JTH: Yea, one thing I noticed from the song is your transparency and openness about your struggles related to conceiving your daughter and the potential it has to speak to others going through a similar situation or may be losing their faith in another situation. I can hear the sincerity and gratefulness to God in the song. This song fits the title of the album Honestly because of your transparency and honesty in the song. What inspired the album and the concept behind Honestly?
Rachael: It’s really funny because this album has been such an experience for me. I started this process last May, so it’s been a long time. And in the past, we had a lot shorter process. We still put our heart and soul into the music, but we had the freedom to block off weeks at a time and just get it done. So, it’s been about a year and a half of me writing, rewriting, and figuring out what I was doing. I was kinda nervous because I was always used to the comfort of my brother and never really wanted to do a solo project. But I kept hearing from God and this tug to release the album. The main thing that kept resounding was just be honest. Making the album resulted in a lot of soul searching and growth for me, and I grew so much through the process. I honestly did not have a game plan or strategic thought process at all. The main thing that God kept telling me was be honest, and so that’s what I did. I wrote a bunch of songs just being honest about whatever I was thinking, and the whole album is completely raw and my heart. The album was therapeutic for me and hopefully blesses others. I named it Honestly, mainly because I had no idea what to name it. I just trusted God to lead me through the process.
JTH: I think that’s good to be open to what God is saying instead of giving in to the pressure to come up with a gimmick or concept because it may box you in or limit your ability to hear what God is saying to you. I know you have made albums in the past with Souljahz and the Washington Projects, but since this is your first solo album, what big differences or challenges did you experience making the album?
Rachael: I would say trying to find my sound. I made a few songs at first that were more dance oriented, and that’s just not me. I don’t play a musical instrument, so it was a challenge for me to get music from my head to reality. [It] was difficult. I struggled with what direction I wanted to go in, but I have always been a lover of R&B. Growing up, I listened to a lot of Brandy, Aaliyah, and Lauryn Hill. Lauryn Hill was my favorite. If you look on my iPod, you will see so much 90’s R&B. I know that dates me a little, but that’s definitely where my sound was influenced from. I found this producer, he played one beat for me, and I already knew that this was the guy. The songs fit perfectly with the sound in my head, and up until then, I didn’t feel like any of the songs I had written were completely me. So, [I] scrapped the songs I did and none of the songs I had done before meeting him made it on the album. So, a huge part was finding my sound. The other thing that I found to be [a] challenge was writing. Being in a group, you only have a limited amount of time to write, because it’s a shared song. So as a singer, I would write choruses. I would write my part and be done. So, definitely writing an entire song stretched me. Because I rap and sing, I struggled with how much to rap and how much to sing and decided [to] not plan that. I decided to let it flow and I ended up rapping and singing 50/50.
JTH: I can hear the influences in your music that you mentioned earlier…Brandy, Aaliyah, and Lauryn Hill. When I listened to Souljahz and even the Washington Projects, on any given song, you can hear multiple genres of music from R&B to Country to Rock to Hip Hop. What can we expect from this album in terms of sound?
Rachael: I think this album has a bit of the same vibe. Growing up, we listened to a little bit of everything from Hip Hop to Country to Alternative…Jazz. We love everything. It would be difficult to stray from that. I think it’s easier because none of us had voice lessons. Well, I did for 2 weeks when I was nine, but I quit because the teacher got mad at me and I didn’t like it. Growing up we didn’t really know what we were doing. We just made music and didn’t know if it was good or not because we didn’t really know what we were doing. That’s why you heard so many sounds. But luckily, it came out good and people liked us and we ended up having our own sound. I think there is a mixture of that in this album. There are definitely some songs that are lighthearted and have a pop sound, and others that are hard hitting that no one would expect, and others that have a Timberland/Justin Timberlake kinda vibe, and that’s what I feel is my vibe and my groove. So, there is a wide range of sounds, but I hope that people enjoy and it has something from everyone.
