All Articles Tagged "Danity Kane"

‘It Is Hard To Stay Relevant Nowadays:’ Dawn Richard Speaks About DK Reunion And D.Woods’ Absence

June 5th, 2013 - By Jazmine Denise Rogers
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Source: WENN

Source: WENN

You guys probably don’t need me to state the obvious, but let me just go ahead and say that something in the buttermilk ain’t clean. Back in May, we told you all about a possible Danity Kane reunion, after four of the group’s original five members were spotted heading to a lunch date in L.A. As news of the reunion began to spread across the Internet like wildfire, the group’s missing member, D.Woods, emerged on the scene, letting it be known that she was unaware of and uninvited to the reunion. Furthermore, she insisted that she learned about her former group’s reunion on Twitter of all places.

“I found out when my Twitter timeline went off the chain,” Woods expressed during an interview.

She also maintains that she’s currently doing her own thing right now, and that even if there will be an actual musical reunion, her current responsibilities wouldn’t allow her enough time to dedicate to reuniting with her former group members. Interestingly, during a recent interview with Front Row Features Wire, Dawn Richard claimed that D actually was invited to the reunion lunch. She also requested that the public stop focusing on who wasn’t present at the reunion and celebrate the fact that DK is still “relevant.” Check out some excerpts from her interview below.

On inviting D.Woods to the reunion lunch outing:

“We asked D. Woods to come but then again everybody has their place and their time, and that’s okay. [...]  I think it was great for us to meet and there is love all around, we are too grown for there not to be. I think what the focus needs to be on is, not who didn’t show up, but the fact that after six years there was a monumental response that came from it. I think that we dwell on the negative. We should love everybody [...] We haven’t spoken about Danity Kane in years and for us to go to lunch and it be that huge speaks volumes of our fan base.”

“[D. Woods] is great. Let the girl be. Whatever people choose, let them live in their moment. If they feel like they the queen, let them live. Like, that’s okay to say ‘No.’ Damn, like I think we gotta chill out. We be doing the most. If that’s her choice, then that’s her choice and that’s cool but moving on.”

On what went down during the reunion: 

“We ate, we walked out and we didn’t realize how powerful it was. We had no clue and I think we never really realized it. We were so busy trying to be great and have our focus and have our business together that I don’t think we [got it]. This is the first time we stepped back and [said] ‘This is insane’. I hope people don’t dwell on negative things, because honestly, there is no time for it.”

“It is hard to stay relevant nowadays. We haven’t been around each other. That’s crazy! That speaks volumes and I think people need to focus on that, because that’s huge.”

On the possibility of another DK album: 

“We will see. No one was thinking about that when we were coming into this but the possibilities are endless now. You guys have made it so. We’re very grateful and paying attention to what people are saying and we hope that it remains positive.”

It’s pretty interesting how D.Woods and Dawn’s stories conflict a little bit. While we’re happy that the ladies aren’t beefing and throwing blatant shade at one another, nosy folks like us would love to know what’s really going on.

We’ll continue to keep you guys posted about whether or not the DK reunion will actually happen.

Skip to the next page to watch Dawn’s interview. What are your thoughts on this?

D.Woods Found Out About The Danity Kane Reunion On Twitter, Says She Still Maintains Partial Rights To The Group’s Name

May 21st, 2013 - By Jazmine Denise Rogers
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Source: Instagram

Source: Instagram

Last week we told you that Danity Kane’s fifth member, D.Woods spoke out, saying that she would not be participating in the group’s reunion because she would rather focus on the future. But, more of the story behind the story seems to be coming out each day. During an interview with Hot 107.5‘s Bijou Star, D revealed that she actually learned of the group’s reunion on social networking site Twitter like a lot of the general public. She maintains that there’s no bad blood between she and her former group members and that she’d consider a reunion if time permitted in the future, but something about this story seems a bit odd. Although we can all see that she’s busy, it appears that she wasn’t even invited to partake in the reunion in the first place. Check out a bit of what she had to say during her interview and let us know what you think.

On finding out about the reunion via Twitter:

“I found out when my Twitter timeline went off the chain.”

“We did go our separate ways in the fall of 2008. My main priority right now is growing as an artist. I’ve committed to projects and developing my own label, so I know right now, I can’t commit to splitting my focus on something like that. I don’t want to hold anyone back. If they feel like that’s what they want to do, and they want to do it right now, they’re going to do it. I mean you don’t have to wait for me. I’m going to support them as I’ve always supported them, and I hope they will support me.”

“I was surprised myself. After seeing the pictures and the clip with the video,  I saw that they were in Los Angeles. I’m not in Los Angeles so there goes the reason why I was not in the picture. I’m actually in Atlanta right now. I’m in pre-production rehearsal for the new musical ‘Rebirth’, so that’s what I’m currently doing.”

On if Diddy has rights to the Danity Kane name: 

“We as a group came up with the name. So yeah [we own that name].”

On if she’ll take legal action against the girls regarding the name:

“I’m not spiteful and I’m not going to try and get something that I didn’t put in work for, so if they are working on some new music, if they are doing some new stuff that I haven’t contributed to, that’s theirs. I got mine over here.”

On Aubrey ‘s “Diddy who?” comment: 

“I don’t know what they meant by it, so I can’t speak on it and how they feel about the man but you know things happen. I know when I parted from the group I said, ‘Thank you very much for the opportunity. You know I’ve always looked up to you as a business man, as a music mogul and maybe we will cross paths again in the future. This industry is just about the ones who keep doing it. So you’re going to see me again.”

On if she keeps in touch with any of the girls: 

“You know what, we are just on different walks of life and we’re spread out all over the country. It’s hard to keep up with people.  There’s no bad blood to where its like, ‘I just don’t want to talk to her.”

On if she’ll consider reuniting with DK in the future:

“Where it makes sense in my schedule and the things that I have coming up, there’s a possibility. If it was brought to me, I would definitely consider it. I’m definitely focused on  the future. I’m really not trying to rehash the past things, just moving forward. It’s running running into that old ex-boyfriend on that street and you think, ‘Hmmm maybe we could.’ Then you just think, ‘But how would it be different?’”

Regardless of what did or didn’t go down, she seems to be very positive, which is great.

Turn the page to listen to her full interview. What do you make of this? 

D.Woods Says She’s Focusing On The Future And That Doesn’t Include Danity Kane

May 16th, 2013 - By Jazmine Denise Rogers
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Source: Instagram

Source: Instagram

Earlier this week we reported on a rumored Danity Kane reunion. Dawn Richard, Shannon Bex, Aubrey O’Day and Aundrea Fimbres were spotted together on their way to a lunch date in L.A. Insiders say that the ladies were meeting with their new manager regarding plans of an upcoming reunion. To make things more interesting, the group’s fifth member D.Woods was nowhere in sight. Just as questions began to arise, the 27-year-old songstress released a statement to The Jasmine Brand, letting it be known that she would not be partaking in the group’s reunion. Not being one for drama, she was sure to communicate that she wishes her former group members the best, attemping to squash potential beef rumors.

“It has been brought to my attention that my former group members of Danity Kane will be reuniting and while I will not be a part of the reunion; I wish the ladies blessings and much success on their endeavors.

My focus is on the future and all of the exciting opportunities it holds, I thank you all for your continued support and I cannot wait for you to hear my new music and see my theater and film projects.”

We can totally understand why D has decided to leave the past in the past. She has quite a few things going on including new music, an upcoming film project and a role in upcoming musical, Rebirth. The former reality star will be appearing in the musical alongside 112′s Q.Parker and Lynn Whitfield. A brief description of the play found on the musical’s website reads:

“Rebirth is a story which explores the concepts of faith vs religion and how they can be used to both oppress as well as uplift the human spirit. Rebirth asks the question, would you blindly follow what you are taught out of desire for acceptance, to escape punishment, for promise of reward, or would you have the courage to risk being unpopular by following what actually makes sense to you, and what you honestly felt was the right thing in your heart.”

Source: Facebook

Source: Facebook

How do you think Danity Kane will do without D.Woods?

Danity Kane Reportedly Planning A Reunion Without Diddy

May 14th, 2013 - By Jazmine Denise Rogers
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Source: WENN

Source: WENN

Remember Diddy’s popular girl group Danity Kane from MTV’s hit reality show, Making The Band? Well, the ladies are rumored to be planning a reunion without their former hit-making manager. Yesterday TMZ spotted group members Aubrey O’Day, Shannon Bex, Aundrea Fimbres and Dawn Richards heading to a lunch date in L.A. with a new manager, who’s supposedly helping them out with the reunion.

“So I hear you guys are trying to make things work,” the cameraman said to the ladies.

“We don’t try to do anything,” Shannon shot back.

When asked if they were getting back together, they simply responded, “We’re having lunch right now.” Just before they made their way into the restaurant the cameraman asked if they were working with Diddy, which prompted the ladies to release sarcastic chuckles.

“Who’s that?” the groups always-outspoken problem child, Aubrey O’Day asked before they disappeared into the restaurant.

If you recall, Diddy publicly announced plans to disband the group back in 2009 during a reunion special. Interestingly, DK’s fifth member, D.Woods, was not present during the lunch outing, which could be a possible sign that she will not be participating in the reunion, but sources tell TMZ that a reunion is definitely happening. It makes perfect that the ladies would want to reunite, they were super successful as a group, scoring two certified platinum albums.

Representatives on behalf of Diddy have yet to respond to talk of the reunion, but something tells us that an icky legal dispute is brewing.

Turn the page for footage of the ladies heading to lunch. Would you support Danity Kane if they were to reunite?

Pass Or Play? Dawn Richard Pays Homage To Danity Kane Past, Literally Fights For Future In New Video, “’86″

January 15th, 2013 - By Victoria Uwumarogie
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Dawn Richard

Hmmm…my girl Dawn is probably going to have to explain this one because I’m not going to front–after watching this “short film” the first time, I was confused. Well, at least more than normal that is…

Nonetheless, Richard is able to make the track “’86″ shine throughout this message-riddled video. In it, Richard traverses through the woods, viewing her old life through new eyes. In the beginning, four women who are supposed to represent her former Danity Kane members, dance and point her to other pivotal points in her life, including her childhood as a little girl shares a close moment with both parents. And while that’s all good and dandy, things get a tad bit confusing towards the middle, where Dawn starts dancing in the woods in a slinky fringe-loving outfit, and then has to get all Street Fighter against two individuals trying to hold her back, eventually whooping some a** and taking their armor to go forward. Honestly, that part of the video went on a bit too long. But aside from that, the song is what gets my attention the most, sounding like an ’80s Prince-inspired synth-heavy declaration of independence. And as usual, her vocals are great and the lyrics about change is deeper than most: “Say you can’t go back, the same way that you came…”

Check out the video for yourself and let us know if you’re feeling the visuals and the track on its own. Enjoy!

“Some things change babe, sometimes they stay the same.”

 

Pass or Play? Kelly Rowland, Dawn Richard and Melanie Fiona Release New Videos

June 18th, 2012 - By Clarke Gail Baines
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Source: Rap-Up

Looking for a summer anthem???

Well, you might want to keep looking…(I’m just saying). Kelly Rowland released a new video for her track, “Summer Dreaming,” which is a remake of the song of the same name by Kate Yanai. Rowland re-did the song as part of a collaboration with Bacardi for their 150th anniversary. She looks absolutely stunning in colorful pieces while partying in Barcelona and posing poolside, but the song…it’s okay, I guess. A little too Z100 pop-ish for my tastes, but hey, it might be your jam. Check out the video below and let us know your thoughts:

If that wasn’t enough, Dawn Richard, formerly of Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money, released a new video for a song she is pushing called “Automatic.” The song is off of her EP, Armor On, and the video shows Richard decked out in body paint and little clothing as she displays some interesting choreography and gyrates a bit. This chick is pretty freaking talented, and it’s beyond me why she’s not doing bigger things as a solo artist yet. Maybe this video will help? Check it:

Roc Nation singer and one of our favorite chicks, Melanie Fiona, teamed up with fellow Roc Nation signee and cutie J. Cole for the video “This Time.” Getting her “Big Comfy Couch” on, Fiona plays around on a clock, sits in an hourglass and rocks a fitted cap repping the “MF” life for her track with Cole World. Digging the song as it’s definitely something different for the ballad singer. What do you think?

So…pass or play?

More on Madame Noire!

Where Are They Now? Now Defunct “Making The Band” Groups: Da Band and Danity Kane

June 15th, 2012 - By Victoria Uwumarogie
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Source: lyrics.as

Looking back on it, I can’t really tell you why Diddy did “Making The Band” II and III. After seasons upon seasons and hours and money spent trying to rack up good talent, Diddy disbanded the groups he put together with his bare hands (with the exception of Day 26, who are still together, minus Que, on another label). Maybe he stuck with it because the drama in doing so racked up massive ratings through MTV. But when the shows were going, we were all in. From the random weekly fights, to shut-down studios, crazy den mothers, tears, fears and folks who let the fame go to their heads, every aspect of Bad Boy’s time with the MTV show was entertaining, yet sad at the same time (probably because we knew with Diddy, these kids weren’t going to make it…). Either way, in the process, we met a slew of charismatic characters who weren’t afraid to show America not only their talents, but who they really were, good or bad, and they also were able to say they dropped an album or two under the helm of the legendary Bad Boy Records. Where are they now?

Per the usual, be prepared to do some clicking. Enjoy!

Source: highbridnation.com

Sara Stokes

The R&B singer of the gritty group, Stokes was the big-haired chick with the decent voice, and on the show, she came off as the lone sane person in a house full of fighting wackjobs. Or so we thought…

Sadly, when the show ended, Stokes found herself doing a lot of fighting in her personal life with her husband, the very crazy Tony Stokes. The brother clearly has an issue with women as he got into a heated argument with Sara’s band mate Babs during the show, and we all know that he did his share of falling out with the other members as Stokes and her husband tried to push the group to do more pop music than rap. In 2009, Stokes was arrested on domestic abuse charges for stabbing Tony, allegedly in front of their children. Her infamous mugshot showed her looking very bruised and a bit bloody. And though that sounds scary and mad crazy, lawyers for the couple claimed, they were playing around and having, “fun.”As their lawyer, Eric Kayira said:

“Sara and Tony have a very passionate and loving relationship that on August 2, while having an evening of fun, she slipped and fell, hitting her head heavily on the ground and somehow in the process of helping her Tony got injured.”

Lucky for her, Stokes served no jail time for the incident. But if that wasn’t enough, Stokes’ husband was arrested in 2011 for getting in a brawl with his wife again, this time with him being arrested for being the aggressor. Tony Stokes confronted Sara while the couple were in Georgia, claiming that she cheated. In the midst of their argument, he allegedly punched and choked her. Crazy in love, much? Aside from all that drama though, Stokes has still tried to make music. She even sued T-Pain not too long ago claiming he cheated her out of royalties for a song they wrote together for Jennifer Hudson. Well…she still looks pretty good, with the exception of those massive enhancements of hers…

Source: Mediatakeout

Dawn Richard On Splitting From Bad Boy, Danity Kane and Cheating Boyfriends…

March 29th, 2012 - By Victoria Uwumarogie
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Source: yourmusicmyworld.com

Folks could say, “I told you so, Dawn. I told you that Diddy would play you to the left on Bad Boy.” However, she has no hard feelings or ill will towards her former boss and band mate, as the two teamed up, along with Kalenna Harper to make the group Diddy Dirty Money.  In fact, she says that being released from Bad Boy was the best thing for her. But we will get to that in a minute…

Richard sat down with The Breakfast Club at Power 105.1 to talk about life after Bad Boy, her solo project, making up with the chicks of Danity Kane, and what happened with Que, her ex (formerly of Day 26). The summary of her days with Diddy goes like this:

If you, like moi, were wondering why Diddy Dirty Money disbanded after only putting out one album (that took three years to make), Dawn broke it down like this in her interview.

“Puff was done. He decided to be done, so I was like alright, what are we going to do next? Puff got a lot of ventures going on, so he didn’t really go into it. We did our tour and we were having a good time. Maybe it was sales, I don’t really know what it was.”

“But I asked him, what we doing? And he said [in reference to her solo work], ‘I don’t know if we’re going to be able to put you out for two years or so. But I don’t think you want to wait.’ I didn’t. So I asked to be released.”

So after six years of work with Diddy, under the pop group Danity Kane, and with him for Diddy-Dirty Money, she went on her own. Diddy said that with so many other artists waiting to put out albums on Bad Boy, waiting might not be the best thing for her. Dawn says that she’s currently an independent artist, pushing her videos and her music on her own. When asked if people said “I told you so” with Diddy, she only had good things to say:

“Yeah but I had faith in him because I knew. There was a mutual respect. I went hard and made sure he respected me as an artist. He gave me an opportunity more than once. But he let me go, and it was a good look and I’ll always respect him for it. He could have did me dirty, but instead he did the noble thing. For me, in my book, that makes him great…It’s done but it’s a good done.”

And when asked by crazy Charlemagne about how she felt about literally standing in the shadows while Diddy stole all the limelight from the group (I mean, he did put his name in front of Dirty Money and brought big stars on every track), she said that it was all about the Benjamins anyway…

“It didn’t upset me because I was getting a check. It’s like having the chance to play with Kobe…You still get a ring.”

And when asked about Que, the former member of Day 26 who had something of a breakdown on Making the Band, she said they are not together anymore after more than five years. Cheating just might be the culprit as co-host Angela Yee brought it up.

“We’re just not together anymore. I’m a good woman, and you just have to make sure you get respected the right way. I don’t want to put nobody in a bad spot, I just wish him much success…It’s cool. It’s all good. This is real life. Bad things happen but you move on. That’s why I don’t explain it cause I don’t want to talk about it.  We were real. I didn’t want a public relationship. I didn’t want to fall for him, so that’s what makes it sucky because it was genuine.”

Hey girl, count yourself lucky, because where is he now? But anywho, check out what she had to say about the possibility of a Danity Kane reunion, and hear more of what she had to say about Diddy, Que, ho*s winning in 2012, reality TV and “brown skin” girls struggling to make it big in the business…(“There’s no real brown girl considered pretty right now in the game. Dark skin girls, maybe. But in the crossover world? They’re not allowing it. They don’t want to do that.”) Hmmm, MAD interesting…

Are you surprised things didn’t work out with Bad Boy?

More on Madame Noire!

Dawn Richard Releases Video for “Bombs”; Is It “Run the World (Girls)” Part II?

March 28th, 2012 - By Clarke Gail Baines
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Source: alleyesonwho.com

You know, I actually really like Dawn Richard. If you aren’t 100 percent sure who I’m talking about, she’s the New Orleans born singer of Danity Kane fame, who teamed up with Diddy and singer/songwriter Kalenna Harper to form the short-lived group, Diddy-Dirty Money. Sadly, but not that surprising, the group disbanded after releasing their only album (Last Train to Paris), and Richard revealed that she was released from Bad Boy altogether. So now she’s finally getting to do her solo thing. Her first big song, “S.M.F.U.” (Save Me From You) was pretty good, and she just released a new video for the song “Bombs.” It has a pretty Amazonian-esque theme with tall women dancing very fast and very hard in a desert. Dawn is in the middle doing the same, and also shows up alone in a long black dress and a large head garment singing, strutting her stuff, swagging us the hell out and dancing.

Not going to lie, I couldn’t help but think of “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé when it started. Sorry. And online, it seems that a lot of folks felt a bit similar–some more harsh than others:

“This video is a complete rip off of Run the World by Beyonce and you all know it there is nothing original here the dancing is a bit different but anyone with ears and eyes can she she is copying Bey’s vid Dawn should of done something totally different so there would not be comparisons…NEXT!”

“I am not of fan of this video and don’t understand the words to the song. I think she tried to have it like Beyonce’s video (Who runs the world) in my opinion. I am happy she has come into her own and wish her all success.”

I still love this chick and don’t think the whole thing is some sort of rip off, they just have similar themes, hence it coming to mind. But Bey isn’t the first person, and obviously she won’t be the last, to booty pop with a bunch of under-dressed women in the dessert. I was a bit distracted, but overall, I do like what I see, and I haven’t seen anybody dance that hard in a while. Somebody’s out here grinding! I respect that.

What about you? Check out both and let us know…


Now this…

Are there real similarities?

More on Madame Noire!

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