Post by MyMyMy♥KyKaiKye on Feb 4, 2011 18:07:24 GMT -5
WHOO!! You'd better sit waaaaaaay back in your seats for this interview. The TRUTH is talking...
Yes, she stands next to one of the most iconic people in hip-hop. Sure, she was apart of a platinum-selling girl group that disbanded. Nevertheless, neither of these experience define Dawn Richard. Not totally. This songbird who rose from New Orleans is on the brink of the solo stardom that she's been craving. Even though she's currently promoting her latest music project Last Train To Paris alongside Diddy and Kaleena, she has carved out time to speak with VIBE. She's given us a glimpse of her train ride and a peek into her tell tale heart. -Niki McGloster
VIBE: You just got back from Paris Fashion Week. Tell me how that experience was.
DAWN: It was amazing. I got to meet one of my favorites of all time, Karl Lagerfeld. It was the Dior Homme line, so it was the men’s collection; it was so beautiful. The fluidity, the fabrics, and we asked him why he chose such a fluid look this year, for this season and he said that his Spring collection wasn’t as fluid. To hear his ideas about what he was speaking about when he made the collection was really cool; to see it up close and personal the commentary of the person that came up with such a great line was really dope.
What was it like meeting such a fashion icon?
I study his work. I love Chanel. Chanel is one of my favorite lines. I just love what he does with the favbircs. I love how he displays it. And I whispered in his ear like, ‘My name is Dawn,’ and he was like, ‘I know who you are.’ [Laughs] I wouldn’t expect him to know me from the millions of other people who appreciate his work. And for a brown girl, a chocolate brown girl in the industry coming from New Orleans, Louisiana, that’s a big deal for me.
Are you pleased with how Last Train To Paris and Dirty Money is being received?
I’m so grateful to be in such an amazing group. To be able to write with people like Grace Jones and Justin Timberlake, Drake, Sean Garrett as a writer, James Fauntleroy as a writer, it’s really has stepped my writing game up complete, and I’m really proud of it. I was writing for Cassidy and Danity Kane and Day 26, but I really didn’t get an opportunity to show my skills because, contrary to what people may think, coming into the writing game is similar to coming into the artist game. You have to fight from the bottom up. It’s beautiful to be able to be with a group of people who appreciate that like Puff and Kaleena. I mean, it’s huge. We’re like number 3 in the UK on iTunes. We’re number 3 in Australia. We’re number 6 in Switzerland. It’s crazy; we’re overtaken internationally and I’m just so excited that the people are accepting it just as much as they’re accepting it in the states.
I have to admit that I was hesitant to take it all in, but with all late adopters, you gotta just give it to people and they’ll catch on. They’ll fight it at first, but it’ll catch on.
Trust me. I know that all too well. That’s kinda how they received me. I read a comment yesterday that someone had sent me. It was really interesting because they said, ‘Dawn doesn’t have that “it” factor; she’s not a star.’ And because my character is so out there right now, I think it’s uncomfortable for people. I think Dirty Money is the same way. I don’t think it’s bad; I just think we’re different. We’re different, and there is no poster set thing out there that can be followed. We are the new trend. Because of that, it does take time for people to digest it, so I know that all too well.
Even though it has taken a little longer for people to grasp it, do you enjoy being a trendsetter?
Yeah, sometimes. Then other times you just get over it like, gosh, I wish they would get it. Sometimes we have those chat sessions as a crew, and we just wish they would get it. We have those moments like, why don’t they understand it? But like you said, we have to let the flow happen because it does get frustrating when you look at it and you’re doing everything right and you’re singing this thing full out and I’m doing everything, and they still don’t get it. But we are so happy that people are starting to get on the train and understand what this movement is.
Puff is clearly at the helm of the project, and people may view that as a bad move if you want to be recognized individually. Do you think Dirty Money is the proper launching pad for your solo career?
There’s no right or wrong way to do what you love. Because of Puff’s past and his track record, people tend to think that I’m stupid and I don’t get what’s going on and it’s not a good look for me. I will say this: This business is extremely difficult, and you have to know who you are. The reason why I chose to stay along with Puff and Dirty Money wasn’t because I’m dumb and I’m stupid and he pulled the wool over my eyes and I don’t know that he’s using me and of this crap. I did it because I love the music. I did it because when I heard the tracks, and when Puff was like, ‘I want you to write on this. Do your thing on this. You have the opportunity to be apart of something dope,’ that’s what I wanted to be apart of. I have had the opportunity to work with people like Grace Jones, Justin Timberlake, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa, the name go on and on. As well as amazing producers like Swizz Beatz, Bangaladesh, Polow Da Don, Rodney Jerkins. These are names that had I said, ‘This is not a good look for me; I’ma be about myself and make this solo career,’ I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to do those things I wanted to do. That’s the choice that I made. I know very well who Puff is, and I know what this industry is. I think it’s a great platform for me because I’ve made great relationships. I’ve gotten to perform all across the world because I made the choice to be apart of Dirty Money. So, I do think it’s beneficial for me. If people don’t think I was smart in doing it, if they were in my position, they would have changed their thoughts about that. People always want to comment on things that they don’t know or things that they see from the outside, but it’s different from the inside. I think I’m doing the right thing.
The universe does its own thing anyway. If you believe that then you’re right where you’re supposed to be.
I agree. People base things on attention in this industry and star power; I base it on talent, and I base it on timing. For me, I tried to be as selfless as possible. When you tend to go for self, you’re very short-lived. I want to be in this thing for a long time. Yeah, my money and my solo career is important, but I feel like it’s about making great music and I had an opportunity that came across the table that said I could make great music. I think we as people should believe in each other, instead of saying you’re stupid; you did the wrong thing. But I think we tend to not want to do that because we always want to bash the person negatively. I think I did a great job. Now you guys aren’t wanting to talk about how Danity Kane broke up or me and my relationship; you’re asking me about the music. And that’s always what I wanted.
I feel you. Now, it's not just you and Puff. Kaleena is on this train too. What's your relationship with her and how was it when you two first met?
Puff knew what he was doing. Puff has two sides to him, and I think Kaleena and I are those two sides. We are a lot like him. He was thinking about doing a group at the time, and he had no idea who he wanted to use, so he asked me to go to L.A. and meet up with Kaleena. I had no clue who she was, and I think he was worried because I just left a girl group. He was right. I wasn’t into doing another group thing, but I met her and she was exactly what I thought she was be. She’s phenomenal! How I came up into the artist world, she came up into the writing world. We teach each other a lot about each others’ fields, so I think we have the best of both world between the both of us. I’m her yin and she’s my yang, and I think her and I have a great relationship because we’re able to understand what that is. We’re able to sit in a room and be together and know that neither of the us have to be competitive because we both fill each others’ voids. Females are going through that right now with being too competitive with each other. It’s always about who can get the edge up when really there’s space for everybody. With Kaleena and I we’ve mastered that.
It seems to be a good formula. It’s very clear that females need to get back together instead of fighting each other.
And I think we’re the epitome of that. We’re two different types of swag, and I think that’s what Puff loves about us. That’s my B*tch and we’ll always be able to support each other. People don’t want that. They always gotta have one less better than the other. ‘She’s dope, but she ain’t. She’s flavor, but she’s not.’ And Dirty Money is forcing people to be like, ‘Damn, I love her, but then her swag is crazy too.’ Most people say, ‘Them girls is background singers,’ but it works. We know what we’re doing. Everybody else just doesn’t know.
You mentioned being in a girl group before, as we all know. What is current opinion of one of those girls, Aubrey O’Day?
I don’t have one at all. I wish all of them the best, but I can’t say that I have one, not in a negative way. I don’t know anything that’s going on with her, so I couldn’t make an opinion about something that I don’t know.
Are you still cool with the guys of Day 26?
I haven’t spoken to them either. I spoke to one of their wives that I’m cool with, but honestly we working. We’re all trying to make it. Even with the Aubrey situation, the reason I don’t know is not on some shady Sh*t. It’s just I’m really hustling, I got this mixtape I’m doing. I got a comic book that I’m working on, Dirty Money is about to go on tour. I don’t even have time to call, you know? It’s really a grind to stay relevant, a grind to appreciate what I’m doing and to keep people appreciating the work. But I know that they’re doing well because that whole crew is talented.
Do you ever look back at that situation and feel like the only one that really made it?
I don’t think that I’m the one to have made it. I think everybody makes it in their own way. Maybe Aubrey made it because she had a chance to escape that she wasn’t happy in. Maybe D made it because now she gets to do the music that she likes. Maybe Day 26 made it because they got rid of the person they felt was dragging them down. Maybe Que felt like he made it because he got away from people who didn’t want him to be apart of it. Everybody has his or her own happiness. I don’t think I’m the one standing because they might be standing away from the situation that they felt they were locked into. I feel like I made it out of my situation the best way that I could given the circumstances because I didn’t ask for any of it. I don’t feel like I’m the last one standing; I’m the one that’s still moving in my situation.
You've got all of this going on with your career, this new mixtape and you mentioned a comic book. Do you have plans of settling down?
It’s crazy because Kaleena’s married and she has a son and she’s always like ‘Dawn, you gotta have a baby! You gotta get married!’ [Laughs] She’s always pushing me, but if it’s for me and God has it for me, I’ll be ready for it at any time. Until then, music my boyfriend and we’re good. We’ve been dating for about 12 years, and he never lets me down [laughs]. We have a strong relationship, me and this music thing.
You and this music thing are going strong. Tell me about the upcoming mixtape #ATellTaleHeart.
I’ve been in two groups, and I’ve done my duty in trying to be a team player. I love every minute of it and I’ve learned so much, but I’ve also gone through a whole lot these last four years. I’ve been homeless, I’ve been in a group, we did two platinum albums and then I lost my job. Our group dismantled, and I had to deal with that. I couldn’t grieve because I had to find out how I was gonna eat. I was struggling to write, then I made Dirty Money and Dirty Money was in the studio for three years. I never got a chance to grieve, cry, smile, laugh or anything about the last four years of my life. Because I’ve been in a group, I’ve had to cater to everyone else. This mixtape is my diary. This mixtape is every tear that I was supposed to cry, every smile that I was supposed to make, every angry feeling that I’ve ever felt from the time I made the band to now, a lot of things that happned in my love life and everything I never got a chance to say. And that’s why I called it ATellTaleHeart because, if each one of you fell into my heart, the heartbeats would sound like these songs. Flaws and all, here’s my diary and accept it.
It sounds to me like people are really going to understand you and all that you've been through for the first time. Do you have any favorite tracks on the mixtape?
“Broken Record” rings true to a lot of things in my heart that I’ve gone through. It’s definitely a favorite because it’s so dope, and it doesn’t sound like anything else on the radio, but it moves fresh. A lot of my records don’t sound like the pop dance records you’re hearing right now. It’s more R&B. But it’s not about a genre, it’s about a feel. It’s urgent and it’s raw. It’s raw and it’s honest. There’s also a record called “Bulletproof” that I did. It’s very different, and I don’t know if everyone will understand it. It’s talking about Katrina and what I’ve gone through, like I’m still here. I lost everything, but the bullets keep bouncing off of me. As singers, I think we turn music into something a little dense. There’s no depth in it anymore, and I just wanna bring that depth back.