booking agency and it was called 2042. 287 00:18:19,183 --> 00:18:25,293 And it was about, at that time, back in 2017, that was the year that the United 288 00:18:25,293 --> 00:18:30,413 States was no longer projected to have a cultural majority or an ethnic majority. 289 00:18:30,683 --> 00:18:33,173 I don't like the word majority minority because we're not a 290 00:18:33,173 --> 00:18:34,593 minority, actually, in the world. 291 00:18:34,593 --> 00:18:35,443 We're the, we're the majority. 292 00:18:35,493 --> 00:18:36,378 Jay Ray: are Right. 293 00:18:36,653 --> 00:18:36,983 Meklit Hadero: you know, 294 00:18:37,928 --> 00:18:38,888 DJ Sir Daniel: call a thing, a thing 295 00:18:38,993 --> 00:18:39,353 Jay Ray: right? 296 00:18:39,453 --> 00:18:44,383 Meklit Hadero: you know, so, so we had, so, and I was telling her about 2042, and 297 00:18:44,383 --> 00:18:49,738 then we decided together Like let's, let's do a podcast about music and migration. 298 00:18:50,523 --> 00:18:56,643 And so we kind of started, uh, we started cooking it and she brought in an amazing 299 00:18:56,643 --> 00:19:01,013 producer who has been my ride or die, Ian Coss, who's like, just want a Peabody. 300 00:19:01,123 --> 00:19:01,943 He's genius. 301 00:19:01,973 --> 00:19:06,443 He's like the most trust based heartfelt person. 302 00:19:06,933 --> 00:19:07,673 Um, yeah. 303 00:19:07,933 --> 00:19:12,563 multi talented musician, editor, sound designer, and we started making stuff, and 304 00:19:12,563 --> 00:19:17,253 then, uh, and then it evolved into this today, and it took a long time, took a 305 00:19:17,253 --> 00:19:21,823 long time to find our partners, we knocked on many doors, many people were like, yes, 306 00:19:21,823 --> 00:19:26,533 yes, yes, yes, no, yes, yes, yes, yes, uh uh, yes, yes, yes, yes, no, no, no, 307 00:19:26,533 --> 00:19:29,933 no, no, no, no, no, no, and so we just, we had to find our own way, you know, 308 00:19:30,353 --> 00:19:30,983 Jay Ray: Yeah. 309 00:19:31,538 --> 00:19:33,163 Wow, wow, wow, wow. 310 00:19:33,613 --> 00:19:35,263 Um, really quickly. 311 00:19:37,383 --> 00:19:40,413 So in listening to movement, um. 312 00:19:42,918 --> 00:19:50,018 You hear the sound design, you hear your storytelling in there as, um, 313 00:19:50,258 --> 00:19:53,318 I love the way you just process the conversations that you're having with 314 00:19:53,318 --> 00:19:54,688 the folks that you're talking to. 315 00:19:55,298 --> 00:19:57,958 Um, you're welcome. 316 00:19:58,078 --> 00:20:05,508 Um, so my question to you is how, if at all, is the making of these movement 317 00:20:05,538 --> 00:20:07,388 episodes kind of like songwriting? 318 00:20:07,388 --> 00:20:09,753 Yes. 319 00:20:09,973 --> 00:20:11,373 Meklit Hadero: It's, it's very creative. 320 00:20:11,373 --> 00:20:13,133 It's a very creative process. 321 00:20:13,183 --> 00:20:19,093 Um, it's very different from songwriting is I think of songwriting as a mix 322 00:20:19,093 --> 00:20:24,613 of discipline and mystery, you know, um, you know, if you, if you ask 323 00:20:24,613 --> 00:20:27,643 a lot of songwriters and you say, well, where did the song come from? 324 00:20:27,643 --> 00:20:30,008 They're like, I don't, I don't, I don't really know. 325 00:20:31,108 --> 00:20:35,758 You know, and it's, it's kind of like you and the, and it's about that 326 00:20:35,758 --> 00:20:38,368 cracking open that you talked about 327 00:20:40,418 --> 00:20:41,138 before. 328 00:20:41,578 --> 00:20:45,748 So, so songwriting for me is like catching melodies as they come, 329 00:20:46,208 --> 00:20:50,188 recording them, and then going into the studio and like, Working it, 330 00:20:50,208 --> 00:20:51,808 working it, working it, working it. 331 00:20:52,108 --> 00:20:55,548 So the essay writing, the storytelling, is a working it, 332 00:20:55,558 --> 00:20:57,378 working, and it's very emotional. 333 00:20:57,418 --> 00:21:01,558 It's actually, it's actually kind of difficult, you know, because you have to 334 00:21:01,558 --> 00:21:05,228 process, I don't know, like, not in a lot. 335 00:21:05,258 --> 00:21:11,798 It's just like you have to find a little fractal place in your own life 336 00:21:12,488 --> 00:21:22,263 where some huge question gets distilled into like a very simple exchange. 337 00:21:22,813 --> 00:21:25,763 And so it's actually interesting. 338 00:21:25,763 --> 00:21:28,503 I haven't thought about it, but I have started collecting stories, 339 00:21:28,503 --> 00:21:32,003 the way I collect melodies and then finding where I can insert them. 340 00:21:32,003 --> 00:21:35,763 So maybe it's more, maybe this question has brought out for me how 341 00:21:35,763 --> 00:21:37,613 it's more similar than I realized. 342 00:21:37,873 --> 00:21:40,543 And then I do have to like work it, work, work, work. 343 00:21:40,573 --> 00:21:42,763 And it's different because it's prose. 344 00:21:43,518 --> 00:21:44,918 And then I have to speak it out loud. 345 00:21:44,918 --> 00:21:46,708 So I write it, I speak it, I edit it. 346 00:21:46,718 --> 00:21:48,558 Cause it has to sound good spoken. 347 00:21:48,648 --> 00:21:53,798 So that's very different, but it's sort of similar when you write something and then 348 00:21:53,798 --> 00:21:55,398 you sing it and you realize, Oh, okay. 349 00:21:55,398 --> 00:21:58,228 The phrasing, all the phrasing of this word, I need a word. 350 00:21:58,228 --> 00:22:01,678 That's kind of two, that's two syllables here. 351 00:22:01,678 --> 00:22:05,458 I can't use the word that's for, you know, so, so it is a Cree. 352 00:22:05,468 --> 00:22:06,948 It is a very creative process. 353 00:22:06,948 --> 00:22:08,758 What I'll say that's different. 354 00:22:08,778 --> 00:22:11,918 That's really fun for me is that I've not. 355 00:22:11,933 --> 00:22:17,723 I haven't ever quite done the essay based creative writing that I have to 356 00:22:17,723 --> 00:22:21,833 do to make the stories come alive in the podcast and that's a new muscle 357 00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:23,523 for me and I'm really enjoying it. 358 00:22:23,613 --> 00:22:25,193 I do love it. 359 00:22:25,193 --> 00:22:33,303 Like I find that the final Outcome is like this exact place between like, just 360 00:22:33,633 --> 00:22:40,203 speaking a story and then like crafting, you know, the crafting part of it. 361 00:22:40,203 --> 00:22:44,173 So I, I actually really enjoy it, even though it's, it's a challenge. 362 00:22:44,173 --> 00:22:45,843 It's not like, it takes me time. 363 00:22:45,853 --> 00:22:48,323 I don't, it's not instantaneous at all. 364 00:22:48,333 --> 00:22:51,183 I'll work on an essay for like two weeks. 365 00:22:52,188 --> 00:22:54,028 Stuff like, you know, things like that. 366 00:22:54,738 --> 00:22:55,218 Jay Ray: Mm. 367 00:22:55,738 --> 00:23:01,898 DJ Sir Daniel: And so I, you know, and, and listening to, um, movement and what 368 00:23:01,898 --> 00:23:08,428 resonates with me a lot is the fact that as an immigrant, like I said before, I 369 00:23:08,638 --> 00:23:17,298 came to this country at two years old, uh, from Barbados and growing up and being. 370 00:23:17,718 --> 00:23:23,798 And matriculating through American culture and being a part of American culture. 371 00:23:25,668 --> 00:23:30,218 And I don't know if you experienced it, experienced this, but there 372 00:23:30,228 --> 00:23:32,008 is becoming more and more. 373 00:23:32,038 --> 00:23:34,638 There's a voice that's getting louder amongst. 374 00:23:36,138 --> 00:23:43,378 Black Americans, um, that are, feel like they're in, uh, not competition, 375 00:23:43,398 --> 00:23:49,508 but there is this, I don't know, this weirdness that has, that I'm feeling 376 00:23:49,508 --> 00:23:52,728 developed, not even developing, but it's been there for a while. 377 00:23:52,948 --> 00:23:57,368 And you hear things because we're so, we're so, you know, we're so stealth 378 00:23:57,518 --> 00:24:00,718 because I'm, I'm here, I've been here. 379 00:24:00,728 --> 00:24:02,348 So I'm S but I'm stuff. 380 00:24:02,348 --> 00:24:06,628 And I hear the things I hear the comments every now and then I hear the little. 381 00:24:07,218 --> 00:24:11,598 You know, those foreigners, this, those immigrants, that, you 382 00:24:11,598 --> 00:24:14,838 know, uh, Caribbean people think they're better than everybody. 383 00:24:15,108 --> 00:24:18,388 Africans do this and that, you know, you hear little stuff like that. 384 00:24:18,718 --> 00:24:22,128 And I'm wondering how you've dealt with it. 385 00:24:22,498 --> 00:24:25,898 Does a movement help you help in that healing process? 386 00:24:25,898 --> 00:24:29,213 Because I think for me, I try not to get. 387 00:24:29,383 --> 00:24:33,603 sidetracked by all those conversations, because I really do 388 00:24:33,603 --> 00:24:38,023 believe that that's just another distraction to keep us fragmented. 389 00:24:38,053 --> 00:24:41,383 And of course, when we're fragmented, you know, the powers 390 00:24:41,393 --> 00:24:42,943 that be are going to keep winning. 391 00:24:43,953 --> 00:24:47,873 And so, but I'm just wondering for you, McCleat, like in, in doing movement. 392 00:24:48,193 --> 00:24:50,353 And, and, and, and healing. 393 00:24:50,353 --> 00:24:54,973 Does that bring about a healing for you as we deal with this amongst 394 00:24:54,973 --> 00:24:59,973 ourselves in this community, as black people from all parts of the 395 00:24:59,973 --> 00:25:01,673 diaspora, all parts of the world? 396 00:25:03,828 --> 00:25:04,028 Meklit Hadero: Yeah. 397 00:25:04,028 --> 00:25:05,318 It's a very good question. 398 00:25:05,328 --> 00:25:06,888 It's a very honest question. 399 00:25:06,918 --> 00:25:10,028 I just want to thank you for your vulnerability also, because 400 00:25:10,028 --> 00:25:12,808 that is, that's, it's painful. 401 00:25:13,223 --> 00:25:13,983 DJ Sir Daniel: Yes. 402 00:25:14,898 --> 00:25:15,548 Meklit Hadero: It's painful. 403 00:25:15,718 --> 00:25:23,128 Um, and you know, for me, like definitely growing up, I had a lot 404 00:25:23,128 --> 00:25:25,068 of questions about where I belonged. 405 00:25:25,828 --> 00:25:27,368 And, um, 406 00:25:29,808 --> 00:25:34,748 I think that, you know, You know, I got called African booty 407 00:25:34,748 --> 00:25:37,828 scratcher growing up in New York. 408 00:25:37,888 --> 00:25:39,198 I also came to this 409 00:25:39,323 --> 00:25:40,103 DJ Sir Daniel: Oh, what part of New 410 00:25:40,238 --> 00:25:40,948 Meklit Hadero: years old. 411 00:25:41,568 --> 00:25:44,188 Oh, um, Crown Heights, 412 00:25:44,413 --> 00:25:44,893 DJ Sir Daniel: Me too! 413 00:25:45,553 --> 00:25:46,953 I grew up in Crown Heights. 414 00:25:46,983 --> 00:25:47,653 Yes! 415 00:25:47,723 --> 00:25:51,943 760 Crown Street between Utica and um, Eastern Parkway. 416 00:25:52,658 --> 00:25:54,428 Meklit Hadero: lived on Eastern Parkway. 417 00:25:54,468 --> 00:25:57,618 We lived, um, but we lived all over Brooklyn. 418 00:25:57,648 --> 00:25:59,148 We lived in Bay Ridge. 419 00:25:59,208 --> 00:26:03,198 And then, um, at the end we lived, uh, in Park Slope. 420 00:26:03,208 --> 00:26:05,408 We lived in all those places, the eighties. 421 00:26:05,703 --> 00:26:06,303 DJ Sir Daniel: Mm hmm. 422 00:26:06,363 --> 00:26:06,563 Mm 423 00:26:06,788 --> 00:26:13,088 Meklit Hadero: so, um, And definitely all of those things happened. 424 00:26:13,218 --> 00:26:20,108 And I think that, you know, here's my generous. 425 00:26:20,558 --> 00:26:23,738 So there are ways that I can look at these things with. 426 00:26:24,473 --> 00:26:26,293 Like, I, I look at them from different levels. 427 00:26:26,843 --> 00:26:30,233 I, so one level, and I don't mean to do this, it's kind of more like this. 428 00:26:30,583 --> 00:26:32,123 It's not a hierarchy, it's like 429 00:26:32,298 --> 00:26:32,598 Jay Ray: Right? 430 00:26:32,706 --> 00:26:33,307 DJ Sir Daniel: hmm. 431 00:26:33,633 --> 00:26:34,363 Meklit Hadero: seeds, you know? 432 00:26:34,963 --> 00:26:43,243 So one way that I look at it is that, you know, when we came to this country, 433 00:26:43,683 --> 00:26:48,503 there was a moment where my parents had to understand what race was. 434 00:26:49,853 --> 00:26:52,543 that is a very alienating thing. 435 00:26:53,053 --> 00:26:58,583 If you're an African American person hearing an African say, what is race? 436 00:26:58,903 --> 00:27:00,423 That sounds like a slap in the face. 437 00:27:02,053 --> 00:27:05,863 I can, I can walk into and, and the reason that I can, so I can walk 438 00:27:05,863 --> 00:27:09,863 into that conversation with empathy right from the start, but because 439 00:27:09,883 --> 00:27:11,603 I have lived both sides, right? 440 00:27:11,603 --> 00:27:14,273 Because I've, because my communities are both communities. 441 00:27:14,633 --> 00:27:18,913 And what I mean by that is that in Ethiopia, it's all about ethnicity. 442 00:27:19,563 --> 00:27:21,813 It's all about like, are you Amhara? 443 00:27:21,823 --> 00:27:25,493 Are you like, I'm actually also, to ethnicity. 444 00:27:25,493 --> 00:27:29,453 My father is from a place called Kambatha, which is in the south of Ethiopia. 445 00:27:29,453 --> 00:27:32,543 It's not a ethnic group that has a lot of political power. 446 00:27:32,543 --> 00:27:34,163 It's, it's like relatively small. 447 00:27:34,503 --> 00:27:36,263 There's not a lot of language speakers. 448 00:27:37,353 --> 00:27:41,633 Uh, my mother is Amhara, which is one of the, you know, larger tribes that has had 449 00:27:41,643 --> 00:27:43,373 historically a lot of political power. 450 00:27:43,613 --> 00:27:47,533 That itself was like an inter ethnic marriage. 451 00:27:47,533 --> 00:27:49,583 That was a big deal back then, you know? 452 00:27:50,053 --> 00:27:54,393 Um, so they come to this country and they, and they have these identities. 453 00:27:54,938 --> 00:27:58,658 that have a meaning for them, given the context that they were 454 00:27:58,658 --> 00:28:02,638 in, and then everyone around them tells them, that doesn't matter. 455 00:28:02,668 --> 00:28:04,178 What matters is that you're black. 456 00:28:04,198 --> 00:28:06,338 And it's like, well, what does it mean to be black? 457 00:28:06,768 --> 00:28:08,038 And you have to learn. 458 00:28:08,958 --> 00:28:16,588 And so, and you also have to, so, so, so, so, so I try to have empathy for both 459 00:28:16,588 --> 00:28:21,358 sides because also for my parents, it's like a shock, they're like, wait, what? 460 00:28:22,028 --> 00:28:22,538 You know? 461 00:28:22,588 --> 00:28:27,208 So, so, so I think there's like a basic, 462 00:28:29,438 --> 00:28:35,248 um, lack of communication or, or like just understanding of context that 463 00:28:35,508 --> 00:28:37,278 kind of leads to some of this stuff. 464 00:28:37,868 --> 00:28:41,168 Um, and then somebody saying, well, you don't think you're us. 465 00:28:41,198 --> 00:28:42,228 There was a lot of that. 466 00:28:42,583 --> 00:28:48,043 And I, you know, for me and I was like, well, what does somebody see walking down 467 00:28:48,043 --> 00:28:53,583 the street for me, you know, and then so then you're living this in between and 468 00:28:53,583 --> 00:28:57,813 that was like my whole teenage years, you know, like my whole teenage years 469 00:28:57,813 --> 00:29:00,753 was trying to find peace with that. 470 00:29:01,423 --> 00:29:06,363 Um, and I honestly did it through reading black American literature, 471 00:29:06,783 --> 00:29:10,503 you know, and talking to and talking to my community, you know, and 472 00:29:10,503 --> 00:29:12,503 that's how I that's how I like. 473 00:29:13,413 --> 00:29:18,833 And then reading like Audre Lorde and, um, bell hooks and, but then literally 474 00:29:19,163 --> 00:29:23,493 Toni Morrison and Ralph Ellison and that's how I, that's how I, that, 475 00:29:23,793 --> 00:29:28,873 so because all of them are speaking these very complex stories and saying 476 00:29:28,883 --> 00:29:31,293 nobody gets to make anyone a monolith. 477 00:29:31,728 --> 00:29:33,248 And then I was saying, Oh, okay. 478 00:29:33,248 --> 00:29:35,038 It's okay for me to not be a monolith. 479 00:29:35,708 --> 00:29:39,588 Um, I can accept my complexity and my hybridity. 480 00:29:40,108 --> 00:29:42,148 And I might be a paragraph. 481 00:29:42,228 --> 00:29:43,408 I'm not a sentence. 482 00:29:43,768 --> 00:29:46,828 But I'm pretty much guessing that they aren't either. 483 00:29:47,548 --> 00:29:51,018 And somebody tries to make you just, to, you know, describe 484 00:29:51,018 --> 00:29:52,398 you as two words, a black man. 485 00:29:52,408 --> 00:29:58,611 Yes, you are and maybe sensitive and an introvert and you know like and 486 00:29:58,621 --> 00:30:02,701 you're and your roots are from North Carolina and your roots might be from 487 00:30:02,701 --> 00:30:07,171 Congo or you know, like it's just we all have We all have so much and 488 00:30:07,181 --> 00:30:10,021 like, nobody can simplify any of us. 489 00:30:10,171 --> 00:30:14,361 solidarity building as a strategy and a practice is always about 490 00:30:14,741 --> 00:30:19,351 understanding that we have more in common than we do apart. 491 00:30:20,211 --> 00:30:26,563 And, I think my healing So, oh, the one thing I wanted to say, there's 492 00:30:26,563 --> 00:30:30,483 this, the first episode that we did in the podcast, season one, episode 493 00:30:30,483 --> 00:30:33,513 one, is a brother called Oddisee, and I don't know if y'all know 494 00:30:33,688 --> 00:30:37,158 Jay Ray: Oh MC producer all the above. 495 00:30:37,188 --> 00:30:37,388 Yes. 496 00:30:37,408 --> 00:30:37,528 Yes. 497 00:30:37,528 --> 00:30:37,848 Yes. 498 00:30:38,218 --> 00:30:38,668 Meklit Hadero: Yes. 499 00:30:38,678 --> 00:30:40,968 Sudanese and African American. 500 00:30:42,878 --> 00:30:49,358 he tells this amazing story because he became the bridge between exactly what 501 00:30:49,358 --> 00:30:53,368 you were talking about, where he would go to his African American family and 502 00:30:53,368 --> 00:30:55,078 they would be talking about foreigners. 503 00:30:55,438 --> 00:31:00,698 And he would go to his Sudanese family and they would be talking about African 504 00:31:00,698 --> 00:31:05,983 American people and he would be like, No, he would say no, but what about 505 00:31:06,003 --> 00:31:11,133 and he transformed his family as a hybrid, as a bridge, as a bridge. 506 00:31:11,163 --> 00:31:11,823 And so. 507 00:31:12,373 --> 00:31:17,193 Like, I do think that there's so much that happens when love is involved, you know, 508 00:31:17,193 --> 00:31:19,423 when personal connection is involved. 509 00:31:19,853 --> 00:31:23,393 And that can be like between friends, that can be within a family, 510 00:31:23,403 --> 00:31:24,883 that can be within a community. 511 00:31:25,243 --> 00:31:28,083 But we do have so much more in common than we do different. 512 00:31:28,523 --> 00:31:34,153 And the oppressive forces that seek to destroy us, that seek to 513 00:31:34,163 --> 00:31:38,203 minimize us and strip us of our power are the same exact ones. 514 00:31:38,413 --> 00:31:39,663 So who is winning? 515 00:31:40,313 --> 00:31:45,073 Who is winning when, when those things, when those words get spoken? 516 00:31:45,103 --> 00:31:47,583 And so there is a deep healing that needs to happen. 517 00:31:48,183 --> 00:31:53,973 Um, and you know, I think that, you know, 518 00:31:56,523 --> 00:32:02,223 there's a, there's a strange thing that happens when we think 519 00:32:02,243 --> 00:32:04,593 things are our own struggles. 520 00:32:05,443 --> 00:32:12,073 We think we, we think they, it is up to me to solve this, this deep wound. 521 00:32:12,768 --> 00:32:14,368 But this is a systemic problem. 522 00:32:14,758 --> 00:32:17,778 This is a systemic problem that needs systemic solutions that are 523 00:32:17,778 --> 00:32:20,498 working at very large scale levels. 524 00:32:20,518 --> 00:32:26,308 I think we're further along than we ever have been, even as we still see 525 00:32:26,328 --> 00:32:30,338 those narratives popping up in people that we love, you know, in people 526 00:32:30,338 --> 00:32:35,628 that we love and, and cherish and adore, and we don't, you know, so, 527 00:32:36,098 --> 00:32:41,008 so we can be nodes of healing, and our healing can radiate outwards, And 528 00:32:41,008 --> 00:32:44,758 at the same time, like, these are, these are systemic questions that have 529 00:32:44,758 --> 00:32:46,238 to be answered at a systems level. 530 00:32:48,418 --> 00:32:48,928 Jay Ray: Wow. 531 00:32:49,388 --> 00:32:55,938 Meklit, thank you so much for sharing your gift, your gift of storytelling, 532 00:32:55,948 --> 00:33:02,828 your gift of understanding and healing, um, with the Queue Points audience. 533 00:33:03,358 --> 00:33:10,068 Um, so what are some things, um, that you would like to share with our folks 534 00:33:10,068 --> 00:33:11,898 that people should be on the lookout for? 535 00:33:12,688 --> 00:33:16,608 That you want to prep the folks for any upcoming performances, that sort of thing. 536 00:33:17,788 --> 00:33:21,148 Meklit Hadero: Well, uh, well, I do want to say that I released an album earlier 537 00:33:21,148 --> 00:33:27,628 this year called Ethioblue and, um, it was my first album in several years. 538 00:33:28,983 --> 00:33:30,843 You know, pandemic. 539 00:33:30,843 --> 00:33:33,233 I have a five year old. 540 00:33:34,033 --> 00:33:34,993 So 541 00:33:35,098 --> 00:33:36,658 Jay Ray: wants to be on the record, I'm sure. 542 00:33:37,353 --> 00:33:38,633 Meklit Hadero: need I say more? 543 00:33:38,653 --> 00:33:39,943 No, he is on the record. 544 00:33:40,178 --> 00:33:40,508 Jay Ray: Oh. 545 00:33:40,598 --> 00:33:40,828 DJ Sir Daniel: Oh, 546 00:33:41,048 --> 00:33:43,423 Meklit Hadero: He is on the record. 547 00:33:43,493 --> 00:33:44,193 He's on the record. 548 00:33:44,313 --> 00:33:49,163 The very first song, Antidote, he was four months old when we, when we 549 00:33:49,163 --> 00:33:53,413 recorded, we were doing some recording and he was making such cute sounds. 550 00:33:53,413 --> 00:33:56,043 We were like, okay, come on, come on in front of a mic. 551 00:33:56,073 --> 00:33:57,243 And he was like, it's like, 552 00:34:00,053 --> 00:34:02,813 there's like a little bit of that the right way. 553 00:34:04,588 --> 00:34:09,398 And then I am, uh, I just got the masters of a new record that will 554 00:34:09,398 --> 00:34:13,008 come out next year on Smithsonian Folkways called A Piece of Infinity, 555 00:34:13,408 --> 00:34:17,698 and it's, um, uh, interpretations of several different traditional 556 00:34:17,698 --> 00:34:19,528 Ethiopian songs with some originals. 557 00:34:19,878 --> 00:34:23,888 There's a very special song in there called Stars in a Wide Field that 558 00:34:23,888 --> 00:34:28,513 is based on, um, the, Children's riddles from my father's tribe 559 00:34:28,563 --> 00:34:32,403 Kambatha that are translated and they're like, it's a cosmology. 560 00:34:32,413 --> 00:34:33,363 It's a universe. 561 00:34:33,373 --> 00:34:33,883 It's a war. 562 00:34:33,893 --> 00:34:38,903 It's like literally seeing into into the way of being the way people walk 563 00:34:38,913 --> 00:34:42,583 through the world, you know, so that's like a collaboration between like 564 00:34:42,913 --> 00:34:47,183 You know, millions of children and me, you know, because they're also 565 00:34:47,183 --> 00:34:51,543 like, they're also, they're a mix of improvised and, uh, improvised riddles 566 00:34:51,903 --> 00:34:55,263 and like, like, you know, like in traditional poetry, people memorize like 567 00:34:55,303 --> 00:34:58,023 thousands and thousands of them, and then you got to bring them out at the 568 00:34:58,023 --> 00:34:59,543 right time, like that kind of thing. 569 00:35:03,058 --> 00:35:04,318 Jay Ray: That's so exciting. 570 00:35:05,003 --> 00:35:05,303 Meklit Hadero: Thank 571 00:35:05,328 --> 00:35:10,688 DJ Sir Daniel: McCleat, I, and I, uh, I know I can speak for Jay Ray on this. 572 00:35:10,868 --> 00:35:15,168 I am so happy that you took the time out to join us on this episode of Queue 573 00:35:15,188 --> 00:35:21,528 Points and to share your perspective and take us on this journey with you. 574 00:35:22,048 --> 00:35:25,058 Um, like I said, we see each other, you know, that 575 00:35:25,123 --> 00:35:26,213 Meklit Hadero: Yes, I do. 576 00:35:26,268 --> 00:35:29,773 DJ Sir Daniel: had that I had that opportunity to share that experience and I 577 00:35:29,773 --> 00:35:36,733 hope that, um, other people, you know, can get a glance into that part of our lives. 578 00:35:37,163 --> 00:35:42,033 And I'm, we're so excited for what's coming up from you, but please let our 579 00:35:42,033 --> 00:35:45,073 audience know how they can find you also. 580 00:35:46,003 --> 00:35:46,423 Meklit Hadero: Yes. 581 00:35:46,493 --> 00:35:51,583 Um, so you can find me on all the things, on all the socials at 582 00:35:52,083 --> 00:35:55,603 Meklitmusic, M E K L I T music. 583 00:35:55,953 --> 00:35:56,453 com. 584 00:35:56,733 --> 00:36:00,323 That's my Instagram handle, TikTok, like all those things. 585 00:36:00,713 --> 00:36:04,273 And then, listen, I live in San Francisco, and if you forget my 586 00:36:04,273 --> 00:36:08,588 name You can literally Google Ethiopian singer, San Francisco. 587 00:36:08,718 --> 00:36:10,158 And I come right up, 588 00:36:11,253 --> 00:36:11,793 DJ Sir Daniel: Boom. 589 00:36:13,653 --> 00:36:14,123 Boom. 590 00:36:14,123 --> 00:36:14,413 There 591 00:36:14,428 --> 00:36:17,068 Meklit Hadero: I'm telling you, because like part of the thing is I'm 592 00:36:17,068 --> 00:36:18,938 like, people forget how to find me. 593 00:36:18,938 --> 00:36:21,788 They're like, what was her name that I liked her. 594 00:36:21,788 --> 00:36:23,828 What was that Ethiopian singer, San Francisco. 595 00:36:23,828 --> 00:36:24,388 Okay. 596 00:36:25,523 --> 00:36:25,833 DJ Sir Daniel: Dope. 597 00:36:26,413 --> 00:36:26,763 Dope. 598 00:36:26,783 --> 00:36:29,043 The one and only Maclete Hedero. 599 00:36:29,603 --> 00:36:32,643 Thank you once again for joining us on this episode of Queue Points. 600 00:36:32,913 --> 00:36:35,673 As I always say, Jay Ray, in this life, you have an opportunity. 601 00:36:35,693 --> 00:36:39,223 You can either pick up a needle or you can let the record play. 602 00:36:39,653 --> 00:36:41,003 I'm DJ Sir Daniel, 603 00:36:41,478 --> 00:36:46,118 Jay Ray: My name is Jay Ray and thank you so much, Meklit Hedero, 604 00:36:46,128 --> 00:36:47,508 for joining us as well, y'all. 605 00:36:48,443 --> 00:36:49,203 DJ Sir Daniel: and this has been, 606 00:36:49,358 --> 00:36:50,238 Meklit Hadero: well, everyone. 607 00:36:51,023 --> 00:36:51,613 DJ Sir Daniel: thank you. 608 00:36:51,613 --> 00:36:53,943 And this has been Queue Points podcast, dropping the 609 00:36:53,943 --> 00:36:55,793 needle on black music history. 610 00:36:56,113 --> 00:36:57,973 We'll see you on the next go round. 611 00:36:58,083 --> 00:36:58,613 Peace. 612 00:36:58,918 --> 00:36:59,798 Jay Ray: Peace, y'all.