Glam Squad + 20 Questions for Doll

Celebrity Stylist Saint of Saintes World Fashion is heading up my glam squad and I am excited.  Saint is high energy, detail-oriented, and of course fabulous with fashion.  He will be overseeing my looks at photo shoots, red carpet events, music videos, and more.  Early next year (just a month away – can you believe it!), I will post pics to let you see some of the looks Saint puts together for me . . .

Ok, let’s play 20 Questions. Well, not really 20.

I get asked the same questions over and over again, so I will try to answer a few FAQs here:

1. “Is Doll your real name?”

Yes, Doll is a shortened version of my birth name (Dolyta, that's "dah-LEE-ta", which if it were Spanish would mean "little Dolly").  I was named after my mother, whose name is Dolly.  People started calling me Dolly Jr., then just Doly (yes, one L), then Doll. The name stuck.

2. “Where are you from/what are you mixed with?”

Pretty frequently, people ask me if I am “mixed”, or if my parents are from another country. I don’t know if it’s when I wear certain hairstyles or what, but I have heard it all: when I performed in South America the people there asked if my parents were Latino or if I was Venezuelan.  I have been asked frequently if I am of Asian descent.  And, when I visited South Africa, people from wide-ranging parts of Africa (from Ethiopia to Zimbabwe) asked me if I was from Senegal or Somalia. How flattering, since some of the most beautiful people in the world come from these places.  (Don't worry if you don't see it . . . I don't either!) But no, I was born and raised in Atlanta.  My last name is French but I have no knowledge of any Creole lineage.  I do, however, have Cherokee blood from both my paternal grandmother and my maternal great-great, who were both known for their long jet black hair and high cheekbones.  That’s about all I know.

3. "What kind of music do you sing?"

I make music that moves people. My music is considered contemporary R&B, but it is a unique mix of international dance pop with a lot of funk and a kick of soul. You can hear my roots in gospel, blues, jazz, soul and classic R&B, plus pop, hip-hop, and funk in my sound. Along with singing, I write, produce, and arrange music. I am a self-taught pianist and I write songs on both piano and guitar.  In addition to the big dance-pop-soul tracks I am starting to be known for, I really love to do acoustic performances, just me + piano or a small 3-piece band, because I get to share my heart a bit more.  But all of my lyrics are a really personal glimpse into something I’ve experienced or something that women go through.  My music will move you—you will sometimes dance, sometimes think, sometimes cry . . . you may even be moved to make better choices in life, but you WILL be moved.

4. "Did you really go to Harvard? What was that like?"

Yes, I went to Harvard.  It was a great experience for me because, despite what you may imagine, I actually met a lot of people there who were just like me, who were from where I was from, who were creative, artistic, fun and loving life. My professors are famous—my advisor, Cornel West, was featured on MTV and in the Matrix trilogy … my department chair, Henry Louis Gates, did the DNA test for Oprah to find what part of Africa she was from, and he was the professor that got arrested in his own home in 2009 and ended up meeting with the cop who arrested him at President Obama’s request in the White House … Crazy.  Some of my friends from Harvard are famous: one friend Derrick Ashong had appeared in a Steven Spielberg film before graduation and now has a radio show on Oprah and Friends; another friend Ryan Leslie is a Top 40 R&B artist . . . But you know, some of my friends from high school are famous too so it’s not just the Harvard thing. Anyway, except for the snow, I loved Boston.  I spent most of my time up there singing, writing songs, and performing in shows, truth be told!  I was a model with Ford Models for a brief time up there, and got more involved with acting while there. But I graduated cum laude nonetheless !

Well, that’s it from my Diamond Mind for today.  Let me know what’s on yours.

Peace from The Dollhouse-->