Seth Neblett on Parliament-Funkadelic Women & 'Mothership Connected'

Transcript

*DISCLAIMER: Transcripts are created using AI, and may not accurately represent the content exactly as presented. Transcripts are provided as a courtesy to our listeners who would like to use them. For the accurate context of what was said, please refer to the audio or video of the episode.

Watch With Scrolling Transcript

Read the Transcript

[00:00:00]

Intro Theme

Welcoming Seth Neblett, Author of Mothership Connected

Sir Daniel: Greetings and welcome to another episode of Queue Points podcast. I am DJ Sir Daniel.

Jay Ray: And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my government as Johnnie Ray Kornegay III, and Sir Daniel, we got a legend in the building. He got a new book out. It's a whole thing.

Sir Daniel: We absolutely have a legend in the building. I have been, I have been secretly standing this gentleman for a few years now because I thoroughly enjoy a podcast, a really Mm, a one podcast that he is, um, the co-host of, and I feel a kinship to him because the, the two of us, we feel [00:01:00] very strong about women artists.

Jay Ray: We do.

Sir Daniel: We do and we, um, feel very strong about women artists and making sure that they are represented and given the props that they deserve. And so when this book came along and we got our copies of the book, I was like, this has Queue Points written all over

Jay Ray: All day.

Sir Daniel: all day. Jay Ray, get Mr. Seth on the line

Jay Ray: Oh my God. Listen. Um, so we are so excited y'all because, uh, we're about to welcome our guests. But before we do all of that, you know how we do a Queue Points, we gotta introduce folks properly so that y'all can understand what's about to happen here. Right.

Jay Ray Reads Seth Neblett's Full Bio

Jay Ray: So, Seth Niblet, a notable author, has pinned the critically acclaimed book, Mothership Connected: The Women of Parliament-Funkadelic.

This cultural history reframes one of the most influential movements in American Music Parliament Funkadelic by [00:02:00] focusing on the often overlooked female members, including his mother, Mallia Franklin, whose contributions were foundational. As the author of Mothership Connected, Seth has had the opportunity to speak at various prestigious events including Pop Con at the University of Southern California, the D Sad Black History Museum and Educational Center.

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the National Museum of African American Music Mothership Connected has been featured in notable media outlets such as The Washington Post, Harper's Bazaar, miss Magazine, mojo Magazine, and the Wire uk. His work has been widely praised for exploring the historical lens while deepening cultural understanding.

In addition to his success with Mothership Connected, Seth has served as creative director and merchandise strategy lead for Chaka Khan Enterprises. He has also directed music videos for Chaka as well as Mickey Howard, Vesta Williams and Jill Jones. Seth has also served [00:03:00] as artist and road manager for Climax, featuring Bernadette Cooper as yet, and the original Mary Jane Girls Maxie and Sherry. Seth, co-host Apollonia Studio six with Apollonia Kotero from the film Purple Rain, a cultural and celebrity focused podcast platform on YouTube that has amassed nearly a million cumulative views.

Without further ado, Seth Neblett Welcome to Queue Points.

Seth Neblett: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate you guys having me.

Sir Daniel: Uh, the pleasure is all ours. I'm, I'm kind of shaking right now because we are, we're like, we're literally

Jay Ray: Kids in a candy store. This is

Sir Daniel: you know what I'm saying? One degree away from icon after icon after icon that we have spoken about on this podcast ad nauseam and it is truly a pleasure to have you on this [00:04:00] episode.

What Was It Like For Seth Neblett Growing Up?

Jay Ray: We should dive into your history, what was it like for you, um, as you reflect you, you're kind of living in two worlds simultaneously, right?

There's this kind of highly structured world, um, of your grandparents and also this very artistic world of, of Parliament Funkadelic, ex coexisting. Um, what was that like for you?

Seth Neblett: You know, for me it was interesting because I had been living in both of those worlds all my life. So to me it wasn't. Necessarily strange or odd or extraordinary. It was just what it was, you

Jay Ray: Hmm.

Seth Neblett: Um, because my mother, you know, I was primarily raised by my grandparents who were [00:05:00] into union organization, politics, civil rights.

My grandmother was a, uh, the council, vice president of the council, uh, of Highland Park, Michigan. My grandfather was the aide to the mayor, you know. so all of these things were in play when I was born.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: But what also was in play was my mother who, uh, you know, had a lot of friends that were, I mean, Bootsy Collins is my godfather.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: My babysitters were like sugarfoot from the Ohio players and, and, uh, know, people like that. So that, that was what I grew up, literally grew up in. My father is a, a Nate Neit, the drummer for a new birth, the original new birth. Uh, and so I always [00:06:00] had these two as a, as a child. It was like I had this, this life of that was very structured.

It was very political in the way that, you know, my grandparents were always going like to the mayor's ball and, and things like that. And usually my mother was a many times the entertainer

Sir Daniel: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: at the mayor's balls. And then I had this other part of my life that was very much. A rock and roll baby.

I mean, you know, I was like the only child running around the house and it was full of members of Earth, Wind and Fire members of the family, you know, Sly the Family Stone. Um, a lot of the Invictus Records people like chairman of the board. And, um, my mother was really good friends with, uh, Martha Reeves and her sister Lois.

And, it just, you know, but then my grandmother was like, best [00:07:00] friends with Rosa Parks and they, they marched with Martin Luther King, you know, and, and so it was this whole kind of hodgepodge of these different unbelievable worlds that was growing up in simultaneously.

Sir Daniel: So let,

Watching Mom Transform Into a P-Funk Superhero Backstage

Sir Daniel: let's stay there and talk about Ms. Franklin, about Mallia Franklin, your mom, and.

Seth Neblett: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: She, she's, she's mommy. But then there comes a point where you, you're backstage and you're seeing a mom transform, put on her, her costume for the stage, and she's literally transforming into a superhero. What, what does that do?

How does that shape the way you move in the world as far as how you interact with women, um, how you treat women? And then tell us how her artistry affected you and on the path that you decided to take.

Seth Neblett: Well, my [00:08:00] mother was the whole reason that I am the man I am today and have worked with the women that I've worked with in my life. She was the trainer. She was the one who, you know, was really interesting because, um, I always knew my mother as a singer, but when. Parlet happened and her being a real, even though she had sang with Parliament Funkadelic for years, when she became a, a member of Parliament Funkadelic, meaning touring and, all of that sort of stuff, everything became very different because, know, at that time, p Funk was, the kids, they were like superheroes.

It was all cartoons and and Dr. Funkenstein and, and Illa and all those sorts of things. So, know, when you see your mother [00:09:00] sketched on a album cover and now she's

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: a part of the comic book, she's a part of the, the, the story. know, it, it feels like. Almost like she becomes like, wonder Woman

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: you know, or, or Super Girl or something like that.

Because now she's a part of the lore. She's a part of the story. And, um, so when I saw her in those kind of much bigger, um, you know, much bigger ways, meaning instead of seeing her just on a, a little stage somewhere, I'm like seeing her in arenas now,

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: you know, and I'm, I'm, I'm looking up and she's on the big giant jumbotron and, and you know, and she's wearing, you know, costumes with butterfly wings and capes and all of that.

It just, it [00:10:00] becomes different. And, uh, know, I was, you know, her only child and. Interestingly enough, it was like, I remember being seven and eight years old and going to the studios and you know, kind of sitting in on the rehearsals and, and watching them get ready for, um, um, shows and things like that.

And that kind of stuff really makes an imprint on you. And, you know, my mother's, you know, she was a diva. I mean, and, and, and when you're raised by a diva, then you know how to relate to divas. And I don't mean that in a negative con connotation, you know, but you, there's a, my mother was a certain of woman because she was a certain kind of woman that, that did a certain kind of work in a certain [00:11:00] field. And it was second nature to me that when I started meeting other women like her. I just, you know, became parts of their lives, whether it was personally, whether it was in a business sense, and many times in both ways. And, bMallialia was the one that, you know, she reared me. I was 10 years old and she would send me to the mall and I would go to the mall and she'd send me to the mall and I'd go to the Clinique counter.

And I knew I had to get pore minimizer and ivory, uh, uh, foundation. I knew that I had to get rum raisin lipstick. I knew that I had to get Hudson stockings with the girdle top and the reinforced toe. I knew all of these things before I was even a teenager.

Sir Daniel: You know what, Jay Ray, what this is bringing up for me, and the reason why I'm giggling is because, [00:12:00] uh, I'm an only child as well and nowhere near living the life that you were living at, at, um, back then. But I remember running to the store for my mom to get her the little stockings in that came in the egg.

Remember in the egg,

Seth Neblett: Baby. Sheer energy.

Sir Daniel: Sure. Energy, right? And then also, but also going with her to her choir rehearsals and her costume was of course, the choir robes and just sitting there in, in the pews watching her and the other ladies, you know, transform and become these larger than life figures. So

Seth Neblett: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: relate to that, that that's, that just came up for me immediately.

Jay Ray.

An Odd Seed Kid With Parlet Rehearsing in the Basement

Jay Ray: Seth, I'm curious. I'm thinking about. Little boy, Seth, and all of this energy, all of this artistic energy being imprinted on you at that age where you are watching these, [00:13:00] these, these, these magnificent artists on stage, what does that feel like? What did that feel like for you as a child, especially a child who's also going to school with other children that don't have this life and would never understand what that's like?

Can you talk a little bit about that experience?

Seth Neblett: It was interesting because you feel in a ways, like an odd seed

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: because you are, you know that you're different. You know, you're different. You can feel it, you know it. And um, you know, a lot of the things that little boys were into at that time, I wasn't into that kind of stuff.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: You know, I would take my money and I wouldn't go and buy Matchbox card box cards.

I go to the record [00:14:00] store, you know, and we talking like eight years old, nine years old. We had a record store that was right up the block, and I would take my little money and go to the record store. I would, um, you know, they want to go see GI Joe, and I wanted to go see Saturday Night Fever,

Jay Ray: Yeah. Yeah.

Seth Neblett: and, and it was really just a very interesting kind of, um, growing up because. When I would bring friends, school friends into my world, you know, like would be a rehearsal, maybe Parlet was rehearsing. 'cause they used to rehearse in, in my grandmother's basement. We had a lot, big, big house and like huge basement and Parlet would rehearse in the basement. So sometimes I [00:15:00] would bring, you know, my little friends from home to come and sit on the basement stairs and watch them rehearse.

Jay Ray: Wow.

Seth Neblett: Uh, there were times when I would get picked up from school in a tour bus.

Jay Ray: Wow.

Seth Neblett: You know, there were, I remembered my, um, second grade, uh, pageant. You know how schools have the school pageant?

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: Um, my second grade pageant, my mother was in town that particular time, and she showed up with maybe about six or seven members of Parliament, and they all came to my school pageant. At the time. One Nation Under a Groove was the number one song in the country

Jay Ray: Wow.

Seth Neblett: at the time. you know, for like me, it was normal.

But for like the other kids, it was crazy. And like for their parents, they were all at the pageant. They, [00:16:00] it was crazy for them, you know, it was like Parliament Funkadelic just walked into the school

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: know? Well, but that's my family,

Jay Ray: Yeah,

Seth Neblett: you know,

Jay Ray: man.

Seth Neblett: a very interesting childhood. You know, that may be a book one day.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: hope so. That's like the most, the best being a nepo kid in the best possible form ever. Like I, oh man, that just, it sounds fun, but I'm pre as Jay Ray prefaced at the beginning.

How the Industry Exploited Black Women in the 70s & 80s

Sir Daniel: It sounds like a lot of fun, but I'm sure you were also front seat to a lot of this, the seedier side of the business.

And as this book explores, you know, specifically how women are treated in the industry, and Jay Ray and I have talked about this at length, there are, there are, um, groups and acts that, um. You know, that we grew up listening to and looking to for entertainment. And then as we [00:17:00] got older, we found out the way the industry treated them.

And we find out, not necessarily this, the, the industry, the machine, but even the people closest to them that were working with them and putting them up to be in the front. And I look at Parlet as a template for a lot of the, a lot of women groups, a lot of female groups that came along after them. That beautiful had a, had a one of a kind sound and.

We're heading to the top, but then somebody just felt like they were burning too fast and too brightly. And so as you're coming up and talk, talking about this, talk about witnessing that and witnessing your mom go through that and how you put it into the book and just what you want people to [00:18:00] understand about how women in general are treated as a commodity in this industry.

Seth Neblett: Women, especially black women or women of color, especially when you're talking about the seventies and eighties, because a lot of the things that happened to the Women of Parliament at Funkadelic to. Other female groups of people that I know and work. You know, it happened in the Rick James camp, it happened in the Prince Camp, it happened in different camps.

It just, you know, P-Funk was, you know, George was a predecessor, but you know, George learned some things from Motown,

Jay Ray: Yep.

Seth Neblett: you know, and, um, uh, one of the things that I always like to explain too, is the sign of the times. You know, you're, you're coming up in a time when pimps, the pimp and [00:19:00] hoe syndrome was glorified, you know, with Super Fly.

And, you know, that was kind of an glorified, uh, uh, way of, of, of being for black men at that time,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: especially black men that were, were, were, were successful so to speak. You know, George Clinton wasn't any different, and I love Uncle George, but you know, he came from the streets he had that kind of mentality. And, um, you know, for women it's, it's really hard. And for my mother it was even harder because, uh, you know, she was raised by very, uh, the people that were, you know, people that were very much into their civil rights and, and, and things like that. And she had known George since she was 14 years old. This wasn't somebody that just came into her life and [00:20:00] hired her to be in Parlet.

Jay Ray: Right.

Sir Daniel: Hmm.

Seth Neblett: You know, this was a man that lived with our family

Sir Daniel: Hm.

Seth Neblett: when he was still trying to become successful.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: So, know, um, my grandmother and grandfather helped George out a lot. In the early days. So yeah, my mother came in with a very different attitude probably than the rest of the women did because, you know, her whole thing was like, you didn't hire me to be a this or that.

You didn't hire me to go on tour, know, um, you Bootsy Collins.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: So yeah, there was, there was, I'm sure that there was a piece of her that felt, you know, um, very much like, you're not gonna do me like that.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: And [00:21:00] became, some ways the thorn in the side of Parlet

Jay Ray: Mm.

Sir Daniel: Uh.

Mallia's Contract and the Hidden Business Behind Parlet

Seth Neblett: because, you know, if you get into the book, the whole Parlet deal. Had a lot to do with Neil Bogart, the president of part of

Jay Ray: Casablanca. Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: in my mother specifically. And, uh, you know, him telling George that whatever girl group you're gonna bring to Casablanca Mallia has to be in it. And originally that was gonna be the brides of Funkenstein.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: Um, and Dawn Silva, who was one of the brides, actually tells a story that when the people in George Clinton's organization first started talking about a girl group, they were talking about her, uh, Lynn Mabry, who was the other original bride of Funkenstein, and my mother being the brides of Funkenstein time.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: And [00:22:00] um, my mother was the only Parlet that was contracted, and that was very strategic.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: Her contract was the same amount of albums for Parlet that George had from Casablanca for Parlet, which was three albums.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: And uh, Parlet in a lot of ways was riding on my mother

Jay Ray: Mm.

Seth Neblett: of like the leader of the group. I mean, even if you look at the first album cover,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: of very

Jay Ray: She's like center. Yeah.

Seth Neblett: is the center,

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: And that's not taking anything away from Debbie and Jeanette 'cause they were just as important. But, you know, this book and researching and interviewing this book, I really found out from the business people that as far as they were concerned and they were instructed Ma uh, Parlet was about [00:23:00] Mallia whatever other two girls were singing with her,

Jay Ray: Hmm

Seth Neblett: know, it was so, um, with that being said, and with that kind of being the. Open secret plan, uh, when she started chirping up about not getting paid and not getting paid correctly, right out the gate.

Jay Ray: Right?

Seth Neblett: Uh, that kind of, I think, doomed parlet a little bit because, you know, if you are the squeaky wheel, sometimes you can be seen as the problem.

Jay Ray: Hmm hmm.

Seth Neblett: And especially as a woman,

Jay Ray: Yes.

Seth Neblett: really be seen as the problem.

Jay Ray: Hmm.

Seth Neblett: Uh, and so, you know, my mother being as as she was and my grandmother, who was a business woman who was acting [00:24:00] pretty much as her business manager, which was something that none of the other people in Parliament Funkadelic had at 20 some years old. That, know, s. Started to be like, well, maybe we don't want parlet to go on this tour. Well, maybe we don't want them to

Jay Ray: hmm.

Seth Neblett: do as much interviewing. Maybe we, because, because, you know, Mallia is chirping up and, and when she's chirping up, she's not just chirping up for herself. She's chirping up for the whole group.

Sir Daniel: Right.

Jay Ray: My goodness. Um, this, we know that this comes up. A, a lot in the industry. Right. Um, and thank goodness for your mother, of course, being brave enough to speak up for herself and what and what she deserved. Right. For, for the work that she was putting in.

Seth Neblett: yeah.

Jay Ray: [00:25:00] Now here you are though, researching for this book, and you are now hearing these stories, right.

Coming in, uh, from these women and, and they have different stories, right? And so you're, you're taking all of this in. And so I have two questions actually. One, how did you. Process all of that, because that's a, there's, there's joy, right? That comes with it. But there's definitely pain that comes with it too.

And now you are the person that has to channel all of that. So one, how did you process that? And then two, how did that shape how you then saw these men in your life who had been in your life all that time, so,

Seth Neblett: Well, the first answer is pretty easy because, you know, I lived through it my mother's side, so [00:26:00] I'll say 80% of it I knew. I witnessed, I saw the arguments, the fights, I saw the, you know, we didn't get paid. we were supposed to, we didn't get paid at all. I heard the conversations, you know, with, the, the managers and things like that and, and all those sorts of things.

So I grew up witnessing that.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: So a lot of it wasn't shocking,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: of it was just a story I already knew.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: Um, I, and I think that helped me because in writing the book, I knew the foundation, I knew the skeleton of the story.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: know, of course there were people that kind of put flesh on the bones of the skeleton.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: But a lot of it I already knew.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: I, I, I, my mother didn't have any money, [00:27:00] we didn't, we

Jay Ray: Didn't have any money. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm.

Seth Neblett: you know, so it wasn't like, know, it was like. She wasn't getting paid. She, she, and she was disgruntled kind of early because to be honest with you, she never really wanted to be in a girl group.

She didn't feel she had to be in a girl group. She had never been in a girl group. But George Clinton saw this as an opportunity. Um, she saw it as an opportunity to get in the door. And, you know, I think, and George needed her for his vision.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: Uh,

Space Ships and Space Pimps: The Hidden Meaning in Parlet's Album Art

Seth Neblett: par let's first album, a lot of money went into it.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: I mean, from hiring the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to play the strings on it,

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: to hiring the artist, uh, sushi Naga Oka, that did the cover that was doing the covers for Earth, wind and Fire and [00:28:00] ELO uh, all the really big, big, big groups at the time.

I mean, every pyramid. Album cover that was done for Earth, wind and Fire Sushi Naga Oka did it. And Casablanca paid him a lot of money to do this rendering of Parlet in this spaceship.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: That, funny enough, as I learned, uh, in my research for it, uh, uh, the spaceship itself, he was actually to, he was actually the premise to draw them in a space whore house.

Jay Ray: Really?

Sir Daniel: Hmm.

Seth Neblett: The pleasure principle was this supposed to be about, say it was a whore ship,

Jay Ray: Hmm.

Seth Neblett: is what it was.

Sir Daniel: Okay.

Seth Neblett: if you look at the imagery and you look at different parts of the ship, you'll see resemblances [00:29:00] of female body parts. Male body parts. And those were the subliminal messages that they were, you know, they were these women, you know, these, these women from outer space that brought pleasure and, you know, every, every press release was talking about how, you know, they would get you off, you know, guarantees, sensual satisfaction, sensual gratification, sensual such, and so,

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: but, you know, it all played into the, the, the lore of Parliament Funkadelic, because as George said, Dr.

Funkenstein was the ultimate space pimp.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: Got it.

Seth Neblett: was one of his main, uh, things, was that he was the ultimate space pimp. So it made sense that the first women that came from him, [00:30:00] you know, would be. Space and I,

Jay Ray: Mm.

Seth Neblett: but it, it, it, it fell into the whole lore of what it was, you know, the brides of Funkenstein.

It was, it was another thing when they released the brides, you know, what was interesting was that Parlet was pictured on their album cover, which was, you know, kind of unusual for George. and the brides were not, they were just kind of like these two

Jay Ray: Caricatures. Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: you know, and, and, and that was, you know, kind how he did it.

The, he, for whatever reason, the brides albums in particular, he really did not, uh, he didn't put any images of the group on the cover. And, um, what I was told was, you know, if there's no images of the person on the cover, then they [00:31:00] can be interchangeable

Jay Ray: swapped out.

Sir Daniel: That's exactly it. And you know, it's, it's, as you're speaking and dropping gem after gem, you're absolutely right. I, I think about a lot of the groups because like you, I would take my, my lunch money and go buy records. And for me, I, I grew up in the, um, the golden era of hip hop and we gotta talk about your mom's connection to hip hop.

'cause she's got a, because she's connected to some really legendary hip hop groups and artists. But, um, so, but back to what I was saying, uh, knowing that a lot of these fe, the female rappers especially that I grew up listening to, typically had. A Bengali behind them and typically had somebody who was pulling the strings, sometimes writing their rhymes.

And we saw that happening for decades as as recent as Little Kim with big, they always had somebody. And, and the the pimp [00:32:00] persona that you spoke of, um, is often is carried out. It still echoes throughout the gen, the generations, and what I, but listening to about the stories about your mom and her personality, I cannot help but think of Lisa left I Lopez and from TLC and the way she would be the most vocal one.

In the group. We, we all, we always reference that, that video that I say should be in every music business class of Lisa breaking down how you can have the number one album in the country and still be broke because that, that, that's legendary how she broke it down. And, and it was the perfect, um, example of Lisa's brilliance.

How Streaming and Social Media Changed Power for Women Artists

Sir Daniel: But I bring this up to say, Seth, as somebody who still has a, has stakes in, in music,

Jay Ray: Hmm.

Sir Daniel: and you still see these young ladies still bumping, bumping up against these [00:33:00] walls, whether it's in pop rap music, Mr. Seth Nely, as somebody who's witnessed this and how do you stop it? Is there a way to stop it? How do you intercede?

Can you intercede on behalf, on behalf of these ladies? What, what's the solution? If there's any.

Seth Neblett: Well, I think that there is no solution for the past damage that's already been done.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: that really everybody else got paid except for them and, you know, but back then, those were the things that you did. I think the thing [00:34:00] that is saving a lot of the more recent artists been the dissolution of the record industry and where, you know, fans can get, artists can go to fans directly. Social media and streaming and all that kind of stuff has changed the whole game because you don't have to have a record contract that they're gonna spend, you know?

Yeah. They're gonna spend $3 million on your record, but you can best believe the first $3 million that you make is gonna go back to them

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: and in a, and in a lot of ways. The royalties for the artists, they'd be paying that $3 million forever.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: you're making cents off of an album and you have a $3 million debt, you'll never pay that debt off. [00:35:00] So, uh, I think what's changing the game now is because a lot of the industry knows that these artists can, go directly to their fans, that when they do sign these newer, female artists, they know they have to come more correct. Because, you know, Meg, thee stallion don't really need you.

Jay Ray: Right?

Sir Daniel: All right.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: You know what I

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: thee stallion can go on Instagram and TikTok

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: and,

Jay Ray: So directly. Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: It was not like that before.

Jay Ray: Hmm.

Famous But Broke: Songwriters Got Rich, Not the Artists

Seth Neblett: You needed that machine behind you to become, uh, famous. And a lot of times it was just famous. You really didn't become rich. Most of the times. You just became famous. The only people that really became rich were the women that were writing their [00:36:00] own own songs or producing their own songs, because that is where the lion's share of the money was coming from.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: artists just get paid an artist royalty, and usually it's very small, especially when you are an artist that is being developed by a producer or a production company.

Jay Ray: Right?

Seth Neblett: The producer that is producing everything and writing all of the material is gonna get the lion's share of the prophet.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: You're gonna get your royalty for singing the song. Hope that you go out on tour, because if you go out on tour, maybe you can make enough money to buy yourself a house and not a, not a big house, but a house.

Jay Ray: Right.

Seth Neblett: You know? So if you were being, if you're being begrudged, the opportunity to tour

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: any length of time, then that goes out of the window.

Jay Ray: Mm.

Sir Daniel: Hmm.[00:37:00]

Protecting Black Music History: The Book as a Permanent Record

Jay Ray: Seth, just in, in, in all of this truth telling

Seth Neblett: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: that you are doing, not just in this interview, but definitely in this book, it continues to underscore the importance of these stories being told and these legacies being protected, but more importantly, codified in academia like this is literature now. So when researchers in the future are talking about the history of music or the history of black music, or the history of black women in music, your book is part of that.

Now, can you talk about. How that feels to know that you have created an artifact that will always exist from this [00:38:00] point forward. That not only, uh, uh, uh, codifies, but protects your mother's legacy and the legacy of these other women,

Seth Neblett: it's very unreal considering the fact that I didn't set out to write this

Jay Ray: right?

Seth Neblett: I didn't set out to, to be the writer of this book.

Bootsy Collins Told Seth: You Write It

Seth Neblett: You know, there were a couple of years when we first started, meaning myself, my mother. Lynn and Dawn from the brides, uh, Shirley and Debbie from Parlet. And in the beginning, Jeanette, Washington from Parlet as well. We were on the search for a writer. Um, and then after a couple years of that not working, I was having, I had moved to LA and I was having, I had just moved here, um, and I was having dinner with my mother and Bootsy Collins, my godfather. And, you know, we griping and complaining about, [00:39:00] you know, that we can't get this book done.

And Bootsy just looked at me and said, you do it. You've already started some of the work. know the story. know, when somebody's lying to you, you know what's true and what's not. 'cause you lived it. So you write it. And that started the journey, know. And, um, the only thing that I can say is, you know, what got this really done was me being halfway decent in English in school, me having, me having a creative mind, uh, being a, you know, a photographer and a director.

I have a very visual mind.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: I write, I try to write very visually.

Jay Ray: do?

Seth Neblett: I want the person to be there and they can see it and they can feel it and they can smell it. [00:40:00]

Finishing the Book After Mallia Passed Away in 2010

Seth Neblett: And uh, and then after my mother passed away in 2010 at 57, then it became a different kind of journey. 'cause she was, you know, she was living when this started.

She was alive for the first five years that this was going on. So, you know, now it's like gotta get this done. You don't have a choice. I mean, I did have a choice, but morally I didn't have a choice if these stories didn't get out, if the story of Parla and the brides didn't get out, if m if Franklin's story didn't get out, then you know, she would've been like many of those women an afterthought or even a thought at all. And History had already kind of shown that with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, [00:41:00] not in inducting them, uh, with the Grammy lifetime Achievement Award. I mean, not one woman. And so, you know, history was already set in that in motion, and I knew that if I didn't do it, was gonna do it? If they were, and if they did do it, their scope was gonna be so small they wouldn't even really know what the real stories were inside of this story. I knew what the real story was because I witnessed it, I beared witness to it. And then some of it I have to say is my own in, in a way, selfishness because my childhood was a sacrifice to this

Sir Daniel: Hmm.

Jay Ray: Talk to him.

Seth Neblett: and, and [00:42:00] if my mother's story is not known, then the sacrifice of my childhood I felt would be in vain. So, you know, a little bit, little part of this was me doing this for myself.

Mallia Franklin Brought Every P-Funk Hit Maker Through the Door

Seth Neblett: Where people now understand that Mallia Franklin a singer, Mallia Franklin connector. Mallia Franklin brought in almost every hit maker into the Parliament Funkadelic. And I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, that every hit record, at least from 1975 until 1983 with Atomic Dog was either co-written or co-produced by somebody Mallia or Franklin brought to Parliament Funkadelic. And if she hadn't have done that and had the foresight to do that, [00:43:00] what would part of Parliament Funkadelic had been with no flashlight, with no tear the roof off, with no one nation under groove, with no, not just needy, with no atomic dog. And if that had never happened, what would've happened to hip hop?

Sir Daniel: I, I was just thinking that because literally there's, so, there's a whole generation of MCs, hip hop bands that I could just start rattling off names, but I'm not literally owe your mother a debt because they, they would not have anything to sample. There would be from, from the Boogie Boys to Snoop Dogg.

Your mom has literally played an intricate role in the foundation of hip hop, and as you were talking about the, like the Grammys and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I just [00:44:00] realized recently people have started popping up and becoming honored. Like Roxanne and Shante got a lifetime achievement award from the, from the, um, from the Grammys.

Um, now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we're seeing specifically in hip hop now, a lot more women are being honored. We've, queen Lafa and Mc L are a part of the new classes coming up. So really there's a generation of us that owe your mom a debt

Seth Neblett: I,

Sir Daniel: and

Seth Neblett: agree.

Sir Daniel: Yeah.

Mallia Connects Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman at Death Row

Seth Neblett: I, and I'm a very modest person,

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: I was given a piece of advice very early on, which was, you can't be modest telling your mother's story. You have to tell it like it is, and don't be modest and don't, you know, think about other people are going to feel because see, one thing that I have in any claim that I have [00:45:00] made that was made about my mother and Mothership Connected, I got. Seats.

Sir Daniel: There we go.

Seth Neblett: This isn't, you know, this isn't just Seth decided to, to, to say this. And, and if you, uh, uh, read in the book is that most of the really by everybody in that book, there's usually another person that is backing it up in some kind of way. I was there, I know about it. I saw it. And more of those kind of things happen.

You know, one of the stories that I tell is that, you know, my mother worked, was hired by Suge Knight and Dr. Dre to work for Death Row in 1992,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: and her at that time to come in to teach the singers at death row how to sound like Parliament [00:46:00] Funkadelic. Because they were using all the Parliament, Funkadelics hooks,

Jay Ray: Yeah. Oh.

Seth Neblett: and one of those women, a woman by the name of Nanci Fletcher, who did doggy style with with my mother

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: for Snoop Dogg. I just ran across her on Instagram one day and she hold, she told this whole story about how she met my mother at Death Row and, and her, the story she told on Instagram is actually in my book.

She let me, um, include it in my book.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: And then recently, which I think is probably even a, a bigger deal, is that what most people don't know is that my mother, while she was working for Dr. Dre, introduced Dr. Dre to Roger Troutman

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: because she had done work with Zap. [00:47:00] She did the whole Zap Two album, some of Zap three. And of course Zap has a connection to Parliament Funkadelic.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: And she's the one who picked up the phone and said, Hey, uh, called Roger and said, Dr. Dre looking for you. And handed Dr. Dre the phone. And the next thing we knew

Jay Ray: California, when your love.

Seth Neblett: Tupac.

Sir Daniel: Hmm.

Seth Neblett: And interestingly enough, since this book has come out, I had done a podcast really early on when the book came out. They found an interview with Roger Troutman, what Roger talks about. A friend of mine, a woman who was a friend of mine and a friend of Dr. Dre's, is the one that called me up and said, uh, Dre is looking for you.

Jay Ray: Your mother.

Seth Neblett: Yep,

Jay Ray: Your mother.

Seth Neblett: my mother.

Jay Ray: My goodness. [00:48:00] Um,

Seth Neblett: The

Sir Daniel: Oh,

Seth Neblett: I don't mean to

Jay Ray: no.

Sir Daniel: no, go ahead. Go ahead.

Seth Neblett: When you said the Boogie Boys, the Boogie Boys was the first hip hop. Boys and Candyman were the first hip hop, rap groups that she did vocals for in the eighties.

and that's all apart.

The Stories That Didn't Make the Book: 100 Deleted Pages

Seth Neblett: I had to cut a hundred pages out of this book.

Sir Daniel: Wow.

Jay Ray: Oh. How.

Sir Daniel: Yeah.

Jay Ray: This is an aside, but I have to ask like, how did that land? How hard was that? Is really what I want to know. 'cause that sounds like it would be very difficult to do.

Seth Neblett: It, it, it, it was hard, because there were things in that book. Oh, there's a, there's a story about my mother and Chaka Khan about the beat up somebody at a Ohio player's concert.

Jay Ray: want to read that.[00:49:00]

Seth Neblett: was a, there

Jay Ray: I wanna read that.

Seth Neblett: There was a whole chapter my mother, my aunt Jennifer Jeffrey Bowen in Motown. There was a whole

Jay Ray: Wow.

Seth Neblett: on that and, and when, you know, my mother came to, first came to LA and her relationship with Jeffrey Bowen and um, um, um, Norman Whitfield and how

Jay Ray: yeah.

Seth Neblett: Whitfield talked to her early on about joining a group as a lead singer that became

Jay Ray: The Okay. Wow.

Seth Neblett: of things that had to come out of that book. But the reason, I mean, I kind of understood, I didn't wanna take it out, I kind of understood where the edit, where the publishing house was coming from, because it was like, Seth, you have to stay on a certain path.

Jay Ray: yeah, yeah.

Seth Neblett: And there were so many unbelievable stories that were like

Jay Ray: Tangents these like little mini, yeah.

Seth Neblett: you know, [00:50:00] that. I had to, I had to make a choice because they were like, you gotta cut this by a hundred pages. Look, if you didn't have to cut it by a hundred pages, you could leave it, but you have to cut it by a hundred pages.

Jay Ray: So, so I'm just saying, and Seth, you know this, you're in the podcast space. This sounds like a great podcast. That's all I'm saying. Like, this sounds like an amazing podcast.

Seth Neblett: Oh dear Stories.

Jay Ray: Um.

P-Funk Demons and Doubters Couldn't Stop the Book

Jay Ray: S So Seth, what was bubbling, sir Daniel up in me is I love your commitment to making sure that this book got over the line. Um, I'm gonna speak for, I, I know that for me, sometimes imposter syndrome gets in the way and it's like, I didn't plan to do this thing, but now I'm gonna do this thing.

And sometimes that can be hard and you pushed through that thing. So I want to one, just say thank you for pushing through and [00:51:00] you are a beacon for artists that we sometimes get in our own way. And you push through and you created something that is gorgeous. And so thank you for doing that. Y

Seth Neblett: it. 'cause it wasn't always

Jay Ray: Yes.

Seth Neblett: wasn't an easy process because unfortunately a lot of those P-Funk demons still exist

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: and it didn't make for an easy, it didn't make for an easy journey. There was a lot of, there were some disappointments that happened, like people that were supposed to be a part of the book that because of whatever or things that they had decided they didn't wanna be a part of the book. Uh, people that. Decided they didn't want to be a part of the book. And then the book comes out and they're talking crap about the book, know? And it's like, well, you're talking crap about it because you're not in it

Jay Ray: Right.

Seth Neblett: and you didn't think I [00:52:00] was gonna do it. I'm just, I just did what I

Jay Ray: Say that you like a

Seth Neblett: going to do. I didn't do anything different. You didn't believe it. believe it.

Jay Ray: Ooh

Seth Neblett: don't be mad now.

Jay Ray: mm.

Seth Neblett: But in the process of that, I've grown

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Seth Neblett: as a person

Jay Ray: Hmm.

Seth Neblett: there were things that I had to accept from people that I loved that were hard pills to swallow

Jay Ray: Yes.

Seth Neblett: that taught me that. No matter what you do or how you try to do it in love, how you try to do it morally correctly, how you try to do it in, in, in fairness, you can't control what's going on in everybody else's mind

Jay Ray: I

Sir Daniel: No,

Jay Ray: You can't,

Sir Daniel: [00:53:00] not at all.

Seth Neblett: and you can't, but you can't let what's going on in other people's minds stop you either because I was gonna get this book done

Jay Ray: yes.

Seth Neblett: that I stated earlier. So it was either you're going to have faith and have some trust and ride with me because there were women that rode with me and still riding with me right now. And, you know, um, but if you don't wanna ride with me, that's okay. And I don't even love you.

I don't love you any less. But I had to do what I had to do, just like you gotta do what you gotta do, and I respect whatever it is that you have to do.

Sir Daniel: You know, I, I, and I believe that you have, so you probably garnered a lot more respect than you even imagined from those people, and even people [00:54:00] that, that don't, you don't even know.

What Mallia and His Grandparents Would Say About the Book

Jay Ray: Before we get out of here, uh, Seth, um, if you could, uh, channel the voice of, of your mom, but also your grandparents right now,

Seth Neblett: Yeah.

Jay Ray: what would they say to you about the fact that you created Mothership Connected?

So I wanna hear from your mama and your grandparents.

Seth Neblett: My mother would say Good job Bip That's what she used to call me was

Bip Pip.

bit, she would say, good job bit my grandparents. Hmm. They would say, we're so happy that our daughter's finally getting recognition.

Jay Ray: Hmm. My goodness,

Seth Neblett: said. Yeah.

Jay Ray: Seth Nbl. Um, [00:55:00] we are truly honored that you took time out of your busy schedule to spend time with us here at Queue Points. Um, uh, this your, we, we, what do you want folks to do? So this is your call to action. So the folks who got to this point, what's their next step? Where do they connect?

What do you want 'em to do? They obviously gotta buy the book. That is not even a question. What else do you need 'em to do?

Seth Neblett: Okay.

Where to Buy the Book and Follow Seth's Work

Seth Neblett: Actually right now, until May think through the, through through, uh, may, uh, if they buy the book off the University of Texas website, they actually have a discount code 30% off the book.

Jay Ray: Yes. Okay.

Seth Neblett: Okay?

Sir Daniel: Correct.

Seth Neblett: Uh, there's a discount code until May 31st. If you go to University of Texas Press, the cap code is U-T-X-P-C-A and you'll get 30% off of Mothership Connected, or [00:56:00] any of University of Texas books.

Jay Ray: Ah, that's dope.

Seth Neblett: you can find me on Instagram or TikTok, Seth Am million, Mothership Connected, also has a Instagram Mothership Connected, also has a official Facebook

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Seth Neblett: as well. Um. Uh, what's going on right now as far as Mothership Connected or next steps is right now I am, uh, trying to develop, uh, the audio book and, um, um, the audio book, I, I, it's shaping up to be something very exciting with possibly some great guest stars, some great cameos,

Sir Daniel: Ooh.

Seth Neblett: uh, from people that will, uh, read parts of the book and, uh, uh, yeah, uh, documentary.

Hey, you documentary and film people, even though I know documentary and film people, but you never know. You like the book. [00:57:00] Hit me up. Let's talk. And, uh, I'm out on the road with original Mary Jane girls, Maxine Sherry. I'm out on the road with Bernadette Cooper's climax. Um, um, still working with Apollonia.

We'll probably be doing more Studio six this year.

Jay Ray: Nice.

Seth Neblett: And, uh, a lot of great things. So that's what's going on with me, and that's how you guys can find me

Jay Ray: Ah. Such a pleasure.

Queue Points Sign-Off and Listener Resources

Jay Ray: Listen, y'all, thank you so much Seth, for stopping by. And thanks to everyone who tuned into this episode of Queue Points. If you could see our faces and hear our voices, make sure that you subscribe. Make sure you go over to Seth Neitz, uh, platforms and you subscribe. But also make sure you just go to the University of Texas Press and purchased Mothership Connected: The Women of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Um, this is Queue Points approved and you can get it on Amazon too. It's Queue Points approved. [00:58:00] Um, visit our website, Queue Points dot com. You can check out all of our archive episodes. Uh, you could become a member over there. It keeps the lights on at Queue Points, land. Shop our store and check us out on Substack where we have a lot of other good stuff.

We appreciate y'all. We love y'all.

Sir Daniel: We absolutely do, and like I say, in every episode in this life, you have a choice. You can either pick up the needle or you could let the record play. I am DJ Sir Daniel.

Jay Ray: And my name is Jay Ray and that friends.

Sir Daniel: and that. Seth n

Seth Neblett: Thank you. Thank

Sir Daniel: thank you so much. We, we love you. We will see you on the next si on the next Beast. Uh, I've just messed that up.

Jay Ray: I'm leaving it in

Sir Daniel: This is Queue Points podcast, dropping the needle on black music history. We will see you on the next go round. Peace y'all.

Jay Ray: peace y'all,

Outro Theme

[00:59:00]