Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 ♪ If not for my girls ♪
00:03 - You can put that thing on DJ.
00:06 - What they do, Essence?
00:08 (audience cheering)
00:10 Well, welcome to If Not For My Girls Live, honey.
00:13 We are live in the building
00:14 at the 2023 Essence Festival, y'all.
00:16 How y'all feeling?
00:18 (audience cheering)
00:19 All right, so this conversation right now,
00:21 it's gonna be fun, it's gonna be real,
00:22 it's gonna be uncut.
00:23 I got my girl, Bia and Money Long in the building.
00:26 Y'all give it up for them right now, y'all.
00:28 What's T, Essence Fest?
00:30 So, okay, so I wanna know y'all's stories, right?
00:35 So that's what we're gonna talk about first.
00:37 So I wanna start with Bia.
00:39 Give the people your journey.
00:41 - Okay, first of all, I just wanna say hello.
00:44 How's everybody feeling today?
00:46 I go by the name of Bia, Bia.
00:49 (laughing)
00:50 I love y'all, I love the energy.
00:52 A little bit about me, I'm a recording artist.
00:54 I've been making music for a long time,
00:55 like 10, 15 years, and it took me a little while
00:59 to get my flow, but now that we here, it's amazing,
01:02 and I'm so happy to be here, y'all.
01:04 - Yes.
01:05 (audience cheering)
01:07 And Money Long?
01:08 - I've been doing music for a very long time,
01:12 professionally, since like 2007,
01:17 and it took me a really long time to realize
01:25 that I had to really go after what I actually wanted
01:30 versus, you know, you could be really good at something,
01:32 but that doesn't mean that it's fulfilling.
01:35 So I had to really push myself, and it was a risk.
01:40 It was a huge leap of faith just to leave the comfort
01:45 of what I was doing as a writer for other people,
01:49 and I didn't know what to expect.
01:51 I just knew that I felt like there was more for me,
01:54 and it worked.
01:56 Yeah.
01:57 - Yeah, and now you're here.
01:58 - Yes.
01:59 - That's the beauty of it.
02:00 Y'all know me, my story, child.
02:01 Let me tell you something about my story.
02:03 I'm gonna get into that thing right quick.
02:04 It's gonna take five seconds.
02:06 Okay, I was consistent, I trust God, and I prayed.
02:09 - Yes, that's why we're here.
02:10 - Amen, yes, yes.
02:12 - And then speaking of that, I know we all have
02:14 been through obstacles.
02:16 We all been through the storm.
02:18 We all prayed and prayed and prayed for breakthroughs.
02:22 Tell me a little bit about your story
02:23 in that space of your obstacles,
02:25 and what kept y'all motivated?
02:26 - You ready, okay.
02:29 You know, it was so many times I wanted to give up.
02:33 So many.
02:34 I used to be in my closet, 'cause you know,
02:36 I always had a big walk-in closet,
02:37 and you know, I was like--
02:38 - Come on, talk, yeah.
02:39 - Yeah, this is real for the fashions.
02:41 - Okay.
02:42 - But I used to be in my closet, like,
02:44 screaming in my pillow, like,
02:46 "Why is this happening to me?"
02:48 You know, and there was just this little voice
02:52 in the back of my head, just this little tiny tug, like,
02:55 "But what if, what if next month, next year,
03:00 "is the year for you?
03:02 "What if you give up, and the next day
03:06 "would've been the day?"
03:07 And that happened to me for years.
03:11 You know, just up and down, up and down, up and down.
03:14 And finally, I just quit caring,
03:16 where I was just like, "You know what?
03:18 "God got me, he wouldn't have gave me these gifts
03:22 "if they weren't meant to be, you know, seen."
03:26 And so, I just started expressing myself
03:29 without any expectation.
03:32 And when I started doing that, I started having fun.
03:35 And I just started being more confident.
03:40 You know, 'cause it was no, like,
03:42 I don't care whether or not somebody likes it.
03:45 I like it, and it's fun to me, so whatever.
03:49 And when I started doing that, and just being silly,
03:52 like, that's where the little yee-hee came from.
03:54 Just me being silly.
03:56 ♪ Yee-hee-ah, I ain't what you had a time machine ♪
03:59 You know, just being silly, and that's the stuff
04:02 that people resonated with.
04:04 It's just me being my authentic self,
04:07 and not worrying about what other people think about it.
04:10 That's what really did it for me.
04:12 - And I think that's great, because you just
04:14 giving that to God, and letting him lead.
04:16 And that's what we all should do.
04:17 Just give it to God, and just keep going.
04:19 'Cause there's something that's gifted in each of you,
04:21 you guys in the building, so you guys
04:22 just gotta keep pushing forward.
04:24 - Navia? - A little bit about my journey.
04:27 In the music world, a lot like money.
04:31 I've been making music for a long time,
04:32 and I was signed for, like most artists,
04:36 some artists go through, like, a shelving period.
04:38 So, if you know me from a long time ago,
04:40 Sisterhood of Hip Hop, from some of my old music,
04:43 I went through, like a shelving,
04:46 where I had to basically find myself,
04:49 figure out what my message was,
04:50 what did I want my music and my story
04:52 to really, like, to stand for.
04:54 And I feel like once I found that out,
04:57 and I had a clear vision of who I am,
05:00 and not let somebody tell me who I am,
05:03 that's when everything started to make sense.
05:05 A lot, like you said, to piggyback off of authenticity.
05:08 As long as you be in your true self,
05:10 and you moving from an authentic place,
05:12 everything you do will come to fruition.
05:14 It just has to be authentic.
05:16 - Yes, and just to add to what you're saying,
05:20 one thing that is, you can't fake the frequency.
05:25 Like, you could feel that, right,
05:26 when somebody isn't actually, you know,
05:29 you can tell when somebody's really being them.
05:32 And the thing about, like, authenticity
05:35 that's so powerful to me is,
05:37 when you really know who you are,
05:39 and you know how to recreate that formula,
05:41 and recreate that recipe, time will tell.
05:45 It's when you're copying,
05:46 or when you're trying to be someone else,
05:49 or put on a costume, you don't know the ingredients,
05:52 you don't have the recipe.
05:53 And so eventually, people are gonna realize,
05:56 like, oh wow, that's something funny about that.
05:59 - That's really not in you.
05:59 - Not really you.
06:00 - That's not really you.
06:01 - Exactly.
06:02 - Facts.
06:03 And let's get into the pandemic.
06:07 Honey, that 2020 messed up all of us, honey, including me.
06:11 So how did that impact you guys creatively,
06:13 mentally, spiritually?
06:14 I know for me, I start with me,
06:16 I was in my closet depressed.
06:18 I had anxiety, I was in my head.
06:20 Knowing I'm a PK, I come from the church,
06:23 but I also knew, like, dag, I'm on a move.
06:25 You know, this pandemic came and just ended everything,
06:28 right, in my mind it did.
06:31 And it really caused a lot on my body.
06:32 And it wasn't even that I wasn't healed,
06:34 I think my mind was playing a trick on me every day,
06:37 that I couldn't succeed, I'm gonna stay in this space.
06:39 And I was so depressed, y'all.
06:41 So for me, I have overcome it with talking to my mom,
06:44 getting counseling, you know,
06:46 and really and truly getting into my word
06:48 and knowing, like, this is just temporary.
06:50 So I wanna ask you guys the same.
06:52 How did the pandemic affect you guys?
06:54 Did it even do it?
06:55 Did it give you some more creative sauce?
06:57 Did it help you more spiritually?
06:59 Like, how did it work for you guys?
07:02 - I actually really enjoyed the pause
07:05 because I felt like before I was always
07:09 rushing to the next job.
07:12 And also I think the pandemic really humbled a lot of people.
07:16 It made everybody kind of like be equal.
07:20 You know, it was a equalizer.
07:22 So I enjoyed just seeing people be human,
07:27 you know, and not trying to flex on you or whatever.
07:30 But also I started my Supergiant Records
07:33 Money Long Journey in January, 2020.
07:36 So for those first three months I was in Atlanta,
07:40 just trying to figure out, like, what is my sound?
07:42 Who do I wanna be in this era?
07:46 And when everything shut down,
07:49 we took those first two months to just kinda like
07:52 go see family and make sure everybody was okay.
07:55 And then there was a moment when it was like,
07:56 well, girl, you can either keep going
07:59 and push through this difficult time,
08:02 and by the end of it, we'll see what happens
08:05 'cause we didn't know at that time
08:07 how long it was gonna last.
08:09 Or you could just give up.
08:11 And I chose to push through.
08:13 And that ended up being the best decision for me
08:16 'cause I got to work with everybody I wanted to work with.
08:18 Everybody was available.
08:20 So it was like exactly what I needed
08:24 to jumpstart Money Long.
08:26 - Okay, go ahead, Bia.
08:28 - So for me, the pandemic was,
08:31 I learned a lot in the pandemic, believe it or not.
08:34 I had so much time, and like you said,
08:36 I was going from one job to the next.
08:38 And in this time, I didn't have like a studio
08:41 we could record at.
08:42 We didn't have anywhere where we could get work done.
08:45 So me and the homies, we got a space.
08:48 They got a big space, and we just went to the studio
08:51 with our same group every single day, all three of us.
08:54 We were supposed to be inside,
08:55 but we made the most out of our time recording,
08:58 doing anything that we could.
08:59 I actually made a whole lot of money in the pandemic.
09:03 (audience cheering)
09:04 I also did "Cover Girl" shortly.
09:07 Like "Cover Girl" came out in the pandemic.
09:11 Like so many of my favorite songs I ever did,
09:13 we did it during that time,
09:15 'cause I think we really got the chance to focus
09:17 on the music and like what we wanted our sound to be.
09:19 It was productive.
09:20 - It definitely did a lot, like I said, for myself.
09:23 But I went by these three words,
09:25 I pray, write, and I created, you know?
09:27 'Cause again, I had COVID in 2020,
09:29 so that's why it took a toll on me.
09:31 And I was in my closet like praying,
09:33 like please, I need to learn how to sneeze again.
09:36 I need to get my smell back, Lord.
09:37 Like it was, I got work to do.
09:39 So it played, no, seriously.
09:41 - When I lost my smell, it was very sad.
09:44 I thought I was never gonna get it back.
09:46 (audience cheering)
09:47 - I'm telling you, Jesus.
09:49 So let's get to the next question.
09:51 We talked that you guys are a brand.
09:53 How do you guys know when to pivot?
09:54 - I mean, for me, I rebranded,
09:57 did a huge rebrand from my government,
10:00 which people might know as Priscilla Renee,
10:02 to Money Long, just because, you know,
10:05 sometimes when people feel like they know you,
10:08 they'll be a hater, they like block.
10:12 You know, be like, oh, that ain't nothing
10:13 but little Kiki from down the block, you know?
10:16 And it's disrespectful.
10:17 So by the time people realized that I had made this shift,
10:22 it was too late.
10:24 The song was already huge, you know,
10:27 and they're still putting two and two together.
10:30 I just ran into somebody the other day in LA
10:33 that was like, I just found out three days ago
10:36 that you are Money Long.
10:39 Yeah.
10:40 - Wow.
10:40 - Yeah, so, I mean, how do I know when to pivot?
10:44 It's just like when you just,
10:45 sometimes you just hit a ceiling
10:47 and it's just not fulfilling anymore,
10:49 or when it starts feeling like you're forcing it.
10:51 Like I used to get a lump in my throat.
10:53 It's like a little frog in my throat
10:55 every time I would have to go do something
10:57 I didn't wanna do.
10:59 - And you should never feel like that.
11:01 You know, you should always feel joy and happiness
11:04 and excitement and passion
11:06 for whatever it is that you're doing.
11:08 So, I mean, if you're willing to kind of like
11:12 put the work in and roll your sleeves up
11:14 and get down in the dirt,
11:16 you can change your life tomorrow
11:18 and to be something completely different
11:20 than what you are today.
11:21 - Yes, for sure.
11:23 And you, Bia?
11:24 - I was gonna say, you can't let the expectations
11:27 of other people deter you from what you really wanna do
11:31 or what you need to do.
11:32 So, for me, I was always like one of those artists
11:36 that's like, how do I make a hit song?
11:38 How do I make one of those songs
11:39 that's like everybody's gonna relate to?
11:42 The only way to do the best things for you
11:45 is to just be authentic and be yourself
11:47 and really do what makes you happy.
11:49 Because it wasn't until I started making songs
11:51 that I like, that I'm having fun making with my friends.
11:55 Those were the records that turned into hit records.
11:58 Like, those are the records for me
12:00 that everybody else likes when I'm having the most fun.
12:03 If I'm going into things like overthinking it,
12:06 it never works.
12:07 - You know, I heard something at a graduation one time.
12:11 It was like USC graduation.
12:15 And the speaker said,
12:17 "Whatever is most personal is most universal."
12:22 Because we all think that we're living different lives.
12:25 We're not.
12:26 We all got the same stories.
12:29 We all got the same experiences.
12:32 We all pretty much had the same childhood.
12:34 And a lot of the stuff that we're going through
12:36 is exactly the same.
12:37 And what we need to do is more things like this, to share.
12:41 And then you realize that,
12:43 oh, wow, what I'm going through isn't that bad.
12:46 My friend over here is going through the same thing.
12:49 But we tend to like bottle it up
12:51 and we be too ashamed to tell somebody
12:53 what we're going through.
12:55 You gotta share.
12:56 You gotta start talking.
12:56 - You have to.
12:57 - And if we don't share,
12:58 we won't have the compassion that we need
13:01 for the next person to know like,
13:02 okay, that's not normal.
13:04 Like, I should feel like that's not okay.
13:06 I should wanna help that person, you know?
13:08 - Mm-hmm.
13:09 - Yes. - All right, y'all.
13:10 Let's get into the women in y'all life.
13:12 Okay, you said in your lyric that,
13:15 "Shout out to Diana Bia, she raised me."
13:17 Who is she and how has she impacted your life?
13:19 - Diana's my mom and I grew up with a single mom.
13:23 Shout out to all the moms.
13:24 And sometimes there's days when my mom had to be both,
13:27 you know, so I really, really, I love the women.
13:31 And I just feel like we as women,
13:35 we gotta just make sure that we sticking together
13:38 and really helping the next generation like grow up
13:42 and see some type of camaraderie amongst women
13:45 because I'm just an example
13:48 and a reflection of the women that raised me.
13:50 My grandmother, the women around me, my aunts,
13:53 you know, everything like that, so.
13:55 - Yeah.
13:55 And what is the best piece of advice
13:58 a black woman ever gave you?
13:59 It could be your grandma, your mom, your aunt,
14:01 and how has that seed been planted in you guys?
14:03 - I would say my mom used to always give me
14:09 these little gems of like, you know,
14:14 making sure that I understood how to be a woman.
14:18 And one thing she used to say to me
14:20 'cause I was very like soft when I was growing up,
14:23 I was very much like wanting to share and, you know,
14:26 "Oh, be my friend."
14:28 And she used to tell me like,
14:29 "One day you're gonna get tired of people running over you.
14:34 "And on that day, nobody could tell you
14:36 "what day that's gonna be.
14:38 "But one day somebody's gonna piss you off good enough
14:41 "to where you start learning to teach people
14:44 "how to treat you."
14:45 I didn't understand what she meant by that for so long
14:49 until recently.
14:50 You know, it's like, I'm being a good girl,
14:53 I'm following all the rules, I'm being kind.
14:57 And people will look at that and say, "She's weak.
15:00 "She doesn't know her worth.
15:01 "I'm gonna take advantage of that.
15:03 "I'm taking advantage of her kindness."
15:05 Not realizing that I actually enjoy being kind.
15:10 But eventually I had to realize,
15:14 "Okay, baby, I'm gonna give you what you giving me.
15:17 "That's fine."
15:17 You know, it took me a while to be comfortable with that
15:21 and be okay with it.
15:23 But my mom told me that a long time ago,
15:25 you know, you have to teach people how to treat you.
15:28 You have to let people know you're not to be played with.
15:31 And whatever that means for you, don't be afraid.
15:34 You know, let somebody know, excuse me.
15:37 No, no, thank you.
15:38 Don't do that.
15:39 You know, I really dislike when you do that.
15:42 And being okay with it.
15:45 Don't apologize for setting your boundaries.
15:47 - For me, my mom always tells me, "Mute yourself."
15:52 Everybody ain't got to know what's going on
15:55 in pretty V's life.
15:56 Mute yourself and walk, okay, boldly.
16:00 Ask God for the spirit of confidence.
16:03 Ask God for the spirit of boldness and walk like that.
16:05 Every time I get on the phone with her,
16:07 "Vena, mute yourself.
16:08 "Everybody don't need to know your business, okay?
16:10 "And everybody ain't your friend.
16:12 "There's somebody out there that want what you got."
16:16 So just keep in mind, heighten your discernment
16:18 so you'll know who's for you and who's not.
16:21 Shout out to Pastor Uri.
16:22 What's up, Pastor G?
16:23 My mama, how the hell right now in the building?
16:25 Wherever she at?
16:26 Okay, VAU.
16:27 - My mom is very, her biggest thing with me
16:31 is like, don't wait on it.
16:33 I don't wait on nobody.
16:34 I don't wait on nothing.
16:36 If somebody tells me no,
16:37 the first thing I'm going to find out is like,
16:38 who's their boss?
16:40 Who can I talk to aside from you?
16:41 Because you can't help me if you just told me no.
16:44 I got to talk to somebody else.
16:45 So, period.
16:46 - So let's get into some love saucy.
16:49 Let's talk about love.
16:50 Let's talk about that.
16:52 Let's get into your support system, Money Long.
16:55 How did, 'cause you're married, of course, right?
16:58 And how long have you been married?
17:00 - I've been married for eight years.
17:02 - And how do you know that was the one?
17:04 - It's funny 'cause I knew very early.
17:08 I was like, oh, this one right here,
17:10 he has the potential to really hurt me.
17:13 Like, I feel like I love him already
17:15 and I don't want to say that because he gonna run.
17:17 You know, but it was very early.
17:20 And you know, I was dealing with, you know, lupus
17:25 and just trying to like cleanse and get healthy.
17:30 And he would fix my medicine for me.
17:33 Like, I would wake up in the morning
17:35 and he would have my juices ready
17:37 and like my, 'cause I was doing holistic at the time.
17:41 And that made me realize like,
17:42 wow, he's taking care of me, like the person.
17:46 He actually wants me to be healthy.
17:49 And that was my thing that made me like really fall for him
17:53 and be into him.
17:54 And also, you know, I need somebody that's a little strong
17:57 'cause I got an attitude.
17:58 - Okay, I know that's right.
17:59 We need a little rough neck.
18:01 Gotta watch, gotta get a rough neck.
18:03 Hello, what about you, Bia?
18:04 Are you single?
18:05 Are you dating?
18:06 What you doing?
18:07 - I'm single right now.
18:08 Just because I'm focused on everything I have.
18:10 I don't really allocate enough time to dating.
18:12 Like I should go on more dates, maybe next this year.
18:17 - Yeah, y'all know me.
18:20 You know, I'm single, but we dating.
18:22 You know what I'm saying?
18:23 - Real bad.
18:24 - Real bad.
18:25 All right, let's get into dating in 2023.
18:29 How y'all feel about that?
18:30 - I'm so glad I don't have to do it.
18:32 - I mean, I literally pray all the time.
18:34 Like, Father God, please send me a new batch.
18:37 This is not the batch.
18:39 - I'm so glad I don't have to do it.
18:41 I feel sorry for y'all.
18:43 You know, I pray God send y'all somebody.
18:45 I'm glad I got mine already.
18:47 - I know that's right.
18:48 Any red flags in a relationship, Bia?
18:51 - Hygiene.
18:53 I'm a hygiene girl.
18:53 Like you gotta be clean, brush your teeth, smell good.
18:58 That's number one for me.
19:00 - I don't like when guys don't ask questions.
19:03 Like you don't ask, you don't want to know nothing about me.
19:06 - Yes.
19:08 Boring.
19:08 We don't want no boring dude.
19:10 - You just want me to sit here next to you.
19:11 You don't want to talk about like, you know, books.
19:15 You know what I'm saying?
19:16 - I'm a mind girl.
19:18 Like you got to make love to my mind.
19:20 Cause you gonna get that if it get there.
19:23 You know, like I gotta get, you know,
19:24 you gotta give me something so I can, ooh, I like you.
19:28 But I'm a mind girl.
19:29 So you got to like get me right.
19:32 And then up here, then it's like, okay,
19:33 maybe a year from now I may, you know,
19:36 do a little woody woody.
19:37 - So you think guys that are funny,
19:39 like just as funny as you?
19:40 - No, you gotta have some personality,
19:44 but I don't want you, ain't no competition.
19:46 I don't want the competition in my house.
19:49 Knock, knock, who there?
19:50 Nobody.
19:51 (laughing)
19:52 I don't want that.
19:53 You gotta give me something that's funny,
19:54 but know how to play the back.
19:56 Play the back a little bit.
19:57 But still give me some sauce when it's time.
19:59 - I like 'em funny.
20:00 - Okay, so see, I'm a comedian, B.M.
20:02 - You laugh.
20:03 - I'm a comedian though.
20:04 So I don't want to hear all the (laughing)
20:06 It's like, Desi, be quiet, boy.
20:08 You know, I don't want to hear that.
20:10 So let's get into these funny topics that I have, right?
20:14 Okay, I ain't wish I had a time machine.
20:17 We're going to get into that.
20:18 If you had one, what would you do differently, Money Long?
20:21 - I probably would go back in time
20:23 and bop a couple of the people that needed to be bopped.
20:26 I would have bopped them.
20:28 I should have bopped them.
20:30 Some of them still need to be bopped,
20:32 but we don't fight anymore.
20:34 We don't do that.
20:35 We don't break nails.
20:36 We not messing up the lace.
20:38 - I know that's right.
20:39 What about you, B.M.?
20:40 - If I had a time machine?
20:42 - Yeah.
20:43 - If I had a time machine?
20:48 - Hmm, what would you do?
20:51 Come on, tell us.
20:52 - That's a really good question, honestly.
20:56 I would probably would have broke up with somebody sooner.
20:59 I would have just started my single journey
21:01 and my all about me journey way sooner.
21:03 Like, you know, you get to that point
21:06 where you really got to like, it's all about you.
21:08 You got to focus on you.
21:09 I would have just hit that way sooner.
21:12 - Wow, yeah.
21:14 So what about this question, B.?
21:15 It is for you.
21:16 When do you feel like you're that bitch?
21:19 Like that girl, like you sauce stuff, you know?
21:22 When you feel like that?
21:24 'Cause you got a song.
21:25 - I'm really her, so.
21:27 For me, it's about, I love a good look.
21:30 Like when I put the right outfit on,
21:32 my hair, my nails, I love that.
21:35 I'm into that.
21:36 - You like to be put together.
21:37 - Yeah, I like to be put together.
21:39 Like, I like a good look.
21:40 I like a little razzle dazzle.
21:43 - I mean, it shows.
21:43 What about you, Money Long?
21:44 - Same, like when the fit is hitting,
21:47 when the makeup is laid, the hair is laid,
21:50 you know, nails done, you just,
21:53 it's like a whole aura just come over you.
21:56 Like, yeah, yeah, look at me.
21:59 - But let's get deeper though.
22:00 What if you ain't got that on?
22:01 You still that girl with or without it?
22:03 - Yeah, but it's the difference between being that girl
22:06 and being that bitch.
22:08 - Ah. - You know what I'm saying?
22:09 - Y'all get that?
22:10 Y'all get that?
22:11 - Yeah, 'cause we always that girl.
22:12 - Always that girl. - Always her.
22:14 - Always. - Yeah.
22:15 - Even with a little bonnet on.
22:16 - Exactly.
22:18 - Let's get into kids.
22:20 'Cause I ain't got no kids.
22:22 I ain't got no kids.
22:23 Money Long, you got some kids?
22:24 - I got a lot of children.
22:27 I got a lot of people, you know, that call me mother.
22:30 - Oh, do you wanna talk?
22:32 Do you guys feel pressured into having kids?
22:34 - No, I think as a woman, it's your body.
22:39 You know, nobody should be able to tell you what to do,
22:43 even your mother.
22:44 Like, you know, the grandparents always wanna,
22:47 when you gonna have some kids?
22:49 You know, when you gonna find somebody?
22:51 And you just live your life, you know?
22:53 'Cause in my opinion,
22:55 unless you are really ready to like,
22:57 sacrifice everything for that human
23:01 that you just brought into the world,
23:03 I don't understand how people can have kids
23:05 and not take care of 'em.
23:06 I just don't understand that.
23:07 And you know, my biological father left
23:11 when I was 14 years old.
23:12 So it was just, it's a touchy subject for me.
23:16 I also had a nephew that was in the foster care system.
23:19 So I think that you wait and you have children
23:23 and you are ready to take care of those babies.
23:27 - For sure.
23:28 I feel the same way.
23:29 I need a six pack a little bit more longer.
23:33 You know, I need my little V cut
23:35 a little bit more longer, Lord.
23:37 So that's how I feel about it.
23:38 What about you, Leah?
23:39 - I think like the pressures of being a woman,
23:41 you always, you get to a point where you're like,
23:43 oh, I wanna have kids soon.
23:44 But I think it's about,
23:46 you have to find the right person for me.
23:47 Like, I'd rather have kids with the right person
23:50 or just don't have kids
23:51 until I feel like it's the right time.
23:53 - Facts.
23:54 - But there's never a right time to have kids.
23:55 So who knows?
23:58 - Whenever it's time, God gonna give it to us.
24:00 Whenever it's time.
24:01 Well, he gotta give us the man first.
24:03 Yeah.
24:04 And he gotta put that ring on my finger first.
24:06 - Father God, please redo this batch.
24:09 - No period.
24:11 This is for you, Money Long.
24:14 So we know that you had a fellow artist
24:17 that you guys had a bit misunderstanding
24:20 and it played out online,
24:22 but you choose to handle it with grace and love and respect.
24:25 What made you go that route instead of clapping back?
24:29 - Well, it actually really helped me in the moment
24:32 because everybody thought that the song was hours and hours
24:37 that was being referenced.
24:38 So it made everybody go listen to it
24:41 and it actually accelerated the process.
24:45 But I will say the reason why I decided
24:47 to just be gracious is because I had so many blessings
24:52 raining down on me and I was in this frequency
24:57 of just success and abundance.
24:59 And the minute you focus on negativity,
25:03 it knocks you off that upward spiral.
25:07 You start going into negativity and darkness.
25:10 And I refused.
25:11 I was like, this is a distraction.
25:13 I am not about to buy into that.
25:16 I got too much good stuff going on.
25:18 You can have that.
25:20 I respect you.
25:21 You're a legend.
25:22 And that's just that period.
25:24 You're not dragging me into that.
25:27 And sometimes it just takes for you not to engage,
25:32 for somebody to realize, oh, wait, wait a minute.
25:34 Maybe I was tripping.
25:36 - And I think, again, the people that surround,
25:39 like the ones on social media, our supporters
25:43 are not even, different fans may cause a chaos.
25:47 And it's like, sis, I don't even know what's going on.
25:50 You know, that ain't even what I got going on.
25:51 I'm trying to focus on what I'm focusing on.
25:52 - Listen, sometimes fans can be very messy.
25:56 Like the stuff that they say in comments
25:58 and they be atting you, not even knowing,
26:01 like, girl, stop.
26:03 You're about to cause something that's not even a thing
26:06 be a thing, stop it.
26:08 Like, stop tagging that lady.
26:09 You know what I'm saying?
26:11 And they don't realize, like, some of us
26:12 are really active on our pages.
26:14 So I see it all, you know?
26:17 - And Bia, what about you?
26:18 When do you know when to clap back and when not?
26:21 - I clap back all the time, unfortunately.
26:24 Sometimes, I've been working on it.
26:26 It's not a good thing to do.
26:28 Like, I'm a Leo, y'all, so I'm a little spicy.
26:32 Yeah, like, what did you say?
26:34 You feel me?
26:35 But, you know, I like to keep it professional.
26:37 I like to keep it cute.
26:39 And I feel like you gotta be nice, be nice, be nice.
26:41 Because when it's time for me to be mean,
26:43 I'm gonna destroy you.
26:45 So I'd rather just keep it cute
26:47 until I really gotta take it there.
26:49 Period.
26:49 You were saying something?
26:50 - No, that's exactly what she said.
26:52 Because when I unleash the beast, I'm Tasmanian devil.
26:55 I'm like, oh, you wanna play?
26:57 Let's play.
26:58 You know, don't nobody like it when I wanna play.
27:00 No, okay, let's play.
27:01 - It's cool, you do it.
27:02 It's a problem when I do it.
27:04 (laughing)
27:06 And let's get into this next one.
27:07 So doing the game, would you rather,
27:10 you shared that you'd rather someone spread
27:12 a terrible true story about you, Bia, than a lie.
27:16 And Money Long said you don't care either way.
27:19 So tell me about your carefree attitude that you have.
27:21 - People gonna think what they wanna think.
27:23 They gonna make up stories, you know.
27:25 - Okay.
27:26 - Apparently, you know, I'm married to somebody
27:28 named Masim Batchabanda.
27:29 Like, people just make stuff up.
27:32 I don't have time to correct it, girl.
27:34 Think what you wanna think.
27:34 I don't care.
27:36 - Okay, Bia, and you also said
27:37 you don't want nobody going through that phone.
27:39 What's up with that phone?
27:40 What you got in that phone, Bia, that you do?
27:42 - It's just my phone.
27:44 Like, you know what I'm saying?
27:45 I don't want nobody touching my phone.
27:47 Don't touch my phone.
27:48 Period.
27:49 Go through it.
27:50 I don't want you looking at my camera roll.
27:51 I don't want you looking at my 800 unread text messages.
27:54 Don't go through my phone.
27:55 - I know that's right.
27:56 So that was my last question,
27:58 but I have a question for myself
28:01 that I wanna ask for you guys.
28:02 What's next?
28:03 What's next for Bia's brand?
28:04 What's next for Money Long brand?
28:07 - Can you kick it off?
28:08 'Cause I wanna know what's next with you.
28:09 - Oh my God.
28:11 - I asked you.
28:12 - Okay, okay.
28:13 Okay, so let me get into it.
28:14 I think for me, you know, just keep, you know,
28:17 having my feet on this earth and just be consistent,
28:22 be prayed up, have fun.
28:23 That's the biggest thing for me.
28:24 TV and film, you know, hosting,
28:27 making sure my foundation that I'm creating,
28:29 the Pretty Victory, I speak to the young girls
28:31 about the mind, their mental, how to push through,
28:35 how to persevere.
28:36 That's the biggest thing for me.
28:38 I'm excited to be here at the 2023 Essence Fest.
28:42 All my people in the building, black people,
28:44 y'all look good.
28:46 So for right now, I'm just enjoying what God is doing,
28:48 the seen and the unseen.
28:49 I can't ask for nothing else.
28:51 Just, I'm on this journey right now.
28:54 - I love that.
28:54 And I love hearing about your foundation, B.
28:56 That's beautiful.
28:57 Thank you, Bia.
28:58 - For me, I'm in my entrepreneur bag right now.
29:01 I started a makeup line, it's called Beauty For Certain.
29:03 I love makeup, I love beauty, I love glam.
29:07 So I'm definitely, you'll see me outside pushing the makeup
29:10 and I've got a new album that will be out
29:12 probably at the end of summer.
29:13 So you guys will see me, I'll be outside, y'all.
29:17 Period.
29:19 - For me, always working on just elevating my music,
29:22 my creativity.
29:24 I have new music getting ready to come out.
29:26 I'm so excited about it, y'all.
29:29 Like, it's just this energy of just like,
29:32 all right, y'all thought that was it?
29:33 Bam, watch what I'm about to give y'all.
29:35 - Yeah, that's how I feel.
29:36 I just really wanna inspire people
29:38 and do things that make me excited.
29:41 Especially if you have a hit song
29:43 that people are always requesting,
29:45 you wanna make sure it's really good
29:47 and that you don't mind hearing it,
29:49 singing it, performing it.
29:50 I never get tired of singing it hours and hours.
29:53 And hopefully this new music will have that same effect.
29:57 I know for sure I love it.
29:59 So like you said, when I make music that I love,
30:04 I'm sure somebody out there is gonna resonate with it.
30:06 So yeah.
30:07 - Well, I know that guy's gonna work miracles
30:10 over y'all lives.
30:11 So y'all just keep being consistent.
30:13 Keep being beautiful.
30:14 I love you guys.
30:15 I'm a fan first.
30:16 So y'all keep doing y'all thing.
30:18 Give Bia and Money Long some applause, you guys.
30:22 Please show them some love.
30:24 This is If Not For My Girls.
30:27 And we are live here at the 2023 Essence Fest.
30:30 We wanted to come out and do this thing for you live.
30:33 I hope you guys gain some knowledge and some wisdom.
30:35 Please be safe out here.
30:37 We all love you guys.
30:38 And it's your girl, Pretty V.
30:39 Let's go.
30:40 (crowd cheering)
30:43 (audience cheering)