Kay Cola talks about working with Eminem on ‘Not Afraid’.
The self-made multi-millionaire, Kay Cola recently sat down with Forbes for a new interview. The musician turned entrepreneur left the music industry to build her own all-natural beauty business. She talks about writing her first song and working with the likes of Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, and more.
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She also recalls working with the likes of legendary Eminem and Dr. Dre. “Working with Eminem was certainly a high point in my music career,” says Kay Cola. “The song was ‘Not Afraid,’ from the Recovery album. It was a very collaborative experience and I was both singing and writing for the track.”
“Dr. Dre was great to work with, too. He would let me do my thing and give me guidance afterward,” she says. “The hardest part is just being a woman in the music industry. It’s a catch-22 because, on one hand, you’re so appreciative to be there, working in a creative industry with crazy cool perks. On the other hand, you have to endure quite a bit of disrespect. I was constantly hit on by men, and the hours are gruelling, so much time spent away from my family. I was always in the studio, and I was still barely getting by.”
Her life appeared to be a dream come true from the outside, but she was struggling to keep her head above water due to a pay-per-success, salary-free burden.
While she was fortunate to have friends and relatives give her family someplace to “sleep,” she realized it wouldn’t be a long-term solution. “Eventually, Universal came to me and I couldn’t say no. They signed me to work with [rapper] The Game and I needed the money. I knew I was being underpaid, but it was more than I was used to. That paycheck allowed me to get an apartment and establish some normalcy for my kids.”
Check out the full thing here on Forbes.
