Thursday, March 2, 8 a.m.

I was just thinking about how I should start waking up to a song because I was just using a beep on my phone before, and that wasn’t working—I figured if I put a song that I like on, it’ll motivate me to get up. So this is my wake-up alarm. I like how it starts off so clamorous, like all the instruments are playing at the same time on the very first note. It puts me in a “ready to go” kind of mood instead of like an “ugh, I have to go” kind of mood.

I’m a big fan of Donald Glover in general. He was performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater when I first moved to New York, so I’ve kind of been shadowing him step-by-step. He’s a great example of how you don’t have to stick to one thing; when you have a vision, you can’t wait for someone to allow you to do it. I want to take over everything, too—comedy, acting, singing, dancing, all kinds of stuff. I mean, I want an empire. I’ve been singing since I was 9. I was in church choirs and show choir in high school. I studied theater in college and thought I was going to do that when I moved here, but the process wasn’t for me. I just fell in love with comedy.

Thursday, March 2, 11:15 a.m.

This is when I got home from a chiropractic appointment and started getting ready for work. I was late to the game on D.R.A.M.; I knew of “Cha Cha,” but then I saw his Tiny Desk Concert and I was hooked. I love how happy he is. And “Cute” is such a good song! It sounds cute, and sometimes I listen to it when I feel cute. When I listen to D.R.A.M., I definitely relate. Like “Get It Myself”—that’s how I feel. And that’s how most things in my career have gone. I didn’t wait for someone’s permission, I just got it. Some of his songs are for fun, but there’s truth in all of them. Like, “Cash Machine” could be like, “I’m obsessed with cash and rich now,” but it is more like, “No, I’m big-timing you. I made it and I don’t have to have whatever lifestyle that I had before, because all I listen to is the cash.”