Throughout 2021, RA will host a series of interviews in partnership with Black Minds Matter UK, an organisation whose mission is to connect Black individuals and families with free mental health services by professional Black therapists.

The interviews, which will be published as written features and audio RA Exchanges, focus on Black creatives working in electronic music at all levels. These conversations will touch on issues surrounding mental health, in keeping with Black Minds Matter UK's mission to "make mental health topics more relevant and accessible for all Black people in the UK, removing the stigma and remodelling the services to be relevant for the Black community."

On this edition, Vanessa Maria dives deep into entrepreneurship, gender issues and personal branding with rap enthusiast Tiffany Calver, a BBC Radio 1Xtra presenter, DJ and founder of newly minted label, No Requests.

This is a full transcript of this week's edition of the RA Exchange, edited slightly for length and clarity.

Yo, what's good, it's Vanessa Maria and I'm welcoming you back to another special edition of the RA Exchange in collaboration with Black Minds Matter. I'm a DJ, broadcaster and digital marketeer for Sony at Black Butter Records and today, I'm joined by the most talented Tiffany Calver, the poster girl for UK rap and fellow tequila sipping queen. Tiffany is a critical taste maker in the music industry, working alongside some of the greats such as Fredo, Headie One and most notably Drake. She went from blogging for the likes of MTV to being the face of the 1Xtra Rap Show. Tiffany, what made you smile today?

Your saying something about tequila in that intro: Iconic. Of all of the things you just said about me, that is absolutely what I'm proudest of, being a tequila sipper.

What's the fanciest tequila you've ever tried?

Oh man. Do you know what, I'm still such a cheapskate. I only just found out about 1942. The time I interviewed Drake on the radio, he said "I'm going to bring 42 to the station," and I was like "What's that?"

I don't know what that is.

It's like one-hundred-and-something pounds a bottle.

Oh, okay, yeah.

I'm not quite there, but I do like that one. I love Patron, I love Don Julio. I'm basically not trying to spend like 200 pounds a bottle yet, but I'm also not getting the ones with the sombrero in the newsagent—is it called Sierra? I'm off of that now, those hangovers aren't worth it.

Yeah, that's like the equivalent of Glen's Vodka innit?

Yeah. Oh my god, that just reminds me of house parties when I was younger.

Oh, was that your drink?

Anything was my drink that was less than 10 pounds, do you know what I mean?

Park benches and Glen's, that was the one. Oh god.

K Cider.

Oh god, yeah, with WKD, all of them things.

Listen, Smirnoff Ice is legendary and I'm really upset people have forgotten about it.

Oh yeah, because that was a big drink.

Yeah, getting an Ice was the highlight of my weekend.

What has been your drink over lockdown? People have been sipping on wine, champagne...

In the beginning of lockdown I was a wine drinker, for sure. I found there's delivery for wine, you could order it to your house and it would get there within the hour. So I was a wine drinker. I'll be real, me and my boyfriend, we're so shit—we'll be like "Yeah, let's get drunk tonight!," and two drinks in we'll be like "Do you want a tea?" Unless I'm out, I can't really drink like that.

You should do the Baileys flex in the tea.

Nah, being Saint Lucian or just having Caribbean roots in me, I feel like Baileys has been tainted from just my childhood. Just being the one in my grandparents' houses. Maybe I'll try it, I don't know.

Yeah, you should. So your alcohol taste has changed over lockdown, but how has your music taste been affected by the year we've had? I've personally been listening to Linkin Park on repeat, on my runs, so that's me.

Love Linkin Park, I love Limp Bizkit. I'm trying to get more into TikTok because I think I'm having an existential crisis now. I'm 26 and I'm like, "Am I too old?" I don't understand these new apps. So I've been trying to use TikTok and they had this emo challenge. They play emo 10 songs and you have to say how many you know, and I knew all 10. I used to have the checkered sweatbands and a fringe. It was awful because that was the one part of my hair I'd straighten so it'd be like, emo fringe and then just curly hair.

No way, you were fully living it.

Yeah man. Paramore were my guys. I even used to listen to heavy metal, so Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot...

Metallica?

That was my jam.

My jam was "The Day That Never Comes." That sends me off.

Oh my god, Metallica. That was the one. If you fancied a skater in school they'd always talk about Metallica, and you'd just be like "Yah, I love them."

You're actually the third guest on this podcast to talk about an emo stage.

Really?

Yeah, yeah.

Nah, people have got to own it. I think everyone else is in denial or they're just trying to be cool. We all did it. You know what, I have to say at least I didn't do... what are they called? Stretches? When you put it in your ear and it would stretch it? Everyone in my school was doing that and getting all the weird piercings and stuff, like the body piercings, the face piercings, the stretches in the ear, like really going for it. And there was something in my head that was like, "You're going to be 40 one day, and I don't think this will be your vibe then, so don't commit". So I'm quite proud.

That was a cultural moment.

Before all these kids that are now dressing up in tracksuits and trying to look the drill-iest ever in their Moncler jackets and stuff, before your time guys, all we were doing was wearing DC, Famous Stars and Straps, and we all had emo fringes. Claire's accessories did a pack of checkered sweatbands for a fiver. That was the vibe, okay? So that's your vibe now, but we all went through it back then and anyone that says they didn't is a liar.

100%.

Ask Snoochie Shy, she's on 1Xtra as well, she had an emo phase. We all did. Maybe not Kenny Allstar, but we did.

Snoochie's documented it as well. I know her social media, she has so many throwback posts which are iconic, the fashion sense is amazing. I feel like we've all evolved, we've all grown, it's part of self transformation.

Exactly. We're expressing ourselves, I'm all for that.

How would you describe your own self transformation over the past five years in music?

I mean, I still wear tracksuits so me saying I've evolved by not wearing tracksuits is 100% a lie. But what I will say is, in the past five years, I think I've finally felt comfortable enough to express myself how I want to, whether that's in a tracksuit or it could be shorts and a T-shirt, or it could be a dress or just anything I want to wear, I feel like I'm in a place where I can. I think five years ago, I was so focused and almost paranoid of giving off the wrong vibe or the wrong impression or even attracting the wrong vibe or the wrong impression, which would put me in an uncomfortable situation. I just didn't want to be looked at all, I just wanted to be heard so if I wasn't in a tracksuit, I was in skinny jeans, a turtleneck and Doc Martens. I was covered.

I'm laughing because I relate to what you're saying. I feel like I'm going through that now. I just don't want it to be focused on the image of what I look like. It feels like a catch 22 because then people talk about how you're booked for what you look like and blah blah blah.

Before I even started DJing, I remember being at Electric Brixton with a friend of mine who was playing there. She's a female DJ but she's in a completely different kind of lane. We were in the backstage bit, the green room, and I think the promoters were quite drunk at this point. So we were all chatting and I was talking about how I've started learning and I really want to get into DJing, and they made some comment like, "Well, you're a pretty girl, so if you start DJing I'm sure you'll be booked for this next year, just off of that." It was just like, wow.

So it was things like that which just made me feel like no one would take me seriously. I mean, thanks for thinking I'm pretty, that's cool, do you know what I mean? I appreciate that but I just never wanted to be the girl that people looked at and the first thing they said was, "Oh, she's fit." I always wanted it to be like, "Oh, she's cold, she is a sick DJ." Those were the things I wanted to go for. But unfortunately I think just by being a girl it's a lot more difficult to receive as opposed to men. So I just did anything I could to basically be as unattractive as possible, to not be deemed in that light where people would be like, "Oh, she's gang", or, "Oh yeah, lads." I just didn't want to come across sexually.

On Sunday I had a mini-breakdown because I had a livestream and it got reported because of my boobs. I know it's mad, people were in the comments being like "What the fuck, too much boobage," and the club, the whole thing, had to get taken down.

It's the worst. I've done a couple livestreams in lockdown. I don't know, trolls are trolls innit? That's a whole other kettle of fish in this era of time. People have the access to say anything. I remember quite similarly, years and years ago, I was in New York and Complex asked me to play a DJ series for their Facebook. It was summer so I was wearing a bikini top with something over it but I guess there was cleavage, and I was getting the wildest comments. I think one person literally said something like "Her boobs are farther apart than the Grand Canyon."

There could have been 100 positive comments but that one stuck with me. I remember afterwards being so upset for days. The comments that people were saying about my appearance or my breasts or just anything to do with looks rather than anything about the actual music, which I know guys don't get. No one's being like, "Oh my god, there's not even a print on his grey pants, LOL," do you know what I mean?

Yeah, you experienced a lot from very early on. It reminds me of the collaborative piece you wrote for Notion magazine where you said "I'm finally at peace with the total freedom that comes with being me." I wanted to ask, how did you find that peace within yourself?

I think there just comes a time in your career where you've either got to make peace with it or you've got to quit. I thought about it a couple of times, quitting, moving back to Saint Lucia and working in a bar. I'd be just as happy with that life. I think I got to a stage where I'd been through the brunt of the horrible stuff that came with my job. When I first got the show at Radio 1, there were a lot of quite negative comments towards me and how I got my show, because I couldn't have been working my ass off for years and people actually noticed, do you know what I mean? I had to have slept with someone.

I'd get comments when I was just trying to do my job, doing an interview. I could smile or laugh at someone, like for saying something funny, and people would say I'm flirting with them. Just constant knock backs. It got to a stage where either people got used to me, and they were just like "Oh no, she's Tiffany Calver, she's just doing her job," or I just didn't care anymore. Now it's at a point where I can even read horrible comments about myself and laugh and keep scrolling. It doesn't affect me as much. I'm so grateful I'm in that place mentally now where I can focus on my career. Obviously there's still times where things will get to me or I have to deal with things that nobody else in my field has to deal with. But I think I'm in a way better mental place to take it and move on from it.

How do you get there? It must have been a process. Do you feel like there was a moment where things fell into place and you had a revelation that you needed to focus on yourself? Or was it more of a gradual process where you started to care less?

It was definitely gradual. There's work that comes with it, there is definitely work. I started going to therapy. I think I even cut down the circle of friends I had. It was a very safe and secure, cool group of friends who really cared about me who I'd give my time to or be able to talk to about things. Having those personal relationships, having a life outside of your job, which is difficult when your job is literally your life. I love my job so much, every single day I wake up and want to work. But trying to literally make an effort, almost forcing myself to go to the gym, get a personal trainer, to work out and use that hour to get everything out. Or even reading a book. You're having to relearn because you're kind of your own boss. I was having to relearn how to structure my life so that there is still Tiffany without it always being Tiffany Calver.

Someone said to me as well, it was before I did the Beyonce and Jay-Z gig at the Olympic stadium, and I was so, so, so nervous. They were just like, "You've got to learn how to separate yourself from your brand." Tiffany is terrified, Tiffany Calver is a boss and she's going to go out there and smash it and everyone's going to think she's sick, and then Tiffany can come off stage and decompress. And I thought, "You're so right." It's a bit like Beyoncé has Sasha Fierce, I had to find my own person to be the face of the brand so then I can still be me. I'm still doing the work, I don't think I'll ever stop doing the work. But I'm getting better at it, for sure.

That makes a lot of sense. I guess it helps you to maintain a bit of balance. You can have your alone time as Tiffany and then you have your stage presence. I can imagine in the beginning, if you've merged the two, it would be a headfuck. You're like, "How do I relax and how do I switch off?" Do you find it difficult to turn things off and relax?

That's another thing I'm learning about with time. I was really bad when I was younger. I was a really bad insomniac. I was pretty much born to DJ and be in nightlife because those are my best hours, my best hours to work, my best hours to do anything. I just could not switch off, and even now with more roles that I'm taking on and more things that I'm doing, I'm having to learn how to almost compartmentalise everything. You need to learn that your emails will still be there in the morning, you can switch off, go watch the fucking Kardashians if you want. So getting an influx of calls or texts about work on a Sunday—I've had to message everyone and put on my emails saying don't message me on Sundays, that is my day, I will speak to you tomorrow.

Boundaries.

Yeah.

And you mentioned that you started going to therapy. I just started going as well.

Yass!

It's been fantastic. It's actually been the best decision I've ever made. I think one of the things that I've definitely learnt from it is the power of being present and being in the moment, which relates to what you were saying about shutting off and setting boundaries. What do you feel is one of the biggest things you've learnt going through that experience and becoming more reflective and self-aware?

Well, from therapy I've learnt I have way more issues than I thought walking in the door. We've unpacked and found different things in my life. I've been like, "Oh my god," but it's interesting to realise how things you don't recognise can actually affect you. So that's been really interesting and I guess it's cleansing isn't it? It's like going through all of the things you've kind of brushed to the side, you're literally sagging the hell out of your brain.

Speaking to someone and feeling safe, I think sometimes especially in an industry like this one, people are lovely, don't get me wrong, and I have a lot of peers and people I call friends in my workspace. But sometimes it's not my friends' job to have me constantly unloading the shit I'm going through, so it's been nice to have someone that I know is a complete outsider, that has a completely different perspective and can help guide me through how to deal with personal issues. It's just something for me, which I think I've told myself a lot and I really appreciate that I've done it.

Like you were saying about being present, there's a quote that I made my mantra because I have really bad anxiety. When I was on the Drake tour we were in Paris, and one of my favourite films is La Haine, which I feel like anyone who's artsy and cool says, but it genuinely is one of my favourites. There was a quote in it which in English sounds really shit, so I've basically got "So far, so good" tattooed on my arm. But in French it's Jusqu'ici, tout va bien. In the film the whole thing is the story that keeps getting told is there's this guy that's falling off of a skyscraper and on his way down he keeps saying "so far, so good, so far, so good," because it's not about how you fall, it's about how you land. I've kind of taken that and it's really helped me because it's almost like in the moment you haven't landed yet, so just stop thinking about it. You're falling, like you don't know what's happening yet so just be present. Maybe I should have got "be present." It was nice to have got it done in France during the tour at such an anxious time in my life. So that was really, really dope. It's one of my favourite tattoos.

That is a really lovely mantra. I feel like I'm going to go back, I haven't watched that film for years, but I remember it had a massive impact on me. It reminds me of one of the quotes that I recently found. I started reading to become more present, and I had never read by the way, so it's a big thing. I read a book called All About Love by Bell Hooks, I don't know if you've heard about it. It looks at love in all capacities, like from how we are educated about loving ourselves, loving others, how we teach our children about love and also platonic and romantic relationships. But there's a quote in it that says, "Many of us seek community solely to escape the fear of being alone. Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape." That's been really powerful for me, and having that time to find, again, peace in yourself, stuff that you were talking about, but also that community. So I guess I wanted to ask you, what does community mean to you?

So much. I think there isn't a job for me without community. All of the things that connected music to me in such a love story-esque way was to do with community. It was my mum and her friends and us traveling down to Notting Hill Carnival every year, and being around all of those people dancing and having the best time. It's being on a stage or being in a rave or in a field or being anywhere and knowing you're providing the soundtrack to someone's life in that moment and not taking that for granted. I love community, I love everything to do with people, that's why I love my show. I love the fact that there are so many people that listen on a Saturday night and we have those two hours together where I'm sharing music or I'm playing songs that I know they'll like and I'm putting people on to speak to me on the phone or shouting people out and seeing how gassed they get when they send me videos of it—all of these things. These are the things that make my job worth it for me, it's all to do with being with people and that's the best part of everything. Everything I do, literality, I'm just thinking about it now, everything I do is about people.

You're connecting.

There is no job without these people. And at the same time, there is no job without the people that make the music and the places that they came from. Not to get too deep into it but I think that there's so much more that needs to be done to give back to those communities and to elevate those communities. We can all do really well and go on and move to a massive house in Essex or something, but I'm definitely working on things at the minute to try and help us all come together to give back, especially when youth clubs are closing. I'm working on putting programs in place to help other women be able to have the resources or the tools that maybe were super difficult for me to find when I was coming into this career, so that they have the access to do the jobs they want to do, because that's what it's about.

It's about keeping the door open as well and giving back.

I love kicking down doors, don't get me wrong, but I also love holding them open.

It's important because I think sometimes you don't realise that when you don't keep the door open, the community dies because without new blood. Without new people coming in, there isn't a community anymore because you've closed the door and it's just you.

Exactly. Imagine if 10 years ago, 15 years ago, even like Tinchy Stryder, Tiny, all of them, Kano, Ghetts, all of them were just like "Okay, we've made it now, we're all going to go retire, bye". If the radio stations all closed down because they made their money and they're happy, there would be nothing. So it's about keeping it going and holding that door open for so many artists, for so many people, for so many managers, so many labels. We're having global stars now. Black music has an infrastructure in England now. There are platforms for us, there are places, so in 10 years time, again, who knows where we'll be, because we're getting number ones every other week now.

How does that make you feel?

Fantastic. I love it. The best part for me, going back to community, is the comradeship between the artist and the industry. It doesn't matter what label you're at, it doesn't matter who you're affiliated with, if you've got a record coming out, anything, everyone supports each other for the most part. Everyone shares each others' record, everyone wants everyone to win. And I think as an industry and as a genre we definitely are the best at doing that, of all coming together and pushing for someone to succeed. Don't get me wrong, Nines was right, there are definitely crabs in the bucket for sure. But there are a lot of people that are doing the work to keep lifting and pushing the culture, which is great.

100%. I think of Tion Wayne, like the way that we've all come together for that moment was amazing.

Exactly.

My friend loves classical music, and she doesn't work in music, but she texted me, she's like "Oh my god, Tion Wayne's at number one," and I'm like "What?!" You're over here listening to Beethoven, people really were behind it. Again, it brings people together and that's what it's all about.

We're pop culture. At this point, rap music is just as important as pop. I had a meeting yesterday, and I won't say who it was with, but they're a very, very high up person in music. And they said that pop needs rap now, to do anything, to move anything, pop needs rap.

Facts. Talk to me about No Requests. I feel like I don't want to say what it is, I don't know if you can say what it is, but I know you're involved with the track "Slide" by Bandokay.

I am. So No Requests is a brand that I started a couple years ago. It basically became my company, and it obviously stemmed from needing a company name. I didn't really want to use my given name, so I called it No Requests. Obviously it's connected to the DJ world and nightlife and music and I'm sure as a DJ yourself there have been many times people have asked you to play some random weird ass music and you're just like, "Sorry, no requests." And then from that, it's stemmed to being the name I use for my mixes. I'm currently working on merch for it, and I'm in the process of making my first ever mixtape, which is going to be called No Requests. It's also the name of my label that I started this year. I will be announcing it publicly very soon, hopefully.

We have quite a few really exciting artists. We've got a guy called Curtis J, who is an incredible artist that's Nigerian and lives in England. He had a tune called "Check Your Balance," and again, I won't say who but some very important people within the world of African diaspora music were saying it's one of the best records to come out of the UK in that lane in a second. So I'm really excited about him, working on his stuff. Yeah, we did Bandokay, so we're working with him on some bits that I'm really excited about. I think he is just so sick, he's a really great guy, I really like working with him.

I'm also enjoying learning what this job entails. I've done quite a bit behind the scenes for a very long time, and I've made a lot of records happen. But I didn't necessarily do it for anything, I didn't do it to get a credit or to get money, it's just because I really, really enjoyed it. So now having the opportunity to put my name behind it is kind of daunting but really exciting at the same time. We've just signed a kid from Nottingham called M'Way who is incredible. It's quite funny actually, the public voted for him to be in the class of 2021 list on my show, and I was like sick, yes, they agree. I'm doing a couple other bits with some artists, just helping distribute stuff but that all goes under No Requests. That isn't everything, but that is it for now, of what I'll say. But No Requests is ever evolving.

I absolutely love this for you. I feel like it's a natural progression from your career so far.

Thank you.

Yeah, I'm so excited to see how it all pans out and the mixtape.

Yeah man. We got some bangers on there.

I can only imagine. I work at a label and I've seen a lot of criticism about them, left, right and centre. Even just yesterday, Ray came out about her experience of not being able to make an album. What do you feel you'd want to do differently, starting a new label?

I think I'm already doing things differently. The times are different. I don't see how anyone can sign someone into a massive, massive deal anymore. The label has to show and prove. Just like any relationship, it has to be reciprocated on both sides, everyone has to make an effort and if it doesn't work, I think the artist should be free to do what they want to do, especially when there are so many options now. Some people don't need a label and others do, but we should all be working together on it. Obviously with the label they give you more of an advance, they'll take more on the back end. But within that building you're getting an entire office of staff that are dedicated to working on your project. When you go the independent route, which I also do bits and pieces within, that's another thing. With my label there's an option there of going the major route or the distribution route. I can do both, and I think that's important.

When you're in distribution, it's more on the artist for sure. It's a lot more work, it's a lot more DIY. I would only recommend it if you have a crazy following that don't care about marketing and you can put a record out and it flies. But you have to be more entrepreneurial to want to do that because you are your record label, pretty much. You're the one that's paying for everything, you're funding the recording costs, you're funding the sample clearances if you've got a sample, you're funding the feature costs, you're funding the artwork, the video. Everything comes out of your pocket and you are investing fully in yourself. You might get an advance but it won't be as much as a major. You'll have more of your rights, you'll have more of your copyrights, and you will have more of the percentage of profit when you've made your advance back, when you've recouped.

Even when I do deals within a major, for me I love to work in a way that it works for everyone, so I don't really ask for much. I'm kind of a person that's like, "Let's work on this, let's see how it goes then we can revisit." In my experience so far everyone's wanted to continue working with me, so we'll do another contract. That's probably why I'll be broke when I'm 80, and with five flatmates and 17 cats, but at the end of the day, if I do my job right, people hopefully will stick with me. Labels have to bring more to the table these days and also be willing to work better with artists.

There are a lot of things that I think do need to change. At the same time, I think that the general consensus, when you ask an artist now what they want to do, they want to be independent because that's all they're hearing about. So I think it's really important that we're teaching artists about options and we're teaching artists about both sides and what should work for them. I think everyone is completely different. I think people look at Dave, or they look at AJ, all of these artists, and they're just like, "Well, I want to do that." But it's like, "Okay, have you looked at their team?" You've got to look further than that, you can't just look at the fact they're independent. Who works with them? Who have they got on board to market their stuff?

I mean, J Hus's one of the biggest artists, he's with a label. Fredo, he's at a label for now. Nines was at a label. There are a lot of artists that do still go through the label structure because it makes sense and I can say that for a lot of rappers especially, when they're first coming into the building, sometimes a label makes the most sense because they need, one, the extra hands and the extra help, two, it empowers them to slowly but surely change their life. They're learning as they go, so it's less pressure on them, everything's handled, they're making money. So I think it just depends, it completely depends, but I just wish people spoke more about the options.

I think everything that you said is fantastic, and I feel like if you were on anyone's team they are very, very blessed because I think that's exactly what it is: it's knowing what your options are and being educated, because knowledge is power, and also understanding who you are as an artist and what is right for you. Because something that you might read about being independent sounds great, but does that actually serve you and can you do that? As you said, it makes sense for some people in the beginning of their journeys because they actually need to change, they need to get out of a situation, it's going to be an amazing opportunity for them so why not take it.

Exactly. I would say if you are an artist and you are listening to this your best first point of call is your lawyer. Make sure you have a fantastic lawyer. Make sure that your lawyer isn't somebody else's lawyer that you're working with, that's another one. I've heard of a few of them stories, where maybe someone will suggest a lawyer that is their lawyer. So do your research on that. Get a good lawyer, because your lawyer only works for you, do you know what I mean? They only have your interests at heart, hopefully. If you are independent or you are at a label, either way they're working on your stuff constantly, so that is your teammate. After that, I would say you can either empower a friend that you think is smart and can handle it to come on board to help manage, I think especially in the early days it's a good place to start. But if not, hopefully there are people around that will want to manage you, so keep your options open too, and never, ever, ever, ever sign anything until a legal person has looked at it. I really hope all of you are listening to that. Read your contract, please. I'm feeling like Robin Hood out here at the minute, the past couple of weeks I've heard about some mental things. I'm just like, how are people getting away with this stuff? Never sign anything if a lawyer or a manager or anyone isn't present, ever.

Please, if you're listening. Please.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

I also just want to touch on Love Renaissance, a label in Atlanta.

Oh my guys, yeah.

Obviously they were in the press, I think at the beginning of lockdown, because they launched a mental health division. They have Summer Walker on the label and she's been quite open about her anxiety and I just wondered if you had any ideas on that front.

100%. That was one of the things when I was negotiating the terms of my joint venture deal, to talk about having those facilities in place to grant anyone who needs it, whether it's staff or people on the label, with access to help from an early stage. I really am not with waiting until it's too late or waiting until there's a problem there, do you know what I mean? It makes it a bigger thing when it shouldn't be, so just having the people there to help from a really early stage is important. It's a big thing. We're seeing it even in things like Love Island, you're seeing how fame has an effect on the people that leave the villa, they're automatically famous. The way music works now, you could literally release a song on your SoundCloud tomorrow and then in a week it's got a hundred million streams and you are massive. You're not going to know how to feel or figure that out. It should be your duty to protect your artists' mental health as much as you can because that is the thing that writes the records that you make money off, so protect it.

Mental health is the foundation for everything. Life will throw something at you on any given day but if you have the framework and the means to go through that in a healthy way, you're set.

We need to normalise it as well because when someone is actually going through something later down the line and they do need the help, the help wasn't there before so now it makes them feel like something's wrong with them, do you know what I mean? It doesn't need to be a thing where you're going in and almost interrogating someone and being like, "Oh, are you all right? Should we get you a therapist?," kind of thing, because some people don't take well to that, and that's fine. We just need to make it more normal and have it be a part of the actual job spec or system so that more people have access to it and it's less stigmatised. I don't know, it's hard. I'm so pro-therapy though, I will scream it at anyone.

I'm pro-therapy, too.

You need a therapist, you need a therapist, you need a therapist!

Tyra! Tyra's coming out! No, 100%, I think you've hit it on the nail as well. It's a cultural shift, like once you make it part of everyday life to talk about how you feel in an honest way, if everyone's got a therapist, everyone's talking about it, it's just part of it. That's what we need to do, normalise and be open and honest, and I love that you brought that point up. To round off everything we've talked about, what are three hopes that you have for the future when it comes to the music industry?

I really hope that there are more than four girls on a festival lineup in the future. That would be fantastic if we could get some more equality in festival spaces, some more female headliners as well. I'm just so sick of that, and I'm really sick of that being the thing every year that disappoints me and so many people. It's not just women at this point anymore, it disappoints everyone, it disappoints fans, including men. Get it together festivals. That is a really big hope of mine for the future. I don't know what else really, that's clearly the one that's at the front of my head, just equality in all areas. I think the music industry's an ever-changing and shifting thing, and we're currently in an era that will change in the next 10, 20 years. So I think we have to be prepared to move in the right direction, do it the right way and just not be pricks, basically.

I also hope to see way more women inside labels, inside the buildings. Something I'm currently working on—but don't ask me about for another year—is putting some things in place like I was saying before to give back to communities, which I think all of us should be doing. The communities that have made us, have made the artists we look after, have made everyone a lot of money, we need to be giving back to those communities. We need to be giving the next generation access. I didn't have access to CDJs until I was at my first radio station, and it's so difficult to train without the equipment. I couldn't afford controllers, I was making mixes on a computer. So how do we provide access to equipment, how do we provide access to programs, to mentors, to apprenticeships, all of these things, so that we are preparing the next generation to look after the industry that we're in right now? God, I feel like I'm doing a manifesto right now.

No, honestly I feel like it's affirming things that I want to see happen as well. The universe is listening so talk your talk.

I would absolutely love to see more of a normal approach towards mental health, especially within rap music, especially within the Black music space. I would love to see that. There's so much I'd love to see but let's just see.