Shilo Alize Jenkins-Robinson (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} twisted_angel20) wrote in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} ohnotheydidnt,@ 2008-07-17 21:47:00 |
|
interviews with three unknown (but great) artists + a coolio interview that'll bring the lulz
If you saw Taragirl in the street right now, you probably wouldn’t reckon that she’s a R&B and soul singer. Looks can indeed be deceiving, that’s why it’s best not to judge a book by it’s cover. She’s shared the stage with Chrisette Michele and is constantly winning hearts over with her singing. She may not be all over your television right now, but you need to get to know this young lady.
Tell us a little about you. Who is Taragirl?
That always sounds like a silly question when you go to answer it, cause ya know…I’m just me! I’m a mix of Soul and R&B, Hip-Hop and Dance, and even Inspirational and Pop music. ‘Taragirl’ is kinda like a nickname that everyone knows me by now and I always want it to communicate a pure and soulful energy with a little bit of girl power and a whole lot of sass. I’m sweet, I’m positive, I’m real, but sometimes I also like to get down and tell it like it is. And that might involve some wailing but usually, in my opinion, that’s the best part of the song!
What made you want to get into singing?
I’ve been singing since I was a little kid. Check out the old 80’s YouTube clip if you don’t believe me. That’s mainly because my father encouraged me and kept handing me the microphone when I was around six or seven. When you grow up with this other means of communicating through music, especially singing I think, it really opens up a whole other side of yourself and you want to re-live that experience over and over again. One time someone said to me, “It must be so amazing to be able to use your voice to release all of that emotion!” And she was right. But the truly beautiful thing about music is that it’s interactive: the audience gets to feel what you feel - just by listening.
Who are some of your favorite artists?
My all time favorite as many already know is Aretha Franklin. For me, no one will ever surpass her. I’m also greatly influenced by an array of other people like Dinah Washington, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Madonna, EnVogue, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Boyz II Men, Lauryn Hill and certainly Mariah Carey. But everyday I‘m desperate for new music that’s fresh and exciting too, so lately I’ve been into stuff like k-os, Zero7, Citizen Cope, Fiona Apple, Maroon 5…I love fusions and artists that don’t fit into just any one category.
What inspires your music and you to sing?
Everything; the good, the bad and the ugly. I mean it! I first started taking songwriting seriously when I turned on the radio and the caliber of music had gone way down. It was “I want you, I need you, you’re the one for me” blah blah blah. I thought to myself, girl get some confidence, you can write a better song that that! As it turns out--at least for me--it’s a lot easier to channel all the negative crap that happens to you as opposed to the positive. It’s kinda like, when you’re all happy and feeling good, you don’t want to sit home by yourself and write a song…but I’m starting to embrace those feelings more and make some fun music too!
You're in Philadelphia right now, and it's gotten some negative press and even been called "Killadelphia." What do you think about that and do you think you will write about the current climate there anytime soon?
It’s true and sad that’s our nickname right now. Philly is going through some things right now, but I have faith that we will come out of it. In part, I’m psyched about the new guy in office, Mayor Nutter. I believe with his guidance and with our patience, we can put the focus back on education, fight crime, and come up with innovative ways to uplift our communities. Understandably, a lot of young people growing up in the ghetto environment are discouraged by what they see; I’ve talked with some of them, debated with some of them and a lot of people are consciously or subconsciously living in ‘survival mode.’ The truth is, the world we live in shouldn’t control us; we must control our own destiny to a very large extent. “Getting by” doesn’t have to mean selling drugs, hustlin’, and it sure as hell doesn’t have to mean violence.
Despite our different circumstances, a lot of us are struggling with the same issues of negativity, self-doubt, frustration, fear and stress. I would love to deal more directly with these issues in my songs. So far, everything I’ve written about is from an autobiographical standpoint. In my new songs, I’m dealing with my experience on these same issues, but from my point of view. My forthcoming single, “The City,” is all about dealing with the extreme highs and lows of life and how hard that can be; one day you’re on top of the world and the next day you’re flat on your back. How do you find the strength to get back up again? I have another song called “Get Down” that’s from a friend to a friend, about holding your head up no matter what life throws at you and remembering your self-worth.
Also, I never want my songs to sound too preachy because I wouldn’t want someone to talk to me that way…I try to get my message across but keep you jamming at the same time.
You recently shared a stage with Chrisette Michele, what was that like?
[It was] awesome! But totally scary too! I just wrote a blog about this. I was trying to give people an example of what it feels like to be an opening act – it’s not all happy faces and applauses. In the beginning, especially when you got like a hard core soul/R&B audience from Philly, they see me – this hype, little white girl – and people are not exactly thrilled. That’s usually how it is for me whenever there’s a new audience; I have to win them over note by note. But by the end they were shouting my name so…it really was a great time and I think I succeeded in warming up the stage for Ms. Chrisette who, of course, killed it!
What's in store for you this year and what can your fans expect?
Well this year I’m working hard and plan on releasing new music very soon. Fans can expect me to drop at least two new singles by the summer. One is a really funky, sassy joint called “What You Give” that you will not be able to get out of your head. Don’t hate me! And the other has a feel-good, hip-hop soul flavor to it entitled “Act Like a Star.” Both of these are gonna surprise people I think; they definitely show a different side to me than you might be used to. Of course, it’s been there the whole time, but now I have the opportunity to get down with it some more and get your head bobbin! And there will be another album coming out eventually, but I can’t say when. At this point, these will be limited digital releases. I’m experimenting right now, collaborating with a lot of different cats and shopping for a deal. Those are my priorities right now and for once in my life, I’m just gonna let the music lead me.
THANKS FOR THE LOVE & SUPPORT, SINGERSROOM – YOU RRROCK MY WORLD!
source
Look into Lina’s eyes and you’ll see a bygone era when swing ruled the airwaves and defined the American songbook. For Lina, her affinity for older traditions is not a gimmick, but a way of life. Releasing her latest album Morning Star on her own label, Mood Star Recordings, Lina now attempts to navigate the perilous line between creative artist and bottom-line conscious CEO.
You’ve stated that with the new album you’ve streamlined the best elements from your debut Stranger on Earth and your sophomore offering with Hidden Beach (The Inner Love Movement). Was that a conscious decision you made before going into the studio, or something that developed organically as you were working on the project?
It developed organically. I just evolved. I got more familiar with the business, and all my influences just kind of met each other on this album.
Now that you have your own label [Mood Star], you’re juggling a lot of different hats while still being an artist. Have you had any difficulty separating all these responsibilities when it’s time to go in the studio and be creative?
Oh yes. I didn’t realize how really you have to go into a zone because I stayed [just] an artist so long and was able to just concentrate on being creative. I wanted to do the label, but once the business started coming and I had to take those business calls and make executive decisions, I couldn’t be creative for a long time. I realized I had to balance both sides, and I’m still learning. I’m new at this but I have a lot of people helping me.
When I’m in business mode, I execute well. But making that transition [to artist], you have to take that down time and completely remove yourself. It’s like I have a dual personality.
With your last album Hidden Beach had control and picked the songs they wanted from your catalog. Since they’re a neo-soul label, they picked most of your soul sounding records. If you had control over that project, how different would the album have sounded?
It would’ve been pretty different. [laughs] It would have been more alternative…alternative soul.
I remember when you first came out in 2002 you stated that you felt musically we were going backwards creatively and spiritually. Six years later do you feel the same way?
Oh yeah. We are going backwards. [There’s] nothing new under the sun, whether it’s the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s or ‘70s. We’re in this recession right now and people just wanna feel something again. The standards of the music industry were tainted by video.
Music was meant to be heard and felt, so the person could have their own individual experiences. But when the video came along, people became more about icons and presentation. So it diluted a lot of the real feelings and real soul in music, in all kinds.
I think the only genre that kept its esteem was jazz. Everybody’s in a funk now. There are all these influences. You got the soul/gospel people coming back now. And now I feel this shift happening in the music business because of the recession.
[A lot] of music shook our foundation of love with the content and the impression it made on people, and how it actually confused a lot of us. We’re seeing repercussions of that style of mainstream music that was really superficial. Now we’re going back to real stories of funk, soul, and jazz.
Being a CEO you now have to balance a musician’s artistic freedom with the vision you have for the label. Since you are an artist does that make this task easier or more difficult?
It’s easier because I look for artists that I connect with spiritually. I’m doing this so out of the box. A lot of my business managers have a different mentality about this and that’s ok, because I need that for my protection. But when I connect with artists I’m connecting with them on a level from an artistic point of view, artist to artist. I allow advisers to come in and advise them on the business.
It’s easier because I understand them. The things that happened to me in the business I won’t allow to happen to them. I won’t take on too many artists. I even have artists that have their own creative projection right now. They think they know what they want, but I know from when I thought I knew what I wanted and later on evolved. I know how to deal with them and knowing that spiritually they’ll come around.
If I have a rapper that raps about what he sees so far, but every once and awhile I hear him go there, I’ll say “Ok, I know he’s gonna evolve to that.” So I’ll work with them until they’re ready. I understand that.
Love is a very big recurring theme and foundation in your music. With your label Mood Star, the actual motto is “Life supports music because music supports life.” How strong do you think music can be as a vehicle for social change and are there any limits on music in regards to if it can improve society?
There’s no limits. Music is the universal language. I myself was raised by song. And I have a song called “Who’s Your Daddy” that talks about some of the youth being raised by rap songs. We were raised by music. It’s there when we’re alone; it speaks to our subconscious mind. It’s music so it’s that thing like love; one of those things you feel but cannot see. Just the instruments and the spirit of music…it is a spirit.
[Music’s power] is unlimited. If you listen to my all my records, I’ve never written a true love song. I’ve written about being strong, you can’t do me wrong, I love myself, and even songs like “I hope this is love, but if not I’ll make it through.” That was me in this society of self-glorification and superficial music; I grew up during that era too.
I listened to a lot of the materialistic Hip-Hop. Then I had my own battle with the music that put women down and I’m like, “I’m not going to be done like that.” So I see how music affected me and my friends around the world.
Jazz music, particularly the Roaring ‘20s and swing have had a big influence on you. What in particular attracts you to those styles?
It’s the spirit. The people played with passion, and it wasn’t about money. They were just being creative. There was individuality, independent thinking, and it was just no rules. It was the way they found joy and escape from all their problems.
Whatever that “thing” is that they put into the music and pass along to the listener, that soul of it is what attracts me to [that sound]. It was purity, innocence, and genuine. I can hear it, no matter how low I feel it. Something about that music I have a connection with.
I want to mention a few artists from that era and get your feedback on what immediately comes to mind when you hear these names.
Ok.
First artist would be Benny Goodman.
Wow…genius! [laughs]
Next is Count Basie.
Oh my God…phenomenal.
Duke Ellington.
Class. Just high standards…upscale.
Roy Eldridge.
Ooh…the truth! [laughs]
Dinah Washington.
Soulful, beautiful.
And finally Billie Holiday.
Oh my God. [Billie Holiday is] the epitome of an artist. The epitome of what our contributions should be as artists. I tell everybody you can’t be an artist if you haven’t listened to Billie Holiday. And not even so much about her voice by herself, it’s whatever she’s going through projected through her vocals. It had nothing to do with the track either; she’s music.
With the new album Morning Star what are your favorite tracks off the album?
My favorite track is “Good Day” because that’s a song where I had to just keep it real on what I was going through. The album is not like the others. I call those my “empathetic albums”… this is me and other people’s stuff. Morning Star is my stuff that I went through and things that I’m thinking about. I was bold enough to put it on paper and get over myself. I have to keep it real with me and express myself. Other tracks are “Piano Song” and “Breakthrough.” I want all the ladies to listen to “Get It Right.”
You’re close to ten years deep as an artist. What’s the biggest misconception people have about Lina the artist or your music?
Probably my vocals, I can sing. [laughs] I sing gospel, I sing R&B; I’m not just one thing.
Visually your clothing and makeup have always been striking and distinctive. Has that always been your style or something you consciously started doing to separate yourself in the industry?
No, I grew up with all women. I have six aunts who all grew up in the ‘70s. They were very fashionable and my mom had her own clothing line for a minute, and she was a beautician. So that was a thing my family was always into. And I always felt like an old soul. The things they were into were things I was into, while my peers were more modern.
You’re currently working on a jazz album. Have you named it yet?
I haven’t named it yet. I’m doing the jazz circuit now with all the festivals. The cool thing that’s happening with jazz now is that they’re bringing in alternative and soul artists to do jazz who are versed in it. I’m real excited about it.
With jazz there’s always been that divide regarding what is “real jazz.” Do you subscribe to that or feel it’s too divisive with music?
I know that they mean because a true jazz artist knows their history and the greats. They study and read music. They’re very passionate. They make money but it’s about playing that instrument. I’ve worked with jazz and R&B bands and it’s totally different. Jazz musicians are extremely dedicated to their craft.
Would you consider an album like Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew a jazz album?
Wooo, how dare you. [laughs] It has a theme and respect for jazz but to me it’s something else too. It’s all things.
Any closing thoughts?
I want to thank all my fans for holding me down. Somebody asked me what was the difference between me and another artist they named. I do music to glorify God. I realize that as an artist I have a responsibility to make a contribution to the soul of man the way a lot of my favorite artists did.
I want to reach out to all the artists out there…we have a responsibility. Keep that in mind when we’re making music because we’re offering lives for the better or worse. Through some form make a contribution to the soul of man.
source
Compton, CA rapper Coolio first came in to the scene as a part of Tha Maad Circle along with W.C. and his brother DJ Crazy Toones. According to Coolio, he was forced to start a solo career after his group-mates left to go on tour with Ice Cube and he was left off.
If Coolio was down and out it sure wasn’t long, because his single “Fantastic Voyage” from of his debut album It Takes A Thief, took off like a firestorm on the radio airwaves and video, producing a certified hit for the pointy hair-braided rapper. Success would continue for him with other notable hits such as “Rollin’ With The Homies” off of The Clueless Soundtrack and The Evasions sampled dance favorite “Sumpin’ New (1, 2, 3, 4.).”
But it was the monster-smash Grammy Award winning hit known as “Gangsta’s Paradise” off of the Dangerous Minds Soundtrack that propelled Coolio in to the multi-platinum stratosphere as the single sold several millions of copies. Now a veteran of the Hip-Hop game, the 44 year old artist has recorded a new album, still tours heavily overseas and recently launched his own cooking show called Cooking With Coolio.
The pace, however, isn’t slowing down as he is also joined the Reality TV ranks with a brand new show debuting this October on the Oxygen channel about his home-life raising his near adult children. Coolio was out in Marina Del Rey, CA to talk about his new fantastic voyages and the real deal about his much publicized recent arrest - to which he also has some unkind words for a certain online tabloid.
Your recent arrest on June 10th was widely publicized. What’s your side of the story?
I got arrested for a $10,000 warrant that I supposedly had in 2004 for driving with a suspended license but I can show you the printout from the DMV that says it was dismissed. I have a homegirl at the DMV and even she told me, “They are just f**king with you.” She confirmed that it was dismissed in 2004. My license got suspended in 2006 on some child support s**t but I wasn’t worried about it at the time because I was touring. However when I came back I went to get my license back. Here was the situation; my daughter who is 20 years old and who I haven’t had to pay child support for in 2 years, was owed a hundred and thirty f**kin’ a** dollars! I sent my pops to pay the money to the West Covina D.A. and my license was unsuspended.
Let me tell you, TMZ, the police and the clubs all work together. The police were sitting down the street from the club waiting for me. They knew everything that I was doing there. It was even set up to turn me away from the club on camera so I could look bad. They [TMZ] only show you what they want you to see. They edited that s**t. Did you see me handing the rose? The video dude asked me what that was for and I told him that I give all of my b***hes roses when I leave the club. They edited that out. Everybody on the scene was laughing at him.
What was the initial reason for being pulled over by the police?
My tags were expired. It was in the beginning of June but the tags just expired at the end of May. I got everything back the next day though. If I had everything they said that I had, then why did I get my car back the next day? I’m even going to a court date on July 1st in Rancho Cucamonga. I don’t even have to go but I am going just to make sure that they take all of this out of their computers. I am going there to act an a** and I hope that TMZ comes [laughs].
So you feel that all of this was done to make you look like a fool for entertainment?
I was called a has-been, blah blah blah, whatever. Like I told the TMZ motherf**kers after their next video on me where they kept asking me about Lil Wayne, “I don’t give a f**k what anybody says about me and I never have.”I am going to start saying other s**t to them. I am not going to threaten them but I am going to tell TMZ next time that I know a hundred motherf**kers that want to do something to them and that they need to watch their backs [laughs]. I don’t have no animosity towards them but I know people that do. If y’all [TMZ] keep it up, y’all going to start getting knocked out. I got some homies man that are talking about socking motherf**kers in the back of their heads, stomping their cameras out, and knocking their f**kin’ teeth out. Let them keep f**king around!
What was the basis behind not getting in the club that night?
The basis was that there was too many people in the club but as they are telling us that, five people walked out. It was already 1:30 am and I was just going to have a f**kin’ drink. I wasn’t going to dance or go get a table – just go to the bar, have a drink and look at a couple of honeys – that’s all I wanted to do. I asked them to get the owners and they were like, “No. They already said no more people.” I told them, “F**k you.” But TMZ edits all of that and twists it up. If they would have shown the real thing you would have seen that I was a G about my sh*t. I was talking s**t to everybody.
Are you a regular on the Hollywood scene?
I don’t have celebrity friends. I don’t hang out with them because they are too wishy washy – rappers included. I don’t know what motherf**kers sexual preferences are. I don’t want to get caught up in nothing. I see some of them getting drunk and start acting different. I ain’t going to say any names but y’all know who the f**k you are. Even at the height of my career I never hung out with celebrity friends.
The only ones that I do kick it with are Treach [Naughty By Nature] and Snoop Dogg. I saw Angie Stone at the airport one day and [she] told me, “Take my number. We need to do something together one day.” I took her number and she asked me to call her next month. I called her and left her a message recalling what she told me at the airport. I called her like 10 times and she never called back. I saw her recently and I was like, “I didn’t know you are like that baby. I didn’t know that you were a phony. You were the one that asked me to call you in the first place. I called you like 10 times and you never returned my calls. It’s cool though because you never have to worry about me calling you anymore.” I can’t have no feature records anyway. That’s never been my thing. I do things by myself. Dudes nowadays can’t sell a record unless they have five n***as on it. I do my own s**t.
You have a new album coming out called Steal Hear. What’s the word on it?
It should be out by September or October. My first single comes out July 29 with my son who is 18. The song is called “If I Was Your Boyfriend.” My second single is going to be “Gangsta Walk” with Snoop Dogg. I have another one called “Change” that I shot a video to already out in Venice, Italy – all on the water and everything. I also have a new book deal. I am going to do a series of cook books – about four or five of them. I received a substantial amount of money upfront for that. I also have a new reality TV show coming out.
A lot of reality shows plan out their scenes. Is that the case with yours?
I’ve got so much going on in my life that you don’t have to stage anything. It’s me and my kids. The premise of the show is that I’ve been on the road for the last 15 plus years and I haven’t really been around to raise my children. They are damn near grown now but I have one last chance to have an influence on their life. I’ve got a good relationship with my kids. We get along really good. The only thing about my kids is that they are f**kin’ lazy bro! They are lazy and spoiled homie. I swear to God that my daughter asks me for money every two days. 40 dollars, 60 dollars, 80 dollars – they be rollin’ thru my pockets everyday cuz!
On camera, do you get on their case a lot?
Oh I keep it real. I cuss, get physical, talk about putting their a**es out. It ain’t no Run’s House or Father Hood. It’s my way or the motherf**kin’ doorway.
When is this show coming out?
In October. You can see a preview of the first episode at Oxygen.com. My homie Jarez and I made spaghetti one night and the sauce came out wrong because he didn’t bring the right stuff, so my kids started clowning me for it. I got mad and said, “Whatever. I still bought this food and y’all ate it, so I expect for this kitchen to be clean before y’all go to bed.” They went to bed without cleaning the kitchen and left the next day to go to school. I took the spaghetti and poured that sh*t all in their beds and put dishes all over the house. I wouldn’t let nobody clean it up. I told them, “If y’all motherf**kers want to live like pigs, then we will live like pigs.” I dumped the trash out on the floor and I let it sit like that for a while, then I let them clean it up.
I’m not playing. I believe in alternative parenting. I don’t believe in timeouts, however I don’t necessarily believe in hitting my kids either. But I will put some dishes in your bed! My daughter didn’t do the dishes so I put the dirty dishes at the bottom part of her bed. When she went to bed that night she got spaghetti juice and grease all over her feet. She yelled, “Daddy! Why did you do that?” I said, “I told your punk a** to clean up the kitchen!” Me and my son be going at it. On one of the shows we get into it. I took away his money and all that. I told the people doing the show that I am a real cat and to keep the cameras rolling because you never know what’s going to happen. The show isn’t all bad though. I do show alternative parenting and you can tell that we all love each other. The show is fun. My daughter went on her first date, and I went along too [laughs]. She also got her first car and wrecked it within a week.
You are also doing a cooking show called Cooking With Coolio right?
Yeah and I can get down. No disrespect but I can cook better than a lot of people’s mothers. I can make a stuffed avocado that you will eat like candy.
I know that you’ve heard some negative comments about your cooking show. How do you feel about people saying that its corny?
There’s more good than bad comments. If there are a hundred comments, 75 will be good and 25 will be bad. There will always be a hater out there. [Coolio raps] If it wasn’t for the haters there probably wouldn’t be no lovers – and there wouldn’t be no mothers – just a bunch of motherf**kers.
What qualifies you to be a cooking show chef?
I’m entertaining, I’m funny and my cooking skills are immaculate. I know all of the rules. My food is fresh, healthy and sanitary. I don’t use butter. With most things I use olive oil, peanut oil or sunflower oil.
How would you fare on the Hell’s Kitchen cooking show?
I’d do ok but I would probably catch an assault case. I wish a motherf**ker would talk to me like that because I would elbow that n***a in his f***in neck. I would tell that chef, “Who are you talking to like that?” Then I should smash a plate over his head, whoop his a** and go in his pocket [laughs].
Listen, they tried to get me to do some Flavor Flav type of thing called, The Cool of Love. They tried to get me do that and I was like, “Nah. I’ve got kids.” I don’t need no help looking for love or getting b**ches. I don’t want love – I just want p***y [laughs]. They also tried to get me to do The Surreal Life. The last time The Surreal Life people called me I told them, “I told you I’m not doing the show. Call my house one more time and you’ll need to watch yourself when I see you.” Then they tried to get me on the “I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here” show. I’m like, “Stop calling me. I’m not doing none of that s**t.” I waited it out and now I’ve got my own s**t. Also a couple of these indie music labels tried to sign me and I turned them down. I’m doing my own s**t. It’s ok to try something and fail, and then try again. If I fail, I want to fail by my own. I don’t want to fail by putting my s**t in someone else’s hands and they f**k it up.
As a Hip-Hop veteran, what do you feel about today’s rap game?
I think that n****s slack. They go in to the studio and think that everything they hear is dope. Do you know how many songs that I’ve deleted? I disagree with the thinking that just because someone is making money, that their music is ok. Or just because it’s selling that it’s ok. I disagree with that. If your s**t is wack, then it’s wack. I do shows with a lot of young cats and they always ask me to go last. Its hard to go after me boy. I rap live. I don’t lip synch or rap over words on the tracks. I entertain the crowd. I’ve got crowd control and enough hits for them to know.
For a long time I was bitter because I felt that people weren’t giving me respect. I am so underrated and slept on. Motherf**kers always judge me off of “Fantastic Voyage” and “1, 2, 3, 4.” What about my “Ghetto Highlights” or “They Don’t Know Me” songs? Live on stage, I am top 10 in Hip-Hop history. There aren’t too many out there that can go after me. Look at the B.E.T. award show that was just on. There was this one performance where motherf**kers came out and rapped over their words. Then two veterans came out and ripped it live – Big Boi and Ludacris – they ripped that s**t! Everybody else on that song rapped over their words. How the f**k are you going to be a singer and you can’t sing?
You being in your 40’s, how do you feel when you hear people say that Hip-Hop is just a young man’s game?
To people who say that, I would tell them to suck my d**k but I am heterosexual. So they can suck somebody else’s d**k. You know, I don’t care. I am going to be the first rapper to put an album out at 50 years old and go platinum. I’m 44 now so I have six years to go. Then I will retire after I have proven my point. I don’t have anything to prove, but then again I do. I love this Hip-Hop s**t. It saved my life and I respect it. These young motherf**kers can say what they want but they don’t respect the game. If it’s a young man’s game then why are you disrespecting my b**ch like that? Hip-Hop is my girl n***a.
How come in rock, the Rolling Stones can be 100 years old and still tour? Grandmaster Caz said the same thing. He was like, “What the f**k else do you want me to do? I’ve been doing this for 30 years. What do you want me to do? Go work at K-Mart?” Music is my heart. All of these people that say s**t, they write it on the Internet with their anonymous names. Not one person has come up to my face and said any of that s**t. And I am not going to fight because I’ll just say something about your mama [laughs]. Your mama with her fat a** neck, that’s why your daddy left because your mama has a wooden tittie and he got tired of getting splinters on his lip [laughs]. I’m a wordsmith. I can fight with words but I can also fight physically, but it has to be self defense.
source
Don’t be quick to stereotype soul singer Maiysha based on her looks, she may have fashion model on her resume but she isn’t just another pretty face. In fact, when it comes to this stunner her vocals are just as strong as her beauty is striking. A child of divorce, Maiysha, who now calls Brooklyn, NY, home, grew up alternating between the Midwestern metropolises of Minneapolis and Chicago listening to a diverse list of artists that included Stevie Wonder, Prince, Blondie and Billy Joel. Her debut album, This Much Is True, is set to hit stores in August and with her star clearly on the rise I sat down with the songstress this week to find out more about who she is, the secret she kept from her coworkers during the high point of her modeling days, and what led to her fantastic interpolation of the Peter Gabriel classic “Sledgehammer.”
Start me off with some background info. When did you start singing and what has your career path been like up till now?
My earliest memory is singing along with my mom to the radio. At two years old I was apparently requesting Natalie Cole and Diana Ross. Fast forward to second grade and my first play, I was a singing frog and LOVED it. Though I was a pretty creative and vivacious kid I was really shy about my talents, so my parents didn't know I was serious until I was twelve and cast as Dorothy in The Wiz. I spent my high school years performing in every school play and had aspirations for Broadway. Still, I forewent the conservatory route and chose Sarah Lawrence for college, where I quickly realized I wanted to sing rather than act. As half of a pop duo I was offered my first production deal as a college freshman by renowned songwriter Chip Taylor, but forewent that to finish school and hopefully, eventually, write my own songs. Post-college was a difficult time for me, growing up seemed really scary. I was teaching drama to elementary school kids and was in a volatile relationship that took my focus off music for awhile. When I emerged from what I now call my "blue phase" the first thing I did was audition for a small funk band. I quickly became lead singer and developed confidence as a songwriter. A mutual friend then introduced me to Scott Jacoby, a young, ridiculously talented, producer, and we began writing together, which began the journey that brought me here. At my core, I think I'm still that singing frog, so excited to have found something I love so much, and all I really want to do is to keep that feeling for as long as possible. I guess I'm also still a bit of the actress I was back then, except now I'm acting out different aspects of myself through my songs, and Scott is the ideal partner in that he sees and nurtures my tendency to shape-shift.
You have the interesting distinction of being a model simply to pay the bills while you recorded your album. Modeling is a cutthroat industry; did any of the girls who work their whole lives to be models throw significant amounts of Haterade your way, or did you not reveal your true goals to anyone in that industry?
Though I started modeling to pay off college loans I'd be completely remiss if I didn't say that I've enjoyed my career and feel blessed to have been so successful. I wouldn't have been able to make this album if I hadn't had the time and money that modeling afforded me. As far as my colleagues in the industry, most of them weren't aware of my "other life," so to speak. I guess I'm still a bit shy in that respect, but now that it's become common knowledge I've felt a tremendous amount of support and encouragement, and thankfully, not much "Haterade" to speak of. Hopefully, it'll stay that way.
Did you have any worries once the album was completed and you attempted to make the jump into the music industry that all the suits up in the offices would be dismissive because of your modeling background?
Well, despite the fact that everyone knows good looks help in the music biz, I was definitely concerned about the misperception that this was a "vanity project" even though I've been a musician much longer than I've been a model. Thankfully, I have a great team on my side and the music always comes first when presenting me, so my fears were unfounded. In the long run, hopefully it'll simply be an asset, as it has been to many actresses, but to me it's a happy accident, and a sidebar, really.
In what ways do you hope your own music influences people?
The best hope I could ever have for my music is that it rings true to the people who listen to it. Whether it's one of my more tongue-in-cheek songs, or one that's deeply confessional, I hope the listener can find something relatable in it and, in doing so, that they feel connected to me. That's how I feel about the artists that most inspire me, and I hope it's what every songwriter aspires to.
If possible, describe the emotions going through you when you write a song.
Well, what I feel when I start a song obviously depends very much on what event or emotion inspired it, but regardless, in the process of fleshing it out I always go through the same emotions, pretty much in the same order: the headiness of inspiration, the fear that my hands can't move as fast as my brain, the doubt that I'm writing anything worthwhile, and the adrenaline rush of seeing it take shape and hearing it fully formed in my head even before I get into the studio. Mind you, those stages might occur over minutes, days, or even months, but it's always the same, and frankly, it's addictive.
The final track on This Much Is True is a cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer.” What made you want to cover that song and how did the unique arrangement of it come about?
The initial idea to do a cover was Scott's. Honestly, I wasn't too clear on what he was going for, but he thought it'd be a great way to showcase my interpretive skills. I started out singing Jazz standards, so I approach songs lyrically first. I made a whole CD of songs I loved and thought I could cover well; Etta James, Bob Dylan, and Quincy Jones were included on that list, then I was shopping one day and heard "Sledgehammer" over the sound-system. I was newly struck by how sexy the song is, which was lost on me as a child when it came out, but I didn't think I could do it justice. I jokingly mentioned it to Scott as he listened to my compilation and he freaked out! He had an instant vision of how it could be reworked and when I heard it I instantly knew how to sing it. Needless to say, I'm glad I followed his lead.
Would you like to remake any other classic songs from the 80’s?
Well, I'm a child of the 80's, so that music is always close to my heart, though many of my favorites have already been covered, which make me cautious to reveal my secrets since I'd actually love to do an album of covers at some point. Let's just say I'm quite partial to Terence Trent D'Arby, Crowded House, and Kenny Loggins… though you'll never hear me doing "Footloose!"
if you like what you read from any of these and want to hear their music, here are their myspace accounts:
taragirl: here
lina: here
maiysha: here
coolio doesn't have one :\
source
If you saw Taragirl in the street right now, you probably wouldn’t reckon that she’s a R&B and soul singer. Looks can indeed be deceiving, that’s why it’s best not to judge a book by it’s cover. She’s shared the stage with Chrisette Michele and is constantly winning hearts over with her singing. She may not be all over your television right now, but you need to get to know this young lady.
Tell us a little about you. Who is Taragirl?
That always sounds like a silly question when you go to answer it, cause ya know…I’m just me! I’m a mix of Soul and R&B, Hip-Hop and Dance, and even Inspirational and Pop music. ‘Taragirl’ is kinda like a nickname that everyone knows me by now and I always want it to communicate a pure and soulful energy with a little bit of girl power and a whole lot of sass. I’m sweet, I’m positive, I’m real, but sometimes I also like to get down and tell it like it is. And that might involve some wailing but usually, in my opinion, that’s the best part of the song!
What made you want to get into singing?
I’ve been singing since I was a little kid. Check out the old 80’s YouTube clip if you don’t believe me. That’s mainly because my father encouraged me and kept handing me the microphone when I was around six or seven. When you grow up with this other means of communicating through music, especially singing I think, it really opens up a whole other side of yourself and you want to re-live that experience over and over again. One time someone said to me, “It must be so amazing to be able to use your voice to release all of that emotion!” And she was right. But the truly beautiful thing about music is that it’s interactive: the audience gets to feel what you feel - just by listening.
Who are some of your favorite artists?
My all time favorite as many already know is Aretha Franklin. For me, no one will ever surpass her. I’m also greatly influenced by an array of other people like Dinah Washington, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Madonna, EnVogue, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Boyz II Men, Lauryn Hill and certainly Mariah Carey. But everyday I‘m desperate for new music that’s fresh and exciting too, so lately I’ve been into stuff like k-os, Zero7, Citizen Cope, Fiona Apple, Maroon 5…I love fusions and artists that don’t fit into just any one category.
What inspires your music and you to sing?
Everything; the good, the bad and the ugly. I mean it! I first started taking songwriting seriously when I turned on the radio and the caliber of music had gone way down. It was “I want you, I need you, you’re the one for me” blah blah blah. I thought to myself, girl get some confidence, you can write a better song that that! As it turns out--at least for me--it’s a lot easier to channel all the negative crap that happens to you as opposed to the positive. It’s kinda like, when you’re all happy and feeling good, you don’t want to sit home by yourself and write a song…but I’m starting to embrace those feelings more and make some fun music too!
You're in Philadelphia right now, and it's gotten some negative press and even been called "Killadelphia." What do you think about that and do you think you will write about the current climate there anytime soon?
It’s true and sad that’s our nickname right now. Philly is going through some things right now, but I have faith that we will come out of it. In part, I’m psyched about the new guy in office, Mayor Nutter. I believe with his guidance and with our patience, we can put the focus back on education, fight crime, and come up with innovative ways to uplift our communities. Understandably, a lot of young people growing up in the ghetto environment are discouraged by what they see; I’ve talked with some of them, debated with some of them and a lot of people are consciously or subconsciously living in ‘survival mode.’ The truth is, the world we live in shouldn’t control us; we must control our own destiny to a very large extent. “Getting by” doesn’t have to mean selling drugs, hustlin’, and it sure as hell doesn’t have to mean violence.
Despite our different circumstances, a lot of us are struggling with the same issues of negativity, self-doubt, frustration, fear and stress. I would love to deal more directly with these issues in my songs. So far, everything I’ve written about is from an autobiographical standpoint. In my new songs, I’m dealing with my experience on these same issues, but from my point of view. My forthcoming single, “The City,” is all about dealing with the extreme highs and lows of life and how hard that can be; one day you’re on top of the world and the next day you’re flat on your back. How do you find the strength to get back up again? I have another song called “Get Down” that’s from a friend to a friend, about holding your head up no matter what life throws at you and remembering your self-worth.
Also, I never want my songs to sound too preachy because I wouldn’t want someone to talk to me that way…I try to get my message across but keep you jamming at the same time.
You recently shared a stage with Chrisette Michele, what was that like?
[It was] awesome! But totally scary too! I just wrote a blog about this. I was trying to give people an example of what it feels like to be an opening act – it’s not all happy faces and applauses. In the beginning, especially when you got like a hard core soul/R&B audience from Philly, they see me – this hype, little white girl – and people are not exactly thrilled. That’s usually how it is for me whenever there’s a new audience; I have to win them over note by note. But by the end they were shouting my name so…it really was a great time and I think I succeeded in warming up the stage for Ms. Chrisette who, of course, killed it!
What's in store for you this year and what can your fans expect?
Well this year I’m working hard and plan on releasing new music very soon. Fans can expect me to drop at least two new singles by the summer. One is a really funky, sassy joint called “What You Give” that you will not be able to get out of your head. Don’t hate me! And the other has a feel-good, hip-hop soul flavor to it entitled “Act Like a Star.” Both of these are gonna surprise people I think; they definitely show a different side to me than you might be used to. Of course, it’s been there the whole time, but now I have the opportunity to get down with it some more and get your head bobbin! And there will be another album coming out eventually, but I can’t say when. At this point, these will be limited digital releases. I’m experimenting right now, collaborating with a lot of different cats and shopping for a deal. Those are my priorities right now and for once in my life, I’m just gonna let the music lead me.
THANKS FOR THE LOVE & SUPPORT, SINGERSROOM – YOU RRROCK MY WORLD!
source
Look into Lina’s eyes and you’ll see a bygone era when swing ruled the airwaves and defined the American songbook. For Lina, her affinity for older traditions is not a gimmick, but a way of life. Releasing her latest album Morning Star on her own label, Mood Star Recordings, Lina now attempts to navigate the perilous line between creative artist and bottom-line conscious CEO.
You’ve stated that with the new album you’ve streamlined the best elements from your debut Stranger on Earth and your sophomore offering with Hidden Beach (The Inner Love Movement). Was that a conscious decision you made before going into the studio, or something that developed organically as you were working on the project?
It developed organically. I just evolved. I got more familiar with the business, and all my influences just kind of met each other on this album.
Now that you have your own label [Mood Star], you’re juggling a lot of different hats while still being an artist. Have you had any difficulty separating all these responsibilities when it’s time to go in the studio and be creative?
Oh yes. I didn’t realize how really you have to go into a zone because I stayed [just] an artist so long and was able to just concentrate on being creative. I wanted to do the label, but once the business started coming and I had to take those business calls and make executive decisions, I couldn’t be creative for a long time. I realized I had to balance both sides, and I’m still learning. I’m new at this but I have a lot of people helping me.
When I’m in business mode, I execute well. But making that transition [to artist], you have to take that down time and completely remove yourself. It’s like I have a dual personality.
With your last album Hidden Beach had control and picked the songs they wanted from your catalog. Since they’re a neo-soul label, they picked most of your soul sounding records. If you had control over that project, how different would the album have sounded?
It would’ve been pretty different. [laughs] It would have been more alternative…alternative soul.
I remember when you first came out in 2002 you stated that you felt musically we were going backwards creatively and spiritually. Six years later do you feel the same way?
Oh yeah. We are going backwards. [There’s] nothing new under the sun, whether it’s the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s or ‘70s. We’re in this recession right now and people just wanna feel something again. The standards of the music industry were tainted by video.
Music was meant to be heard and felt, so the person could have their own individual experiences. But when the video came along, people became more about icons and presentation. So it diluted a lot of the real feelings and real soul in music, in all kinds.
I think the only genre that kept its esteem was jazz. Everybody’s in a funk now. There are all these influences. You got the soul/gospel people coming back now. And now I feel this shift happening in the music business because of the recession.
[A lot] of music shook our foundation of love with the content and the impression it made on people, and how it actually confused a lot of us. We’re seeing repercussions of that style of mainstream music that was really superficial. Now we’re going back to real stories of funk, soul, and jazz.
Being a CEO you now have to balance a musician’s artistic freedom with the vision you have for the label. Since you are an artist does that make this task easier or more difficult?
It’s easier because I look for artists that I connect with spiritually. I’m doing this so out of the box. A lot of my business managers have a different mentality about this and that’s ok, because I need that for my protection. But when I connect with artists I’m connecting with them on a level from an artistic point of view, artist to artist. I allow advisers to come in and advise them on the business.
It’s easier because I understand them. The things that happened to me in the business I won’t allow to happen to them. I won’t take on too many artists. I even have artists that have their own creative projection right now. They think they know what they want, but I know from when I thought I knew what I wanted and later on evolved. I know how to deal with them and knowing that spiritually they’ll come around.
If I have a rapper that raps about what he sees so far, but every once and awhile I hear him go there, I’ll say “Ok, I know he’s gonna evolve to that.” So I’ll work with them until they’re ready. I understand that.
Love is a very big recurring theme and foundation in your music. With your label Mood Star, the actual motto is “Life supports music because music supports life.” How strong do you think music can be as a vehicle for social change and are there any limits on music in regards to if it can improve society?
There’s no limits. Music is the universal language. I myself was raised by song. And I have a song called “Who’s Your Daddy” that talks about some of the youth being raised by rap songs. We were raised by music. It’s there when we’re alone; it speaks to our subconscious mind. It’s music so it’s that thing like love; one of those things you feel but cannot see. Just the instruments and the spirit of music…it is a spirit.
[Music’s power] is unlimited. If you listen to my all my records, I’ve never written a true love song. I’ve written about being strong, you can’t do me wrong, I love myself, and even songs like “I hope this is love, but if not I’ll make it through.” That was me in this society of self-glorification and superficial music; I grew up during that era too.
I listened to a lot of the materialistic Hip-Hop. Then I had my own battle with the music that put women down and I’m like, “I’m not going to be done like that.” So I see how music affected me and my friends around the world.
Jazz music, particularly the Roaring ‘20s and swing have had a big influence on you. What in particular attracts you to those styles?
It’s the spirit. The people played with passion, and it wasn’t about money. They were just being creative. There was individuality, independent thinking, and it was just no rules. It was the way they found joy and escape from all their problems.
Whatever that “thing” is that they put into the music and pass along to the listener, that soul of it is what attracts me to [that sound]. It was purity, innocence, and genuine. I can hear it, no matter how low I feel it. Something about that music I have a connection with.
I want to mention a few artists from that era and get your feedback on what immediately comes to mind when you hear these names.
Ok.
First artist would be Benny Goodman.
Wow…genius! [laughs]
Next is Count Basie.
Oh my God…phenomenal.
Duke Ellington.
Class. Just high standards…upscale.
Roy Eldridge.
Ooh…the truth! [laughs]
Dinah Washington.
Soulful, beautiful.
And finally Billie Holiday.
Oh my God. [Billie Holiday is] the epitome of an artist. The epitome of what our contributions should be as artists. I tell everybody you can’t be an artist if you haven’t listened to Billie Holiday. And not even so much about her voice by herself, it’s whatever she’s going through projected through her vocals. It had nothing to do with the track either; she’s music.
With the new album Morning Star what are your favorite tracks off the album?
My favorite track is “Good Day” because that’s a song where I had to just keep it real on what I was going through. The album is not like the others. I call those my “empathetic albums”… this is me and other people’s stuff. Morning Star is my stuff that I went through and things that I’m thinking about. I was bold enough to put it on paper and get over myself. I have to keep it real with me and express myself. Other tracks are “Piano Song” and “Breakthrough.” I want all the ladies to listen to “Get It Right.”
You’re close to ten years deep as an artist. What’s the biggest misconception people have about Lina the artist or your music?
Probably my vocals, I can sing. [laughs] I sing gospel, I sing R&B; I’m not just one thing.
Visually your clothing and makeup have always been striking and distinctive. Has that always been your style or something you consciously started doing to separate yourself in the industry?
No, I grew up with all women. I have six aunts who all grew up in the ‘70s. They were very fashionable and my mom had her own clothing line for a minute, and she was a beautician. So that was a thing my family was always into. And I always felt like an old soul. The things they were into were things I was into, while my peers were more modern.
You’re currently working on a jazz album. Have you named it yet?
I haven’t named it yet. I’m doing the jazz circuit now with all the festivals. The cool thing that’s happening with jazz now is that they’re bringing in alternative and soul artists to do jazz who are versed in it. I’m real excited about it.
With jazz there’s always been that divide regarding what is “real jazz.” Do you subscribe to that or feel it’s too divisive with music?
I know that they mean because a true jazz artist knows their history and the greats. They study and read music. They’re very passionate. They make money but it’s about playing that instrument. I’ve worked with jazz and R&B bands and it’s totally different. Jazz musicians are extremely dedicated to their craft.
Would you consider an album like Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew a jazz album?
Wooo, how dare you. [laughs] It has a theme and respect for jazz but to me it’s something else too. It’s all things.
Any closing thoughts?
I want to thank all my fans for holding me down. Somebody asked me what was the difference between me and another artist they named. I do music to glorify God. I realize that as an artist I have a responsibility to make a contribution to the soul of man the way a lot of my favorite artists did.
I want to reach out to all the artists out there…we have a responsibility. Keep that in mind when we’re making music because we’re offering lives for the better or worse. Through some form make a contribution to the soul of man.
source
Compton, CA rapper Coolio first came in to the scene as a part of Tha Maad Circle along with W.C. and his brother DJ Crazy Toones. According to Coolio, he was forced to start a solo career after his group-mates left to go on tour with Ice Cube and he was left off.
If Coolio was down and out it sure wasn’t long, because his single “Fantastic Voyage” from of his debut album It Takes A Thief, took off like a firestorm on the radio airwaves and video, producing a certified hit for the pointy hair-braided rapper. Success would continue for him with other notable hits such as “Rollin’ With The Homies” off of The Clueless Soundtrack and The Evasions sampled dance favorite “Sumpin’ New (1, 2, 3, 4.).”
But it was the monster-smash Grammy Award winning hit known as “Gangsta’s Paradise” off of the Dangerous Minds Soundtrack that propelled Coolio in to the multi-platinum stratosphere as the single sold several millions of copies. Now a veteran of the Hip-Hop game, the 44 year old artist has recorded a new album, still tours heavily overseas and recently launched his own cooking show called Cooking With Coolio.
The pace, however, isn’t slowing down as he is also joined the Reality TV ranks with a brand new show debuting this October on the Oxygen channel about his home-life raising his near adult children. Coolio was out in Marina Del Rey, CA to talk about his new fantastic voyages and the real deal about his much publicized recent arrest - to which he also has some unkind words for a certain online tabloid.
Your recent arrest on June 10th was widely publicized. What’s your side of the story?
I got arrested for a $10,000 warrant that I supposedly had in 2004 for driving with a suspended license but I can show you the printout from the DMV that says it was dismissed. I have a homegirl at the DMV and even she told me, “They are just f**king with you.” She confirmed that it was dismissed in 2004. My license got suspended in 2006 on some child support s**t but I wasn’t worried about it at the time because I was touring. However when I came back I went to get my license back. Here was the situation; my daughter who is 20 years old and who I haven’t had to pay child support for in 2 years, was owed a hundred and thirty f**kin’ a** dollars! I sent my pops to pay the money to the West Covina D.A. and my license was unsuspended.
Let me tell you, TMZ, the police and the clubs all work together. The police were sitting down the street from the club waiting for me. They knew everything that I was doing there. It was even set up to turn me away from the club on camera so I could look bad. They [TMZ] only show you what they want you to see. They edited that s**t. Did you see me handing the rose? The video dude asked me what that was for and I told him that I give all of my b***hes roses when I leave the club. They edited that out. Everybody on the scene was laughing at him.
What was the initial reason for being pulled over by the police?
My tags were expired. It was in the beginning of June but the tags just expired at the end of May. I got everything back the next day though. If I had everything they said that I had, then why did I get my car back the next day? I’m even going to a court date on July 1st in Rancho Cucamonga. I don’t even have to go but I am going just to make sure that they take all of this out of their computers. I am going there to act an a** and I hope that TMZ comes [laughs].
So you feel that all of this was done to make you look like a fool for entertainment?
I was called a has-been, blah blah blah, whatever. Like I told the TMZ motherf**kers after their next video on me where they kept asking me about Lil Wayne, “I don’t give a f**k what anybody says about me and I never have.”I am going to start saying other s**t to them. I am not going to threaten them but I am going to tell TMZ next time that I know a hundred motherf**kers that want to do something to them and that they need to watch their backs [laughs]. I don’t have no animosity towards them but I know people that do. If y’all [TMZ] keep it up, y’all going to start getting knocked out. I got some homies man that are talking about socking motherf**kers in the back of their heads, stomping their cameras out, and knocking their f**kin’ teeth out. Let them keep f**king around!
What was the basis behind not getting in the club that night?
The basis was that there was too many people in the club but as they are telling us that, five people walked out. It was already 1:30 am and I was just going to have a f**kin’ drink. I wasn’t going to dance or go get a table – just go to the bar, have a drink and look at a couple of honeys – that’s all I wanted to do. I asked them to get the owners and they were like, “No. They already said no more people.” I told them, “F**k you.” But TMZ edits all of that and twists it up. If they would have shown the real thing you would have seen that I was a G about my sh*t. I was talking s**t to everybody.
Are you a regular on the Hollywood scene?
I don’t have celebrity friends. I don’t hang out with them because they are too wishy washy – rappers included. I don’t know what motherf**kers sexual preferences are. I don’t want to get caught up in nothing. I see some of them getting drunk and start acting different. I ain’t going to say any names but y’all know who the f**k you are. Even at the height of my career I never hung out with celebrity friends.
The only ones that I do kick it with are Treach [Naughty By Nature] and Snoop Dogg. I saw Angie Stone at the airport one day and [she] told me, “Take my number. We need to do something together one day.” I took her number and she asked me to call her next month. I called her and left her a message recalling what she told me at the airport. I called her like 10 times and she never called back. I saw her recently and I was like, “I didn’t know you are like that baby. I didn’t know that you were a phony. You were the one that asked me to call you in the first place. I called you like 10 times and you never returned my calls. It’s cool though because you never have to worry about me calling you anymore.” I can’t have no feature records anyway. That’s never been my thing. I do things by myself. Dudes nowadays can’t sell a record unless they have five n***as on it. I do my own s**t.
You have a new album coming out called Steal Hear. What’s the word on it?
It should be out by September or October. My first single comes out July 29 with my son who is 18. The song is called “If I Was Your Boyfriend.” My second single is going to be “Gangsta Walk” with Snoop Dogg. I have another one called “Change” that I shot a video to already out in Venice, Italy – all on the water and everything. I also have a new book deal. I am going to do a series of cook books – about four or five of them. I received a substantial amount of money upfront for that. I also have a new reality TV show coming out.
A lot of reality shows plan out their scenes. Is that the case with yours?
I’ve got so much going on in my life that you don’t have to stage anything. It’s me and my kids. The premise of the show is that I’ve been on the road for the last 15 plus years and I haven’t really been around to raise my children. They are damn near grown now but I have one last chance to have an influence on their life. I’ve got a good relationship with my kids. We get along really good. The only thing about my kids is that they are f**kin’ lazy bro! They are lazy and spoiled homie. I swear to God that my daughter asks me for money every two days. 40 dollars, 60 dollars, 80 dollars – they be rollin’ thru my pockets everyday cuz!
On camera, do you get on their case a lot?
Oh I keep it real. I cuss, get physical, talk about putting their a**es out. It ain’t no Run’s House or Father Hood. It’s my way or the motherf**kin’ doorway.
When is this show coming out?
In October. You can see a preview of the first episode at Oxygen.com. My homie Jarez and I made spaghetti one night and the sauce came out wrong because he didn’t bring the right stuff, so my kids started clowning me for it. I got mad and said, “Whatever. I still bought this food and y’all ate it, so I expect for this kitchen to be clean before y’all go to bed.” They went to bed without cleaning the kitchen and left the next day to go to school. I took the spaghetti and poured that sh*t all in their beds and put dishes all over the house. I wouldn’t let nobody clean it up. I told them, “If y’all motherf**kers want to live like pigs, then we will live like pigs.” I dumped the trash out on the floor and I let it sit like that for a while, then I let them clean it up.
I’m not playing. I believe in alternative parenting. I don’t believe in timeouts, however I don’t necessarily believe in hitting my kids either. But I will put some dishes in your bed! My daughter didn’t do the dishes so I put the dirty dishes at the bottom part of her bed. When she went to bed that night she got spaghetti juice and grease all over her feet. She yelled, “Daddy! Why did you do that?” I said, “I told your punk a** to clean up the kitchen!” Me and my son be going at it. On one of the shows we get into it. I took away his money and all that. I told the people doing the show that I am a real cat and to keep the cameras rolling because you never know what’s going to happen. The show isn’t all bad though. I do show alternative parenting and you can tell that we all love each other. The show is fun. My daughter went on her first date, and I went along too [laughs]. She also got her first car and wrecked it within a week.
You are also doing a cooking show called Cooking With Coolio right?
Yeah and I can get down. No disrespect but I can cook better than a lot of people’s mothers. I can make a stuffed avocado that you will eat like candy.
I know that you’ve heard some negative comments about your cooking show. How do you feel about people saying that its corny?
There’s more good than bad comments. If there are a hundred comments, 75 will be good and 25 will be bad. There will always be a hater out there. [Coolio raps] If it wasn’t for the haters there probably wouldn’t be no lovers – and there wouldn’t be no mothers – just a bunch of motherf**kers.
What qualifies you to be a cooking show chef?
I’m entertaining, I’m funny and my cooking skills are immaculate. I know all of the rules. My food is fresh, healthy and sanitary. I don’t use butter. With most things I use olive oil, peanut oil or sunflower oil.
How would you fare on the Hell’s Kitchen cooking show?
I’d do ok but I would probably catch an assault case. I wish a motherf**ker would talk to me like that because I would elbow that n***a in his f***in neck. I would tell that chef, “Who are you talking to like that?” Then I should smash a plate over his head, whoop his a** and go in his pocket [laughs].
Listen, they tried to get me to do some Flavor Flav type of thing called, The Cool of Love. They tried to get me do that and I was like, “Nah. I’ve got kids.” I don’t need no help looking for love or getting b**ches. I don’t want love – I just want p***y [laughs]. They also tried to get me to do The Surreal Life. The last time The Surreal Life people called me I told them, “I told you I’m not doing the show. Call my house one more time and you’ll need to watch yourself when I see you.” Then they tried to get me on the “I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here” show. I’m like, “Stop calling me. I’m not doing none of that s**t.” I waited it out and now I’ve got my own s**t. Also a couple of these indie music labels tried to sign me and I turned them down. I’m doing my own s**t. It’s ok to try something and fail, and then try again. If I fail, I want to fail by my own. I don’t want to fail by putting my s**t in someone else’s hands and they f**k it up.
As a Hip-Hop veteran, what do you feel about today’s rap game?
I think that n****s slack. They go in to the studio and think that everything they hear is dope. Do you know how many songs that I’ve deleted? I disagree with the thinking that just because someone is making money, that their music is ok. Or just because it’s selling that it’s ok. I disagree with that. If your s**t is wack, then it’s wack. I do shows with a lot of young cats and they always ask me to go last. Its hard to go after me boy. I rap live. I don’t lip synch or rap over words on the tracks. I entertain the crowd. I’ve got crowd control and enough hits for them to know.
For a long time I was bitter because I felt that people weren’t giving me respect. I am so underrated and slept on. Motherf**kers always judge me off of “Fantastic Voyage” and “1, 2, 3, 4.” What about my “Ghetto Highlights” or “They Don’t Know Me” songs? Live on stage, I am top 10 in Hip-Hop history. There aren’t too many out there that can go after me. Look at the B.E.T. award show that was just on. There was this one performance where motherf**kers came out and rapped over their words. Then two veterans came out and ripped it live – Big Boi and Ludacris – they ripped that s**t! Everybody else on that song rapped over their words. How the f**k are you going to be a singer and you can’t sing?
You being in your 40’s, how do you feel when you hear people say that Hip-Hop is just a young man’s game?
To people who say that, I would tell them to suck my d**k but I am heterosexual. So they can suck somebody else’s d**k. You know, I don’t care. I am going to be the first rapper to put an album out at 50 years old and go platinum. I’m 44 now so I have six years to go. Then I will retire after I have proven my point. I don’t have anything to prove, but then again I do. I love this Hip-Hop s**t. It saved my life and I respect it. These young motherf**kers can say what they want but they don’t respect the game. If it’s a young man’s game then why are you disrespecting my b**ch like that? Hip-Hop is my girl n***a.
How come in rock, the Rolling Stones can be 100 years old and still tour? Grandmaster Caz said the same thing. He was like, “What the f**k else do you want me to do? I’ve been doing this for 30 years. What do you want me to do? Go work at K-Mart?” Music is my heart. All of these people that say s**t, they write it on the Internet with their anonymous names. Not one person has come up to my face and said any of that s**t. And I am not going to fight because I’ll just say something about your mama [laughs]. Your mama with her fat a** neck, that’s why your daddy left because your mama has a wooden tittie and he got tired of getting splinters on his lip [laughs]. I’m a wordsmith. I can fight with words but I can also fight physically, but it has to be self defense.
source
Don’t be quick to stereotype soul singer Maiysha based on her looks, she may have fashion model on her resume but she isn’t just another pretty face. In fact, when it comes to this stunner her vocals are just as strong as her beauty is striking. A child of divorce, Maiysha, who now calls Brooklyn, NY, home, grew up alternating between the Midwestern metropolises of Minneapolis and Chicago listening to a diverse list of artists that included Stevie Wonder, Prince, Blondie and Billy Joel. Her debut album, This Much Is True, is set to hit stores in August and with her star clearly on the rise I sat down with the songstress this week to find out more about who she is, the secret she kept from her coworkers during the high point of her modeling days, and what led to her fantastic interpolation of the Peter Gabriel classic “Sledgehammer.”
Start me off with some background info. When did you start singing and what has your career path been like up till now?
My earliest memory is singing along with my mom to the radio. At two years old I was apparently requesting Natalie Cole and Diana Ross. Fast forward to second grade and my first play, I was a singing frog and LOVED it. Though I was a pretty creative and vivacious kid I was really shy about my talents, so my parents didn't know I was serious until I was twelve and cast as Dorothy in The Wiz. I spent my high school years performing in every school play and had aspirations for Broadway. Still, I forewent the conservatory route and chose Sarah Lawrence for college, where I quickly realized I wanted to sing rather than act. As half of a pop duo I was offered my first production deal as a college freshman by renowned songwriter Chip Taylor, but forewent that to finish school and hopefully, eventually, write my own songs. Post-college was a difficult time for me, growing up seemed really scary. I was teaching drama to elementary school kids and was in a volatile relationship that took my focus off music for awhile. When I emerged from what I now call my "blue phase" the first thing I did was audition for a small funk band. I quickly became lead singer and developed confidence as a songwriter. A mutual friend then introduced me to Scott Jacoby, a young, ridiculously talented, producer, and we began writing together, which began the journey that brought me here. At my core, I think I'm still that singing frog, so excited to have found something I love so much, and all I really want to do is to keep that feeling for as long as possible. I guess I'm also still a bit of the actress I was back then, except now I'm acting out different aspects of myself through my songs, and Scott is the ideal partner in that he sees and nurtures my tendency to shape-shift.
You have the interesting distinction of being a model simply to pay the bills while you recorded your album. Modeling is a cutthroat industry; did any of the girls who work their whole lives to be models throw significant amounts of Haterade your way, or did you not reveal your true goals to anyone in that industry?
Though I started modeling to pay off college loans I'd be completely remiss if I didn't say that I've enjoyed my career and feel blessed to have been so successful. I wouldn't have been able to make this album if I hadn't had the time and money that modeling afforded me. As far as my colleagues in the industry, most of them weren't aware of my "other life," so to speak. I guess I'm still a bit shy in that respect, but now that it's become common knowledge I've felt a tremendous amount of support and encouragement, and thankfully, not much "Haterade" to speak of. Hopefully, it'll stay that way.
Did you have any worries once the album was completed and you attempted to make the jump into the music industry that all the suits up in the offices would be dismissive because of your modeling background?
Well, despite the fact that everyone knows good looks help in the music biz, I was definitely concerned about the misperception that this was a "vanity project" even though I've been a musician much longer than I've been a model. Thankfully, I have a great team on my side and the music always comes first when presenting me, so my fears were unfounded. In the long run, hopefully it'll simply be an asset, as it has been to many actresses, but to me it's a happy accident, and a sidebar, really.
In what ways do you hope your own music influences people?
The best hope I could ever have for my music is that it rings true to the people who listen to it. Whether it's one of my more tongue-in-cheek songs, or one that's deeply confessional, I hope the listener can find something relatable in it and, in doing so, that they feel connected to me. That's how I feel about the artists that most inspire me, and I hope it's what every songwriter aspires to.
If possible, describe the emotions going through you when you write a song.
Well, what I feel when I start a song obviously depends very much on what event or emotion inspired it, but regardless, in the process of fleshing it out I always go through the same emotions, pretty much in the same order: the headiness of inspiration, the fear that my hands can't move as fast as my brain, the doubt that I'm writing anything worthwhile, and the adrenaline rush of seeing it take shape and hearing it fully formed in my head even before I get into the studio. Mind you, those stages might occur over minutes, days, or even months, but it's always the same, and frankly, it's addictive.
The final track on This Much Is True is a cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer.” What made you want to cover that song and how did the unique arrangement of it come about?
The initial idea to do a cover was Scott's. Honestly, I wasn't too clear on what he was going for, but he thought it'd be a great way to showcase my interpretive skills. I started out singing Jazz standards, so I approach songs lyrically first. I made a whole CD of songs I loved and thought I could cover well; Etta James, Bob Dylan, and Quincy Jones were included on that list, then I was shopping one day and heard "Sledgehammer" over the sound-system. I was newly struck by how sexy the song is, which was lost on me as a child when it came out, but I didn't think I could do it justice. I jokingly mentioned it to Scott as he listened to my compilation and he freaked out! He had an instant vision of how it could be reworked and when I heard it I instantly knew how to sing it. Needless to say, I'm glad I followed his lead.
Would you like to remake any other classic songs from the 80’s?
Well, I'm a child of the 80's, so that music is always close to my heart, though many of my favorites have already been covered, which make me cautious to reveal my secrets since I'd actually love to do an album of covers at some point. Let's just say I'm quite partial to Terence Trent D'Arby, Crowded House, and Kenny Loggins… though you'll never hear me doing "Footloose!"
if you like what you read from any of these and want to hear their music, here are their myspace accounts:
taragirl: here
lina: here
maiysha: here
coolio doesn't have one :\
source
