Photo: Tonita Johnson
Emi Secrest is cherished by all who have heard her music. Going to one of her shows is like going to a reunion for happy people. Her expansive voice and range is only matched by her wisdom and insight. As an independent artist, Secrest has surpassed all expectations of what is possible. She has taken a worldwide tragedy and turned into an opportunity for growth. With songs that encapsulate experiences that most people have, it isn’t hard to relate to her artistry. Thankfully, Secrest does not plan on ever putting a halt to making music.
I sat down with Emi on Zoom on a Saturday at 6PM.
Happy: Anyone who has listened to any of your songs knows that your range as a vocal artist is wildly impressive. Have you always been able to sing the way that you do now, or how did you learn to sing?
Emi: Well, I started singing at a really young age in church. I was like two. They figured out I could sing, and then it started from there. I feel like it wasn’t always like this, but it was always something special. It wasn’t just like, ‘oh, she could sing in the shower.’ I think throughout the years, it was just developing and putting in the work. Working with other artists and learning from them, it helped mold me into the artist that I am right now.
Happy: That’s very cool. I feel like through watching your shows, it definitely seems like your voice has always been very skillful, the way that is now.
Emi: Well, thank you. I don’t see it that way because I see myself. It’s still getting better. I’m still not… vocally, career wise, or anything, I’m not where I want to be. So that’s just me. I’m just always trying to evolve, and always trying to get better. I stopped smoking cigarettes in November 2021, so I was afraid that my raspiness was going to go away. But it’s just working through it and just finding different ways to use my voice in different ways. So I don’t think I’m ever going to be where I want to be, but I’m always striving to be better for sure.
Happy: So you’ve worked with Kanye West, John Legend, Macy Gray, and so many others. What is it like working with other people that have been in the music industry for so long?
Emi: I’ve had a beautiful experience. It’s been a really beautiful journey. I don’t have horror stories or anything like that. Every artist that I’ve worked with… They really embraced me and treated me like family during our time of working together. It’s always been really good energy, really good vibes. Especially, of course, with Macy: she let me kind of shadow her in a way. When she would sign autographs, she would take me to sign autographs. Now, I haven’t worked with an artist that’s been that generous or that open to teaching, but she was also my first artist. I worked with her the longest. So it was kind of like that was a different thing. It’s been really helpful just to see other people doing it, seeing how they run their businesses, and how they run their camps. I’m a visual learner, so I learn by seeing. I’ve been really unfortunate to be able to see the best of the best and how they shake and move. So, I’m grateful.
Happy: That’s incredible. You’re definitely very easy to love and be comfortable with, so the fact that you have had those relationships make sense.
Emi: Thank you. I tell people all the time: if you’re trying to get into the industry, as anything, it’s all about the hang. Like 90% of it is about the hang. Think about it. There’s so many people that can sing, so many people that can dance, and so many people that can do all these things that we as artists need. But it’s like, who do I want to be around on tour? Who am I going to have the most fun with? That’s the person I’m going to hire. So I feel like a lot of people focus on the wrong things. They think, ‘oh, I have to practice 8 hours a day.’ Yes, you do have to do that. But you also have to have good social skills and to know how to be a good gager of people and energies and just know how to be what that artist needs.
Photo: Tonita Johnson
Happy: So what many people don’t know about you, aside from being this extremely talented artist, is that your dad is also a preacher. What was it like growing up with expectations that others maybe didn’t have, if you had any at all?
Emi: Okay, let’s get into it. Growing up as a preacher’s kid was really cool. My parents were young when they got married, so they really were good with balancing. My mom was a stickler for us having a normal life. My dad was a stickler for us being saved beyond being saved. So, in my early years, it was definitely a lot of pressure. We went to church a lot. When my dad first got saved, he would say, ‘we need to be at the church Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.’ It was a lot. But once we moved from Franklin, Tennessee, to Memphis, I really saw him relax. And he was very protective. When he would preach, he wouldn’t introduce us because he just didn’t want us to be under that microscope. By the time we moved to Memphis, I was singing in clubsat 13. There wasn’t that pressure of, ‘you’re going to hell if you don’t sing about Jesus.’ He’s a firm believer that God needs people on both sides. I mean, you’ve been to Live From The Studio. I think I touch way more people there than I would ever be able to touch in a church. In a church, I’d probably just be sitting there irritated or something. I like to be able to touch people, and the best way I can do that is if I’m doing it my own way.
Happy: What is the biggest difference between Memphis and La?
Emi: I was raised in Memphis, but I was actually born in Franklin, Tennessee, which is like a suburb of Nashville. I moved to LA at 20 years old, and it was like OMG. So in Memphis, I saw predominantly African American people. In LA, I was like, ‘where the black people at?’ I moved to the Valley. I literally moved to Hollywood Hills. I had an aunt that was staying there, so she let me stay with her. I was just so confused because you see LA on TV, but they show you South Central LA; they don’t show you the Valley. So it was very shocking, but I loved it. I loved that it was like a melting pot of all different types of cultures and ethnicities, and there were so many different types of foods here, and I really liked it. I liked it a lot.
Happy: During Covid quarantine, you started your completely genius event, “Live From the Studio,” where you literally performed on a set outside of your studio. You started with 15 people in the audience, and within a year and a half, there were 350 people in the audience. So what made you think of producing this event, and did you ever think that it would be as successful as it’s been?
Emi: No, I honestly had no expectations for it. I definitely didn’t think that it would turn into a thing where people would come out. Initially, I was inspired by seeing D-Nice, the DJ, go viral from DJing. My producer, Stanley, was like, ‘Yo, we need to have you singing every week.’ I knew I was about to drop Yellow [her album] and I knew the world was shutting down. So I thought, ‘how do I still promote my music even though the world is shutting down?’ The first time, we just went live in the studio with just he [Stanley Randolph] and I, and some tracks. I was in the booth… And it was cool. But I thought, ‘I’m like a live show performer. I really win my fans over live.’ The tracks sound good, but I’m an experience. So I would think, ‘how can I offer this experience to set me aside from everybody else?’ So, the guys [her band] came the next week. I have a really loud voice, so I can project. The microphone was feeding back with me in the same room as them. So they said, ‘okay, you got to go outside.’ And there was a dispensary right there, and their line was always long, so I would just sing to them. They would go and get their weed and then just sit on top of their cars.
Happy: I love this.
Emi: Those were the 15 people the first time, and they literally were just posting me on their Instagram stories. That’s why I’m say that the Internet is a hell of a… baby, better than any PR. I’ve wasted thousands of dollars on these PR’s. They didn’t do anything for me. “Live From The Studio,” did it all. Okay? We made it invite only. The exclusivity of it, really, I feel, was a part of it too. Because of covid, if I didn’t know you… You couldn’t come. So, people wanted to be there. They’d be like, ‘How can I get this address? Can I get the address?’ It was my honor and my pleasure to be able to get dressed up every week, to be able to sing, and to have people singing my lyrics like that. As an independent artist, that’s a dream come true. I don’t have the machine pushing me to the masses. So, to finally get a push, and it was a push that I helped curate… my heart and my soul were happy every week for sure. I have to shout out my producer, Stanley Randolph. He really was the one who came up with the idea, and then I just executed it. He gave me the blueprint, and I’m a visionary. I can execute it if I can see it. So he let me see it, and I said, ‘oh, bet. Let’s go.’ It was just like a party every week in a really shitty time. I’m a healer and I heal people through my music.
Photo: Tonita Johnson
Photo: Tonita Johnson
Happy: If the world were to end tomorrow, what is it that you would hope people would remember you for?
Emi: I hope people will remember me, and be inspired by, my drive and my tenacity and my will to not give up. I just really want to be an example that you can work for the life that you want. You can work for it. You can really be a decent human being and not mess people over. There’s a lane for you and for me. I want people to know that. I want to be known for my good energy, and being a curator of good vibes. That’s what I want to be remembered for.
Happy: So what is next for Emi Secrest?
Emi: Well, I have a single that’s coming out in April called, “Diamonds Are Pressure.” Then, I have an album coming out in May, which is also called, “Diamonds Are Pressure.” Also, I’m really being intentional with touring more. We’re bringing, “Live From The Studio,” back. It won’t be a weekly thing. It’ll be a once a month thing, because I want to keep that vibe and energy always going in LA. I feel like it’s something that’s definitely needed. I’m building my TikTok, and my socials. I’m really focusing on branding. So I’m collaborating with different brands right now, and it’s just a lot of cool stuff coming up. It’s always going to go higher and higher and higher and higher and higher.
Happy: I’m so proud. It’s definitely gone so well, right?
Emi: It is honestly going amazing. I don’t have one complaint. Even if I could complain, I’d be an idiot to. To move out here and really have a dream, you know what I’m saying? I want to do this and not really havea clear vision or formula to follow, but just trusting God and speaking positive affirmations and tapping into manifestations and to see that journey. It’s like I can never be sad or depressed again because it’s like I’ve been through way worse. I’ve been there. I’ve done that. And learning to be happy no matter what phase of my career, or phase of my life… That’s really been like the game changer. I can be happy with a lot of money, happy with no money, happy with a lot of friends, happy with no friends. I can be happy. You know, that’s where I’m at.
Happy: You’re someone who carries themselves in a very confident way, both on the stage and in real life. What is a secret to confidence that you feel most people don’t know?
Emi: A secret to confidence is everyone is insecure. So once you stop trying to make yourself be perfect, and you start to just embrace your insecurities… that’s the secret to confidence. An example: when I was heavier… I was much heavier. I would not sit in my boyfriend’s lap because I felt like I was too big to sit in his lap. Even if he was bigger than me. It used to mess with me. I would want to sit in his lap all the time. But it’s a fear of mine for someone to be like, ‘uh oh! I can’t hold…’ I never wanted it to be that. So I was overseas somewhere, and we were at a nude beach. I just thought, ‘they’re about to see these rolls, they’re about to see everything.’ In that moment, I thought, ‘I’m really exposing everything that I was trying to hide, and nobody cares.’ Nobody looked at me and said anything. It was all in my head. Nobody even did a double take. All of these fears I had conjured up in my head that if somebody saw me naked… And in that moment, I’m like, I’m the only black person out here, and they should be staring at me. I have blue hair, but nobody’s concerned because everybody’s free. Everybody’s happy. That’s when I realized I have to just expose my insecurities. The very next guy I was dating: on date number one, I said, ‘I need to sit in your lap.’ When I sat in his lap, I said, ‘am I heavy?’ He said, ‘no.’ After that, whatever my insecurities are, I get it out, because you can help me with that if you know that it’s something that bothers me right now. So you have to just get out of your head and live in real life. What you’re focused on: people don’t even care about it. So live your life. Hopefully that answers your question.
Photo: Tonita Johnson
Happy: So what are your favorite things to write songs about?
Emi: My favorite things are real life experiences. Everything that you hear by me, is something that either I’ve went through personally or I’ve watched one of my friends go through it. I really feel like I’m able to connect because it’s real. That’s why I don’t take songs from other writers that are already written because I’m like, how am I going to be able to emote this? But it’s also kind of, like exhausting because once I’m over something, I don’t want to keep reliving it. “I FUX W U,” is a very real song from a really vulnerable place. I really was just writing it to get my feelings out. I had no idea it was going to be the song that gets the most streams. Every time I’m out, somebody wants me to sing it, and I think, ‘I don’t even like that person like that anymore.’ It was just a little stamp in time. Sometimes it does have a double-edged sword. But I guess I’m not the only person who went through it, so.
Photo: Tonita Johnson
Happy: So what do you hope to achieve most as an artist?
Emi: As an artist, I hope that I’m able to continue to touch people with my music and my gift. Until the day that I die. I want to be old in a wheelchair, still performing. So, as long as I’m granted the grace to be able to do that. To me, that’s the ultimate goal. To be able to make money from music, to take care of myself and build a legacy for generations to come. That’s my ultimate goal.
Happy: If you could travel through time, what is something that you would tell your 25 year old self?
Emi: I would tell myself to relax. I would tell myself that you have time. I would tell myself the guy that I think I’m going to be with is not my husband. So move on. I would tell myself all of the people that I have around me are not great. And I shouldn’t invest my time with friends that don’t know how to reciprocate.
Happy: Wow. That is definitely a good thing to tell your 25 year old self.
Emi: Because when I was young, I just wanted people to like me. I was, in most situations, the baby, of all the camps and activities that I was in. So I was still finding my way… As a woman, as an artist, everything. I put so much unwarranted pressure on myself to be perfect when I actually was perfect then. I didn’t need to change anything about myself. I didn’t need to buy friends. I didn’t need to be paying for bottle service and all those things just to have people around me. I didn’t need to do any of that. I needed to just be my true authentic self. And the people that really loved me would flock to me. So my 25 was just finding myself.
