Ms. Jade Purchase Girl Interrupted

Hey everyone, check out Timbaland’s new female impresario.  Ms. Jade a.k.a Chevon Young hails from the city of brotherly love, Philly, to rain down upon us the truth.  If you don’t already know, Ms. Jade is the hottest thing out, her original rhymes and crazy beats, funded by Timbaland, have put her on the track to be the next big thing out of BeatClub.  It’s a stick up.  After causing havoc in New York, wildin’ out on mix tapes, and tearin’ it up on the East coast, Ms. Jade finally had the chance to sit down with the Northwest’s “Industry Insider”, Sirion Sewll, to shed a little light on the heat she’s been bringin’.  Ms. Jade is my new favorite artist, and I hope she will soon become one of yours. 

Check out the exclusive chat Sirion and Seaspot had with The BeatClub/Interscopes’s own, the renowned, the sickest, the illest, the champ, Ms. Jade.

 S: Hey, wassup Ms. Jade. How are you?

MJ: Hi, I’m good. Thanks.

S: So, where are you right now?

MJ: Right now, I’m in a hotel, out in New York, waiting to go to the studio in about an hour or so.

S: Are you working on tracks for the album?

MJ: Actually, I’m just finishing up some little stuff for the album.

S: Ok, so your stage name is Ms. Jade, but what’s your real name?

MJ: My real name is Shaniqua Jenkins.  Sike!  My full name is Chevon Young.

S: How did you come up with the name Ms. Jade?

MJ: It came from Street Fighter.  It was Jade at first and I couldn’t use Jade, so I put Ms. In front of it and I became Ms. Jade. 

S: You’re from Philly, correct?

MJ: Yeah. 

S: What was it like growing up there?

MJ: It’s just home now.  Growing up there was just like, that’s where I was supposed to grow up.  It was like, everyone knew each other, from my neighborhood, which was a small neighborhood, called Nicetown.  Everybody knew each other, everyone went to the same school.  So, it was cool. 

S: Do you still live there?

MJ: Yep.

S: So, how old are you?

MJ: 23

S: When’s your birthday?

MJ: August 3, 1980

S: Happy late Birthday!

MJ: Thank you!

S: You’re welcome.

S: Do you have any brothers or sisters?

MJ: No, I’m the only child.

S: Me too, do you like it?

MJ: Umm, when I was little I didn’t.  I had all the toys, but I had to play by myself.  You know, making up imaginary friends. But now that I’m grown, I still wish I had like a little brother.

S: Yeah, me too.

S: So, how did you get discovered?

MJ: My manager and I, were lookin’ for a deal, up in New York, actually shopping beats, and he got in contact with Jay Brown from Elektra Records and we had a meeting with him.  We met him, at Quad Studios in the lobby and he was leaving and we were coming in, and I spit for him and he took me upstairs to meet Missy.  I spit for her and she was loving it, and she in turn, called Tim on the phone, and I spit for him over the speakerphone.  And then Missy said, “what did you come here for?”, I said a deal, and she said, “you’ve got it!”  And that’s how it all happened. 

S: How would you describe yourself as a person?

MJ: I’m kind of laid back, I don’t really get too excited about much.  I consider myself, like a normal, regular girl.  Not made up, or not a clone of anybody. 

S: How would you describe your personal style?

MJ: Hmm.  My personal style…that’s the same.  Everything’s the same.  I’m not a clone.  Whatever I feel like putting on, that’s what I put on.  If I’m in the mood to put shoes on, I put shoes on.  If I’m in a sneaker mood, then I’m throwin’ on sneakers.  And I also have a knack for fashion.  I like making clothes and buying vintage pieces.

S: So do you think it’s good to switch it up and be different?

MJ: I think it’s good to be different.  Some people are scared of it. 

S: Who did you grow up listening to musically?

MJ: Everybody like: Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Janet Jackson, Pat Benetar, Cyndi Lauper, Anita Baker, Tina Marie, and Steve Wonder.  Those types of people really influenced me.

S: When did you first know you wanted to become a rapper?

MJ: Umm, I mean, I made up a couple of raps up when I was younger, you know, just playin’ around.  I didn’t know that that’s what I wanted to do.  But I always knew I wanted to be on stage performing.  I really started taking it seriously when I was 19.  When I found out I was serious, I ran with it.

S: So, at what age did you write your first rap?

MJ: I wrote my first rap at around 8 or 9 years old.

S: Where did you learn to rap?  Did you just start doing it or what?

MJ: Yeah, just listening to people like MC Lyte and Queen Latifah, and just listening to them back in the day and wanting to be like them. I would basically mock them and pretend I was them.  So, I would say I was about 12, when I wrote my first rap. 

S: Do you write your own lyrics?

MJ: Everything I say, I write.

S: Is that a hard or easy process for you?

MJ: It’s easy.  Well, everything is not easy.  It’s like a gift from God, it just comes.

S: What can we expect from your forthcoming album, “Girl Interrupted”?

MJ: You can expect just me telling it like it is and telling the world my experiences and what I think about certain situations.  You might hear something personal, relationship wise, and you might hear on, “Jade The Champ”, why I think I’m the champion.  You’ll hear all the stuff I’ve been through and then I might wanna make you dance.  I touch different spots on “Girl Interrupted”.  All different areas.

S: How many songs are on the album?

MJ: There’s about 14 or 15.

S: How long did it take to record the album?

MJ: The whole album didn’t take that long, I’d say it took 4months to do. 

S: What was it like recording in the studio?

MJ: It was cool, it’s normal for me.  It’s not like a process, the sessions usually start around 7:PM and I’m usually gonna get out around 7:AM.  We’ll knock out about 2 joints tonight, 2 ½.  I just get in and do what I gotta do and roll out.

S: What guest artists will be appearing on your album?

MJ: The guests are Nelly Furtado, Lil’ Mo, Tweet, my girl Rhoniesha, Jay-Z, and that’s about it.

S: What is it like working with Timbaland?

MJ:  Like I said, right now its family, it’s normal for me.  That’s like my brother.  So, imagine if you’re at your job with your brother all day, it’s like that. 

S: I read that Timbaland had to help coach you through his beats.  Tell me about that.

MJ: Just basically because his beats are so tricky.  When I first started, I rapped a certain way, I didn’t know nuthin’ about tone or nuthin’ about flowin’ on every single beat correctly.  So he just taught me how to listen to certain instruments inside his beats and to flow with that and play with your voice and to play with your flow a little bit.

S: How were you able to get Jay-Z on, “Count it Off”?

MJ: I asked Timbaland and he asked Jay. I met Jay-Z before, so he already knew who I was and he listened to the song and he did it.

S: It’s hot right?

MJ: It’s Crazy!!!

S: What’s your favorite song on the album?

MJ: “Jade The Champ”.

S: What producers did you work with on, “Girl Interrupted”?

MJ: The Neptunes did one, some producers from Philly called, “Beat Brokerz”, they did two and Tim did the rest.

S: What’s the most important advice Tim has given you about the industry?

MJ: Just that you can strive harder to get what you want, there’s so much out there that you can do and don’t like stagnate yourself into one situation.

S: Ok, now, fans have been wanting to know and I’ve been wanting to know, when is the album dropping?

MJ: The album should be out October 22.

S: Do you know what the reason was for it being pushed back?

MJ: It just wasn’t the right time.  It just wasn’t the right time.  I had one single out and I needed people to be hungry.  When the time is right, it will be out.

S: Man, were hungry! (LOL) I’m always on the web site and people are like, “When is the album coming out?” That was the number one question people wanted me to ask you.  So, yeah, we’ve been waiting.

MJ: Ahhh, thank you.

S: I know there was a little confusion, but was “Feel the Girl” your first single or is “Big Head” your first single?

MJ: “Big Head” is my first single.

S: Oh, ok. 

S: Can you tell me the meaning behind, “Feel the Girl”, “Big Head” and “Ching Ching”?

MJ: Yeah.  “Feel the Girl” is a dance, party song.  “Big Head”, it was actually a party song but I read into the hook a little differently.  The hook was like a little funny.  Little kids would be walkin’ around sayin’ it and they would be drivin’ me crazy.  Like my little cousin would say, “Get your big head on the floor”(in a mocking tone), so it was like a cute lil’ funny.  And “Ching Ching” is a song basically about telling, like, “what about all of the stuff that I did?”  The guy (Timbaland) is tellin’ me, “what about all the stuff I did” and I’m tellin’ him, “alright, what about the all the stuff you did, but I did this.”   Just being in a relationship where, he might have bought you a diamond or he might have did this, but she was holdin’ it down as well and they’re forgettin’ about that.

S: Ok, now, The Source gave you 3 ½ out of 5 mics, what do you think about that?

MJ: Um, I don’t really care, I really don’t.

S: What did you think when you first heard your song on the radio?

MJ: I was going crazy, like, “my song is on the radio!” I was calling everybody I knew.  Me and my mom was going crazy.  It was like, “Oh my God, really, my record?”

S: What was it like making your first video?

MJ: It was like… imagine you getting to a point, where you wanted to be, and finally being there, it was just like a dream come true.  I had so much fun.  I had my family around me and I had people that I cared about around me, so it was good.

S: Did you really cut your hair off for the “Big Head” video at the end?

MJ: Did I really cut my hair off? (laughing) No, we used a different hair stylist.

S: Who came up with the concept of the video?

MJ: Me and Chris Robinson(Director).

S: Now you just finished making the video for, “Ching Ching”, correct?

MJ: Yeah.

S: And where did you make that video?

MJ: I did it in Los Angeles.

S: Were Nelly Furtado and Timbaland featured in it?

MJ: Yep

S: Tell me about the concept of that video.

MJ: Basically, telling how the song is, it goes with the story line.   It goes from me getting’ mad at him, drivin’, it’s a video slash Hummer commercial.  So you see all the Hummers in the streets and its me with the kids, me droppin’ his kids off at his mother’s house and I’m tell my girls about it and we have this big argument and it’s crazy.

S: What do you think you bring to the rap game?

MJ: I think I bring authenticity, I’m just real, just a normal regular girl.  I’m just like a breath of fresh air, I don’t have no gimmicks or no games, and no whole ‘lotta extra stuff with me. 

S: What are you bumpin’ in your C.D. player right now?

MJ: I gotta whole ‘lotta mixtapes.  I got uhh, Citizen Cope, the N*E*R*D*S, best of MC Lyte, India Arie and the rest are mixtapes.

S: What are your hobbies?

MJ: Shopping, Shopping, Shopping!

S: What’s your favorite food?

MJ: I would have to say bread, I love bread.  Oh, and cheese.

S: What’s your favorite color?

MJ: Orange.

S: What’s your favorite television show?

MJ: Martin.

S: What’s your favorite movie?

MJ: Set it Off.

S: What’s your favorite type of candy?

MJ: Nawlaters (Now&Laters)

S: Have you seen the movie Barbershop?

MJ:  Yeah, that movie is so funny.  I just saw it the other day, it cracked me up.

S: What really gets on your nerves?

MJ: Just people being fake, like if you ever meet somebody and you can see right through them, like they got ulterior motives.  That really gets on my nerves. Fake people.

S: You know what really gets on my nerves?  The haters out here in Seattle.  Like when I tell them about you and your music and they say, “Oh, Ms. Jade is this, or she’s that, or she’s trying to be Missy” and it’s like, you haven’t even heard “Feel the Girl” or her other songs.  She is so sick and her skills are ill.  I mean, man, I’m tryin’ to blow you up in the Northwest.  I want the whole world to know about you but it’s hard!

MJ: Yeah, thank you.  I think it’s because they ain’t never seen nothin’ like me, or because I’m with Tim or because the beats are by Tim they think I’m trying to be like Missy.  But people are gonna have their opinion anyway.  That’s why I can’t wait for the album to come out so they can see.  It’s like, totally different from Missy and me. 

S: Yeah, I can’t wait either, it’s gonna be fire!

S: Let’s get into relationships for a minute.  Are you single?

MJ: Yep.

S: What qualities do you look for in a man?

MJ: Somebody that’s a man, a man for real.  That’s gonna be there for me whether I got a dollar or a million.

S: Who’s your favorite artist out today?

MJ: I’m liking Vanessa Carlton.

S: What artist would you most like to work with in the future?

MJ: Musiq.

S: Did you ever get the opportunity to meet Aaliyah?

MJ: No, I never got the chance to meet her.

S: What has been the best part yet, of being a star?

MJ: Just the love that you get from people.  That’s the best part.  Like making people happy and signing autographs and stuff like that.

S: What is it like having fans and people screaming your name? Are you used to it yet?

MJ: It’s crazy because like I said, I feel that I’m just a regular girl and I gotta get used to it. And I be like, “why are they lookin’ at me?”  And I forget, “oh, I gotta video out.”  It’s crazy but I like it.

S: Do you have any crazy fan stories?

MJ: Umm, no, not yet.

S: No crazy fans yet?

MJ: Naw.

S: What can we expect from a Ms. Jade performance?

MJ:  Energy…and fun.  Your’e gonna see me havin’ fun up there.  I’m not just gonna walk back and forth across the stage, I’mma have fun. 

S: I saw you perform on Soul Train, was that fun?

MJ: Yeah that was fun.  Like, everybody wants to perform on Soul Train, so it was like, “whoa, Soul Train!”

S: Now, I know that they usually make artists lip-sync on the show, was that weird for you?

MJ: Yeah, It was kind of weird, it was weird, but I’m a PROFESSIONAL, so you know.  (laughing)

S: Was that your first time lip-synching on television?

MJ: Yeah

S: What is an average day like for you?

MJ: An average day is: Getting’ up, going to the gym, come back, interviews, maybe comin’ up to New York, packin’ ‘cause I gotta be somewhere the next morning, go there, come back and do the same thing over and over.

S: Sounds crazy.

MJ: Yeah.

S: If you weren’t rapping, what do you think you would be doing?

MJ: Probably something that has to do with music or clothes. 

S: I’m sure you’ve heard this before but, about you being compared to Eve, what do you think about that?

MJ: I think I’mma get there anyway.  I’m from Philly, yada ya!  Umm, we got the same slang, so like being from the same city, you’re gonna have the same slang.  We might got the same tone but like Eve, I love Eve.  When I met her she was cool, I listen to her music and I just think that we do two different things.  Eve is Eve and I’m Ms. Jade. That’s that.

S: Now, I’ve heard fans say this, and I also think the same thing, we think you should battle Eve. 

MJ: Oh, ok.

S: I think you would kill her.

MJ: Okay, well, thank you but I’m tryin’ to put an album out, I did the battling thing already.

S: Ok, well I tried.  Are your friends and family still treating you the same or do you see a change in people around you?

MJ: Real friends, I don’t see no change.  Like real friends are gonna be real friends but people that don’t matter, I see change.  You’re gonna see change.  They’re gonna think that you’re changing and da da da.  People that you just spoke to once want something extra from you now.  They’ll be like, “ oh, wassup?” Just holdin’ extra conversation and then when you don’t want to do that every single day, ‘cause I haven’t been doing that, it’s crazy.  There’s rollin’ of the eyes and, “oh, she thinks she’s this.”  But I mean, you’re gonna get that any way.

S: Have you started anything to give back to your community, yet?

MJ: Um, no but I’m about to start a foundation for lil’ kids but I just gotta get one foot in at a time.

S: Do you consider yourself a role model?

MJ: I think everybody is a role model, like all grown people are models to kids.

S: Did you ever think that you would get this big? Working with high profile artists and producers and being on television and in magazines?

MJ: Yep.

S: I read about this rap, you made up, called “The Bitch Rap”, tell me about it.

MJ: (Laughing) It was just a rap that I made up, like maybe my third rap I had make up and it was just that everything that I said ended with, “Bitch.”  It was meant to kill all girls. Every time I rapped and said it to a girl, it’d be done after that.

S: Can you rap a verse of it for me?

MJ: I can’t really remember the rap.  Everyone says, “what about “The Bitch Rap?” I’m like, “ I don’t remember that, it was like 4years ago.” (Both laughing)

(I found an excerpt of “The Bitch Rap”) “I hate a jo jo bitch, a no doe bitch, a try to test my skills, now that’s a no no bitch, a fake brag bitch, a switch tag bitch…”)

S: I read that you went to beauty school, do you have any plans on doing hair?

MJ: Uh, uh. That’s why I stopped.

S: Has it been hard trying to get into the music business being a woman and a rapper?

MJ: Yeah, its been real hard because when I first started, there were so many people saying, “no, you cant, you don’t got the look, or you’re not a guy, or were lookin’ for guys right now”.  So, it was hard getting there but once I got in there, I was cool.

S: So, now that you’ve made it in the music industry, is it what you thought it would be?

MJ: Hell No!  I thought it was just gonna be videos, parties and meetings, and it was so opposite of that.

S: What’s your motivation to keep going?

MJ: God…and my family.  This is what I wanna do and I don’t give up easily.  I feel it.  I actually feel music that’s like the love of my life, so, why give up? 

S: One year from now, where do you see yourself?

MJ:  Maybe working on my second album, since I’m bout to put out my first right now, and talking to you again.

S: What other aspects of the entertainment industry would you like to get into?

MJ: Probably having my own record label.

S: I read that you wanted to open up some boutiques, can you elaborate on that subject?

MJ: Like I told you, I like vintage clothes, so I want to have shops all over the country with rare jewelry from different countries and rare pieces of clothing that you might not find at everyday stores.

S: Do you have any plans of touring?

MJ: Yeah, after my album drops, I’ll probably get into a couple tours.

S: Have you ever been to Seattle?

MJ: No, I have never been to Seattle.

S: Well, we gotta get you out here.

MJ: Oh yeah!

S: And I will take you to Philly’s Best, so you can check out the food.  You can rate if it’s authentic. 

MJ: Yeah, I’ll come check that out, gotta come check it out.

S: What advice would you give someone looking to do what you do?

MJ: Make sure that this is what you want to do.  Make sure that you’re a strong person and that you can handle everything that comes with it.

S: What would you like to let your fans know?

MJ: I’m coming, I’m coming.  It’s taken me a long time, but I’m coming.  And when I come, I’m coming hard!

 Ms. Jade is here to change the game.  Feel the Girl!

While Ms. Jade’s 1^st single, “Big Head”, may sound like a wacky, “Missy” song, I assure you, she is nothing like Missy.  They are both good friends, like “family”.  In fact, Missy played an influential part in getting Ms. Jade signed.  You may also want to compare Ms. Jade to Eve, but it’s not gonna happen.  While they are both from Philly and may speak the same vernacular, in my opinion, Eve is no match for Ms. Jade.

Ms. Jade’s debut album, “Girl Interrupted”, will be hitting stores hard on Tuesday, October 22.  This album will definitely revolutionize the game, so make sure you pick up 10 copies. Aight!

Interviewed By: Sirion Sewell, “Industry Insider” for Muzik ‘N’ Axion Entertainment and Seaspot Media Group.

For more on Ms. Jade visit the following sites:

Http://www.MsJade.com

http://www.BeatClubRecords.com

Http://www.Interscope.com

Ms. Jade Music Player:

http://www.interscope.com/flashplayer/playerlaunch.asp?player_id=12

Fan site: http://www.MsJadeOnline.com