I had just finished adding a private entrance to my guest room when my daughter visited me with a stern look on her face, meaning business. She is a music publishing A&R. She’s got a knack for finding talented up and coming producers and songwriters that she helps get on the right path to being successful in the music business.

“Mumzy, there are so many incredible talents out there with very limited resources who need to come to Los Angeles. I was wondering if they could stay in your guest room?” That’s how we started helping the “kids”, as I became the motherly figure for many of these young talents: she would invite them to come to LA for sessions or to start networking and they would stay in my guest room.

We think that artists show up one day and it’s an instant success. Truth is we are very hard working creatives with a strong will. One day, my daughter invited an artist named Fridayy to stay in my room. What was suppose be a several day stay ended up being a little over 20 days! To my surprise Fridayy spoke French because of his Haitian roots. He told me he immersed himself in music and song writing for two years. His mother was worried to see her son at home when he should be learning or having a job. Fridayy was a young self taught artist with a fierce determination to make it big.

During his three weeks stay I hardly saw him. He was working on his computer or in sessions. In fact, he worked every single day sometimes having two sessions in a row! There may have been one day where I could’ve sworn he slept the entire day. Otherwise, he was nonstop working.

I was so excited when I saw he was nominated for 5 Grammys for several categories with artists like DJ Khaled, Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, Chris Brown and John Legend. A few weeks before the nomination he released his first album, Lost In Melody. A beautiful auto-biographical compilation of songs embodying his story. The record, “Empty stomach” particularly hit me, with lines like:

“I was chasing my dreams on a empty stomach
I was standing in VIP while my rent was due
I was sneaking backstage with the stars while my shit was growling
I ain’t eat nothin’ all day just some bread and jelly Mmh”

It’s an important reminder to think about the privileges one takes for granted.

This made me want to offer freshly made meals and ask more questions to be aligned on how more I can help our guests. Besides “Empty Stomach”, I also enjoyed “God Did” by DJ Khaled and “Don’t Give Up On Me”. Go check out his album, Lost In Melody and tell me which song you like best. His voice and his story will stay with you for a long time.

Happy Thanksgiving!