Pt II of the conversation I had with Aaliyah about what the journey to physical health freedom is all about. She shares where she is on hers, and also important tips to keep in mind for the challenges that come up. Heart disease is the no. 1 killer in the U.S. So, it's extremely important for us to pay close attention to the amount of salt we put in our bodies. The amount of salt aka sodium will heavily impact your physical health. That along with how much you eat overall.

Physical health freedom is another important type of freedom. The number one cause of death in the U.S. is heart failure. That is letting us know that if we want to have a life free from being obligated to taking Rx drugs, we need to take care of our bodies. I had a conversation with Aaliyah about her decision to change her body and take better care of it. Here is pt I of our conversation.

In this episode, the conversation continues with Dr. King. There was more talk on dealing with trauma for an individual. She also touched on the shared responsibility of mental health care professionals and their educators to have resources available to properly assess a client's needs. Successful treatment comes from being well-informed on each separate individual. There is no universal plan for treatment.

For this freedom month of July, we started out by looking at mental health freedom. Since mental health is such a broad topic looking a little deeper is a good idea. Within mental health, there is the sub-topic of trauma. I spoke with Dr. Latanya King about what trauma is and how it can block you from reaching mental health freedom. Listen to pt. I of the conversation I had with Dr. King about mental health freedom as it relates to trauma.

This is the second part of the conversation I had with Dr. Williametta Simmons on key ways to attain mental health freedom. Here Doc explains signs to look for that might signal your mental health is under direst. Also doc shares what you can do after acknowledging it.

July is all about freedom!!! Freedom is what we all want so that we can be our best selves. There is a large amount of work we have to do to get to a place of attaining freedom. Also, there are many different types of freedom we can acquire. The first freedom we're discussing is mental health freedom. How can we navigate through life freed from any events that may be causing blockages in our mental space. This could be anything from parental abandonment to some sort of abuse.  After speaking with Dr. Williametta Simmons, I better understood how to attain mental health freedom.

The end of Black Music Month is here, and a good way to close out is to look beyond the stage. I talked with a man who is very familiar with the work that takes place behind the stage. Ike is the founder and CEO of IM3Media. He offers a variety of services around branding and marketing. Most recently, he has a book entitled, "The Brand is You." We discussed music and his career journey- where he's been, where he is, and where he's going.

One of the main reasons I love music so much is because my mom is a musician. I often times reflect on how powerful it is to be one of The Black Sisters. It's such a cool concept to have three names that are so distinct and different, yet they all mean the same thing. The story of the my name (along with my sisters) is coming straight from the horse's mouth. I thought my mom was always a known singer. She has a voice that is very powerful and soulful. When my sisters and I were young, she was always singing. We thought nothing of it. Then, one day, at a local talent show, unbeknownst to us, my mom sang for the first time publicly.  Hear how the conversation went between my mom and me about how her life is as "Melanie the mom" and "Melanie the musician."

Here is pt II of the interview with a few girl dads. We continue to discuss life with  these men raising their daughters. They share their thoughts on the life they want for their young ladies. One of the men prefers a traditional roles, while others are more inclined to have a free-spirited outlook on the future for their girls. One thing they all agree is, they want the best future for their children.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!! So many black men are definitely stepping their game up and taking their dad duties very seriously. That's the good news! I had the pleasure of talking to a few of them. We talked about how having a little girl changed the men, "the sex talk," and if their girls listened to the music of today. Thanks to Tyrone, Phil, and Reece for taking the time to talk about being girl dads.