The Queued4Christ Show with Edrinna Marie: "From Tragedy To Testimony"

A mother watches her son get taken in front of her, goes quiet for what feels like a lifetime, then comes back with a message, music, and a mission. That’s the heart of our conversation with Edrinna Marie, an Atlanta community advocate, artist, and creator of Real Talk Real Stories, who refuses to let grief or illness define her future.

We talk about what “success on purpose” really means when you measure it by obedience to God instead of money or fame. Edrinna shares the mentors and sisterhood that kept her steady, the way her neighborhood showed up when she could not, and why she believes authenticity is a spiritual discipline. She also opens up about near-death moments, hard seasons in her personal life, and the decision to tell the truth about where she’s been so other people can find a way forward.

From building a music career largely from her phone to releasing work that gained Grammy attention, Edrinna shows what resilience looks like in real time, even while fighting cancer and pushing through injury. We also get practical about legacy and financial literacy, including life insurance, annuities, and why “people helping people” matters when families are trying to break cycles and protect the next generation.

If you need faith-based encouragement, community healing, and a reminder that your story still has power, press play. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs strength, and leave a review with the one takeaway you’re taking into your week.

Transcript

Welcome To Q For Christ

SPEAKER_04 1:01

Welcome to Q for Christ. Thank you for tuning in. We are Q for Christ, meaning that we are quick, united, educated, understanding, excited, and determined for what Christ has for us. We are here celebrating that we have gotten a second chance at getting life right. All right. Get ready for the message. Everyone, welcome to the Cube for Christ show. I'm so excited to be here and I thank you, thank you, thank you for tuning in. If you don't know, we are here. We are cute for Christ, meaning that we are quick and united, educated, understanding, excited, and determined for what Christ has for us. Okay, so if you don't know, I am Kiana, your creator and the host of Cube for Christ, and I'm super excited to be here. Okay. And I tell you, um, this is something that I don't take for granted. Okay. Being a vessel for Christ is something that we have to always, always take serious. Okay. When he calls us to do something, we have to make sure that we are taking it very, very serious. Okay. So, anyways, anyways, I want to make sure that you are sharing this live. Go and share this live with someone because we are cute for Christ tonight, all right? And we are here with another success on purpose interview. And I'm super excited about the one that I am getting ready to speak with because it's it's just, you know, to know her story, her journey has just been good. And like I say, we talk about success on purpose, but we're not talking about success by money, cars, or fame. We're talking about how um God we have that backing of God, okay. We put um Hebekah two to two, Hebekah two and two, Lord have mercy, give my words mixed up, Hebekah two and two, where we have wrote the vision, made it plain, okay, and now we are internalizing it and we are going with it, all right. And so this is what God, this is what successful purpose is about. This is what God wants us to be able to share with people,

Sisterhood And Mentors Who Strengthen

SPEAKER_04 3:20

okay, how we can do it. If we can do it, then you can do it as well. And so tonight I'm super excited about having my guests on tonight. Oh my goodness, I'm finna bring her on, y'all. Y'all ain't ready for Miss Arena. How are you tonight, Miss Arena?

SPEAKER_03 3:39

All right, welcome, welcome, welcome. This is your girl Adrena Marie. Um, you know, in the building, real talk, real stories. Um, I'm just so happy to be here, sis. Um, it's an awesome, awesome opportunity to make sure that we can stay connected in sisterhood and know how that we are able to keep God first in everything that we're doing. So I'm so excited to be here.

SPEAKER_04 4:03

Yes, let me tell y'all, when I met her, I met her through um um Dr. Dr. Nancy Lewis. We were at her yes, and I'm super excited because when I got there, I didn't know what to expect. That was my first one. And I got there and I was like blown away, like it was just some incredible women in the place. And I met Trina like she came, we we came and took pictures and we started like connecting and networking. I was like, this is what life is all about is to meet people, like-minded people that are doing it and doing it well, okay.

SPEAKER_03 4:44

Right, and it's so good to be around empowered women. I mean, and Miss Nancy's been doing that for a long time, and my mentor, Miss Patricia Odom, so um is her mentor, Miss Nancy is her mentor. So, of course, when my mentor tells me to do something for with empowered women, it's like when the rod, the staff, they comfort me, you move, okay, because it's like a chain of command and sisterhood. And I just really am thankful to be around successful women that are being the change, making the difference, and we're actually seeing the manifestation of that. And Miss Nancy, Miss Miss Patricia, and yourself, sis. You guys have been actually doing these things and showing up, holding yourself accountable in the community, and we don't usually celebrate ourselves, like, and I'm here to know like you all are phenomenal women. This is the breed of women that God has intended for us to take instructions from. I almost consider it to be like um the Esther cry, like, you know, because when Queen Esther went out in prayer, and not that she was going up against her husband, but she knew God first that she had to go counsel with her daddy upstairs first before she talked to this man and let him know I can do all things to Christ that strengthens me. And I'm gonna need you to go find me somebody else to play with because we're gonna get our people together to play with. And just knowing like the discipleship to be around such phenomenal, phenomenal women, um, is very um kindled to me, you know, and I really honor that, and I'm happy to be able to be on these type of platforms, and you know, God is gonna do some miraculous miracles as He has already done for all of us, but just for us to be here together and you know, collective workers, responsible women that are really, really holding up the kingdom of God. Are we perfect? No, but I'm more like I am imperfect to work on the perfection of what God will have for me. So if I was perfect, I wouldn't even want to be in a seat. I want to be imperfect to be perfect for what God wants me to deliver my message to the community, to the people, you know, to the world. So yeah, it's a knot.

SPEAKER_04 7:05

I love it, and I love how you, you know, brought and said about Esther going up against her husband to like, you know, for everybody. And that is that is very powerful when it comes to you know, women stepping out and doing things that's powerful, you know. We have to go up against a lot of things, a lot of people, you know, and we take it to God first. That's the way we ask him what to do.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

You're right, and it's

Community Roots And Serving Kids

SPEAKER_03 7:35

so crazy because like the relate, I think we don't know what an intimacy relationship is with a human until you have an intimacy relationship with God. And I'm gonna share a little bit about, you know, I am um Adrena Marie. I'm from I was born in New Orleans, but I grew up here in Atlanta on the west side of Atlanta, and um, so I've been a community advocate in this neighborhood for almost 25 years, um, the Northwest Quadrum of the City of Atlanta. And um, so I've been doing a lot of things um for performing arts inside the schools, PTA president, and all that great stuff. Um, speaking on being that voice, being that change for some children that can't speak up against what they might be feeling and not knowing how to express their authentic selves. So I got into performing arts. Um I went to North Atlanta High School. Everybody, shout out to North Atlanta. I used to be Northside, but um, I was in their magnet program. Um, I also have been working with the Children's Museum and Mr. Jerry G, shout out to him. He's my producer. I've been with him for 25 years. Well, we have done production shows inside of the children's museum where all the themes and the songs of weather and stuff like that, we incorporated it through theater and music. And I was that voice for the children to kind of like they they don't know it was me. I was kind of behind the scenes. So um, I pretty much love the behind the scenes situation. But um in 2016, here in Atlanta on Martin Luther Keene and Joseph Laurie, my son was um murdered in front of me. So it took me down like a really bad rabbit hole of like really just silencing myself and not wanting to be able to, you know, just really talk to anybody. I really didn't hear nothing but the Lord, if that makes any sense. I was on the call praying for a week. I thought I was there a week, I was there a year and a half, and in that year and a half, my community took care of me. And we we're talking about people that you would least expect that will come through and really be that kindle, be that light and be that beacon for someone in the community that really has been pouring in. So, like that saying, say, like if you let the people speak for you, and if you take care of the people, they're gonna take care of you. That's a real live, raw, and uncut statement. Like you have to have that experience, and it was so beautiful to see our community transform over here. On Martin Luther King, most of these businesses are all black, they're black homes. You know, instead of taking a negative situation and going into negative, we have some of the young men that I mentored over here that stopped doing what they're doing, opening up shoe stores on the same street that they sold drugs on. So for me, like a transformation of like me praying that long, you know, in the community um for that long for our boys, for our families, for our mothers, for our morning cries of you know, the moms that are getting their sons snatched up away from us too soon, you know, because they choose to step up and help someone that's being victimized. So, how do

Loss In Public And Finding Purpose

SPEAKER_03 10:40

we change that? Was that's when I got deeper into once I came out of that state into the music. And so here I am now, and my son wanted me, him and all my children wanted me to pursue my music career. And I was like, Oh no, I like the behind the scenes stuff because I don't want to have to mild pursue you about my music, right? And I know everybody knows who Miles Davis is. Do not get this fixed because Miles had, you know, he had the whole spirit on them all right. He was dealing with a couple of spirits, but he didn't play about that music, right? And so, you know, so I dropped the album last year, um, called Out the Box. Um, I have a single called When Enough Is Enough. It got nominated for a Grammy. Um, I didn't really know how to do all this stuff because I've been working all of this stuff from my phone. So I'm putting my music in through the phone, I'm uploading through the phone, I'm talking to people, doing videos through the phone. I had not, I didn't have any computer, plus, along with all of the other lifing things that I've been doing, and I'm like, oh my goodness, I have a lot going on. You know, how do I minimize this? So I dropped the album and my show, um, which my show is called Real Talk Real Stories, which your girl is Renamarie, in the building, and I partnered with Heart Rock Radio, um Reverb and Heart Rock. Um, it's right downtown on Martin Luther King, the same street my son got murdered on. I I'm right across from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and I'm the first black woman to have a radio podcast with Reburb and Heart Rock Radio, where I brought the whole, I just brought my airtime. So I come in with my full production, and again, most of the the pushing to the marketing of everything, I've been doing this from my phone. So just keep learning how the numbers go. I'll get one new follower and I'll be like, oh my God, I got a new follower. I'm balling, you know, going down on here. I'm celebrating the little numbers because I know where God's gonna take me from this point. I don't have to know everything, but I do know where I'm going. And doing the middle of that dash of all my life and things that have been occurring and just fighting through this. Now, mind you, um, and I don't know if I share this with anybody, and I'm gonna, well, most of my close friends know about it, but I've been fighting cancer for the last almost year and a half. Along with dropping the show, dropping the music. I'm going to chemo, coming out of chemo, going straight to set, recording. Oh, it's my deadline. I don't got no voice. And like, if you go to my page, you can hear on some of the audio, like, I'm talking like this, you know what I'm saying? I wasn't letting none of that stop me. I was like, oh, we're gonna work the devil and push my way through. I broke my I broke my leg and I tore my knee and seven, like I broke my knee and cracked my knee in half and tore seven legs in my leg. This is all last year. So I'm I'm in a studio recording dream state of mind, like front and back. Like, so like the fight is real, you know. I mean, the fight is really real. And then I jumped into annuities and I'm doing life insurance where I'm brokering for that because I wanted to know how to move money. I'm tired of asking people for money. So I'll go get my own bags. I gotta educate myself to be enlightened, to know what I'm getting into. And so it's just been a really, really like a push forward, uh enlightening journey to know, like, no matter what like you're going through in life, no matter who you're around or what you thought you should be, or thought you should be doing. If God gave you the vision and made it plain, and you wrote it down and you have this execution of okay, we know it's not gonna take one day, two days, three days, it might take 10 years. God gave me the vision, then he made it play, then I wrote it down, then I implemented it, then I executed it, now I delivered it, and now I'm coming to collect my harvest. You understand what I'm saying? So in this season, I'm not asking for the reaping because I know the harvest that I put in from what I planted out here. So it's like I'm marketing a building. Hello, are you doing? I'm gonna need that, okay? Let's serve the Lord. Who do you work for? I work for the Lord and the Holy Spirit coming through the same and whoop-to-woop the whoop. And I got a video, make it a long story short, but I got a video from back in the day, and it was like not a real nice video. And once one of my friends called and said, Oh, you need to take that video down. But the video kind of resurfaced, and I put it on my page. The reason why I put it on my page is because sometimes you got to know where you came from to know where you're going. If you ain't been through nothing, you don't need to speak on it, okay? Because we are reflections of what not just what you say, but what you're doing out here. Hey, love bug, that's my mama. Just say, hey, hey, how you doing, boo? You know, she's my biggest superstar fan. Now, mom is about to go to Africa in June. She's gonna have an awesome time. And I will yeah, when she comes back, we gotta let her come back and talk to you about the orphanage that she has there in Kenya. We take care of a hundred students and then get these children that uh have been abandoned on the side of the road. So my mom does a lot of mission work there. My brother's there, his wives are there. Um, I mean, Africa is the thing, baby, but you gotta get your bag up first now. The Lord says, Don't be a fool, don't be a fool and just jump up talking about you going to the motherland without a plan.

SPEAKER_04 16:12

Right. Come on now. I love that. Come on, mama. I love that. Well, I'm so I'm so excited. Look, she done introduced herself already, so I ain't got to worry about that part, and I'm super excited that you um you were able to get on. Um so what I'm gonna do now is I'm gonna say a prayer because you know, we know that you have been cued for Christ and you have been queued up, but we want to hear just how you how this came about, like how did Adrena come about um from the beginning to the end, like to now, you know. I wanna hear, want to see that. So I'm gonna say a quick prayer because you know, we we want God to cover you, okay? So dear Heavenly Father, God, we say thank you for everything that you have done. God, we thank you for carving this time out for me and Ezrina to get on here, God, and to be able to discuss the work that you have done. God, we thank you now for touching her body, God, giving her the strength um from on high, God, giving her peace, courage, and allowing her to be able to do all the things that you have crafted inside of her, God. We just thank you now because we know that you have done it, God. God, we thank you now for even healing her body from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet, God, God. Anything that is ailing her that is not like you, God, that is not placed there, God. We thank you now, God, for taking it away. God, we know that you have the power, God, because you're Jehovah Rafa, God. And so we thank you for everything that you're doing in her life. God, we ask you anything that she touches now, from now on, God, let it turn into gold, God. God, we ask you now for even the more, God, even the more smiles that she has, even the more everything that she's doing, everything, the songs, God, to come the more, God, to be able to produce more, to put out more, God. And so we thank you for everything that you're doing, God, in her life. God, we just ask you now to go with the ones that are watching that that are here. God, we ask you to allow them to be cued up, God, and we thank you for everything that you're doing. We love you, God. We uh we honor you and we cherish you. It's in Jesus' name that I pray,

Prayer Covering And A Turning Point

SPEAKER_04 18:30

amen. Amen. Now that's how you do it. Won't he do it?

SPEAKER_02 18:35

Won't you do it?

SPEAKER_04 18:40

Won't he do it?

SPEAKER_03 18:44

You're about to make me have a whole of those praise. Now, y'all know how I like praising the Lord.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 18:52

Okay, so where do you really want me to start? Because it's a lot. Um, I don't want to kind of over um talk myself, and I do want to be able to get to some points of you know, just where I've been and where I am and where I'm going.

SPEAKER_04 19:06

Um so when you, you know, I you know, um, when you got that quickening to do um whatever, well, whichever one, because you got a lot, you got a lot going on. But what

Near Death Stories And Hearing God

SPEAKER_04 19:20

was those moments that felt like when you just knew what your purpose was going to be?

SPEAKER_03 19:25

Okay, it was like, you know, I had a couple of death experiences, right? So I died for five minutes, right? I woke up, I had a uh a tube like right here in my throat here. And I woke up and I was like, Why am I here? I just remember saying, Wake me up and go, wake me up when you're done, or something like that. And I woke up, and this doctor was sitting next to me, and um they said, He's it took you a long time to wake up. Like you've been under, you die. They brought me back. He said, You've been under for a while. He said, I thought he was sitting there for like maybe 10-15 minutes. They said he said that he'd been sitting there for five hours. He said, The I'm saying the doctor, like you know, that's kind of rare for the doctor to wait after surgery. But it was like the Holy Spirit and the Lord Himself said, Oh, Cletus, you're gonna sit at my daughter's side when she wakes up, because that was her request, you know, in that way. But when I woke up, it was like I went in asking God, like, what is my purpose? Like, you know, what is my will? You know, what's well, what's your will? But I did ask, like, what is my will? Like, I don't really have a will once you know dog we don't. And I just knew I was like, because I don't know why I'm always like having this type of part, like I'm trying to help the homeless people all the time. I hang out with them, you know, I'm having fun, like I'm trying to feed them, I give them all my money, you know. I'm going broke on everybody I love because it's like I don't really care about materialistic things. And I'm like, well, dang, what is my purpose? Because there's like a lot going on. And he was like, just tell your story, Drena. And I was just like plain and simple, like a voice. And I was like, Well, what does that mean? And I'm gonna tell you, my mentors that have been part of my life have been so instrumental. Like, my mom is one of probably my biggest supporters, and I have been a trauma child. Like, I'm one of the children that'll take you up through there. You don't know which way I'm going. It's like a bipolar situation going wrong, okay? One time I went to church, I said, Mom, take me home. I need to go home. I don't know where the Lord is. She said, Well, I'm at church, baby. I ran from I ran from Westview Train Station and I was jogging. Westview Train Station all the way to Wheat Street Baptist Church, because I'm a member of Wheat View Baptist Church. I ran and they said, I stretched out on the back of the parking lot, and this is just real talk. And mama come out there so calm and passive that she's her and mama carrying a s like, well, Drina, what's what what are you on? I said, Well, I'm on everything. I don't know what I'm on, but I know the Lord told me to run to you all. And I ain't want to wait for y'all to come pick me up. You know, so just growing in the experience of being like really authentic and being yourself and being able to open up and say, I have a safe haven. I have these people in my life that I can really go to and be like, hey, look, I messed up, or I'm here, or I don't know what to do, or what's the name? I'd like to do another person. Um that bit and she actually started out at Magnus Jones Elementary School. I was PT, I got in, they made me PTA president. I still was confused. And I said, Oh, PTA president, not just for one year, two years, three years. I was PTA president for eight years at Magnus Jones Elementary School. Then we went to Carter G. Woodson. So I made sure that I surrounded myself with empowered women and people that want to be the change, and I can actually see what that looks like. Because if I didn't know what it looks like, I wouldn't know how to respond to what I'm looking at because I wouldn't even know what that what I'm responding to. Because I'm like, why y'all people act this way? And you know, y'all so happy and want to serve the Lord. I'm I live in a hood. I'm and my mama made sure when I had my first baby at 15, oh, you're gonna get out here and get you an apartment, a job, and you go serve the Lord. I don't know how else you want to do it, but this was going on. So it was like a I had to jump into like responsibility, you know, being that collective worker, being that person that everybody can really go to as a safe haven. But I didn't really know how to keep myself safe, if that makes sense. Right. I'm helping everybody else, but I'm carrying the weight of the world and it doesn't belong to me. So once I start um, you know, realizing like my children got older, they graduated from the first three classes of Coretta Scott Heen and Best Academy here on the West Side. So I'm very rooted on in this community. Then I had a child to graduate from Washington High School. All my children graduated from high school and they all went to college. Okay. How rare is that? And I dropped out in 11th grade because I had to go to work. I had to work. So I was going to night school at Washington High School right here. So my children went to M. Magnus Jones. I'll go to night school at Washington. Mr. Hodge rests his soul. He he will be there, and he they paid my rent like for two years, long as I was coming to night school. I mean, just how God just, you know, was transforming me. Like, okay, I'm being responsible. As long as I be responsible, he's gonna keep sending like those kindled spirits, those people around me. Then I had to learn how to keep my mentors close to me. And that's kind of like rare because you wouldn't see like most people like bowing down to the fact of not being um like you're trying to follow somebody, but just being obedient to what God tells you to do,

Music Beginnings Amid Divorce And Injury

SPEAKER_03 25:10

not looking at the messenger, but listen to the message and the instructions that He's giving you as I ask for these things. And so, right before my son crossed over, we're gonna get on that story. Right before he crossed over, I did drop my first single. And I was like, oh my god, I did a whole song, and we recorded it in the house over here. It was snowing that year. We got like three three inches of snow. You know, Georgia gets snow. We shit down. Oh my god, it's snow out here. I'm to my side. This ain't no snow, baby. This is just, I don't know, this rainfall sprinkles, baby. This ain't no snow.

SPEAKER_01 25:46

It's a little dust.

SPEAKER_03 25:48

It it's a little dust. So we and during the during that time, so um my producer at the time, Mr. Jerry G, the one that's still been with me 25 years. I love you, Mr. G. We recorded in the house because I was like really depressed, you know. Like um, I'm going through a divorce, found out my husband is liking other sexes besides women. You know, it was a real tragedy situation. So I wanted to be kind of um like secluded from everybody. So the band came to me. So all the band members came, they set up a studio in my living room, and I was like in the room, just like, just wake me up when you're ready. You know what I'm saying? Like, come get me when you're ready. Like, I'm gonna do this, but just come get me when you're ready because I was so like out of it, but I knew I had to get this out. Okay, so we finished we finished the first song. It was so hot. Shout out to Desmond Chapman. He's also um is an artist when he we we both started an industry at the same time, too, as well. So he was my first like um collaboration. The name of the song is called Ocean of Love. I haven't dropped that yet. I'm gonna drop it as a single because it is my first, first, first ever song. And I want the raw and authenticness of this song, even like hearing the cracks in the back of the wall of the house. Like, I want all of that to kind of like be authentic in this song, you know? Because everything was live, it tells such a story. Um, Ocean of Love is just was having God was having a conversation with me, and he was like, Drina, I love you. This is the overbearing of love. I want you not to forget, and I was just like at a dark place, like I can't believe I'm finding out information about you know someone I care about. And then he cracked my back in three places. So I was paralyzed for two years. So it's like, I cannot be married to a man that wants to put his hands on me, and then I'm going through that. So during all of this time, I'm recording Ocean of Love. Maybe like a year later, my son gets murdered. So it was like seven years of stuff like back to back, back to back. And I said, I'm not gonna let that defeat me. I got plenty of bodies in heaven, we're gonna reboot this thing. But I had no surgery, and my third and fourth and fifth vertebrate was cracked in half. Wow, wow, and uh to God be the glory, my my my mentors, my friends, my family, everybody pretty much nursed me. I was so stubborn in the spirit, I was like, I would talk to myself, my legs, I'd like to talk and jump to my legs and throwing them out the wheelchair. And I said, I'll cuss my legs out. I cussed the legs out. I did, I cussed them out. I said, I gave me out, you know. I cussed them out, I gave them a couple of words, and then my other self would look at myself and be like, I'm appalled.

SPEAKER_02 28:33

I can't believe you called me. Did you call me that? Did you call me the word?

SPEAKER_03 28:39

Like, you know, like my spirit was worked by that. Like, I can't believe she did that. And in nine days, I stood up with a broke back.

SPEAKER_04 28:48

Wow. In nine days, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_03 28:51

I I walked, I refused to get in the car after that. I walked for two years, like 10 miles a day, just so I can rebuild my bones back to alignment because I couldn't force the disc to come back. And comes to find out I had an extra vertebrate down there. That's what that's why I'm not paralyzed. Ain't God good because all of this loving in the wheelchair ain't go, hey, that ain't gonna do well with me. Maybe I serve the Lord and I got taken make for the Lord, and He created me, and He don't want me in the wheelchair. That's just not right, period. So, I mean, I'm I'm I'm telling you guys all of this because I mean you know it's it's a long journey, it's a real journey. You get what you get, don't have a fit. Oh, I'm telling a story because I know everybody out there that want to put their little two cents in and they experience that they have with me. Baby, keep talking the good, bad, and the ugly. Please share because I'm not afraid to face the unknown because I know where I'm going. You know, I am not a victim, I'm victorious, and I can do all things through Christ that strengthened me. And my Lord is my shepherd. That's the bottom line, and he's gonna continue to keep me around faith-based women and men that want to do extraordinary things for the kingdom and to come out here and open the doors of the windows of heaven so that we can allow our sheep to come in and be their authentic selves so that they can be transformed to know, like, okay, look, I came from the bottom, but now I'm here, you know.

SPEAKER_04 30:23

Amen. I love that. I I mean, you know, the thing about it, like you, like you were saying earlier about getting around people, the mentors and everybody, the people that had your back, you know what I'm saying? Because a lot of y'all, you know, sometimes sometimes we we don't know. And I was I was speaking with someone about this earlier today, about you know, we we be having the wrong people in our inner circle, you know what I'm saying? Instead of having, you know, making sure that we we have the right people that is that is surrounding us, like you said, that mentor that you know they were there to help you and and to help you with your journey. And this and it's just amazing how you know you you the love that surrounds you, like I as you were speaking, I could feel it, like literally.

SPEAKER_03 31:16

When we take a holly hood walk, because I tell folk, I live in a hood with a Hollywood mentality, okay. I'm Holly Hood, okay. It's a difference, baby. Don't get it twisted. Like I served the Lord, but I got a right hand from my cousin, you know what I'm saying? And I don't like bringing my cousin out because I try to keep them under my feet, okay.

SPEAKER_04 31:37

So that's all that girl said a holly uh what say it again, Holly Hood.

SPEAKER_03 31:45

Um Hollywood, I live in a hood with a Hollywood mentality, right? So, you know, they they be trying to imprison, um, you know, I'm saying our mind, but you can imprison a body, but not your mindset. Because once we get our mindset out of bondage, which is a state of mind, then we can expand it a little bit more. I think we have some awesome and amazing and extraordinary women and men coming out of these rural areas that want to be the change, that want to be involved, that want to do better, that know better. They just don't know how to get with the right people, the right mentors, they've never seen us before. So now I'm just gonna pop out, I'm trying to pop out and show you. This is what the kingdom of God looked like, baby. You would you thought we were just busted and you know what I'm saying, broken and all of that. No, the trials and the tribulations are meant for us to go through so that when we stand on this platform that you yourself and others have allowed us to be on to minister to God, people, we have to be authentic. Don't nobody want no people out here talking about what they did and they ain't do nothing. Get up out of our city, get up out of our church, get up out the community, get up out the land if you're not about your father's business for real, because it is an order to this, and we must be the change. And he's not gonna look at us as one individual, and this is what people gotta understand. He's looking at us as a whole, one body, right? Right, that is so true, one body, and the body of Christ and the spirit of God and the Holy Spirit doesn't speak words, it speaks just truth. And if you're out here blaspheming and spraying this blast stuff to our generations to come, you're confusing our children, you're not allowing them to be authentic. And this is what I am going to be able to help all of our children to be able to see that break free of those chains, be your authentic self, know God loves you, I do too, and let's go ahead and take over the world. I'll be pinky, you all be the brain.

SPEAKER_04 33:57

That used to be my favorite show. Why are you talking like Pinkie and the brain?

SPEAKER_02 34:02

Mine too.

SPEAKER_04 34:03

Right, right, you know, and and I, you know, the thing about it, like you say, we have to make sure that we are our authentic self, you know, because you and I it's so crazy. I was talking with someone earlier about this. We were talking about how people, you know, it's so stripted now, like you don't know what is real nowadays. You know what I'm saying? Like you don't hear them people, them people that that's a couple online and all this stuff, they they ain't even been married, you know. They just there, like it and it confuses, like you say, it confuses.

SPEAKER_03 34:42

Yeah, and then we we and we just need to. I mean, just be real. Like, uh the thing about it is is that God is not looking at you because you're a sinner, he's looking at you because you're a fake, you're a fake sinner, right? You're fake, you're fake. Okay, you think he ain't gonna take care of the devil, he gave him the whole reign to the planet, you know what I'm saying? And that's his son. So you think he ain't gonna take care of us, he just wants you to identify in the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help you to him and guide you the glory that you tell the truth about who you are to your personal relationship with the Lord, and it's that serious, it is that serious. It don't have to be made up, or you gotta be, oh, I'm gonna read the Bibles. I have read every book of religion, and I've really enjoyed all of the stories of the disciples and different experiences. But the truth about it is that I've got to the bottom line of is that the only thing the Lord told me that that is just evident is for you to be yourself. Learn who you are. Every day is a new beginning. Embrace it, embrace it, embrace it, embrace every moment. Thank God for the trees. The birds are talking. I got hawks that follow me. I make a bird call. Yeah, you know, I'm making bird calls. I'm not playing. I'm talking to bees, ants, trees. I'm hugging them even. You know what I'm saying? Enjoy the moment. The air is not even meant for us to have air, but we're breathing, ain't we? So enjoy that. The sun came out to give us some radiation to heal these cells up in our body. We have to respect like that. And I think that me doing these things and being around people, it allows them to do that for themselves, and that's all I would like for the world to know. Allow yourself to do what you need to do for yourself, okay? And you're gonna fly like an

Authenticity Over Applause And Hype

SPEAKER_03 36:30

eagle, sting like a bee, float like a butterfly, all that good stuff, you know. I do have one more thing I do want to talk about before we close out. Um, I did jump into a company that I'm working with called PHP. It's called People Helping People. And it was so ironic because it's like, you know, I'm going, I'm going through the treatments they were giving me, and then I had a couple of surgeries, and I'm

Financial Literacy Through People Helping People

SPEAKER_03 36:55

going down and check these people out and see what they were doing. And I wanted to have my own experience. So I pop up and they invited me to Vegas. I thought, I said, next time I come to Vegas, I'm gonna bring all the Lord people. And they had a whole bunch of the Lord people up in that building talking about insurance policies, um annuities, um, IUL, showing you how to retire your families and just talking about the great experiences that you know it was only 3% of our people. You know what I'm saying? And that's the sad part that I was um enlightened with because it's not a lot of us that have jumped into that game because we haven't been educated. But what this company is doing, um, people helping people, shout out to Charouch and Jen and OB and all of them. But they are really like sitting you down and giving you the blueprint.

unknown 37:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 37:50

Now let me tell you, I done took the test twice. The first time I took the test to get my license for Georgia, I made a 37. I did. It was the best 37 I ever made. You hear me? Then the next time I took it, I made like a 51, right? But every time I was taken, it was like I go to the doctor, then I have to take a test. So it's like I've been, I was getting like these brain fogs. So they're they're on me, like take the test, take the test. So I just got back from um Los Angeles with them um last week. I think it was the week before last or last week. Wonderful company. They're doing some extraordinary things. I don't know all the business, but what the business that I do know is that we're helping families. I have seven policies right now. I have gotten my friends to roll over some 401ks, some um, and turn them into annuities because remember when the stock market dropped. And we got to be real about this because if we don't know how to move our money, then we won't know how to go into the future of things. And God said that He wasn't He wasn't gonna leave us out here blinded, okay? He's giving us the vision, He's making it plain, and He's giving the instructions, but it might not be the way you see it, but it's coming through people helping people, people like yourself, people like our mentors, people like in the community. You're gonna hear it through different forms and just listen. So let's go out here and win. You know, it's your girl is Renna Marie. We'll talk real stories in the building. We are doing it for Christ now. And I'm gonna give you Dr. Floor. I'm sorry, I'm just I can go off.

SPEAKER_04 39:29

I am just I'm I'm enjoying, I'm enjoying because I love your energy.

SPEAKER_03 39:33

Yo, girl, one of them jump on here talking about when you tell the truth, you can't go wrong, baby. Ain't nobody trying to not tell the truth, and you all here is crazy, and not crazy, mama meaning that no harm. I'm saying, Mother, you know I'm going to tell the truth.

SPEAKER_04 39:50

Yes, you know, and I think I think what she was saying is like to be uh your authentic self because that's that's the main thing. That's that's what it is

Mustard Seed Faith Through Obstacles

SPEAKER_04 40:00

all about. But you know, but yeah, I I really truly you know love your excitement because you know, I I often tell people, you know, in the framework that I have, is the excitement brings on that determination, you know. When you get to that point, um, or when you're faced with those obstacles, what keeps you determined to say, you know what, I'm gonna keep doing this no matter what, because I know you having to deal with so much other stuff. What keeps you determined to just say, I'm gonna stay with this?

SPEAKER_03 40:39

Well, first of all, the faith of a mustard seed is real, right? Okay, and I think my faith with God is so so omnipresent that I don't have to really make this up for someone to believe anything. Because I don't need you to believe anything, I need to know the truth of my my experiences with where God got me from where I came from. Because I at first I wasn't really stuck on like understanding with the spiritual side of you know knowing the word of God first, but when a spirit hit me, you boy, that shit set up in your bones like fire. You know, you'd be walking around catching the Holy Ghost. You're like, no, oh wow, what was that? That's because I started like having that relationship with God, and it was almost like an electric shock through my body, like, okay, I need to I need to change something up and do something different. Like that it didn't really scare me, but it was like it was like an example for myself to that the spirit was speaking and saying, I'm here for you, I got you. You know, you looking for something uh uh in the exterior, but it's in you, you know. Just go in you and be quiet, rekindle your silence, listen to God. So I had to turn everybody off and just block everybody out, and just really not say nothing, like absolutely nothing, and sit in the west wing of my mom's house, I call it the west wing, it's in the back. Um, you know, you know if I'm talking about the west wing, it goes down on the west wing, but it's prayer time, you know, and sometimes prayer is constant, so you don't necessarily have to say nothing to God because he already knows what you're thinking. So when I learn how to allow myself to turn it off and allow that flow from my message that I'm getting directly from God, I have to rekindle my silence. And if that's walking in humility and setting up, then that's what I have to do because I still

Youth Program Vision And Creative Mentorship

SPEAKER_03 42:50

have an assignment here that he governed me over to do. So now we have a $280,000 program coming to our church where we'll be housing the youth for next year. Um, we're partnering with Georgia State and Clark Atlanta Morehouse's Felman. I'm gonna have interns that came in actually doing the miraculous miracles of coming in and showing their authenticness and actually dropping some of my album. Like my first single, um, When Enough Is Enough, is done by Nora Highland. He's a graduate of um Georgia State, top of his class in the music. Now he works for Sony Records, the top of Sony Records. He's doing all of their music over there. So I'm excited about working on my craft and incorporating our young adults, our youth, and bringing them in, and they actually got to work on this project with me. And I give them a thousand dollars and 3.5 um um um percent on their, like if they for their credits for college. So it's a whole curriculum that goes along with it. I'm not just talking about music, I'm talking about developing yourself as an artist, but I actually am the guinea pig for it. So to see the students take me as a guinea pig. Pig and show me how to do everything from my phone. I was like, I'm streaming, baby. I was like nominated for a Grammy. Who do that? How much we get paid? They said, You don't get paid no money. I said, Well, honey, we got I say, I got seven grandkids. I'm gonna need they gotta eat, baby. What you mean we ain't gonna get no money? Well, we won't be performing at the Grammys no time if they can't give us no money. But it was just an honor to see the young adults in the music field of coming out of the different colleges that have been working with me for the last couple of years, and actually, their music, I'm putting their music out, I'm titling their name. And they were like, I really appreciate that you you're you're putting our name out there, you're giving us our royalties, you copyrighted it and gave us our percentages. You got the split. I learned about just disco kid and tooncore. Tunecore tried to play me, though. They wanted 33. I said, I'm a call, but 33 is a lot, you know. And then you know, it was just it just was fun to really just learn about that side of the music business because as being an artist or coming in as being a host, I just want to be able to be in my my creativity, and sometimes it doesn't work like that because when I do my music, I it's not me singing, I go in the spirit, so I'm in the Holy Ghost. So sometimes I don't really remember what I'm singing until I'm finished. So I go through a whole track, two sets and and and two takes. You come out with a whole house. I'm like, oh wow, who I say, who sung that song? Who is that girl? Is that me? Oh wow, oh wow, that's beautiful, you know. So I gotta go back and listen to my music seriously, because I don't even remember like singing all of that. And like sometimes I pass out right after I record, but I've been so caught up in the spirit that that's just my release. That's how I get it out, that's how I'm healing myself, you know, by really sharing my story and allowing God to come in and just use me as that vessel. And it's not about the money. I'm just happy about I'm accomplishing the things that I said I was gonna do. I get my grandkids, like my son's children, because he left me four kids here. So his children, everybody can actually see us, you know, implementing these things. That's why I get one fan, two fan. I appreciate it. My grandchildren, my biggest groupies, um, and my children are my biggest groupies. So they just be proud of me, you know, and in the way that I'm executing everything that God put on my heart to do. So I'm very grateful. And I think that's just where I am right now.

SPEAKER_04 46:39

That's good. I'm so excited because, you know, like you say, you have to, I and that, and I admire the fact that you you you know give reverence to the spirit when you when you're giving your craft, when you're doing your craft, because that is that is what it is all about. You know, I know it's been times where I done did something, I'm like, doing that, I don't even know where that came from, you know, like and I well, I know where it came from, but you know, uh, you know, and I I love the fact that you, you know, you said that, you know what I'm saying? And um, you know, and that's that's what it's all about at the end of the day. You know, right. So and I want you to just kind of talk about what you have going on now. I mean, I know you just dropped it.

SPEAKER_03 47:24

Okay,

Inside The Album And Studio Process

SPEAKER_03 47:25

okay. Well, I know I gave a lot in the beginning, but let's go to the album, okay? Let's talk about the album. Can we talk about the album?

SPEAKER_04 47:31

We can talk about the album. I want to play just a little bit of it. Um, and then then you can you can tell us something about it. Now, I hope we'll get dinged for it because you know, you know how that is about playing.

SPEAKER_03 47:44

Well, that's okay. So the ones that are following us, you know, all they have to do is Google my name adrenal marie. Google me, you know. That's all they do is Google me, and the whole album, the show, all of that stuff will pop up. I didn't know I was googling, baby. I'm googling.

SPEAKER_02 47:59

What you doing, boo? I'm googling, baby.

SPEAKER_04 48:03

I'ma I'm gonna show it really quick so people can see see where it is. Um okay. Who they said, that's Adrina Marie, and it's it's the and um, like I said, I will play it, but I know they're deming, so I ain't gonna I ain't gonna play it today. Um, I might have to come back and play it again when I when I edit, but that's okay. I'm gonna put I'm gonna play a little bit for y'all.

SPEAKER_03 48:39

How about that? How about that? This is my dream state of mind. This isn't a date dream, it's my dream state of mind. Yeah, okay. That's just a hook right there, you know. That hook rotten is so good, yeah, it makes you catch a whole lot of dreaming going on.

SPEAKER_04 49:04

I love it. Like I said, I'm super excited that you know you have that going on because you know, music is something else. I I don't I don't been around different artists, I done been around different things. My dad was a professional bass player, and we we used to be in studios and all that stuff. So I know how long it could be um, you know, crafting a song. Trust me. I don't know. Back then, back then they had the little records where they had to spin it back all the way back and then start it back over and then spin it all the way back. And I used to be like, Daddy, come on now, like that. Like I'm ready to go, like I'm ready to go to bed or whatever. We had the studio, it was behind the house.

SPEAKER_03 49:52

I could have just left, but I used to love to be in the studio with him, and uh know exactly how difficult and it's really and it well, you know what's so funny is I don't mean to cut you off, but what's so funny is that I started out of the Baptist church, so Week Street Baptist Church. I must I sing in the choir live every Sunday, like faithfully, like since I was a little girl. So, girl, I won't miss a beep out there. Hold of those, you hear me? I'm up there, okay. So, like for me to go in the studio and learn how to record was backwards for me. So I I had no idea what to do, how to record. It was weird. I didn't know like you can cut, snap. So I just go in there and just be woo, and then I have an album. You know, I was doing I was doing four songs a day. And now we spent $72,000 on these last two albums. So $72,000 coming out of our pocket. That's a lot, and I'm not recording at little studios. Um, shout out to Patchwork, shout out to Bravo, Ocean Bravo, shout out to our studios, um, shout out to um the um Tobias and the Black Garden, you know. So I'm recording in these major studios with and bringing in engineers from the colleges. Right, right, and like giving the babies opportunity. I mean, then we're doing live instruments, so I let them come play the saxophones and the violin and their drums. Like, I'm oh, we're doing it, we're doing it, we're doing it live. Like, and it's a beautiful experience because they never really had an artist to be like snatching them up and giving them that hands-on experience. I want it to be authentic, just like I want your stuff to be authentic when you hear my track, and then we just, you know, we're really loving on each other with the music, and then we have this whole magical situation because it's authentic, you know, it's nothing like making the music from the um authenticness of it from scratch. And the kids, I mean, the well, I call them kids, but they're young adults. Um, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I mean, I will do this if in my

Protecting Artists From Industry Darkness

SPEAKER_03 52:00

sleep and and give all my time to these children that are actually going into the industry where I can help them, you know, do some artist development and get to the point where they need to be at. Let me be your guinea pig. Yes, I love it, you know, and just you know, and because you want somebody to guide you with this. I mean, a lot of money is being spent out that it's unnecessary, and but and uh the thing about it is the demonic side of this of the industry from my experience of being behind the scenes, in the scenes, and in front of the scenes, it's out of order. You're you're you're corrupting our children, you're giving them the wrong idea of their creativity, you're not allowing them to um you know be in that moment of where God hadn't want them to be at, because you're either putting something in their drink, you're you're doing inappropriate things, you're I'm not even gonna say if he did eat them because um it was people doing this to these children at Disney, and all these people was doing this to these children way before. And now I'll be behooved if I'm gonna jump in the industry and not be able to set the record straight. So this time around, you know, I would like to be that example to the ones that are coming up, you know, with me as we grow together in this industry and just set the record straight because they don't have to sell a soul, they don't have to be a part of that crowd, they don't have to, you know, do demonic things and rituals that you think that will help you get money. You are the currency, and if you knew how to move the currency, which is yourself, money is something that you shouldn't have a problem with, right? It's gonna blow like a ribble. It's gonna, you know, it's gonna be a water bear. My my stylist just came in. Shout out to Nene. I love you, girl. You know what I'm saying? She slayed the hell, baby. I took over, I took over my shop, buddy. I should I said, Well, I gotta do this video. Yeah, man. So they still got the barbershop open for me a little bit, you know. I want to invade their territory, but God is good. I just I just want to be able to be a great beacon like yourself, that we can send these children to safe havens, and they know that they got people out here that really, really, really, truly is in love with their fasting, what they're doing, their creativity, and we're gonna be here for you, not just fighting for you, but standing for you to so that you can know that you can do all things to Christ. It's okay that you know you don't understand what sin is at that point, but you can be a sinner to a winner, huh? Because when you when you get the word of God up in you, baby, he starts pouring that water barrel knowledge up in you, and you start testifying to your own experience. You have you are a sinner, but you're gonna be a winner in the Lord, and then we're gonna end it like that because that's where God wants you to be with Him in all things. Yes, so let's continue to create these platforms, continue to be authentic, continue to know that we it's gonna take all of us, okay? We don't have to have everything, but we have each other, and and we're gonna go up from there, girl.

SPEAKER_02 55:17

I was thinking about getting the island, my pack, my pack, Miss Patricia Oder. We're getting us an old island, baby. Well, we gotta have some work right when we go.

SPEAKER_04 55:34

Like, like you

Closing Prayer And Where To Watch

SPEAKER_04 55:35

said, you look everything that you said is something that we need to do for real, for real. I'm I'm I'm excited. So if you you know feel like saying a prayer, we're getting on out of here because I know your stylist says she ready to go, she ready to cut the lights off and get up out of there. I came in here, she came in here and slayed that, baby.

SPEAKER_03 55:55

She did she slayed that, but yes, I would love to pray. Um, so let us bow ahead, Father God. In the mighty name of Jesus, I just thank you, Lord. You're so omnipresent. You are just the most best thing that ever happened to us in our life, Lord. I just think that you know, us as we understand you more, Lord, and going through our journey in life, and as women and growing and, you know, just trying to get cued for what God you have us to do in this journey of yours, because we are the vessel and you are leading us. Just continue to keep us, you know, near your breastplate, Lord, so that we can be able to receive this milk and honey and be covered by the blood of the land, so that we can go out here and teach our children how to be better students, better patients. Um, just being honest and just being able to walk with the victory of knowing that you are in the front, our head, and we are, and you are our tail, Lord. And we just thank you so much, so much, so much for be able to have platforms like this and other platforms to all of our mentors, to all of the women that are staying strong. It's not easy, you know. You know, it's it's not easy, but I really thank you, Lord, and I keep you close to my heart and all of the women that's around me, Lord, and men, and I appreciate you. I appreciate you on God, on you. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray, amen. I think I'm not I'm not used to kind of shouting out over the with my eyes closed over the box for the Lord. I think I went into a uh metaphor process, but the Lord knows my heart, he knows I love you, Lord. That's all that matters.

SPEAKER_02 57:42

Yes, yes, oh man, well, bye guys.

SPEAKER_04 57:48

Thank you for having me so much for being on here. Oh my god, wasn't that such a great message? You can always go to the YouTube channel to watch the full video of this message. All right, thank you so much, and I look for you in the comments and make sure that you are thank you for this.