Here's an article from The Ohio Magazine
( link to website http://ohiomagazine.com/Main/Articles/Music_Fit_for_a_Queen_3512.aspx )
"Music Fit for a Queen
If it hadn’t been for a bumpy friendship, Sharonville’s Ingrid Woode might not have been invited into the recording studio with Queen Latifah.
“Farewell, fair-weather friend,” Woode sings in the video she submitted to the Queen’s online singer/songwriter contest. From hundreds of entries, Woode was chosen to record her song, “Fairweather Friend” with Queen Latifah on the superstar’s “Persona” album, set for release this summer.
“Farewell, fair-weather friend,” Woode sings in the video she submitted to the Queen’s online singer/songwriter contest. From hundreds of entries, Woode was chosen to record her song, “Fairweather Friend” with Queen Latifah on the superstar’s “Persona” album, set for release this summer.
She chose “Fairweather Friend” – a song she penned in 2007 – as her submission because, she says, “it’s a fun, exciting song – real melodic and percussion-based.”
To showcase her talents for the contest entry, Woode set up a digital camera and photographed herself singing and playing drums, keyboard and guitar. Seven weeks later, she got the word she was a winner.
“With the music industry, the people who make it often get an off-the-wall, out-of-the-blue chance,” says Woode, a chemist at Amylin Pharmaceuticals in West Chester. “Will this be my chance to have my voice, my talent be noticed?”
As big as Woode’s dreams are, she’s made sure to back them up with preparation: At age 3, she started tinkering on her mother Geneva’s piano and at age 8, began studying violin. She moved on to drums as a teen-ager, beating cardboard boxes with coat hangers until her mother finally presented her with her first set. Woode also played in the Cincinnati Junior Strings and Walnut Hills High School Orchestra.
Although she opted to major in animal science and minor in chemistry at Tuskegee University in Alabama, music remained a noteworthy part of campus life: Woode sang in the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Concert Choir and started a band – “like the Commodores, who went to Tuskegee.” Woode was arranger and lead vocalist, “and when the drummer wanted to take a break, I’d hop on the drums. Then I’d hop on the keyboards.”
As she anticipates the release of “Fairweather Friend,” Woode charts what she hopes will be her future course.
“My main goal is to be Quincy Jones or Smokey Robinson or, in the younger generation, Babyface or Brian McKnight. I can’t wait until I hear my songs on the radio, whether it’s me singing or someone else.
“Music,” she adds, “is where my heart’s always been.”"
To showcase her talents for the contest entry, Woode set up a digital camera and photographed herself singing and playing drums, keyboard and guitar. Seven weeks later, she got the word she was a winner.
“With the music industry, the people who make it often get an off-the-wall, out-of-the-blue chance,” says Woode, a chemist at Amylin Pharmaceuticals in West Chester. “Will this be my chance to have my voice, my talent be noticed?”
As big as Woode’s dreams are, she’s made sure to back them up with preparation: At age 3, she started tinkering on her mother Geneva’s piano and at age 8, began studying violin. She moved on to drums as a teen-ager, beating cardboard boxes with coat hangers until her mother finally presented her with her first set. Woode also played in the Cincinnati Junior Strings and Walnut Hills High School Orchestra.
Although she opted to major in animal science and minor in chemistry at Tuskegee University in Alabama, music remained a noteworthy part of campus life: Woode sang in the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Concert Choir and started a band – “like the Commodores, who went to Tuskegee.” Woode was arranger and lead vocalist, “and when the drummer wanted to take a break, I’d hop on the drums. Then I’d hop on the keyboards.”
As she anticipates the release of “Fairweather Friend,” Woode charts what she hopes will be her future course.
“My main goal is to be Quincy Jones or Smokey Robinson or, in the younger generation, Babyface or Brian McKnight. I can’t wait until I hear my songs on the radio, whether it’s me singing or someone else.
“Music,” she adds, “is where my heart’s always been.”"
Billboard Article
Queen Latifah Returns To Rap On 'Persona'The world sees plenty of Queen Latifah (real name Dana Owens) these days-at movie theaters, on magazine covers, in CoverGirl ads-but it rarely hears new music from her. Latifah's last two albums consisted entirely of jazz and soul standards. "Trav'lin Light," released in 2007, sold 263,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while "The Dana Owens Album," which came out three years prior, sold 730,000.
Recently, Latifah went back to rapping (and yes, singing) on everything from a Lady GaGa remix to a Rhymefest mixtape. "Persona," her first album of originals since 1997, is due Aug. 22 on Flavor Unit Entertainment.
How does it feel to be rapping again?
Queen Latifah: It feels good. It's like riding a bike-once you know it, you know it. This album is definitely rooted in hip-hop, but there's a lot of singing, too. I've been singing a lot over the past few years, so I wanted to bring it all under one roof. But really, I've always sung on my records. I was always a person who mixed a lot of melody with rhymes. It's fun getting my feet wet again.
This is your first time working with producers Cool & Dre. What made you decide to record "Persona" with them?
I met them during this pilot that we did with Eve called "Bridging the Gap" about an artist getting to meet their hero. At the end of the episode, Eve and I went into the studio to make a record that Cool & Dre produced. It was just such a good vibe. They're very creative and easy to work with, and they just took ideas that I had for my album and really made them hot. They were like, "If the music sounds good to us, it should sound good to other people." So we went down to Miami and recorded the whole album. It's the best place to record, with the sun and the water. You could literally jump off a jet ski and go right in the booth. There aren't too many places you can do that.
You also collaborated on this album with 25-year-old Ingrid Woode, who won a songwriting contest you announced at this year's People's Choice Awards. Why did you select an unknown to write one of your songs?
Part of my whole intention with this album, and with edging back into the urban world, is to give all the females an opportunity to make records. This girl from Ohio wrote a great song and we just went and recorded it. She actually produced it all by herself in her bedroom, but Cool & Dre helped hook up the beat for us. It's a really nice song about friends who let you down.
Is it harder for women to succeed in the music industry today than it was 10 or 20 years ago?
Never since my start in this business at 17 years old have I seen it so male-dominated. It's deplorable, to be honest. You cannot just have male voices. Not in the world, not in society, not in music. When there are no female records being played on the radio, there's a voice that's missing, a story that's not being told. Labels don't sign females to their rosters. Radio stations play only 15 or 20 records over and over again. A lot of us are in the studio now-me, Missy [Elliott], Eve, Shawnna-so I guess when we're ready to go you'll hear more from the females. But we really have to step up and support one another. It has to come from video channels and radio, and women have to make sure they're supporting their sisters.
Why do you release your albums independently?
The last few albums I've done have been joint ventures, so at this point I don't know how to be signed to a label. We end up working these albums and promoting them ourselves. It's normal for us.
Do you have any sales expectations for "Persona"?
Not at this point. I realize that I haven't been in the game for a while, so I'm going to have to do everything I can to work it up to a reasonable number. I just want it to be heard. I want people to feel it and take it on the road.
Check out myself and Queen Latifah in the studio down in Miami
I know, this pic off my computer is small as hell....
