Who Is StringsChick? How Nicole Hardin Built Her Own Lane

Nicole Hardin’s career is nothing short of extraordinary. In this episode, Nicole Hardin of StringsChick Music Company shares her journey into the music industry, how faith and God’s providence shaped her path, what it takes to thrive in elite spaces, and how she continues to build beyond the box. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Unscripted Land Podcast. I'm your host, Victoria Stackhouse. Now, in this episode, which took place not long after the Grammy Awards, I had the opportunity to speak with Nicole Hardin, founder of String Chick Music Company. She is a musician, arranger, composer, conductor, producer, entrepreneur, and proud graduate of the University of South Carolina. Nicole's remarkable career has included work with her, John Legend, Alicia Keyes, Ms. Lauren Hill, Tank, Beyonce, Pantasia, Mariah Carey, and Tony Braxton, just to name a few. Beyond the major stages, award shows, and incredible artist credits, Nicole's journey is also a powerful testament to faith, purpose, and what she describes as God's providence. From classical training to genre-defining artistry, from education to entrepreneurship, Nicole's story is one of excellence, resilience, and purpose. Now sit back and relax as we dive into the blend with Nicole Harden. All right, everyone, once again, let's give it up for musician, arranger, composer, conductor, producer, Nicole Harden.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Welcome, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Good to be here. And listen, guys, I want to emphasize that what I shared in the intro that does not cover the entirety, entirety of her career. That doesn't cover everything, but those are just you know some highlights, some snippets. And I want to say too, welcome back from the Grammy Awards. Okay. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

So, real quick before we get into everything else, can you tell everyone?

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Um, so why were you there? What were you doing? So I was there. Um, I've been working with well, I'll tell you why I was there first. So um I got a call from Miss Lauren Hill to do the set, the tribute set for uh D'Angelo and Roberta Flack, um, which was amazing. I've been working with her for years, um, since let me see, 2018, and then I did her tour in 23. Um, so it, I mean, I'm kind of it, you know, it was somewhat um, I would say I would it wasn't some a surprise for her to to call on me since I've been working with her prior to that. So that's what I did at the Grammys, and I hired a string section, arranged the string parts, um, and even brought in a harpist and produced a harp player, and we did pre-records and ended up on the stage for the Grammys. So that was not part of my week that that week, but uh it became the rest of my week. So that's what I did. Wow, very impressive. Gene just dropped the mic right there. Honestly, half of this show could be me just going through your whole resume, and that can be it in of itself. I don't know, it's it's a little dusty right now, you know. Life has slowed down since uh matrimony, but it's I if that was cool for me to have that because we I haven't been on the road in a minute and so to um see them again, the band and the the friends, they're like my brothers to see them and to work with them and to work with the Vanguard band. Um, I know some of the guys on there, and um you know, the celebrities. It was just like a room full. Um I maybe we have time to get into that later, but that was phenomenal because I just saw my whole high school and college career like flash before or that whole life, the the music that I listened to flash before my eyes, and and I'm like, man, all these people are here that I was you know listening to. So yeah. I I love that you got to be a part of such a powerful moment. Oh that was that tribute was awesome, and so I love that hand of the industry. It was it was a fun, yeah, it was like a fun time. Like it was chaotic because anytime you're getting ready for an award show or you know, some production, it could be anything, it could be a live recording at church, it could be, you know, it could be as simple as a string session in the studio on a random day, but there's gonna be a level of of you know chaos, um, trying to get everyone involved, organized. But it was great to see so many amazing musicians do their thing and do it well, from the singers down to, you know, I mean, the sound team and playback, and um of course the musicians and the MDs, and the you know, because there was more than one band up there. That's the crazy part. It was literally two bands going at one time. Um, on well, not literally, but on stage, and they were trading off. So, I mean, it was very massively done. Very massively done. Yeah, and listen, from the outside, looking in from the outside by way of TV, that is, not even in the room. It definitely was like y'all had a great time, like one big happy musical family. Because that's what the feel was for us watching. Yeah, it was. It was great because it was like, you know, with all the new talent happening. Um, it was great for us, you know, old heads to get a little piece of nostalgia on that show at that moment. And I will tell you, you know, they showed you a little bit of um what was happening on the floor, but the entire arena, and it's full, every chair is full. Um, the entire arena was on their feet because it was something that everyone could relate to, even if it was you know, Roberta Flack's old tunes or D'Angelo or you know, you know, Miss Hill's rendition of killing me softly, everybody knew something. Yeah, so it was it was just really nice to watch. I can't I can't imagine what it was like to be in the room, which why I'm talking to you because you were in the in the room in the moment. So thank you for sharing that and giving us a little a little glimpse into that. So we are going to pedal it back to the beginning. Okay. When did your passion for music begin? Like, just take us through everything with you in the beginning with music, how you got started. Okay, according to my mother, I sung before I could actually say words, and I know that's like one of those, of course, but it it makes sense because my father's family was very musical, is very musical. So it made sense for me to to be singing and you know, humming and doing little things when the you know, constantly records were going, and um I was raised in a in a in a family that was um heavily into the church. I I was raised in a Christian home, still in a Christian home. Um my parents were both believers, and so we listened to a lot of gospel music. My father played organ and keys, and um, I had older siblings and uncles and you know, aunts, and everyone could sing. So it just kind of when I say in the blood, in the veins, it was it's a true statement. Um, and then my parents, I guess when we got to be settled, because that's that's that that just means, you know, can the child be still enough to do um to sit long enough for lessons? And so um, I think I was about five, four or five when I started piano, and then we transitioned to another state. So I was born in Jersey City, and then my parents brought us to um South Carolina, and from there we really kicked up the notch with music lessons. So between piano and violin, which I started at six, me and my brother both he took viola, and he's a year 16 months or so older than me, and we both did piano, classical piano and classical strings, um, all the way up through high school. Um, and so in that we were doing, you know, all state and summer camps and things and um of that sort. So we we pretty much knew, or I knew, I guess I can speak for myself, um, that I was gonna do this after high school. I mean, I was that caliber. So yeah. Wow, and actually you you tapped into the next thing I was going to ask you as well as like a lot of people, you know, they may have learned an instrument, they may have enjoyed it, but it wasn't necessarily a career path that they wanted to pursue. So you are pretty much knew early on, you wanted to keep going with that. Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, this was like well, if you let my parents tell it, we we invested all this money, so this is gonna be it, you know. But I knew I mean, again, we had gotten into the advanced stages of what teens would do, it would be like an athlete, you know, being really well, really a great athlete and knowing that they're going to pursue it as a college thing, and then you know, possibly professionally, it just wouldn't have made sense for me to do all that study and then to get out of it. Um, so yeah, I it was it was inevitable. Now, the funny thing is I went to school to college for performance, but somewhere in the middle of it, I think my my work ethic was a little slack if I had to be honest. Um, and so my teacher said, I think you should, you know, go into education just as a fallback, which a lot of people do, because you know, these these professional orchestras have very limited seating, and the the positions are tenured, and you know, you just didn't want to do that, you know, trying to get orchestra gigs, and a lot of times profession uh performance majors don't get to go right into the orchestra as a performance as a performer right away. And so there's there's many routes, but education was just a good financial fallback. Plus, I was really good at teaching. Um, I do not recommend that for people who just want to do it for a job that is not you have to really have a passion and a love for the students. So I did have that. Um, shall I go on further after that? Was my timeline. Sure, Ken. I was gonna say actually a real quick little too, because of the classical background. I guess take us into what that world is like. Because I have some people who probably don't know anything about what that world is like with classical music, whether they listen to it or or not, but don't know anything about what it's like being behind the scenes in the orchestra world, and get touch on that too. Well, the funny thing about the classical, um, classical music is that's how they start you. So you you start in classical, um it's aimed toward classical uh the the genre, the pedagogy, everything is aimed toward being able to read and play the standard classical pieces, so that comes from the beginning. Um, not always, but in this case, when you're formally trained, that's how it's gonna start. And so, you know, a lot of your first pieces are gonna be Bach and Mozart and Vivaldi and those types of things. So that's an it's kind of inevitable. But then as you advance into your career, the pieces get harder, the platforms get more advanced, and typically the trek is to go into orchestra um settings. You can do performance if you want, but I mean, you're gonna you need to know how to to play with people, so you go into orchestras in middle school, high school, um, and then into college, which is a requirement. So I played violin all the way up through my 11th grade year, and then I want to say my 12th grade year, I switched over to viola. Don't ask me why, but my brother was a violist, he left home at that point, and so I switched over to viola. I think because I was looking at violin like you know, it's a very competitive instrument. I was good at violin, but I felt like there would be more options on viola. It's very typical for there to be people who double. I'm not gonna say that it's a violinist to go over to viola or viola to go to over the violin. I'm not really sure what happens the most, but you do have people who double because it gives them options. So I ended up going into college all those years on violin, only to go into college on viola. So a lot of people forgot that I was a violin player, and um they forgot I was a violinist, and because I was doing viola in college, and I actually ended up going to the University of South Carolina and then becoming a principal uh violist um in the orchestra. Um, that world, you play, you know, obviously mostly classical, maybe some pop tunes, and by pop I still mean it's based on classical technique, you know, movie scores and things of that sort. Um, it's a competitive world, you know, it's a lot of auditioning for seats, and even when you go into um grad school, you know, you're auditioning for it to get a place. If you decide not to go to grad school um and you pursue orchestras, there's still that competitive nature, seating, it's getting into the orchestras, even if you go in as a sub, that's still limiting, limited seating. And it's just a lot of uh gigging, classical playing, reading, um, classical charts. And even if it's not, again, if it's not classical, there's still classical technique built into the the exercise of playing a violin or viola or or whatever stringed instrument. They're looking for that. Um they're looking for that what am I trying to say? I guess the technique of classical, even if it's infused in other genres of music. Yeah, let me say that way. So I I think that's that's for the most part, that's that's what I can tell you. Now, if you go into the pop world, specifically improv, um, you see a lot of these players that are playing the hip-hop tracks and everything like that. The only thing that changes is the genre of music. You can't just change the technique of the playing. Um there may be approaches that are different, but it's still gonna be classically um focused, if that makes sense. I like I like that. I don't think people take that into account. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's not really much else that changes outside of the genre of music. I love that. So earlier you were talking about what how you got in, you were teaching at one point as well, or did you major in education too? And then yeah, so I majored in education, um, and I actually taught in K through 12 for 10 about 10 years, and I was even an adjunct professor um at uh HBCU in South Carolina, and so I did that for I want to say a year and a half, two years, something like that. And then at the same time I did that, it was so much going on. At the same time I did that, I was a conductor for the South Carolina Youth Orchestra. I did that, I think, for two years, and then I did um I was a church minister of music. This was all going on at one good old time. Wow. So it was yes, it was a lot happening at one time. Um, I didn't really have a lot of time for private students. I started off with quite a few when I was ending um my college career. I did end up going and getting my master's, but that was in education because the district that I was in was paying for it. So why not? And even if you're a music major or a music teacher, there's still a lot of educational um practices that you have to learn outside of music. Um, that every every teacher just, you know, in terms of advancing or professional develop, advancing your your teaching techniques and skills and things of that sort. Statewide things, you know, it didn't matter what you taught, you had it, those were the things that that every teacher had to do. So I did end up getting my master's in education.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

I love it. So now let's pick things up a little bit and shift to Strings Chick Music Company. So how do we arrive there? How do we go from okay? I'm playing this music growing up and then teaching, and then we land here. Okay, if I remember correctly, it was maybe about 2008. I got asked to do something for a church. It was like, can you can you figure out the string parts to this class to this choir piece? It was gospel music, and I'd always had a good ear when I was in college, and so I was like, Yeah, I don't know what I agreed to at the time. I really don't. I think I they just asked for it to be transcribed, and I was like, sure, I can do it. And I ended up transcribing this these tunes, and they were so accurate that I know I remember in one particular instance the artist came and thought that we had gotten the parts, like the actual physical parts, but we didn't. It was just that I transcribed it that accurately. I know. Well, my so I have a an ability to for the strings or whatever parts to pop out, and even if it's like horns or whatever, you know, or or brass winds, I can still hear the parts just because I can follow the line from wherever the register is, so I can transcribe really well or fairly well. I don't know if I can do it as good now, but hey, no one's really hitting me up to transcribe parts. I do get some transcriptions, but most of it is original arrangements. But um, yeah, it started then, and then someone asked me, Hey, can you just come up with your own parts? And I was like, I I guess I can try. So some of this was just out of necessity for the situation, and um the fact that I had a background in gospel music, you know, or in the church, and so it was like this crazy infusion of classical and um gospel music, which is very typical of a lot of African-American arrangers, you know, our background is what it whatever it is, and so then you take all that soul and then you infuse it with gospel music and or uh classical, and this is what you get, and it worked out. Well, people started asking me for it more and more, and I was working on my skill honing my craft, and um it it just kind of morphed into this strings chick. Funny story, strings chick that happened. That actual name I did not give to myself. It was like, hey, you know that girl that does strings, that chick that does strings. It was literally that chick that does strings, and so I remember when Instagram got big and I was like, What's my name? And I just thought, strings chick, because I'm the chick that does strings. A lot of people didn't know my name for a long time, and so that was the best way, really catchy for people to remember me. So to this day, when people meet me, even if they know my name, they're like strings trick, and that's me. So it worked out that way. It literally is a functional name, literally. I love that. I love how you took something that was already happening, and then hey, we're gonna make this work for me. That in and of itself is a branding lesson. Everyone listening, entrepreneurs, let other people do it for you. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So that's how that all kind of morphed. Now, at the time, remember, I was still teaching, so just a little secret that nobody knows that I'll tell you here you know on national television, is that um I was definitely taking days off to record at my house. So at that point I was writing all the parts, but I was also having to track all the parts, and by that I mean first violin, second violin, viola, cello, and upright bass. So I was doing yes, I was doing everything at home. And there would be times where I'd get a deadline in the midst of my teaching these children, and I would have to take days off and record at home because I'd be so tired from recording or writing the night before. But I had a good little bit of days, you know, piled up by the time I got out of there. So it wasn't an issue, but it got so bad that I had to just make a decision. Now, the decision wasn't actually my decision the way that I thought it would be. The decision came about when my mother had a stroke in 2013. And so at that point, I was still toying with the idea of quitting teaching. And it was really a toil because I was, like I said, I was good at it. My students loved me, they were great. You know, I had so much going for me in the district, and and everything was fine. There was nothing wrong with teaching. Like I didn't dislike it. I didn't, you know, it was it was a paycheck. It was, you know, the kids were learning. I was developing my program. But then my mom had um the stroke that put me at home. I had to make a decision. I finished out the year, and then I had to make a decision to um get out of there because she needed me at home 24-7. Well, at that point, I wasn't teaching anymore and I needed money. And I was still, I had like these lingering clients that were, it was like my career was developing there slowly. So I ended up by default going into teaching. I mean, going into arranging. And so when I say forced into it, I was forced into that career because it didn't happen at the point that I wanted it the way I wanted it. Um, God has this has this way of um kind of pushing you out of the nest, but it was so much that was centered around that moment that time. And so me only having the arranging to do, I guess inadvertently like was starting a business, you know, and at the same time watching my mother decline, which she ended up passing away in 2019. So it was like the highlight of you know, things to come, my career growing there, moving into a next step. We even moved from South Carolina to Nashville, and then from and watching my mother's health just decline, decline, decline. So it was a very awkward um period, very awkward season. And a lot of people say, you know, were you okay at the time? I was because I could see I could see the hope uh of the of everything starting for and I always I say say this, and I I think I read it maybe like a month ago. It is quite possible to grieve and to hope at the same time. You see this going up and you see this going down, and so um that's what was going on at the time. Yeah, well, thank thank you for sharing that part with us too. Yeah, because that's a major part of my career. A very that was like probably the that was the moment. Like, I don't have any fabulous stories for you. That's what was going on in the time that people thought I was like riding the moon and just doing all the things, and I was not. I was at home struggling to take care of my mother and pay bills because I wasn't, you know, teaching anymore. And I'm I'm more than happy to say that because you know, people ask, how do you get into you? How do you how do you get into this? How do you I have not one answer for you because my my situation was it was it was absolutely God's providence, and I mean I cannot I can't fake the funk and tell you it's any other way. This was this was the way that he um ordained for me to go through it. It was a lot of non-musical toil, you know, but it put me in this beautiful place that I'm in now, and um yeah that it developed my writing, it developed my hearing skills, me having to track everything, um, engineer myself. It was so many things I learned at that point because that was that was just I my resources were very few. Um, and so I I had to learn a lot on my own.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

Wow, god God is amazing with what He will what He will use even in grief and and though that was back then I still share now condolences even then because emotions are still emotions, so yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

Definitely share share that with you about my condolences even now. Thank you. Thank you. I want to say too because you do so much, so the music geek inside of me is just like because I like scroll through all your stuff or all the things, and I'm like, oh my gosh, she's amazing! Don't scroll too far, don't not too far, but you know, I've matured, I've grown.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

I'm like, oh my gosh, she's amazing, she does all the things.

SPEAKER_00 27:38

So I want to ask you this uh question now, too. So with the arranging, the transcribing, were those things you were always interested in as you were learning music coming up? Was that always a part of the plan to do that too? Or how did that basic come in? Apparently, in 10th grade, someone asked me, What do you want to do when you get older, when you grow up? And I think I said I wanted to film score. So I think it was just something that I felt like at the moment would be a cool idea. I wasn't working toward it. I never went to school to be an arranger or a composer. I did not go to school for any of that. I went to school for education, so I didn't have all of the classes and training of what it would have been to actually write and score music. So, yes and no to that question. I think I said it because it was something that I thought was cool, but I certainly didn't pursue it in college. It just kind of happened. I suppose it's one of those things that I heard what I said and was like, cool, say less. You know, and I'm gonna, you know, like I I still to this day think, how did I get here? You know, I I just I don't know how I got here, but um I'm here right in here, and we're and we're glad you're here. We're glad you're here. So, like you, so again, we know you started with classical, but you played all the genres. So from RB, country, hip-hop, like so. Did you always know that you didn't have to stay within classical music? Because I think some people, I mean, now we've seen violins like everywhere, but I don't think everybody always makes that connection. Like that, hey, I can basically play whatever I want with this. So how did you like not keep yourself in a box? Is what I'm trying to say. I think I always knew that my box was a little bit multidimensional because of my my gospel background. So I was still playing, I would when I was younger, me and my brother played a few times in church. So already at that point, I was like, okay, there's more to do than classical. But at the at at the time that I was in the orchestras, that was like the thing. So what you see now is like this is this is unprecedented to see so many African Americans in pop and TV doing classically um presenting instruments. You know what I mean? This is this this world is is has opened up. In fact, you know, I'm 44. And um, if I'm doing it now, imagine how and and this will be late in the game, I think. Um imagine how that's gonna open up for players to go right into right after. I would say, you know, college, um, assuming that they'll go to college and and everyone doesn't have to, because if you can, if you can make it fine. But um most times people go to college for you know to just uh develop their classical or not classical, but their formal training chops. Because there's a lot that they do teach you in in school that is helpful. So with that though, they can walk right into this career path right out of college, you know, and if they get in the right circles, they'll be pulled to do this work before they even finish school, you know. Um, so I I don't um I certainly didn't see myself doing this. Uh but I did know that there was more to it. I did know there was more to it just based on my my back my own background um in my house with the way that our parents brought us up. Yeah, I I love that. And I love what you created, what you're still creating, not done, what you're still creating too. Hey there, listen, if you've been listening to this and you realize that you need support with your brand or content, I want to invite you to work with me. As a creative consultant, I offer Clarity statues to help you get focused and move forward with confidence. You can schedule your statute through the link in the show notes. All right, let's get back to the conversation. Now, for this part, you know, different people were fans of different artists, that kind of thing. So from outside looking in, we might have what we think are big moments that you you've experienced. For you though, for you, what would you say was your first big project, your first big opportunity, and how did that come about? My first big opportunity. I had a lot of really cool opportunities in gospel. Um I wanna say my first big opportunity. It might have been when I so I I tracked um Richard Smallwood's music, the string parts for like four songs on his very last project. I think it was Journey. Was it was it was it Journey? I don't know. I'm trying to think. I would have to look, but yeah, it's when he did all of the some of his oldest, um, his old tunes, he reimagined them, and it was like a you know a tribute um to some of his old works. Trying to think if it was Journey, it may have been Journey. If not, maybe it was the one before that. Um I'm telling you the wrong thing, but anyway, that was a big moment just because my family knows him very well, and that was um a voice that we listened to growing up, you know. So I I think yeah, that was like a big moment. Um I also got a really weird call to do Erica Campbell help. So when you listen to the song help, that was actually me tracing the violin parts and the string parts. So I'm on the yeah, that was a big moment. Um, I'm not really sure that went anywhere, but in my mind, it was like, okay, cool. You know, like I'm starting to get calls. Now at that point, it was far a few and in between, but it always gives you hope to keep going. Um that was so gospel was like my first, that was like my first um those big moments there for sure.

SPEAKER_02 34:35

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 34:36

And then when do we kind of move into some of the producing pieces as well? They went to get in the mix. I didn't know this, but apparently I've been doing producing from day one. You know, I again I never set out to be a producer. It's I still don't call myself that, even though people are like, you definitely produce this, like you're an arranger and a producer because you wrote it, but then you had to put it together, you had to tell us what to do and and and you know, organize the sessions and you know, manage what was happening in the sessions. So some people, you know, people set out to be a producer. I did not set out to be a producer because in my mind a producer was the person that put the entire record together. Well, I wasn't doing that, I wasn't putting records together and producing keys and you know, drums and guitar and singers, and I wasn't doing that. But producing is just really the person that you know synthesizes everything, they put everything together, they they they organize. Um, and I again I'm not reducing the responsibility or the job description, but you're more of a producer than you think when you once you start doing that. So I never moved into it, I guess I was just always doing it. Okay, if that makes sense, yeah. That that does make sense. I love that. Yeah, that's really awesome. So, with with that, too, with a lot of the roles that you've already held with the music, a lot of them I would say are leader leadership roles, you know, with the music. And typically, correct me if I'm wrong, that's some a male-dominated space, those different heads being an MD and conductor, all of that. So tell me what was it, what's it been like as a black woman navigating those spaces, commanding those rooms? What has that journey been like for you? So here's the dope part about my journey is the Lord never put me in a place to be competitive, in the sense that I'm like, for whatever reason, I don't I don't know how he did it, but he like carved out a uh a road for me that I didn't have to fight everyone else. And it's just like um I never knew all the drama happening because I it's just it was just whoever I was given, whatever clients I had, whatever work I had was very specific to me and my lifestyle. Um, and so I never had to worry about too much of that. However, I think where it becomes evident is the experiences that you gain are not as frequent as if you were a male.

SPEAKER_02 37:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 37:34

So if someone were to say, how many movies have you scored, or how many of these have you done, my numbers are lower than my counterparts. Um I don't know if it's because they're men and I'm a woman, but I can't help but to see the differences um across the board with even other women that I know who do this versus males that I that that I know who do this. Um it is a very heavily dominated male uh industry. I try not to let it be a thing that bothers me. It used to, it used to just irritate me to no end, but I think if you let it bother you, you let it become an excuse.

SPEAKER_02 38:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:27

And so you kind of have to just let the chips fall where they may. If you get the call, you get the call. If you don't, you don't. When it's your time to do whatever you do, do it and do it well. Give them a reason not to care that you're a woman. I had a friend. Um, if he sees us, he'll probably know who he is. But I had I have a colleague, a friend, who said I was the first woman that made him rethink um women being great at what they do. He said, I used to think that all women musicians were horrible. I think it's so funny because that's so that's so like not uh that's not even a practical response just because there's only two sexes, and so I said what I said, but there's male and female, and so you know, in all honesty, it's like you're either one or the other, and I don't see God giving the monopoly on this thing that's so creatively from him only to males, it just doesn't make sense, and so um I I thought that was funny, and he so he said when you started writing for us, you completely revamped my entire like the way I see um women. In fact, he said, I think he said, and I and I've heard that women approach music differently because they're women and our processes, our our thought process, everything that we do is from like a feminine standpoint and our nature, it the music comes out differently. So um yeah, I mean it's been it's been some of that, but I've not made that my I've not made that my business. I just do what I do when it's time for me to do it. So like the set on the Grammys, you know, I was the only music producing person woman up there. I mean, you know, they they did do vocals and stuff, but in terms of like the band and the industry, the in the instrumental aspect of it, I was it. Um, and so that's very typical, very, very typical for me to be the only woman that works with male musicians, you know, as another instrumentalist.

unknown 40:52

Right.

SPEAKER_01 40:55

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 40:55

Oh no, go ahead. Yeah, I was gonna say, were there ever times where that did feel intimidating? And then how if so, how did you push past that? Yeah, well, if I if I had to be honest, of course. I mean, you know, um there have been times where you know you you you're second guessing yourself because of all these factors, and my is it am I not as good as them? Am I not, you know, I'm not getting the calls. Like I said, this was early on, right? And so you think about all of that, um, you get into spaces and you wonder if you are good enough because the experience has not been as much as as male your male counterparts, you know, because you haven't gotten the calls as frequently, and so you're just kind of going you're kind of flying by the by the seat of your pants um on some of this, and you're using intuition and you're wondering, is that enough? Um so yeah, it's there have been there have been times where you you second guess yours yourself and you think, am I good enough? But then you're like, Well, I have the job, and someone called me based on something they heard prior to this. So apparently I am good enough if if if this opportunity has been afforded to me, and you know, you just do what you can. I I don't I don't know how to describe it. You just do what you can, whatever comes out is what comes out, and and let me just say this I am very happy with the things that come out, regardless of whether the artists like them or not, because my my rationale for for writing them is is very it's there's I can explain to you why I write the things that I write. Um so I don't let the opinions of the artists beat me down because also you have to understand that you know there's several ways to write a thing. Um, if someone says, Hey, Nicole, write this, uh, whatever you want to do, all right, cool. I'm gonna write whatever I hear, and then I give it to them, which this has happened before. And they say, Oh, that's not what I was envisioning. Well, apparently you aren't envisioning anything, which is why you called me. And so you have to be kind of locked into what you can do and what you what you do well, but at the same time, be flexible enough to say, Okay, now that you don't know what you want, because I've given you what you know, something and you you don't now you you say, I don't want this. What do you want? So you're kind of almost ushering them into the ideas that they maybe you have to see it in so many different ways. Um, that used to bother me and it used to challenge me. Well, ooh, am I good enough? But it's like sometimes you you know, that's like me saying to you, um, you say, I don't, I don't know what I want to eat. Okay. Do you want Italian? I don't know. I don't want that. Do you want Chinese? No, I don't want that. Do you want Jamaican? No, I don't want that. And then it helps you to kind of. Boil boil it down, and you know that's that's what we do too sometimes is we help them to kind of map out and then we shape our ideas and our approach around what they finally figured out that what they want, you know. So that can be intimidating, that can be sometimes discouraging if you allow it to be, but you gotta know that whatever comes out of you is still really, really good. You know, I like that you gotta be sure about you. It's okay to to for them to not care for it or like it or prefer that. That doesn't mean that you're not great, it just means that there's an overall picture that they see, and that approach may not have been what they want, you know. But the great part, the part that's that that really that really uh has you to stand out is do you have the ability then to take what you've done and modify it according to what they want? That's what makes a good musician or writer or whatever. That it's it's the the ability to say, okay, fine, you don't want chicken? Great. I'll give you steak this way, I'll give you fish this way, I'll give you this this way, I'll give you, I can I can use what you've given me and I can give you some choices, and I can I can uh modify, you know. I love that. That's so good. So um we're talking about before some of the award shows, the experience you talked about the Grammys, and you've already been on tour before Miss Lauren Hills. Um, you have so many things. One of the things I thought was super cool were you at the Oscars with Beyonce, and I love the photos from that, by the way. Oh my goodness, I love the photos from that. Then we have things that you've done, Liz oh, all female orchestra, is that correct? That's a great 23 of us. Yeah, that was great. That's amazing. All black female, really, Liz. Tell me about that. Like, because you talk about just honestly, any experience you want because it's so many, and it's it's so hard to pick. Like, I don't want and please know I don't want to minimize any of them, they're all equally important. It's just so many, but uh tell me about that and and maybe uh touch a little bit on the the Oscars, that those two things. So we can't get them all in, but so for that particular gram, that was the first time I want to say the first time I've done the Grammys. I think so. I think that was the first time it was 2020 because it was the same year that Kobe, in fact, we were there doing that when that happened. Um, Lizzo had uh requested all black players. Um sometimes the fallacy is that we do not we're we are not um we come far few and in between, and it's difficult to get all black players with quality, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. The furthest thing. I some of my favorite, the dopest players I know are African-American and both male and female, and phenomenal. I mean, blow your mind. Um so they asked us to come out, and when I got there, I realized that the collection of first of all, we were all black women. I don't know if I knew that at the time. And then when we got there, they'd we had flown in from all kinds of places from the south, from the east, from the Midwest. I think somebody came from like Idaho or something like that. Like something crazy. Um, we came from all over the country to make up this female orchestra, and what's interesting about that situation is typically on these shows, they have you to do pre-records because you know they can clean up the you know the errors and the discrepancies and mix it and all that for TV. So you track it, you track it prior to, and then you mime yourself. That's very, very typical. So if I'm telling the secret, here's here it is, but it still might very well be the people you see on stage. Now, for the law for Miss Hillset, the the Grammys, that was everyone you heard. The strings, however, did do pre-records just because of the nature of the instruments, and we could never compete with the instrumentation happening on stage, but in this case, it was like that as well. So we actually um pre-recorded the tracks and then we performed along with the set, um, and that was phenomenal. It was such camaraderie. I think it was supposed to be a thing where you know they were gonna have outfits and hair for us, and I believe I could be wrong, but I believe that once we got there to see black women in different shades, different mixtures, because there were some biracial, there were some, you know, it just depended on what you got. There was different hair textures, there were different body types, different complexions, different. Oh man, it was like the most I think I had braids, you know, other people had afros, other people had, I mean, it was just so some people had locks, it was it was so mixed that I if I remember correctly, Lizzo was like, leave them alone, just everybody coming elegant, black, and no one's getting hair put in their hair, no one's getting just whatever you got, that's what's gonna go on stage. So that's what it looked like, and it was phenomenal. And then I don't know if you realize this, but there were dancers on there, so there were, I believe, 23 dancers that were all black, and there was a black ballerina. So the entire production was 46 black women, 40 all black, professional dancers and professional musicians, and we were all really truly doing the thing that we did up there, like what you heard was us, so it was very cool, and you could tell Lizzo um just appreciated being on a set with all black women. There was definitely she let us know several times, like y'all don't understand. It was definitely giving this, you know. It was just, it was, it was definitely like, uh, girls, y'all, like you, yeah, girl, girl, girl, girl, girl, yes, it was absolutely that. And so we could tell that just, and I believe that was her first uh performance on the Grammys, and to share it in company that was safe, a safe space, yeah, was like it was it was definitely um, I think people still talk about that. It was a great set, it was a great, and then it ended up on HBO, so there was that too. So I think I'm on HBO, I'm pretty sure I'm on that HBO um uh uh her documentary. Yeah. I mean, that's so powerful and it's so needed. Hey there. If you are enjoying today's episode and you're on YouTube, hit that subscribe button and go ahead and like the video. Also, if you're listening on Apple, Spotify, other podcast platforms, follow over there, subscribe over there, leave a top-notch rating too while you're at it. It's all greatly appreciated. Okay, now back to today's episode. We need that. I think I'm not even in that space, but we we need it, but we need it as viewers, right? Sure. We need it, and then I imagine actually being in the industry, how much that moon is needed as well. Um, yeah, that's that's so beautiful. Beyonce said, You asked me about that. That was a girl, my girlfriend who contracted that called me for that. And true story, I did not know who I was playing for when I jumped on the flight. Or no, I did. I did. I I read so at the time we got an NDA for that, and I was like, Well, who is this for? She was like, You she she didn't say the name. So, in these instances, you you don't say the art, you say the artist because it just keeps down on you know anonymity, like it's like just everything is hush. She goes, You didn't look at the contract. I said, Well, I know what the NDA is. She goes, Go back and look at it. She never said it. And I I when I saw it, I still didn't say the name. I said, Oh, okay. Now the crazy thing is I got on a flight to to to play it, and I did not know that it was for the Oscars. I didn't know. So I showed up to the to the play. I think I flew in and went straight to the rehearsal, which is very common, um, just because of how they, you know, the you you gain an hour, you gain, or you you gain three hours from the east coast. So when I got there, I can take like a five five o'clock, six o'clock a.m. and get there and still be there on time for rehearsal. And I remember getting there and driving up in my Uber, and I was like, this can't be right because it says Oscars. I literally did not know it was for the Oscars, and I realized very quickly, based on the address they gave me and the instructions, that this was for the Oscars. And yeah, so real story for what happened. And that set was fun because we we did it. Um it was for uh it was be alive and it was for the Serena um Linus and Serena Williams movie. And um, so they took they went to Compt to Compton, I want to say. Uh no, was it Compton or was it um what what's the what's the where are they from? Is it Compton or is it I thought that it was Compton? So yeah, so they're yeah, I think so too. It's Compton, because I don't think it was Englewood. Um, but they they reserved the old tennis court that the girls used to actually practice on as kids, and that's where they shot the whole entire shoot. So we did rehearsals and then we went on there and and we shot. So what you see was was pre-recorded, even her, but they they pumped it in so that it sounded like and looked like the audio it was happening at the time that the people were at the auditorium, so that was that was really cool. I I made it home in time to watch the Oscars, I'll just say that. Okay, cool. I I love the costumes and then everything, but yeah, I saw some of your pictures and then I'm like, okay, I see it. Yeah, that was so I guess I can say this now. She had requested that there be a female conductor, and I was there, and everyone was like, Well, duh, who else would it be? Nicole. But the way that they had done the the stage plot for the video, um, they had half of the orchestra uh broken up, and so it would have been odd for me if you remember, she was in the center and we were cut off into two places, so there was no place for me to really, you know, conduct and it look normal because when you have an orchestra in front of you, you have the whole thing. So I would have, in essence, been only conducting half the orchestra, and it just wouldn't have been right. So, my dress, what they what they made for me was supposed to be for that I had a train on the back, that's why I had that big train. Because if I would have been standing, I was like, Well, can you hide some things? You know, some things are a little off proportion. So they built it that way, but then when I woke up the next morning, I got a text and they said the choreographer is saying, you know, no, we're not gonna be able to have the conductor because of the the stage plot. So me and the harpist had kind of the same, we both had trains, so they put us together so that they could take our trains and fluff them up and kind of do like this nest thing. Um, which by the way, shout out to her. I've she was just on this set um for the Grammys with me, too. So she's great. Um, Madison Callie, just give her a little shout out. You would love her, right? But um, yeah, so that that happened with that, but it was such a cool experience because the song was dope. That was us. We recorded it just like what you hear. That's what we recorded in the studio, and yeah, it was it was a great one. It was a good one.

SPEAKER_01 56:31

That is awesome. Thank you for sharing again.

SPEAKER_00 56:34

This is not everything. I just wanted this is not everything, so it's definitely not, it's so not every everything. Um, you know, I just throw those things out there because you know, sure, like y'all to be like Liza. So I threw those two out there, but goodness is y'all, this isn't everything. So I hope you're gonna write a book or something. Like if you're not already been asked, yeah. We'll see. Because it would not be centered around music, even though music would be mentioned. But I've I've actually been asked to write a to write a book, and uh it would it would definitely have to be in like a two-parter because where do I start? You know, gotcha. But yeah, let's know when you do. Yeah, I will, I will keep it supposed. So what one of the things I love, and it's been all throughout our conversation. Um, with all the experiences that you've had and everything you've done, you are also unapologetically a Christian. Okay, so so my my my my church girl side, I'm like, yes, we made it. We I I love it. Why is that so important to you? Because sometimes I feel like when you go in spaces outside of church, they can feel like pressure, like not saying things to hide it, but why is it so important to you? Well, first of all, uh, the Bible says in John 15 that if you abide in me, right? Um, if you don't abide in me, you can't do anything. And so, my my well, let me go back, let me go back a little further. Let me go back to birth. So my parents were believers. My father was a man of God and prayer to this day. You know, my dad used to um pray in the mornings loud and wake up the house. So as far as as long as I can, as far as I can go back, I remember my dad waking up the house, I mean, in worship, singing, clapping, prayer, I mean, going, interceding for people desperately um to God. Um, and my mother would be right there, you know, because clearly she couldn't get out of it because they were in the bedroom together. So, you know, but my parents were people of prayer and the word, I mean the sound word of God, and so um I didn't even when I strayed from college, because that's what you do, you know, you go out there and you test the limits and do all the dumb things, and you know, there was always that heaviness that this is how you were raised, Nicole. And I one of the things I think I I want to say that my youth was was just a string of mercies because my god, I don't it it is a wonder that um the Lord didn't take me out of here with some of the the dumb stuff that I did, the dumb decisions that I made, the silly, silly things that I did. And so at this good old right age, you know, you live and you learn, but you see how God has been so faithful, and you would just be it would be irresponsible, but it would be a lie, it would be false to pretend like you've kept yourself together. The Bible says that he holds all things together, everything. So while you're tearing up stuff and things are falling apart, God is holding it together. His providence, his power, his presence, his goodness, his promise. He's holding it all together. And it says, you know, I wrote a piece that it's called Romans 820. It is on uh on um iTunes and and and well the streaming platforms, but it's uh one of the pieces that I wrote when I was taking care of my mom. And um, it's nothing like what people know of me. So if you if you find it, it's definitely I I I guess you would consider that to be a neoclassical piece because it's just strings and it's just a orchestral piece, but that became the verse of my life, is Romans 8 and 28 28. All things work together, and we know that's how it's and we know that all things work together for the good of them who love the Lord, who are called according to his purpose in Christ Jesus. So there is nothing, nothing that I could do. You talk about that book, girl. That book has so much of T and foolishness in it. Um and so thinking about that and thinking about how God sustained me through that to bring me to this point. Um, I have to acknowledge him. I have to, and not not just acknowledge, because let me be very clear to the people out in the streets Satan believed in God. Faithfulness is about submission and allegiance to. That's what having faith means. It's not an intellectual exercise, it is about being um submissive, submitted to, and allegiance to. So now if you take that that very meaning and you just flip it to things that people do have submission to, then it changes the definition of what you're faithful to. It is not um an intellectual exercise. So um being God being faithful in my walk with the Lord, being submitted to him, I mean being like really walking with the Lord and being a believer of the way, right? The Bible called it the way back in the in the days of Acts. Um and so that is I I just don't see I joke, I I because I'm I'm I'm a newlywed. Um, we've not been married for a year yet. Um May 9th will be our anniversary. I always joke and I say, I just do not know how people stay married without the Lord. And I know people do, but to me, it's a God-breathed, God-made covenant. And so anything that God makes, and that includes us as well, He's the one that uh can manage us, He's the one that um can maintain us. And so it's it's so heartbreaking for people to have this existence and think that they can do the creation can be without the creator. It's just not possible. You can get through, but I can't imagine what you're missing out on when you put your life into the hands of the one that created you. Because he created you for a purpose. So would you not want to don't you want to know what that purpose is? Don't you want him to be the one to to conduct your life to so that you can be used to the fullest by the one who is the fullest? You know what I'm saying? Yeah, so yes, I'm serious about this thing, girl. You're not gonna get me without it. I you know, I try to do well, I'm gonna try, but I it's hard, it's very difficult for me to do interviews and not to put God in in it's in his place in my life. I I if you ask me, I'm not gonna lie to you and tell you it was all me. It was not it was all God, it's it's it will always be my Lord and Savior, Jesus. It will always be there's no other way. So that's that is my story, you know. Yes, thank you for that. And I hope my fellow believers in you know, marketplace in the industry, I hope you know, like you don't have to shrink back in that just encouraged me to know it. And you you said so many nuggets within nuggets. In fact, I would say shrinking down is risky because at that point you're cutting off your lifeline. He doesn't share his glory with anyone, and so to try to etch him out of the very um his his creation and his plan is crazy. It's you can't so at this point, how much of it can you do on your own? You can't even see around the corner. I can't see through these walls. If a bullet was coming through right now, I would not be able to see. So, how much more can God see? Well, he sees it all, you know, and so trust the one that sees everything coming. Yes, yeah, and it has not always been like that, let me tell you. I I definitely struggled with my faith, my submission, my allegiance to Jesus. But the older I get, I I don't know if it if it comes with age, because you know the older you get, you get real uh contankerous and you don't care about what the rest of the world has to say. So maybe that's some of that is my excuse too. But it's true. It's it's it's like you know, experience just tells you, and you've seen time and time again that he is faithful. Yes, he is faithful. I love that. Dale, you said something else not too long about. A newlywed, and I was actually gonna say congratulations because I noticed I've been following you for a little bit. I can't remember how and and why, but then I noticed wait a minute, there's a name change, it is a name change, and still still trying to change it on every document. Yes, we um Hamilton Harden. That's my husband. Shout out to him, yeah. He's great. Like, y'all gotta really check him out. Like, real talk, like outside of him being my husband, he is insane as a musician, and so I would suggest that you look him up and um just look up his his discography and all the things that he does, he's phenomenal. Um, but yeah, we we recently got married uh in May, May 9th of 25, and have been um walking this thing ever since. He also is a man of God, so that's another thing, is just it's so easy when it's someone who's walking this this way with you, and he is you know the head of the house and insistent about putting God first, and we have Bible study every day. When we you know when we have the boys here, we have two teenagers, and you know, so as a family, we sit down and we go through chapters, chapters, like read and discuss from beginning to end, and so that is always a circulating um that that door revolves. Um it's God, it's God first always.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:45

So, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:46

Awesome. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:48

And you all have something now with omnia session strings. Is that right? Did I say that right?

SPEAKER_00 1:07:53

Okay, yeah, yeah. So tell us a little a little bit about that. We have to, I hope they get the chance to talk to him too. But if you tell us a little bit about to, you you, I mean, he's he's he's a whole lot more fun than me because he's like super just you'll love him. I mean, he's great. Um, so omnia session strings, it's just something we put together because it by the time that we you know got married, um, and even in our engagement, we were starting to work together. Um, in these, so someone would call me in these to get these sessions together, and I'm like, well, I have an engineer right here, you know, and and you know, a rain and he does arrangements as well. Phenomenal, um, phenomenal arrangements, and he's also a horn and winds player, and then he does rhythm section and all that, and so it was just easier for us. I mean, literally, it was easier for us just to say, let's just make it a thing, like a legal thing. Um, and so we we came up with the LLC and we we do all the business stuff together because we're in the same house, it's the same, same bills gotta be paid by the same chunks of money, so it might as well. And with our our schedule, uh, we both work from home, and um, you know, he may give me some things to do for him, uh, it just depends on what it is. And we mainly work separately, um, just because of what's asked of us, and we have clients, but uh a lot of times when we're doing the tracking portion of it and the strings, the orchestrations, we work together with that. And I'm always gonna, you know, try to bring him in just because a lot of the workload can be shared with us too. And so, and then you know, that's more income coming into the house um together, so that that it works out really well, anyway.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:49

And I I love how God just aligns things, aligns things even in looking at how what you do already naturally complements one another.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:56

So that's for sure. That's beautiful. That is beautiful right there. So we're about to wind down. I could I could talk for you off, but we're about yes, there's so much good stuff, but we're about to wind down, but let me uh share with the people, I guess. What do you want to do next? Is there something that you still haven't done yet that you really want to do? Yeah, there is. Um, I I'm really interested in um getting more awareness to the unrepresented um population, particularly black women in music. And so I'm trying to figure out a way to get that done. Um, I have some, I have a an LLC, another LLC on her behalf, and then I have um a nonprofit called Go Court or Go Girl. Um, I'm sorry, it is Go Forth Girl, boy. I'm thinking of Go Forth Girl. And it's um I want to get it going to where Go Forth Girl prepares um young black girls for the music industry in a safe environment, um, ethical environment. And then uh on her behalf, I should have written these down, on her behalf is showcasing black women professionals um in settings. And so I I've been in the works talking to um a friend about how to get that done, um, and just the exposure um that there'd be awareness is a better word um of getting that out that we have plenty of women who because I don't want that to be the case, you know. You asked me the question earlier, did I did is that a thing? It's a thing, and everyone doesn't handle it well, um, you know, and so just because sometimes it does feel a bit unfair, and because there's some amazing, I'm always taking screenshots of of black girls who play. Ah man, as soon as I hit a bass player, screenshot, you know, guitarist, screenshot. I just follow. Oh yeah, I I'm not well I do that too, but I I have I have some plans, and so I want to be able to go through my file cabinet of screenshots and contact these girls, um, these ladies, and just put them in places where they're seen and heard and appreciated and and utilized, you know. Um so that's that's my plan is to serve that. I'm not really too much interested in being in um stage as much as I want to be in the background and be in production and help to get that out to to help you know folks coming up to get to get them out. I love that. Well that that's called legacy, right? Yeah, I love that. Love what you're building and setting forth. I actually heard you um on another podcast, believe it's binder podcast. You did your homework, girl. I try, I try. And also you're again, you're so fascinating. So there's that.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:21

But um believe it was the binder podcast, and you said something that stuck with me, which was I really do take all of us with us.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:28

So it's not surprising to hear you share what you're building next because of that approach of how you show up, but mindful of what you represent when you show up. So that just really see. I I mentioned that quote because it popped in my head instantly, though, as you're sharing the ground. I mean it, I mean it. I'm very intentional about my hires. Um, if yeah, I'm very intentional about certain things. If you see something, assume that there's a motive, a good one. Just assume that if you see a group or people or whatever in a certain place, I'm very, very, very intentional about why I did that. Um, and so you know, I want to put the girls coming up. I there was someone that um that wrote on a post because I commented on the girls that did the uh that were with Coco Jones uh for the Super Bowl. And I know a couple of them, which is really great to see that. And so um I made a comment, and I had quite a few moms come up and say, My daughter's playing now, and I can't wait to see her do this. And and I was like, It's actually closer than you think, it's closer than you think, and more attainable than you think, um, especially nowadays, and the pandemic kind of helped with that. It was like, you know, everyone had to come up with these remote video shoots, and so in their cities, they had to call who was available, and a lot of these artists always wanted that representation, and so they got it. Um whereas in certain regions of the country they don't hire like that, and so there's this uh fallacy that we're not available. I said that earlier, and so now that has been corrected, it's been um you know, that has been debunked is a better word, and so now the the opportunity for black boys and black girls to play in these in these high-profile uh places, it's it's a thing that's happening more and more. And I love it, and I love again like the the safe space that you want to help create for them coming up because we need it now more than ever. Um, not to go down a whole nother rabbit hole, but we've seen a lot of documentaries coming out, exposing this, exposing that, everybody spilling all the tea here and there. So that safe spaces thing, I'll just say that's um that's the key. So that is all for now. Thank you. Okay, thank you, thank you for everything. How can people keep up with you? Um, social media, strings chick as um strings, plural chick, and then um there's omnia uh string sessions. Um, that is also on social media, and I'm just Nicole Harden on Facebook. I haven't been on Facebook quite as much as I normally am, but I'll say that there's still things on there that let you know that I'm I'm alive and breathing and you know doing well. We're glad to hear that. And you know what? I'm putting you on the spot. I did not ask this before, but just just now thinking about this. Do you mind closing us out with a prayer, particularly for those who particularly for those who are, you know, they're in the industry, they're trying to navigate their way through everything.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:56

But because a lot of what I do, I talk a lot about entrepreneurs and and the creatives and everything. So say a prayer for that group.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:03

You don't mind. We just thank you, God, for this time, for this interview, Lord. You don't um you don't have these things just by happenstance, these uh meetings and these opportunities. It's all all for the Great Commission to spread the gospel, to spread to others the love of God. Um, and so God, I just first ask that you would cover those who are listening, that those who um do not know you, God, I pray, Lord, that they understand how how much you bel how much you love them and what you've done for them through Jesus. And I pray that they would come to know you and to serve you. There's so much fulfillment in that. You've given them talent, you've given them gifts, Lord. And I pray that each person that hears this, I pray, God, that they would allow for you to navigate them in these spaces, Lord. That I pray that you would continue to remind them through their gifts how much you love them so and how much you want them to use them for the building of the kingdom, Lord. I pray that you would give them confidence in their areas, that you would um continue to give them opportunities to grow, Lord, and that you would speak to them, their hearts, and where you want them to put these gifts. You don't want them to be everywhere, and that's the biggest thing is that you have a use for them, you have a purpose for them, and it will go forth, Lord. I pray that you would protect them in these spaces, protect their hearts, that they would know that everything is not for them, and that you have everything um mapped out the way that you see fit for their gifts to be used, and that they would draw people to you, Lord God. I pray that um they would be able to bless others in this as well as them being blessed, and that you would just continue to encourage them in everything that they do. I ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you so much for doing that. Thank you for that prayer. Thank you for our time here. I hope you all enjoyed it. I've had a good time. Let me say that. I've had a good time. Thank you all for listening. And thank you. I love to stay connected. You're amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the Inscripted Blend Podcast. I hope this conversation reminded you that purpose, preparation, and faith can open doors you never could have planned on your own. Now, if you enjoyed this episode and you want more comments, stay connected. Join my email list for updates on the next episode of all things in the inscriptive blend universe. Also, if you're looking for a creative consultant, speaker, maybe a host for your next event. Let's also connect on that level. There's a link to my show notes for that too. I would be happy to work with you. Until the next time, keep building, keep trusting, keep leaving, stay in the blend. Take care.