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By Archna Sawjani
AHHA: Something you mentioned earlier that I want to get back to - when you say you caught your baby’s daddy in bed with another person, I’m guessing you are talking about Ras Kass.
Teedra Moses: [pauses] Oh God. I forgot people know him. [laughs] I really forgot… It’s cool; it’s forgotten now. Me and [ Ras Kass] are cool; we don’t trip about it. What’s done is done.
AHHA: Would you ever get back together with him?
Teedra Moses: No. [laughs] Neither one of us want to get back together with each other. Ever again…[laughs] We’re cool though. I’m in Miami working right now, and he has the kids so we are honestly fine.
AHHA: What doesn’t break you, makes you stronger right?
Teedra Moses: Oh my god, that’s the theme of my whole album. That really is… “What doesn’t break you makes you stronger.” One of the songs I have on my album called “I Told You” that’s the song I start [Young Lioness] with, and it‘s basically about - what doesn’t break you, makes you stronger, and that’s the truth. I feel like everything is a blessing as everything is a lesson, and even the worst things that can happen to you, will make you tougher and prepare you more for whatever the world has in store for you.
AHHA: Do you have a release date for your new album Young Lioness?
Teedra Moses: It was originally supposed to be August, but realistically we are looking at January.
AHHA: Why such a long break between albums?
Teedra Moses: I know…at first it was me. I wasn’t sure if people really wanted another album from me to be honest, and I was making a real good living just writing for others. But then I would run into people more and more who would keep asking me, “When’s the next album?” and telling me things like, “The song you wrote for your mom really helped me.” So it wasn’t a case, I wouldn’t do the record for myself, but seeing people believe in my work made me want to get focused on doing another album again. Now the hold up is not me anymore, but TVT.
AHHA: You mentioned that you went through a lot of negative stuff during the recording of your last album. Now you’re in a more positive space. Does it come across in the album?
Teedra Moses: Yeah. You saw my strength with the last album. If you listened to the album beyond the surface and really for the meaning behind the words you would see my strength. I’d say with this album I’ve grown even stronger. I’ve experienced a couple of other situations with guys besides the Ras Kass incident, which you know about, and really I just love myself more. I’ve learned it’s ok to be strong ,and it’s ok to be a queen. It’s ok to say, “You can’t knock me down,” and I think that mentality comes across the album. It doesn’t sound as sad as the last album.
AHHA: Who have you worked with on this album?
Teedra Moses: As far as producers – I’ve got Cool and Dre. I have a duet with Raheem DeVaughn. I have Trina on this album - I actually worked with her on her track with Kelly Rowland, which I wrote and she’s such a nice person so I had to have her on my album. I have Raphael Saadiq again. He’s not on the album, but he did produce some really, really wonderful records on the album. I have a mix of people. It’s still Hip-Hop Soul. It’s just seasoned a little different.
AHHA: I really enjoyed your blogs. In one of them, you mentioned that we shouldn’t be surprised if you’re like Bob Marley on your next album. What exactly did you mean by that?
Teedra Moses: Girl there is so much going on in this world that we could talk about all kind of dumb sh*t people are doing. I guess you get to the point that you go extremely into that direction so that people can listen and you can say, “Let’s wake up! Let’s look at some of the things that are going on.” The worth of a woman, the worth of a mother, means nothing no more. All these different things going on in the world make me want to go extremely to my spiritual side, but I probably won’t. You just have those days where you need to rant and rave about sh*t, and I guess I use my blog to do that. That’s what I felt at that particular moment when I said that.
AHHA: Is it important for you to write socially conscious music for your own project?
Teedra Moses: More than anything, it’s important for me to encourage. That’s just who I am; that’s in my every thought. I feel like I’m a friend to whoever listens to my music. You’re not a fan. A fan is a person who goes crazy and puts a person on a pedestal and makes them into a superstar. And that’s cool, but I don’t really want that. I want people to feel they can come to me and say something to me. Being that person means not being a superstar, but a friend. I want to say to the person who’s listening, the same advice I would tell a home girl when they would call me for advice. I want to say the same thing to another child that I would say to my own. I call myself “Young Lion” and it sounds very arrogant, but if you listen to my words, I am saying, “You are too. We are. We’re queens, we’re kings.”
AHHA: Are you still writing for other people?
Teedra Moses: Yeah I’m still writing, but not as much anymore, because I now take what comes to me, instead of going out to get work, because I’m focused on my own project at the moment. Also because I don’t want to just go out and write for anybody and basically just work to get paid. I want to take time and really put all in my work, not just go out and knock a song out for money. I’ve got to love it. I will still write for other people though.
AHHA: Is it true that you have a role in the up and coming Wendy Williams film?
Teedra Moses: Yeah I’m playing a girl called Lisa, who is one of Wendy’s friends. It’s not a big role; I’m reading for another role at the moment. These are opportunities that just came to me, and not something that I went out to get. Acting would never be something that would take priority over music for me. Music is first and foremost, but I’m a creative person and I enjoy trying different creative things.
AHHA: Any other creative ventures you would like to get into?
Teedra Moses: I have these journals that my mom bought my sister and I, and I would write my thoughts in them since I was a young girl. I think that’s how I became I pretty good writer. I’ve been writing in these books since before my mother died, and still to do this day. I’m starting to compile some of the pages together for a book. I feel words can help people, so this is something that’s really important to me. I can’t say when it will be done; it’s not something I want to rush. I constantly have ideas for things to do. You probably know…you’re a writer. You get so many thoughts and ideas, but you’ve got to master one and stay focused.
AHHA: Anything else you want to say?
Teedra Moses: I want to say thank you to the people. I just appreciate the opportunity to make music. I’m really just a humble artist who is trying to get my music out there, that’s all.
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