Courtesy | Bad Boy Records Danity Kane’s Dawn Richard (second from left) hold’s to the creed ‘no bitch-assness’ and says the music biz is less about music and more about business.

Dawn Richard of the girl group Danity Kane is more than a pretty face, a hot bod, a compelling vocalist and a great dancer. You’d think that would be enough, right? But she’s also a business-savvy woman who has survived and flourished despite being displaced from her New Orleans home by Hurricane Katrina. 210SA got the down-low from the 23-year-old singer and celebrity of MTV’s reality series, “Making the Band 3,” before the group’s July 17 performance at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

What’s your favorite song from the new album, Welcome to the Dollhouse?

“I have a whole bunch ..... I know that I love that new single we have out now called ‘Bad Girl.’ We just did a shoot for it with Missy Elliott, and I think it’s going to be the best video out this year ..... Missy is in this video, and you know if Missy’s in it, it’s crazy.”

The five of you had lots of opinions when it came to recording your second album. It seemed like you weren’t always getting what you wanted. Are you happy with the final product?

 “We’re happy, but you know Danity Kane, we’re always going to find something. We’ll be totally happy when we have total creative control, which is not something that you’re going to get as an artist ..... Nine times out of 10, the label has a vision, and the label is going to tell you what that vision is. The great thing about Puff (Daddy (or P. Diddy or whatever), creator of the band) is that he knows that we’re going to butt heads with him. I think we’ve come to an agreement where we agree to disagree ..... We can have creative say, and Puff can have his final say, and that makes sense.”

How do you keep yourself from being compared to other girl groups? What makes Danity Kane different?

“I think it’s an easy formula. We don’t have a lead singer (and) we’re multiracial. I think the last multiracial group was the Spice Girls ..... We all come from different walks of life; we represent every female out there. People say, ‘girl power.’ But no, it’s girl domination. It’s girl overload ..... We have a girl who loves country, pop, R&B and jazz and rock and soul, and it all makes sense. How do we make that work and still have five lead singers on a record and not be crazy? We did it.”
 
The five of you seem to have a strong bond on the show. Is that real or do you sometimes not get along?

 “We don’t get along like 87 percent of the time. It’s like being with sisters. Like, honestly, we have to fight to make this thing work ..... We were competitors, and we all had different directions we wanted to go when we got into the group. ..... What makes us different is that we don’t hide the fact that we fight. We are still learning the process, and it’s a business ..... We have one common goal, we love what we do and we love music. Yeah, we fight, but we love each other harder.”

What’s it like working for Sean “Diddy” Combs, CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment and executive producer of the album? Is it hard to live up to his "no bitch-assness" standard?

“All that stuff is just TV with the ‘bitch-assness.’ What I know about Puff is that he’s unpredictable, and he pushes you to be the best you can be ..... If it ain’t gold, he ain’t messing with it ..... He’s hilarious, and he’s totally funny. But, again, he surrounds himself by greatness, and he wants to be great ..... I want to know how to be great and how to be in this business for a long time because that’s what legends and icons are made of.”

What advice would you give to other girls trying to make it in the music biz?

“It’s hard. This business is not glamorous. It’s not fun. It’s hard work. You’re female, and it’s a male-dominated world as well as industry. You really need to know your craft, not just how to sing, but accounting, marketing ..... It’s 90 percent business and 10 percent music. If you can just sing, it’s not enough.”

You’ve got some great dance moves. How hard is it to dance and sing at the same time? How do you stay in shape?

“It’s weird. It doesn’t seem hard to me. It’s just what we do. My mom had her dance school for 25 years, so I remember being born with tights on me ..... You have to keep your endurance. You have to exercise. That’s all we do. I love to exercise. Every morning (I do) at least 200 sit-ups and I do like a 2-mile run every day with my dog Chotee; it keeps up my endurance and my stamina onstage.”

How’s it going with Qwanell Mosley from the group Day 26? You developed a really good connection with him on the show. Are you guys still buddies? Or more than buddies?

 “He’s doing great from what I know. We’re totally friends, we’re going to be friends for a long time because we share a common love of music.”

Jennifer Lloyd | 210SA