AllThatsFab.com sat down with Cheri Dennis last week and, I must say, she is definitely a fabulous artist! We got her to spill her guts about her past, why her album is taking so long to come out, and even a little bit about how Bad Boy operates. She was extremely personable, and definitely one of our favorite interviews. In fact, I wish the whole interview was on video, so that we could properly capture her personality. She is definitely a lot different than what I expected her to be. Check out the fabulous Cheri Dennis interview after the jump!
ATF: So Tell us a little about your background and your childhood growing up.CD: I was a very normal girl, you know, but I was always involved in music. You know, church choir, school choir, and I was also in a singing group when I was a teenager. My childhood was very normal, you know, family functions, friends, you know high school hanging out. I’ve always been a bit of a wild child, but at this point, it is what it is. I’ve definitely always been bugged out, and aside from having the normal life, I’ve always had that wild streak in me. Growing up in Cleveland was very normal, and just life everybody else. You know, you go to school, go to bed, and get up and do it all over again.
ATF: Did you always want to be a singer? Or did you grow up wanting to be a lawyer or something like that?
CD: (laughs) As long as I’ve been me, I’ve been Cheri Dennis, the singer. I’ve always been involved in music.
ATF: So how did you link up with Diddy, Bad Boy, and this whole situation?
CD: I’m signed to a production company called Cozi Music, which is headed up by a guy named Jimmy Cozier..
ATF: I remember him. He had that song, “I Used to Love her”
CD: Yep. People don’t know that he’s a business man. He’s a great singer, but he’s definitely a good business man. He had a friend that worked at Bad Boy who invited Puff to a party, and I sat down next to Puff and sang over the music that was playing. That’s how he got interested in me and the deal talk started. So I mean, it was like definitely right place, right time.
ATF: Was that hard for you to do? Were you nervous to sing in front of Puff?
CD: No, I feel like my desire to have a record deal and the fact that I realized that I had the opportunity right in front of me superceded any nervousness I would have felt. Now if it would have been a situation where I had to walk my demo into a well lit office and sit across from him, it probably would have been a whole different story. At the time, I was very comfortable, because it was a party atmosphere. He was drinking, and he was having a good time with Kim Porter. You know, it was very light. The fact that I was in my element made the whole situation a lot easier to deal with. Had it been a real “MEETING”, I probably would have been a lot more intimidated. I can’t say that I aced it and I don’t get nervous, but it just that the dynamic and the atmosphere was totally my comfort
zone. If I would have had to walk into an office and sit there with [Diddy's] instense gaze, it would have been different. I’m glad I didn’t have to do all that.
ATF: You’re from Ohio, but you live here now?
CD: I’m from Cleveland, but I’ve been in New York for 10 years.
ATF: Are you like a party girl? Do you like to go out?
CD: I can be, but you know for my job, a lot of it is club stuff, you know, going out to red carpet events, etc. I’ve been signed for so long, so I’ve been to Diddy parties and all that. You’ve been to one party, you’ve been to all of them. I think I’ve exchausted the New York party scene for myself. My mom just recently moved to Tampa, so the last 10 months I’ve been going back and forth to Florida. I like the easy going, laid back atmosphere, and its definitely therapeutic after living in NY for 10 years and everything is so fast paced. In Tampa, there’s a balance. Its definitely more laid back and I can breathe. I would say, its like 40/60. I’m a party girl, but my career is definitely party influenced, so I don’t know how much I still enjoy partying.
ATF: Well I’ve actually seen you out and about before, at the Celebrity Spades Tournament. You seem very down to Earth, you’re not all into the V.I.P and whatnot. How do you remain so grounded in this industry where everyone can be so uppity and very “Hollywood”?
CD: Because being fabulous is wonderful, but being “Hollywood” is so fake and contrived! Its like, are you kidding? Are you joking? You’re taking yourself way to seriously right now. (laughs)
I mean, its not even something that I try to do, its just me. I can’t see myself being any other way. I know how I feel when that person walks in and is on that shit that you’re talking about. I know how disgusted I get when I see that, and I just don’t want to be that. I’ve already been programmed years ago to not be like that. Please, and when I go home to Cleveland, my grandmother is like “So tell me who you’re signed to again? Puffy? Is that who it is?” My grandmother teaches Sunday school classes and she’s so surprised that the kids even know who I am. To my grandmother, I’m still just “Love”. She’s just happy that I have a good job, and that I’m not in any trouble. Like I told you, I was a very wild child as a teenager, and I gave my parents hell. My family is just like very, whatever, and my cousin is still quick to tell me “Bitch, I don’t like that record”. For me its just so wack to be that. That “Hollywood” shit is played.
ATF: So let’s talk about the album and you’re song that’s out, “Portrait”. I actually heard it a while back, then it seemed like recently they brought it back again and it just blew up! How did that song come about?
CD: It was just one of those records. I wasn’t sold on it at first.
ATF: Why’s that? I know the producers, that’s why I’m asking. (Laughs)
CD: And I love K-Mack and Bless, its not the first time I’ve worked with them. I don’t think its reflective of everything that they do, because I love a lot of stuff that they do. “Portrait of Love” has grown on me, because it doesn’t sound like anything else that’s on the radio. With that being said, that was the one thing that sold me on the record. I’m a big Prince fan, and it gave me a big Prince vibe, and it didn’t sound like anything else on the radio. BUT…I don’t think that’s really my vibe, but people will get to see another side of me on the album. Even with “I love You” it was a very nice, cute, sweet record, but when people meet me, they’re like “what?” Or when they see the video and they meet me, they’re like, “You’re so not that girl that we thought you would be.” So, that’s what caught me off guard with “Portrait” in the very beginning. It was a very nice and sexy record (laughs), and I’m so like, yeah, I can be that, but I’m so different most of the time. It grew on me and, safe to say, a lot of the time, as an artist, the records that we don’t like are the biggest records that we have. That goes back to saying that as an artist, you can get caught up in your own artistry, or you can see things with a bigger scope. People have been liking the record, and that has definitely given me a confidence in it that I might not have had initially. It is so different and doesn’t sound like anything else, and in that respect, it is a reflection of me, because I’m sooooo…something else. (laughs)
ATF: Well, are there any songs that didn’t make the album that you wish had made it, or that you feel really represent you?CD: Definitely! There’s a song called “Piece of Work”. There’s a song called “Movie”. There’s a song called “Jealous Chick”. None of these made the album. I think those are records that they just don’t get yet. They don’t always get the bugged out part of Cheri. I think that’s also a lot of the reason that its taken so long for me to come out. When I first got signed, Puffy was like “You wanna be a rock star! Do you know what kind of music we do over here?” So, I think that those records are a little too far left for them to understand.
A couple of the left songs did make the album…
ATF: What are those, so we can look out for them when the album drops?
CD: Oh God! Umm, “Spaced Out” is one of them, “Waiting”, and “Remind You”. “Spaced Out” is definitely the one where they kind of looked at me like “hmmmmm” (laughs)
ATF: Is this album more a worldly album or is it more urban? What do you describe the sound as?
CD: That’s a good question because ummmm…How do I say this in a way that’s politically correct?
ATF: You don’t have to be politically correct with us!
CD: The early part of the album is a lot of the earlier records that Bad Boy picked. Those records definitely have a more “pop-y”, worldly appeal to them. The later part of the album is definitely a little bit more urban, more soulful, and definitely more me. I think we came to a happy medium with this album. I would not say that this album is reflective of what I do as a musician at all. This is an album where the label is happy, and I’m happy, but moving forward…Because at some point, I just had to come out because people have been waiting for so long. I think that second album will definitely be more of what I do musically, and the third album will be even more. That’s how its supposed to be, its a sign of growth. This album is just to show you that I can sing. I don’t think it shows you the depth of me at all. Had they taken off some of the songs in the beginning of the album and put some of the songs that I mentioned to you, it definitely would have been more reflective of what I do. In an ideal situation, I don’t want to sing songs that people have written. I would love to do my own music, and I think that I’m an artist that can do that. Some artists have to be given a vision and given a direction, but I am not one of those artists. I think it backfires when they try to give me a direction.
ATF: Have they forced that on you? Do you feel the vision that you have of yourself as an artist in your mind is being shown to the masses, or are they making you?
CD: I wouldn’t say that they’re making me, because I think they’ve given up on trying to “make me”. I think they’re very much like, this girl has her own thing going on, and somehow we have to just find a balance. But, I don’t think that this is completely my vision at all.
ATF: What is your vision? I’ve heard you mention that you like some artists like Teedra Moses, (Who I Like as well)..
CD: Yes, Teedra is the shit!
ATF: Yeah, I’ll go see Teedra Moses over Chris Brown. Its that deep.
CD: I think that Teedra is another one of those artists that if you try to give her a direction, it will backfire. She’s so much of who she is, and she’s so talented at expressing what she wants for herself, that if you try to give her something, it looks contrived. I think that’s also something that people see with me, that they’re like “We like it but….It looks like something that we’ve seen before”. I think that’s the safe part and the Bad Boy side of things that are going on. I think that when they let me be myself, people embrace me as an artist and my project. But, you know…..(pause) Y’all are gettin’ me to talking! You’re not supposed to do that!!
Now Kwasi [Bad Boy's Head of New Media] walks back in the room! (laughs)
I think that this is definitely a cool introduction to me. I think it will make people aware and get them to open their eyes to say “We’re interested in her.” Now that I have your attention, I’m going to give you the business! It was definitely a cool intro, we got it 75% right. I think with most debut artists, we don’t get to creatively have an ideal situation, but at some point we will.
ATF: A lot of our readers are really into fashion. Do you have any fashion fetishes? Like are you really into shoes? Jewelry?
CD: Yes! Shoes, you just said it! You hit it right on the nail.
ATF: Where are some of your favorite stores to buy shoes?
CD: Petit Baton (spell) used to be my place, but its been so exposed now that everyone goes there. You gotta kind of venture into other places. I really love shoes. At some point I’d really like to sketch and design shoes, and even have my own shoe line. I want to get into the fashion industry, but I have no desire to do clothes. Its oversaturated, and I have no passion for it. But shoes…Baby, I will walk it out!
I’m not too much of a makeup wearer. Lipgloss, moisturizer, and I’m out the door. I’m not a label whore either. I will go into a thrift store and buy a $2 shirt and rock it. Clothes have to speak to my personality. I’ve seen girls who are like, Gucci this, Gucci that, and they still be a hot mess, because they feel like like the label is what makes them the bomb. For sure, my shoes have to be on point because I feel that shoes will make or break an outfit. Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, even Steve Madden! If you got a nice pair, I will rock it! But, too much in the way of beauty, I am not.
ATF: Do you have any designers, or anything that inspires you? Is there anything that speaks to you?
CD: Its hard to pick out my clothes. The pieces have to speak to my personality. It could be Dior all day, but if it don’t say Cheri Dennis, I’m not wearing it. Stylists, if I’m not there and they give me the clothes, most of the time I won’t like them. There’s a store called Hot Topic, that’s like a goth store that all the white kids go to. Well, I buy my clothes there, and its guaranteed that I’m not gonna walk into the club and see the next chick with my clothes on. I don’t wanna look over and see you in my shirt! I will leave the party.
*Right here this is wear she shows us her colorful socks and all of her tattoos. She has tattoos all over the place! I really wish we had a video camera for her.*
CD: Its all about personality for me. Like, I love Kelis. She’s bugged out to me sometimes, but she’s KELIS! I love Beyonce, because she’s Beyonce. All the other chicks who come out with the long, glamorous hair are not Beyonce! that’s what she does well. Keyshia Cole is very hood, and thats keyshia cole. Her personality shows through. I can’t take everybody looking the same. That’s what gets me with Puff. Everyone has to have the mink coats, and the diamonds, and the long straight hair. I’m just like…
ATF: Its not you.
CD: No! I’m like, its J.Lo! There aren’t a billion J. Lo’s walking around! That’s just me. I’m myself, I’m okay with being myself and being different. I’m guaranteed the bigger I get to be on “Who dressed her?” Lists. (Laughs) I’m definitely going to show up on the fashion “missed” lists, but that’s okay with me. Just as long as people recognize that this is me.
ATF: Wow, it was important for us to do this interview, because now I really know how you are.
CD: Yes! Please spread the word! Let them know that Cheri is touched! (Laughs)
ATF: I heard you have a boyfriend. I want to know how your boyfriend approached you.
CD: He didn’t! I like men who pay me no attention, because in my industry, there are always men trying to talk to me. And its not always because they think you’re the prettiest girl. Sometimes, its just because you’re Cheri Dennis and you’re signed to such and such label. I like the dude that is sitting over there like, “I wish this bitch would get away from me!” I like that guy. I like him because it says a lot about what he thinks about himself.
ATF: Is it the big L word, or is it the small L word?
CD: Oh its the big L word. And all the letters are in caps! L-O-V-E! Its been about a year and half since we’ve been together. But you’re cute though. What’s your name?
(This is when she turns to my boy Ian. Ian blushes, and she proceeds to try to get his contact info. I can’t take it)
ATF: Well, thank you Cheri! (laughs) I appreciate it. Do you have any closing words?CD: I’m just hoping that the fans really like the album. I hope that you find a way to let them know that I really do like the album, but we’re in an industry of politics. That goes into album making, and it goes into creating projects. Its not always 100% what you want it to be. That’s not to say that I don’t like my album. I do like it, and I’m happy with it, and I think that people will be pleased with the album and I’m happy its coming out. People don’t know the history behind the records, I’m just explaining that to yall. They’re be listening with fresh ears, and I just want to thank them. I’m just really thankful to God that i’m in the position that I’m in, and i’m thankful that media outlets like me as a person and that people are embracing it and supporting it.
Lastly, you can hit me on my SayNow! player on my Myspace page. I leave messages letting the fans know what’s going on with me, and you can call me and leave me messages back. The phone number is 813-964-3817. Its an 813 number because I’ve recently been going to Tampa. I really want people to call me, sing to me, rap to me, tell me what’s going on with you. Just don’t leave me no crazy messages, because I will call you back, and I will give you the business!
Check Cheri out on her Myspace page!Myspace.com/cheridennis
