54. Meet the TikTok famous Wholesome Rapper

Tune in for a fun, wholesome, inspiring chat with TikTok famous rapper Sarah Maddack. Sarah tells the story of how a slug in her bedroom made her go viral, she shares what her voice means to her, and explains how speaking gibberish can get you out of bummer sludge. Yes, you read that right!

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Follow Sarah on TikTok @sarah_maddack and Instagram @sarahmaddack

Transcript

Sally TikTok: So there's this rapper, her name is Sarah. She's so damn good. I just had to share her, love her voice, vibe and confidence. Her way with words is brilliance. I'm in Australia. She's in Nashville, wherever you are in the world, don't be bashful, listen up. You've got a voice and a choice to use it ain't it obvious? Stick with me if it's public speaking you fear, want to hear more rap, Sarah take it from here.

Sally: And that is why I'm a speaking coach, not a rapper. That was a TikTok I made a few months ago, fan-girling over the incredible Sarah Maddack who does know how to rap. And I'm so excited to introduce her to you today.

I'm Sally Prosser. You're listening to That Voice Podcast, no matter who you are or what you do, your voice matters. So unless you've sworn a lifetime vow of silence, this is the podcast for you.

And I'm so excited about this podcast ep, almost as excited as I am to have my Members Only community. I would really love you to join us. If you want to improve your speaking for any scenario, this is the place to do it. And the November Masterclass coming up is generating so much interest. It's called Speak by Design, and I'll be covering a whole bunch of templates to use while you're speaking. So believe me, once you get familiar with these templates, you can 'plug and play' your content. And that means you'll rarely feel stuck on what to say or how to structure your words. So if you want in, on that Masterclass, Speak by Design and a whole bunch of other perks, then join my Members Only, the link is in the show notes. Now it's so cool to introduce you to Sarah Maddack for today's episode, Sarah calls herself the Wholesome Rapper on TikTok, where she has - get this - more than 900,000 followers. She's a rapper and a singer and look just a total ray of light. Her goal is to bring joy and fun into people's day. And I know this episode will do that for you - we even speak some gibberish!

Sarah Maddack, I'm so excited to welcome you to That Voice Podcast. Silly question for you, but could you do your job if you lost your voice?

Sarah: That is a great question. So it would be, it would just be a different job. Obviously it would be a different job. I would find a way to do it. I think I, if I had to, I would learn sign language. I would do it in some other fashion.

Sally: It would be such a disappointment for the world if you lost your voice. It's so beautiful.

Sarah: Thank you.

Sally: So take us through is singing and/or rapping something that you've always done, always wanted to do since you were little?

Sarah: Okay. So I actually started out as a singer, so I started out singing. I can't say I was a good singer until actually about five years ago. So I worked really hard throughout college, high school. I was in, you know, church choir and things like that. And I had to work really hard to be an objectively good singer. There's actually videos on YouTube. You can look up where it's like, it's not horrifying, you know, like American Idol auditions, but like, it's not that good. It's definitely just, okay. So anyway, I've worked really hard. I did not know I could rap well until I found the slug on my rug in April and made a rap about it. And that was my first viral video. And that's when I got all that positive feedback and I've always made up silly songs, poems, songs, things like that. But the rapping specifically was kind of a new thing I've stumbled upon.

Sally: Sarah, it's so funny because sometimes I'll just be wandering around my house and randomly in my head. I'll be like 'hey slug, are you a rug slug' and start singing! So for those people listening who might not be on TikTok or who might not be following you, but they will be after this chat. Take us through the TikTok viral video. What happened and how you felt when that little rap went viral?

Sarah: Oh my gosh. Yeah. So it wasn't just a night in April and it was actually a Saturday night and I walked into my room and I saw a giant slug on my window and I couldn't believe it was in my room. I thought it was on the other side, you know? So anyway, that night I, you know, I don't think anything, I get a paper towel. I take it outside. I think my slug adventures are over next morning. I'm sitting on my bed and I'm just thinking about what to do that day Sunday morning. And I'm staring at the floor and I see like a squishy brown thing. I think it's a leaf and it's another slug and I have a carpeted bedroom. There's no reason slugs should be in our house. It's so random. So anyway, I see it. I go to get a paper towel to get it, to take it out. And I stopped when I think there's a slug on my rug. I'm like, Oh my gosh, that's so catchy. I should write a song about this. So I threw away the paper towel. I just like, let the slug chill there. And in 20 minutes, I wrote this song about a slug on my rug. And then I filmed myself rapping to it, with it in the shot and everything and set it up. And I thought it would do better than most of mine. I mean, I had like a thousand followers at that point that I gained over four months of posting every day, like a thousand, you know? So anyway, I remember posting it, hopped in the shower, checked it, and it had like 6,000 views already. And it was like, I would refresh it. And I remember running to see my roommate, Olivia I'd be like, OLIVIA, THE SLUG VIDEO's BLOWING UP. We just kept refreshing where it was like hundreds of people were seeing it every second. And I'm getting chills, even just remembering like, you know, people say, Oh, you know, Oh, fame or blowing up or whatever. It's just, it's normal now. It's not that big of a deal. That was a huge deal. It was awesome. I couldn't, I was like addicted to my phone for like 24 hours. It felt good.

Sally: I can totally relate when my first one went viral. They talk about your phone up blowing up. I remember like, not knowing whether I want it to keep refreshing or just throw it out the window.

Sarah: Yeh it's freaky. I bet. I bet. Yeah.

Sally: I love that. And I am going to play the rug slug song for you now.

Sarah: Yay.

Sarah TikTok: Hey slug, are you a rug slug? Broke your way into my room like you're a tough bug. You need a hug slug? You've had it rough bud, but don't think you're getting any of my love because this is my room and you don't pay rent. I'm not trying to start an argument, but I'm a need you to head to the door. So you can be halfway there by four.

Sally: After that happened. Was that the time when you thought, Hmm, maybe I should do a few more raps?

Sarah: Yes. So I heard this advice actually from [inaudible] he's the one who has a lot of remixes blow up on TikTok. His advice was if you have a video go viral, you know, what do I do now? He says, do the same thing that got you there, but double down. And so I thought, how fun would it be? Cause I know I'm good at quick songwriting or improv and things like that. And so I thought, how fun would it be if I wrote raps based on my followers comment suggestions. So I made a video saying like, give me your suggestions and I'll write a rap. And that led to the vitamin C and hippo video, which has actually been my hugest video to date. That one is like 10.5 million views, like insane. So, so yeah, that just started me writing raps about lots of different things.

Sally: I love that. And one thing I particularly love about rapping is being a speech coach, I'm big on warming up the lips and warming up the jaw and having fun with words. Before you rap, take us through what you do to warm up for that, because it's not something you can do when you just roll out of bed, surely.

Sarah: Right. Right. It takes yeah. Yeah. Especially for more difficult ones. So I, I learned this in theater camp, I chew my ABCs. So A, B, C is so attractive. This is a video recording C D E F and you know, and you just like way overdo it. So that's one and sometimes I'll honestly just practice doing Eminem songs, like really difficult ones, like Rap God from Eminem. That's a really fast rap song. I'll just warm up by trying to do that over and over again.

Sally: I love that. And you also have other styles of songs. You have some beautiful, Oh, testing my music knowledge here, but you would call them folk ballads?

Sarah: That's so funny. Yes, actually. Yes, they're folk. Yeah. Pop, but I think all genres are so similar. Everything's so mixed together, but I guess pop acoustic. Yeah. I was a singer / songwriter for five years before TikTok ever. Like I wrote saying wrote pop songs, played guitar.

Sally: And now do you see yourself doing a bit of both?

Sarah: So that's, here's the thing. I know my thing, my thing is that I am a silly songwriter. I am on a mission to help people take themselves less seriously to help them take others' opinions of them less seriously to help them take their current emotional state. So seriously, you know, it's just, that's my mission for sure. And so silly song writing or rapping is my thing. So it'll be a little bit of both, I think, rapping and song, but it'll definitely be silly. So I have like, I recently, you know, shout it out to a song I wrote years ago and it's definitely just like a typical pop song. It's a good song, but my brand - I'm trying to be like the female Weird Al Yankovic. Like the weird part is important to me. So it'll be both, but it'll be weird.

Sally: Oh, I absolutely, absolutely love that so much. It's so funny. And every time I see your videos, it brings so much joy into my day.

Sarah: Thank you.

Sally: So what would you say your voice means to you?

Sarah: That is a loaded question. What does my voice mean to me? Oh my gosh. It is a vessel of everything I believe in. That's the first thing that comes to mind because when I'm talking about okay, silly wordplay, which means a lot to me, like I said, breaking up the normalcy of people's days. Like what you said about like TikTok, just now. That's what I want to hear. That's the goal, people see my video or whatever. It brings some ounce of joy to their day, but also just, I am a huge, a words of affirmation person, both in receiving and giving. I am like a giver, I'm an encourager, I'm a verbal affirmation person. And so, Oh my gosh. It means everything to me. It's the fortress of my relationships. I can't think of the right word, but it's important to me even just for building others up as well. I think I do a good job with my voice.

Sally: Sarah, what an amazing answer!

Sarah: Well, thanks.

Sally: I love that. So, so much. So let's talk now about more of the practical side of voice. So we talked about how you warmed up your speech for your rapping. How would you warm up the other parts of your voice? Like, do you do breathing exercises? Do you do scales? What do you do?

Sarah: So, I mean, honestly I work out pretty much every day, some kind of cardio and I think, and that's, it's not like I do that for my voice, but I know that it's hugely helpful. I have a great cardiovascular system. And so that's one of the hardest things for raps. If you looked through my iPhone, you would see videos of me doing all the things you see on my TikToks So many takes of, okay. [inaudible] And I ran out of breath, you know, like, and we having to redo it because that's what the hardest is running out. So yes, breathing, I can't say I'm a super disciplined, you know, 30 minutes of perfect breathing exercises every morning. But I think honestly, I think the working out and the cardiovascular part of it is huge for me to be able to [inaudible] be able to get it all out.

Sally: Yeah. I think I read somewhere that Beyonce used to practice singing while running on her treadmill.

Sarah: That's and that's so smart. Yeah.

Sally: And then I heard actually as well, she then used to do it in high heels. So she used to run in high heels on her treadmill while singing his songs to prepare for her live concerts. Amazing. Right.

Sarah: That's amazing. That is so smart, man. If you can do that, I feel like I could do anything.

Sally: So maybe that's why she's the Queen. So now with the tick-tock fame, you're full time creating and you're using your voice in lots of different ways, interviews, podcasts. I imagine you're doing some speaking, some media appearances as well. How's all that going?

Sarah: Really good. And like I said, I had a podcast yesterday with this guy named Ryan Dunn. It was called Destination Different, really, really fun. Just talking about people who leave or lead unconventional lifestyles for themselves. So that's huge. And actually I am writing a book, the company I actually worked for before, and that was my nine to five, which I'm blessed to. So many people say, Oh, I quit my stupid nine to five. I liked my nine to five, but now I, you know, I'm just doing my dream job. So anyways, this company that helps people write and publish books. So I have a coach who's coaching me through writing a book. And we, as a company, went through a training program of PR and speaking specifically. And so we talked about how to craft your message, like what my book's about, which is how to stop taking yourself so seriously. So that's definitely going to be over the next six months. That's what's next is pursuing, especially as things start opening back up, hopefully more speaking events in person, maybe even virtual events. I know a lot of things are going virtual. So it's really applicable that I'm on this podcast because I love public speaking. I miss public speaking and I want to do more of it. So.

Sally: Sarah, it is so lovely to hear that because sometimes I feel like I'm on my own being like, yes, I love speaking. I love speaking because so many people say they don't like it. So bringing the joy to it and loving sharing your message is so great. I also would say, I've got a background in Speech and Drama and you would have in music and theater as well you mentioned you think that that performance experience really helps with media appearances.

Sarah: Yes. 100%, 100%. And I think one of the most important parts that people miss out on is that when they think that they're speaking, I think maybe I've even seen this - You talk about this. It's not about you. It's about what you're giving it's about how can I share this the most effectively? And when you make it all about how other people are going to receive it and the value they're going to get from it, that makes the butterflies go away. When you just think about the position of love, you know what I mean? That sounds really hippie-ish, but like just loving on people with your voice and with your message, like that just takes the pressure off you then it's not about you at all.

Sally: Yeah, absolutely. And if you want to go a bit harsh on it, sometimes I say irresponsible, it's irresponsible to sit there and not get out there and share what you, what you know, and what you love.

Sarah: Right.

Sally: And so now what's next? You've got the book and by the way, I'm so grateful to be able to contribute to the book. For those listening. I have a little TikTok about gibberish and I do like talking in gibberish, especially to my nieces - they just love it. Kids love speaking in gibberish. If you want to be the most popular auntie at Christmas, just go up to one of the kids and be like, and honestly you'll be the most popular one because kids love gibberish. And I think it's a fantastic way to, well, I'd be interested to see what your take on it in the book is, but it's a great way to break through self doubt and be free.

Sarah: A hundred percent actually, the way I used it in the book I talk about what I call a bummer sludge. So one way that people end up taking themselves or their circumstances, so seriously is just the inconveniences of daily life. Oh, I woke up late now. Oh, I spilled coffee on myself. Oh, such and such. Didn't go my way and what I call bummer sludge is where it's this really sneaky thing that doesn't like ruin or make your day like super terrible, but it just makes everything in your day just okay. And not super great. Like it mutes your whole day, just kind of lingers, you know? So anyway, I talk about, well, you need a switch-up serum and that's how you like, get it off you. And like, you know, quite literally brush off something inconvenient or some problem that happened. And, and one of those ways is just changing, like your physiology or using your voice. Like, let's say you're frustrated cause whatever your car ended up costing a thousand dollars to fix. I am not even kidding you. I will actually to get myself out of like this state of like persnickety I'm in a bad mood. I will speak gibberish or I'll talk to myself out loud or I'll sing, I'll rap. I'll do something to just remind myself that I'm going to die one day. And this is only a speck in my life. This isn't this giant overbearing thing. And it snaps me out of it. So gibberish is just one way to do that.

Sally: Bummer Sludge, definitely going into my daily vocab, persnickety - another one! Was there anything else you wanted to add or tell us about.

Sarah: You know, the only thing is if you're watching this and you resonate with or anything I say resonates with you, please follow me on TikTok Instagram, Spotify and reach out cause I like new friends.

Sally: Honestly, Sarah, well-worth the follow up and I'll be putting all those details in the show notes. Sarah Maddack Thank you so much for joining That Voice Podcast.

Sarah: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

Sally: Thanks for listening to That Voice Podcast, to make sure you don't miss an episode, leave your email at www.thatvoicepodcast.com.