When asked about how it felt to be an R&B superstar in a 1995 interview, the artist D'Angelo was reluctant to aspect the title. When asked why D'Angelo simply replied, "I don't want people to tell me how great I sound, but then I don't build on it...what comes first is the music."

Clearly, D'Angelo not only considered an artist to be a person whose focus should be centered on the crafting of their art, but also viewed fame as a detriment to the quality of an artist's creative output. Yet, are these two personas, the star and the artist, so diametrically opposed to one another? For instance, didn't Miles Davis bath in the adulation of the public while he tirelessly worked to reinvent the genre of Jazz music?

Nonetheless, if D'Angelo's statement is right, then the artist Afaliah would enviably be the exception to the rule. Possessing both a personality and look that will definitely grab attention, the Brooklyn based singer is set on a course to stardom. But don't be quick to lump Afaliah in with the endless precession of talentless primadonnas who rely on well devised marketing schemes and auto tune machines instead of talent to make nowadays.

Afaliah is a multitalented artist who has been perfecting her various talents since her childhood days in Columbus, Ohio. Recently, Yo! Raps had the opportunity to speak with Afaliah and found out that she is one of the few artists in this world who are able to walk the fine line between the pretentiousness of stardom and humility of being an artist.

So remember the name Afaliah, you will be hearing from her soon.

I think people will be surprised by the depth of your artistic background.  I mean, you're not just a singer, but you're also an accomplished dancer. When did you're love for music and dance begin?

A typical day growing up for me usually dealt with my father. There was always some kind of band or chore rehearsal going on in our basement. I remember waking up to music playing at the crack of dawn when I was a kid. We would just wake up to that and we'd learn all the songs that they were singing because we'd go to sleep with them singing the same songs. So we grew up with that and then we would be with my mother for the whole day. With my mother we would all be doing gymnastics all day. I also went to an all white professional ballet school where I was like the only black kid. And then after that my mother had a dance company with the church that we went to so I would dance there as well. So it was like I experienced a little bit of everything: I would dance with my mom and I would sing with dad. You know, I just grew up in this crazy artsy fartsy family.

So was singing your first love while growing up?

I always sang. I would say that I sang before I danced, but I started taking classes for dancing as kid and I kind of took it serious. It was really weird because I was like "I want to dance with Alvin Ailey; I want to be a black." But I don't know. I guess I kind of took the music thing for granted because it was just something we always did; there was nothing to it. I started taking music serious when I was about 12 or 13 years old. It was then when I got caught up doing a girl group with my sister and we'd play around the neighborhood. That's when I was trying to be diva.

Alright, but what inspired you to actually consider a career in the music industry?

I felt it was an extension of my art as well as who I am. But, in all honesty, I was partly motivated by seeing other girls on TV because I thought a lot of them were wack [laughs].

[Laughs] So, your career is kind of based off of your need to critique everybody else. Almost like, "You're not doing it right, let show how you how to hit that high C note."

Yeah, I was like, "You know what, this is easy." And I would write my own songs and then I would read articles and find out that a lot of artists had other people write their songs for them. And I remember thinking, "These hoes are fronting."

So you came up and you eventually went to Ohio State University for a degree in dance. So what brought you from Ohio to New York?

I found a modern dance company in New York formed by Ronald L. Brown called Evidence. I moved here to dance with them, but with Evidence you can only get an audition with them by invitation only. So I moved here without an invitation thinking that I was going dance and pursue my music career, but knowing I was going to live by dancing. So I moved here with literally nothing, I didn't have a job or anything.  I ended up getting an invitation because I was in a class with [Ronald Brown] and I would just be in his face all the time. So I got an invitation and it was between me and like 13 other people. Finally it came down to me and another girl and they picked the other girl, so I was obviously devastated. So at the time I really didn't really have any connection to music, but then I got a call from a choreographer named Woody Harris. [Woody Harris' tour company] was all male and I was like one of first four women to ever tour with them. So he came to me like, "Look, can you come tour with use next week?" and I'm like yeah, "But it's weird because when I would go to Philly for the company's rehearsals every week, I began to get into music. So while in Philly I ran into Dice Raw from The Roots and I began working with him. Then I had another friend who was roommates with Questlove and I would just be chilling in their crib. That's when I would start writing for a lot of their little side projects and that's where everything just started happening for me.

Now, you use to work with the singer Joe, right?

Yeah, I toured with him for about 3 years, but after my first few shows with him there would be this gab in his performance and they knew that I sang so they'd have me go out to hype the crowd. So then all of a sudden I'm like the hype girl. It was fun, so I was the hype girl in between dancing. Actually I was trying to use it as a way to get my foot in the door. I did make more contacts, but that's when I really got to see that the music industry is a totally different world from being an artist. What I mean is like the whole business of music.

So what did you specifically learn about the industry from this experience?

I learned you have to watch people [laughs] and if you feel like you're in a situation where you don't trust someone then you should go with your gut instincts. Because there's a lot of people who will try to make money off of talent and when their done they really don't give a damn about you. But that also when I decided that I wanted to pursue a music full time and not dance. I just tired of dancing behind people.

So do you still dance?

Yeah, I run a performing arts program right now in Brooklyn for inner city youth. That's my day job, but it so happens that it fits my schedule. I still dance, I still train, I still go to class, and I'll still do some shows every now and again. But things are kinda picking up with my music now which I'm happy about.

I think as listeners we have a tendency to categorize new artists before really taking them fully in. So, before some inattentive listener defines you as an amalgamation between Erykah Badu and Kelis, will you please tell us how you define your music and style?

I call my style sneakers and stilettos. Still sexy, but still like Hip Hop. You know, futuristic. I mean I can still be girly, but I can still up rock on some of y'all. Sashay, shante. But you know [laughs].

You're crazy! So what is your process when you go into the studio? What mean is do find yourself always thinking about your music and just unload in the studio? Or do you sit there and painstakingly go through what you want to with your music?

Some of the best songs that I've had have been when I'm with my brother and Ivan. My brother is in a production team called Monkey Wrench. So they'll make a track right there and if I get inspired I'll just start thinking about stuff in my head. I will say that emotional turmoil has made the best songs. Like when I'm going through something I write the best songs. 

Turmoil?

Have you heard my song Ms. U?

Oh yeah. I like that track because it sounds like a 2009 version of Martha and the Vandellas' track Jimmy Mack. So that track was born out of turmoil?

So yeah, Ms. U is like a true story but I flipped it. Ms. U is about me messing up and I flipped because actually dude messed up. I did like cheat on him once he starting messing up, but I flipped it like it was my fault.

Now my second favorite track on your MySpace page is Ghetto Rockstar. That track reminds me of some of Kelis' work off of Kaleidoscope. You definitely have a diversified sound, who is your production team because they seem to know what fits your style perfectly?

You see the thing is that it took me a while to find my sound. If you were to hear the music I was doing before this, it was kinda like my music now, but it really wasn't there. It just so happened that while I was going to all these other producers I wasn't really looking at my family. But one day I was sitting at home and my brother was playing his music and I just like, "What is that? Come to find out his sound was exactly what I've been looking for." His music is melodic, but still kind of Hip Hop and spacey. As an artist it was a comfort to me to know that now I have a sound because I was lost at first.

Yeah I can tell. You know how you go on MySpace sometimes and you hear people making their own music. And the second you hear it you can tell that that particular person isn't going anywhere. With you it's clear you understand where you want to go. It's crazy because I'm not even trying to kiss ass right now [laughs].

Thank you. But this is not easy.

Oh, I know. Now, besides being a singer/dancer, you are also a lyricist. When did you first realize that you could flow?

When I was in High School they use to have us on this fake recess period so everybody use to just chill. I use to just write poetry, but I use to also rhyme. But at the time I never rhymed in front of nobody, especially dudes. One of the dudes, my little boyfriend or whatever, made me mad one day so I wrote a rhyme about him. It took me a while to build up the courage to say the rhyme, but one day I just said it and everybody was like, "Ohhh." That kinda of gave me the courage to just say what I had to say.

Where you inspired by a particular artist at the time?

The artist who inspired me at the time was MC Lyte. Still to this day MC Lyte can spit. She always had this delivery that was crazy. Of course Lauryn Hill, Foxy Brown, Lil Kim, shit I like all them bitches [laughs]. But the thing I'm not into is when women try to sound like men. You should be feminine with your shit because that's the beauty of it. I don't have to look like a dude.

So when can the world expect to hear a full length album of the eclectic, beautiful music that you make?

I'm always working on things. I have a completed album right now, but I'm still always working on things. I'll definitely say I'll have something out by 2010. But right now the single, Ms. U, is kinda of what I'm promoting now.

You said you already had an album out, right?

I have enough songs to make an album, but I'm like one of those people who never want to stop recording. Somebody has to really tell me stop. I always revising stuff that I make. I don't know, we'll see how the single goes. I'm expecting everything to go well because I have everything in it. It's on iTunes and Amazon and I'm going to be promoting the video as well.

Cool. So what do you foresee as your long term plans when it comes to career in the music industry?

I think I'm just one of those people who is never gonna stop. The challenge is always to be fresh and new. That's the thing I know I have to learn like when it comes the dreaded sophomore curse. I'm thinking about that now and my first album hasn't even come out yet. I think no matter what I'm gonna do what I have to do.

That's the only way you can be in the industry at the end of the day. I appreciate your time Afaliah and the best of luck to you in the future.

Thank you so much.

To get more information about Afaliah, visit www.myspace.com/afaliahmusic

- By Malcolm Nelson