Singer Ginette Claudette on Her New Song Guess Who and Just Saying Eff It.
“That’s what Guess Who is, it’s getting in touch with yourself...With everything that came from last year going into this year I just kind of adopted the mentality of wanting to meet all of my personal goals, too manifest the things that I want, to claim them and not walk in fear anymore.”
Setting the intention and coming through with a song that could be the very motivation we all need to shake off 2020 and collectively “get our shit together” to take on 2021. Ginette Claudette, a So She Slays favorite, sits down with us to talk about her latest song Guess Who, creating music during the pandemic, and personal struggles as not only a mother but a singer rising through the music industry.
What was the motivation behind Guess Who?
The record came about from all the crap that came with 2020. I adopted this mentality of wanting to meet all of my personal goals, wanting to manifest the things that I want, claim them and not walk in fear anymore. That’s how it came about. If you listen to the song it’s playful but it’s really different for me in the sense that if you go back through my discography, it talks a lot about love, heartbreak, a lot of “me and you” type of lyrics. This one is just all about me, myself, and I. Ultimately this record is so needed, everybody needs to feel that they can go out and conquer shit right now.
Agreed! But was there moments last year that made you think you couldn’t push through?
I think for me I always go up and down in the pursuit of music and doing my thing. I always battle those insecurities within myself like, can I really do this? Worrying about outside opinions is something I’ve always dealt with. Last year, I feel like my turning point was, honestly, I just had a moment of “fuck this” I don’t want to think about anybody else’s opinion anymore. I just want to be okay with myself. And move that way. And that spectrum is so wide, even with working out and getting my pre-baby body back. I wanted to get out of this mind frame where I was looking at my old pre-baby pictures and focusing so much on what I used to look like and not appreciating myself and my body for the beautiful thing that it did. I don’t want to care from THAT place anymore. I wanna be in the moment and be happy. I feel like working on myself for myself, that’s where the turning point came. Doing things for me.
A lot of people have that compare, contrast mindset and what I love about this song is that you address some heavy shit with such a playful attitude.
It gets to be so overwhelming and we don’t even realize that we are doing it to ourselves sometimes which is where I think the problem really lies. It’s our subconscious constantly fighting against us. It’s fear. When I was growing up and first got into music, I used to be this person that was so sure of herself all the time and I feel like somewhere along the way I lost touch with that. I mean that happens with life changes but I’ve recently gotten to the point where I want to be that person again, who is just super in the moment, super excited, and super grateful for things that I have.
Mia Ariannaa is featured on this song, how did that collaboration happen?
Rico has been a longtime friend of mine, he posted a video of Mia doing a car rap while I was working on “Guess Who”, we actually had most of the record done. To be honest I didn’t write the song and think, “I’m going to put a feature on it.” But when I saw that car rap she did and I just thought this chick is so dope! I just love her energy and I just felt like she could say something that maybe I didn’t say, just a different perspective. I knew that as a woman, as a young woman, as a woman in music that she would listen to it and she would relate. I sent it to Rico and he loved it and he was like, “Absolutely I’m sending it through, she’s gonna want to jump on this.” I got the verse back from them around Christmas which I thought was so crazy because I was like you did not have to work during the holidays haha! Anyway, she killed it. I think a lot of great things are gonna happen for her because she is a super sweet girl with a lot of talent.
The creative industry has taken a huge hit during the pandemic, have any words of wisdom to help them keep going?
I think for me there really isn’t a destination anymore. I thought that there was but now I don’t, I think the journey is really where the beauty lies. So even if that is being with yourself and not doing anything today and just taking care of your mental health, I think that’s so important. People don’t realize that those are very, very necessary steps in the process. So yeah, maybe you can’t go out and work at a recording studio, perform at a show or whatever it is but you can still take care of yourself, your heart, and your mind. I think if you start there and you continue to stay tapped in and in tune with yourself, everything else will kind of continue to fall into place. That’s what "Guess Who" is, it’s all about getting in touch with yourself.
Speaking of getting in touch with yourself, what have you learned about yourself in this past year?
Um, patience. (laughing) I’ve always said I’m patient but yeah. Patience with myself, with other people, and with the process. My creativity has expanded in ways I never thought it could just because I’ve had to do so much by myself and so much indoors. We’ve done so much in this tiny space that you would be like “whoa.” Pictures, videos, we’ve made clothing, we’ve just gotten so creative which I think has added a lot of the fun back into it for me. I’ve gotten stagnant before where I just wasn’t enjoying the process but I think that being indoors really forced me to be creative in ways I’ve never thought. Shooting and editing video, I’ve never thought I’d be doing those kinds of things the way we’ve been. And above all, with motherhood, I’ve learned SO much about not just the person that I am but the person I want to be for my daughter.
How do you juggle it all?
It's really something to have had this major life transition in the middle of the grind. That has been a really crazy learning curve but honestly, for me, it has been the best. Every mother will tell you this but it will change you in ways you would’ve never known. She’s me why and I know that in the end, I’m doing everything that I need to do to secure everything for her. It’s not easy. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been in the middle of shooting something and I’ll have glitter in my hair or rhinestones stuck to me and the baby monitor goes off and I’ve got to run up two flights of stairs and rock her in glitter and rhinestones and run back downstairs to work when she’s asleep. She is my motivating factor though so when I’m doing those things I’m more fueled up now than I've ever been. I’ve struggled with that too where music has been everything my whole life like, “if there is no music, then what is there?" Motherhood has given me something so much more valuable. She’s truly my heart and soul.
describe your slay.
Love, light, energy, intention, and God.
Check out Ginette Claudette on:
Instagram: @ginetteclaudette
Facebook: Ginette Claudette
Twitter: @IamGClaudette
YouTube: Ginette Claudette