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Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 23:40:09 -0500 (CDT)
From: melissa <1nation@gnofn.org>
Subject: soul-patrol: Essence Report #3--Artist Formerly Known as Vanity

OK, here's my last Essence Fest, New Orleans, installment.
But I was lucky to see avery rare treat, a speech from Ms., or should I say
the Reverend Denise Matthews, formerly known as Vanity. I figure some Prince
fans and anyone who remembers Vanity will be interested to know what's
happening with herthese days.

.....www.essence.com. It's billed as a
"party with a purpose," featuring the "party" (music) at night in the
Superdome, and the "purpose"ful empowerment seminars during the day.
Here's where "Vanity" comes in -- she was not a performer, but one
of the empowerment seminar speakers. And from here on out, I'll be
referring to her as Denise (her original name which she has "taken back").
She's asked us all not to call her Vanity anymore because as she pointed
out, Vanity stands for nothingness, and we wouldn't want to call her that, would we.
(First some background. I realized that not everyone knew who
"Vanity" was. After she was introduced, someone behind me asked "Just who
is Vanity?" She was the leader of Prince's girl-group offshoot Vanity 6,
a group that sang some pretty suggestive stuff for 1982 (hits included
"Nasty Girl" and "Drive Me Wild") and danced in negliges and underwear.
"Vanity" later released a few solo albums for Motown (remember "Such a
Pretty Mess?") and acted in movies like "The Last Dragon" and "Action
Jackson," in addtion to many other low-budget B movies. She also posed
for Playboy.)
As many people may have seen over the years, either in Ebony
magazine or the VH1 "Where are they Now" special, Denise has turned her
life to God and is now a certified evangelist. While everyone who went to
hear Reverend Matthews speak at the "Overcoming Life's Challenges" seminar
knew her life must've been filled with sin, no one knew exactly to what
extent. When she finished, there was not one dry eye in the place.
While her testimony was no more poignant than any of the other
speakers (including young AIDS patient/activist Hydeia Broadbent who you
saw on the Essence Awards), when Denise came onto the stage she
immediately seemed to overshadow everyone else. She wore a blinding lime
green pant suit that covered her from head to toe with not so much as a
portion of her neck showing. She is still stunningly beautiful, and wore
her hair up in a bun. While waiting her turn to speak, she routinely
shouted "yes Lord" during the other panelists' testimonies. And when it
was finally her turn, she barely waited for the moderator to finish saying
her name before she jumped up and shouted "Hallelujah!" repeatedly.
Denise began by asking forgiveness from the audience for
"misleading your children" with her music and films. (I could
definitely "feel" her here as I was one of the many girls in '82
who were mesmerized by that "Nasty Girl" video, way before Madonna
popularized public lingerie.) She then stated some
troubling facts like being molested and beaten as a child "until I was
bloody." She said she hated herself and thought fame was the way out at
any cost. She didn't give many specifics -- I don't think she mentioned
"Prince's name once and she only alluded to her hit song "Nasty Girl" ("I
used to sing nasty songs and do nasty things. I did films that . . .
Yuch!"). But when she *did* get specific, it was so sad that I had to
fight back tears.
She talked about needing drugs so bad that she was reduced to
crawling on the ground to look for fallen cocaine rocks. Her drug abuse
cause her to lose a kidney and she wound up in the hospital. She was so
sick that she lost a great amount of her hearing and sight and nearly had
a heart attack and died. Her blood pressure was high as hell--everyone in
the audience gasped when she said it was something like 200 over 190. The
doctors told her that it would take several, several months for her to get
another kidney. She detailed the doctors sticking painful needles "that
were this long (she stretched her arms wide) -- I kid you not." I think
it was at this point that she called on God because "who else could I call
on. Betty Lou and everybody else were there when I had the songs and
movies weren't there when I needed them. Where were they now?" As her
faith grew on her hospital/death bed, she seemed to know that a miracle
would come and insisted that a new kidney was coming for her soon. The
doctors thought she was crazy, but she told them "when I get my kidney,
you all will be coming to church!" Sure enough, her kidney arrived within
only a few weeks.
Denise says that she is very happy serving the Lord and scoffs at
others' suggestions that she reach people with her message by becoming an
actress again. "I don't want to be kissing on any man that's not mine.
You don't want your man kissing on another woman, right ladies?" she
joked.
She spoke, as she now does on a regular basis, to let people know
that if God can save her life, then he can work miracles for anybody.
"Everything that was not God was in me," she shouted. "Whoremonger.
Idolater. Psychic. I was all those things God hates. The Lord Jesus
Christ came in my life and, because of that, I overcame." We should all
be very happy for her. As the seminar moderator said, "R.I.P. Vanity.
Long live Reverend Denise Matthews."
I've set up a few pictures (only from the Essence program and
local newspaper--my candid shots are being developed) on my tribute to
Vanity 6 on my upcoming Bold Soul Sisters page. Just go to
http://www.angelfire.com/...tysix.html to see what Denise looks
like today. If anyone is interested in hearing her speech from Essence,
audio copies are available for $10 from a local company that is selling
the official Empowerment Session tapes. You can call 504-885-3596 or write
me and I'll give you the info. I'm not affiliated in any way with sales
of these tapes. I just want to pass along the info for anyone interested.
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