ANGELIQUE NICHOLE  (January 2009) | Interview By: Jonathan Hay

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Interview was done in December 2008

Questions Asked By: Jonathan Hay & Sabrina

Angelique Nichole Gave Dubcnn.com A Special Shoutout! Check That Here
 

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Angelique Nichole Interview
A Woman’s Touch (The Special Dubcnn Series)
By: Jonathan Hay & Sabrina
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Dubcnn: What are you working on right now?

Right now I'm recording my album, titled, Finally We Meet. I have a few songs recorded so far and all the songs and concepts are together, but I haven't got the right productions yet for my songs. I get tracks all the time from producers, but the music hasn’t been able to orchestrate my thoughts and words. I'm also working on a blog called “You Gon Love Me” where young women can come, ask anything, and not be ashamed -- where they can speak their thoughts out loud

Dubcnn: Who do you think is the greatest female mc of all time?

Besides me, I'll have to say MC LYTE and Roxanne Shontae, because Lolita Shontae Gooden is my big sister, so she's definitely on the list…and she didn't take shit. I like Foxy, she's good, I like Lil Kim’s album she did when she went to jail -- that album was a great album, she showed out on that album. I have respect for all female MC’s because it’s hard and to get past all the bullshit you good, just on that.


Dubcnn: Describe your music…

My music is a true musical documentary of my life and my everyday life experiences. It’s the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. It’s a roller coaster ride that’ll take you on twists, dips and make your stomach drop; it’ll make you wanna laugh at times and scream at times -- you’re not sure if you just had the best experience of your life, or the worst experience, but you’re willing to get back on again and see.


Dubcnn: How did you link up with Drumma Boy?

I met Drumma Boy on a three-way call over the phone and we clicked instantly and stayed in touch. We said we were going to work together -- this was way before he was the
Grammy Award Nominated Drumma Boy he is today -- and he ended up doing three songs for my album. Drumma is so focused and musically talented – Oh, he raps too, sorry, Drumma, I had to put that out there!


Dubcnn: Who are you currently working with…any major collaborations?

Well, I don’t like mentioning people and hoping it sells the album [laughing] but I reached out to Lyfe who is a good friend of mine through my ex man. He has a very emotional soul when he sings and I know he can pull this particular song off I have in mind…


Dubcnn: When is your album dropping?

Dropping? You should ask when my album is rising [laughing]. My album will take off mid 2009. So beware ‘cause ya’ll are going to see what took me so long! It’s been some time in the making but mid 2009 we can shake hands and Finally We Meet.


Dubcnn: There is a lot of pain in your lyrics -- what it the reason behind that emotion?

I had a very tumultuous life as a child. I had to endure shit that grown people have yet to endure, imagine [being] a child and experiencing things that a thirty year old has yet to experience…I did all that at eight. I had to depict my life in five minutes and I had to tell the truth, so basically I sat down and rewound the tape of my life. I hit ‘play’ and recited my early life experiences in a song. I had to keep hitting ‘pause,’ ‘fast forward,’ and ‘rewind’ to make sure I depicted the parts that would make sense for “You Gon Love Me.” No matter how painful, how bad, no matter who may have been offended or hurt by this I had to tell the truth, I had to be true to myself. Imaging reliving those emotions over and over until you get the song the way it had to be. I broke down and cried, I smiled, I threw fits, but I got out of me what I needed to in order for this to be the right script for the right soundtrack. And I feel I did just that. I had to deliver me, raw and uncut, and that was non-negotiable.


Dubcnn: In your song, “You Gon Love Me,” you talk about your mother leaving -- did this really happen? Can you explain the lyrics in the song?

This is a true script of my life, nothing is fabricated. Yes, my mom left me when I was a child. She didn't know no better, she was just a child herself, so I hold no hard feeling towards her. But thank God for Section 8 ‘cause my mom had it and it paid the rent where she left me to reside. I tell people all the time that section 8 was the best thing since candy. I had a roof over my head and the rent was paid on time so I never thought that I would be without a home, but in exchange I had to be without a mom. The lyrics are of a young child being brought in this world by a child herself and experiencing Hell before she even knew what Hell was -- a child who had to learn how to be a woman before she learned how to be a child, a child who had no GPS but had to find her way through life. This child got lost a few times, hit a few speed bumps, but eventually, she made it to her destination. It took her a minute but she made it. Thank God.


Dubcnn: Tell us about working with Lil Mo?

Lil Mo is a sweetheart. I met her through a mutual acquaintance, I asked her to get on the song, and she said yes. I flew her and Executive P to Atlanta. She was quiet when I first picked her up from the airport, but we got along good and we kicked it in the ATL before we went to the studio. I was looking for someone to bring great emotion and breathe life into the song, and I can say she truly blessed my song. I was like, ‘wow!’ I was in the studio with tears in my eyes! I thank her all the time. Thanks Mo Mo, love you and congratulations on your new deal! Sing your pretty little heart out! I always tell her that. But she is the truth on the mic and in the studio; she's very professional and very knowledgeable in the studio. To see my song come to fruition brought tears to my eyes…I was like, finally!

Dubcnn: You’ve said that you would sacrifice everything you have to get everything you want -- is there anything you absolutely wouldn't do?

I will to go to my grave to get everything that’s mine. I will live my life to the fullest before I live my life unfulfilled. I believe you can have everything you want, and as long as I believe that I'm going to get it, period. And that's non-negotiable! But I wouldn't sell p*ssy. I don't think n*ggas got enough to pay for my shit anyway. I wouldn't sleep with a guy I don't like or I’m not in a relationship with. Don't get me wrong, the p*ssy' s good but everybody can't have my shit. I am very selective on who I let get this. I ain't loose and can't no amount of money can make a n*gga trick me out my shit. A women is worthless to me if everyone can have her…how special are you? So ladies keep your legs [closed], everyone don't need to get your shit.

Dubcnn: What are your inspirations for clothes and fashions? Do you have a favorite designer?

I like classic, fitted clothes because the way I'm built, it has to be fitted. Not camel-toe fit, but shapely fitted so you see every curve of my body, but not see it, if you know what I mean? I don't like clothes with shit all over them like sewed on accessories, hell no. I like to hook up my own shit. Anybody who know me will tell you I go to the mall everyday and shop, unless I have something else planned. I know where all the good malls are in every city and how to get to them from my hotel. ‘Hi my name is Angelique Nichole and I am a shopahoilic!’ [Laughing]

No, I really don't have a favorite designer yet, but I like anything that fits me well. But I absolutely love shoes handbags jewelry and watches -- I don't think we have enough time in this interview! Move over, Kimora Lee, I'm about to out do your closet! [Laughing] I love Kimora Lee and Victoria Beckham for their sense of style.


Dubcnn: What are your thoughts on our President Barack Obama?

I think it was Obama’s destiny to be the 44th president. I don't think no one could have stopped him from getting in. He endured so must and came out unscathed. No matter what they threw at him, he kept his cool. How great is that? He handled himself with dignity and pride and I have the ultimate respect for him and his family. Besides Will and Jada, Obama and Michelle are my top powerful couple. They are what I inspire for. See, powerful to me is where you don't have to hide your love from anyone; it’s where the support system is so beautiful that no one can tear it apart, where love is built out of bricks and not hay. I think people who hide know that they shit is built of hay and if the wind blows they shit will collapse. However, when the foundation is solid and built out of brick, Hurricane Katrina can come in and your shit still standing and you’re like ‘WHAT!’ That's what Will, Jada, Obama and Michelle do for me. They make me believe my Prince will come for me on a white horse and love me for a lifetime and divorce is not an option. Good one, Will, I like that.

I want to go to the inauguration, but we’ll see. As of now, I'm going…if I don't have to go to court for kicking out the police window [laughing]. But I am glad I had the opportunity to witness Obama’s win, I will have a story to tell my unborn kids. Like, really, I took that day off from shopping to just sit still and absorb the moment. I did absolutely nothing but waited patiently for Obama to win ‘cause I knew he was going to win. There was no doubt in my mind and I didn't want to miss anything.


Dubcnn: Tell us about growing up in Cleveland…

I ran the streets doing things that were not in line with what a child should have been doing. I became a hustler at age eight and continued hustlin’ to this day -- just another kind of hustlin’. I was a very astute child, I skipped a couple grades. I was always very creative and artistic. My mind was and is always busy doing something. I never had a childhood, I only had adulthood. But I'm a big kid at heart, I love me some cartoons and cartoon characters.


Dubcnn: Are you a fan of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony?

Bone Thugs those are my boys, we are from the same neighborhood. I love their music when they are all together. Not so much when they are apart. They have this thing that when they all get together, it just flow. I just talked to Ant [Krayzie], the other day. He was suppose to show up for my video shoot but I don't know what happened, so I’m fuckin’ him up when I see him [laughing] but B [Bizzy], he's an interesting soul; he is very intelligent. I know a part of him the world will never understand, you have to be there to truly understand him. Steve [Layzie] is very cool, he has a lot of ideas. C C [Wish], I really don't know him as well as the others but when we do come in contact, he cool. Welcome home, Stanley [Flesh], you were truly missed.


Dubcnn: What is your current relationship status? Do you have children?

I am single by choice and everybody ask me ‘why don't you have a man?’ I tell them I haven't found the man I respect and, until then, I will remain single. I believe in fairytales so I will wait for my prince charming on a white horse to sweep me off my feet. Will and Obama are gone, so we have to wait and see. I do not have any children and will not have any unless I am married. I refuse to put any of my children through what I had to go through. I have a song on my album where I talk to my children, I can’t give it away. But I kid you not, I know how my children will look, I know how they’ll cry, I know how they will smile, I know everything about my children and they are not even here. I have their name already picked out and their nicknames, you know, black folks, we always have to have a million nicknames [laughing]. I have Angelique Nichole, which is my real name, ‘Lique’ which is short for ‘Angelique. ‘Liquebaby’ which people in the streets call me when they see me.. I have ‘Nikki’ that’s what my family calls me, which is short for Nichole. I have ‘Madam President’ for me being the CEO of my label. Last, but not least, I have ‘Adorable’ when I poke out my lip when I'm being a spoiled brat. So just image my kids’ names.


Dubcnn: Is there anything you want to tell the women reading this?

Can't no one stop you from getting what's yours, but God Trust. And if you need proof, I am living proof of what God can bring you through.


Dubcnn: Any Final thoughts for Dubcnn?

Finally, We Meet.