I neva read this b4, I'm digging this except the Mary J Blige dogging part:

A Do Right Woman: An Interview with Jaguar Wright
Karu F. Daniels


Jaguar Wright is too many things -- literally. She's an artist, a wife, a mother, a survivor, a homegirl and most importantly, the latest songbird to fly the coop from Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love." Jag's autobiographical debut, Denials, Delusions and Decisions (Motive/MCA, which dropped Jan. 29) is a provocative brew of soul and incisive lyrics that will hold its own among the commercial successes of her musical cohorts like the Grammy award-winning rap band, The Roots, and multi-platinum-selling wunderkinds Jill Scott and Musiq Soulchild.

While the rest of the world is still trying to figure out if there's something magical in the Philly water, Jag insists that she wouldn't dream of living anywhere else. "I couldn't leave [Philly] to save my life," admits the 24-year-old classically trained singer and songwriter. "I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

Jag doesn't have to travel far especially when her brawny "gutsy broad" demeanor has won her a cult following from coast to coast. In addition, her vocal prowess invokes the spirits of the late Ella Fitzgerald and the eclectic stage power of 70's soul vixen and godmother of rap, Millie Jackson -- soul sisters who weren't afraid to let people see them sweat. "I don't pull any punches and I keep it real," she explains. "That's what makes me different because I say what other people are afraid to."

ESSENCE.com let the tape roll while Jag opened up about her liberal use of profanity, surviving abusive relationships and being compared to label mate Mary J. Blige.

I love your album. It's very gutsy and raw. So raw, that you've been criticized by some for your use of profanity. Do you think it will hinder your progress in the biz?

That's what I sow and anybody who knows me knows I'll cuss you out in a hot minute, but if I need to sit down and talk sense to you, I've got a vocabulary and I [can] use it very well. My album is all about the denials, delusions and the decisions that we go through in life. I tried to pick the stories from my life that I thought people could relate to. I don't make music for children. There is a clean version for kids, but I make grown folks music because I'm a grown woman. I'll be 25 this year; I'm having my second child; I'm married; I got a mortgage and two cars. If kids can pick up something from my album, then that's cool, but it's not meant for them.

Philadelphia has the industry on lock with the success of acts like Jill Scott, Bilal, Musiq Soulchild and The Roots. What's up with this resurgence of The Sounds of Philadelphia?

You know people ask me and all I can say is it's always been there, we've been there, but we lost our time. We had our slot and we lost it. There have been brief peaks here and there, but I think when success hit Philly the way that it did, a lot of people got selfish and started harboring things for themselves. It became very clique-ish in Philadelphia. What I've learned is that after being left out of the game for so long, we did what we should've been doing all along -- living up to our city's [moniker] and getting back into that "brotherly love" spirit by doing music together. You don't know how proud I am to look and see people that I call my friends -- that are not just my co-workers -- building an era together. It's amazing!

You recently nabbed a commercial deal with Coca-Cola. That's remarkable because you're relatively unknown to mainstream America. Tell me about your involvement and what the deal entails?

Like everything else in my life, the Coca-Cola deal was completely unexpected. You never know who's watching and that wasn't nothin' but God. I'm telling you, God got some plans for me because he's hooking me up. Coca-Cola has been extremely supportive. They say that they're happy with the commercial. The commercial is set up sort of like a Black Lily [the open mike session at the Five Spot in Philly where Jill Scott, Musiq, The Roots and Bilal jump started their careers] set. The Roots serve as my band and they announce me and I come out singing "What If" from my album. The commercial drops the first week of February. So that kind of makes me a Coke spokesperson.

How do you feel about the comparisons to your label mate, Mary J. Blige?

I knew that was going to happen -- it was inevitable. I've been compared to Mary J. Blige, but I really don't see the comparison. I understand why they do it and at least they didn't compare me to somebody who didn't sell records. I can't complain about that because the girl is successful and hopefully some of that good luck will rub off on [me]. She has done what she has done, but she's not me. I'm not trying to be cocky, but nobody can compete with me because in order to compete with me you would have to be me. And I'll be damn if I'm going to let somebody else be a better me than me.

Have you two had the pleasure of meeting?

Our first serious meeting was at the Jay Z rehearsal for his MTV Unplugged show. I think it could've been a potentially bad situation, but I'm a professional and I gave her respect because she's a veteran.

So how did you escape a "potentially bad" first encounter with the queen of hip hop soul?

It's no secret that Mary J has been known to have a nasty attitude and I ain't no easy customer -- I ain't no pushover. She came in looking at me. I was not looking at her because I was there to do my job. When it was time to go over a certain part of the song where we had to open our mouths at the same time, I gracefully played the back. I said, 'This is your song. You did it with Jay. I think that what you do is incredible all by itself. I don't need to be all on top of that so I'm just going to throw in a little filler here and there because that's the way it's supposed to be and I'ma let you do you!' And she looked at me and said, 'Okay.' (laugh). So it could've been nasty, but I think I handled it very well.

Yes, you did. Now back to you… Congrats on your pregnancy! I've seen you live and your shows are always so animated. I was floored to see you giving the same energy in your performances despite your pregnancy. Are you concerned that being an expectant mother will affect the momentum of your career?

No, I'm not worried about my career because I am who I am. The only thing that's going to stop me is if the doctor puts me on bed rest. After my son is born (he's due May 7, 10 days before my birthday), Samuel Douglas Odom, Jr. (he's named after my husband) he's going to learn how to work at a young age because he'll be on the road with me. [Note: Jaguar's eldest son, Jovani, is nine-years old].

Being on the road can be tough, but I'm sure it will be great training ground for your son. What's the craziest thing that has ever happened to you while you were performing?

Oh goodness! One time at a Halloween show I showed up in an all black netted see-through dress and I fell over a speaker out on the stage (laugh)! My husband damn near freaked out when Bilal and me simulated sex [on stage] at a show.

Well, consider yourself blessed to have such supportive men in your life. Your album talks about being in abusive relationships. Do you speak from personal experience?

Yes, I've been in abusive relationships. I've had it all happen to me. I'll never forget when one of my boyfriends whooped my [behind] and literally threw me in the closet. For two days, it was just me and the hangers. I also had an ex-lover completely destroy my self-esteem. I've had men cheat on me and I actually tried to rationalize their cheating [laugh].

If you were to discover your man was cheating on you, how would you handle it?

I would ask him, 'Why?' first because that's the question nobody asks. Everybody is so worried about who, what and how you did it. I'm not saying that I wouldn't be hurt, but I would have to know how he felt about me, if there was anything that I did to make him cheat and if we could work through it. Now, if he continued to lie to me after that, then he's got to go. But if he came back with some really honest answers, then that's something to build on. I can't be upset with someone for making mistakes because Lord knows I made enough of them and I don't have the right to judge anybody. The question is, 'Why do they make those mistakes? What part did you play in that mistake? Is there a way for y'all to get past it so you won't have to go through it again?' Relationships and love take work. At this point in my life, I'm just trying to learn how to be more understanding. Understanding is so important because once you have it you can be at peace.

Besides cheating what is the worst thing a man can do to you?

The worst thing that a man can do to me is [lie]. I appreciate honesty because I was such a liar in my relationships when I was younger. I'm not going to say that I went around making up stories, but sometimes I did it depending on who I was trying to get something from or hurt. I broke myself out of that because [lying] is such a nasty habit. People who don't tell the truth are people who are not comfortable with themselves and the things they do and I promised myself I wouldn't be that way.

At 24, you've weathered some storms and persevered. What was your therapy?

I've had therapy, but what brought me through was when I looked at myself and said, 'You are so much better than this. What is wrong with you?' I literally beat myself up in the mirror one day and when looked at myself I hated what I saw. For five years I was too chicken and didn't want to admit it until I looked at myself and said, 'Stop being a punk!' I freaked out so bad that I went on a drinking binge for a week and a half. I went through my own self-intervention and when I came out of my drunken stupor I said, 'You are one of the most incredible people you will ever meet. Now show the rest of the world.'

And the world wants to know, 'Who is Jaguar Wright?'

I'm not what most people think. People see you once and they get an idea of who they think you are and I surprise a lot of people. What they don't realize is that I'm a humanist -- I love people, life and living. I truly enjoy learning from people and only hope that my life will be a decent representation on what striving for something good is.

It's weird for me because here I am, a street girl from the projects and straight ghetto from the heart -- Kool-Aid, mayonnaise sandwiches and all [laugh]. At the same time I know what it means to be rich in life, spiritually, emotionally and financially. I also know what it's like to be spiritually bankrupt. It's all a simple twist of fate and it's a continuous repeating cycle. We all have to learn to make good decisions. I'm also smart enough to know that life is funny and there are so many lessons that we learn and so many things that we miss when we don't pay attention.

I'm just trying to find my way through. I'm trying to be a good mother to my kid, a good wife to my husband, a good daughter to my parents and a good artist. I'm just trying to move forward and do whatever business God has [planned] for me. I'm in a hard business where women get the short end of the stick all the time and so far I've been treated fairly decent. I'm just thankful to be here rockin' and rollin'.

Karu F. Daniels is a New York-based author, entertainment columnist and media specialist. He has contributed to ESSENCE, Vibe and The Source.

©2002 Essence Communications Partners. All Rights Reserved
[This message was edited Wed Dec 17 11:49:24 PST 2003 by Harlepolis]