88-Keys has had an interesting path that has crossed the likes of many artists in the industry, one of those who happened to become godfather of his children and executive producer of his debut album the Death of Adam, Kanye West. Even with the association to one of the premier artists in music, 88-Keys still feels like people don’t know who he is.

“I don’t think it has fully sunk in yet because a lot of people are still under the impression that “STAY UP! (VIAGRA)” is Kanye’s song featuring some other guy.”

“The few that know about my album (as told by some of the media) think Kanye produced all of the music on there. I don’t think it has fully sunk in yet because a lot of people are still under the impression that “STAY UP! (VIAGRA)” is Kanye’s song featuring some other guy. It’s expected though, so I can’t be mad at that. I just wish people did their homework or at least did it better. They’re getting an A, C, or B instead of getting an A+ when it comes to knowing who I am, what I’ve done and currently doing.”

Although 88-Keys deals with the gift and at times curse of working with Mr. West, one thing that keeps him grounded is his family. “I’m raising my girls to be great citizens,” says the father of two. “The more good, smart people bred, the better off we are in society.”

“I’m raising my girls to be great citizens. The more good, smart people bred, the better off we are in society.”

If there is anything else besides the music and family aspect of 88-Keys, it would be his affinity for fashion and more specifically, Ralph Lauren. If you think about the one thing you love in the world and multiply that by ten, it would equate (maybe) to 88’s love for Ralph Lauren. His explanation, “You can’t go wrong with Ralph. What he does with his clothing designs for Polo is draw inspiration from around the globe but flips it all into an Americana sense of style and makes it his own. He’s done some collections inspired by some of the most beautiful countries on the continent of Africa and South America, yet it’s completely wearable, highly fashionable and practical. Also, if you put it together correctly, you’ll both look and feel like a superstar. At least I do.”

By the looks of it, 88-Keys already looks, delivers, and plays the part of husband, father, producer and emcee, and the Polo is just icing on the cake. 88-Keys has no fear of the mainstream and actually welcomes it. He’s definitely on the right path to not only feeling like a superstar but also truly becoming a superstar.

For more information on 88-Keys please visit www.myspace.com/88keys.

Not a lot of people can say they’ve been in this fickle record industry for twenty-one years but songwriter, producer, and musician Raphael Saadiq has been able to reinvent himself time and time again while never forgetting his roots. With his latest effort comprised and his album The Way I See It, Saadiq gives us the opportunity to see music from his point of view. If it has the ‘60s and ‘70s feel to it, don’t worry, that was the point. From a man born in sunny California between Dr. Dre and N.W.A. Saadiq also grew up around Sly and the Family Stone as well as Jimi Hendrix and his musical memory would expand from there. The industry hasn’t always treated Mr. Saadiq with the greatest courtesy but the former crooner of Tony! Toni! Tone! Never made music for the radio and maybe this is why longevity is his middle name. Clutch had the opportunity to converse with the at times introverted musician and break down the inspiration behind his new work, The Way I See It.

Clutch: Talk about the first track “Sure Hope you Mean It.”
Raphael Saadiq: For me it was like how many people were in the Temptations five? And I just thought about the Temptations singing to a White audience and singing something so soulful was what was going through my mind because those were the songs they were bussing’ to all White schools and walking in through the back door and just goin’ out and killin’ it no matter who was in front of them. So I kind of felt like at this point making this kind of music singing it to a Black crowd is like singing it to a White crowd in the ‘60s, they gonna look at you kind of strange so its just about having that type of attitude to take over the world with this kind of music.

Clutch: The next track is “100-Yard Dash” and you actually mention that people who were fans of Tony! Toni! Tone! Would really appreciate this track.
Raphael Saadiq: Yeah, I felt like people would appreciate it from that standpoint because I’m singing with one of the higher voices I’m singing on the record and in the Tonys’ I was singing that high all the time. People kind of bug out when they hear it and go wow he still sounds the same and its just where the song took me, I was kind of surprised when it was done because I waited for a minute before I sang on it; I did all the vocals in a room by myself so I kind of acted how I wanted to act and go crazy and whil’ out. “100-Yard Dash” is sort of a true song too because I’m always running from some crazy girl so (laughs).

Clutch: “Keep Marchin’” is representative of your dealings with the record industry and all that trials and tribulations that can bring to any artist of any caliber.
Raphael Saadiq: Definitely subconsciously I think like that keep marchin’ and keep going forward no matter if they say this industry is dying and going to hell you have to go out like the band on the Titanic and just play until the boat sinks and don’t play it safe, I never made this record for radio I made this record for the way I was feeling and that’s why I titled the record The Way I see It. I also knew in the back of my mind there are a lot of people out there that would appreciate this music also.

Clutch: Do you feel like you’re trying to let the up and coming artists of today know that this is what music can sound like as well?
Raphael Saadiq: No, I’m not trying to save it at all, I just don’t have a short memory I think that way when I pick up an instrument that’s just the way that my mind works and that’s the way that I dream and any great producer or artist always likes to reflect on something great.

Clutch: Talk about the song “Big Easy” and the motivation behind that.
Raphael Saadiq: “Big Easy” is definitely influenced by Hurricane Katrina and at the time I was in the studio making my record and I was watching “When the Levees Broke” and just watching the guy that had to leave his mom on the side of the stadium, hop on a bus and then just cover her up with a blanket and go to Houston made me feel like what’s going wrong? Is this world that cold that you could just be a statistic? At the time I didn’t want to grasp that this could really ever happen and my only way of getting it out was to make a song about it and it was something that felt good because it was energetic at the same time and I didn’t want it to sound sad or call it Katrina because I didn’t want to feel like I was jumping on the band wagon and so I called it “Big Easy.” People hear and they dance to it but they don’t really know what I’m talkin’ about so.

Clutch: You also mentioned that your Uncle is from Louisiana and he’d been in the military.
Raphael Saddiq: My whole family is from Louisiana and I’m the only city boy that’s not from Louisiana. I have a lot of family in New Orleans, Shreveport, and Monroe.

Clutch: The next track is “Just One Kiss.”
Raphael Saadiq: “Just One Kiss” was more of like a Eddie Kendricks and Tami Terrell-Smokey Robinson type of feel and it just had the good left-hand finger snap to it and your coolin’ out and you have on the nice suit and the Cadillac is outside and you’re drivin’ to the nearest downtown club and its just one of those that you want people to feel like there’s no problems in the world. I was basically making this record to say, it might have been bad at that point but those type of records were able to make people feel good.

Clutch: Do you ever think about how you would’ve turned out if you would have been born in the ‘60s or ‘70s?
Raphael Saadiq: Oh yeah that was my dream, I think I should’ve been born in the ‘30s, if I was born in that day I could’ve been kickin’ it with the best. Now its like I’m a dinosaur with all these hybrids which is dope because a lot of them are my friends and they get it but my love was playing that type of music and I think there’s so much room for people to do what they want to do. For the new artists its like they have to find a way to do what they do for a long time and that’s really the goal.

Clutch: The next record was “Love That Girl.”
Raphael Saadiq: That’s my dream with Eddie Kendricks and I almost got the opportunity to work with him right before he passed away so that was definitely my approach to that record.

Clutch: Talk about “Callin’”, which had a real Latin feel to it.
Raphael Saadiq: Yeah that was from my Latin roots I grew up with a lot of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and on the west coast “Callin’” is definitely for the majestic low-ridin’ crew. The media tries to blow us up and make it seem like we’re always fighting (Hispanic-Americans & African-Americans) but they love music and so I kind of did that for them.

Clutch: You followed that up with “Staying in Love.”
Raphael Saadiq: Definitely got the inspiration from the Four Tops and I played with my voice in the backgrounds.

Clutch: One of the best records for me on the whole album was “Oh Girl.”
Raphael Saadiq: Yeah, that’s kind of my pimped out gangsta track, the drums are really just bangin and then the subtleness of the vocals and then the oh girl and it kind of happened like that and it was definitely a Delfonics type feel during the late ‘60s but early ‘70s. The Delfonics were mad cool and real pimped out but they also had “La La La Means I Love You”, which was number one over in Europe. So I try to lean towards things that can be number one around the world and make people reminisce on what they were going through at that time.

Clutch: Is that your goal every time you go out and make music to make people reflect on those highlights and periods in their lives?
Raphael Saadiq: Yeah, definitely, that’s how music should be, I want to jab people in the head with this kind of music and have them fall back a little. Like they don’t want that feeling again but they want to be aware.

Clutch: Finally the last joint on the album “Sometimes” which seems like something you do on all your albums is reflecting back on your Charles Ray Wiggins years.
Raphael Saadiq: That’s just giving dap to my moms and grandmother and the people who raised me in the neighborhood to let them know its easy but not as easy as it seems all the time and sometimes we have to back up and cry but I’m just giving thanks to the people that helped me along the way.

For more information on Raphael Saadiq please visit www.raphaelsaadiq.com and www.myspace.com/raphaelsaadiq.

Clutch: What moved you to coin yourself Afta-1?
Afta-1: Actually I came about it early on in high school, I was with a few other rappers and a few other folks I used to make music with. During one of our recordings he named me Afro-the-Amazing-One [laughs] because of the hair, but as I’ve moved along it’s definitely taken on new meaning. It’s more on a creative front of where I channel this energy from to make the music; that being one, I come Afta-1.

Clutch: What is that creative process like; where does that stem from?
Afta-1: It’s not so much a process in the sense of I gotta’ have certain things or there’s a certain sound that I’m using, the process to me is just letting it go and just letting the music be what it’s gonna be, as opposed to putting any pressure on it to it become anything finite.

Clutch: When does it hit you that its time to go in the studio and make that next track?
Afta-1: It can be anything, it could be taken’ a walk down in the park or just doing something in the city, or I could wake up just feeling like I want to make some music. I can’t really say that I pinpoint something or there’s one thing that really inspires me, its just love of life and that’s just what it is and that’s how I feel when I make music it just depends on when I have the time to do it.

Clutch: What were you doing before this, before you started making music?
Afta-1: As far as taking something seriously it’s pretty much been music. I skipped college so coming straight out of high school I started initially with a little hip-hop group we started and doing little shows locally in L.A. Then we went our separate ways but it’s pretty much been music since I started.

Clutch: What made you make the decision to move from L.A. to New York?
Afta-1: Well actually I think this will be my third time in New York. This time around it was for a launch party for Creative Criss Cross. I came out here to DJ with Geology on a one way ticket and I was like whatever the flow is like out there I’m just gonna make my decision and move based on that. I came here and was well received and made a bunch of new connections and everything in the universe just worked for me to be held down right now. So, I have a place, I don’t have to worry about serious rent or anything and I just have a chance to create, and that’s what made me stay and I’m just kind of letting it be until whenever I need to move to the next place you know?

Clutch: When I listened to your music I thought of Sun-Ra and I thought of Flying Lotus, who were some of the cats you studied before and still do today?
Afta-1: The list grows as I continue but definitely you hit it on the dot. Sun-Ra and a bunch of other jazz cats early on, especially getting into sampling and digging for older music. Of course you have the Miles [Davis], Coltrane [John], and Alice [Coltrane] that kind of music and that music that resonated kind of wanting that universal awareness and kind of existence and I always believed that –that was the source of the music and that’s why they call it the universal language and so that kind of stuff. I guess being slash DJ that listen to everything from jazz, electronic, to punk. So yeah definitely Sun-Ra and Flying Lotus is doing his thing right now for sure.

Clutch: When did you decide that you were going to allow yourself to be free and just go with the flow, was that always how you lived your life from day one, or was it something you kind of came into?
Afta-1: Well actually I could say in the sense of the circumstances that have been laid out in my life and the way that I believe that things have come to be. As far as as pinpointing it and being aware that – that has become the truth in my life it’s been very recent actually. Within the last year and the culmination up into my album release and what made that happen and possible and what allowed me to be in New York right now, a lot of the stuff is really unexplained but I don’t question it man. I just figured if there’s no resistance, no pressure, or no fear, I just flow along with everything that’s presented to me and the opportunities the universe just holds me down [laughs] that’s the only way I can really say it.

Clutch: When it comes to making albums with that thought process of it being a stream of consciousness do you focus on keeping it together or is that even an issue for you?
Afta-1: Yeah, that process is kind of like as I go along as well like it kind of spawns the next idea so it goes in progression anyway and that’s how it usually seems to build when I’m in that flow because its more of a sense of constant growth. So the music is always evolving naturally so if I just let it be it creates that collection if you will or creates that sound for those tracks and then you can call it an album. With Afta-Thoughts being that that was my first real release it was probably a few years worth of music and things that I sometimes came back to and you have to accept that sometimes you may not finish something right away or it cuts off or you have to come back to it and just evolve so it’s a process as your living.

Clutch: What do you say to all the critics that say here comes another “space cat” that is all into the celestial etc? There are a lot of people who say that’s just a gimmick and there’s a part of society that that lifestyle is so taboo anyway.
Afta-1: People have their own way of perceiving things and a lot of times just because ignorance really and honestly I’m not to concerned with what the critics. My thing has always been presenting the music and letting it speak for itself. I would say listen to the music, if its lying to you than that’s what its doing.

Clutch: How do you take all the music that you hear being a DJ and then separate that from the music that you create?
Afta-1: It’s endless, there’s so much that I’m listening to and there’s so much stuff I’m being put on to. Just things that I vibe to and not necessarily sample or use because the process when I’m making my own music is like there’s a listening period. There’s also time when I go into my cave mode where just recently I’ve pretty much been at the crib making music listening to my own stuff. If something sparks me I will go in that direction and then it kind of flows into what it’s going to be.

Clutch: What do you want people to take away from your music?
Afta-1: I would like it to be something that inspires you to do your art. The fact that its music its free for people to take their minds and go where they want to go with it. If you’re a writer a painter, whatever you do I want it to inspire them to do that and I hope it resonates with that.

For more information on Afta-1 please visit www.myspace.com/afta1, www.afta1.imeem.com and www.aftathoughts.com.

Her resume is thick, a Masters Degree from Columbia University, radio personality on Sirius Satellite Radio, T.V-host, Def-Poet, and journalist. All that said, being one of the lone souls in this industry, she still fights for the respect and is trying to re-carve a voice for women in hip-hop who have silently fell by the wayside, and are now back up dancers and props for today’s dominant male industry. Diva is aware of this almost extinct gender in hip-hop and when asked why she believes this occurred her answer is simple, “ Hip-hop has shut out a lot of women and they haven’t really felt that like they can be heard in this form.” One her many strengths that has made her successful thus far is her self-motivation, with no manager, just an assistant, Diva handles all the business aspects of her career as well, which along with the constant performing can take a toll. Ms. Diva recently regained a clean bill of health after having to undergo a spinal tap from the result of truly being on the grind. “More than anything I really need a cook.”

Amanda Diva is a woman in every sense of the word and anyone in the industry that deals with her knows that. However, she explains the perception of being a woman when it comes to dealing with men,

“When I’m on point and about business I’m looked at as a bitch, Diva, and extra, but when a man is about his business he’s looked at as a smart dude.” Diva has identified the dichotomy but by choice still stays true, “I have a deep voice but I’m not hard, I’m not a punk, and I won’t be taken for a ride.”

Diva is cognizant that a change is coming with the success of Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, and the emergence of Wale, and Blu and Exile, granted their all men. From her angle she’s not necessarily trying to follow suit, literally, “I want to create a niche for myself.” something that she’s passionately and painstakingly doing. When we discussed aspects of the industry she liked and disliked, “Performing, making the music, and interacting with supporters. I can’t stand dealing with promoters and the producers that think they are superstars.” Speaking of producers Diva is currently working on her next EP entitled the Love Experience, which will feature production from James Poyser and Green Lantern and should further display the diversity of Diva and help her widen the niche she desires to create.

Before you buy the next Amanda Diva mixtape which is out on iTunes entitled Foreplay [fellas, get your mind out of the gutters] go check her performances, which to her asset as an independent artist is her selling point, “A person that comes too my show is never going to get the same show I did the night before, they will get comedy, sincerity, we’ll break it down together, and they will really be inspired.”

Through her success and setbacks Amanda Diva wants you to take away one thing, her honesty. If you get nothing else from her, at least you will receive her truth. She understands this will take time and from a woman who had plans, goals, and knew when they were going to happen, now she’s going for a ride, only this is a ride that she’s in control of.

Q: Do you remember your first poem you wrote?
I’ve been writing poetry since about 8 years old. Back then, I was far more interested in rhymes than content. Many years later, in 1997, I wrote my initial spoken word piece while sitting alone in my car in the unlit parking lot behind Bogies in East Orange, NJ; the first performance poetry venue I’d ever attended.

The piece was called, “Dead President Connection” and dealt with the need for black people to patronize each other economically. It also looked at my feelings of disconnection from black people who didn’t realize their own inner power and likewise believed themselves to be helpless victims unable to revolt against a repressive society.

Q: People have different perceptions of spoken word, what does it mean to you?
Spoken word is one of many forms of poetry. What differentiates it from academic poetry and other written forms is the poems are primarily created to be read out loud. Performance poetry is most often done in free verse rather than in a rigid format such as sonnets or sestinas where syllable and stanza lengths are predefined. The focus of a Spoken word piece is its ability to be emotively delivered in a way that compels the crowd to listen. Performance pieces that are solidly written in addition to being well delivered, however, are always superior and far more enduring.

Q: How do you feel about the controversy around the word “Nigger”?
I came up using that word and yet was always aware of its nefarious history. The word itself means “ignorant” and has been used as a derogatory term toward, and in reference to black people for centuries.

There’s a myriad of derogatory terms for every race, all ethnicities and both genders. No matter who or what you are, someone out there has come up with a term to belittle people like you. That, of course, should not compel you to embrace it. If you know you’re not ignorant, it should not concern you that some small-minded person thinks of you as such. However, it also doesn’t make sense that you should begin referring to yourself as “ignorant” whether it be in defiance or not.

This concerns the power of self-fulfilling prophecies. Over the years, I’m unconvinced that referring to oneself and those in your immediate circle as “ignorant” will not retard your will to be socio-economically competitive. The idea whereas identifying with that term may relegate young women and men to believe that they are not as good as everyone else (especially at a time when inner-city dropout rates have begun to exceed 50 percent) makes its continued acceptance irresponsible. Clearly we need to make many adjustments. Calibrating, or perhaps totally overhauling, our self image is one of them.

Q: Men of color seem to be very sensitive when they really dig into their emotions, did you encounter that when you began to write as a youth and/or adult?
I did have plenty of issues in that arena. One of my first spoken word pieces was a poem called, “Insane” wherein I explained why I could never write a love poem because it seemed pointless. Then there was “Morally Bankrupt,” the poem I titled my first 3 CDs after; which discussed a belief that I could never find a woman who would truly love me. The pinnacle of these poems was perhaps “Cult of Divinity,” which analyzed the history of black male emotional tensions. However, the last line in “Divinity” was an attempt to distance myself from that baggage by proclaiming, like the old club hit, “As long as I have you, I have enough.”
Since that point I’ve been able to pen love poems from a sincere, somewhat selfless and vulnerable place. Each piece has been an exercise in identifying fears like abandonment, disloyalty and loss of interest and addressing them rationally, creatively and with unreserved passion.

Much (if not most) of the email correspondence I receive comes from women and men who are thanking me for the colors and textures they experienced within the imagery and atmosphere of my love poems. During live performances some listeners have been known to tear-up. Hopefully those are signs that I’ve overcome fears of digging deep and exposing my most hidden aspirations and ideals.

Q: What guided you towards become a spoken word artist?
It’s been an unavoidable calling. The first time I witnessed spoken word brought about one of the most life altering epiphanies of my existence. At the time, I was a college professor in my mid-20s and a partner in a small business consulting firm. Nevertheless, once I was exposed to spoken word it became undeniably clear that I was born, and perhaps even raised, to be a major player in this genre. Performance poetry has provided the blessing of traveling around the world and sharing my thoughts on politics, social issues, love, spirituality and intimacy; rather than just traveling from classroom to classroom at Rutgers University or from my consulting firm in South Orange to SBA (Small Business Administration) workshops throughout New Jersey where all I ever got to lecture on was accounting and finance.

In fact, no one who knew me was surprised. I was raised on Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets’ albums. My parents were members of Amiri Baraka’s (the final poet laureate of NJ) Committee for A Unified Newark during my early years. From as far back as I can recall, there were plenty of Langston Hughes books, Sonia Sanchez poems and black poet anthologies circulating around my household. I’ve read history books and social analysis ever since I was old enough to read them to myself. Prior to that my mother read books like J. A. Roger’s From Superman to Man to me as bedtime stories. In fact, my written college placement scores were always higher than my math ones. Apparently, my entire life was spent waiting for Spoken Word to present itself to my generation of poets. Now I’m entrenched in it and take writing as serious as life itself.

Q: Talk about your upbringing and educational background, that played a big part in where you are now correct?
I was raised by strong women; the kind with education, books and, sometimes, guns. My maternal great grandmother earned a college degree and taught English. Her daughter earned a college degree and taught English, Spanish and worked as a nurse. Her daughter, my mother, earned a M.S. in math and works as a systems analyst for a top financial institution. My father’s mother also earned a college degree. Though my mother was my primary care giver throughout my youth, the other three women were a huge influence on my early years.

My educational background consists of a B.S. in accounting and an M.B.A. in finance. Both were earned at Rutgers University where I ended up teaching full time. In fact, I began teaching so quickly after graduating that some of my students had previously been my classmates. My plan in college was to eventually become a professor and a principal in a consulting firm. I never expected to achieve both of those goals before I turned 30. So when spoken word came into my life, I needed the challenge. Since then, the genre has provided me with the opportunity to integrate every skill I’ve ever learned for the purpose of pushing the envelope.

Q: What you wrote about as a youth how much has that changed to your current work? What do you find yourself writing most about now?
If by “youth” you mean a decade ago when spoken word and I first found each other, then I’d have to say I wrote about: intimacy, politics, social issues and there was the occasional swagger piece written for no other reason than to impress the crowd.

Today, many of my pieces still fall into those categories. However, these days I write love poems, as well. My writing has also become more circumspect, inclusive and descriptive.

Q: Who were the individuals or writers that you studied that inspired you to focus in on your craft?
I studied the Last Poets to the extent that I played their Chastisement and Madness albums incessantly, beginning at a young age. My mother and I would also take turns reciting Sonia Sanchez’s poems from It’s A New Day. I’m a fan of Gwendolyn Brook’s “We Real Cool” and of June Jordan’s masterful word work. In terms of earlier poets, Claude McKay’s work like, If We Must Die, was beautifully crafted. My favorite poem is a short piece by Amiri Baraka entitled “Preface to a 20 Volume Suicide Note”. The performance poet who amazes me most is Gil Scott-Heron.

Q: Have you accomplished everything you’ve wanted; are there things left you want to do?
I’m not quite sure what I would like to do next. Hopefully, whatever it is, it will still allow me to continue to influence the growth and exposure of spoken word. My books and CDs are in relative high demand and whenever I take something out of print it can sell for as much as ten times its suggested retail price.

I’m nowhere near rich. Nor do I assume that I would do well with the problems that come along with being wealthy. I am comfortable and do not want for much of anything. As long as people continue to seek out, explore and invest in my work, I’ll continue to create the most heartfelt original work my gifts render possible.

Q: How do verses and stories come to you, what inspires you to write and continue to write?
Verses come to me when they choose to do so. They often find me when I’m either walking or out somewhere people watching. I don’t write my performance pieces with pen and paper. Instead, I conceive and edit them, and store them in my head.

My poems rarely start with a title and often the concept itself isn’t apparent to me until the third or fourth line. I always begin with a phrase and midwife it into a full line. Then each successive line dictates the line it wishes to be followed by. My gut provides the quality control. The poem is over when it expresses to my heart that it is satisfied.

Q: Elaborate on your poem “Market for Niggas.” What do individuals in this market have to do to change that market?
Well the “Market” itself is comprised of all the people: white, black and otherwise who want black people to be “Niggas.” The market in question supports any black person who will shuck-n-jive, display a lack of dignity or express unwarranted hatred for other black people, in order to earn a buck. That market will exist as long as racists have money. The point of the poem was to point out that those of us who supply the market via their words and deeds are sellouts. The idea that I should be jealous of the houses, cars and jewelry you purchased by pushing crack, low self-esteem and a truncated future to my children is not progressive. In fact it’s subversive and could be interpreted as a blatant act of aggression against the community perpetrated in search of personal gain.

Q:Your poem “True Lies” appears to be about the perception of fallacy versus reality and how they have been presented to be in their own spectrums but you believe that they are connected and that everything is relative. How do we as consumers, viewers, readers, and citizens learn to see the bigger and real picture?
One of the most bizarre concepts I’ve had to grasp is that so many do not see the obvious. The other day I was watching a Rev. Jeremiah Wright speech on CNN and, though I disagreed with some of the points he made, I was surprised at the disgust the anchors expressed regarding points he made about betrayals like the Tuskegee Experiment and the Trail of Tears. They made it seem like the Bay of Pigs, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, and Beirut never happened. Like the Move Organization in Philly was never bombed.

You could either revel in them or wish they never happened, but these were facts. The idea that the masses don’t know and/or don’t want to know is one of the reasons I exist. Part of my job is to inform, even to the point of saying what people do not wish to hear. I must entertain and agitate at the same time. “True Lies” was about such oxymorons. The idea is that the George Bush tended to call things the very opposite of what they were : “The Patriot Act”-which unravels the constitution, “No Child Left Behind”-which increases the dropout rate in inner-cities, “Operation Iraqi Freedom”-which killed 600,000 Iraqis and occupied their country. None of these things would be possible if the masses were informed and organized.

For more information on Taalam Acey and to purchase his amazing work please visit www.taalamacey.com and www.myspace.com/officialtaalamacey

Hill Harper is back with the second part to Letters to a Young Brother: Define Your Destiny with Letters to a Young Sister: Define Your Destiny. We seem to continue to go in circles about the variety of problems that are facing young African-American women and women of color. Being that Hill Harper is of the male gender he looked to his close circle of friends and role models to tell their stories of the struggle, perseverance and success through the voices of Ruby Dee, Gabrielle Union, Nikki Giovanni and other diverse stories that Harper hopes will inspire young women to understand that they are F.I.N.E. [Fantastic Interesting Necessary Exceptional]

Q: Was the process behind getting the background statistics or Letter to a Young Sister similar to the process when you were doing the research for Letter to a Young Brother?
Hill Harper: Yeah, but it was different though because I was never a sister so I literally had to speak to them to find out what was going on and what was on their minds and I was surprised by the difference. What I mean by that is women are much more complex. With young brothers it’s black and white. They’re either motivated or unmotivated; things are either going well or they aren’t going well. With young women you can have them doing well in one area of their life but horrible in another area, so the level of complexity was much greater and higher. They could have a self-esteem issue but still be doing well in school but at the same time they could have a problem with the relationship with their mom. There are different things that showed me that young women are different, that’s why I recruited a lot of surrogate sisters to be contributors to the book.

Q: Right, I noticed that Gabrielle Union did the forward, how did that come about?
Hill Harper: Gabrielle is one of my best friends and we’ve known each other for years and I wanted her to write the forward because she has a very powerful story to tell about her own life. A lot of women don’t know that she has experienced extremely violent sexual crime against her when she was younger and when they see somebody like her who’s a beautiful accomplished actress they don’t realize she’s going though many hardships herself to get there so, when they run into the roadblock of hardships they’re like, “How come this is just happening to me?” I want them to realize that they still can flower into this amazing woman but still go through hardships.

Q: Through your research what were maybe the top three things that young women are dealing with?
Hill Harper: I believe the number issue facing our young people, especially our young women and our young men is self-esteem. We’re in a time when many of these young women are being told that they’re not valuable and they’re not interesting or can’t be valued unless they dress a certain way of unless they can drop it like it’s hot. It’s a complete misrepresentation of how magnificent these young women are and that’s why in the subtitle of my book it’s called Define Your Destiny and the F.I.N.E. is in caps and the reason for that is because I want these young women to understand how Fantastic, Interesting Necessary and Exceptional they are and that’s the new definition of fine in my opinion.

Q: How has your interaction with women in your immediate circle (Grandmother, Mother etc.) helped you in your development?
Hill Harper: I really reference point my grandmothers who are amazing women who were about community building, giving back and were amazing well rounded intelligent women, and that’s what to me our young women represent and can represent but I think our entertainment business has shown them some misguided images. The idea of some type of diva-hood isn’t what my grandmothers represented. The idea of what you show on the outside makes you great? No. It’s what you show from within and the greatness emanates from inside and it has nothing to do with I’m a diva I adorn myself with things. That’s why I’m so proud of all these women that have contributed to the book like Michelle Obama, Nikki Giovanni, Alfrey Woodard, Angela Bassett, Eve, Ciara, Ruby Dee. I mean these are amazing women from young to old who represent the entire diversity, strength and intelligence that our young women represent.

Q: What is your opinion on series like Charm School and Miss New York, where Black women and women of color portray stereotypical roles that only reinforce those historical images that we are trying to move away from?
Hill Harper: I mean I believe, and this is just to answer your question in general, it has done more to misguide and destroy the self-esteem of our young people specifically than any other industry in the past ten to twelve years, so most projects fall into that category. We’re living in a time where twenty years ago… images can evolve into destructive images for our young people so that’s why someone’s candidacy like Barack Obama is so important and the representation of the Obama family to see Michelle Obama, intelligent, brilliant, dynamic, women and to see his two daughters Sasha and Maliah and to watch them grow up in the White House is going to do amazing things. My business has without regard to the effect of the images it has put out our young men think the length of the manhood is determined by the size of the rims on their car, and our young women are being called a B… or an H…

Q: Indeed in a sense it’s like the Dave Chappelle factor, audiences continued to laugh at him but what were they laughing at? My point is, is the entertainment industry that bad that actors such as Monique and others have to take these roles to pay the bills?
Hill Harper: You’re on to the right question; I think that the way to put it is that the entertainment industry is a unique industry in that it’s one of the only industries that can determine it’s own demand. Therefore I always use the analogy, if you feed people oatmeal for a long enough time and then you give them lobster, they’ll throw up. We’re at a point now where we’ve allowed incrementally the entertainment industry to dumb our public down so much and to make us feel so little of ourselves that the only images we recognize now are the images of the lowest common denominator and sometimes we’re offered images of a superior common denominator and we don’t know what to do with them.

Now there’s some big exceptions like the project I did called Lackawanna Blues to a person or everyone I’ve talked to that’s seen the movie they love it. To a young person they were never told to watch that film but when they do watch it they love it but it doesn’t get the same kind of publicity or play that Flav’s show gets. So you’re right! When you have a show like I Run New York, these companies and these executives, they’re not naive, VH1 which is one of the number one offenders is owned by Viacom. BET owned Viacom, CBS owned by Viacom and that’s my network so even though I don’t play those roles, the role I play on my show is the most intelligent character on the show and the other characters come to my characters for answers. I’m still collecting a check from a company that is involved in making profits off the backs of… that’s why I had to look at myself in the mirror and say okay. Even though it’s not me participating I’m still collecting checks so you could turn around and ask that same question about me saying, “Yo Hill even though you don’t play those roles you’re still working for a company that puts out those roles so are you supporting them?” and I have to say in a way, yes. So I have to use whatever platform I have to fight opposite image.

Q: So similar to Senator Obama you understand the game, you’re just playing it?
Hill Harper: This is a battle for the minds and self-esteem of our young people and I’m using every piece that I have to co-op and get into the minds and let them know how amazing they are. Let these young men know that they’re the perfect model of the newest human species on earth without big rims, without guns, without platinum Rolexes and to let these young women know that they’re already perfect.

Q: What were some of those commonalities that you found that got the Nikki Giovanni’s, Gabrielle Union’s and Ruby Dee’s to keep their self-esteem and reach a higher level of success?
Hill Harper: You know that’s a great question, and the answer is pursuing their own personal happiness. Not trying to pursue what they’ve been told they should want in life, but literally identifying what they want in their life and pursuing and then letting all the other things fall into place. The beautiful thing about it is that all the women I’ve talked to without fault, in pursuing their own destiny, all those other things they wanted came with it because I was pursuing my own. People get caught up in that energy, if someone walks around saying I want to find a man and they get frustrated when they don’t have a man the beautiful thing they don’t realize is that if they just live their lives and be then men will be attracted to that. By default they will find a men not by pursuing but by being great in it of yourself.

To learn more about Hill Harper please visit www.manifestyourdestiny.net

Clutch: Describe the experience growing up between Washington, DC and Georgia. What are some things that you remember about those places which molded you into the individual you are today?
Alice Smith: [Laughs from exhaustion and the question] Hmmm… when I used to go to the farm, it was all of us; everybody’s children got shipped off to Grandma’s house [laughs]. That’s not really true, but we did all go there together and we played with each, and it was just free and there was a lot of space that we could just be unafraid in, and that’s different. At home it was just me, my mother and my father, and I had the same kind of freedom but it was a different scenario.

Clutch: How did you transition from studying History and English at Fordham, to becoming a singer/songwriter? Were you always a singer/songwriter?
Alice Smith: I wasn’t always a singer but I was always a writer. The history and English part came because I was a reader so there was just a lot of reading and writing [laughs]. I like stories but I like words. I guess, I was always writing in class but I liked school, I liked academia.

Clutch: Who were some of the people you’ve studied and continue to study musically?
Alice Smith: I study anything I like. Anyone’s voice I got into, I went out and bought the music. So I studied Mariah Carey in elementary school but when I was young it was Nina Simone, the biggest one. That was always my mother’s favorite. My mother says it’s amazing to her how long she’s been listening to Nina Simone and how often she finds new Nina Simone. I remembered I studied Lionel Richie and the Commodores for a while and Donny Hathaway I did for a while, standard stuff. Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, was a big one actually. But Pattie Labelle and Angela Winbush at the same time were my favorites! I used to play that Pattie Labelle cd over and over.

Clutch: Angela Winbush is an interesting one.
Alice Smith: Oh my God! Please, my first concert was Micki Howard and I cried [laughs] at Constitution Hall.

Clutch: You have a very simplistic persona, which sometimes transcends into your demeanor and mannerisms. I assume your life has become extremely hectic. How important is it for you that life be simple?
Alice Smith: That’s super important. I work real hard to keep it as easy as possible. Space is important for me and that’s going back to growing up with space. When I was at home in the city I always had space. I’m attached to having my space but I’m not narcotic about it or anything. I know now better about what I need to be able to do the best work that I can do. Space is important for me but visual space is important for me, and I just figured that out recently.

Clutch: How have you dealt with that, because of your career taking off at times I assume you feel slightly boxed in. Have you had to say no to a lot of things?
Alice Smith: Oh yeah, you have to learn how to say no and you have to learn to say no. The hard part is to do it but it’s hard to do because you pile all this stuff on top of the no when it should just be no. I had to kind of let it go where I wasn’t hurting anybody and they weren’t hurting me. Naturally, I’ve always been that way but you know, you get in a situation with all these different people that I don’t know, and I’m all taking about the things that I do in my quiet time, and I get all bothered with that type of stuff. And it doesn’t have to be like that.

Clutch: With the success of the first album do you feel any pressure from yourself when it comes to working on the next one?
Alice Smith: I’m working on the next one. This stuff [music] is so old that I do. I’m just kind of warming myself back up and getting myself back into the writing groove because I haven’t done it in a long time. I definitely wasn’t ready to start before but now I’m ready to go ahead and get started.

Clutch: Space is definitely needed for that part of the process?
Alice Smith: Yes, I started the recording and writing in Kawai, which is my favorite place on earth right now and I would love to continue in that direction. The ocean always gives me that visual space where there’s like space in front of you to see and that kind of clears a lot of things out very nicely.

(Photo Credit: Carlos Serrao)

For more information on Alice Smith please visit www.alicesmith.com and www.myspace.com/alicesmith

Q: Do you ever wish you would have been involved in a hip-hop era where women were more celebrated for their talents as emcees and dancers versus now when they’re more glorified for their physicality?
I know there is a reason why things are as they are. God has in his plan to allow the woman’s voice to be heard. The Queens will arise in hip-hop very soon. If I can be any part in helping make that happen, then I am blessed. We need healing within hip-hop, and the sisters will come through to make that happen. But we must come together and make it our issue, our cause to be heard. We must refuse to be silenced any longer! I see this happening slowly and surely. I have faith in the positive changes that will happen!!

Q: When did you write your first rhyme?
In the womb, God ordained me with the rhyme and I wrote lyrics on the walls of my mother’s placenta. Haha!!

Q: Did you always know you wanted to be involved with music?
I always loved music and music has been a part of my life forever! But as I grew older I learned how seriously music affected my life and the power and energy that can be created and transferred through song. I knew I had things to share with people and that music was an amazing way to communicate messages and spirit.

Q: Their hasn’t been a female emcee/singer that has garnered so much attention and acclaim since Lauryn Hill. How has she influenced your career?
She inspired so many of our generation by showing a strong sister communicating her rhymes with the best of them. She epitomized elegance, sophistication and power in a woman. Her art is amazing and I have tremendous respect for her. I was excited to hear her new mixtape. We are all looking forward to another release from this talented sister.

I am also so inspired by so many of the greats like Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby, Miriam Makeba, Ella Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, Billie Holliday… Those I look up to Bahamadia, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Roxanne Shante and my peers Georgia Anne Muldrow, Muhsinah, Invincible, Yarah Bravo, Mauikai, Emoni Fela and so many others. I am excited about things right now because the sisters are really doing their thing and there is going to be a beautiful movement; we are in the stages of building right now!! Amazing!

Q: Your music is very different from what is currently coming out of Atlanta besides Outkast and B.O.B. Do you find it hard finding yourself in that type of market?
No, because I am found. I am a child of God and the world and one place cannot hold me. My history of traveling throughout life has always left me as an outsider. I was always a newcomer. Atlanta is one place of millions. I have love for the entire world, this is one city that is a part of that world. Atlanta has a special place in my heart, because my immediate family is here, so I will always come back. I love the southern hospitality and the chill ways that people move. There’s a time and a place for everything.

Q: What are you bringing to music and it’s culture that may or may not be missing but you are trying to elevate?
I hope to bring humility, light, love, healing and truth through sound. To learn how to create these feelings in song. Creating music is a journey, because you never know what you will create. As a sister in this music, I hope I can be a positive role model for the younger generations, that I can be a source of inspiration in some small way and to give hope! Through hope, vision, faith and energy we can conquer all things.

Q: “Floatin” is an awesome record, what was the inspiration behind that song?
Really, the beat was named “Floatin” by Apex the producer. That often happens when we work together, his beat titles, so accurately describe the feeling in the beat that I flow with it. It just touched me, especially in that time, because that’s how my life was. When I recorded that album, I was on a journey, I didn’t really live in one place, I was traveling from city to city interacting with different people, performing and writing. So for me, there couldn’t have been a better song to describe that experience of constant movement.

Q: Who are you working with on your album?
I am deeply indebted to Apex who helped me so much through this album. He produced about four tracks and executive produced the album. We recorded it in his studio as well. Muhsinah produced a track and sang with me on it. S1 from Strange Fruit Project produced a track which features Bilal Salaam on guest vocals. Finale from Detroit is also on the album. Other producers include Flying Lotus, Nick Speed and Slugabed. Everett James, a multi-instrument musician, also blessed me with an all live instrument remix of “Floatin”… stay tuned for that. The album is entitled “The Awakening” and will be released in July… please stay tuned for that.”

Q: What have you learned most about yourself since deciding that music would be your career?
To always stay true, and that its bigger than just one artist or the next cool fad; it’s about building a movement with a purpose that we can all benefit from. It’s not a popularity contest, it’s deeper than that. The goal is to build a legacy, a solid foundation that our children and future generations can enjoy. We are here for the long run.

Q: If there were one thing that you hope people would take from your music, what would that be?
A direct connection to God while good feelings flow from within when they listen.

To learn more about Stacy Epps please visit www.myspace.com/stacyepps

The element of “the group” in hip hop seems to be transcending into more of individuals who think on the same wavelengths and if it works, they create an album. With Outkast and the Roots holding strong, the blueprint on how a group survives and maintains still exists.

Netherlands producer Nicolay has worked with a number of artists, most notably Phonte of Little Brother on their Foreign Exchange album and in the midst of his solo project. Here he’s hooked up with Houston emcee Kay of the Foundation to create their first project Time:Line, which challenges hardcore backpackers and gangstas alike to open their minds and dismiss all boundaries and recognize that hip hop can be anything we want it to be; and hopefully that becomes a transparent concept in the lives they live. Clutch had the opportunity to sit down with the tandem and discuss, music, collaborations and the boxed-in mind state of hip hop culture and rap music.

Q: How did you two meet?
Kay: We met on the boards of okayplayer.com around 2003. I wasn’t really Internet savvy but FWMJ or Frank was the one that really got me on the boards. He was like, “You need to listen to this and that group, and this group Little Brother is tight, and this dude Nicolay is crazy, even all his beat tapes flow together.” I ain’t never heard nobody do a beat tape that flowed together (laughs). So I listened to it and it was like this dude sequences his beat tapes! That was crazy! So Frankie introduced me to him and I just started sending him stuff that I was doing in my group the Foundation. You know how you have to have somebody whose really honest with you about what your doing and would be like, yeah I’m not really feeling this or vice versa? He’s been pretty much one of those folks for me and that’s pretty much it.

Q: How did the concept come about to do this album?
Nicolay: We started working together on tracks for Kay’s album The Talk Show and that was around 2004 when we started, but through all sorts of circumstances, trials and tribulations that album didn’t come out. One of the tracks that I felt had a lot of potential was “My Story”, and I was basically like why don’t we put that track on my album so at least people can hear what you’re doing and he was down with it. So that was a situation where we saw what we could do and we started taking it further than that. I was getting ready to do a Japanese version of the album so I hollered at Kay and asked him if we could do a couple of more tracks and after that it was a situation where we just kept it going. By the end of 2006 it was like why don’t we do a project. It was kind of a situation where we were off and on because we both had a lot of things going on so it took us about a year to wrap it up.

Q: Why the name Time:Line for the album?
Kay: When he was sending me the tracks I heard a lot of the influences and I’m more of a conceptual type of writer. Just listening to them I thought more of a concept where it would be a neat idea to write in some sort of a timeline. It [the album] starts out kind of sixties sounding and dark at the same time and then the album gets more life and even seasonal, and I just heard that in all the beats. I asked him what he thought about Time:Line and he thought it was dope.

Q: Dancing with the Stars is my favorite track, Nic where did the inspiration for that beat come from?
Nicolay: To be honest with you, it was one of the last things we kind of did. There were two things going on. On the one hand Time:Line was going on and Foreign Exchange was going on on the other side. I was really just pushing for a newer and more developed type of sound both in terms of like the timing, tempo and the meter as well as the musical ideas and the cords. I was trying to go really-really deep and realize the potential that everyone has musically. It was really an effort to no longer look at the restrictions of the genre and just dig deeper and really pull the album off. That particular track I sent to Kay and I was like, if you can do anything with this be my guest. All the characteristics of that track are something you wouldn’t expect on a hip hop album because it was quote un quote different, and that’s what made it work. It has that sort of ethereal feel like at the end of the album plus we were looking for a way to end it and we needed the album not to end on a down note, and it didn’t have to be a Hollywood ending but it had to end with an uplifting message.

Q: Kay before the album came out you went on Youtube hard and explained all the different inspirations you got for the album, did you feel like that was something you had to do because some people would miss the point or the concept of the album?
Kay: A lot of it had to do with people don’t know me and generally the way people do their thing is that people try to do their swagger songs etc. To come out with a conscious record, we just thought it would be smart for me to come out and explain what we’re doing and then introduce them to me. We kind of mobilize the normal people, like the Tribe heads.

Q: What is it about each other’s craft that gets you both excited to work together?
Nicolay: What’s exciting for me is that I’m not working with someone who just spits a verse and then bounces. I never really have to push him to come up with a tight verse, and he thinks about it from a real song perspective and an arrangement perspective. It’s easier to work with someone who understands the concept behind the music rather than someone who spits a few lyrics and that’s it.

Kay: I knew he was super-talented but one of the moments I realized he was talented was on the “I’ve Seen Rivers”, where he started playing that guitar part and I was like, “Dude that’s it right there! Nic can say I’m going to make a sound and just do it, and to me that’s just live.

Q: What do both of you hope people will take away from this album?
Nicolay: To not ever settle for anything that’s less than exactly what you want to do. Whether they like it or not, that’s not really relevant, but anything that has happened a lot in recent underground hip hop is people settling for whatever they settle for rather than push themselves. I’d rather see somebody fall flat on their face trying to do something really-really crazy and it doesn’t work out instead of somebody sitting back and saying I’m going to get ten producers to get me ten beats, and they’re all going to be the usual suspects and I’m going to spit about how I’m dope and I’m great on the mic and that’s about it. We wanted to be different in the sense that ultimately we believe that it’s everyone’s responsibility not to go with half ass shit. One thing I hope people really understand is that we were trying to do something completely different.

Kay: Mine is real simple; I just want people to be like them dudes are dope. Straight up, that’s it. I’d rather just try something and it if works it works if it doesn’t, I’ll come back again. I can honestly say that if I’m talking about myself that’s something that I’ve went through and actually seen. Nic and I can try to take the simple stuff and make it beautiful.

Q: Nic you’ve been in the states four years or so right?
Nicolay: Nah, about two. It’s really weird how people in the states look at geographical location. When I first started talking about my plan to move; like when the Here album came out people were like yeah I can really hear that American influence, and I did it in the Netherlands way before it ever came out over here. There was one review in the Netherlands for the Time:Line album and they were like yeah that’s that American influence and I guess people really want to see how it changes someone, but I don’t think that it’s really affected me.

Q: To stay on that topic you’re from Houston, TX and the you guys are known for Scarface, U.G.K, and others but now the representation seems a little one sided.
Kay: I can say from Geto Boyz all the way up Scarface I really mess with those dude. Most of those guys really respect the art form I think its more the powers that be versus the artists. From the powers that be, it’s kind of easy for them to say that Southern music is going to come from these people and we’re not going to mess with the other kind of stuff because no one may support it there. So it’s like this kind of music we’re going to get from the Bay Area and this kind of music we’re going to get from New York and I guess it has a lot to do with the more corporate hip hop gets from a business aspect it makes sense but at the end of the day it’s about why are we doing it? Even if this album didn’t come out I’d still be asking Nic for beats.

Q: Did you always know you wanted to be a model?
Oh no, definitely not, it never crossed my mind when I was growing up. I always wanted to help others somehow but I never thought about modeling.

Q: How exactly did you get involved with the modeling industry?
A friend of mine, Tina Atiemo and I worked on the same TV show, she’s a designer and asked me to model for her collection. I accepted and got my first taste of life behind the lens.

Q: Were you ever shy going into it or were you immediately comfortable with it?
I’m naturally shy, and it was so strange initially. The photographer was like ok give energy, give me hot, I’m like, oh my goodness this is crazy!!! Now I’m at the point where I can switch it on when I have to, it’s a performance to me, very liberating!

Q: At what point did you know this is what you wanted to do?
When I started independently looking into the field, I had a natural drive to be better and explore my potential, I loved how versatile I could be and became passionate about it.

Q: You are a plus size model, was that ever a fear you had breaking into the industry, and with that, when did you get your first big break?
Well being a plus size model it was like ok, this is a whole new side of the industry, I had been used to seeing the Naomi’s and Kate’s of the world front major campaigns, but never plus size models, it was daunting I wont lie because modeling can be insecure, and I didn’t have many models to say, well she has “made” it so you can to. Definitely faith over fear. With regards to my big break, it would have to be appearing in Pride Magazine, a UK based woman’s magazine and I was all over the country, it was a special moment, I have that page pinned up.

Q: What advice would you give to other aspiring models that are plus size?
Stay focused and stay secure. There is a market, for plus size models, do your research, never totally leave your career development in the hands of other people, but are totally committed to pushing yourself. Beware of scams, it’s hard when you want something so bad and it doesn’t seem to be happening but patience is key. Understand the nature of the game and play to win.

Q: Talk a bit about the in-depth education and degrees you’ve attained in addition to your organization Miss Plus Africa?
Ok, so I studied and obtained a B.A. in Politics and International Relations from the University Of Reading. It was amazing, really opened my mind to world affairs, the nature of political organizations and society, definitely an invaluable experience. I studied Politics because I wanted to be an instrument of change, and in many ways I’ve done that with Miss Plus Africa. My co-founder and I began the organization in 2006, not only to highlight women who are not always seen as typically beautiful but also to raise funds and awareness for Africa. Its especially close to my heart, as I said when I began modeling there was no major plus size model, and you want positive role models who you can relate to. We have had an incredible response from women who love the concept, and it feels great to have encouraged other accept their body image.

Q: In America models of color more specifically African-American women models are looked at more as sexual objects than for their beauty and brains, what is your perception is any of how women of color are perceived overseas versus in America?
Unfortunately, when you see a woman on the front cover of the latest information technology or car magazine in a bikini and smile you realize it’s not just an American thing. People love to place women in a box, she can stand there and look pretty and we don’t need her input because it’s not that important! It happens all over the world, not just the states. It’s something that’s almost force fed at times, I don’t think there is anything wrong with celebrating a woman’s shape and allure, we are all aware that women have more than just looks on our side. It’s just unfortunate at times when you have young girls and boys only seeing one type of beauty and image. It’s not a reflection of a women’s place in “real life.”

Q: Great answer… since you’ve conquered the fashion industry what’s next on the agenda for you?
I want global domination!! Teiko Dornor — it’s a brand name people! Ha! Well – I’m glad you think I have conquered the fashion industry, but there is a lot more I want to achieve; to continue to show that it’s not about plus size or regular size models, it’s about recognizing a beautiful woman, about allowing your mind to see outside the box. Of course working hard to make Miss Plus Africa a success, it’s in Washington D.C. this year so a lot is hard work is going towards making that a reality.

Q: Great I’m here in D.C. so we can finally meet. Is there anything else you want to say before we wrap this up?
Yes indeed, can’t wait to meet you in person. Before I wrap up, I want to encourage anyone out there chasing his or her dreams. Stay focused in whatever field you are in, don’t allow fear or self doubt hold you back. As Marianne Williamson said, “You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world” and as Teyana Taylor says “Google Me Baby” Teiko Dornor that is!

For more information about Teiko Dornor please visit www.myspace.com/teikodornor