Marcella Precise is a walking powerhouse with a positive attitude and a beautiful head on her shoulders. She is a music producer, BMI Pop Award winning songwriter, voiceover actress, recording artist, the creator of the YAAYYOU Inner Beauty/Outer Wellness Blogazine and now she gives us her secret to happiness and success with her self-encouragement inspiration conversation entitled “Yaay You: Notes To Self, An Audio Conversation”.
Pia: I listened to the “Yaay You: Notes to Self“ audio conversation and it immediately provided a feeling of security for me. How long did it take for you to become completely confident and secure with yourself?
Marcella: Well, I am a work in progress, and ever since I was a little girl I was really fortunate to be around people who only said good things about me in my presence. By the time I was off on my own in school, I had an understanding of “Okay, I’m a little girl, I’m smart, I look like this person but I can be anything I want”, and it wasn’t even said directly to me, it was just in my presence. So when you’re small, adults are kind of talking to themselves, so you’re kind of listening, and luckily it was never anything bad that I could hear. When people did talk to me directly, it was like they were angels, and they would come out of nowhere and I would be looking at them like “Why is this person talking to me like this? I didn’t do anything but be myself.” So, I kind of just always felt some sort of unexpected protection and motivation from people in the community.Growing up in Brooklyn, there were so many awesome elders and awesome peers (in Bed-Stuy).
It’s a work in progress that I feel good about myself. I was just so excited that “Yaay You” even came through me because I didn’t expect to do it. It was just something that I was like “Oh, I need to tape my voice because people say that they like talking to me”. They’re like “Oh my god, when I talk to you, you make me feel like this and that”, and it’s also a spin-off of the Blogazine that I have, which is called “Yaay You”. I’m giving it to people in another form on the internet. My husband, my friends and people that I work with are always like “Oh, you gave me a good word, you gave me such a good energy”, and I’m not even trying. I’m just so thankful that I have people around me that don’t try to break my spirit as well.
P: It seems like you have a really positive team around you, which is great!
M: Thank you! I try, I know it all starts within, maybe I attract it because I believe so much in people. I really believe in the goodness of YOU. I believe in the goodness of everyone. I don’t try to dispel that there’s “other things”, but I know there’s goodness in everyone and thats what I kind of work with.
P: Who would you recommend this audio conversation to? What demographic are you looking to push this towards?
M: To be honest with you, there is no short set of people that wouldn’t enjoy it, I think. I think a 5 year old would love it, but I also know that women from 15-55 would enjoy it. Someone actually called me the “Martha Stewart of feeling good” (laughs), and I was like “what?!”. It’s so funny because I was in the process of doing the actual audio conversation, and no one knows when you’re doing stuff, they just know when you tell them afterwards, so to get all these natural responses and to be so transparent in my own life, I’m grateful that someone of any age can say “Wow, I can enjoy this”.
The words that you get to say, the acronyms and stuff that you repeat is really basic sentencing, like the terms “I am amazing, I am awesome”. It’s statements you can meditate to, you can say it in the mirror, or you can do it while you’re rushing to the train. Growing up with so much music in our lives, when you hear a song over and over again you’re going be singing that song no matter what, and you’re like “Why am I singing this song?”. So I felt if I put it on audio with soothing music in the background, people will be able to remember their best selves, and at any part of their day they might repeat something they’ve already heard from the book. They’ll think “Wait, did I just call myself awesome? Did I just say that I am resilient?” and you can kind of chuckle to yourself and chuckling is a good mood, it just leads to a smile! It leads to a smile inside. And when all these different things come at you — like if you’re starting at a new junior high school and you’re nervous, or if you’re starting a new job, or if you’re going to meet your in-laws for the first time. All these things happen at different ages, from so many walks of life, that you want to just feel like “Yeah I AM cool, I AM good, I AM ready”, and that’s what the terms are on the audio conversation, things like that. I would really say it’s for everyone, I really would.
P: What exactly is a “Yaay-sayer”?
M: A “Yaay-Sayer” is someone who finds a way to congratulate someone else. That’s what I am. I met someone who wanted to be a chef, and they were starting the process, but when they spoke to me about it they said “Oh, you know, yeah I want to be a chef”. I guess their tone was expecting my response to be doubtful of their goal, like how they were speaking it. I was like “WOW! Congratulations! You’re gonna be a chef! That is so awesome! What is your favorite dish?” and then they’re eyes lit up! I’m on a totally different perspective because I believe in the goodness of people. So if you tell me what you want to do, then I may want to help you do it and I definitely don’t want to hinder you from it with my words. I’m a big GIVER.
Whenever I’m throwing an event, I’d like have a nice gift/souvenir for people because it just feels good to give. And there’s other ways you can give. People don’t realize how valuable they are and how much they have to give until someone says “Wow! We could use that, we could really appreciate your words, or use your skills as they pertain to all of our goals”. And that’s what “Yaay-Sayers” are, they’re people who don’t kill your dreams with the sentences that they’re about to say to you.
P: Do you listen to your positive affirmations every day?
M: I try to listen to a random Gratitude Note from “YaaY You” in the morning while I’m getting dressed because I go to the gym early. And then on my playlist, I have a couple of cool songs; like I listen to SZA, then I’ll have my Childish Gambino on, and then I have “Appreciating” on there, and then I have a couple more on there like “Attracting” and “Allowing”. So when they’re in the set of things that already give you this good mood, its like “Oooh, who’s that?!” (laughs) even though it’s me!
We went to a great place called Milk River, a beautiful club on Atlantic Avenue, and our friend Jaheim, he’s like a brother to me, he’s an artist, my husband produced for him (Marcella is Lady, her husband is Tramp of Lady & A Tramp), and Jaheim was performing a song that I co-wrote for his album “Ain’t Leaving Without You”, and I had never seen him perform it before. You know we know him, and we talk to him, and I had no expectations of him performing my song I wrote, because he has so many songs, and he now has a new single, so you know, when he did it I was like jamming with everyone else because I was already having a good time! You truly never know what is right around the corner for you, what God can lead you in.
P: What does Brooklyn mean to you?
M: Brooklyn means so much to me, it really does! I would take the A train and go to auditions and music seminars, and I would go to events! The A train did that for me. I would jump on that A train and fix my bang and my ponytail I was like “Yup I’m going” (laughs). The best nights and all of this happened because of Brooklyn. I love Brooklyn so much, I love Bed-Stuy! I love Prospect Park. It was a cool place to go and just kind of clear your mind. Lots of fun. I have so much love and respect for all the people that come from Brooklyn and all of the good things that Brooklyn has to offer.
P: What do you want people to take away from your audio conversation?
M: I want people to remember their best self. I want them to not worry about what other stigmas and issues that people have put on them or put in their ear. I want them to find the biggest joy that they can find in themselves so that they can use their actions and their words to help others because they’re so strong within. And, even if the strength teeters back and forth, you still have some way to get to it. You still have some way to say “Hey, I’m chosen, I’m good, okay I can connect with this person and do something great with them because I’m available to the goodness that life has to offer me”.
I just released a single in Spain with three international DJs (MonDJ and Master System Never Died), the name of the song is called Joli, and it’s so awesome that they saw my presence online and loved my voice that they were like “We would really like you to do this with us”. And when people do that, you’re kind of like “Okay, let’s do it!”. They started sending contracts and now it’s a reality. It’s up to 13,000 plays on youtube and now available on Itunes! That situation relates to “Yaay You”, if you just have faith in yourself, and you believe in the goodness of other people, it allows you to do other things.
P: What’s next for you?
M: I just finished working with Om’Mas Keith, he’s a very talented producer, and that was something else that I guess my energy and all those that I know lead me to because that came out of no where! I’m very grateful and appreciative that I get to do work that makes me feel good, and I get to work with people that respect what I bring to the table.
With “Yaay You”, I just happen to be the one that God used to put it on tape. I think, the universe said “You’re gonna be the one to write it”, and at the end of it (the audio conversation) you get a free song! The free song is called “Be Free”, and it’s another song that just talks about being what you came here to be. It’s okay to be yourself. No one could EVER be you! They can befriend you, they can be like you, they can get to know you, but you’re still going to be the only one that gets to be YOU! So, with that understanding and that perspective, you can have a good time being you without hurting anyone else.
YaaY You: Notes To Self, An Audio Conversation is available online everywhere. Check it out on Itunes here -> http://apple.co/1MbOcEy
“Believe something wonderful is always about to happen … and it WILL,”
Marcella Precise
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