Rashod: Last year, you dropped a CD and a Book. What was that like for you?
David: The book is Us Against the World. It’s our secrets to love, marriage, and family. It’s about a 30-year journey of marriage and the CD is the soundtrack to it. It talks about how we met and it’s some really good life lessons. It’s our special little way of teaching. The album is a duet album from both Tamela and I, and I’m actually singing on the album.
Tamela: Because he’s been running.
Rashod: Oh, so you’re singing again? I realized we haven’t heard much from you vocally.
Tamela: Yes. Years. Every time I asked him, he comes up with some type of excuse.
Rashod: So you know, my question is why?
David: Well, you know, especially with her, she such an iconic voice and to try to match the intensity of that voice was like, I couldn’t honestly, I ain’t doing it. Laughing. The songs talked about our love for each other, so it was easy to do when you talk about something like that.
Rashod: You guys have five kids, 12 grandkids, and 30 years of marriage. There’s a lot of wisdom in that. What’s the life lesson that you would give a kid going into marriage at this point? The 20 something-year-old guy, the girl that thinks “I’m ready to go get married”.
David: Make sure you build the foundation on friendship with your spouse. Because a lot of the stuff that you encountered going to require that you guys are based and grounded and rooted in something other than sex, something other than money. It’s going to have to be based on, “Okay, we may not be agreeing as a couple, we may not be agreeing as husband and wife, but as my friend, I do realize that we’re on the same team and we have the same goals in life.” So, I would definitely tell them root and ground your marriage and the relationship in friendship and everything else will be covered. And the love, the love that y’all have for each other. Will definitely grow.
Tamela: Ditto. (laughing)
Rashod: That’s a word! So, I have a question from our guest interviewer, Tyrese Thomas. He’s the director of a group named The Healed Project.
Tyrese: I’ve taken a lot from what you guys were saying, but one question I did have for you on both you is, what wisdom would you give someone, like myself, who’s up and coming, trying to get into the industry, may not necessarily be signed with a label? What would be your wisdom?
Tamela: Well, what we would give is don’t take no for an answer. Keep working, keep working your craft. Even though you may not take off as soon as you think, because a lot of times, a lot of us, just want it to happen quickly. And it doesn’t come quickly. I mean, for some people, it might, but you just keep going and don’t take no for an answer. Because some people are dream crushers. But you always remember that you believe in that gift that God has given you and that you can take off and you can do what you’re called to do. You just keep working on it. Just don’t forget about it and just go work. You know? Keep working at whatever job that you’re working and you’re not practicing your gift. Keep practicing your gift.
David: and never expect anybody else to invest in you if you won’t invest in you. When I say invest, I mean not just money. That’s time. That’s effort. You have to invest in honing your craft. You have to invest money sometimes, so invest money, you know? Don’t ever expect anyone to invest in you if you’re not willing to sacrifice and invest in you.
Tyrese: I appreciate that. I love when you both were saying when you guys listen to new music, one of the things that Tamela really focuses on is the lyrics. I’m a writer myself, so I tend not to go with trends. I like to write relative to passion and items where you’re driving your car and you’re by yourself in the lyrical content hits you because life is very interesting. It’s a journey. I’ve learned that and at that really encouraged me to kind of stay the course, write the music, write the story, to touch someone, so they can be lifted. So that was very encouraging for me and that inspired me to stay on the course and continue to write the way I write and not think that I’m weird like that. So I really appreciate that.
David: Because like you say, trends will fade, but that’s why we have the classic music from back in the day because they wrote from the heart, they didn’t write the trend, they didn’t write to have the latest pop hit they wrote for the test of time. So I think that’s what we need more of.
