From classics to curiosity and where melodies meet me.

Welcome.

All right, welcome, everybody.

Welcome back to another edition of the Music Explored podcast.

I'm super excited about our chat today.

I have a good friend with me.

I'm gonna tell you all about her.

There's a long list of things that she does and she does them all at a really high level.

So we're definitely gonna dive into the majority of these, but I have Dalia with me, so first, welcome.

Let me just go through this list of some of these things and I'm saying some because there are more, but some of these things that you do.

So you are an artist, songwriter, marketer and business developer, content producer, founder of Listening Den and co founder of Legacy Cave.

I'm going to stop there.

I could keep going, but that's a good chunk for us to cover in this 30 minute chat.

So, yeah, welcome.

I'm so happy to have you on here.

Thanks for having me, Anthony.

Yes, yes, my pleasure.

It's been.

It's been an interesting journey and I guess I'll just tell a super quick backstory because we met about 10.

10 years ago, was it?

Yeah, 8.

8, 9.

9.

Yeah, 8.

9.

10 years ago.

Ish.

Approaching 11.

And I had the honor of being on stage with you as a basis to play some of your original amazing music.

So that was cool.

Those are some fun gigs.

They were great times.

And who knew that fast forward like a decade we'd be here and working on some really cool projects that we.

I'm so excited.

Yeah.

There's so much to.

There's so much that we'll be sharing, I guess, over the next little while, but we're going to save that for now.

I want to talk about you.

I want everyone to get to know a little bit more about your journey through music, your life and all that good stuff.

So let's start with this.

We won't go all the way back to the beginning because you don't got that kind of time.

But no further.

How did you get started in music?

Like, what was the pull?

Was it a childhood thing?

My parents and my family, my sister, they knew I had the aptitude for it, and so my sister actually taught me to sing.

And so, yeah, and so we love singing in harmony, of course, but.

But my sister used to prep me for these shows in Dubai.

There was an annual Christmas show that used to happen.

Okay.

And there's like, I don't know, like a lot of people at these events, but I was never.

I don't remember being worried about the crowd, really.

I don't remember being nervous.

I remember going, I really need to do a good job.

And I.

I don't want to forget the lyrics.

Right.

So I would practice and practice and practice.

So the first song I ever sang when I was 7 or 8 years old was Bette Midler's From a Distance.

And then the next year I sang Another Day in Paradise.

Phil Collins.

Wow.

So.

I know.

Yeah.

I mean, I think we knew back then it was going to be.

Those were classics already.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

True.

And so.

But yeah, I did end up having a life of its own when you think back at those songs, huh?

Yeah.

So.

So, yeah, so that's.

So they would prep me for that, but I just remember being on stage and going, yeah, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Back then.

Yeah.

I'm like, this is what I'm doing.

I never thought I was going to be anything else in my mind except do music.

Like, it's never left me serious, you know, now in terms of writing my own songs.

I used to write a lot of poetry as a child.

Okay.

So I started writing poetry and then started writing songs at like 8 and so.

And I actually like those songs.

I think I should do something with the thing I wrote, like, when I was 8.

Oh, you still have it?

I know it in my mind.

Okay.

So you could bring it back.

Yeah.

I never recorded them, but it's in my mind.

Yeah.

And it's pretty deep.

Like, I don't know, I imagined that.

I don't know if this is podcast friendly, but I imagine that I lost my best friend, like, if she had died when I was 8.

And so the chorus is.

And this has never been published, so this is podcast exclusive.

This is big.

It go.

It goes.

It goes the court.

The hook goes.

Can you see me from where you are?

Why does heaven have to be so far?

I can think of only you how life was when I was with you.

Giggle at the end of it.

But I'm like, you're eight years old and you wrote that from the frame of mind that if you.

If your best friend were to pass on.

Pass.

Yes.

This is.

These are the words.

I can't even.

Can you see me from where you are?

Why does heaven have to be so far?

I can think of only you how life was when I was with you.

But where's the heads?

Where's your head at?

At 8 years old, writing something like that.

I can't wrap my head around that.

At 8 years old.

Yeah.

Man, I'm like 25 plus, and I can.

Yeah, seriously, as a grown man, it's still like.

Yeah.

Where was your head at?

Just tell us because we're not gonna understand.

Well, I grew up in a boarding school in a convent in India, and so I guess not.

Okay.

I'm thinking about this for the first time, actually, because we had to go to church so often, like so many days a week.

Okay.

And get up so early.

I get up at 6:00 to go to, like, church.

6.

6:00am yeah.

Yep.

You sing your rosary every night.

And I think maybe even though it felt a little bit like, oh, do I have to?

I'm sleepy sometimes.

You don't want to always pray as a child if it becomes a chore.

Right.

But I'm thinking it would have put me in a meditative space.

Right.

That's number one.

Secondly, I'm in India, my parents are in Dubai, so that means I'm missing my parents.

There's a thing that's happening for a child, but then your friends are becoming your family for so many years.

Right.

I was there from grade three.

I wasn't there for grade five.

I went back to Dubai for one year, but from grade three all the way to grade nine, Right.

So that was my life, my friends.

And I only saw my parents, like, for Christmas for a little while, like a few weeks.

And then for the summer you saw, you got to see them again.

So I think, yeah, whatever I was dealing with with a child, like, the poetry and songs really, really helped me.

That wasn't the first song I wrote.

The first song is a bit more.

But you remember that.

Too embarrassing.

I was the youngest child in my family for the longest time, and all my cousins.

And then I was finally gonna have cousins that were younger than me.

So I was gonna be like big sister, you know, big cousin to someone.

Yeah.

And it's so funny.

So the two of my mom's sisters, they were having a hard time getting pregnant and they both got pregnant at the same time.

And so those two children were gonna be like 20 something days apart.

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

And so they are like brothers now.

And I'm so close to them, especially when we heard the news of the first one.

I wrote this song, not knowing the second one was a few days away.

So I wrote this song.

And I'm so close to my cousin Michael, even till today.

So the first song I ever wrote, I told him was about him, so.

Oh, my God.

But it's as cool as the first one.

Okay.

It's a bit embarrassing.

It's cool that you remember it.

Yeah.

Mind blowing that you remember.

Little, little, little, little, little What?

I'm like 10 now, so.

It's only two years ago, guys.

Yeah.

Yeah, you're about right.

Yeah.

So it goes.

Okay.

This is so embarrassing.

I can't believe I'm doing this.

Okay.

It goes.

Little boy, little boy I don't wanna see you I only wanna feel your Feel your presence near me wow.

Little boy, little boy I don't wanna see you I only wanna feel your Feel your presence near me.

So it's like the same thing, but it's like an alternate melody on the second half.

Oh, yeah.

And then something in my life.

You are the only joy.

It's like, whatever.

It's like, kind of like.

It's a really complex song for a young child.

That's impressive.

You have no idea.

We've been.

Dahlia talk so much, and I'm not surprised by the.

Like, you're just.

You're just deep.

But you were.

I think you came this way.

This is the thing.

This is.

This is what.

This is why I wanted to talk to you on here.

Because there's just something.

Yeah.

Like, starting at that age and you're thinking along those lines.

What were we doing at 8?

Derky, I don't even know if we could.

I mean, there's nothing clever.

There's tag.

Yeah.

Tag, baseball.

That's pretty much it.

And by the time we were tagged, that's about.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Or baseball.

By the time we were 14, when you were probably already, I don't know, producing full records, we were still singing songs about tag and baseball.

So.

Yeah.

That's amazing.

Okay, so the boarding.

Give me one second.

Okay?

Yeah.

I want to see Doriki's face, too.

But I wouldn't even bother if I were you.

I wouldn't.

Yeah.

If you think you're missing something, you're probably not missing that much.

Shots fired.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We won't cut that.

Oh, wait, you were saying something.

He's just like, I could get you, but I won't today.

It'll come back when I least expect.

Oh, okay.

So you said something really cool just now.

You say you came this way.

I don't think anyone's ever said that to me.

And I was on a train from Montreal recently.

Okay.

God, I'm getting so emotional.

And there was a lady sitting next to me on the train who was, I promise you, an angel.

And we had the most incredible conversation.

Okay.

And she said her name was Annabelle.

Right.

And she.

I was asking about love and life and, you know, what's it like now in hindsight?

And she's not that much older.

Okay.

And she said she was, like, such a lover of love.

And then only like an hour into the train ride, she tells me that her husband died.

Like.

And she's like, maybe like seven years ago or something like that.

But she is such a believer of love.

Not because she want.

Feels like she needs to be with someone else, but because she was so fulfilled in her life with that love and her children.

Right.

And then she said something to me that remind me of what you just said.

She said, even in the womb, God already knows us, you know, and all of the conversations Anthony and I have been having recently around business and art and divinity is really the divinity part, you know, and, like, no one wants to speak in those terms, but that's what's happening.

Yeah.

Right.

There is something bigger than ourselves.

I call it God.

You want.

Some people want to call it universe.

Right.

Whatever you want to call it.

Like I was telling my friend recently, I said, whether you believe in God, you don't want to call it God, and you don't believe in God.

What people experience it.

Even they experience you, they're experiencing God.

Right.

And he just.

No way around it.

He just kept quiet.

And he's an amazingly intelligent, generous person.

Whoever has met him, they're like, you know, when he stands outside somewhere, people just want to talk to him.

Just an incredibly positive, amazing human being.

Yeah.

He does a lot for the community, for, you know, the Caribbean community, for Jamaican community.

He does so much.

People feel him.

I said, it doesn't matter what you want to call it.

People experience God when they experience you.

And he just kept quiet.

He didn't know what to say.

You must have got him really thinking.

I'm sure he left that conversation with a lot of thoughts.

That's.

There's nothing that you say that isn't deep.

So I guess just.

Just get used to this.

Okay?

Can we.

Can we talk about that?

Like, I have been trying to write happy songs for so long, and recently I recently wrote what is like now my favorite song.

Like, I have not gotten sick of it, like, in 10.

Over 10.

What is, like, 12 months of writing.

It's in the studio recording it right now.

It's called Good Love.

Yes.

Right.

Yes.

So I'm, like, so excited.

Like, I wrote a positive song.

So my guitarist and, like, what do you call pbs piano and guitar for me in the band, and we've written some songs together too, that on this record.

His name's Damon and his moniker is Damon Nomad.

Go check him out.

And so Damon and his incredible now fiance Sam are on their couch.

I'm like, guys, I wrote a happy song.

I can't wait.

I've always admired the two of your love.

And, you know, I hope one day I find my Sam, you know?

Yeah.

And Damon goes, okay, cool.

And they're both snuggling.

They're holding hands.

I'm like, yes, I can't wait.

And it's this beautiful Nord stage that he has.

So I'm like, oh, yeah.

Put it, like, on the best sound that you have for piano.

And I'm trying not to look over, but I can see them in my peripheral.

I'm giving it.

I look up and they are like, that was so beautiful and so sad.

Oh, there's your happy song.

Yeah, your happy song.

That is funny.

What does your sad songs do to people if that's what you're having?

Yes, that's a good question.

They follow.

But, like, what is sad?

Like, have I written a sad song?

This is such a deep question.

What is sad?

Go for it.

No.

Okay, listen.

I've always said this in my interviews, and I stick to it.

Okay, this.

I'm so glad we're bringing this up because I want people to know this.

Listen up.

We, as messengers, have to be aware.

Yeah, Right.

Of what message are we putting out?

What frequency?

I always say the emotional stability of the planet is in the hands of artists.

Right, but.

So people need to pay for that.

First of all, that's a separate discussion.

Holy crap.

Right?

The emotional stability is in the hands on the shoulders of artists.

Right?

Yeah.

That's got to be a whole series because I've.

We've.

We've kind of talked about that, but I'd love to dive deeper into the conversation one day.

That's.

We'll do a whole segment on that.

Okay, and so.

So what is the price of that when you want to cry?

Like, I have a song that I never put out.

It's like, when you're happy, you need music.

When you sad, you need music.

Like, you know, you like what any emotion keeps going on.

It's a list of.

In that.

In that cadence.

And it's like, so when you want to be alone, you might need music.

When you're in a happy day, you might.

People.

The operating rooms have music playing true everywhere.

Okay, so what is the price of us?

But that's separate.

Okay, separate.

Separate.

But the message.

Yes.

So someone.

If you're going to give someone something.

My mentor, long term mentor, Mika Barnes.

Big up Mika Barnes.

Incredible, incredible holistic vocal coach.

But he's more than a vocal coach.

So it's like he sees you as a spirit and what do you need?

And he always says, dalia, all of the chaos as an artist happens in the creation of the message in your mind.

But when you deliver it, I always remember he goes, imagine like a.

You know, darts.

Like when you play darts and there's bullseye.

Yeah.

You know exactly what you're trying to communicate and just go.

Right.

Even the way you sing, you know exactly what you want.

Go for that note.

You're not guessing that note.

You know, guessing your message.

But the chaos, do not take that to your audience.

That's not for them.

You know this.

So this is my structure of my songs.

Okay.

Yeah.

To answer what is sad, right?

Yep.

So this is a structure.

Here's my tension.

This is what I'm struggling with, right?

Yes.

So this is what I'm struggling with.

This is the tension.

I'm going to put in verse one to set it up.

My pre chorus is usually like, oh, you have some realizations.

And then the chorus is like a feel good thing where you're like either lamenting or you're crying because you want people to cry and like release.

But in my bridge, there's always hope.

Okay.

In the bridge, this hole.

Okay, gotcha.

Right?

And then I release and maybe I take the same hook.

And instead of saying, you know, this.

I was singing something for you the other day, right?

Was that chains over me let.

So the first time the chorus comes, it's like, let me go, let me so let me be Right.

Yeah.

Right.

But in the end, the final chorus goes, I am something I am thing I am free Like I can, I will soar.

Right.

Yes, I can something I am free like now it's the same thing, but it's like a positive affirmative affirmation.

You flip it and there's the release.

So I don't.

I think also like when you use my.

Like, I do this Indian scale thing as like stylistically.

So, okay, you can sing a Hindi song and it's a happy song, but because of the scale, it sounds sad.

Right.

But for Indian people, when we listen to it, we're happy, but we are used to that scale.

So the pathos of the.

My voice, it actually, if I can be so honest, I've never said this publicly, but I had made this collaboration record with a Few people, and I won't mention their names, good friends of mine.

But the md, and he was the producer and he was the main person funding the project as well, so.

And he played a lot of the instruments.

He.

We were starting to have some friction, and I said, what's going on?

And he said, dalia, it's the pathos of your voice.

It makes me sad.

And in a way, like, I can't handle it.

That's interesting.

So I was like, I'd never heard of that before, and it kind of impacted me in a bad way.

But now I realize what's happening.

Right, let's see.

What's an example?

A Hindi song would be like, right.

So it's saying, can you.

From the.

Like, can you come out and be real in real life, my love?

So that's right.

And I'm smiling.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it.

And so people.

And they'll be like, it's a huge song from a massive movie.

Yeah.

It doesn't have quite the feeling of happiness that we're used to over here.

Exactly.

So that's kind of where it comes from, right?

Yeah.

But we love it.

And we don't think we're being sad, but we're a dramatic.

Well, you're not being sad.

Yeah.

But we're dramatic people.

Fair.

Yes, yes, yes.

We leave India and we're still dramatic.

It doesn't change.

Yeah, that's fair.

That's fair.

That's actually really cool.

And that's a cool realization.

And understanding, I mean, came to you in a strange way.

But are you happy that that was brought to you?

That, like, you got that perspective of what the impact of that was doing to the M.D.

in that case, has that been useful to further writing and projects or.

Man, you just asked a question and I thought of an answer.

I've never thought before.

But that is the power of you, Anthony.

Was it happy that it was brought to you?

And I want to say I'm happy that everything that has ever been brought to me has been brought to me.

Right.

Fair.

That's the first answer that came up.

And it's hard to say that sometimes when we're alone and we're, like, feeling down about how things worked out in life.

Yeah.

As you say that, I'm like, you know, it's a re.

Okay.

This is very controversial because a lot of.

There's a lot of pain in the world.

There's a lot of very, very traumatic, horrible, horrendous things that are happening in the world.

So this idea of like, everything happens for a reason.

Someone might say, hey, yeah, why should a child go through that in the world?

Why should there be genocide?

Right?

So I want to be very careful the way I preface that.

But everything I've been through, most people wouldn't trade lives with me, with.

If they ever knew my story, but.

But I'm so grateful for all of it because I am so strong.

I am so strong.

And I wouldn't replace any of my exes.

I wouldn't.

In hindsight, you know, I would.

All I can do now, you know, I was saying this to you the other day, and I really want people to know this.

I'm gonna work on this quote that I made and, like, finesse it.

And maybe between you, me, and Doriki, we can, like, figure it out.

He's a wordsmith himself, so let's do it.

Amazing.

When God gives you a God gives you a second chance or a new chance at something.

Let's call it a second chance.

A third chance is still a second chance from the previous chance, right?

Okay.

So when God gives you a second chance.

Okay, I'll start it again.

When God gives you a second chance.

Yes.

It's a chance.

You honor that by making it a true reset, a real opportunity for your life.

The chance is just the chance, right?

If you get out of an abusive relationship, he helped you get out.

You prayed for it.

You figured out how to get out, right?

Yep.

But then what are you going to do?

Are you going to go into the same habits?

Are you going to pick up a new vice to do to deal with the pain of?

And what?

And what?

And what?

How will we honor that?

That is a reset.

God doesn't give you a reset.

He gives you a chance, a chance, opportunity.

You make it into a reset.

Because if he gives you a chance and you throw it away, then it's not really a reset.

Is it the same thing?

It's the same thing.

So I am happy for everything that happened so far because I'm learning, but I'm not happy to make those mistakes again.

I'm not happy to make those mistakes.

That is dishonoring your life.

You have to value the time.

We have to value the time.

I'm not saying that because I figured it out.

I'm saying it.

So I make this promise on your podcast.

Yeah.

We're all a work in progress.

So telling you, yeah, the accountability helps.

I mean, of course, between friends, between colleagues, just putting things out there in the way that you see them and understand them in this moment.

Is big.

And you might say something that sounds so simple for you to say now, but for someone else, like, I never even considered it that way.

That's.

Yeah.

So true.

What do you think, Doriki should be wordsmith it.

What's going on?

What do you think?

I think I have to distill this for a little bit because sometimes.

Simmer.

Sometimes I.

I have to absorb and kind of receive, Especially when we get deep, because I'm actually still kind of stuck on the artists.

The artists have to be careful with their message because we can.

Oh, my gosh.

That I'm stuck on there.

And so I need some time to kind of listen to this over.

But I really.

I really do think that at some.

Point in time, Two things here.

First of all, I'm.

I must be.

I must be stupid for thinking that we could do this in 30 minutes with you, because none of our conversations are 30 minutes.

But also, I gotta say this too.

We.

There's always people in our lives that can, like, really just lift us up and, like, find us.

I mean, I'm a pretty positive guy.

I try to keep myself at a certain standard.

But whenever we talk, it's like, it elevates.

And because we talk, like, pretty much daily, I feel like it elevates daily.

So, like, maybe I come down a tiny bit, but I find myself higher and higher each day.

It's really interesting.

And I have a feeling, Duriki, because you've.

I mean, we're.

We come from the same place.

We've known each other forever.

So I have a feeling, even in this little snippet of a talk, you probably get the same sense from her, because she's 100.

I was saying we need maybe once every other month when she has time to kind of come in and drop some gems with us, because we could.

Definitely spend some time.

I think we could.

The short distance blackout to her.

Her understanding of emotions.

You know, we're gonna have to do this in parts because we're here today.

We haven't even got past the childhood.

Really focused that in some thoughts that you've formulated from experiences.

So maybe we're going to call this part one and not try to push past that, because there's so much more that we have to get into.

We got to get past the age of 10, so we'll do that another day for sure.

Boarding school a little bit more.

Because that's a fascinating experience for me.

Oh, my God.

I don't think.

I rarely.

I rarely talk about.

About it.

And, like, people have such a misconception of it.

Absolutely.

You know, like, back in that day, it was, like, very elite to send, like, your kids to boarding school.

It was, like private school.

It was, like, in the top hundred schools in India.

Yeah.

And it was run by, you know, nuns.

And so you had, like, a very different concept of the world.

The children that were in that school had came from different parts of life and the world to be.

Even to be.

To afford to be in that school.

And then.

Not that I.

That we came from money, My mom just figured out a way that she could send us there and then.

But so many different reasons that a child is sent to boarding school.

Like, you just lost your parents.

You might have lost both your parents.

You know, your parents can't tell you something, so you don't even know why you're there.

Right.

You know, that's true, too.

It was so many.

So many different stories, but we all found love with each other.

We found friendship with each other, you know, And I always try to think of it, like, in a good way.

Yeah.

But, like, in hindsight, you know, who knows what my life would have been like had I, like, been raised at home.

Right.

I feel like every time I leave my parents now, my dad is 77.

Okay.

His birthday's coming up, so I think he's gonna be 78.

And so I.

Every time I leave him, like, I'm about to go take him to his doctor's appointment right after this, and I'm excited to see him.

And when I leave him, I'm gonna be sad.

Like, it's like back in the day, like, leaving him to go back to boarding school.

So I'm a little bit.

If I ever meet you, you'll know.

Like, I hug.

I hold on a little tighter for every hug, you know, it always feels like, when will I see this person again?

You know?

It's a good thing to, like, that goes back.

Will Smith said it.

Yeah.

Will Smith always says that, like, hold someone a little longer, you never know how it's going to feel when they're gone.

But at the same time, like, maybe a little too much pressure, you know, like.

Like, chill, dude.

Like.

Yeah.

I got to think of life abundantly at the same time.

Choking out time like that right now.

You made a very important point.

The message to the world, Right?

Yeah.

It's like.

You ever hear these songs about, like, suicide and things like that, Right.

And I'm like, what does that leave someone?

Like, it's.

There's a.

There are some songs, they're so beautiful.

And it's just.

It starts with pain and ends with pain.

And I remember once I called my sister, and I'm like, I have the song, and, like, what message am I putting out there?

Because the hook was, like, looking back, everything good and bad was meant to be for a reason.

Right?

I'm like, what am I saying, like, that?

Am I, like, blaming the victim, or am I like.

Or, like, just what is the message?

She's like.

Of different songs.

We were, like, dissecting it, and I'm like, yeah.

She's like, talia, you cannot control what.

How people will feel at the end of the day.

Right?

There could be a song that ends up being someone's last song.

And they hurt themselves, unfortunately, because they found solace in that, and they thought, okay, this is what I do.

Right?

What, are you gonna blame yourself for the rest of your life?

Right.

Yeah.

Like, so it's like, there's different ways people can take your music, and I love hearing those stories.

There's a song, though.

So this record I'm about to put out, it's called Sound of My Love.

Yep.

Can't wait.

Which I wrote with Steve D'Angelo, like, a decade ago.

It was.

Yeah, it's gonna be, like, 2015.

And I only recently realized that it was actually the sound of God's love.

Right.

Was not the sound of my love and so what was it gonna say with that?

What was I talking about previously?

The message.

Oh, yeah.

So my sister's friend heard the song and was going through a really tough time, and she heard the whole song from a different perspective.

Okay, so, okay, the chorus is, did you see me?

Didn't you feel me?

Did you hear the sound of my love?

Right.

Yeah.

And this says that twice.

Right?

And it's like, now when I look back at it, it was like I was crying in the shower the other day.

It was like, I'm like, oh, these were songs for myself.

And then I was like, oh, these were songs.

No, God was telling me did you see me?

Did you feel me?

Did you hear the sound of my love?

I was always with you I like chills as I say that.

And then that just happened a few weeks ago.

Now this whole record is like, we're in the studio doing it.

Yeah.

It's such a beautiful process with Tom Makai.

Big love to Tom Makai for everything he puts into a project and where he goes to respect you as a person, as an artist, and into his own spirit to create it.

So these beautiful things are happening Once you get back home.

Yeah, but this woman.

There was a woman, you know, a decade ago, lost, what, like, gave birth to a stillborn child.

And it was so hard for her, but she said it was her singing to her baby.

Did you see me?

Did you feel me and the baby singing?

But did you hear the sound of my love?

I'll always be with you.

Like, so I.

Where is my silly love story?

But this unrequited love, I was like, over.

Oh, please.

This guy doesn't love me back.

Way bigger.

Yeah, it's way bigger, you know, and if you can, your message can be the.

Your message.

God sends me messages for myself or my future self.

And then I figure out, oh, this is what it meant.

Yeah, Right.

But, like, who you work with now, who we are now, who you surround with now, these are choices we can still make.

I really wish anyone watching this that we all create love every day.

Someone told me once, like, top saying, have a nice day.

I always tell you, Anthony, create a beautiful day.

And that way you're not like, have.

Oh, I'm gonna magically have a beautiful day.

That's not happening.

We are making things happen.

If we are connected to a larger source, when we are connected to the ether, when we're connected to God.

Right?

Yeah.

So what will we bring to this day?

And just people, you know, create love for others, and that will automatically create love for yourself, because you can only create love for others if you actually love yourself.

So it's on automation.

Some of us is on automation.

Right.

So a lot of us is on automation.

But our source, the signal from the source, has to be so clear.

And so who do you surround yourself with?

I cut out so many people from my life.

Thank you for everything.

Thank you for the lessons.

And I never let someone go begrudgingly.

I like.

Thank you.

Sometimes I don't give them a final conversation.

So the people who never got the final conversation, this is for you.

I was thinking about you guys last night, right?

Yeah, I was thinking about you guys.

I remember you, what you did for me.

The good times, lovingly.

But you did not deserve that final conversation.

Because there's a maddening when someone's in a toxic state.

Yeah.

I believe that everyone's a good person.

Okay.

Every God doesn't create evil.

Okay.

So we all come out good and then broken people then hurt us, and then we, you know, act out on the trauma.

Right.

And there's healing that can bring someone from being deeply narcissistic to deeply spiritual and loving.

Okay.

So when you're in that toxic state, and it's disrupting my life.

If I continue to converse with you in this, there's going to be a maddening of myself.

Yeah.

Of you.

You're not going to see my point.

And now we're creating a larger fire.

Just remember each other fondly, you know, like, oh, she didn't even have it in her, or he didn't even have it in her to give me that final conversation.

Just be like, that's a blessing.

That would have been horrible.

Maybe I knew.

Maybe other people know better.

Like, maybe we should look at things with compassion, you know, like, just remember the love in your heart.

And for everyone who didn't get that final conversation, Just a handful of you, I promise you, I remember you with love.

I had to let you go with love.

Okay.

Never.

Never.

I always pray for everyone.

And it's like, thank you.

You were good.

Yeah.

Sometimes we don't need that final conversation.

It's that bad.

It's that bad.

And I might say something that you can't actually handle, right?

Not in an angry way.

I might say something that's like, oh, I'm not ready for this message, but I'll meet you on a plane.

I'll meet you in an airport one day, and it has happened.

And I said, hey, remember?

Yeah, this is what was really happening for me.

That I couldn't even tell you I was going through something, right?

So I didn't have it in me to package it for you because something else was also true for me, or I didn't think you were ready for the message.

But there's a lot of compassion we need to show other people.

Now, I learn all of this in terms of my support because I don't want this call to end without me mentioning, where do I get this, right?

Like, on the days we wake up lonely, on the days we wake up sad.

This is not all my work.

Like, when you guys, if you're experiencing me right now, you're experiencing all of the love, like, I've been, right?

I always personally write to each of my followers when I want them to look at something.

And I'll write a little message, right?

And I'll say, and recently I was telling Anthony I wrote thank you for your love because you.

I don't know why I'm so emotional today.

I'm, like, trying not to cry.

Oh, my God.

Okay.

Your love.

Your love is in every note of my music.

Like, you are in the music forever, too.

Because you love me.

And when you love me, that doesn't go nowhere.

I take that into the studio.

You don't have to call me.

I felt you.

Right.

You talked to me last year because that's the last time you were real.

That's fine.

Yeah.

I still remember you.

It's in my.

In every molecule of my body.

So, like, how do we remember people that love us?

You know, it doesn't have to be on an everyday basis.

Right.

And that.

But the people who are active.

I have to shout out my best friend, Carol Dallas, who Anthony's family knows, like, forever.

And that's funny.

So we did a gig together with Carol, my best friend.

First time I've seen her in years.

To background vocals that day.

And then Anthony's playing bass and it was like, wow, that's a really, really small world.

And so Carol does a lot of spiritual work.

Right.

So when I'm.

When you have a best friend like that.

Yeah.

It's like iron sharpener.

Really, really count who you keep in your life.

I have incredible.

We have an organization called Legacy Cave that I'm a co founder with Sammy Ho and Carol Dallas.

And we basically want to help people push their legacy forward, help them build a legacy.

Which is why my screen says, I've been busy building my legacy.

Yeah.

And it's on all of my clothes.

On my clothes.

I was gonna mention that too.

Yep.

Yeah.

So go.

Go check out Aldwin Co on Instagram and Legacy.

Follow us at Legacy Cave.

And Carol is so, so, so, so cool.

This is what she went and did.

I'm totally gonna out her on this podcast.

Tell me who does this.

Okay.

She calls me one day.

She's like, dahlia, I got a message from God.

Here's what we're gonna do.

I made you a logo.

I already got your Instagram locked down.

This is the password for it.

And it's called Listening Den, right?

Yeah.

And it's called Listening Den.

And you're gonna help.

You always help your community.

But I'm just gonna make it like, instead of you constantly doing it either pro bono or on the side, like charging your rate separately, you're going to do it under this entity.

But that we're all part of Legacy Cave.

And she did that for Sammy as well.

Wow.

There's like, Sammy has own strategy company and she has her design and apparel companies.

So all of us are under Aldwin, but together we're Legacy Cave.

Right.

And so we have these events all the time to help bipoc creators really give them the tools that we never had.

Open doors.

We never, like, took us so long to find the door.

It took us so long to find the door.

We're still finding the door, aren't we?

And it's like, hey, I found this door.

You don't have to wait 10 years.

You know those people like, oh, you gotta put in your.

Yeah, we have to put in our work and be appreciative.

When I show you the door, don't be like, oh, this is how easy life is, you know?

Yeah.

The new generation cannot treat it like that.

It's a lot of work.

Honor it.

And don't be like, oh, this is how easily doors open.

But just be like, wow, thank you.

Thank you for opening this door.

And.

And then the appreciation goes back, back and forth, right?

But the generosity that Carol has taught me, you know, like, I'm always like, why are you charging that?

She's like, it's okay.

My dad, you know.

You know, her dad.

Her dad's a pastor, and my dad taught me generosity.

And I'll never forget this.

Like, one day, I'm like, carol, somebody wants to buy these.

These shoes, you know, and, like, times are tough back then.

And the person.

I said, they want to pay $750 for these shoes you made.

And she's like, no, I can't take that.

Really?

Never forget that day.

She said, I can't sell it out of good conscience because it's like, it's just a showpiece.

It wasn't on sale, and it was like, you know, they've been worn.

They're like, you know, vintage.

Like, they're like secondhand.

Like, I don't know.

You know, they're not new for 750.

I don't know.

And then I.

Okay.

I said, well, will you take a new price?

They said, fine.

So they came back, she said, Nope, can't take 500.

Do you say, take another number?

And then it came down to, like, 300, I think.

And he puts it in.

Yeah.

And then goes for.

She goes for putting the tip into the machine.

Okay.

And puts a 400 tip so that in the end is still total 700.

And that is.

God, that.

That idea of generosity, I'm still learning.

That's not how.

Like, that's not how I.

You know, when you think of business, you're like, gotta make money.

And I'm like, trying to help, you know, Carol, let's make money.

And then she's like, no.

And then she's giving out these free sticker packs.

I'm like, what are you Doing Wow.

Like, at the same pop up.

She's like, tell you.

That's when she told me about the dad thing, actually.

Right.

Okay.

And she's giving out these sticker packs, these holographic sticker packs.

And you know what people were doing?

They're like, oh, my God, I can't take this.

Can I at least, like, give you guys a tip or something?

We made, like, an average of 10 to $15, $20 per sticker pack on the free things.

That's not.

Because she's thinking they will pay lessons in there.

Yeah.

Wow.

Just give.

So who are you surrounding yourself with?

Right.

So.

Listening Dan.

I can't believe I'm gonna admit this.

I was going to at some point.

I might as well do it here.

Listening, Dan.

Safe space.

You know what?

Yes.

I'm not.

I'm.

I don't take the time to listen.

I get so many downloads that I'm like, oh, I could tell them this.

I got this message for someone, and Carol knows that bike making.

This company called Listening Den.

Yep.

I would put my purpose in there.

I would give back to artists.

I would help them create and do everything that I've been doing to help develop other artists all these years.

Right?

Yeah.

But under our umbrella, to develop it with our sense of divinity.

I have to start listening.

I have to get better at that.

If that's the name of my company.

So she bakes it right into my message.

It's, like, right there.

Can't miss it.

You're gonna have to get better at this.

Right.

We can go, like, five more minutes, like, because I'm pretty much ready to walk out of the house, so I'm gonna let you get to go.

Okay.

Cool.

Well, yeah, I guess we'll just kind of bring it all together, full circle.

But, yeah, for anyone listening, I guess you understand what I had said earlier, just about how it is talking with you, Dalia, It's.

It's just a lot.

I.

I use the word deep, but it's a lot more than that.

I mean, yeah, you think through things, like, at a level.

And I'm still going to go back.

It sounds like you've been doing it your whole life, really.

But on a level that you take things that most people seem to take for granted, and you break them down not only to a way of understanding how it affects your inner, but also how it affects other people's inner.

But then you take it further than that because you figure out a way to explain it in a way that just makes you think, like, wow.

How did I miss that all this time?

And people like you are important to have in.

In your circle because.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah, just some.

Some of us are thinking is so linear, and you're.

You seem to just really expand, like, even just a short time I've gotten to meet you.

It's really expanded my perception, and my ideas immediately have so much things bubbling inside that I want to kind of elaborate now and kind of think more deeper upon.

But I wholeheartedly agree with what Anthony's saying in the short.

It's a fact.

Yeah.

Beautiful perspective on life, both of you, and I hope we get to have some more conversations.

Anthony's lucky to get to talk to you every day.

I hope maybe once every couple months I get a chance.

Yeah.

Your chair is right over there.

I told you gotta come through.

We gotta make this.

We gotta make this a thing.

But it's so beautiful that, you know, what you both do is very special.

And there is a charm.

And I was just admiring this about Anthony yesterday.

There is art.

Art, relax.

There is a.

There is.

There is gratitude from me for anyone in my life and in the world who's able to put things into words.

You know, there is this and package it.

And the thing is, Anthony, you're able to do that.

Derek, you're able to do that.

Which is how you can have a podcast.

Right?

Men are not traditionally told to speak about their feelings.

So I want.

One of my things in life that I want to do is to help men do that.

Right?

So.

And it creates safety for women.

Right.

Because not knowing makes.

Doesn't make us feel safe.

Right.

So.

So.

So.

But how will you learn from back.

From us?

So we cannot abandon men to be like, oh, go figure it out.

So I want to women to learn to have compassion, hold compassion for men.

Be like, hey, what do you know?

Does this make you feel uncomfortable?

Cool.

Tell me how you feel in your way.

You don't have to say it in the way I say it.

Just say it.

Yeah, just say it.

Right?

And so what you're doing here, first of all, I want to tell you is very, very important.

Thank you for keeping and holding space and, you know, value for what I do and what I have to contribute.

I never want to come across preachy and, like, I have it figured out.

I'm far from figuring things out, but I've got some messages that I want to share with the world, and let's all grow together.

Like, I don't have it figured it figured out whatsoever.

Right.

I Have something.

And I think what I getting from you, Dorike, that I'm going to take some time to think about is maybe.

I don't know what you guys are going to say about this, but, like, maybe thinking about how much I give in from my.

From what I know so that people are able to process.

Because for me, this is just how I think.

But for people, it might be overwhelming.

So that they're processing, depending where they are in their spirituality or what they're going through in life, it might be a lot to process.

Then they're not processing anything.

Yeah.

Deeply.

You know.

So one of the things that Anthony's been helping me with is like, take a topic, distill it down.

Yes.

Okay.

What is the theme over here?

So we have a theme, and then we've created, like, content around that theme to share.

Okay.

So that's something I'm going to take from you because, you know, I want people to think, but I want people to be overwhelmed.

So true.

That's something I learned from this podcast.

And that's a good takeaway.

That's.

That is a great takeaway.

Phenomenal.

Yeah.

So that's.

I mean, hard to keep up.

It's like.

Yeah, it's like trying to keep up with, like, Bolt or something.

Like, you're sprinting here, but it's not.

Everyone's at the same.

That pace.

So.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's really good.

That's really good.

See how you, during your own conversation, you have takeaways of what you can change about your own delivery to help the rest of us.

Look at you.

But this idea.

I love.

I love.

I love what you said about, you know, the way I see the world.

I am Dalia, and that's why I'm on this podcast.

And that's my perspective.

It's not for everyone.

If you want someone logical, I could use some more logic sometimes.

Sure.

But, like.

But then my poetry is gone.

My art is lost.

Yeah.

And I get that.

You know, I want to say this in conclusion, because I know we have.

I have to.

I have to go to the man.

I'm about to talk about my father.

My dad.

Apparently, it's like a very rare thing.

I looked it up recently.

He's.

If he tells you something, he's like, he can tell you a story from 60 years ago, and he can tell you the date.

He could even tell you it was a Tuesday or a Wednesday.

Wow.

He can tell you which year, what date, and, wow, what it was like, who was there, what they were wearing.

What the air smelled like.

And so that's how I always heard.

Yeah, he's an incredible artist and writer, photographer.

Everything's like anything you can think of.

Photographer, everything, everything.

Does everything.

And so musician.

And so that's how.

How he saw the world.

Because he didn't come up with much, right?

He didn't have much.

I don't know why he's the way he is.

Okay.

It could be.

He could have had, like, millions of dollars.

I think my dad would still be like this.

But he remembers everything, no matter which country he lived in, whichever city he lived in in his life.

Wow.

And when he says the story, he says it in the most poetic way, you know, like, this is beautiful story he tells about his mom.

And she still.

He still has a letter, which always makes him choke up.

Like, his mom sold one of her really good saris.

His mom didn't have a lot.

And so very, very humble.

My grandmother, I never got to meet her, unfortunately.

Like, she died before I was born.

She sold her sari to send him money.

I think that's how the story goes.

And so the way he says it is just so beautiful, you know?

Like, the way he remembers things is so beautiful.

And so that's how I thought people told stories.

You know, the tree was this.

Yeah.

The cloud was doing this, you know, and so I just want to remember the world that way.

That's my choice and really impacted you.

And it's not for everyone.

But, yeah, I am from.

I am for someone.

And thank you for having me.

Thank you for holding space for me.

Thanks for having a podcast in general so you care to talk to people and connect.

Thank you for all that.

You do, too.

Like I said, just been amazing.

Just getting to know you and getting to hear your experiences and plan for some of the things coming up has been just.

Just absolutely awesome.

So exciting.

Yeah.

You're incredible.

I can't wait to share more of your work and of.

Of you with people.

So thanks.

Oh, no, no, we can't leave.

We have to let people know where to find you.

Yeah.

Oh, I thought you're gonna say something else.

Oh.

So let's.

Let's keep this in here for the.

So just so that the momentum of what we're trying to build with the brand.

Okay, so, yes.

Edit.

Cut.

Okay, hold on.

So can you ask me, like, what I'm working on so we can talk about the book and then blah, blah, blah.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay, cool.

Okay, so one last thing, because I know you have to run, but can you tell us about some of the projects that you have coming up, some of the things that you're working on right now.

Oh, yes.

I would love to tell you what's going on.

I can't give it all away.

Just a little bit.

Okay.

So one thing that's really exciting is obviously the record that we're working on that's really close to my heart.

The whole project is called the Sound of My Love, but the first song that we have for the new year will be Good Love.

Good Love.

Yeah.

And it's really about, like, loving someone and letting someone go.

If it doesn't work out for you, you don't know how things are gonna work.

But always, like, hoping joy for them in their life.

So that one's really exciting, that first song and the whole project.

Yeah.

And just putting out music that I really am passionate about.

I have a poetry book coming out called I Want to Live, so I think we should just meet and talk about that one day.

That is a whole thing in itself.

And then should we mention about what we're doing around the book?

Give them a little.

A little snippy snip.

Yeah.

All right.

That doesn't sound good.

A little snippet.

A little tidbit.

A little tidbit.

A little tidbit is that we will be in a room that you could come to where we, you know, have a.

There'll be a poetry exhibition of sorts where there's art and poetry put together and the message of the book put together with, you know, a speaker series.

So that's the first.

Yeah.

Announcement coming out there.

Period here first.

So it's all around.

I want to live in different messages around that for different audiences.

Because there's a lot to unpack in the book, and I'm so excited to put it out.

Like, it's scary.

Much more scary than putting out music.

There's no melody to, you know, fall back on.

It's just the words.

So I'm really, really excited about the book.

And that's.

I think that's as much as I can spell for now for.

That's a good amount.

That's a lot.

That's a lot you shared.

Okay, so last thing, then.

Let people know where to find you to follow your journey and keep up with announcements for projects and all that good stuff.

Awesome.

I think the easiest place to go is to Instagram, because once you get to my profile, you're gonna get a little click through that takes you to everywhere you can find my music, my message.

So that's Dahlia Music now.

Thanks for listening.

Thank you so much for sharing your time, your energy, and your vast wisdom with us.

Always a pleasure.

So, yeah, thanks so much.

Hope you guys have really gotten something.

I know there's a lot of gems in here, so.

Yeah, I'm excited for everyone to listen to this and have some real serious takeaways.

Everyone take care.

Be well.