Goddess Cre Fought Cancer Before She Made Hit Music

Learn The Story Behind ‘Blues’, ‘I Am Woman’ And ‘No FB Allowed’

Women’s History Month is a celebration of the vital role of women in American history. Through study and observation, we can learn about the accomplishments of women since the beginning of time. In addition to being a working mom and a loving wife, Goddess Cre is also a cancer survivor for whom the simple act of living was an accomplishment in and of itself. From 2012-2018, she had to put her music career on hold after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. With cancer now in remission, she had the time and the strength to resume her music career. In her recent interview with INSIDE Monthly, she got glammed up by Crystal at Picture Studios (who happens to be the mother of a cancer survivor) to talk about love, music and life since Mississippi.

Where were you born and what was your childhood like?

I was born in Hattiesburg, MS but I was raised in Biloxi, MS. My childhood was a little bit of a struggle. My parents divorced when I was ten. After that separation, being raised by my mom (as a single mom) was a totally different household experience than the experience with my dad. He was a very military-style disciplinarian. My mom is very sweet and loving so I kind of have a good balance of what I call the “calm and the storm”. So yeah, it was like that. Sometimes it was calm and sometimes there was a whole storm going on…LOL.

How were your teenage years different from your twenties?

My teenage years were a little bit confined. I didn’t get to go out much besides school events. I was raised in one of those “you gotta be home before the streetlights come on” kind of homes. I was also one of the older siblings, so I had my younger siblings to look out for as well. Going into my twenties it was like “YES….I’m FREE”. That’s when I started to find myself and figure out the things I wanted to do. Moving to Fayetteville, NC was when I started my music journey. My twenties was when I just started making everything about me.

How did you end up moving to North Carolina?

It was one of those situations where my mom just got kind of tired of the whole single mother thing. She was like, “y’all are packing up to go live with your dad for some time”. We were like, “okay”. I didn’t like it at first because my dad and I didn’t have the best relationship. Of course, I started to become a little bit of a rebel. I was sixteen when I first got there. I went back to Mississippi for a short period and then came right back to Fayetteville after I graduated high school because I loved Fayetteville. And then I went on into my crazy twenties…LOL.

When did you discover that you had a love for music?

Very early on. I first found I could sing when I was six or seven years old. When I would sing to my mom, she would round up her friends in the living room and they would pour wine and listen to me sing songs. That was pretty fun. They would be giggling and laughing and have me sing this and that. Later on, I found my love for Aaliyah (R.I.P.) and I thought if she could do music, I know I could do music too.

Did you have other hobbies or interests before music?

Yes and no. Yes, because I was very into nursing and children because I love them a lot. I had thoughts of being a pediatrician. But then I also feel like most of it was coached into me because we do have a lot of nurses in our family and stuff like that. For a long time, I was made to believe that music is just a dream and it’s not something I can be successful in. But once I dropped that, I was just all in on music.

What was it like working with Zona Simz?

Oh man. I love Zona. He has become like a brother to me. Working with him is one of my favorite steps in the process of making songs because he can actually take what I describe and hit the nail right on the head. Every single time. That from scratch process and the way he can build off of my ideas is why he gets so much love from me.

Why do you think your song Blues has been so successful?

I think it’s because it was the first time that I was just real with myself and honest. I let out a lot of my feelings and the things that I have been through and struggled through. Even the reference to my dad is in that song. That was just my let go moment. Writing is my way of getting things out and I used to shy away from the honest things and try to stick to what’s popular. But now I dig inside of me. Songs become more beautiful when you can hear the raw emotion like “she knows something about that…for real!”.

How did No F&ck Boys Allowed come together in the studio?

That’s actually a fan favorite. It didn’t have as much success as I would have liked it to, but I still feel like it’s one of those ones that is gonna come back around. It came about by just reminiscing about past relationships and being in the dating scene (even though I’m not in that scene now). The way that my husband treats me now made me realize I was dealing with some f&ck boys. So from this point going forward, they ain’t allowed…LOL.

What is the definition of a F&ck Boy and who was the inspiration?

My definition of a f&ck boy is just a man that is just so into himself that he doesn’t make any type of time to make you feel special in any kind of way. F&ck boys don’t make you feel safe. They don’t make you feel protected. They don’t know how to access that feminine energy inside you. They call you out your name. They have multiple women and children that they’re leaving out here but they’re able to be free and do anything they want with the fellas. They’re out of touch with responsibility. As we get older, we want to know that we’re with somebody that is responsible and things at home are straight before we party and hang out. And then just to be committed. I had an ex that I spent five whole years with when I knew from the beginning that I should have gotten out of it.

What did you learn working alongside GenesisBe?

She is literally like a sister as well. She’s the person that got me to come out of my shell and to really pursue music. She was around and doing music when I decided I didn’t want to be a nurse anymore. Her parents were activists, and she was an activist with a really mature vibe. She was on a different level than what I was used to. The neighborhood that I grew up in was a little ratchet. Meeting Genesis showed me that there’s another side and other things that I could explore. She’s the first person to get me into a studio. She’s the first person to help me get on a big stage and sing in front of a large crowd. Genesis helped me do all of that and she’s definitely a big example for why I keep going and pushing my music even at thirty-five years old.

Why is I Am Woman the perfect anthem for Women’s History Month?

Your questions are SO AMAZING. I love this! With ‘I Am Woman’ the song really talks about the struggles of living in a male dominated world…especially in the workforce. We’re so overly sexualized with everything. It always makes you feel like you’re incompetent to do anything other than wifely duties. ‘I Am Woman’ is just that breakout, break free, song to say it’s my right to be here and do this. I can do it just as well as you can, if not better. Honestly, I feel like a woman should be president. That’s just me….LOL. It’s definitely that time.

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