Creating A Life You Deserve: An Interview With Radio Host And Gospel Artist Darlene McCoy Jackson

Real Talk With Reginald D interviews Darlene "McCoy" Jackson.  Darlene is a gospel singer, songwriter, author, nationally syndicated nighttime radio show host, speaker and an award-winning Christian R&B recording artist. 

Real Talk With Reginald D's video interview with Darlene "McCoy" Jackson will be available on his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@realtalkwithreginaldd on December 14th.  Please subscribe to the YouTube channel to watch his video interview with Darlene.

Links to Darlene's book, Christmas song and social media profiles are below:

Website: iamdarlene.com
Twitter @darlenemcCoy 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darlenemccoy
Facebook:  Iam Darlene
Christmas Song: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/darlene-mccoy/26122691
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Then-She-Turned-50-Inspiring-ebook

Transcript

Real Talk With Reginald D: Hello, everybody. Welcome back to Real Talk With Reginald D, so glad you can join me today. I'm very excited about this episode, I have a special guest who took time out of their busy schedule to stop by and talk with us today. She is a phenomenal woman. She's a national recording artist, she's a radio personality, she's an actor, she's an author, she's a songwriter, she's a mentor, she's a motivational speaker, and a lot more. And she's, my cousin. 

Welcome to my podcast. Here she is, Darlene McCoy Jackson.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Hello, cousin.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Hey, cousin. How are you?

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: I'm doing good.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Good.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: I am sitting with my cousin in my t-shirt.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Right. So, I've been talking about creating a life that you desire the last couple of podcasts. And when I talk about it and when I think about it, you come to mind. I know your story, and you are simply a person who has created the life that you deserve, and you're still creating the life that you deserve. So, what does that mean to you?

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Well, I'm just a woman you know that has a strong -- we have a strong foundation in faith and in God, and as we continue to mature and get older, it's like our foundation gets stronger and stronger. One thing that I do realize is that without a vision people perish, and I continue to see myself. And what I mean by that is you hear people say all the time that I see my future self, I don't feel like I have finished everything that God has sent me to do yet. So, when I'm obedient and when I walk and do things that I feel like I'm called to do, God is very faithful to add things to my life. And I think that for me, that the crust of creating your own cannot be without the one that created you.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Absolutely. So, let's back up on something real quick. This year alone has been a phenomenal year for you. You've written a book. You were inducted into the Black Radio Music Hall of Fame. You received your doctrine, and now you're writing Christmas songs, and singing Christmas songs and creating Christmas songs for us to listen to.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: And let’s not forget at the top of the year I got married.  Yeah, it’s a lot.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Oh, yeah, exactly. That's the big thing. Yeah. You got married back in February. Yes.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Yeah, it’s been a big year and like you said, I've written a book. Of course, I didn't write the book like this year. It took me years to write,

Real Talk With Reginald D: You released it. Right.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Finally, we got a chance to release the book. And as you're saying these things, I'm just kind of looking back on this year and looking at a lot of the obstacles that I went through a lot of obstacles, but out of those obstacles were birthed several things. Like you said. The National Black Radio Hall of Fame inducted me. And also, during the Stellar Awards this year I got a couple of awards. I was awarded right alongside Stedman Graham (Oprah’s man) right alongside him, one of these awards, they called me a culture pioneer. And this was one of those years I felt like God was giving me a good foundation for what's next. A lot of people get the award and then they relax and it's just like, okay, this is what I worked for and then that's it. But I really feel like for the next season that I'm going into sometimes you do what you do for a long time and people just see your work and they want to honor you. And a lot of times when you get the honor, it is not just for you to hold it for that moment, but it's for you to recognize really what you really mean to people. It helps you to understand that you are taken seriously and to give you a boost to keep going to the next level. So, I really feel like it's my foundation to keep on going because I still see so much in my future and I think that's necessary for any leader, any person. That even if you're just leading your own life, you have to have a vision for where you're headed. And I look back on, like I say, 2022. It was a rough year, and I mean a really rough year. It was rough to birth a lot of things out. It was rough trying to facilitate a lot of things, but at the end of it, a lot came out of this year. And I ended the year strong with, like you said, another song. Because I'm also a recording artist, I haven't recorded a lot of songs lately, but at the end of the year, I recorded a Christmas song with mobile producer, super producer Dallas Austin, and it's getting a lot of traction and attention. 

Real Talk With Reginald D: Nice.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: I just feel like I have to go back to the spiritual faith piece. If you seek first the kingdom of God, everything else will be added. And these are things that are being added this time. So yeah.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Absolutely. Now. The book is titled, “And Then She Turned 50”. Tell us a little bit about the book and what inspired you to write this book.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Well, the odd thing about “And Then She Turned 50” is as long as I've been living, I've been carrying the book in my mind and in my memories. And I knew that one day these stories that were being birthed out of my life experiences were going to be communicated somehow to the public and I started writing a book. I turned 50 last year. And as I started writing the book, I started to think it's almost like, you know how people say, hindsight is 2020? I was carrying all of these life experiences and all of these stories, but I took some time to look back at all stories that meant the most to me, that defined my journey the most, that defined me as a person, and I brought those stories into book form. But after each story, I deliberately put what we call a wisdom nugget in the book so that after each story, you'll understand what was gathered from the story. And it's been an effort to give someone else just a glimpse of not only the majesty of God, but what faith can do and through everything, the good, the bad, the ugly, the things that people love about you and even the things that people question about you.  You know God is still there and it's never going to leave you, and he’s never going to forsake you. And this book does exactly that. It just kind of tells that truth. It proves that God is faithful.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Exactly. So, in all that you do, what keeps you grounded every day and with all the stuff you do.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: I’m humbled.  I'm humbled because it's a lot, there’s a to it. What keeps me grounded is the fact that I really know where I came from. I think about even our grandparents. I know that I'm walking out a legacy from our bloodline. I have a heart for family, and I am looking to destroy some generational curses off of our bloodline. And one of them being a lot of us were afraid to talk about certain things, and afraid to open up and be free at certain areas. That's one of them. And I don't know, I have a plan to be a multi-millionaire, 

Real Talk With Reginald D: Right.

Darlene “McCoy” Jackson: But even if I don't make it economically and financially, I do believe that everything about me is wealthy. And this part of my life of having the freedom to become who God called me to be. I feel like that is what wealth is actually about. And whatever comes with my life, whatever comes to my life from here on out, I feel like it's only going to be an addition to everything else. So, what keeps me grounded is understanding this is not around bout me. It’s not about me. It's about what I live for and that’s family.  Our legacy!

Real Talk With Reginald D: Right! It's very interesting that she talked about family. So, with family, what can parents do to allow their kids to be free to talk because their world is way different. When we came up, we always look at it as if we had the habit of looking at it as it should be this way. This is the way I was raised, and this is what it's going to be, and it ends up kind of damaging kids.  It makes a mess out of it sometimes. So, what advice can you give parents to do with kids? Because these kids today are very authentic, they are very smart, they're over the top with it and we have to nurture that in a certain way. So, what advice can you give parents?

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Well, I'm going right back to the scripture train up child in the way that he should go. So, when’s he older he doesn’t depart from it. For years we thought that we would use that scripture to justify discipline and punishment for doing some things wrong. When I read that scripture years ago, I actually felt challenged as a parent to go to God about these children and ask him which way they should go. Because I think it, for the time I have my children, it’s my responsibility to speak their purpose into them and to help them to understand who they are, because I've always had a problem with teachers telling kids, you can be anything you want to be. You can't be anything. You just have to be who you were sent to be. If you don’t want an identity crisis in your life, find out who you are, if you don't want to be confused in your life, you need to find out who you are. And I think it is the parent's responsibility while they have a chance, while they have the time to raise their child and train them up in the way that they should go, need to find out which way they should go. Because you might be raising a chef and you're trying to put them on the football field, right. You might be raising an actress and you're trying to make her sing choir.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Right. 

Darlene McCoy Jackson:  You have to understand who your children are and by noticing them and that takes time. It takes some time to observe your children. What do they do naturally? What do they gravitate to naturally and you be led by that to help you discover who they actually are.  And I think that's a very important part to parenting.

Real Talk With Reginald D:  Ok. One more question and I will let you go. Tell us a little bit about the Christmas song.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: This Christmas song It is called this “And This Christmas”. 

Well, first of all, it just came about all of a sudden. Dallas Austin is a great friend of mine. My husband and I go over his house like we live there. We literally have a room there.  We go over and stay for three, four, five days or something.  This was one of those times where we were just over there and he was like, hey, I'm doing a Christmas compilation and I need a Christmas song out of you, I said OK let's go, let’s do it. He said like I'm serious. I said, and when we're going to start writing. So, a couple of minutes later we were downstairs, we start writing. We had a young man that's a Hawaiian producer who produces with Neo and so many other people. He was just over there at the house, and he just started playing this real soulful song and it was so sultry soulful. And Dallas looked at me and he said, God just blessed you with a big ole chocolate husband. You need to make this song about that big old chocolate husband of yours.  That’s just a little joke we be going back and forth, you got a big ole chocolate husband.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Right.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: But I've never sang R & B in my life. I've never released any R&B music. Everybody thinks I'm R & B just because the sound of my music, it sounds R &B, but my heart has always been for worship and for giving God praise and teaching and that kind of thing. But this was my first time singing an R & B song. But I was able to do it with ease because I'm really in love. What's the reality of my life for this Christmas? We're empty nesters. We've got grandkids, but they are over their parent’s house, right. Not ours, right? So, we got a chance to be just with he and me and enjoying some one-on-one time. So, this song “And This Christmas” it really paints the picture of any couple, even if you have kids, that you put the kids to bed and it’s Christmas Eve. We celebrate love and that's what “And This Christmas” is also about.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Okay? Now, where can people find the song.  

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Everywhere! Digital music is streamed. You can find it on Apple Music. You can find it on Spotify, Pandora, you can find it on TikTok. I actually push for couples to get together, to get on TikTok, to get on IG Reels and pull up “And This Christmas” and just spread love. Show people that you're in love. And Christmas is about the present of presents.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Right? So, the book, you can find it on Amazon.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: You can find the book right now on Amazon. I actually, one more thing that happened this year is I signed a major publishing deal. So, I have three more books coming out and we're going to rerelease, “And Then She Turned 50”. So, if you want to get it now, this copy, we only have a few more left were going to be pulling it off very soon. You may want to get it really soon, but we will re-release it and distribute it internationally as well. And of course, I'll go on a book tour and all that good stuff. So yeah, “And Then She Turned 50.”

Real Talk With Reginald D: Awesome!  So, everybody, basically what you can do is look up Darlene McCoy Jackson and you'll see everything she's got going on. Follow her. You will be blessed. She’s an amazing, amazing person.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Go on Iamdarlane.com. My website is iamdarlene.com. Follow me on Instagram @darlenemccoy and on Twitter @darlenemcCoy and Facebook is IamDarlene.

Real Talk With Reginald D: There it is! You got it. So, thank you, cuz for stopping by just to hang out with me for a minute.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Man, thanks for having me.

Real Talk With Reginald D: Always good to see you. You know I love you to death.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: I love you too.  I love you too. Not even like a fake cousin, I love you like a real cousin. (laughter)

Real Talk With Reginald D: Like a real cousin, A cookout cousin. (laughter)

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: A family reunion cousin. (laughter)

Real Talk With Reginald D: Oh, man. That's it. That's it. So, everybody, thank you for tuning in with Real Talk With Reginald D. Continue to follow me on Spotify or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts at. Tune in every Tuesday with Real Talk With Reginald D.  Until then. We'll see you next time.

Darlene "McCoy" Jackson: Take care.