“Unfortunately, in the time of a recession or a pandemic, arts and entertainment are usually the first to go and the last to come back. However, during those times, it’s the arts and entertainment that keep us going. We fall back to those records we love; we fall back to the artists we love and the books we love to read. We start writing in our journals and we get very creative.” Kevin “Darkside” Smith, producer
Sakai Smith and Nikita Germaine are two renowned industry vocalists known as Les Femmes Fatales. For eight years, they toured and recorded with the Grammy-winning rock band, Train, most famous for the melodic track “Hey Soul Sister.”
When the COVID-19 crisis hit this spring and all tour dates stopped, the dynamic vocal duo sprung into action. They joined forces with acclaimed San Francisco based producer Kevin “Darkside” Smith (who is also Sakai’s husband) to create a unifying and healing anthem in the tradition of epic collaborations such as “We Are the World,” and “That’s What Friends Are For.” They linked up virtually with some music industry heavyweights including Train, Santana, Narada Michael Walden, Larry Batiste and more.
The melodic single “Is That Enough?” https://youtu.be/AwI9XJ-y9pc recently earned Les Femmes Fatales two National Black Music Awards for Best Song and Best Video. A portion of the proceeds from “Is That Enough?“ will go to COVID-19 relief efforts and to those in need.
The three creators recently sat down with Streetwise Radio for an in-depth discussion.
Streetwise Radio: Congratulations on your new single, “Is That Enough?” Tell us how the track came about.
Nikita Germaine: Well, I was home one night during the height of the pandemic and I I was watching CNN; I was really glued to the news. I was a little frustrated with the stuff I was seeing. I was a little pissed, actually because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing—people not wearing masks and the leader of our country acting crazy and saying crazy stuff, and people in the hospital dying. I remembered getting up and going towards the back room and I just stopped in my tracks because of this melody. Words just started flowing out of my mouth. I kept singing it over and over, “It’s not enough to live, it’s not enough to cry…” that melody! I went back to the couch to sit down and got my phone. I started singing into my recorder and more words came. I started writing and before I knew it, I had a song. I got excited and I called Sakai because I wanted her to finish writing it with me. I sang what I had to her and to make a long story short, we finished the song. We let Darkside hear it and he liked it, so the three of us made some tweaks and changes and came up with the song, “Is That Enough?”
Sakai Smith: Nikita called me and said, Sakai, I’m on to something here, we’ve got to finish this song together. Of course, it was melodic and the message that she started and with lyrics was powerful. As a songwriter, I was excited to be a part of the song and to help finish the song with Nikita. The way the song came about was so effortless, the way it came through her. We are so connected with our creator. As songwriters, those are really precious moments, when you’re not really looking for anything, but something will touch you, either what’s going on in the world, or being in love, or different things will happen in the lives that inspire us. When something powerful comes to us, we know that it’s through our creator. The song was so timely, especially with everything going on.
There was more to come in terms of development and this grand idea of how we were going to get the song out to the world and have people from the music community become a part of it. Kevin was in the studio for six months putting this project together. He produced the video and the song. We are blessed to have this platform. We are so grateful that we’ve been listening and moving forward and trusting and letting go.
Nikita: Yes, because at the beginning, it was just going to be Sakai and I singing the song. We collectively decided to bring in some friends.
Streetwise Radio: Tell us who is singing with you on the track.
Nikita: We have about 60 plus people including Narada Michael Walden, Pat Monahan, the lead singer of Train, Jeanie Tracy, Larry Batiste, Ashling Cole, Dale Anthony from Faith Out Loud, Tony Lindsay, , Claytoven Richardson, and more!
Streetwise Radio: Kevin, what was it like producing this song?
Kevin Smith: I had the pleasure of pulling all this together and taking their inspiration and molding it into something that we could all feel and get into.
Streetwise Radio: Sakai and Nikita, before the pandemic hit, you were touring with Train. What’s it like touring with a top music act?
Sakai: It’s amazing being band members of Train. We joined the band during a summer tour in 2012. In 2013, they asked us to become official band members. We’ve been touring and traveling around the world. Literally, up until COVID, we were touring non-stop. With that kind of schedule, my husband and I actually reversed roles. Someone had to give our kids a situation that was grounded, and a home that felt like it was normal. I am so grateful for my husband supporting me as he has throughout my career. When I started touring witch Train, our twins were four going on five. Now they are 14!
Nikita: Being with Train has been a fabulous whirlwind. I remember, Sakai and I and another friend made a dream board, where we listed places where we wanted to go. I can literally say that I’ve checked off a lot of those places. Malaysia. Dubai. Singapore. Australia. I wish I could say Africa, but we haven’t gotten there yet (laughs). It’s been really exciting and a lot of fun. Sometimes I want to pinch myself, because I’m with my girl who was instrumental in bringing me in to Train. They were recording “Save Me, San Francisco” and Sakai and I sang backing vocals in the studio. Sakai reminded Pat Monahan who I was when they needed another background singer. Being with my girl Sakai is the cherry on top that makes touring with Train so fabulous. Our musical journey together has been wonderful.
Streetwise Radio: Kevin, what does it mean to you as a producer to receive a National Black Music Award for this project?
Kevin: It is a testament to understanding the pulse of what’s going on. The song is so timely, so getting it out and having it resonate; It just feels like we’re on the right path. It is really rewarding when the work you do is well received, and when you have a great song that touches people. We have our own studio, It’s called the Foundation. Because of the pandemic, only one person, Sakai, recorded the song in the studio. Everyone else recorded on various mediums and in various studios, so that was the challenge of this project.
Streetwise Radio: What’s the thing you are going to do when the pandemic ends?
Nikita: I want to look at my phone and my calendar and see the email that says ladies, we have some tour dates!
Sakai: Likewise. I’m also looking forward to enjoying some public family time out in nature, where we can go out and feel comfortable. The pandemic has given me a new perspective on creation. Recently, we were able to have a visit to Santa Cruz. We hit the beach for a whole day, it was so much fun. My family is my biggest supporter, so I'm looking forward to them coming to my shows.
Kevin: That is a loaded question that makes you reflect, but I would say, connect. I realize that we take that for granted. Connecting with family, going to a movie, going to a restaurant, connecting with people in my studio, connecting with the public. We just assumed that this part of life would always be there and when it was abruptly taken away like this; it was a real shock to the system. It makes you realize what you have and what you want. Our kids just started high school on Zoom and they are not able to connect with their friends, with their community. The ladies like performing; it’s their passion and their job, and they are so fortunate. The silver lining is that we have a strong family, both musical and personal and we are able to connect that way. There are some families who have struggled more so during the pandemic because they don’t get along.
Streetwise Radio: Tell us how we can support you, and other musicians during the pandemic.
Sakai: As music creators, we were greatly affected by the pandemic. It’s been such a blessing to find new ways to create during this time, as we did by bringing 60 people together on this song. We’re building this from the ground up. A lot of people are doing concerts at home. As creators, we need your support in various ways, whether it be concerts, supporting our music, going to our YouTube channel subscribing to our pages and supporting us on all of the music streaming platforms, and downloading and buying our songs. A lot of the money is supporting us during these times because our jobs came to a halt. This interview supports us. Some artists are doing concerts and asking for small donations. Any support that will help us get the word out is vital during this time,
Nikita: I’m piggybacking on what Sakai said about supporting us on social media, even when things get better. I’m hopeful that things will get better even though they may not be the same. Social media will be the new normal for real, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook. It has been tough for everybody. We started this group, Femmes Fatales, a while ago but we are bringing it back to the forefront. We will continue with Train, too; they are two different genres. We want people to get to know us even more. We want to be in people’s faces; we want to be in your living room. We want to be on television. We would love to be interviewed.
Kevin: Unfortunately in the time of a recession or a pandemic, arts and entertainment are usually the first to go and the last to come back. However, during those times, it’s the arts and entertainment that keep us going. We fall back to those records we love; we fall back to the artists we love and the books we love to read. We start writing in our journals and we get very creative. We saw during the pandemic, as Nikita was saying, that social media and the Internet became the norm. You saw people like DJ D-Nice in New York doing shows every weekend and he had 100,000 people online at one point. Questlove was doing shows virtually. We hope that once this changes, while the Internet is still there, that people continue to support the arts in all the new ways, not just the shows or the CDs but in all aspects. As artists, we often have a hard time saying “support us financially,” but that’s our job. There’s a lot of strength in the arts and it’s really what keeps us grounded in tough times.
Listen to Les Femmes Fatales new single, “Is That Enough?” now on Streetwise Radio.
