Lydia Caesar took a leap of faith when she moved from New York City to St. Louis with her husband. She left behind a tight-knit church community, lots of family and the city鈥檚 music scene, but she quickly made a home for herself in the Midwest.
鈥淚'm just like a go-getter. I have the type of personality where I'm going to make myself fit,鈥� Caesar said. 鈥淟ike, I'm going to squeeze in whether St. Louis is ready or not. I'm here.鈥�
Nearly a decade ago, Caesar wrote 鈥淪t. Louis,鈥� about her then-boyfriend. She said the two had only been on a few dates when she wrote it.
鈥淚 was so infatuated. You know, we were just dating. And he was different from anybody that I ever met. And he was the first person I ever met from St. Louis in New York,鈥� Caesar said. 鈥淎nd so I was just inspired, and I was like, 鈥業f nothing else, I'm gonna get a song out of this relationship.鈥欌��
Caesar got much more than a song. That man became her husband, and they recently had a child together. Their daughter was born toward the beginning of the pandemic. Caesar said while lockdown was a chaotic time, it was a good time to have a baby.
鈥淎fter you have a baby you have to sit down and take a break, and that's hard for somebody like me because I have really bad FOMO 鈥� fear of missing out 鈥� and I want to be at events,鈥� Caesar said. 鈥淏ut I didn't have to worry about missing any events, because there were none.鈥�
In addition to raising her two daughters and stepson, Caesar has released a new EP, 鈥淟egendary Love.鈥� Its first single, 鈥淭he Ones We Love,鈥� is now in regular rotation on BET Soul and the music video plays multiple times a week on the channel.
Caesar鈥檚 new EP delves into healthy relationships, which she said aren鈥檛 represented enough in the current music scene. She said she wants everyone to know that they are worthy of legendary love.
鈥淚 think that everyone deserves legendary love, especially if you're giving yourself in the right way, you're doing the self work,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don't think that we need to, like, have mental trauma because of our relationships. I think that we can do better if we dig deep.鈥�
Now, Caesar is bringing the songs from her new EP, and some old hits, to the House of Soul. She鈥檒l be performing tonight alongside other women in St. Louis, Drea Vocals, Queen Aloha and Alysha. It鈥檚 her first big indoor show since the beginning of the pandemic, and she said she鈥檚 excited about the group she鈥檒l be sharing the stage with.
鈥淚 purposely booked all women for this concert,鈥� Caesar said. 鈥淚 really wanted to put women 鈥� and specifically Black women 鈥� to work because the industry can be really tough for us, you know? And so I'm just happy to be able to give other artists platforms too.鈥�
While she鈥檒l always be a New Yorker in some ways, Caesar is excited to share her new EP in the city where she鈥檚 grown roots.
鈥淚 developed a mantra when I got here. I saw it somewhere, like on a wall in somebody's office, and it said 鈥楤loom where you're planted.鈥� And I just carried that with me every day, like 鈥業'm here. So I'm going to shine bright here.鈥欌��
Related Event
What: Lydia Caesar鈥檚 鈥淟egendary Love鈥� EP debut concert
When: Dec. 9 (7 p.m. doors; 8 p.m. show)
Where: House of Soul
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by and produced by , , and . Jane Mather-Glass is our production assistant. The audio engineer is .
