Nicole C. Mullen: “A Dream To Believe In”

HOLLY: Nicole C. Mullen, thank you so much for being with us.  It’s a pleasure to have you on the program today.

NICOLE C. MULLEN:            Thanks for having me.

HOLLY: So I have to start off by talking to you about what I call “the many hats of Nicole.”  You’re a singer, a songwriter, mother, wife,  advocate, I can go on and on and on.  How do you do all of these things?

NICOLE C. MULLEN:   Whew.  With much prayer.  Much prayer and good support system around me.  I have great friends who help me out, a husband who helps me, my mom and dad live next door, in-laws across the street, so it’s not just a single effort, it’s a family affair.  And so I do it with them and with a lot of prayer, like I said.

HOLLY: It works — it all comes together.

NICOLE C. MULLEN:    Yes, yes.

HOLLY: When did you realize you were going to be a singer?

NICOLE C. MULLEN:   I think I’ve always wanted to be a singer.  I grew up wanting to be a singer, an actress, a lawyer, all at the same time.  And every other week all the other ones would change, but the singer would remain.  And I’d been singing from the time I was about 2 years old, but I think around the age of 8 — I’m sorry, the age of 12 is when I thought, “You know what? I think this is what really what I want to do.”  And around that same time is when I started writing songs.

HOLLY: Wow, that’s awesome.  You have your own unique style, style of dress, the way you write songs.  Now, I read that there’s a specific, I guess genre or name you’ve given your style of writing.  What is that?

NICOLE C. MULLEN:  Funkabilly.

HOLLY: So what is it?

NICOLE C. MULLEN:  It’s kind of a hybrid between funk, folk, R&B, gospel, contemporary Christian, just quacky, quirky, you know.  There are things that I like that may not fit into one category, but they’re me, you know, I’m funkabilly.

HOLLY: I like that.  Let’s talk about your new CD, “A Dream To Believe In.”

NICOLE C. MULLEN:            Yes.

HOLLY: How much of that is on this CD?

NICOLE C. MULLEN:  I think there’s quite a bit.  There are different flavors; it’s like  gumbo, or jambalaya, you’re gonna have different elements to make up one particular dish.  And so the same is true with that.  There are songs about renewing your mind. “I need a brainwash, ah, ah, ah, ah.”

HOLLY: That’s one of my favorites, I got to say.

NICOLE C. MULLEN:            All right! There are a lot of different things on there, things about how do we treat each other, how is a man supposed to treat a woman, you know.  I have boys at home, I have a 12-year-old son.  I have a-a 6-year old son.  Last year I was raising two extra boys on top of that, and a 16-year-old daughter.

HOLLY: That song is, let’s see, “Like a Lady.”

NICOLE C. MULLEN:            Yes.

HOLLY: I like that song.  Why did you think that was so important to put on this CD?

NICOLE C. MULLEN:            Because that’s something I think is important for us to tell our young men.  That really, you are a man and a part of being a man is to treat a woman like a lady.  You know, she’s not a dude, she’s not as strong as you are.  And that was intentional in God’s design, and because of that, there are certain ways we are to respond to each other.

HOLLY: Wow.

NICOLE C. MULLEN:  So, it is just was encouraging.

HOLLY: You have another song on here that’s not considered, I guess, what we call a traditional gospel song.  That one is “Start Over Again.”

NICOLE C. MULLEN:  Glory hallelujah.

HOLLY: Now when I read that, I was like, “Okay, she is preaching here.”

NICOLE C. MULLEN:   Yes.

HOLLY: How did that song come about?

NICOLE C. MULLEN:   Because we live in an age, in a time where relationships are so expendable, you know, nothing lasts anymore and that’s sad, you know.  But there comes times, there comes several times in a relationship, I mean, I’ve been married for almost 17 years now.  My parents for 47 years, my in-laws for 50 years; their grandparents for 63 years.  So there’s a lot of longevity, but it’s not because anybody’s perfect, it’s because we’re learning the art of forgiveness.  And so really, when it comes to being married, you know, you have to start over again several times.  Sometimes you feel like you’ve come to the end of that rope, and you can find, really, through prayer and through “I’m just going to stick it out,” there’s a knot at the end of that rope.  And sometimes at the end of that rope is where you start all over again and you have to reintroduce yourselves and fall in love all over again.

HOLLY: So that song is for the couples out there?

NICOLE C. MULLEN: It is.

HOLLY: You’re also a mentor.  I talked about the many hats of Nicole in the beginning.  One of the things is that you started a girls’ group.

NICOLE C. MULLEN:   Yes.

HOLLY: Why did you feel like you needed to do that?

NICOLE C. MULLEN: I think there’s such a need for just decent role models, you know, Lord willing we can get some great ones.  Not too long ago, my daughter, who is now 16, she was probably around, I don’t know, 8 to 10, she said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do some things with other girls, in the same manner that you and I do it.  You know, like if we’re going to sew, can we not get other girls together?”  And I thought, “That’s great.”  So we started Baby Girls Club, and so we have a group of girls, every week we get together, they’re between the ages of 6 to 18.

HOLLY: Wow.

NICOLE C. MULLEN:   We dance, we sing, we sew, we talk, we do homework.  And it’s not just my way, but other mentors who’ve come alongside of me, our way of pouring back into their lives.

HOLLY: Wow.  What do you think is the greatest revelation you’ve gotten about being a Christian music artist?

NICOLE C. MULLEN:  Probably that it’s so not about us.  You know what I’m saying?  Really, God doesn’t need us.  I mean, I don’t do what I do because God needed Nicole C. Mullen.  No, I need God.  I need Christ.  And so, I think that’s probably the greatest revelation for all of us is that, really, it’s because of His great love.  You know, while we were yet sinners, He died for us.  We didn’t come looking for Him.  He sought us out and then He invited us, He drew us by His love, and so for me, that’s what compels me to tell others.  That’s what compels me to continue to come and sit at His feet.  It compels me to humble myself and just remind myself that it’s so not about you, it’s so not about me.  And it takes the pressure off of me because then I can direct the praise and the glory and attention to Him instead.