Dr. Jerry, you got the whole world waiting.
Been ready for you to start the conversation.
Your point of view, we got the haters confused.
Leave it up to you to bring us all the good news.
Positive vibes and the sex appeal too.
Dr. Andre Jerry, can I get an interview?
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Live with Dr. Andre Jerry.
Thank you for tuning in this evening.
Big shout out to my family and friends who are tuning in from Columbus,
Warner Robins, Atlanta, Charlotte, DC, LA, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nigeria,
and from wherever else you may be tuning in from tonight.
I really appreciate your listenership.
Listen, we have a really exciting show on Storefutas episode because tonight
we're featuring two amazing gentlemen who are blazing trails in the entertainment industry
from music to modeling to television and film.
So let's get right into it.
My first guest of the night is an actor and producer based out of Atlanta, Georgia,
which we all know is one of the top cities for film and television production.
He started his acting career performing in stage plays in Atlanta
and with appearances in on-scene cameos and commercials.
This spurred a passion not only in just acting,
but learning about production and what happens behind the scenes.
He later enrolled in the Art Institute of Atlanta where he graduated with a degree
in video production, which later led to working in production for BET.
And it led to his online show, The Sir Ty Experience,
where he interviewed major celebrities and other top-level talent.
He also has another show on IGTV called BBS or Black Business Spotlight,
where he highlights black entrepreneurs and black business owners.
As a producer, he has worked on numerous network television products,
including a reality show filmed right in Atlanta.
Recently he guest starred in a new TV show on the all-black network called Wicked City
and also in a BET Plus original called I Got a Story to Tell.
He's also featured in the newly released film Life Without Hope 2.
So ladies and gentlemen, without further ado,
please help me welcome to the show Mr. Booked and Blessed Himself, Sir Ty.
Welcome to the show, Sir Ty.
What's going on?
Wow, what an introduction.
Thank you so much, first of all, for having me on the show.
And thank you for that.
When you do so many things, you don't know that, you know,
somebody's reached your body, and it's like, wow, you know,
and God gets all the glory.
So I just want to say that first off.
But hello, how's everyone doing?
I'm doing great.
And listen, it's a pleasure to have you on.
I know we've been communicating back and forth for a while,
and, you know, was finally able to pin you down and get you booked for the show.
You're on the go constantly.
And I'm assuming you just came from an event in D.C., right?
What was happening out there?
Oh, God, shout out to Antonio Driver.
He has this organization, and they did a reward ceremony called the I.M. Awards.
It's basically for people that are in the LGBTQ community, you know,
actors, activists, people that's in entertainment and television or whatever.
So he honors them every year.
And Judge Mathis was honored as an ally last year.
It was Vivica Fox who hosted it.
So it's an awesome time.
So D.C. was very fun for me.
Once the awards were there, it came back to the movie premiere,
which you mentioned, Life Without Hope, a new chapter,
which was amazing and phenomenal.
So, yeah, can't be helped.
Oh, that's really exciting.
And was Judge Mathis was there or honored or what did you say about him?
Yes, he was honored.
I believe they were shooting or wrapping up the first day of the B.M.F.
So I think he was on location shooting with his son and his daughter came,
and they accepted the award on his behalf.
But, yes, he was an honoree for that particular award show.
And so, yeah, it was dope to be in the building and in the room.
So I had a great time.
Okay, awesome.
Shout out to Judge Joe Mathis.
I love him.
And before we veer too far our track,
I want you to take a moment and just tell our listeners a little bit about yourself.
Awesome.
Well, my name is Ty Gowdy, aka Sir Ty,
and I got to serve because I was in the military as a young lad.
I joined the U.S. Army and my first duty station was in Germany.
And, you know, over there they don't say Mr.
They say Sir in their last name.
So I just kind of brought it back to the States and connected it to the Ties.
But New Orleans native, like I said,
joined the military at a very young age, been out racked twice.
And while stationed in Germany,
I had the opportunity to do my first, I guess, major states play
where I was the only non-African-American to play pretty much a Caucasian role.
Like my family was Caucasian and I played the son.
So in that year I was also nominated for Best Actor.
So that kind of sparked the, I guess, the professional side
because I always wanted to be in entertainment,
but I never knew exactly how or what lane.
But by me doing that and something like, oh, that's love,
I can kind of see where it takes me.
But I'm a father, single father of two amazing sons, Prince Jordan and Prince Jonathan.
They are my legacy, they are my world.
And I'm so happy to be their father, having a mother,
amazing mother who raised me and my sister by herself.
And I'm just a person where I want to see everybody win.
I guess the misconception about me is that, oh, whatever, whatever.
But I do want to see everybody win and I make sure that my track record states that.
I put people on that don't ask for anything.
I just want to make sure that if you have a dream, I want to be that bridge
and want to make your dreams come true in any way possible in my capacity that I can't do.
So that's their time.
Wow, I love that.
That's a great introduction to who you are.
And you mentioned that you're the father of two.
So these sons of yours are teenagers, I presume.
I often get the question of how they're doing.
I say very expensive, but yes.
I have a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old and my oldest is driving now,
so he's going to be looking for a car.
My daughter is in sports.
So I was on a basketball court at a game.
So, yeah, they keep me active along with all that I have going on.
So it's never a dull moment in my world.
Yeah, I was just about to ask you that.
I'm sure, I mean, you're co-parenting.
You're trying to manage being a present parent and you've got the games
and you're traveling back and forth.
How do you manage all of that and stay sane?
I pray I have to.
I just wake up every day and say, okay, these are the goals
and the ideals I have for the day.
And I try to hit as many as I can.
And the check mark for me is completed.
So I'm kind of, I don't know, it comes in early, but I like seeing check marks.
When I've completed that, I can move on to the next thing,
and that's how I can get my all to it,
especially incorporating kids into the schedule.
Things are unexpected. They get sick.
They've got to go to the doctor.
They may have a lot of this going on or I may not find something out
until the last minute and have to adjust the schedule.
But for them, they are a priority and everything else is going to fall in line.
So it's a lot at times, and they're two hours out.
I tell people I do at least eight hours every two weeks,
two to get them, two to bring them to Atlanta, two to drop them off,
and then two for me to get back home on top of all that's on schedule.
So I make it work.
God is giving me the strength, and I'm going to keep kicking until I can't kick no more.
I heard that. I heard that.
Well, listen, I'm going to ask one more question about your kids,
because I always ask entertainers especially this.
If one or both of your kids express interest in being in entertainment,
would you encourage that or would you try to point them in a different direction?
Absolutely.
I'm their biggest cheerleader, so whatever they desire to do.
We're going to do the research, and when age appropriate.
I would say 17 and up, yes. Right now, be a kid.
I can speak that.
I want them to have a regular childhood and to grow up,
and then when it's time to work, get to work.
Show business is just what it is.
When they used to say the best, show business.
A lot of people want to show the fame, the glitz, the glamour,
but the business, the contracts, the deals, the percentages,
making sure that your paper is straight.
If that's what the route they're going to take,
we've got to make sure that we know that.
I would be their biggest cheerleader if that's something that they're interested in.
That's awesome.
I want to talk a little bit about how you got your start in the entertainment industry,
because when you gave your intro, I think you mentioned that when you were in the service,
and thank you for your service, by the way,
you were involved in a stage play while you were on deployment.
Did you have any type of acting experience prior to that,
or was that like your first role?
Well, the first play, speaking of that, that happened in Germany.
I just was, you know, just stationed over there, and they put up a sign.
Like, I think the playhouse had been closed for so many months,
and this was like their opening, you know, hey, if you want to audition.
I was just like, why not?
So I went out, and like I said, I got the role, and like, are you ready?
So I'm like, let's go.
You know, a script is a script, and when you say action, then the words come alive.
So I was up for the challenge, and to answer that question,
I didn't have any professional training.
I did take, let's say, a theater class while in Germany,
because I guess I was trying to prepare myself for that,
and so, you know, professional training, you know, church plays and stuff like that,
but coming up out of that process of the rehearsal, the, you know,
once the curtain opens, this is it, there are those take twos,
and you have to know your lines and be able to improv,
because if someone else is off, you have to be able to save the show.
So it taught me a lot of things.
You cook on your feet, and so from there, I just, I wanted to do it,
and that was kind of the spark that kind of lit everything else ablaze.
So when I got out, it was like, let's do it.
Awesome, and I know, you know, working in entertainment,
you and anyone who works in that field, they have to deal with a lot of rejection,
a lot of closed doors, a lot of no's.
How do you, what's your coping mechanism for getting beyond the rejection
that's present in the entertainment industry?
You know, that's a great question.
Wow, how can I say that?
You have to have a backbone.
I mean, in entertainment, period, if this is what you want to do,
you can't, I don't want to say be jelly-backed,
because you're going to deal with rejection,
you're going to deal with people saying no, and how do you handle it?
I would say for me, I take moments where my phone is on, do not disturb,
the TV is off, and I just allow self to decompose.
Sometimes, you know, you've got to flush your mind,
because so many things are coming at you, it's almost like a stock market,
but you have to make a safe space to clear the space, if that makes sense,
so that when you jump back into it, you can have a clearer mind,
a clearer focus, and go into it.
So for myself, I just, I take moments, and I guess people call it meditating.
I just like get your mind right, get my mind right, and I listen to music.
I love 90s R&B, so if anyone knows me, you know that I'm,
either listening to Tony Braxton or something from the 90s.
So I would say music and meditating.
Wow. Well, I was telling another guest on one of my previous episodes
that I recently started, well, it's not so recent now,
but I also started meditating every morning.
So I know that practice really does a great job of getting you grounded
and getting you prepared for whatever you're going to face in your day,
whether it's rejection or dealing with crazy people at work or just whatever,
but that meditation aspect is very important, as well as music,
which I love as well.
One thing about you is that not only are you what they call talent,
but you also wear the producer hat at times.
Tell us a little bit about how you got the bug and interested in behind the scenes
and producing.
Well, it started, I guess that title came when we were in college.
I went to the Art Institute of Atlanta, and my group just, for whatever reason,
thought I was the leader, the outspoken, be the director, be the producer.
So I kind of got thrown into the role where people sound like telling people to do,
but I love delegating and placing order and moving at the speed of,
let's get it done, but let's get it done in quality, if that makes sense.
So our teachers were giving us industry standards,
so it wasn't like, oh, let's just happen to turn to page six.
It was just like, go do this, this just happened on BET.
How would you execute this if you were on set and stuff like that?
So we got real life scenarios, and then when it was time to go shoot something,
hey, we need a five-minute short, go make it happen, I just got thrown in the role.
So with that being said, I would say my professional role came when Mr. Courtney,
my homeboy, he graduated, I graduated, and he was developing the show here in Atlanta,
called Summer Club ATL.
I got the call, I would say, in 2019 or 2020,
and I wasn't one to wrap up at the time, driving back and forth,
or getting a hotel, and I became the story producer for the reality show,
which is underway really soon.
I'm very excited about it, but, and then it went off to produce a short
and some things of that sort, I'm developing my own stuff,
so it kind of came to the territory, and I'm just,
I'm excited for the open door that would give me the opportunity to learn more.
Well, since you wear both of those hats,
I think that's why you're such a champion for making sure that doors are open
for other people, because you know what it feels like to be talented,
to be out there auditioning and looking for jobs,
but then you also wear that producer hat, and I think it makes your job as a producer
that much more better because you have that experience of being,
because imagine how many producers that you deal with that have never been
in talent before, right?
Absolutely, and yeah, sorry, go ahead.
No, you go ahead, go ahead.
Yeah, and to your point, you have to teach people how to treat you,
and not only that, and to be a great leader, you have to be a great follower,
so like you said, going into the deeps of the valley and knowing,
hey, you have to get up and, you know, let's say study your lines,
or like you said, rehearse and audition, but then being like on the casting
or being on the producing side, I just have to fit this,
but not looking at the totality of the person, so you know,
have the conversation out, you know, know that person out,
bet them, okay, oh, you're off of this task, this is the role,
these are the lines, this is the scenario, so for me, it's a different process,
and I'm so honored that the people that I did refer, you know,
they're getting books, they're getting jobs, they're getting deals,
and things of like that sort, but my thing, my glory comes when you make it,
when you feel you are successful, so to your point, yes,
I know what it feels like to get that door slamming your face,
no, we don't want you, no, you know, they get the role,
but I also do feel, hey, you did get it, you were accepted,
and so in one, you know, set, I try to make sure that talent, crew, everybody,
is treated with love, honor, respect, and let's, you know, all come together
with the goal mindset of getting this project, this production done
to the other side so that people can do the magic that we created.
Absolutely. And on the producing side as well, have there been times where,
you know, people have come to you with a project that they wanted you to produce
or be involved with, and you had to say, no thanks, has that happened?
Well, I have some people that probably should get on cue now,
I have a couple of scripts that because my life is what it is,
I have to like, I've really got to sit down, I have scripts that I have to look at
that people want me to work with, work on, you know, get funding for,
so I would say next week, everybody, to answer that question, I will,
because it's becoming to be a lot, I can maybe do one and be on set,
you know, read a script and be on a plane, but now it's like I have to isolate time
to really sit down to do, to say, hey, yes, it's something that I agree with,
that, you know, that we can move forward on, or hey, make these changes,
blah, blah, blah, and then let me know if we can move forward then.
So to answer that question, I would say to this point, no,
because I think everyone has good intentions, great ideas,
and if formulated correctly, it could be a success, you know what I'm saying,
whether it's better or not, you know, so my job is to come in and make sure that,
hey, what you have on paper that when it's spoken out that it becomes live,
it becomes, you know, believable and on screen can be read,
like this is authentic stuff from any point of view.
So I will be reading scripts and I will be able to answer that question next
of the view, but to this point, no, I have to start from the beginning.
Gotcha.
How do you feel your military career prepared you for what you're doing now
in entertainment?
I would say mama and military.
I would say home training first, you know, making your bed,
making sure you know your chores, your cooking, your cleaning.
Mom set me down, shout out to Lady B.
Set me down, you know, checkbooks and checks and balances
and how to spend your money.
I would say the military more so reinforce that by being disciplined.
The time aspect, everybody just pray for me.
I'm working on it.
I'm getting better and to you this day, hallelujah.
But I would say that the tenacity, like the go get, you know,
the military is like overcoming improvise.
When you talk about that as a problem, there's 50 million solutions.
So while we're sitting here amplifying, oh my God, okay,
we know what the issue is, how can we solve it so that we don't end up
in the same predicament again?
So the military taught me, figure it out.
There is a way, there is a solution, get to the other side of success.
So I think that it definitely gave me the drive, the push,
and the with all to say that I can do it.
You know, going to Iraq and surviving and coming back, yeah,
I can do it on this.
I can tell the act, okay, I don't think that that emotion is quite right.
Can we flip it and do it this way?
You know what I'm saying?
So I can work with anyone in the military.
I always say, as a tribe, I can black, white, Chinese, whatever,
you know, we worked alongside of Boko national.
So I can work with anyone, you know, and I tell people I don't mind
even the meanest person.
But at the end of the day, it's going to be respect, you know what I mean?
And so you respect me, I respect you, and we can get along.
Action cut and we go home.
We can make it happen.
So I think the military definitely gave me the core values to drive, you know,
forward that mission at hand and let's get it done, you know.
I love it.
You know, I always tell people the military is a great platform
and springboard for whatever it is else that you want to do in life.
You know, you're going to get the, like you said, the core values.
You're going to get the discipline, everything that you need to be successful in life.
So if you're a young person starting out 16, 17, 18, you're not sure what you want to do,
the military is always a great option.
You don't have to stay in there forever.
You can do, you know, three, four years and kind of move on with your life.
But it's a great starting point.
And I mean, you can't do anything but be successful after that.
So shout out to all of our military personnel, our veterans.
Of all the experiences you've had working on set, you know, as talent or as a producer,
what sticks out in your head as the most memorable experience so far?
I would say the most favorable one would have to be while sitting in my professor's class, Ms. Mungo.
She walked up to me and handed me a packet and said, fill it out.
It's for internship.
And I was like, I don't get volunteers for Jesus.
So what do you mean, intern?
But I didn't know when I opened the page it was for DET Networks, right?
And so I filled it out just like she probably gave us about 50 other kids or students and little old me.
You know, I'll do it.
I'll fill it out, but we'll see.
So I turned it in and I got a call and said, hey, we want to have you out to the studio next week.
One of you is available when you're not in class.
So you asked that question.
That was the breaking point for me entering into, I guess, the show business or being on an actual live set,
working with the likes of Debbie Allen, working with Big Boy, working with oh, my God,
so, so much Jackie Harris, the Niskos.
It was every single day a store was on set and I just was like, Jesus, this is what I want to do.
So for me, that is the moment I'm so grateful to Ms. Mungo for opening that door because from that moment on,
I graduated and though I did the internship, they asked me to come on as an employee.
So that was that was a moment for me.
And from there, it's been every other every other moment from that that has been a memorable or just a wonderful time.
So I'm very grateful, very honored and still kicking and rocking today.
So, yeah, I would say that one.
Thank you for sharing that.
I want to switch gears a bit and ask you about a show that I haven't seen.
I just saw an excerpt of it.
I was on your Instagram, you know, just taking a look at your stuff ahead of the show.
And I saw a clip of you and your naked ass on some show.
Tell us what this show is, whatever that show is, and tell us where we can go find it and stream it,
because I need to watch whatever episode that is.
I would be like, are you sure? Was that me?
That was you.
Because it was a small clip.
OK, so wow.
It's actually from the movie that was that premiered on Monday night.
Life Without Hope, a new chapter.
It was written, directed by Mr. Leo Sullivan, produced by Sisi, produced by Tammy, the godmother.
And they approached me and like, hey, this is what it is.
And I was already working crew.
Most times I'm crew and cast, which means I'm acting in it.
Once I finish, boots on ground, I'm doing cable, doing this, whatever, you know.
So for this particular scene, I don't know if I'm going to give it away because it ain't released yet.
But y'all just got to watch it.
But it is a little risque.
And how can I say, bareback maybe in the viewage of your screen.
But let's just say I was doing squats that day.
So it's not out yet, is what you're saying.
It's going to be out in May.
Like I said, Columbus Short is in it.
Erica Peebles, Erica Page, Lyric, myself, Tavius.
The list goes on.
And it's going to be, I think, Amazon Prime and Tubi.
So make sure that you guys look out for that.
Like I said, it's with Sullivan Productions and yeah, it was a lot.
But let's say I made it.
And things like that, you do get into some compromising positions, whereas an artist or an actor, you have to ask yourself,
am I comfortable with this being, because once I was out, you can't, oh, let me change my mind when it's already theater.
Like the moment is going.
So by taking challenges, you show range, you're so depth, you show that you can do things and make it, let's say, believable
or come across where you're acting me, what's that, my ass on camera.
So obviously it's going to be a good movie.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, you know, there's someone out there who's listening to this interview.
They're listening to you and I talk tonight.
And they have aspirations to be in entertainment, whether it's acting, modeling, whatever.
What advice, what sage advice would you give them?
Any of these aspiring entertainers out there who are just starting out in the business?
Do it.
Just do it.
Don't second guess yourself.
And this is me telling my younger self, so I'm speaking to them as well.
But do it.
Don't second guess yourself.
Obviously pray.
Plan, which means research it out.
I tell people all the time, google.com is your best friend.
Anything that you want to know, research out what's the salary, how many people is in this position,
what's the course of being successful, the things that you have to know and do, and then proceed, pursue.
You know, go after it with the endless pursuit that it's going to happen.
Like, nobody on the other side, on the outside of myself, meaning the external things,
are going to tell me and God that we can't cross in or we can't cross over, we can't be successful,
or this is not going to be.
So have the gall and the tenacity that when you say, oh, I'm going to be a singer, then don't none up.
Two months later, oh, this is hard work.
I've got to go back to rehearsal.
I've got to, I can't smoke.
I've got to drink tea and da-da-da.
Yeah, these are the things that's there.
So make sure that when your yes is a yes, that you have taken into consideration all the sacrifice that goes into it.
So anybody can, it's going to be so easy and you're going to love it.
I'm going to tell you now, it's going to be some nights and some moments where you're going to say,
I want to go work at McDonald's versus you get that big deal and it's going to be like, oh, my God, I'm signing my contract with BET now.
It's amazing.
So you're going to have your highs and lows, but that comes with it.
That's just like a heartbeat.
It goes up and down, which is a mere indication that what you're still alive.
So you're going to have some ups and downs in your journey to your career, which means you're still on course of getting to that moment of destiny where you're going to meet opportunity and success.
So keep going.
Do it and then keep going.
Okay, pastor.
Right now, you're about to see nothing about that.
No, but that's excellent.
That's excellent.
I feel like whoever needed to hear what they needed to hear, they got what they needed.
I want to ask you one more thing because we're quickly coming up on the end of this segment.
This always happens.
I don't get through all of my questions, but this may overlap with some of the things you've already discussed, but I want to ask you before we sign off for this segment,
what would you share with our listeners that you want them to know about the personal sacrifices you made to get where you are today?
We got time.
I would say really quickly, wow, the major sacrifices I was in it to win it, let's say, heavily 2011 to 2013, but I press pause.
And although I was a present parent then, I wanted to be a father to make sure that my kids knew me, I knew them, and that they were well-rounded and that I can step back and say that I've planted the seed versus work and work and work and work and then, oh, yeah, I did this for y'all and I don't know my children.
So for me, it was a sacrifice to be the parent and then it was a sacrifice.
I was a husband, so I'm happily divorced twice.
And yeah, so sometimes, how can I say, you got to make the decision of it's going to be, you know, your career or, you know, you're just going to be in love.
So sometimes the career end up can happen, but in most cases you have to kind of choose what kind of outweighs that for me was my career and I'm full force because I don't think being married, being with somebody totally right now will be smart because that will be accepted.
Because that will be accepted them because I will be what I want to be.
And then, you know, so I would say, making sure that, yeah, you just you just clear yourself in the distractions, anything that's going to hold you back away you down and go for it.
And then when you fly and you get to where you want to be, then you can come back and, you know, revisit that.
But I'm good. In Jesus name.
In Jesus name. Wise words from the man himself.
Sir, thank you again for being our guest on the show tonight. I really appreciate your time.
Before we go, tell our listeners really quickly where they can connect with you online.
Dr. I don't want to say thank you for having me so much. It's been a pleasure. But you guys can follow me on IG. That is Sir Ty online.
S I R T Y online Facebook, Ty Gowdy, but I'm active on IG. So, sir.
All right. Well, thank you again and everybody. We're going to take a quick break.
But when we return, I'll be introducing another impressive gentleman in entertainment.
You definitely won't want to miss this. Stay tuned and we'll be right back.
Waves of sadness from out of nowhere. Instantly, you feel a weight of despair.
A subtle heaviness that leaves you drained. And a lingering loneliness that remains.
Suddenly, there is no reason to smile. And then you become angry for a while.
Lashing out at anyone near, especially the ones you hold dear.
Imprisoned by your own emotions. Unsettled by the lack of control.
Trying to make sense of it all. Meanwhile, it takes its toll.
Advancing yourself from family. Pushing your friends away. Knowing in your heart that maybe you'll need their support one day.
As your despondency becomes palpable and more real, you find it difficult to express how you feel.
So you become quiet and do your best to disguise it. But there is no denying it.
There is something wrong because nothing you do feels right.
The sadness is overwhelming. But you're too angry to cry.
Deep into the pit of self-pity you're hurled. Where you realize you're not depressed. You're mad at the world.
This poem written by Dr. Andre Jerry is entitled Mad at the World from his literary debut,
Write or Die, Expressions of Life, Love and Loss, Volume 1.
Available exclusively on Amazon and Kindle.
Write or Die is more than just a collection of poetry. It's a lifestyle.
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You're back live with Dr. Andre Jerry.
Here we go.
Okay.
Alright everybody, welcome back. So if you're just joining us, tonight we're featuring black men in entertainment
who are blazing trails in music, modeling, television and film.
My next guest is joining us all the way from the West Coast tonight.
He's a Maryland-based dance music artist, actor and model.
An international multi-award winning entertainer and creative innovator.
He's known around the globe for his dance music here in the states and overseas.
And has worked with some of the industry's biggest names including Fantasia, Chrisette Michelle, Lil' Kim,
one of my favorites, Lil' Mo, Pat Benatar, Payla Bell, Crystal Waters and Ultra Nate, just to name a few.
This gentleman is a nine-time Grammy nominee, the lead actor in the hit TV series Severus, The Black Caesar.
And his music has been featured on hit shows like Fox's Empire and Rich Kids of Beverly Hills on the E! Channel.
He's a nine-time Grammy nominee, a Grammy winner, a Grammy voting member, and he has had 14 Indie Music Channel awards.
Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome to the show Septimius the Great.
Septimius, welcome to the show sir.
Hey! How you doing buddy, how's it going?
I'm exhausted after your intro. You have done a lot in this industry.
You wore me out.
I didn't even get to it all. I was trying to hit the highlights, but wow, man, you have been busy.
Thank you for coming on the show tonight. I'm so glad to have you here. How's everything going?
Oh, things are going great, man. Throwing is great.
Okay. So really quick, tell everyone how you came up with this name. Is that your name name or is that your stage name?
No, no. So about 12 years ago when I decided to be a music artist, I was looking for a powerful name.
So I Googled like Black King, Black people of power, and this name Septimius Severus popped up, or Severus,
depending where you are in the country, in the world. But I was like, oh, I like that name.
And I read about him. He was actually a Roman Emperor over the whole entire Roman Empire, but he was from Africa.
He wasn't a typical Roman. And I was like, oh, now that makes sense. I can create this image, this brand,
but it makes sense and it's not just made up. And that's what Septimius, well, he was, Septimius the Great,
I said, I created as the Roman Emperor of music.
Oh, man, I love it. And the crazy thing about your brand is that, okay, so Septimius the Great,
you're not just an artist, it's a whole brand. You know, you got the modeling, you have the acting and the music.
So, I mean, you're kind of like a one stop shop for all things entertainment.
And so I'm sure that comes with a lot of responsibility. Do you ever feel like you are misunderstood or miscategorized in the industry?
What challenges have you faced in that department?
A lot of challenges, because one, me becoming a music artist was a challenge, because after I went through a breakup,
I had to reevaluate myself and like basically create the better me. So I told my friends, you know what,
I'm going to be a music artist. My friends like, you are absolutely crazy. You know nothing about music.
You've never been in the studio. You never wrote a song. You know nothing about that.
My first challenge is watch me. So from that, you know, my first song, of course, was I Am Fashion,
the original version of it, because I came from the modeling world because I was a model, a runway model.
And then I did the music, the music industry, and then the music industry landed me to opportunities in acting.
And then the acting has now been blowing up in the last three or four years. So it became this all in one brand.
But that wasn't the original intent. My original intent was just to create a song as a music artist for a fashion show.
And that was it.
And it just kind of sprung from there. Wow.
Yep. It's evolution.
I love that.
So listen, I have been kind of researching and finding out all the things that I can find out about you to get prepared for this interview.
I'm seeing where you've been compared to a lot of like legends in the industry.
I mean, you've been compared to Will.i.am. You've been, you know, Prince, Michael Jackson even.
And we talk about this brand that's like a nonstandard form, it's not fitting in a particular genre and all of that.
How do you package yourself to get gigs? How do you package yourself to like how do you just overall package yourself to make sure that people understand what you have to offer?
Well, you know, when I first started, a lot of A&Rs from record labels, radio stations and stuff were like trying to figure out like who I am and what I represented.
But it was just completely different because I didn't have like a genre or an image that I wanted to create.
So people like Will.i.am, Prince, Michael Jackson, they were visionaries. It wasn't about having the best voice or the best look or the best stage show or the best image.
It was all the above about being creative. So that's what I focused on.
So some people get it, some people don't get it. But that to me is rewarding because I'd rather bring you something completely new that you either hate it, you like it or you learn from it.
And that's what drives me. And that's what I push for. And I look up to people like that because Will.i.am, Prince, and Michael Jackson, they couldn't be put into a box.
You never knew what you were to get because it was all about the creativity of something completely new.
Correct. Yep. So I want to talk about what your reaction was when you found out that you were nominated for your first Grammy.
Who called you? Is it an email? Does your agent call? How did you find out about it and how did that feel?
Yeah, the first nine Grammy ballots that I got listed on was amazing because one, I was a Grammy. Well, one day I was just talking of industry and someone said, are you a part of the Grammys?
I was like, no. How do you do that? They said, well, you go to Grammy.com, apply for a membership, submit your credentials.
And if you get approved, you'll be a Grammy member or a Grammy voting member. So I did it.
So one of the perks of being a Grammy voting member is not only do you vote on every level of musicians or people in the music industry, you also get to submit yourself or other people's work as well.
So I, my first year, I was a voting member. I released my first album in 2017, I think it was, and I submitted my album and my song. And one day in the email when the ballots came out, I didn't even know I was on the ballot.
The ballot came out and I saw, I saw the Timmy's the Great this, the Timmy's the Great that. So Timmy, I was like, oh my God, I just got nine times listed on the ballot. I can't believe it.
It was like, I didn't even believe, I was like, well, who is it? Is it me? I don't understand what's going on.
It was phenomenal, man, because it validated some of the creative ideas and thoughts and, you know, and the uniqueness that I've been about to create under no model of any other artists, really.
They validate you. It began, you know, I was able to stick out my chest a little bit more. I was like, okay, well, yeah, I got it now. Okay. I think I'm on to something.
Oh, man. It pays to stay in your lane and not try to be like the next person or someone else. It just pays to stay in your own lane and stay true to your own creative whims.
Oh, man. Your music is becoming quite popular, not even becoming, it's quite popular over in Europe.
How do you think your music crossing over to global audiences happened? Did it just get in the right hands or did you strategically market it overseas or what happened with that?
Yeah, I was actually in Baltimore trying to, you know, because, you know, I wanted to get my music on the radio. But in the DMV area, the DC, Maryland, Virginia area, everything is hip hop.
So I didn't fit anybody's format for radio. But every time I would sit down with somebody like, oh, you know what, man, you know, you got this house music type of vibe, but it's kind of like a little hip hop is but like a little got a little dance music to it.
You belong overseas. You should market yourself overseas. So me being an innovator and a thought visionary, I was like, okay, well, that's what I'm going to do.
I quickly stopped everything in the United States and started focusing on the United on the on Europe and places like France, Italy, Spain, Amsterdam, and places like in London, England.
And I just did it the old way. I just looked up radio stations that or people having shows in those in those different countries. I sent an email with my press kit introducing myself and let them know I'm going well.
I was telling them I'm going to be touring Europe and I would love to for you to play my music or allow me to perform and just by those emails. My first performances were not really in the United States.
They were all overseas and I did a seven city tour in Europe just based upon me reaching out to people on on email saying, hey, listen to my music, play my songs, can I perform?
And that's how it started overseas. And that's why my base overseas are so large because that's where I started because people in Europe don't have blinders or cookie cutter ears.
I call it like in America, like in America, because America, everybody sounds the same or like somebody and over there.
They don't care if you're black, white, purple, straight, gay. I don't know if it's opera music, dance music. They don't care what it is as long as they like it.
They want to hear it. And that's where I fit in. Yeah. Yeah. Uniqueness is celebrated overseas. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.
So when was the last time you performed live? Actually, I'm actually getting ready to perform live in about 30 minutes.
Oh, I'm actually at a show here in L.A. It's a fashion show where I'm hosting and performing. But right now, since I moved to L.A. about seven months ago, I just started performing here five times in the last seven months between L.A., Atlanta and San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, the whole West Coast.
I've been working it out so far. But my live performances, thank God, because the covid is over, I can go back to doing 100, 200 shows a year.
Yes. I love how your music kind of marries with your modeling and your fashion interests. Between modeling and acting and music, which one of those do you enjoy the most?
Well, you know, that's a good question because modeling was my first passion. Then I evolved into being a music artist with my next passion. But now it's really acting.
I really, really enjoy acting because in honesty, I've been acting for the last 12 years as Septimius, creating his brand, creating this image, creating this look and becoming this person on stage. So acting has always been in me.
Also, you know, just modeling, you know, you're acting, you're walking a runway. You're basically acting as well. So acting is I think it has it evolved into my passion now that I really enjoy and can't wait to see where it takes me.
I'm excited to see where it takes you as well. What would be a dream collaboration for you?
Man, well, you know, of course, Will.i.am is my absolute idol because one, the sound is similar, the fashion is similar, the business is similar.
But right now, the hottest artist right now I would love to collaborate with, of course, would be Beyonce.
Only because not because everyone loves her. It's only because she is such a machine. She's such a visionary. She puts on a production.
And that's what I like that I would love to put together something like that. When I saw her perform with Bruno Mars, and I forgot the other guy, the guy that put on Halftime Show.
And they did that merger between Bruno Mars sound, Beyonce and the guy that rocked the metal, the heavy metal guy. It was just like, that's me.
I mean, that's what I want. That's what I want to present.
Wow. Yeah, that would be a lot of people's dream collaboration. But yeah, she's definitely a workhorse.
Her performances are off the charts. So yeah, and I have no doubt that you will end up having a collaboration with her at some point.
I love to speak things out into the universe.
I know, that's right.
Tell me just a little bit about your creative process when you come up with the, how do you come up with ideas for a new song?
Do you hear a beat first or how does it work? Does the lyrics come to you first? What's your process?
It's definitely the beat because I'm beat driven. So if I hear a beat, sometimes the beat speaks to me in words and I can start to create a story around it.
But I do have to have a formula where I have to make you dance. It has to teach you something. And it has to be different.
And it has to be, and I want to fuse in another sound completely, whether it's an opera song or rock band or sometimes rock guitars.
That's the process for me. And then I kind of write around that whole story of inclusiveness, uniqueness, whether fashion related or whether it's Septimius, the real emperor story related or just everyday life.
But the beat, it all starts with me with the beat.
That's your formula.
Yes, that's my formula.
Yeah. So yeah, so as long as you stay with your formula, you're definitely going to keep having the same success that you're having now.
So a lot of, I feel like a lot of artists don't, don't do that. They don't have a formula, so to speak. They just kind of go with whatever catchy trend in music is happening.
Yeah, exactly.
So have you ever felt, I don't know, pressure to compromise your creative vision for just the sake of some quick commercial appeal that will be well received in the States?
Yes. Yeah, I got that a lot. But like the first, because I didn't know anything about music.
So I just kind of jumped out there and said I wanted to do music. And if I listened to the radio stations, the managers, the publicist, the all the creative teams around hip hop and where I was used to, my dream, my vision of Septimius the Great when I first came out was about a Roman emperor of music.
So my whole production, even if it's a small show, was dancers, soldiers, costumes, and if I can get lighting and smoke effects, that was my film for me to be anywhere to perform.
Being in, coming from Baltimore and being in the hip hop industry, that was way overboard for most people. So they're like, oh, you need to cancel the dancers and change it. Instead of looking like a Roman emperor, you should just be more trendy, the state urban look.
And I tried it. I tried it. Because I was doing a lot of hip hop showcases and people were looking at me like I was from Mars. But I did it a few times. I'm like, I don't want to do it. No, this is not what I want to do.
I want to do a theme party, a toga party. I want to do, you know, girls with pedals. I want to do the guys walking with soldiers. I want to walk in with people carrying me. I want that Lady Gaga effect.
Yeah. So yeah, I did. It was hard and I was going to compromise just to fit in. But it just wasn't worth it. It killed my whole spirit, my creativity, just my whole purpose of even trying to do music. So I had to go, I had to let that go.
Well, I know I mentioned this briefly during soundcheck, but I just want to tell you and everybody that my favorite song of yours is hands down, I Am Fashion. I was playing it yesterday and even after I stopped playing it, I could not stop singing that song.
I am fashion. I am fashion. All of your music is like perfect for walking down the runway. It's like perfect fashion show music.
Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. That's why I wrote that song. It was the first song that I kind of co-wrote with a gentleman named Coyote Man in Baltimore and introduced me to helping to deliver my formula.
He said, well, you came from fashion, so your first song should be about fashion. I said, well, I want to write a song where if I'm looking in the mirror getting dressed to go out and I need to pick my spirits up because my hair ain't cut right or I ain't got the outfit I really want.
I want to make myself feel good and I want people who say it to make themselves feel good and I want it to be drilled in your head that the only thing you will remember is the word I am fashion.
That's right. I mean it does its job. Everybody out there go to YouTube right now and put in I am fashion, Septimius the Great. You will be singing that song from here to the end of the year.
I mean it's just in your pores that song. But anyway, I know you have to get ready for a show soon. I want to ask you something that I asked my previous guest in segment one. So what would you share with our listeners tonight that you want them to know about the personal sacrifices you made to get where you are today?
Yes. Well, the personal sacrifices I had to make was you can't sometimes sometimes you can't bring along your when you get famous and the bigger the larger you go, you can't bring around along your friends.
You can't bring along your family. One, sometimes they get more they get jealous of your success and fame and they turn against you or they don't care about your successful fame because they want to keep you at a level with them and where you where you were before you became successful.
So what I had to sacrifice is my family and my friends and I had to surround myself with people who believed in what I was doing, who I was, but also kept me grounded. So that kind of sacrifice caused me to do a lot of things myself.
You know, I did a lot of you know a lot of shows myself. I did my own marketing. I did my own promotions. I did my own website. I did my own everything because I couldn't find people who didn't wouldn't who well one didn't understand me but two didn't well would not turn against me or try to rival with me or take from me.
So that's what I had to sacrifice that. Yep.
I did. So I feel you 100% on that and that's definitely some sage advice and wise words.
I want to thank you so much for your time today. I know that you are getting ready for a show in the next few minutes but thanks for stopping by live with Dr. Andre Jair today.
Really was a pleasure to introduce you to my audience.
You're welcome to come back anytime but really quickly you're all over the place online. Let us know where our people can connect with you online.
Yes, definitely, definitely, definitely follow me on all social media. I have four movies coming out this year. My new album is going to drop which is Stephanie's 2.0 which is a whole nother level of my formula of music and fusions of genres.
But you can follow me on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, you know, I don't know what else.
Who else is out there?
What you call it YouTube everything is under Septimius the Great. My website is Septimiusthegreat.com.
But if you Google Septimius the Great there's only one in this world that I trademark that name. So you're not going to get anybody else even if you just do Septimius.
There's only going to be the real Roman Emperor 2000 years ago and that's going to be me.
Septimius the Great of music, acting and modeling. So definitely, definitely look me up, follow me and I'll follow back.
Trust me, you won't have any problems finding Septimius online. Septimius the Great everybody. Thank you again for your time.
That's our show for tonight folks. So be sure to join me next Wednesday on May 24th at 8 p.m. Eastern right here on the Artist First Radio Network.
And I want to thank again my guest for segment one, Sir Ty, and thank you again to Septimius the Great who graced us with his presence on segment two.
So everyone good night. We'll see you next month. Have a good night y'all.
Bye.