Mani does look like Vanity! They kind of put you in mind of Salli Richardson, the lady that played in the movie Im Going To Get You Sucka.

Moonwalkbjrain said:

ok that book had j.lo on it and it was the sexy issue of like 02 or 03 because it mentions ben affleck in it.anyways vanity's in there

PrimeraDama said:

So far your post has made the most sense.

In over 20 years, I don't think I ever imagined Prince using drugs, or alcohol. Drugs and alcohol just don't seem to fit his style. IF he did drugs - I don't want to know.

He's a talented individual and I have always admired him.

Thanks for posting a thoughtful and respectful message - it's refreshing.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

So they can relive the 80's. P could probably give a damn about Vanity and visa versa.

HumbleOne said:

That don't mean nothin' I don't believe Prince got anybody on drugs, but being around that stuff especially in the business he's in, that don't mean he's never tried the stuff. He just didn't let it control and ruin his life like alot of people in the entertainment industry have.

You're right he is a very talented individual, but even talented people can get caught up. (Chaka and Natalie Cole)

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

cus they all stuck between 1982 and 84 and havent woken up in 04 yet..

SnowQueen said:

yeah Jill's really aged, i mean she even looked older then when she was in family jamm which wasnt long before the disc came out.

does anyone know when or if her book blame it on vanity is comming out?

Moonwalkbjrain said:

"I am currently in the process of finishing my book Blame It On Vanity... Denise. I am so very sorry my book will not be published until my schedule slows down a bit. Jesus has kept me quite busy in His ministry across the country. However I look forward to birthing this project in God's time. I hope it will encourage and bless your lives" (Denise Matthews, http://www.denisematthews.com).

Also see: http://www.blameitonvanity.com

Since it looks like it will be awhile until the book comes out -- we've been waiting for years! -- here's a little something (including excerpts from the book):

DENISE MATTHEWS BIO

Former Vanity Healed and Transformed To Minister
PURPOSE MAGAZINE Article - Written by R. C. Bourena

She once had her own legion of adoring fans, but now she calls herself one of the "J.C. Fans". She used to have people worshipping her as a "sex goddess," but now she worships Jesus Christ and recognizes Him as her personal savior. Christened "Vanity" by The Artist Formerly Known as Prince in the early '80's, she now goes by her given name - Denise Matthews. Make that Evangelist Denise Matthews! A former actress and singer, Matthews is now a born-again Christian evangelist who ministers the Word of God around the world. Matthews' dramatic story will soon be chronicled in an autobiography titled, appropriately, Blame It On Vanity, which will be published this fall.

Matthews was born on the "wrong side of the tracks" in the small, bucolic town of Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada, to a White mother and Black father. Her large family was poor; she and her siblings traded hand-me-downs. Her childhood was chaotic. "I thought every home to be slaughtered with abuse, but the screams only sounded from this side of the forest," Matthews writes in her autobiography, which reads like a best selling novel. As the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction.

Matthews says she suffered severe physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her alcoholic parents. Her 44-year old father died when she was 15. "Death seemed to take forever in his own torture. For the first time, I felt free. I planned my escape immediately, "she writes. "Fifteen years of cruelty, and the prison doors were finally opened ... or so I thought."

After her father's death, Matthews says her mother plunged into alcoholism and attempted suicide several times. "I had been privy to see many a man beat and abuse her entire body," Matthews relates.

Declaring, "Enough already!" Matthews left home at age 17. The young woman had dreams of stardom and glamour, "what I later recognized as deceptive beauty." While working as a model, Matthews met Prince in Los Angeles. As the story goes, he renamed her "Vanity" because seeing her was like looking in a mirror and glimpsing a twin soul.

Matthews became the lead singer of the scantily-clad girl group Prince formed for Warner Bros. Records called Vanity 6, which had the hit song "Nasty Girl" in 1982. After leaving prince's camp in 1983, Matthews went on to record two albums for Motown and starred in movies such as "The Last Dragon"; produced by Motown mogul Berry Gordy; "Action Jackson"; costarring Carl Weathers; and "52 Pickup"; featuring screen legend Ann Margaret.

By the time she was 25, Matthews was using cocaine heavily. "I had found my way into the playground of the pearly white stuff called cocaine. Lifting me higher and dropping me like a steel beam. I'd inhaled enough rock so that by the age of 35, you could light me up, smoke me and stick me in the nearest cold grave. Easily, the devil had won me and readied my tired body for hell."

As her addiction spiraled out of control, the so-called "Vanity" continued to work in show business and camouflaged her secret pain.

"The reflection in my mirror was well enough destroyed that I covered it up with a little more make-up while the tears streamed down my limp body," she writes. "I sank into a depression, all the while wearing it with a smile. Fake ... yes. I was. There seemed to be no end to my demise."

Matthews hit rock bottom, consumed by her addiction and haunted by demons.

"I'd wept in every corner of my room while the death demon delighted in my misery. I awoke often to see devils crawling onto my bed and strangling me with an uncontrollable force."

The drug abuse nearly drove Matthews insane and almost claimed her life. Eventually, she had an epiphany and turned her life over to Christ.

Having no power, lying lifeless, I wept, crying out for Jesus. My truth had become lies, and Jesus heard my ill-forgotten promises. I had dug my own pit, as the Book of Psalms quotes, and fallen into it," she writes. "Until one sweet day, Jesus reached down with His long, extended love and pulled my wretched body to the surface. It was then that I was baptized in His name, filled with the Holy Ghost."

Matthews shed her stage name and took on a new identity, having been reborn through her newfound faith. She discovered salvation and hope "after years of child abuse, molestation, drugs and alcoholic parents ... stardom, fame, game, men, fortune, music, cocaine. Vanity, a small screen, Jesus the bigger screen.

" Matthews' evangelical fellowship is called Pure Heart Ministries, symbolizing her spiritual rebirth and the renewed purity of her soul. The evangelist says she thanks God every day for saving her from herself and giving her a new life."

Miraculously, Denise stands on the Word of God, preaching the Gospel," Matthews proclaims. "Who would have thought He would have chosen me to use my testimony of suffering in and out of the Body (of Christ) to minister to a broken people. Thank you Jesus, for a new heart, body, soul, mind and Your Spirit. So from highway to byway, I will follow Him and delight to please Him through my service to others."

During a recent interview from her home in Fremont, CA., Matthews spoke about her life now and her mission to help others by sharing her story of redemption. She draws an analogy between her struggle for salvation and the Israelites' enslavement in Egypt.

Matthews says the message she tries to impart, as an evangelist, is "not to go back to Egypt, to stay away from Egypt, stay away from the place that is killing you. Do not be afraid to worship Jesus Christ, to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ and know you're a child of God, and to endure. Know that God is with you and that He will never leave you."

The evangelist has a special message for young people about resisting peer pressure and standing steadfast in their beliefs.

"There's so much temptation. We're in the last days. (My Advice is) to stay equipped, fellowship and get close to people that are strong and read the Word for themselves. Without reading the Word for yourself, you don't really know what the will of God is. It's really important to stay in fellowship and prayer and fasting. And stand up for the truth no matter what."

A member of the Church of Jesus Christ for All Nations, under the leadership of Pastors Willie and Roxanne Harper, Matthews has left the entertainment industry to focus on her ministry full time.

"It's hard to be a Christian and stay someplace where you're not supposed to be. In the entertainment field there's so much going on, so much evil. Entertainment sells lust. It's all over our televisions today, and I don't believe in it." Matthews says firmly. "I don't believe that Christians are supposed to partake in anything that is of a nature that sells lust. The Bible speaks of it, so I have to stand by what God says. If I were to go back and make another film, that would be like taking a step down. I know the Word of God; I know my calling and that would be a step down. God said don't hold on to something that's not completely holy, so I'm not going to touch it. It's not right for me to curse, it's not right for me to kiss another man that doesn't belong to me, it's not right for me to take my clothes off."

Matthews' health problems stemmed from years of drug abuse, she says.

Nearly five years ago, "I had kidney failure in both kidneys. I had a small stroke. I was having a heart attack. I had trouble breathing. I had lost my eyesight and I'd lost my hearing. They gave me three days to live. But God saved me. The only thing I could do was ask Jesus to help me. God saved my life. I asked Him, I said, 'Lord, if you do save my life, I won't turn back. I won't go back to Egypt. I'll serve you.'"

I had only three days and God heard my cry. He said, 'If you cry out with your voice and I hear you, I'll answer you.' It has to be a certain cry, that we're serious. He heard my cry and He saved me." Matthews has recovered from her health crisis through a "beautiful kidney transplant by way of a miracle blessing by God. I see, I hear, and I press my way forward to become the best fisherman I can be."


Praying you Jesus! Praying you Heaven!