April 5, 2026
Raheem DeVaughn Shares A Great Aretha Franklin Story
This week, Raheem DeVaughn kicks off the Say Yes Tour alongside a reunited Floetry and Teedra Moses. His full Questlove Show episode is coming soon, but we’re sharing an exclusive segment as a mini-episode, where he talks about the tour and tells a great story involving Aretha Franklin.
Raheem DeVaughn’s new release, The Quiet Storm Lover: Tome Un, is out now. Stay tuned for the full-length conversation, arriving in May.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:00
Speaker 1: Quest Love Show is a production of iHeart Radio. All right, So tell me about this tour that you're on with Teacher Moses and Fluidry to.
00:00:22
Speaker 2: Say Yes tour with Floord Tree. Man, I'm super excited about it. Got the call, you know, when certain calls you get in life, you just say, oh, well, what time do I need to be there?
00:00:33
Speaker 3: And when do we start?
00:00:35
Speaker 2: Right? And you know, preparing for tours is always intense, you know for me. You know, I just got off of one tour and you know it's really a few weeks off and then I and then I'm on the road, you know with Flowa Tree.
00:00:47
Speaker 3: But I feel like it's going to be incredible. Man.
00:00:50
Speaker 2: You know, we all have a really dope catalog, great showmanship, love Teacher to Death, you know what I mean, both members of Floor, you know, Natalie and Marsha to death. So it's gonna be dope, man. You know, who knows what's going to happen out there?
00:01:07
Speaker 3: You know I can.
00:01:09
Speaker 2: I can definitely tell you that I have towels. Yes, nice, there would be towels and and merch and and all the things I'll be doing meet and greets, you know, after each show come beet and greet with me?
00:01:24
Speaker 1: What is your vocal care routine or process? Like when we tour you know by show for it's we have to pace it so that Tarik doesn't wear out his voice. But for I always wanted to know, especially like for very singers that I work with, do you have a particular exercise of routine you do to preserve your voice or is.
00:01:48
Speaker 2: That definitely to warm up, you know, having smoke whee since probably like twenty twenty, I don't drink, you know what I mean? Sleep is an absolute must take in a nap and just like this and and me me personally, I discipline myself not to talk, you know, So you do vocal resting, Yeah, I do a lot of vocal resting, you know, keep it light, do a lot of texting.
00:02:12
Speaker 3: I will do some whispering, but whispering.
00:02:14
Speaker 1: Whispering, I'm sorry. In my head I was like, oh, I can say I'm on vocal rest right now.
00:02:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, but whispering does just as much damage from what I was told, Like, you know, if you're on vocal rest, like you're supposed to be on vocal rest, like, don't that means like not whispering too? When I've been told, you know what I mean. And then and then there's a remedy. Somebody put me on to where I do the boiling hot water, fresh squeeze lemon kanyanne pepper and manuka honey. And then I'll throw some ever little cool things and some a little you know, tumoric. You know, a fresh ginger root is another main ingredient. And you know I might throw a little hibiscus in there, you know, but.
00:02:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's that, and I'll make it.
00:02:55
Speaker 2: I'll make it like a big forty ounce canteen of that like hot, and it's keeping in one of those thermoces that keeps it like you know, keeps it warm for like twelve yeah, twelve to twenty four hours, bro, and just like sip on that, okay, And yeah that's my that's my that's my version of a forty forty ounce these.
00:03:14
Speaker 3: Days, gotcha?
00:03:15
Speaker 1: Okay? So, because I work at the Tonight Show, most singers that I know are anti air conditioning.
00:03:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, I hate, I hate it to be cold. I prefer to be Yeah.
00:03:26
Speaker 2: I'm known to have the room or like prior to like on have it on Hell on eighty ninety.
00:03:33
Speaker 3: We call that a refa.
00:03:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, Arefa came on the show and one of the stipulations was and this I've seen nothing like this in my life. She was like, you know, it has to be on natural air. And we explained to her that because we're in the thirty rock ecosystem, like, we don't have a specialized thermostat for just our floor, So if we turn off the air conditioner here, you're also affecting the Seth Meyers ship and who in MSNBC below us.
00:04:03
Speaker 3: And so we.
00:04:04
Speaker 1: Had to have this big giant community meeting to look between the hours of seven am until six pm, all the air conditioners going to be off.
00:04:13
Speaker 2: You know.
00:04:13
Speaker 3: The beginner, it's just like bring bed, bring your friend from home dog.
00:04:17
Speaker 1: We didn't know it was going to be hell. We were just like, yo, you called us in to have a menabout air conditioning.
00:04:23
Speaker 3: Fuck out of here.
00:04:24
Speaker 1: So the next day, bro yo, it was like and Aretha walks in with a fur coat on, like it's already eighty five degrees. Like I swore anyone who watches that episode would swear that we were all like coke. Even my mom was like, is this something you want to tell me? Amre? Like why y'all sweating like that, Like I don't have a cocaine. I have it mom, Like it's Aretha Franklin for real, Like we I discovered the joys of black seersucker suits. I have an Aretha Franklin wardrobe section. To this day, I will only wear a serious sucker suit.
00:05:03
Speaker 2: My cool Aretha Franklin story. You had to be what's the timeline? They were talking two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine. I get a call from my manager and says, Aretha Franklin wants you to come perform.
00:05:14
Speaker 3: For her birthday.
00:05:16
Speaker 2: I said what, I said, Yeah, I'm like, I'm like no, So I'm thinking. They say one thing was like you have to perform woman, And I was like, what's up with that? And they were like, yo, that's her favorite song. I said, well, I said, well right, can I take my mom? That was kind of like my one ask and they were like, yeah, sure whatever. So I'm thinking in my mind, going to perform for Rita. So it's like at a theater whatever, and we get there and it's like a room of like maybe maybe fifty people if that it's like me and then it's Kenny Lattimore.
00:05:55
Speaker 3: Oh, y'all y'all in hold yeah and then yeah yeah yeah.
00:05:59
Speaker 2: She had all her her favorite people there like and I didn't. I had no idea that like Aretha Franklin was like even was even knew who Raheem de Vne was right, yeah, So my time to perform, and I perform and then they said yes you you you know you.
00:06:16
Speaker 3: Just read the so I know I'm good for it, like they'll pay you after whatever. And so then I go to to Rita and I couldn't ask her, dare you. I couldn't as for the front end before I before, but.
00:06:30
Speaker 1: This customary had a bag before we know the stage all right, Well she does right, so so then they let me know she pays you directly.
00:06:41
Speaker 3: So I walk over. She went in in the world famous black woman's person. Yes, I was like. She had the first no no, and then she said come here, come here, young man.
00:06:56
Speaker 2: I said yes, ma'am, and she said, she said did you She said, did you write that song?
00:07:02
Speaker 3: Woman? I said yes, ma'am. She said you think you could write me a song like that? I said yes, ma'am. I could wait to get back to DC. I called CHUCKI Thompson.
00:07:13
Speaker 2: We get in the studio and then me and Chuck are like arguing back and forth kind of a little bit. I missed him so much too, recipes Chuck Thompson and because he's you know, Chucky's like.
00:07:22
Speaker 3: Man, we already did that vibe mo, we already did that mold.
00:07:26
Speaker 2: But I'm like, Chucky, we gotta get it with a readth they out of whatever and that so I wrote the song. We end up doing this record called Queen and which would end up being on one of my other albums. And so I do the record and then she you know, we got word that she she had taken ill and she's never got a chance to record it. But between that moment, one of the great memories is that Esence Music Festival performing in the super Lounge. Get off the stage and they're like, yo, read the Franklins on the main stage performing your song right now. And she's singing. She's so, she's singing woman. It's it's out there. I d or fast books somewhere.
00:08:03
Speaker 3: Yes, and she was out there. She was singing woman. Damn. Yes. Shout out to the story, Shout to the Queen. Shout to Detroit. What up though, Yes, what Detroit? Thank you Bro, Thank you.
00:08:26
Speaker 2: M h
00:08:30
Speaker 1: M hmmmm
Speaker 1: Quest Love Show is a production of iHeart Radio. All right, So tell me about this tour that you're on with Teacher Moses and Fluidry to.
00:00:22
Speaker 2: Say Yes tour with Floord Tree. Man, I'm super excited about it. Got the call, you know, when certain calls you get in life, you just say, oh, well, what time do I need to be there?
00:00:33
Speaker 3: And when do we start?
00:00:35
Speaker 2: Right? And you know, preparing for tours is always intense, you know for me. You know, I just got off of one tour and you know it's really a few weeks off and then I and then I'm on the road, you know with Flowa Tree.
00:00:47
Speaker 3: But I feel like it's going to be incredible. Man.
00:00:50
Speaker 2: You know, we all have a really dope catalog, great showmanship, love Teacher to Death, you know what I mean, both members of Floor, you know, Natalie and Marsha to death. So it's gonna be dope, man. You know, who knows what's going to happen out there?
00:01:07
Speaker 3: You know I can.
00:01:09
Speaker 2: I can definitely tell you that I have towels. Yes, nice, there would be towels and and merch and and all the things I'll be doing meet and greets, you know, after each show come beet and greet with me?
00:01:24
Speaker 1: What is your vocal care routine or process? Like when we tour you know by show for it's we have to pace it so that Tarik doesn't wear out his voice. But for I always wanted to know, especially like for very singers that I work with, do you have a particular exercise of routine you do to preserve your voice or is.
00:01:48
Speaker 2: That definitely to warm up, you know, having smoke whee since probably like twenty twenty, I don't drink, you know what I mean? Sleep is an absolute must take in a nap and just like this and and me me personally, I discipline myself not to talk, you know, So you do vocal resting, Yeah, I do a lot of vocal resting, you know, keep it light, do a lot of texting.
00:02:12
Speaker 3: I will do some whispering, but whispering.
00:02:14
Speaker 1: Whispering, I'm sorry. In my head I was like, oh, I can say I'm on vocal rest right now.
00:02:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, but whispering does just as much damage from what I was told, Like, you know, if you're on vocal rest, like you're supposed to be on vocal rest, like, don't that means like not whispering too? When I've been told, you know what I mean. And then and then there's a remedy. Somebody put me on to where I do the boiling hot water, fresh squeeze lemon kanyanne pepper and manuka honey. And then I'll throw some ever little cool things and some a little you know, tumoric. You know, a fresh ginger root is another main ingredient. And you know I might throw a little hibiscus in there, you know, but.
00:02:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's that, and I'll make it.
00:02:55
Speaker 2: I'll make it like a big forty ounce canteen of that like hot, and it's keeping in one of those thermoces that keeps it like you know, keeps it warm for like twelve yeah, twelve to twenty four hours, bro, and just like sip on that, okay, And yeah that's my that's my that's my version of a forty forty ounce these.
00:03:14
Speaker 3: Days, gotcha?
00:03:15
Speaker 1: Okay? So, because I work at the Tonight Show, most singers that I know are anti air conditioning.
00:03:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, I hate, I hate it to be cold. I prefer to be Yeah.
00:03:26
Speaker 2: I'm known to have the room or like prior to like on have it on Hell on eighty ninety.
00:03:33
Speaker 3: We call that a refa.
00:03:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, Arefa came on the show and one of the stipulations was and this I've seen nothing like this in my life. She was like, you know, it has to be on natural air. And we explained to her that because we're in the thirty rock ecosystem, like, we don't have a specialized thermostat for just our floor, So if we turn off the air conditioner here, you're also affecting the Seth Meyers ship and who in MSNBC below us.
00:04:03
Speaker 3: And so we.
00:04:04
Speaker 1: Had to have this big giant community meeting to look between the hours of seven am until six pm, all the air conditioners going to be off.
00:04:13
Speaker 2: You know.
00:04:13
Speaker 3: The beginner, it's just like bring bed, bring your friend from home dog.
00:04:17
Speaker 1: We didn't know it was going to be hell. We were just like, yo, you called us in to have a menabout air conditioning.
00:04:23
Speaker 3: Fuck out of here.
00:04:24
Speaker 1: So the next day, bro yo, it was like and Aretha walks in with a fur coat on, like it's already eighty five degrees. Like I swore anyone who watches that episode would swear that we were all like coke. Even my mom was like, is this something you want to tell me? Amre? Like why y'all sweating like that, Like I don't have a cocaine. I have it mom, Like it's Aretha Franklin for real, Like we I discovered the joys of black seersucker suits. I have an Aretha Franklin wardrobe section. To this day, I will only wear a serious sucker suit.
00:05:03
Speaker 2: My cool Aretha Franklin story. You had to be what's the timeline? They were talking two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine. I get a call from my manager and says, Aretha Franklin wants you to come perform.
00:05:14
Speaker 3: For her birthday.
00:05:16
Speaker 2: I said what, I said, Yeah, I'm like, I'm like no, So I'm thinking. They say one thing was like you have to perform woman, And I was like, what's up with that? And they were like, yo, that's her favorite song. I said, well, I said, well right, can I take my mom? That was kind of like my one ask and they were like, yeah, sure whatever. So I'm thinking in my mind, going to perform for Rita. So it's like at a theater whatever, and we get there and it's like a room of like maybe maybe fifty people if that it's like me and then it's Kenny Lattimore.
00:05:55
Speaker 3: Oh, y'all y'all in hold yeah and then yeah yeah yeah.
00:05:59
Speaker 2: She had all her her favorite people there like and I didn't. I had no idea that like Aretha Franklin was like even was even knew who Raheem de Vne was right, yeah, So my time to perform, and I perform and then they said yes you you you know you.
00:06:16
Speaker 3: Just read the so I know I'm good for it, like they'll pay you after whatever. And so then I go to to Rita and I couldn't ask her, dare you. I couldn't as for the front end before I before, but.
00:06:30
Speaker 1: This customary had a bag before we know the stage all right, Well she does right, so so then they let me know she pays you directly.
00:06:41
Speaker 3: So I walk over. She went in in the world famous black woman's person. Yes, I was like. She had the first no no, and then she said come here, come here, young man.
00:06:56
Speaker 2: I said yes, ma'am, and she said, she said did you She said, did you write that song?
00:07:02
Speaker 3: Woman? I said yes, ma'am. She said you think you could write me a song like that? I said yes, ma'am. I could wait to get back to DC. I called CHUCKI Thompson.
00:07:13
Speaker 2: We get in the studio and then me and Chuck are like arguing back and forth kind of a little bit. I missed him so much too, recipes Chuck Thompson and because he's you know, Chucky's like.
00:07:22
Speaker 3: Man, we already did that vibe mo, we already did that mold.
00:07:26
Speaker 2: But I'm like, Chucky, we gotta get it with a readth they out of whatever and that so I wrote the song. We end up doing this record called Queen and which would end up being on one of my other albums. And so I do the record and then she you know, we got word that she she had taken ill and she's never got a chance to record it. But between that moment, one of the great memories is that Esence Music Festival performing in the super Lounge. Get off the stage and they're like, yo, read the Franklins on the main stage performing your song right now. And she's singing. She's so, she's singing woman. It's it's out there. I d or fast books somewhere.
00:08:03
Speaker 3: Yes, and she was out there. She was singing woman. Damn. Yes. Shout out to the story, Shout to the Queen. Shout to Detroit. What up though, Yes, what Detroit? Thank you Bro, Thank you.
00:08:26
Speaker 2: M h
00:08:30
Speaker 1: M hmmmm
