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“What doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger!”
That old adage seems to be a mantra for singer Dawn
Robinson, an
undenyable talent who just keeps coming back stronger and stronger with each
project attached to her name.
The sexy siren first hit the pop music radar as a
member of the most
successful girl group of the 1990s –– En Vogue –– which she left to
co-launch the critically heralded, highly provocative and Grammy-nominated
funk/rock/soul ensemble, Lucy Pearl.
Well, it’s a new century, a new millinnium and you
guessed it ––
Robinson’s got a brand new project and a brand new recording.
While she’s not exactly a “fresh face” in the way that
most artists
featured in this section are unknowns making their first ever stab at stardom
–– Robinson’s solo debut, "Dawn," is without a doubt one
fresh sounding CD!
“EnVogue was more about choosing the right material.
And Lucy Pearl was
more about an impromptu style of recording,” reflects Robinson. “With
this
(solo CD) I was able to take a more thoughtful approach as to the kinds of
songs I wanted to hear.”
The album was released the last week of January by Q Records,
which to
date as only one artist –– yep, you guessed it –– Dawn Robinson. Q
is a
new division of QVC, the television shopping channel.
Q could not have picked a better talent to bow it’s
fledgling label with
than Robinson. At press time, this sulty thirty something was already sitting
pretty at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart with her first
solo hit, “Envious.”
That smooth groovin’ song sets the tone well for the
12-track offering
which draws on an eclectic gamut of styles ranging from urban soul, hip-hop,
rock and more than a little funk. Her vocals fall somewhere between Blue
Cantrell and old-school diva Betty Davis (the ‘70s soul star, not the old
white actress...duh!)
The material here is a little bitter and topical ––
ranging from single
parenting and homelessness, to having survived swimming with sharks in
three-piece suits.
Of the heart and wallet breaking experiences she has
had with her last
two groups (emerging broke despite both finding major commercial success),
Robinson is surprisingly upbeat. “I wouldn’t have been able to do what
I’m
doing today (with this record),” she said of the bittersweet experience of
watching her records move up the charts and her videos stay in constant
rotation, while sporting little more than lint in her pockets. “Living,”
she adds, “is how you make music that’s clever and different!”
Born in Connecticut and raised in Oaktown, as a member of En
Vougue, this
funky diva has enjoyed numerous accolades, including winnig three MTV Awards,
five Grammys and being named Soul Train’s “1992 Entertainer Of The Year”. With Lucy Pearl, she earned critical praise and a gold selling album.
But even with all that in her past, she feels – “In
many ways this is
the record I was always supposed to make. The one where I feel I’ve left
no
creative stone unturned. It gave me a chance to be more creative all the
way
around.”
She sees her stepping out solo as a challenge she is ready to
meet.
“I’ve always admired artist who could go from groups to their solo
career,”
she said. “This album and this record company are helping me find the
kind
of independence that I could never quite attain in the past. I have all
these influences in my background, all these things I want to say. I
don’t
ever want to be pigeonholed.”
Finally realizing her own independent identity, Robinson says
–
“All I’m really saying is that I’m here – and I’ve never been better!”
‘Nuff said!
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