Open Mic Presents… Amanda Diva (Interview Series Ep. 11)

Potholes In My Blog is very proud to present hip-hop extraordinaire, Amanda Diva to Open Mic Presents… Gracing the music industry from just about every angle, she has made an absolutely enormous impact on the hip-hop culture. She began her career with spoken word but soon moved on to magazine writing, radio, and television. Now with her latest endeavor, she has taken on the the title of recording artist, first as one half of the group Floetry, then her solo debut Life Experience EP, and now her upcoming EP, Spandex, Rhymes & Soul. Join me as I kick it with the lovely Amanda Diva, getting the inside scoop on her latest career moves!

Official Website
Myspace
Blog
DivaSpeakTV

Here is a preview, hit the skip for the full feature…

Reyn: Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions Ms. Diva, how are things?
Diva: Things are promising!

Reyn: The new EP is about to drop, Spandex, Rhymes & Soul. A very different sound from prior releases. Talk about the inspiration and maturation from your first release, Life Experience EP.
Diva: I appreciate you using the word “maturation” in describing the sound because that’s exactly what it is.  The new sound very simply comes from growth.  Me getting a greater  sense of who I am and more aptly how to have that resonate through the music.  I was in a different place with “Life Experience.”  Definitely a more “heady” space where in hind sight I feel I was over thinking how I presented my thoughts.  On this joint I come from a more “to the point” place, which, for anyone who knows me even a lil bit, knows is the essence of Amanda Diva. (laughs) I’MA BOTTOM LINE BROAD!  In addition to all that, I just feel like singin’ man.  So I’ma sing.

Reyn: The production on the EP caught my eye. Some excellent producers, but I found it very interesting that The Cool Kids member, Chuck Inglish had a few beats on there. How did you link up with him and what does he bring to the table?
Diva: I linked up with Chuck originally when sitting on a panel for CMJ.  We were fast friends.   I was on The Cool Kids bus for the last stretch of the NBA 2K Tour and we were of course talking about music and he was like, ‘Yo, top of the year.  Come to Chicago.  Let’s work.’  I wasted no time and on Jan 8th I went to the Chi and stayed with the boys for four days.  Recorded 3 records kept 2.  Chuck is far more versatile as a producer than folks know.  Most are familiar with his 808 heavy  80’s sounding production that The Cool Kids rock on but I said specifically, “Don’t gimme no Cool Kids stuff! (laughs)” and he delivered.  He brings a very alternative yet still hip hop sound with this production on the album.  It definitely brought a new element to my sound and brought something fresh outta me.  That’s always the goal.  Going to a new level.

Reyn: Along with your solo work, you have also been doing some features, most notably on Q-Tip’s recent single, Manwomanboogie, one of my favorite joints this year. What was it like recording, and then touring with the hip-hop legend?
Diva: Thanks! Well, Tip was my friend first before we began to work together creatively so we have a great dynamic.  I can’t front though, I did have an “OMG I’M IN THE STU WITH TIP” moment.  In touring I had that moment again at least once (laughs).  The best part about working with an artist like Tip is being given the opportunity to rock with someone who is a legend and not only takes their craft and the process seriously but takes you as a burgeoning artist seriously as well.

Reyn: Can we expect to see Amanda Diva working with Marsha Ambrosius again to record a new Floetry album?
Diva: I highly doubt it’d be to record a new Floetry album, but I’m sure we’ll soon work together musically in some capacity.

Reyn: I notice that a lot of your music is hard to box into one genre or form, it does not really conform to any one type. How do you go about finding your sound? Do you sometimes find it difficult when people try and box your music?
Diva: I loathe being boxed in.  I really just wanna do whatever I want musically.  I know that’s a tall order but I love so many different kinds of music, and have such a wide range of emotion, I can’t be limited to just hip-hop or just soul, etc.  As a visual artist I use different colors, mediums, techniques, to express and music is no different.  Think of genres as different techniques like collage, acrylic painting, charcoal, an so forth.  Some visuals are better expressed through one medium than the other and in music I apply the same thinking.  I tell producers my sound is limitless.  It’s just ‘whatever I like.’  Some might say that’s a bad idea but without constraint is the only way I want to make music and the only I will.

Reyn: Before your career as an artist, you emerged into the mainstream as a journalist working with MTV, XXL, Sirius Satellite Radio and more. Did you always want to be a journalist or was being a musician always your dream?
Diva: Well I actually started as a poet doing spoken word in slams, at venues/colleges/universities across the nation and Def Poetry before I got into the journalist side.  So I actually was an artist first.  But I landed the radio gig at Sirius right before I graduated from SUNY Purchase in ’03 and that led me down a different road.  The journalist side was an unexpected turn, but I am so thankful for it because it gave me a level of insight into the music business that I think every artist could use.

Reyn: What was your first big break in the music industry?
Diva: I would say replacing Natalie in Floetry was the first substantial career changing break.  Until then, I had stumbled upon some great opportunities but that was the first time folks got to really see, ‘Oh wow, she IS a real artist.’  That was very important to me.

Reyn: When did you find the opportunity to take the jump from being a journalist to becoming an artist?
Diva: It wasn’t even an opportunity really.  It was never a plan.  Some think I had this underlying subtext throughout my radio/mtv years that I creepin on a come up but it wasn’t that at all.  It wasn’t until the top of ’06 that I ended up starting the journey to “recording artist.”  I was hella depressed for the vast majority of ’05.  I had graduated with my master’s from Columbia.  I had left MTV2 and I felt like I had no purpose.  I had achieved two of my life long dreams and it was like well, what now?  I’m not someone who likes to be a feather in the wind and that lack of a goal to drive towards had me all screwed up.  New Year’s Eve ’06 I said, ‘aight.  Stop cryin all the damn time.  Let’s figure this out. Go back to the beginning.’  I ended up picking poetry back up. Did a show at the NuYorican.  The house band said they’d like to record with me. I went in my first studio booth to record a song I’d written and here we go there we go!  Since then I always feel like in life, if you get lost in the labyrinth the best thing to do is just go back to the beginning and try another route.

Reyn: How much of your musical success can you contribute to your relationships and contacts you have created along the way?
Diva: When people ask for advice on making it in this industry I tell them the number one thing is “Don’t be an asshole!” So much of my ability to navigate these murky waters has come just from the fact of folks genuinely rockin with me as a person of character and believing in me.  That’s not to say my route has been easy, far from it, and I have a LONG way to go, nonetheless, I can definitely say that though I haven’t been able to skip any steps but thanks to them I’ve been able to speed them up.

Reyn: Your music has allowed you to perform and share the stage with several amazing artists. What was your most memorable moment on the stage?
Diva: My first time rockin with ?uestlove.  It was at Black Lily in ’07.  Because it was in that moment that I realized that my being a recording artist was no longer a dream but a reality.

Reyn: Now seeing the industry as a journalist and an artist, does being an artist help you be a better journalist and vice-versa?
Diva: Without question!  Coming from the journalist side you have respect for being interviewed and giving folks what they need for their story.  (You also know when folks are selling you short.)  On the artist side you have a better respect for the arduousness of being on the go all the time and having to be at 100.

Reyn: DivaSpeakTV is one of the highlights of my week! What is different about working on your independent Internet series as opposed to your work with network television and satellite radio?
Diva: Thanks!  What’s different is I can do and say WHATEVER I want!

Reyn: You have another TV series that has caught wind on KarmaloopTV.com. Talk about that program a little bit. What can we expect on that show that is different from DivaSpeakTV?
Diva: I really love “Diva Diva Ya’ll”!  I wanted to create another show that had its own identity but was still engaging in similar ways to DivaSpeak TV i.e. humor, up to date info, culture etc.  Also edited by Lyn-don McCray (who does DivaSpeakTV) Diva Diva Ya’ll is more interview based with two main segments, “Put You On” where we bring readers into the world of someone/something they may not know about (visual artist, recording artist, a new store/clothing line, etc.)  and “The Chop Up” where I interview a more well known person but always shooting for the interview you haven’t seen.  In between that I bring more “real time Deev,” as I call it ,where I share comedic experiences from my daily life and we close the show with “Things I Learned This Week,” a Doogie Howser/Sex and the City narrative wrap up where I get my last jokes in and even a lil bit of wisdom if I can:)

Reyn: Anything else that I missed you would like to talk about coming up in 2009? Any other projects, collaborations, endeavors that we can look forward to?
Diva: Look for AmandaDiva.com coming soon and aside from those projects I am also a visual artist and will continue to sell my hand painted bags on Myspace.com/AmandaDiva and will be doing more participating in art shows and live painting events so look out for that!

Reyn: Thank you very much Amanda, good luck to you this year. Any closing words for the readers?
Diva: Thank you!  It only takes skin and bones to be a person, but it takes heart and soul to be an individual.