He Said, She Said Shalonda

Remember this?

In late 2009 we introduced you to our newest AUTHENTIC chick Shalonda & her mixtape Just Go. We had the privilege to chat with her last month about the radio, the random, & the real. Portion control is key. And we don't want to discourage your sexy. So push that cheese danish to the curb & nibble on the first helping of our three part conversation. It's filling. It's fat free. It's for you. Bon appetite.

Mikey: Thank you so much for agreeing to chat with us. What's one change you wish to see or hear on the radio & on music television?

Shalonda: I'd like to hear REAL music. And when I say "real" I don't mean that in a music snob kind of way. I mean that in a you can actually feel the music kind of way. Not just the beat. Intentional words, Intentional sounds. Honesty. Lyrics that call up memories. That make you think. Make you happy. Make you wanna break up or fall in love...it's just honest...based on what's played on the radio today, when people look back on this generation of popular music, they'll think we were in perpetual party mode. Almost everything on pop radio is about getting wasted and/or shaking your ass...and I don't think that's a REAL representation of what people are doing. EVERYBODY can't be at the club. C'mon son!

Mikey: What was your inspiration for the mixtape? Why'd you choose the songs that you chose?

Shalonda: I was actually working out when i got the idea. I was running the stairs in my apartment building when the instrumental for dj khaled's "i'm so hood" came on. For some reason, I started singing " 'round midnight." Then I started laughing, kept working out and brushed it off. Later that night I told my friend what popped in my head and he was like "You should try it." So I did.

There's a quote by Arthur Ashe that I always refer to when i feel my back is against a wall. He said "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." I can't even begin to tell you how those simple words affected me. I realized that the only thing i could do was use what I had at that very moment. And at the moment, all I had was some instrumentals, a mic and some software.

The craziest part of the whole process was that I had no idea what I was doing AT ALL. I had no idea how to even use recording software, how to set it all up, knew nothing about mics, preamps, nothing about levels, nothing about recording, nothing about nothing. I just went in and felt my way around in the dark and I actually got a mixtape out of the process. And learned a lot.

As far as the songs go, I wrote down all the jazz standards that I've come to love over the years. Then I started going through instrumentals to see what made me dance, made me sad, made me SOMETHING. I just picked things i could FEEL. Everything else happened pretty organically. Certain songs just made sense to me. I thought it would be dope to re-imagine these songs that I'd loved all my life over contemporary tracks.

Mikey: So what is your greatest fear?

Shalonda: I’m afraid of giving up.

TO BE CONTINUED...

'til then...stay AUTHENTIC. Check in next Wednesday for part two of the Shalonda interview.

Sneak peak:

Mikey: When did you know you had a gift to share or a story worth hearing?

Shalonda: I believe everyone is born with the same story to share, and that's LOVE...who knows---in ten years, I could be a glass-blowing trapeze artist. But the message is always the same.

Dawn Richard at Carson's Live: Putting Dallas on the Train tracks

AUTHENTIC!!! Mikey misses you so much. I am grindin'...check me out!

I'll be back sooner than you think:) 'til then...

"Show 'em how to move in a room full of vultures," blasted from the speakers of the Carson's Live dance floor on last Friday night. A truer sentiment could not have accompanied the demure Ms. Dawn Richard. One-third of the new Sean "Diddy" Combs trio Dirty Money, Richard's petite frame and new short haircut walked into Carson's Live without an entourage, without a show. As the night progressed, I would find out later that the pomp & circumstance that we've come to associate with many of Combs' artists isn't the first choice of accessory for this artist.

It was the last Friday night of summer, and none of us wanted to let go. We had new money in the bank, and Dirty Money was in the building. I ventured my way into the VIP section as the DJ rocked the vintage Bad Boy Records hit "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems." Barely out of a recession, the irony of the crowd bouncing to this song pulsed with our memories of better times. I watched as Dawn Richard posed for photos with her fans, even migrating onto the dance floor--with little to no security--to show love and appreciation for the crowd. She smiled and hugged club-goers. Her presence and warmth grew with each click and flash. Then it happened. Richard made her way to the stage to introduce the latest track from the Dirty Money project Last Train to Paris.

"Love Come Down," required no introduction. The heavy bass and bells prepped the crowd. It was time to board the Train. What was most amazing is the trance-like energy emitting from the speakers the moment the track began. "Babe," Richard sings, "you got me caught up in this love game/the funny thing is that I don't mind playin'/I'm in it for the win so what you sayin'/I'm ready..." And so was the crowd. "Love Come Down" features Richard and her fellow female Dirty Money member Kaleena Harper longing for love, the kind that makes you feel 'strange', Harper sings.

As I boarded the Last Train to Paris, my first stop was "Love Come Down." I handed my ticket to my conductor, Diddy. As I grabbed my seat, I saw a familiar face--Dawn Richard. Her honeyed voice assured me that though the ride would thump like 808s, the journey--the lyrics--would be worth the trip.

I asked her, "Is Dirty Money worried about alienating their core audience (i.e. fans of the hit television show "Making the Band" & the successful female pop group Danity Kane)?"

"No," she answered confidently.

This reply was not one of arrogance, but rather one of passion and a sincere trust in the talent and art of Dirty Money.

She went on to say, "If it's ten people that understand and love what we're doing...then that's ten people that will support us, that will love us. That's who this project is for. This is something new. This isn't commercial. This is not about numbers and sales. This is about a movement."

And move we will.

Described by Combs as an "electro-hip-hop-soul funk" album", Last Train to Paris is scheduled to be released in November 2009.

All aboard!

**Special thanks to Arthur Johnson & the Carson's Live personnel for all of their hard work and hospitality. Also, thank you to the event promoter AJ who coordinated a street-savvy event while still making it classy.**