style because my clothes reflect my mood.
I like to wear what
I want. Believe it or not, I am not really one who dresses up to be seen or photographed and I don’t have a plan B outfit when I am going out or anything. I go with my first thought, which reflects how I am feeling on the day. Sometimes I’m in a denim, jeans mood, sometimes I feel like wearing a skirt or dress and other times I want to strut in high-scraper heels rather than be- ing in flats. It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her style daily!
Q Who have been the main women in your life that have influenced your style?
No doubt my mum! When I was younger, I used to watch her and my aunts get ready to go out. She loved her outfits, shades jackets and blazers. My mum had a shape on her – she was hot, really hot. Being a Senegalese Rastafarian, she was heavily influenced by the Jamaican culture and did the whole Buffalo Soldier look where she would wear cargo jackets and a pretty dress. Her locks were amazing and she always rocked her nails and her shoes were on point too! My mother always knows what suits her and is well put together. She’s hot! She my fashion inspiration!
Q You’re renowned for your skyscraper heels, how did you learn to walk in them and how many shoes do you own?
Can you tell I have a shoe fetish? I am a shoeholic! I am always buying new shoes! I love shoes because they make you feel strong and sexy at the same time. I just love shoes! I love stuff that makes you look and feel good. I have shoes that I can leave on all night, I have shoes that are just for the stage, shoes for the clubs – meaning not too high so I can dance and shoes for everyday wear. Being on stage a lot has also perfected my strut in heels. Hmmmmmmm… I have about 2,000 pairs. No! 1,500. Te ma-
jority of my beauties are with me in the States and the rest are back home in the UK. I know that’s crazy… right? But I am no different to any other girl and I learned to walk in heels from a teenager on a trial and error basis. Te more you wear them, the easier they become to walk in but I must also admit that I have been given a lot of tips from top models and Miss J. Alexander (America’s next top model), he’s the bomb! My secret to wearing heels is that I al- ways use my foot massager – that’s my heaven – and if I don’t get to massage my feet aſter a night out in heels I think I would cry.
Q What would you say is your most expensive fashion item to date that you have bought that reflects your success?
Probably a pair of shoes [laugh] but I recently purchased a Louis Vuitton suitcase set because I am always travelling and I thought that would be nice! I bought it in Singapore as a reward to myself for all my hard work. I don’t really splurge on things like that too oſten, however I have learnt that you do have to reward yourself. When you get that cheque you learn to appreciate yourself, and see the value in what you do; this makes you work even harder. My giſts to myself remind me that at one point in my life I used to live in a garage but now I am blessed and I am thankful for what I have now and have achieved.
Q You oſten refer to yourself as being blessed and as a hum- ble person, why do you feel so appreciative and what
nurtures your faith? How physically hard to do what I do, how emotionally hard it is to do what I do and how mentally hard to do what I do as an artist keeps me humbled because it can all be gone tomorrow. I don’t have a B-side or a plan B. I live to do music. I was born
AUTUMN 2011 | NEW AFRICAN WOMAN | 11
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