Tag Archives: Diggy Simmons

Before the Show with the OMG Girlz

By Sommer Thornton

Scream Tour 2012 hit Chicago over the weekend and tweens from near and far flocked to the Arie Crown Theater. Diggy Simmons headlined the tour this year with the OMG Girlz, Chicago Native Jawon Harris, and rap duo TKnCA$H. Before the concert I got to talk with the vibrant teen sensation, the OMG Girlz, a trio comprised of Beauty, Babydoll, and Star.

A creation of former Xscape member Tameka “Tiny” Harris, the OMG Girlz are rising to the top with their catchy songs, energetic dances, and of course their pretty girl swag. The world was first introduced to the OMG Girlz on the BET reality show, Tiny and Toya, but after a few personnel changes in the group and a bolder image, the girls are ready to “paint the world pink, purple, and blue,” as BabyDoll puts it. Check out what the OMG Girlz had to say about touring, the family hustle, and of course boys.

 UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: What’s 1 word each of you would use to describe your music?

BEAUTY: Fun

BABYDOLL: Age Appropriate

STAR: Distinct

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: You guys have a unique style -it’s very brave. How does your style come through in your music?

BABYDOLL: Our new single “Where the Boys At” is a fun song for girls. The song is just about us having a good time- we just wanna find the party, figure out where the boys at. And “Gucci This” is about shopping- going to the mall and having a good time, even if it’s with your mom. All of our songs are really fun. Sometimes they can be about boys like “So Official” is about a guy we like and he’s really cute so he’s So Official.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: How has touring with Diggy this time around different from when you toured with Mindless Behavior?

BABYDOLL: It’s not too much of a difference because it’s like a family reunion. We like to watch each other grow. And we really appreciate each other and give each other credit where it’s due. So if there’s a difference it’s the growth and love as brothers and sisters, and doing what we love to do at the same time.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: Did you know any of the other artists before this tour?

BABYDOLL: Nobody on this tour. It’s good to meet some friends our age.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: Are there any artist that you have collaborated with that you’re especially excited about?

STAR: We do have one with Diggy on a remix. We have a couple of collaborations but we can’t really talk about them because we’re still choosing what should be on the album.

BABYDOLL: For the future we would like to work with big producers like Timbaland, Missy Elliot, The Dream, and also artists like Beyonce, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, John Mayer, and Katy Perry.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: Is there a female group or artist you all look up to?

STAR: As a group we really look up to TLC. They are really our inspiration. We love their style in music and their style in clothes. We look back at them then try to come up with something new- something more up-to-date from them. We also look up to Boys II Men, New Edition, Destiny’s Child and Xscape,  

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: You guys are signed to Grand Hustle Records and Pretty Hustle. How is it being signed to your parents’ labels?

STAR: It’s a great feeling because when I was younger I always used to talk to my stepdad [T.I.] about Grand Hustle and I would tell him “One day I wanna get the chain and stuff.” I was like 5. So when we started our own thing and showed them that we were serious we ended up getting the chains and getting signed. It’s crazy but it’s overall a great experience.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: What’s the best advice your parents give you all about the industry that you guys have taken to heart?

BEAUTY: My mom tells me to always stay grounded and stay focused on what I’m doing. She always tells me to practice. She’s always on me about bettering my craft.

STAR: My parents tell all of us to make sure that when we’re in the business to take it seriously. Also that even though we’re in a grown people business not to act like kids, because we are mature for our age. They also tell us to be about what you’re doing and never feel like just cause I’m a kid I can’t ask questions and know what’s going on when we’re in meetings. They tell us to ask questions and know what were doing so that when we get older we’ll be even better.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: Star- Your brother Domani raps. Have you thought about putting him on any of your songs or putting any of your family members on an OMG song?

STAR: We‘re in the process of doing a song with Domani.

BEAUTY: We did a song with Domani and with my little sister Lolo.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: Star’s mom and stepdad’s reality show, TI and Tiny: A Family Hustle premiered on VH1 a few weeks ago. What can we expect to see from the OMG Girlz on the show this season?

BABYDOLL: More family hustle. It’s Star’s family so it’s showing how great they are, very family oriented. They chase us here and there.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: Do you have any funny stories that happened on tour either time?

STAR: On our first tour this girl snuck on our bus. This tour there were these fans outside our van sticking their hands in the window, and we were pulling off. So me and Babydoll kept telling them “you gotta move your hand before it gets cut off.”

BABYDOLL: We were just kidding with them. We just didn’t want anyone to get ran over.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: What’s your favorite thing to do when you all have some down time?

BABYDOLL: Collectively we like to spend time with our families because when we’re on the road we miss them. We go see our grandparents. I try to go back to my home town, Mobile, Alabama and they go back to A-Town. Star catches up on her sleep. Beauty loves to party and go out and hang out with friends. And me I like to work out. I don’t like to sit still. I like to do things that perfect my craft. We’re in school so on the road we had to stay caught up with our school work, so that when we go back home we have our work ready.

UNRATED URBAN MAGAZINE: When does your album drop? What’s it called?

BABYDOLL: The Album is coming really soon. It’s called Officially Miss Guided, which means girls guided by girl power and independence. It’s great because it can reach kids and parents. Parents are gonna be in the car too, so we wanna make something for them. But it’s fun and it’s colorful like our hair, also distinct and age appropriate like we said earlier. We’re ready to paint the world pink, purple, and blue.

I can see that these eloquent young ladies have a bright future ahead of them. They all sing well, they dance like I never seen a girl group move- very girly but also age appropriate. I also love the OMG Girlz’ unique style. And their songs “Loverboy” and “Where the Boys At” are catchy even for adults. By the end of the OMG Girlz’ lively set I wanted to buy their album, Officially Miss Guided when it drops. The crowd loved the OMG Girlz too. The ladies even paid an unexpected tribute to 90’s girl groups TLC and Total. My favorite performance was “Gucci This” which they killed. I can tell these girls were born to do what they are doing, and they’re serious about their craft.

Other Scream Tour acts included, TKnCA$H, a rap duo with major game. They had the crowd going wild for their hits, rapping every word. DTP Records’ fresh young rap duo is just what the industry needs. Also, Chicago’s own, Jawon Harris performed some of his R&B hits. Jawon reminds me of a Tevin Campbell/Bobby Brown hybrid. His songs are soulful and he has a wonderful voice. But Jawon has a bad boy streak. The girls in the crowd went cray when Jawon took off his shirt and showed his 6-pack while belting out a beautiful ballad. Then this boy poured water all over his nekkid chest (clutch my pearls.) I had to peek though.

After the OMG Girlz, Diggy Simmons hit the stage. I thought the theater couldn’t get any more hyped. Boy was a wrong. Diggy tore the roof off with his first song. And his swag was on 100 as he rocked the stage in all white everything. Everybody knows that Diggy is a star in the making- literally. But the OMG Girlz, with the help of their famous mentors are on their way to super stardom.

Watch the OMG Girls perform “Gucci This” at the Scream Tour in Chicago!

 

Watch the OMG Girls perform their ballad” Loverboy” at the Scream Tour in Chicago!

2012 Essence Music Festival

 Every year over 400,000 people from around the world descend upon New Orleans for the only music festival that offers not only scorching music performances and a party filled atmosphere, but also a full Empowerment Experience and four days of family friendly fun: the Essence Music Festival.  This year, in its 18th year of existence and bigger, better and with a more complete programming line up than ever, the 2012 Essence Musical Festival will celebrate its 18th anniversary this July 5 th, 6th, 7th and 8th in historic New Orleans, LA, with the most lauded names in entertainment and the nation’s most influential speakers, artists, authors, educators and leaders.

This year the Essence Music Festival will conclude their world class musical programming on Sunday, July 8 th, with a special, once in a lifetime ensemble comprised of Chaka Khan and the R&B Divas. Immediately following the legendary Aretha Franklin’s headlining performance, Chaka will return for a sixty-minute encore performance with the R&B Divas, comprised of Faith Evans, Nicci Gilbert, Monifah Carter, Syleenah Johnson and Keke Wyatt . Together these powerful voices will pay tribute to the R&B artists who passed away over this past year.

This closing ensemble is the final addition to talent which already includes a stellar line-up featuring the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, Grammy-Award winning singer D’Angelo, as well as R&B heartthrob Trey Songz, Charlie Wilson, Mary Mary, Mary J. Blige, Fantasia, The Pointer Sisters, Ledisi and more. The official host each night will be Nephew Tommy, comedian and co-host of the long running Steve Harvey Morning Show.

Kicking off on the inaugural day of Thursday, July 5 th, the Festival, long known as a family friendly Festival, will celebrate a full day youth empowerment experience at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, culminating with the first ever youth empowerment concert on the New & Next stage that night at the Louisiana Superdome. Hosted by Wild Wayne and actress Rocsi Diaz, the New & Next stage will feature a roster of rising young stars including the newly added Roshon Fegan in addition to Kaitlyn Nichol, Coco Jones, recording artist and hip-hop royalty Diggy Simmons, R&B pop group The OMG Girlz and New Orleans’ marching band The Roots of Music. These bright young stars are the first-ever generation of performers to represent the New & Next Stage and will be sure to dazzle on July 5th. Sponsored by Verizon, Wal-Mart and community partner Capital One, tickets for the New and Next Stage are available at essencemusicfestival.com.

Forever anchored in Empowerment and not just entertainment, the Essence Empowerment Experience brings together the leaders, innovators, activists, experts, artists, performers and thinkers who are defining the social and political discussions that matter most to attendees all under one roof at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The “Power of Our Voice” is the theme of this year’s 18th annual Essence Music Festival and through this forum Essencewill celebrate the power of Family, Community and Spirit within a unique gathering that is free and open to the public. Inspirational speaker and New Thought spiritual teacher, Iyanla Vanzant, has been newly added to the line up which already includes Steve Harvey, Vanessa Williams, Reverend Al Sharpton, Soledad O’Brien, Alice Randall and Tamar Braxton, amongst many others.

For information about ticket sales, accommodations and the latest news about the Essence Music Festival, visit Essence Music Festival www.essencemusicfestival.com Join the Festival community: follow us on Twitter @essencemusic #EssenceFest and become a fan of 2012 ESSENCE Music Festival on Facebook.

One on One with Diggy Simmons

By Tamara Jenkins

He’s the son of a Hip-Hop Legend, nephew to a Hip-Hop mogul and now Diggy Simmons is venturing into the family business and coming into his own.

Already a proven lyricist with two successful mixtapes under his belt, The First Flight (2009) and Airborne (2010), a nomination for MTV’s “Hottest Breakthrough MC Of 2010″and a member of  XXL Magazine’s prestigious 2011 Freshman Class, there’s no question about his longevity in music.

Currently on tour as part of the BET’s106 & Park Presents: Closer to My Dreams Tour, Simmons took time from his busy schedule to speak with UnRated Urban Magazine during a promotional appearance at PHLI Sneaker Boutique in Hyde Park, IL.

You’re working on your debut CD right now, what’s the title?

Diggy Simmons: I can’t say yet, but the title is definitely perfect for where I’m at right now and how people see me and how I’m feeling with my career in general. It‘s going to be out soon.

Who have you worked with on the CD?

Diggy Simmons:  I can’t say.

Who are you’re influences in music?

Diggy Simmons:  I have so many especially in other genres but I’ll stick to Hip Hop like Jay-Z, definitely musically of course and the way he’s taken himself as an artist to businessman and entrepreneur to CEO and Kanye (West) of course too creatively he always raises the bar with what he does and takes risks and Lupe (Fiasco) is another person, he’s out of Chi-Town is someone that I look up to as an influence and like a big brother to me as well.

Will people be surprised by the sound of the CD?

Diggy Simmons: Definitely, without a doubt. That’s what I’ve been telling people in interviews that there just going to be shocked, it’s so amazing and I’m so excited. Like, unbiased, besides the fact that its mine, its incredible and I can’t wait to share it with everybody.

Is there a lot of pressure considering you come from a very successful family?

Diggy Simmons:  People ask that, but not really, not at all I just really do me and I’m just an independent person and I’m my own individual. So not really.

What was it like having your life filmed during Run’s House?

Diggy Simmons: It was something you got use to.

Would you ever do your own reality show?

Diggy Simmons: No, probably not.

You’re a fashion plate; do you have any aspirations to become a designer?

Diggy Simmons: Definitely, definitely my own clothing line and I also have my own sneaker line, Chivalrous Culture and you can find it online at chivculture.com.

Do you have any plans to go into acting?

Diggy Simmons:  That can happen, I’ve always been interested in that and I use to do a little bit of acting.

What’s the best advice someone has given you before you started in the music industry?

Diggy Simmons:  Something that I always remembered even now is that just do you because sometimes what people say can get under your skin and you can’t let it.

How do you parents feel about you getting into the music industry?

Diggy Simmons:  Their just proud and support what I do and their happy for me.