emily king

Welcome to the third season of the She Rocked It podcast, and our first-ever interview with three generations of rockstar women from the same family! In this intimate and inspiring conversation (recorded in January 2023 at The Bridge recording studio in Brooklyn, New York), you’ll hear #realtalk about being a woman in the music industry and pursuing a creative, courageous life – straight from powerhouse mother-daughter duo Kim Kalesti and Emily King (plus a special appearance from the family’s 88-year-old matriarch, Maggie Haley). 

KIM KALESTI is a modern-day renaissance woman who exemplifies the creative life as a singer, songwriter, recording artist, pianist, and painter. After 15 years as an in-demand jazz chanteuse–performing and recording alongside many of New York City’s jazz masters–she went on to release several piano/vocal albums of her poignant original songs. Both her daughter Emily King and son AC Lincoln have followed in her footsteps to become performing artists.  

EMILY KING  has released several critically acclaimed albums and received Grammy nominations for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance. She has toured with the likes of Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, and Sara Bareilles. After dropping out of high school to pursue music, she was discovered by Clive Davis, who signed her to his J Records label at the age of 21. Now signed to ATO Records, she plans to release her latest album Special Occasion in May 2023. 

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Special thanks to Mona Kayhan and team from The Bridge recording studio including Urosh Jovanovich and Brianna Cofield. https://www.bridgerecordingstudio.com/

Thanks to Fifth Hammer Brewing for supplying libations at our recording session. https://www.fifthhammerbrewing.com/
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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

[00:00] Meet mother-daughter creative powerhouses Kim Kalesti and Emily King

[04:08] What gave Kim the courage to forge an artistic path?

[09:24  How Emily knew she wanted to drop out of high school to pursue music, and how her mom Kim reacted

[15:37] How Emily learned not to compromise her own creative vision

[21:00] How Kim cultivated her musical style over many years working with numerous collaborators (including George Clinton!)

[26:09] Emily and Kim reveal their creative processes

[33:21] Grandma Maggie Haley enters the chat

[40:41] Maggie, Kim, and Emily each share their ONE TIP TO ROCK IT

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LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Emily King website: https://www.emilykingmusic.com/

Emily King’s song Distance: https://youtu.be/4DbeYbcZAJE

Emily King’s song This Year: https://youtu.be/xiDnuRylHMU

Emily King shares an early version of This Year on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cm1dqzKMZFq/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Kim Kalesti paintings: https://kimkalesti.wixsite.com/kimistry

Kim Kalesti bandcamp: https://

If you’d like to be part of the studio audience for future podcast recordings, head over to sherockedit.com to become a member of our Rockstar Network membership community: https://sherockedit.com/the-rockstar-network

You'd think being dropped from a major label would hurt your career, but in Emily King's case, it helped fuel her success. In 2008, she left a major label, J Records, and began working on an independent record. With the help of producer/composer Jeremy Most, she created "Seven" a seven-track EP filled with soulful ballads and heartfelt lyricism. 

Singer/saxophonist Braxton Cook joins Morgan to discuss this album, Emily King's powerful voice, watching her perform live (remember live shows?), and the subtle but important decisions she makes throughout the record.

More on Braxton Cook

• Braxton's Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
• Braxton's interview with CapitalBop
• Twitter | Instagram

More on Emily King

• Emily's interview with Afro about Seven
• Emily King's Latest Album Is a Sweeping Coming-of-Age Tale (NPR)
• Emily performing "Georgia" live at Rockwood Music Hall

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Seven unless otherwise indicated):

• Ever After
• Braxton Cook: FJYD
• No More Room
• Emily King: Walk In My Shoes
• Georgia
• Christian Scott: Georgia (Live)
• Emily King: Georgia (Live)
• Every Part
• Down
• Emily King & Nick Hakim: Down (Live)
• Down
• Radio
• Braxton Cook: Never Thought
• Sides
• Georgia
• Every Part
• No More Room
• Down
• Emily King: Look At Me Now
• Nick Hakim: Cuffed
• Brittany Howard: Georgia

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!