Post by PixieQew on Feb 24, 2011 16:51:45 GMT -5
Dawn’s New Day: An Exclusive Q&A with Dawn Richard of Diddy-Dirty Money
With a monster hurricane, a disbanded girl group, and a highly publicized relationship behind her, Dawn Richard’s career looks new money. Diddy-Dirty Money, that is. The Bad Boy label survivor says she is feeling more passionate than ever about her music, calling it her only “boyfriend” – at least for now.
AllHipHop.com sits in with Dawn, the talented one-third of the Last Train to Paris trio, as she treks the country with a new, FREE, mixtape in hand.
AllHipHop.com: Some might consider you a quadruple threat – singer, songwriter, dancer…model. But I heard you were also a former NBA cheerleader???
Dawn: Yeah! I used to be a cheerleader and I used to play sports, actually. I wanted to go to the Olympics, and I wanted to do it in softball. I started in softball when I was 4. That’s what I love the most. I was dancing; I was doing everything. I was one of those, ‘Please, Dawn, don’t be in everything’ kind of kids, and I wound up being in everything. Softball was my thing.
AllHipHop.com: Hmm, softball. Not your typical Black girl sport.
Dawn: [laughter] I was ALWAYS the only Black.
AllHipHop.com: Your mixture of talents is probably what made you appealing for Making The Band 3, right? I would say you’re arguably the most successful and sustainable out of all of the people on all of the seasons.
Dawn: I never compared myself to the other people on Making The Band, because I never saw myself as a TV person with that show. It was just an opportunity to do what I love to do, so I don’t really compare myself, or say I’m the most successful out of us. They’re probably successful in whatever they chose to be, but for me, music mattered, so it was whatever I had to do to keep singing.
I compare myself more to my peers in the industry. If they’re up there, I’m gonna try to get up there. But I haven’t made it yet, because I still want to have that name as being one of the greats in this music industry, so I’ve got a long way to go.
AllHipHop.com: Danity Kane lasted for nearly four years. The whole multicultural girl group thing…the idea of it was nice. Why did you get to stick around on Bad Boy afterwards? Is it because you’re seemingly the most real of the bunch?
Dawn: I think all of the girls were real; I don’t think it was just me. I think a TV and a camera makes people have different reactions. I think that’s what happened with us. But everybody was real. I think what made me stay in that lane is that fact that I love music.
The passion that I’ve had, and because I’ve been through so much, it was kinda like I just really loved what I did. I think that’s what came through, but I don’t think I was more real than the rest of them. I think they’re real, too, but for me it was, ‘I don’t want to go to sleep in the car anymore.’ I wanted something better for myself and for my family. I knew that with the gift God gave me, I was going to do it to the best of my ability.
AllHipHop.com: Now you’re part of Diddy-Dirty Money with Kalenna Harper and Sean Combs. Does Diddy dominate his artists and their music like people say?
Dawn: Well you know, I don’t think he ever had any women in a group with him. I can’t think of anyone at the label who had that opportunity, so it’s an interesting dynamic to see both sides of it – as his artist and being in his group. He is a man who has that reputation, but I think that anyone who owns a label and is an artist can tend to have that reputation.
The reality is they have to make sure that they’re pushing their product, because it’s their product. But I think what Puff did this time – I think he even surprised himself with this – he got two women who are extremely opinionated and really have a strong passion in what they do. So it’s kind of an interesting group because he has to humble himself sometimes, and he doesn’t like it. [laughter] But when it comes to passion and the things that we say, when we have a good opinion, he respects it, and he’s like, ‘damn, I had to humble myself.’ He hates to say that! [laughter]
But I think he’s starting to appreciate the fact that he is good at finding talent, and he has to believe in the talent that he picks. So Kalenna and I sort of force the hand at making him appreciate a powerful woman, which is hard for him. I think when he had his girls, it changed his whole perspective anyway. I’m the type of person where I ‘m not gonna bow down, you know? I make sure I give him my opinions respectfully, and I understand that it’s his project and his label. He understands that this is what I love to do, and that I’m an asset to this thing. I think that’s why Dirty Money has been successful so far.
AllHipHop.com: Well, for all of his haters, Diddy has obviously done a few things right over the years. But inevitably, you’ll part ways with him someday. When that time comes, what lessons will you take away from working with someone like him?
Dawn: You know, he throws out a lot of breadcrumbs. People call me stupid or call me dumb, saying, ‘You shouldn’t stay with him, or he’s playing you.’ But, sometimes things aren’t supposed to be monetary. Sometimes it’s not about fame. It’s about learning as much as you can. I know I work behind somebody who is extremely helpful and has made himself relevant for more than a decade in Hip-Hop. That’s unheard of…there’s like a few who can claim that.
So for me, since I’m learning this game and what it takes to be relevant, you gotta learn the good and the bad; what you should do and what you shouldn’t do. That was one of the reasons that I stayed on to see what this game really is, and because of it, I’ve learned so much about branding, marketing, and believing in myself enough to make people believe in me, too. Nobody’s gonna believe in you in this game if you don’t believe in yourself, so I had to learn all of that. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made – to stay around – because it’s not going to be easy, no matter where you go. If you’re able to take some knowledge with you…experience is worth more than any amount of fame. It just is.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of taking lessons with you, you’ve stepped out on your own recently with a new mixtape called Prelude to a Tell Tale Heart. Explain the title and the overall flavor.
Dawn: I have a huge love of literature, and one of my favorite authors is Edgar Allan Poe. The reason why I chose him – he and Shakespeare tend to write about real life….whether it’s about love or tragedy, it’s raw and unadulterated. I love that about The Tell Tale Heart, which is one of my favorite poems or long stories that Edgar Allan Poe wrote, and I took that title and made it my own. Meaning like no matter what you’ve done in your life, the thing you’ve done, you cannot hide from it, and you should use it for the positive and right things that can transform you.
So for me, Prelude to a Tell Tale Heart is you guys’ opportunity to fall into my heart, and if you were to hear a soundtrack to it, it would be these songs. It’s kind of an invitation for you guys to fall into the heart that I’ve gained over this 6-year journey. And because of that, the sound is soulful; it’s raw. If people want to put a label on it, say R&B. For me, I just call it real music.
I want people to say, ‘I can relate to that…I’ve been through that.’ Because honestly, I know I’m not the only one. This is for everyone who lost something in a disaster, lost their homes, their life, their friends and family members. For people who fell in love and then the sh*t just didn’t go the way it was supposed to go. Like all of those experiences that you go through when you say, ‘I got the f*cked up end of the stick.’ You know, other people have got it, too, and at the end of the tunnel, there’s a light and you can have hope. And there’s the possibility that we can have it all. It’s that kind of mixtape or record.
AllHipHop.com: Mixtapes are typically a model for the rap industry…why did you go this route as an R&B singer?
Dawn: Because it’s free! This was just something like songs that I put together. I felt like I had been in two groups, and I really didn’t have an opportunity to have a voice about some of the things that I was going through. I felt like I needed to show people what I could do. It was more like I’ve been through a lot, and I wanted the voice that I had to touch those people who went through what I went through.
My best friends…we still talk about what happened that day we left from the hurricane. I haven’t seen my friends in 5 years. I know they’ve got work and are parents, and they feel like they need to hear a song to take them back to those times. That’s what I did it for, and I think we need to branch out. Hip-Hop is not the only genre that can give away good free music. It’s more about the music than the money for me…thank you, Jesus! It’s about giving away good music and saying you guys are worth having good music. And you don’t have to put a penny on it – just great music.
AllHipHop.com: I’m going to ask you some questions titled “Life After ____.” You tell me what comes to mind…
A lot of people who didn’t see you on TV probably don’t realize you’re a New Orleans native who was displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and you now live in Baltimore. So, life after…Katrina?
Dawn: It’s great because God is still present. He is still in my life. I feel better than I ever could have expected.
AllHipHop.com: Life after…Que.?
Dawn: Is there? [laughter] Life after any man is good. There will always be life with Que in it. We’ll be friends forever, so there is no answer to that.
AllHipHop.com: I hear that!!! [laughter] So, what’s your advice for the single ladies on Life after…Love?
Dawn: Get a good glass of wine, honey, and some cheese, and cry until you get over it. Then put that damn tape in, and start all over again. Keep up the effort. You have to keep trying at love. Don’t give up on it just because one f*cked up, you know?
AllHipHop.com: Life after…men ruling the world?
Dawn: It’s looking up for us. We have to fight for it. Let’s create that vision of our own.
AllHipHop.com: Women’s History Month is in March. What woman inspires you most to play hardball with the boys?
Dawn: That’s a really great question. Aww, man, it’s hard to narrow it down to one.
She’s deceased now, but I had an opportunity to meet Rosa Parks, and I didn’t know what to expect when I met her. She was working at the NAACP, and she was explaining to us how difficult it was to have people take orders from her. She said after what she had gone through, she said she cried because she could give orders to a man and he would listen to her. It was one of her best achievements, she said, and I thought that was really brilliant.
For someone who had given so much and who had sacrificed so much, for her to be able to have that moment where she had power over what she did…it took a long time for that. Clearly, civil rights has taken longer than it should have for people to have an opportunity to have power, but to hear it from someone who actually made that lane, it inspired me.
AllHipHop.com: Where can people find you next, and where can they download the mixtape?
Dawn: Dirty Money will be on tour at the end of March. The mixtape is out right now at www.dawnrichardblog.com, and the lead-off video that will be coming in March as well. I’m really excited about that. And then, Dirty Money is shooting another video for Last Train to Paris, “Your Love” with Trey Songz. We got a lot going on. My classic novel and comic book will be coming out at www.danitykanecomics.com. A lot going on!
AllHipHop.com: Well, thanks for checking in with AllHipHop, and we wish you the best of luck with everything you’re working on.
With a monster hurricane, a disbanded girl group, and a highly publicized relationship behind her, Dawn Richard’s career looks new money. Diddy-Dirty Money, that is. The Bad Boy label survivor says she is feeling more passionate than ever about her music, calling it her only “boyfriend” – at least for now.
AllHipHop.com sits in with Dawn, the talented one-third of the Last Train to Paris trio, as she treks the country with a new, FREE, mixtape in hand.
AllHipHop.com: Some might consider you a quadruple threat – singer, songwriter, dancer…model. But I heard you were also a former NBA cheerleader???
Dawn: Yeah! I used to be a cheerleader and I used to play sports, actually. I wanted to go to the Olympics, and I wanted to do it in softball. I started in softball when I was 4. That’s what I love the most. I was dancing; I was doing everything. I was one of those, ‘Please, Dawn, don’t be in everything’ kind of kids, and I wound up being in everything. Softball was my thing.
AllHipHop.com: Hmm, softball. Not your typical Black girl sport.
Dawn: [laughter] I was ALWAYS the only Black.
AllHipHop.com: Your mixture of talents is probably what made you appealing for Making The Band 3, right? I would say you’re arguably the most successful and sustainable out of all of the people on all of the seasons.
Dawn: I never compared myself to the other people on Making The Band, because I never saw myself as a TV person with that show. It was just an opportunity to do what I love to do, so I don’t really compare myself, or say I’m the most successful out of us. They’re probably successful in whatever they chose to be, but for me, music mattered, so it was whatever I had to do to keep singing.
I compare myself more to my peers in the industry. If they’re up there, I’m gonna try to get up there. But I haven’t made it yet, because I still want to have that name as being one of the greats in this music industry, so I’ve got a long way to go.
AllHipHop.com: Danity Kane lasted for nearly four years. The whole multicultural girl group thing…the idea of it was nice. Why did you get to stick around on Bad Boy afterwards? Is it because you’re seemingly the most real of the bunch?
Dawn: I think all of the girls were real; I don’t think it was just me. I think a TV and a camera makes people have different reactions. I think that’s what happened with us. But everybody was real. I think what made me stay in that lane is that fact that I love music.
The passion that I’ve had, and because I’ve been through so much, it was kinda like I just really loved what I did. I think that’s what came through, but I don’t think I was more real than the rest of them. I think they’re real, too, but for me it was, ‘I don’t want to go to sleep in the car anymore.’ I wanted something better for myself and for my family. I knew that with the gift God gave me, I was going to do it to the best of my ability.
AllHipHop.com: Now you’re part of Diddy-Dirty Money with Kalenna Harper and Sean Combs. Does Diddy dominate his artists and their music like people say?
Dawn: Well you know, I don’t think he ever had any women in a group with him. I can’t think of anyone at the label who had that opportunity, so it’s an interesting dynamic to see both sides of it – as his artist and being in his group. He is a man who has that reputation, but I think that anyone who owns a label and is an artist can tend to have that reputation.
The reality is they have to make sure that they’re pushing their product, because it’s their product. But I think what Puff did this time – I think he even surprised himself with this – he got two women who are extremely opinionated and really have a strong passion in what they do. So it’s kind of an interesting group because he has to humble himself sometimes, and he doesn’t like it. [laughter] But when it comes to passion and the things that we say, when we have a good opinion, he respects it, and he’s like, ‘damn, I had to humble myself.’ He hates to say that! [laughter]
But I think he’s starting to appreciate the fact that he is good at finding talent, and he has to believe in the talent that he picks. So Kalenna and I sort of force the hand at making him appreciate a powerful woman, which is hard for him. I think when he had his girls, it changed his whole perspective anyway. I’m the type of person where I ‘m not gonna bow down, you know? I make sure I give him my opinions respectfully, and I understand that it’s his project and his label. He understands that this is what I love to do, and that I’m an asset to this thing. I think that’s why Dirty Money has been successful so far.
AllHipHop.com: Well, for all of his haters, Diddy has obviously done a few things right over the years. But inevitably, you’ll part ways with him someday. When that time comes, what lessons will you take away from working with someone like him?
Dawn: You know, he throws out a lot of breadcrumbs. People call me stupid or call me dumb, saying, ‘You shouldn’t stay with him, or he’s playing you.’ But, sometimes things aren’t supposed to be monetary. Sometimes it’s not about fame. It’s about learning as much as you can. I know I work behind somebody who is extremely helpful and has made himself relevant for more than a decade in Hip-Hop. That’s unheard of…there’s like a few who can claim that.
So for me, since I’m learning this game and what it takes to be relevant, you gotta learn the good and the bad; what you should do and what you shouldn’t do. That was one of the reasons that I stayed on to see what this game really is, and because of it, I’ve learned so much about branding, marketing, and believing in myself enough to make people believe in me, too. Nobody’s gonna believe in you in this game if you don’t believe in yourself, so I had to learn all of that. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made – to stay around – because it’s not going to be easy, no matter where you go. If you’re able to take some knowledge with you…experience is worth more than any amount of fame. It just is.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of taking lessons with you, you’ve stepped out on your own recently with a new mixtape called Prelude to a Tell Tale Heart. Explain the title and the overall flavor.
Dawn: I have a huge love of literature, and one of my favorite authors is Edgar Allan Poe. The reason why I chose him – he and Shakespeare tend to write about real life….whether it’s about love or tragedy, it’s raw and unadulterated. I love that about The Tell Tale Heart, which is one of my favorite poems or long stories that Edgar Allan Poe wrote, and I took that title and made it my own. Meaning like no matter what you’ve done in your life, the thing you’ve done, you cannot hide from it, and you should use it for the positive and right things that can transform you.
So for me, Prelude to a Tell Tale Heart is you guys’ opportunity to fall into my heart, and if you were to hear a soundtrack to it, it would be these songs. It’s kind of an invitation for you guys to fall into the heart that I’ve gained over this 6-year journey. And because of that, the sound is soulful; it’s raw. If people want to put a label on it, say R&B. For me, I just call it real music.
I want people to say, ‘I can relate to that…I’ve been through that.’ Because honestly, I know I’m not the only one. This is for everyone who lost something in a disaster, lost their homes, their life, their friends and family members. For people who fell in love and then the sh*t just didn’t go the way it was supposed to go. Like all of those experiences that you go through when you say, ‘I got the f*cked up end of the stick.’ You know, other people have got it, too, and at the end of the tunnel, there’s a light and you can have hope. And there’s the possibility that we can have it all. It’s that kind of mixtape or record.
AllHipHop.com: Mixtapes are typically a model for the rap industry…why did you go this route as an R&B singer?
Dawn: Because it’s free! This was just something like songs that I put together. I felt like I had been in two groups, and I really didn’t have an opportunity to have a voice about some of the things that I was going through. I felt like I needed to show people what I could do. It was more like I’ve been through a lot, and I wanted the voice that I had to touch those people who went through what I went through.
My best friends…we still talk about what happened that day we left from the hurricane. I haven’t seen my friends in 5 years. I know they’ve got work and are parents, and they feel like they need to hear a song to take them back to those times. That’s what I did it for, and I think we need to branch out. Hip-Hop is not the only genre that can give away good free music. It’s more about the music than the money for me…thank you, Jesus! It’s about giving away good music and saying you guys are worth having good music. And you don’t have to put a penny on it – just great music.
AllHipHop.com: I’m going to ask you some questions titled “Life After ____.” You tell me what comes to mind…
A lot of people who didn’t see you on TV probably don’t realize you’re a New Orleans native who was displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and you now live in Baltimore. So, life after…Katrina?
Dawn: It’s great because God is still present. He is still in my life. I feel better than I ever could have expected.
AllHipHop.com: Life after…Que.?
Dawn: Is there? [laughter] Life after any man is good. There will always be life with Que in it. We’ll be friends forever, so there is no answer to that.
AllHipHop.com: I hear that!!! [laughter] So, what’s your advice for the single ladies on Life after…Love?
Dawn: Get a good glass of wine, honey, and some cheese, and cry until you get over it. Then put that damn tape in, and start all over again. Keep up the effort. You have to keep trying at love. Don’t give up on it just because one f*cked up, you know?
AllHipHop.com: Life after…men ruling the world?
Dawn: It’s looking up for us. We have to fight for it. Let’s create that vision of our own.
AllHipHop.com: Women’s History Month is in March. What woman inspires you most to play hardball with the boys?
Dawn: That’s a really great question. Aww, man, it’s hard to narrow it down to one.
She’s deceased now, but I had an opportunity to meet Rosa Parks, and I didn’t know what to expect when I met her. She was working at the NAACP, and she was explaining to us how difficult it was to have people take orders from her. She said after what she had gone through, she said she cried because she could give orders to a man and he would listen to her. It was one of her best achievements, she said, and I thought that was really brilliant.
For someone who had given so much and who had sacrificed so much, for her to be able to have that moment where she had power over what she did…it took a long time for that. Clearly, civil rights has taken longer than it should have for people to have an opportunity to have power, but to hear it from someone who actually made that lane, it inspired me.
AllHipHop.com: Where can people find you next, and where can they download the mixtape?
Dawn: Dirty Money will be on tour at the end of March. The mixtape is out right now at www.dawnrichardblog.com, and the lead-off video that will be coming in March as well. I’m really excited about that. And then, Dirty Money is shooting another video for Last Train to Paris, “Your Love” with Trey Songz. We got a lot going on. My classic novel and comic book will be coming out at www.danitykanecomics.com. A lot going on!
AllHipHop.com: Well, thanks for checking in with AllHipHop, and we wish you the best of luck with everything you’re working on.