Tonesa Welch Interview with Angie Starr
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00:00She's from my side of town, West Side, Detroit, yeah, Coal Street, I think.
00:14I want to introduce you guys to Tonysa, did I say that correct?
00:18Tonysa Welch, all over social media right now, a title, the first lady of BMF,
00:27and also trending the fact that you have a story, biopic, that has been greenlit by BET all about your life,
00:36and it's going to be, Judge Greg Mathis is going to be the executive producer.
00:42Talk to us about that and welcome and congratulations.
00:46They called me up and said, hey, we loved your Trap Queen stories, what about doing a biopic?
00:51I was like, what?
00:53Yes.
00:54What?
00:55My story?
00:56Yeah, so I was really, really excited about that.
00:59I mean, it's a true story, inspired, you know, about me.
01:02Like you said, a girl on Coal Street from Detroit.
01:06Eminem and what, the BMF story and now my story, what we did do the 50s, Big 50s story.
01:12So, yeah, we got some amazing stories coming out of Detroit.
01:15Detroit superstars.
01:16So, let's start with Trap Queens because that's when I first, you know, saw your story and got to know you.
01:23I feel like we sisters.
01:24But how did Trap Queens come about?
01:26What happened?
01:26Again, Judge Mathis.
01:27They were doing the Trap Queens series and they reached out to me and asked me to do it.
01:33It took them, you know, they were twisting my arm a little bit because I wasn't used to telling my story.
01:38And so, I'm so happy that I did it.
01:42It has branded me and taken me to places that I couldn't even imagine, really imagine, you know.
01:48And it did help me just spiritually, mentally, physically, just to get all that out.
01:54And, you know, my story, and it's inspiring, it can help some young girls who are still, who are facing the same obstacles that I was facing.
02:02My story as I was part of this drug organization, big drug crime organization, and everybody knows now, called BMF.
02:10It's on Starz, produced by 50 Cent.
02:14And I was called the First Lady of BMF and I was a part of that organization.
02:18I also was incarcerated, went to prison on it.
02:22Started back, my story started back in the 80s.
02:24You know, I started with H, who was my ex-husband.
02:29He was in a drug game.
02:30Then, years later, I met Southwest T, developed a relationship with him, and that's our story.
02:36You know, from the rise and the fall to BMF, I rose with him and fell with him and ended up in prison.
02:42And so, now my story is to show young girls, you know, hey, all the beauty and glory, you know, and glamour, here it comes.
02:50It can fall, you know.
02:52So, hey, I'm here to tell them my story, and, you know, hopefully it can help them, you know, and not make the same mistakes.
02:59That's what I love about you, your transparency in all of your interviews.
03:05Now, the character BMF, I think her name is Markeisha, is played by Lila Anthony.
03:11Did Lila contact you?
03:13No, she didn't.
03:14I mean, but, you know, Lila is doing an amazing job this season.
03:18I'm so happy for her.
03:20No, she didn't, we didn't speak, but that's okay.
03:23That comes from maybe the network.
03:25So, one day, maybe, hopefully, we can sit down and have tea, you know, and talk about it.
03:30It would be an honor to me.
03:32She did, you know, portray parts of my character, even though, you know, some facts and some fiction, but it's okay, you know.
03:39But I would love to talk to her and share, you know, some real insight, my truth, you know.
03:45And my thing about the BET, I mean, the Starz series of BMF, that's what I want to say, is they say it's not all based on truth.
03:58So, when I listen to your interviews and get the real story and see how it really went down, it is so intriguing.
04:05That's why I was so excited to hear that you're going to actually be able to do your own movie.
04:12What will be differences?
04:14What will we see?
04:15Give us a little look into that.
04:16It would just be a story from my eyes.
04:18You know, everyone has their own story and the way they see things.
04:23But what would be different is coming from me, a woman, a mother, you know, who really lived it.
04:29And a lot of women don't live it at that level.
04:31So, I want to tell my story because men tell their story differently.
04:35You know, they want to highlight their story different.
04:37They don't talk about the women too much.
04:40So, that's why I'm so happy about this.
04:42I get a chance to tell my story, you know, my truth, you know.
04:46And there's nothing better than the truth.
04:48Am I right?
04:49Right?
04:50And God knows who to use to teach the truth as those vessels.
04:55And that's something also that I'm impressed about when it comes to you, the organizations and your outreach.
05:02Talk to that.
05:03You do a lot of speaking to women that have been incarcerated.
05:08Yeah, because I love to reach back.
05:10You know, I love to reach back and help my, I call them my sisters in, you know, that in prison and incarcerated.
05:16Not even them.
05:17I love talking to the, you know, the youth before they end up where I ended up at.
05:22You know what I mean?
05:23And because people see it and they think it's all glamorous, it's all fun, and it's not.
05:28It's dark, it's dangerous.
05:30You know, it's not a life you want to live.
05:32And then when you get there and you end up in prison, it's almost too late.
05:36You know, but I'm not going to even say too late because I had a second chance.
05:39No, I'm going to say nine chances.
05:41God been with me, honey, a long time.
05:44When I look back at all the chances he has given me, you know, so I can say I was fortunate, blessed that he had brought me through.
05:51And I'm here today to be able to tell my story.
05:55A lot of women won't make it this far.
05:57Especially, you know, I was a woman of domestic violence.
06:01And that's one of the highest rated, you know, things for women, deaf right now.
06:07You know, so I was very lucky.
06:10I keep saying lucky.
06:11Blessed.
06:12Blessed.
06:12Blessed.
06:12Very blessed.
06:13But God, I know he planned on using you.
06:16Again, in one of the interviews, you said that, you know, you and your husband at that time had a fight.
06:23And you thought that maybe that night you might take his life.
06:28And, you know, it didn't go down like that.
06:31And you were thankful.
06:32But then you said that you went back to him.
06:34Right.
06:34And you said it's that cycle.
06:36And a lot of people that are in that situation don't want to be real with the thought patterns.
06:41But women that are in that need women to be real so we can deal with it.
06:44Yeah.
06:45When I was going through it at a younger age, it wasn't even talked about.
06:50We had that syndrome.
06:51You don't tell your business in a home, you know.
06:54And now I want women to know that's nothing, you know, don't live in that kind of cycle no more, you know.
07:00So make sure you talk to people.
07:02Don't be shamed, you know.
07:04And I think that's what kept me in the shame.
07:08No, I'm going to beat this.
07:09I'm going to change him.
07:10You can't change him.
07:12You know, the only thing you can do is change yourself.
07:14And it will be okay.
07:16Just step out there and I promise you it will be okay.
07:19You know, I would never want another woman to go through what I went through.
07:22And when I tell you, speaking to women, it's a lot of women that go through it.
07:28That's shame.
07:29People shame you from talking about it.
07:31And if we help another woman and say, hey, it's okay.
07:35I understand what you're going through.
07:37I can help you.
07:39Let's talk about it.
07:40Let me help find you some resources, you know, instead of shaming a woman.
07:44When I was, like I said back then, I was being shamed.
07:46And I kept going back.
07:47I didn't understand.
07:48I didn't understand that I could be helped.
07:50Or there's help out there for me because I didn't want to talk about it.
07:55And, you know, I stayed in it because a lot of times people say,
07:58well, what made you stay in it?
07:59I don't understand why I stayed in it, you know.
08:02But I'm here to talk about it today.
08:05Help out there.
08:06You don't have to be ashamed.
08:08It's people that you could talk to, you know, to reach out to, you know.
08:12Get out of those situations.
08:14It's not a good situation for yourself or your children.
08:17Oh, I love that.
08:19You know, I grew up, Mason, on the west side.
08:22And, again, listening to her interviews, she said when she first,
08:26because she's from the west, she went to the east to the rooster tail.
08:29And I remember going, living in the west and going, I went to the climax,
08:35but that's different.
08:36Well, that's true.
08:37I ended up at the climax.
08:38I ended up at the climax.
08:41The east side, I was a girl.
08:43Me and my girls popping in that car, like, from that one rooster tail party,
08:48the east side was my hangout.
08:50Yes.
08:51Yes.
08:51We had to go.
08:52But what I like is because, again, being in this industry, doing clubs,
08:57you know, I used to host Nicky's all the time.
09:00So I saw the young girls, 21s.
09:03You know, I saw them with the, you know, the Jug boys and hanging out in the glitz,
09:07the glamour.
09:08And I see them, you know, looking up and wanting it.
09:11But then for you to be a boss, because in Detroit, you are a boss.
09:16They love you.
09:17Like, everybody loves you.
09:19And you're beautiful.
09:21But I like the fact that you don't just stay there.
09:23You say, yeah, that was glamorous, but it's a dark side to it also.
09:28And you share your truths with that.
09:30Can you speak to that?
09:31I love that.
09:32Because people don't understand.
09:33They look at all the glitz and the glamour.
09:35But it's very dark.
09:37Anything that happens, like, with your mate, that happens to you.
09:40If he got beef, you got beef.
09:42You know, if it's best after him, most times they're going to be after you.
09:47You know, it's a real dark world.
09:49So I like to tell people, now, don't follow those traits.
09:52You don't want to do that.
09:53You don't want to have to worry about if you're talking on your phone.
09:57You don't want to have to worry if you're pulling in your driveway, if the Jacker's going to get you and your kids.
10:02Because it's not an easy life.
10:06You know, you take on all of that.
10:07And me coming up, I don't know what made me, in my mind, want to do that.
10:12I thought that I could do a man's job like that in the streets.
10:16It's nothing you want to do.
10:19I can say that.
10:20But what I say now, I like to teach kids about entrepreneurship.
10:24You know?
10:25You know, back then, for some reason in Detroit, in my mind, I thought, okay, we can go to the plants or be in the streets.
10:34I didn't have dreams and goals.
10:37You know, all I wanted to do, once I got out of high school, get out of high school, I went to that one party, I wanted to be with the dope boys.
10:44I wanted to do all that.
10:45But now these young kids have so many opportunities, so many things in front of them, so many chances, so many, you know, people that are willing to mentor you.
10:55So I said dream.
10:57Set goals.
10:59Dream other than that.
11:00That's a dead end.
11:01That's really a dead end.
11:03You know what I mean?
11:04So there's so many other things that you could, you know, what they got now?
11:08Everything.
11:09You know, people are owning stores now, businesses, you know, becoming realtors, hairdress, everything now is to be, you can make money from other than being in the streets because it's one way.
11:21Either it's death or prison.
11:23And I'm telling you, prison is nowhere you want to go.
11:26That was my turning point.
11:28That was a time to reflect on my life, you know, and all the things that I had been doing wrong for so long.
11:35So I said when I came out of prison, I was going to serve.
11:39I would never return back here.
11:41My mother, my children, friends, society would not see me returning back to prison.
11:47And that was going to be my journey when I come out to help the community that I failed at, help them, help the kids, anybody that I can reach out to.
11:58I was, I think that my journey, I used to say, you know, always, what's my gift?
12:02What's my gift?
12:03I couldn't sing.
12:04I can't dance, anything like that.
12:06But my gift is to serve.
12:08With the whole BMF series, I love it.
12:12I watch it all the time.
12:14But I want truth because it's from my hometown.
12:17And I want to know what really happened.
12:20And I want to know about women that grew up in my same neighborhood and how, what their stories are like.
12:26Because I'm like that.
12:27And I am looking forward to this biopic.
12:30I personally open our airwaves to you.
12:34We want, you know, you to know that this is your family.
12:38And the fact that you care enough about a city to be transparent and share the good and the bad.
12:45A lot of people like to brag about the good.
12:48But people like to keep that little other stuff in the closet.
12:51I respect you.
12:53I thank God for you.
12:55When I first saw the interview, I think it was on Vlad TV.
12:58I did the Vlad crack.
13:01Yes.
13:02I was speechless.
13:03Because I know the strength and the special DNA we have in Detroit.
13:10But for you, again, to share your story, you are going to help so many people.
13:16Period.
13:17Women, people.
13:18You're just going to help people with your story.
13:20And I thank you.
13:21Is there anything else you would like to say?
13:25I thank everyone.
13:26I want to thank everybody for embracing me.
13:29You know, like it's not often people give you, like I say, I'm past second chances.
13:36You know?
13:37So I want to be thankful.
13:38I'm thankful for everybody that has embraced me and, you know, accepted who I become.
13:44I feel like if I could put all that energy into my past, you know, everything I did in my past, I know I can be greater.
13:55And I want everybody to know you can come back from anything.
14:00And that's the beauty thing.
14:01If you wake up the next day, hey, it's another chance to be great, to do something different.
14:07So, you know, I'm watching the documentary and I said, you know, we're doing 3-1-3 day.
14:15Remember when we were doing the whole 3-1-3 thing?
14:17And I was like, I want to find people in Detroit that I feel really represent 3-1-3 and really care about the city.
14:25And that's how you came up.
14:27Because I was like, that's what I want.
14:31That's true Detroit.
14:32Detroit, and you will be back because we're going to do some major projects together.
14:36You're part of our team.
14:37I'm so gay, boy.
14:38You down, little baby.
14:39All right.