There’s no denying that Patti LaBelle is a musical legend. But what you may be surprised to know is that despite her glamorous looks and larger-than-life vocals, she’s no diva—especially when it comes to mentoring the newer talent of this generation.
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In fact, during a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet at the CMT Smashing Glass: A Celebration of the Groundbreaking Women of Music event in Nashville, the Godmother of Soul name-dropped a handful of impressive singers who “call her up for advice.”
“I’m the OG, I’m 79, and all my little girls like Ledisi and Fantasia and Beyoncé... and Ariana Grande... they all call me for information about things that they’re going through, that I’ve been through,” LaBelle explained. “So I hope that I can always give information to my babies because that’s what I do.”
In addition to Bey, Ledisi, Fantasia and Ariana, the “If Only You Knew” singer recently got cozy with and spoke highly of rapper Cardi B during her interview on the Tamron Hall Show on Friday. Speaking to their new collaboration of Patti’s food brand, Patti’s Good Life and Cardi’s vodka-infused whip cream Whipshots—the announcement of which was teased by a cute, now viral “Holiday Harmony” video on social media—LaBelle shared how the “Bodak Yellow” rapper was so excited to meet her and praised her for her kindness, calling her the “Baby Patti.”
“All of the people that came with me? She talked to the kids on the phone at home, she did everything nice, she’s not a diva. She’s a beautiful spirit,” she said, later adding: “She’s the Baby Patti. Cardi is the Baby Patti.”
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