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ISYSS in Seattle, WA
listen/purchase:
Way We Do
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by
sirion@seaspotmediagroup.com
You
know them from their funky first Arista released single, “Day
and Night” featuring Jadakiss and their second hot track,
“Single for the rest of my life”. But what, or who, you don’t
know are the individual girls themselves. We got the chance
to meet them and find out who they were backstage at the
Nellyville, peep game.
After
reading the interview, you should have a better understanding
of who Arista’s hottest new feme-fatal group, Isyss is…Put on
your jacket because they’re cold as Isyss.
Seaspot:
Hey ladies, can you please introduce yourselves?
Isyss: Hi,
I’m Lamyia, I’m Quierra, I’m Leticia and I’m Ardena.
S: What is
the meaning behind the group name, Isyss?
I:
I.S.Y.S.S. means Intelligent, Sexy, Young, Smart, Sisters.
S: How did
all of you hook up?
Lamyia:
Well, we have family in the group: Ardena is Tecia’s aunt and
they were doing different stuff and kind of going through the
whole group thing and they met me through a mutual
manager/friend and then we met Quierra through our production
company (Billy Moss) MBM Entertainment and that’s how we all
came together.
S: How did
you all get signed to Arista Records?
Lamyia:
Tecia loves that story.
Tecia: Our
production company flew us to New York and we were walking
down the street in the rain for a whole week going to
different labels and our last stop was Arista and we chose
Arista.
S: Can you
all describe each other’s personality and then describe your
own personal style?
Quierra on
Lamyia: We call Lamyia the mother of the group because she’s
like the mediator. She’s the one who brings everyone together
like, “Now, now you guys”(she says in a mocking tone). She’s
also the oldest in the group. She can be very silly, like
when Quierra (talking in 1st person) gets her
start, it’s over, she gets really silly. It’s a domino effect.
Lamyia: I
like edgy stuff. I’m not too much into trends, it’s just
whatever I’m feeling that week. I might want to be all dainty
one day and then the next day I’m kind of comfy. So that’s my
personal style, it’s not really set to one style.
(“Constantly evolving”-Quierra adds)
Lamyia on
Quierra: Quierra is the shorty of the group. She is silly.
And when she gets going, she gets me going. She’s always
joking. She’s kind of like the doll of the group because
everyone wants to do up her hair and stuff (not us) but
everyone else. (I will not use the word for you today).
Anyway, she’s silly and has a light heart…and she loves psycho
movies.
Quierra: My
style is a little weird because I like a lot of edgy stuff but
then at the same time Lamyia will call me girly or “Chanel” or
“Jen” (J.LO) or somebody. I love clothes: edgy, girly,
whatever, as long as it’s cute.
Ardena on
Tecia: Tecia is the young one, the baby. She’s really trendy,
really hip really up on game as far as the latest looks and
all that. She’s a lot of fun to be around, she’s a sweet
heart…Always looking out for people, catering to people,
helping people out and she’s funny too. She has everyone
busting out laughing all the time, “she is a fool”-adds Lamyia
and Quierra. She is the “O.G. Comedian” she’s held that title
forever. She dances and everything. “Oh yes! There’s this
one dance that she does.”-The group recalls.
S: Show us
how you do it!
(Tecia
dances for us) (Everyone is cracking up) Quierra yells, “I
hate that dance!”
Her “dance”
was reminiscent of a fly that had been sprayed w/ bug spray,
who was having a seizure at the same time. LOL!
Tecia: Oh,
and I can fix anything.
Isyss: Oh
yeah, Go-Go Gadget!
Q: She’s
miss navigator, she could be a Thomas Guide, she can fix
anything and tell you where you are. Me on the other hand, I
wont be able to tell you where we are, wont know how to get
home or where the hotel is and she’ll have the nerve to get
mad at you, getting road rage.
Tecia on
Ardena: Ardena is the serious one, she’s laid back, and she’s
the cool one. (Lamyia adds- “But don’t use the word, “cool”,
please.) Tecia: Yeah, not cool like that, cool like calm and
collected. She’s nowhere near cool like, “Yo baby, Yo!” Q&L:
“Don’t let any slang come out of her mouth, it’s not for
her.” She likes to get down to business and make sure
everything is ok. Her style is whatever is comfortable. She
likes sweat pants as you can see, neutral colors. Anything
she can get comfortable in is for her. And I’m surprised she
even has shoes on right now.
Ardena: If
it weren’t so cold, I would have on some sandals.
S: Who are
your musical influences?
A: Michael
Jackson is the King of Pop, for real, everyone knows it, stop
frontin’ on Michael.
T: I love
Steve Wonder
Q: I love
gospel music-Kim Burrell, Karen Clark, Clark Sisters, and
Yolanda Adams.
L: I love
more performance-oriented people like Janet and Prince.
S: How does
your family feel about your success?
I: They’re
happy for us. Whatever we do, they’ll have our backs 100% no
matter what. As long as were doing what we love, they’re
happy. As long as it ain’t drug dealin’ or nuthin’ like
that.
S: Have you
all experienced a change in people’s behavior around you now
or people who used to not like you?
I: Not from
people in the industry but from people from back in the day
who didn’t like us. Now they try to be our friend. That’s the
only thing we run into and its like, “why does this have to
happen a lot?”
S: What do
you all do in your free time?
I: SLEEP!
S: Do any
of you have any hidden talent?
I: Quierra
can make a song with her burps. I don’t know if she can
demonstrate that for you right now.
Q: If I had
some coke I would.
I: Tecia
models, Lamyia, Quierra and Ardena all act, and Ardena could
be a Senator. –She wants to help the world.
S: Growing
up, did you ever think you would get this big (be on TV, in
magazines, touring, etc…)?
I: Yes, we
definitely knew it was going to happen. There was no other way
to do it. This is exactly what was going to happen, we knew it
and it’s happening right now.
S: How did
yall hook up with Jadakiss for your first single, “Day and
Night”?
I: We
hooked up with him through the producer who did the song,
Tyrice Jones. Tyrice is part of the Ruff Ryders camp so that’s
how it all came together. Jada was real cool to work with and
really down to earth. He’s like apart of our family.
S: What can
someone expect to hear from your debut album “The Way We Do”?
I: First,
it’s In Stores Now-a variety of different music, not one set
sound, very versatile. We talk about a lot of stuff that goes
on in everyday life, nothing too major or serious, stuff that
people are talking about and going through. There’s something
for everybody.
S: What
producers did you work with on your album?
I:
Shakespeare, Dent, Chad Elliott, Tyrice Jones, Billy Moss,
Chris Henderson, Aristacats, and Kandi from Xscape wrote,
“Single for the Rest of My Life”.
S: How is
the tour going and what’s next?
I: It’s
been good. Were going to be doing a lot of radio shows, Jenny
Jones, Apollo, TV appearances, and possibly another tour.
S: Are you
all single?
I: Yes,
were all single.
S: What are
you looking for in man?
I: Good
hygiene (no bad breath)-not smellin’ like onions! He has to
have a nice personality, intelligence, a sense of humor and
confidence but not cockiness.
S: Are you
all planning to release a 3rd single from your CD?
I: Were not
sure if we’re gonna drop another single but were going to
start work on the 2nd album soon. Were just
working on getting more TV appearances.
S: How are
you different from other girl groups out today?
I: We’re
just ourselves, and we don’t conform. We don’t want to compare
ourselves to anyone else. You do your own thing and what works
for you. Were not dissin’ anybody. If you’re happy with what
you’re doing, then more power to you. Were just doin’ us.
S: What do
you think it takes for a group to succeed?
I: You
never know what God has planned for each individual, you can
never say, “Oh, were never gonna break up”, life changes,
people change, attitudes change, as a person you evolve. So
we cant say, “all girl groups are gonna stay together.
Eventually, people are gonna change, when its 4 or 5 members
in a group you have to conform to one decision. But when
you’re by yourself, you grow. There’s no real advice for
that, people change and you get different experiences. You
never know why groups break up.
S: What
advice would you give someone looking to do what you do?
I: Have
patience, work hard, keep the music first-if it’s what you
love to do and stay focused, because it’s a lot of work.
S: What
would you like to let your fans know?
I: Thank
you for supporting us and getting us to where we are. It’s a
blessing to have even gotten our 1st song out there
and for people to like it. Were gonna keep making good songs
for everybody to enjoy.
Oohhh, Icy!
The
girls of Isyss are:
-
-Talented
-
-Down2earth
-
-Smart
-
-Silly
-
-Energetic
-
-Like your
homegirl
-
-Real
-
-A lot of
fun.
For more
on Isyss, Check out these sites:
Http://www.Isyss-online.com
Http://www.Arista.com
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