I’ve heard a couple of tracks you recorded by yourself on MySpace, are you working on anything solo?

There isn’t an official solo project as such, I’m definitely still doing Danity Kane oriented music but I’ve been doing some acting by myself. I did a cameo in the new film Stomp The Yard. I’m looking for larger parts at the moment. I’m writing in the studio as well with a writing group of mine called Girls Club which consists of myself, my sister and another artist. There are still talks of another Danity Kane project so I’m getting ready for that.

What was your experience like on Making The Band 3?

It was definitely something that I wouldn’t have expected myself to have done. The whole time I was like ‘wow I’m on a reality show.’ There were cameras watching us around every corner, when we woke up and when we went to sleep. There was a camera hidden in the lampshade or a microphone in the bed post. We were just striving for the goal at hand and not trying to be eliminated or enter conflict with people. It’s a trip because it makes you think before you act. You get self conscious and want to go to bed somewhat cuter but after a while you get tired and it’s like man, whatever. I was laughing at the stuff they made us do because it was high intensity. In a normal day they’re not going to make you do everything they did or talk to you like that. They try and get you to be emotional or cry. It was a once in a lifetime experience so I just lived through it and made the most of it.

Did you ever watch the edited shows when they aired? Do you think they edited them fairly?

I saw the episodes when they came on TV but I didn’t see the footage they had before. There were some moments watching the show where you think ‘I didn’t know I was that silly’ or ‘Oh, I sound really good.’ There were some moments where they cut and paste sound bites from a time before so it made a whole new sentence which painted a new picture of the situation. They were making a story so a lot of the time it wasn’t shown exactly how it happened. It was upsetting when they showed us at 5am after we’d been singing since 8pm the day before, so obviously it would be more difficult in the studio because we were tired. Everybody was looking for an outfit so why were they focusing on me like I had problem? A lot of the time we were upset. Television is a powerful tool and people believe what they see.

What about the episode when Diddy was telling you to lose weight?

It wasn’t exactly like that; there were a lot of things he said before that which added to the emotion of that moment. I was surprised he would come at me like that. He was looking at me like I had a problem, when I’m probably the one who’s most in shape of the group. I just have a different body type and he was discrediting that. I was like ‘do you want me to starve myself or what?’ I’m never going to look like the other members of the group. When it was a competition he never had a problem because there were girls more of my stature. This is the way I’m shaped. It’s my genetics, I’m an African-American female and that’s how my family line goes. It hit home in a lot of different ways because it was singling me out making me seem like I had problem when I didn’t.

It was a very emotional scene, what was going through your mind at the time?

It was done in an obscene manner; there were a lot of things that he said that weren’t shown. I wasn’t crying because what he [Diddy] said hurt my feelings, I was crying because I’m not one of those types of people who would let someone talk to me like that but in that moment I had to hold it back. I can’t believe I let it go by but someone in that position can make or break your career. You have the Caucasian females and they come like that but is he knocking the black girl when he’s a black man? He wanted a multicultural group with variety and diversity and this is how it comes. Every time I walk into a room people will be looking for what he was talking about. I’ve already been through the trials and tribulations of people nit picking over my body size. I really wanted to tell him off but I knew I wasn’t going to win that battle.

What are the positive things you’ve learned from Diddy?

It’s not things that he would necessarily teach you but I learned things from his example and things that he did. He’s a businessman so he’s thinking of how to capitalise everything. He knows how to market himself and keep out there. He can do something as simple as walk through a lobby and because a frenzy which proves he’s still relevant in today’s society. He knows which videos to cameo in and which artists to feature in his songs. He’s not a big talker so he won’t explain anything to you but you catch things by watching him dealing with people.

Do you hope to do more writing and be more in control with the next Danity Kane album?

Definitely, it was difficult for me being a writer and then being in a situation where I had to do what I was told. It’s not that I’m not good at taking direction; it’s just that those tracks were supposed to represent us so I wanted to be as hands on as possible. As long as people are going to be looking for Danity Kane music and my face is attached to it I want to be as involved as I can.

What are the biggest advantages of being in the band?

The biggest thing is that I’m able to do what I love to do to make my living. It’s good to know that this is the job that I have and can keep it going. I want to abuse the success to make more success.

 

What were your early days of trying to make it in the industry like?

My parents put my sister and I in dance school but they didn’t really expect that we would take on the love and passion for the performing arts in the way we did. They wanted to know what I had to fall back on but I didn’t like anything else but music. I’ve had a lot of jobs! I would try and make my jobs as close to having something to do with the entertainment business as possible. I called my mother crying almost every day. I was auditioning for as many things as I could to keep the money coming in because I was living on my own and wanted to be independent.

What kind of jobs did you have?

I danced at clubs and I was a coat checker. I would try and mingle in the clubs and give out my headshots. I was an intern for a radio station but they fired me. They fired me because I was using their phone a lot or I would get my co-workers to cover for me when I had auditions, they even clocked in for me. I also danced for artists like Bow Wow, Lloyd, LeToya Luckett and did some videos. I’ve even worked at a haunted house!

Do you think there’s still a lot for Danity Kane to prove as a band?

There’s always something to prove. It’s like going to the next level. Once you’ve mastered the beginner’s level you go on to the intermediate and compete with others while still aspiring to reach the master’s level and be respected. We’re slowly but surely moving up with other artists and producers of a high calibre. We’re about to go on tour with Christina Aguilera and that’s something else to prove because she’ll be standing on stage with her big voice. There’s always somebody waiting in the wings to knock you off your spot.

Official Website: www.danitykane.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/yagirldwoods

- Interview By Rashmi Shastri