Entrepreneur and Performer Fantasia Barrino-Taylor sat dow with Forbes Senior Writer Jabari Young to talk about her Hollywood Walk Of Fame Nomination, how she's growing her new businesses and reflecting on the ups and downs of her career.
0:00 Introduction
1:08 Fantasia On Her Life Blessings And Full Circle Moments
4:28 Fantasia On Founding Her Production Company, Rock Soul Productions
8:00 Fantasia Shares How A Personal Connection Highlights Her Grandmother's Words Of Wisdom
11:43 Fantasia Shares Her Next Business Ventures
14:01 Fantasia Shares The Difference Between A Good vs. Great Singer
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
0:00 Introduction
1:08 Fantasia On Her Life Blessings And Full Circle Moments
4:28 Fantasia On Founding Her Production Company, Rock Soul Productions
8:00 Fantasia Shares How A Personal Connection Highlights Her Grandmother's Words Of Wisdom
11:43 Fantasia Shares Her Next Business Ventures
14:01 Fantasia Shares The Difference Between A Good vs. Great Singer
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Backstage here at the Forbes BLK Summit here in Atlanta, and I am joined by the beautiful
00:08Fantasia.
00:09Thank you so much.
00:10You just got off stage, rocked it, killed it.
00:12The energy, the crowd loves you.
00:15What did you think of the event?
00:16How are you liking it?
00:17I think that you guys should keep this going forever and ever and ever.
00:20Thank you.
00:21It allows people to come in and be educated.
00:24It feels free.
00:25The room felt really, really free.
00:26So I thought I was going to be nervous, but then I got out there and speaking with you,
00:30you make all that go away.
00:32It felt like I was just talking to a friend, a cousin, another, my brother.
00:36And we are encouraging, inspiring, and just sharing information that we probably wouldn't
00:41share in certain rooms that we can share in this room.
00:43Absolutely.
00:44And listen, I want to say congrats to you because the world probably knows by now when
00:47this video comes out, but Hollywood Walk of Fame, I mean, the emotion is there.
00:51I know it's just hit, I don't want to get you crying, but you know, what do you think
00:55you're going to feel in that moment when you're out there in Hollywood, fans surround
00:59you, maybe celebrities will come out just to praise you.
01:01How do you think you're going to feel?
01:02I don't know, but I will say this, Jay.
01:05And by the way, he's my brother now, so I'll call him Jay.
01:08I appreciate it.
01:09I say this, I want to show them that how a girl from around the way can get a star and
01:14still show up and be an around the way girl.
01:18If that makes any sense.
01:19It does.
01:20Yeah.
01:21It's a big thing to have, but I want people to see that you can experience big things
01:27without changing who you are.
01:30You understand?
01:32That feels even better for me to go and do that and be out in Hollywood, which right
01:38up the street is where I won, it was at the time I think it was the Kodak Theater.
01:42They changed the name now, but I won there, so I keep seeing these full circle moments.
01:47I worked with Jimmy Jam when I was probably about 18, before Idol.
01:54The fact that he announced it today, I didn't even know.
01:57I keep seeing these full circle moments.
01:58So because these full circle moments are happening, I'm like, God, I promise you that I'm going
02:03to walk them the same Tasia that started out just so that people can see that we can fulfill
02:13everything that God has for us without changing who we are.
02:17This is a big year for you because 2024, here you are, you get your Hollywood Walk
02:20of Fame, right?
02:21And then you also started Rock Soul Productions.
02:24We talked about it a little bit on the stage, but one of the things I didn't ask you was
02:26what's the biggest positive, surprise about being the CEO, positive surprise?
02:31I guess the positive is that I wake up every morning knowing that I'm putting in the work
02:35for myself.
02:39There were times back then, you're like, oh, I'm dragging on this call because I don't
02:42know how it's going to go, and I don't know this, that, that, that.
02:45I'm like, if I'm going to have that feeling, I might as well put the work in.
02:48I was speaking to a young man the other day who I've been speaking into for a while, and
02:52he said something to me, and I said, young man, if you're going to go through that work
02:55for somebody else, you might as well go through it for yourself.
02:57That's right.
02:58That's what's up with your brand.
02:59That's what's up with you, right?
03:00Yes, sir.
03:01Yes, sir.
03:02Don't let anybody do that.
03:03With positives comes negatives.
03:04What's been the biggest negative surprise about being CEO?
03:07I know personnel changes happen, but what's the negative surprise?
03:11The negative is you don't know who you're getting when it comes to an employee, and
03:19you have to navigate that with, you've got to be careful.
03:28Make sure you don't hurt nobody, offend nobody.
03:30We're living in a season and a time where everybody is fighting, right, or struggling,
03:36and so you don't want to ever push somebody into a bad place.
03:41You want to push them into a better place, but if it doesn't work for your company, there's
03:45got to be a push, whether it's to the left or to the right, and you've got to figure
03:49out how to do that, and so that's been hard for me.
03:51I'm a cancer, so I'm the loving, nurturing, want to take care of everybody, and it's not
03:56easy for me to walk away from someone because I do believe that the ministry that I have
04:01is to, I went through everything I went through to show people like, yo, see, when I was down
04:06there, you can get back up, but sometimes you just reach people that just ain't ready
04:10to get up in the manner of time that needs to be done for a business.
04:14That make sense?
04:15What's that?
04:16When you're running a business, you can take care of other people when it's not business.
04:19You can call.
04:20I'm going to keep pushing, I'm going to keep trying, but when it's business, you don't
04:25got that many chances, and so I think that has been the hardest.
04:28Well, what's in store for Rock Soul?
04:30I mean, listen, it's your own production company.
04:32You said new music is coming, so I'm assuming it's going to come through Rock Soul.
04:35Yes, sir.
04:36More than music.
04:37Broadway.
04:38Documentaries.
04:39On the legends that, you know, I would share a legend that's coming on board, but I can't
04:44share it right now, but in October it will be announced, and this is a big one for me,
04:49and so bringing on legends and actually showing them that the stage is not all you have to
04:54do.
04:55You don't just have to sing, sing, sing, sing, sing.
04:58What else do you, you like clothes?
04:59Okay, let's go start your own clothing.
05:01Okay, you want a documentary?
05:02You want to do movies?
05:04Rock Soul Productions is going to show artists that you have greater in you than just picking
05:10up a mic and singing, because I found that out.
05:14Now within the business, what are you learning about it, because I know you're still in business
05:17school, right?
05:18So if you had to describe Fantasia the business woman in one word, like right now, what would
05:22it be?
05:23Patience.
05:24Patience.
05:25Good God Almighty, seriously.
05:27You got to be patient.
05:28You can't be quick to reply.
05:31You can't be quick to do certain things because of your emotions.
05:34You got to check them and leave them at the door.
05:38You're dealing with all these employees who are all different, female, male, and you got
05:44to learn how to sit with them and not meet them where they are, but bring them up, and
05:51that can be difficult, especially when you are a wife and a mother, and you need some
05:57time for you too.
05:59So you just have to learn how to have patience and balance.
06:02Well you said wife, right?
06:03I know we talked about it on the phone, about do you believe in the business of marriage,
06:07because I know you and your husband have a prenuptial, but is it true?
06:11Is it a business of marriage, and if so, what goes on in that business?
06:13Because everything that you're doing, you also have to talk to your husband on a personal
06:16level, because there's finances involved, what's that business of marriage like?
06:19I think the good thing about me and Ken, that's my honey, money has never been our issue.
06:27Money has never been a thing with me, like I don't really care about it.
06:32I could have like a hundred dollars in my pocket and in my line, and we were driving,
06:37and I see what on the streets and what I do.
06:41Give it to him.
06:42What?
06:43Your last hundred.
06:44What?
06:45Immediately.
06:46So there's this one guy, I ain't going to say his name, he's in Charlotte, I check on
06:51him all the time, he's my friend.
06:53He don't know who I am.
06:55He has no clue, and for some reason, I don't know why, he stood out to me like he was just
07:01right here when I passed by, I was like, I got to stop, I got to stop.
07:05So when I stopped the first time, I called him over and I was like, how do I teach this
07:09man that he is still seen and loved, and God loves him, and God was just like, tell him
07:17I love him.
07:18Okay, so now God's like, now I'm going to leave it up to you to show him what my love
07:23is.
07:25So I pulled over, and I know we got to go soon, but I was like, hey man, I started it
07:28off with, you know God loves you, right?
07:30He was looking at me like, yeah, okay, what you going to give me, and I was like, look,
07:34have you ate today, have you drank, what do you need, blah, blah, blah, what's your favorite
07:37drink, blah, blah, blah.
07:38Because my grandmother used to tell me, I grew up in church, but she would say, when
07:42you give somebody something, don't judge what they buy, because in that moment, that's their,
07:47a man on the street, if they're getting drunk, that's their way of not being cold at night.
07:52That's their way of getting away from everything that they're going through.
07:55And I know all these sounds are happening, because they don't want what I got to say
07:57to get through, but it's getting through.
08:00But the mic ain't picking it up.
08:01Okay, it ain't picking it up.
08:03That is their way of living a night of not worrying about certain things.
08:08So I said, what would you like to drink, he told me.
08:11I gave him everything, and I said, don't forget, God loves you.
08:14I kept doing that, week after week.
08:17Now when I pull up on him, and you know what the first thing he said to me?
08:21He'll come up to my car, and be like, you know God love me, right?
08:23Somebody gave me these tennis shoes.
08:25That was my way of showing him that God loves you.
08:28He still, I say, you know what my name is?
08:31You forgot my name?
08:32He was like, oh, Fantagious, I'm all, whatever, Tages, Tasia, whatever you want to call it.
08:39But that is my work, so I feel like God has placed me here to give, and be a part of people,
08:45and to open up businesses, and to give a single mom, or a single father, or somebody that
08:51fail, and they say, you can't get back up, because I did it, and I went through it publicly.
08:58So I think that that's my ministry, man.
09:00Let me just stop, because I'll start preaching.
09:01Well, did you, I was going to ask, did you learn that, because you have your own full
09:04circle moments, and I remember you saying how you were wondering if God was listening
09:07to you, and that nail lady came and said, God is listening to you, without, you didn't
09:10even know her, right?
09:11You did not know, and here you go.
09:12I just told the story again, okay.
09:14And so like, do you feel yourself, man, like, here's somebody that's telling me this, I
09:18got to go do that for someone else, is that like?
09:20Of course, of course, of course I have to, you know what I mean?
09:26A lot counted me out, bro, and they said I would never, I sometimes feel like, how did
09:32I make it out of all of that, out of losing everything twice, having to pay back a million
09:38dollars worth of taxes, still bringing in accountants that's taking all my money, I'm
09:44going through something right now that, it is what it is, it's necessary, but I'll come
09:50up out of it, but I will.
09:52You don't hold grudges, like, you just say, you say, let the heavens deal with them, you
09:57know, they'll get what's coming to them, like, I respect that, I'm petty, like, I'm petty,
10:03like, I'm telling you, but you, you know, I don't lie, I'm petty, I'm petty, I don't
10:09try, you know, on stage, I receive your message, I want revenge, I'm petty, like, if you don't
10:14call me back, I ain't gonna answer your call, like, you know, when you call me next week,
10:18you know.
10:19You shouldn't be like that.
10:20I know, I'm dropping it, I'm listening to you.
10:21But, we're human, and I understand that feeling, but I think, for me, I just always go back
10:27to the word, and especially now, I ain't going to it really tight, because every promise
10:32is, every promise he made, he kept, so, I just feel like, I just have to trust the word,
10:38I've trusted it thus far, and it hasn't, it hasn't proven me wrong, God will forever keep
10:43his promise.
10:44And so, sometimes, I said it today, there was a producer that I worked with, Diane Warren,
10:51she texted me today and said, I'm proud of you, for a start, I sit on the committee,
10:55and I voted, I was one of the hands that voted for you, she said, to be honest with you,
10:59every hand was lifted, and I was very proud of you, I told my team, it's how I carry myself,
11:05I ain't never treated nobody with no disrespect, even in times when I was like, okay, now you're
11:10trying to push me, but I be like, I'll let God fight my battles, because he said, touch
11:15not my anointed, and do my profit no harm, so, if something happens, I just let God fight
11:19it, and we keep it moving, because you got a business, as soon as you step out of pocket,
11:25they come after your what?
11:26Your business.
11:27Your business, right, and it's perception, business carries a perception with it, right,
11:31with the bad name.
11:32Yeah.
11:33Well, listen, in the business, right, if you are, you're navigating independency, you're
11:36navigating a production company, what else is in line, I heard you said you got a candle
11:39company coming, you know, I don't want to ignore you on that, why candles?
11:43It's here, already, Addie's, my grandmother, her name was Addie, and remember I told you
11:48the story, my grandmother, she named me Fantasia, my grandmother was a classy woman, classy,
11:54elegant, God-fearing, would help anybody, and so, I have to allow her legacy to live
12:00on, and so, when we would walk into her house, you would smell beautiful candles, she would
12:06walk around with gowns and things on that were so elegant and classy, and I just want
12:11to bring a piece of that into this season of my grandmother, to the women, letting them
12:15know that, you know, we as women already have to deal with a lot, with mothers, with wives,
12:22you know, we have to hold up kings, we have to keep them covered and keep them prayed
12:26up, but then what do we do for ourselves?
12:28Smelling good, having some candles around the house, good food, nice champagne, I do
12:33like my champagne, and soon there will be a wine, because I bet you didn't know I had
12:37my Somali SXT.
12:38That's what I'm telling you, I wanted to know what's in your portfolio, right?
12:41Now let me be honest with y'all, it took me three times to take that test, am I lying?
12:46I failed three times.
12:47I went back and said, I'm not going to give up, because to learn wine and grapes and the
12:51regions and all this stuff is a lot, but I wanted people to understand when I walk in
12:55the room and I have my wine, that it's just not a black girl coming in and putting her
12:58name on something just because she got a name, she's putting her name on something because
13:02she believes in it, and she's educated herself in it, and so my grandmother was that woman,
13:07she loved good things, and I'm going to keep her legacy alive and teach our young women
13:13that you ain't got to give everything, you can show a little bit, leave a little something
13:17for the imagination.
13:18Are you going to be in retail stores?
13:20Of course, that's my plan, so you have to write the vision and make it plain.
13:25Well listen, I'm going to get you out of here on this, because we got a lot to talk about
13:28business, you know, black business is coming up and I want to dive in soon, but I promise
13:32y'all I was going to get you on this question, the Jim Collins book, Good to Great, and I
13:36said...
13:37Somebody bless me with that book until the end.
13:40I know, I know, I saw it before.
13:42Oh, that's weird, wait, you helped him?
13:44No, I didn't, but we were on a call, we were talking, I told you I was going to ask you
13:48that question, right, and so I'm glad because someone, and I let you tell me, but they bought
13:52you that book.
13:53Yeah.
13:54And so I'm glad, I hope you read it and enjoy it.
13:55Oh, I want to say this.
13:56Yeah.
13:57I want to say this.
13:58Okay.
13:59So that was good, they were on the call.
14:00Yeah.
14:01Well, I didn't want to tell you, I'm glad you know.
14:02Okay.
14:03Yeah, okay.
14:04But I will say this, you got to pick a team in your business where they're listening, and
14:07they're protecting the head, and she went and got that book because you said it.
14:12Wow.
14:13Look at God, look at my feet.
14:14I love you, Lord.
14:15Lord, I love you.
14:16Well listen, what's the difference between, and thinking of Good to Great, the difference
14:21between a good singer and a great...
14:27One that's not afraid to show it off.
14:31One that's not afraid to show it off, on stage especially.
14:35Like I'm not thinking about what's my pretty angle, what's my, I'm not allowing the music
14:41to use me to bless other people.
14:42One that's not afraid to show it off.
14:45That means you squall it out, you sing pretty notes, or you sing, you know what I mean?
14:49I always think of James Brown, I always think of Tina Turner, I always think of Aretha Franklin,
14:53Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, oh the list goes on, there's a lot of gospel artists, but one
14:57that's not afraid to get up on stage and give it all, show it all, and allow things to just
15:02be him.
15:03Fantasia, we love you, thank you so much for the time, thank you for all these years, blessing
15:09people, healing people through your music, and then also healing people through interviews
15:12like this, inspiring, motivating, and we love you, thank you so much, and congratulations
15:17again, you deserve that star of your vision you are.
15:19Thank you, Jay.