michael's questions

Do you have any scars?
faint scars from childhood. there's an odd l shaped scar on my calf that i'm unaware of how it got there. could've been a playground incident that escapes me at the moment. i wish it was a cool story behind it.

What's your favorite movie?
i have more than one but the top three would have to be the wiz, the color purple, and the bodyguard.

What's your biggest pet peeve?
being asked to touch my hair or just going for it without saying much. no, you may not. and sorry it isn't a magical thing sprouting out of my head. it's rude and inconsiderate.

What's your worst habit?
worrying so much that i lose sight of myself and needs that have gone ignored to the point it adds to the pressure cooker.

Describe the perfect day.
sitting in my nightgown, queuing up netflix or turning to daytime television. sometimes that includes catching any movie on lifetime, or it's sister station, the lifetime movie network. i'm not ashamed of this either. i will add that half a pizza would be ordered for lunch, and perhaps a bottle of wine to go along with it. later try to go for a evening run to burn all of it off and clear my head.

james' questions

if you were to lose your power of speech tonight, what's the one thing you would want to say first?
god, i don't know. how much can one say with doing little before you're out of speaking? i guess i would sing a line from my favorite song by dinah washington called this bitter earth. this bitter earth. what fruit it bears. what good is love that no one shares? and if my life is like the dust that hides the glow of a rose. what good am i? heaven only knows.

what's the worst scent of b.o. you've ever experienced?
when i was in between foster homes, there was one that really made me constantly sick because of the smell of one of the other kids who were older. it was deep sour onion scent that kept me awake. my foster parent at the time was sidetracked with other things that they failed to stay on the boy to hit the shower.

what's the meanest thing you've ever done to someone to get back at them?
i swear i don't have a mean bone in my body but i once invited an ex to my engagement party to be kind of petty about being dumped.

have you ever found something valuable on the street and kept it for yourself even though you knew you could return it to the owner?
never in my entire life that i remember doing such a thing.

what is the most embarrassing moment you've experienced in your lifetime?
being terminated from a job that i really enjoyed because of my personal life affecting the work place. pretty embarrassing.

can you tell me your funniest childhood memory that you can remember?
there weren't many but the ones where our neighbor's daughter used to steal her mom's wigs and imitate her grandmother who was a no nonsense jamaican lady that was super religious and extremely superstitious. she pretty much became a caricature of her grandma.

what was the last thing you felt possessive over?
my founding place in my band. for a brief time, even now that things are shaky, i felt that my spot could have gone to someone else. even behind my back but that was paranoia getting the best of me. some jam sessions earlier last year singing with a back up singer, pushed me to elevate my game with feeling like i could be ousted if there was any slacking and i couldn't have that. these days i don't have that firm grip on said spot.

if the world froze for an afternoon and only you could move and no one could see you or remember what you did, what would you do?
pile up on food from the supermarket, marshals (they have a ton of sales now but no one would know who lifted coats) and drop them off to various shelters in the city.

drea's questions

How do you feel when you're up in the sky?
uh how can i answer this without it being real weird? there was a reoccurring dream i had a lot last year of ripping through the sky. the cold wasn't bothersome, nor was the height at which i continued to soar. it felt like time was suspended and all things that weighed heavy on my entire being, were stripped away for the duration. There's a weightlessness higher you rip through with clouds parting to allow that pass. It becomes part of you like breathing and there's nothing that can cause a spiraling descent back to land unless being shot out of the sky.

is there anywhere in particular that you hope your travels will someday bring you?
guyana as it is culturally connected with the caribbean. i have my eye on france, and not just visiting paris. i want to see mont blank..even climb it. i will settle for an expedition in its surrounding area.

What made you take on becoming a singer?
i've always remembered singing as a kid. it was looking up to the women on radio and those that were fed through old cassette tapes that i wanted to be like. i used to imagine being on stage if it meant not having to think about waking up in a home that i may not have felt welcomed to or wasn't for me. the passion to sing stuck with me and pretty much got me through a lot. i never made an actual career out of it because it's a risky dance dealing with show business and my education wasn't going to go to waste. i do it in my spare time for reasons that are natural to me and not have to jeopardize any values or myself for it.

joseph's questions

what's your favorite song/album of all time?
oh no. this is so hard to decided on. would work best if i pick a favorite song and then a favorite album. i have a very soft spot for ms. lauryn hill. the miseducation of lauryn hill will forever be my favorite album of all time as it edges so close with miles davis' bitches brew.

what would make up your ideal vacation? (location, activities, sights, etc.)
if this was purely for leisure? it would have to be taking another cruise but this time one that tours the mediterranean for seven days. it won't give me enough time to explore the stops but it's enough to pick up bits and pieces that i can recall to say that i've visited naples, valencia, etc.

robert's questions

how do you hope people remember you?
i think some already remember me in ways that have been predestined and now has found its way to the light. i just want to be remembered as someone who's done their best and had been a generous soul who tried make someone's day a little brighter with a song.

cj's questions

If you were a Tarot card, which one would you be?
both star and the empress cards are unforgettable in ways that their meanings, both upright and reversed means. the first card is relative to the earth mother archetypal. days and days go by that a less than gentle connection to that has been gained and it brings me a sensitivity to me that i cannot explain but understand it fully to the root. as for star, this card is loaded with symbolism and numbers that it will take me a while to wrap my mind around but having a lively awareness with hope, inspiration, renewal and the like, i kind of feel that's where my life will be going. i will make note of actually going for a tarot card reading out of curiosity.

What's the most inspiring conversation you've ever had?
an ex of mine in college was a musician and we constantly talked music. our influences of why we enjoyed what we did and how they varied or were the same. he helped tap into jazz in a way i was never open to because of a stubbornness to what was brought up on in the house. classic jazz, the originators and the like. we spoke on the evolution of jazz to traditional all the way to fusion and how it was birthed from times and experience of our people. i think from those conversations, one in particular, pushed me to stylize my singing as it being an influence. to this day, i always thanked him for being around at the time where i didn't realize how important those conversations would be.

What inspires you to get out of your comfort zone?
learning and testing limits of what i can do when there's a small voice that thinks all things aren't always possible.

the bonus round

apartment, house or castle?
i live in an apartment. would love a house for reasons that extend beyond just being a home owner, but a castle would be amazing to reside in. i think at some point you just aim high when there is a great possibility of obtaining one or the other.

do you have any great rational or irrational fears or phobias? if so, what are the origins of or reasons behind them?
many fears and some manifest from childhood circumstances. i remember abandonment was one that was debilitating when i was younger but slowly grew out of it as years progressed and was raised in a stable place luckily. i think about it from time to time and find myself wading in an old place that is hard to step away from when dealing with people close to me or that try to gain a shorter distance to me. i do hold a recent fear of losing complete control of self and the scales are delicate enough to tip on a side that means more harm than good.

are you a humble soul or blusteringly proud?
i consider myself more humble than anything. can't be blamed for displaying a proudness for any accomplishments or things that have made me feel great.