MARRIED TO A ROCKSTAR & AND AN UNEXPECTED DIAGNOSIS: Music Legends, the Grammys & Living with MS

Robbi Kumalo (0:00)

When she saw me pregnant, she's like, are you going to name the baby Diana?

Lucy Hodgkinson (0:03)

For me, Diana Ross stands out. Like, how was she in person?

Robbi Kumalo (0:07)

I found out that I had MS 12 years ago. It was my 50th birthday present from the universe. And we wound up going to the Oprah Winfrey Show. So I didn't know that I was sick. And I passed out.

Nobody seemed to see me on the ground. They walked past me.

Hana (0:30)

Talk to us about the Grammys and the red carpet.

Lucy Hodgkinson (0:33)

You recently found yourself on a red carpet again, except this time you were lying on it.

Hana (0:40)

Who left you the most starstruck?

Robbi Kumalo (0:42)

Um, Chaka Khan. Still leaves me starstruck. I don't look at MS as a problem. I look at it as a lane that I'm in.

Lucy Hodgkinson (0:51)

Is there ever a day where you literally say, MS is shit and I'm not grateful today?

Robbi Kumalo (0:57)

I don't need a pep talk. I just need somebody to listen.

Hana (1:00)

One person you'd still love to collaborate with?

Robbi Kumalo (1:03)

With my daughters.

Hana (1:06)

Aretha, Diana, Oprah or Chaka Khan. Who are you calling for a girls night?

Robbi Kumalo (1:13)

Chaka Khan. You can just reach out and touch Hana and Lucy.

Reach out and touch Hana and Lucy.

Hana (1:25)

That's our jingle.

Lucy Hodgkinson (1:26)

That's our jingle.

Robbi Kumalo (1:27)

Right, we've got it. We're going to edit it.

Lucy Hodgkinson (1:29)

We're going to get Robbi to record it. And that's been our jingle. Yes.

Hana (1:43)

Hello and welcome to Becoming Lucy with me, Hana.

Lucy Hodgkinson (1:47)

And me, Lucy. So today's guest as one of those lives where you almost don't know where to start. So she's a Grammy nominated recording artist, an award-winning children's composer, author, educator and storyteller. She's worked alongside some names you might have heard of. We've got Aretha Franklin. God, sorry Aretha.

I can't even say your name right. Diana Ross, Rod Stewart and Mary J. Blige. And she's even appeared on television with Oprah Winfrey. So, you know, no pressure on me and Hana today.

Yes.

Hana (2:28)

No, we've not been nervous behind the scenes, we promise.

But actually for all those incredible achievements, that isn't really what today's conversation is about. Because at 50, Robbi discovered that something else had been happening quietly in the background of her life. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And strangely, that diagnosis didn't just change the way Robbi lived with her body, it changed the way she looked at being alive.

Lucy Hodgkinson (2:53)

And today we're talking about what happens when the life you thought you were going to have suddenly changes. About chronic illness, disability, identity, creativity, grief and gratitude and reinvention.

And about why sometimes being reminded that life is short can actually make you want to live more of it, not less.

Hana (3:18)

Yeah, and I think we're also going to find out how you go from standing on the red carpet at the Grammys to finding yourself lying on another red carpet many years later for a very different reason.

Lucy Hodgkinson (3:31)

Which is quite a story. So, Robbi, welcome to Becoming Lucy.

Robbi Kumalo (3:38)

Hello, Becoming Lucy. Hi Lucy. Hi, Hana. Thank you so much for having me here today to share my stories. Because as I get older and older and wiser, I realized that I'm not telling stories for the same reason anymore. When I was a younger storyteller, I was entertaining people, and the people that I was entertaining were little people. So they were really easy to watch their attention, give them a story, and if you're a good storyteller, they'd sit still and listen. So I got very good at storytelling because I learned how to make four-year-olds sit still and listen.

But now that I'm almost like that same child again as I get older, I'm still learning how to sit still. I still need help going to the bathroom. I still need help doing certain things I needed help with when I was little.

I'm realizing that I am still a storyteller, but this time I have five decades of stories and knowledge to share. So doing this interview with you both makes me feel like, ah.

Hana (4:43)

We can't wait to delve into those five decades. Before we start, Robbi, what we normally do is explain to our listeners how we know our guests, we know them, how it happened. Actually, you reached out to us, which is amazing. When we read a little bit about your story, we immediately said, yeah, we definitely want her on, we can't wait. But what we're really interested in actually is how did you find out about Becoming Lucy and what made you think? I'll chat to those two women over here in England.