INTERVIEW: BIG DADDY: CREATIVITY AND COMMUNITY
May 2018: I am walking by myself on St-Laurent Boulevard (in Montreal) with my headphones on enjoying all of the street art and any hidden detail that makes that boulevard my favourite of the city. I cannot remember if I had paused the song I was listening to or if a song had just finished. However, I am sure I still had my headphones on when I heard Big Daddy sing for the first time. At first, I could not see where the voice came from but I had to find out. I walked into Parc des Amériques (where Fringe Festival was taking place) and discovered Big Daddy. In this interview, Big Daddy explains the importance of "Expansion": events she organizes to enable people to connect and express themselves through art in a safe space. She also shares her personal and musical goals, and so much more.
How would you say things have changed since you quit your job to do music and other creative endeavors full time?
It's going well! I think the biggest shift was allowing myself to leave a full time position and not because I didn't like my job but I recognized how much energy it was taking from me. After I had quit, (I wasn't working), my grandfather fell. He's 92. He's okay. He didn't hurt himself but we understood he couldn't be alone anymore. I am his caregiver right now. I am technically working as I take care of him. I am paid by the government. It's also a perfect opportunity for me to still be able to be planning my events and taking care of the things I want to take care of for "Expansion". I do have an income coming in which has been really nice. A silver lining.
Is it ever stressful to balance everything?
I would say no. I was very lucky. Everything kind of fell into place perfectly. I think a big part of that was just trusting. I understood the risk of leaving my job. I understood it was a necessary next step in fulfilling my "Expansion" dreams. I think the universe conspires in your favor when you decide to love yourself. I have been really lucky. I have not been stressed at all with finances since I started my "Expansion" dream which has been a really big blessing.
You have covered many songs beautifully. Which one of your covers would you say is your favourite or the most special to you?
There are a lot of covers I enjoy singing. It's a classic; I would go with "Killing me Softly". It's actually the first song I really learned how to play on guitar. I used to sing it a lot when I was a kid. I would sing a lot of karaoke in my grandparents' basement.
When can we expect new original music from you? In terms of sound and lyrics, what can we expect?
I am actually currently working on an Afrobeats project. It's a project I have been working on since the winter with this amazing producer from Africa. We met through Instagram which is really cool; the power of social media! You can definitely expect some new music soon. I just can't tell you when. He actually took some songs that I wrote already and turned them into Afrobeats. It's a really cool collab. I am excited to share it for sure.
Is Afrobeats a genre of music you listen from time to time or is it something brand new to you?
I really enjoy listening to Afrobeats. I find it's the type of music no matter what vibe you're in or no matter who you are, you can listen to it and it will get you to move. It will get you to feel good. As far as singing Afrobeats, it's a whole new world, a whole new endeavor. I am trying to learn more about the culture; it coming from Africa, its homeland. I am trying to immerse myself more into it. I started taking Afrobeats dance classes. I think it's also important to respect the culture that it comes from and to know more about it.
I feel like a lot of artists stick to one genre and always release the same songs or albums. I think it's good to be open minded and try different things.
That's the whole goal, right? I am trying to encourage people to step out of their comfort zone and discover new parts of themselves (with "Expansion"). I felt like it was a good opportunity for me to do the same.
You have performed in all kinds of places (venues, apartments, on the street). Is there a type of show you prefer? Is there a type of show that makes you more nervous? Does it matter where you perform?
It's interesting because I definitely still get nervous but not necessarily because of a venue or because of where I am performing. What makes me nervous sometimes is performing for a crowd that I feel might be more quiet or reserved because they're hard to read. I also feel like I have performed enough that I am actually quite comfortable on stage. You know, at Mural, I see thousands of people. I think that kind of broke "la gêne" really quickly. As far as favourite type of place to perform, honestly, I love intimate shows. I love a show where there is maybe a handful of people really present with me. That's super beautiful. For example, even at Mural, when I play for thousands of people, my favourite moments are when there is just one person that will stop to be there with me and to listen. I also love a theater full of people and just a rowdy crowd. It really depends.
What was the most memorable interaction (positive or negative but hopefully positive) you’ve had while performing on the street?
There are so many. Just off the top of my head, there are two from this year. It happened to two different people. There were actually 3 moments. The same thing happened to different people; one man and one woman. I was singing a song and they passed but kind of came back. They stood far enough but I obviously noticed them. They were just crying. They were really emotional about what I was singing. After the song, I asked both of them if they wanted a hug. They did. They both came up and got a hug. That was it. That was the exchange. Not much said but just being able to touch people through my music, even your mom when you came by and I sang for you guys and it was an emotional song. It's really powerful for me to touch people on an emotional level. I find it's a gift. Another moment was when I was busking and these kids came by. I was singing kids songs and after a while there were 30 kids in front of me. Some parent brought chalk. All of the kids were just drawing and dancing. It was really cute. I was just like: "wow, this just became a kids' concert out of nowhere. Out of nowhere; Bam! 30 kids!"
Has anything negative happened to you (while performing on the street)?
I have had 2 negative experiences. First one; there was a man who was really drunk and was sitting in the back on a bench. I don't know if he had a coin or a rock but he just kept hitting the poll and screaming. I think he was trying to sing along, trying to be involved but it was just so distracting for me. I had to go up to him and be like: "Hi, I hope you don't mind but like, I am trying to perform. It's really distracting for me." He was like: "Okay, okay, okay". He stopped and then, I would play 2 more songs and he started again. I was like: "Oh my god, I can't do this." I actually stopped playing. I went and had lunch and then, came back and he was gone. That was one of the bad experiences.
Another one was when somebody actually called the cops on me and filed a noise complaint. It was just funny. It was on a Wednesday at 3pm and the cops came and they were like: "Do you have a permit?" I was like: "Yeah!" I showed them the permit and they were like: "Okay, you can keep playing." I was like: "Is there a problem?" "Yeah, someone just made a noise complaint." I learned so many covers. I literally played 4 to 5 hours of different songs. I was like: "This person doesn't even appreciate what I am doing!" Honestly, as much as my ego was bruised, I had a permit to be there. I think it's just another reminder you can't please everyone, right? Just live your best life. Even the cop was like: "People complain for everything. Don't take it personal."
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It is no secret that trying to get noticed (in any way, shape, or form) as an artist isn’t easy. What would you say motivates you to keep performing and creating?
There are a lot of things that keep me motivated. To be honest, it's interesting because I am not really pushing myself to be seen as an artist as much as I am pushing myself to be authentic in my exploration of being Big Daddy. Honestly, for me, community is important. Just the experience that I have through Big Daddy, through the performances, through "Expansion", through all of these projects that I have done. That's what keeps me going; the human interaction, meeting different people, connections. Also, I genuinely love performing and I think the best advice someone gave me was: "When you get up there, just do it for you. Don't do it for anyone else." I truly do. That's why I don't really care about what genre am I doing or what outfit am I wearing? I kind of just do what I want to do and try not to fit into anyone's categories of expectations.
Whether they are a musician or not, who would you say is your biggest inspiration?
To be honest, I can't really say that I was inspired by someone particularly doing music. I have a lot of artists that I really respect and love. Aaliyah is one of my favourite musicians. My music is not really representative of her music. I have to owe it to my grandparents' karaoke machine. As a child that was my main source of knowing who these artists were. I never really had anyone in my family or in my friends who introduced me to music. I am actually one of the only people in my family who is musical except for my grandparents. Not to say that they don't like music but no one has ever shown me The Beatles or shown me a record. I think it just came from being a lover of music, hearing the rythm in me, hearing music outside. I would say my biggest inspiration for the music I write is definitely the people I love. Most of the songs I write are about the people that I love, inspired by the people that I love or personal experiences, things that I have gone through. I would say people I love and experiences are mostly what music is inspired by. There isn't a specific genre of music that has inspired me.
In terms of shows and music, "Expansion" what are your hopes, goals, and dreams for the next few years?
I would say "Expansion based", I would love to keep expanding the "Expansion dream". The main goal is to open a center for expression so people can safely express themselves through the art in an unapologetic way. In the next few years, I would love to actually have a space. Right now, I am kind of curating these events outside of a space; trying to find what works, what doesn't work; doing different types of events. I am hoping in the next few years to have a home base. Ideally, and eventually it will grow into the dream of what I see it to be. Immediately, I would say at least a space with a kitchen and a stage so we could do some fun shows while also feeding people healthy delicious food. That's the goal. I would say on a personal level I would love to go to Africa. Within a year, I would love to go to Africa and release an Afrobeats album, do a tour, that would be sick.
Did you ever think about going on a proper tour (for example, across Canada)?
You know, I would be super down to go on tour. I think I could do it really well. It would be fun for me. I have always had dogs. That's been kind of a complicated reason to go although I do have family and babysitters that would take care of them. It's always been a reason why I couldn't travel for more than one month at a time. For example, I feel like going on tour in Africa is a once in a lifetime experience. Maybe, I would be more inclined to invest my time, energy, and money into that kind of project. If someone wanted to bring me on tour across Canada or across the States or across the world, I wouldn't say no.
If you could pick only one song to show someone who has never heard your music before, what song would it be and why?
I would pick my song "Go Beyond" that I wrote for my friend Gian because of two reasons: 1. It's a song I wrote for a friend who passed away, somebody who really inspired me in my journey of being Big Daddy. He was somebody who really inspires me and just reminds me to reach my goals no matter how big my dreams are. Also, it's the song that I wrote after my depression. I went through a year and a half without even singing. I was super depressed. It rolled up on the anniversary of his passing. It inspired me to write music again. I would say that song has a lot of meaning, personal importance to me. There is a lot of messages in a lot of songs that I would love to share but if I had to pick one, that would be it.
You have been very vocal about your support for Palestine over the past several months, how important is it to use your platform to raise awareness?
It's so important. It's crazy because there is such a clear understanding that Meta and other organizations don't want people to speak up. I personally experienced shadow ban. I can personally see when I post a cute picture of my dog I get like 400 to 500 views. When I post something about Palestine, I am reduced to anywhere between 50 and 100. All of this also to say that there has been a lot of personal backlash where people criticized me for doing that. At the end of the day, it's not even particular to Palestine. I obviously feel very compassionate towards Palestinians and their struggle for liberation. Ultimately, as somebody with a platform, if I am not using that to speak up for a collective liberation, a collective freedom for people of humanity, then what does my freedom even serve me? Even if I lose followers, get shadow banned, or my account gets deleted, at the end of the day, I think it's so important for us to speak up against injustice and to remember that our freedom is a privilege. What's happening in Palestine as what's happening in Sudan, Congo and so many places around the world, if we are not advocating for these people and their liberation, let's not forget what's happening to them could very well happen to us. If we are not advocating for their freedom, then, what are we doing really? Our freedom is so closely tied in together. None of us are free if they're not free. I think it's super important for everyone to speak up in whatever ways that they can. I understand that not everyone has the same capacity. Everybody does what they can. Personally, I am not scared to use that platform. We live in a crazy world.
Is there anything else you would like to add or perhaps promote?
The most important thing right now is community and coming together. This is why I am doing "Expansion". This is why I quit my job. The time is now. If I don't do this now, when am I going to do it? The world needs it. We need collectivity. We need healing. We heal so much better as a collective. I guess my closing statement would be to anybody who feels alone or stuck or wants to explore different facets of their life or points of creativity, I want to extend the invite to come be in community with us at "Expansion". The events are usually free or "Pay what you can." based. They're always centered in self-expression and community building. The events change but the goal is to bring people together because we need it. I need it. It's been really humbling and really beautiful to see that dream expand into what it is right now.
If you have made it this far, thank you for giving Big Daddy and me some of your time. I hope this article has made you want to support Big Daddy in all of her beautiful and meaningful endeavors. Also, I hope this newest blog entry has made you realize or learn something. Music heals. Community heals. Do not be afraid to try different experiences.
Free Palestine.
Your new favourite interviewer,
Ariane
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Another incredible interview! I loved getting to learn more about Big Daddy. I hope to see her perform someday!
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