Post by JK on Aug 1, 2005 16:25:52 GMT
For those of you who haven't seen it, here's an interview with Jentina from just before she released her first single.
Jentina is a unique name. Where does it come from?
My name is actually… well, if you do a search of my name on the internet, you won’t get my website you’ll just get a load of people from the Netherlands, as Jentina is supposedly a Dutch name. It’s actually my Mum’s name and my Grandma’s name and I was born on my Mum’s birthday and she was born on her mum’s birthday so that’s how I got the name. And when my nan was born they couldn’t decide whether to call her Jenny or Tina, because they liked both names, so they put it together as Jentina. My mum got the same name when she was born, and then when I was born I got the same name as well - It’s a little confusing! So really it’s a Dutch name but I prefer to think of it as a ‘blend’ of the two names in my family.
When did you decide you wanted to be a performer and who were your influences when you were growing up?
Well, I’ve never thought I was the best singer in the world, but I love to rap. When I grew up I used to love Naz and Tu Pac. They were the only two cassettes I had and I used to have to hide them under my bed as my mum used to go mad because of all the swearing in them! I suppose I was about 10 or 11 when I got my first Naz tape and it carried on from there.
You grew up in Peckham. What influences has your background had on your music?
Well, I didn’t grow up in Peckhamm, I grew up in Surrey and then I moved to Peckham when I ran away from home in my early teens. Growing up where there was absolutely no hip-hop culture at all in Surrey, I just made it all up myself. When I moved to Peckham I met my first group of friends and they were all rappers, so I just blended in with them. A lot of people used to say to me ‘White girls can’t rap!’ and all this nuts, but that just made me want to carry on more, you know. But I was too busy worrying about trying to survive and not getting locked up for the things I was doing, as opposed to concentrating on becoming a rapper when I moved into town… if you know what I mean!
Who have you been working with on the album?
I’ve worked with Jimmy D and he did a mix for me that was really cool. My little crew of people is really just my manager, David Dorrell, he’s had a massive influence on me and he knows his music. Also Matt Rowe is one of my producers and Jason Cohen. But in the next couple of weeks I go to Miami to work with Beenie Man and Dave Kelly.
Are there artists that you would like to collaborate with?
I would like to, but to be honest… I never think of myself as good as the people I would like to work with, so it would be a bit scary to work with them. If I could work with anybody it would be Missy Elliot – that’s my girl, love her!
How would you describe yourself in five words?
I think I’m very loud, outrageous, busy… I run around like a busy bee! I think I’m funny even if no-one else does! And loving, you know... believe it or not. I’ve got a lot of love.
How would you describe your music to people who haven’t heard it?
To me it’s ‘Jentina music’ because every time I hear it I never think ‘Oh, that sounds like… this person or that person’. I never try to make it sound like anybody else so to me it’s just my music. If I had to describe it I’d say… I’d like to think it was electro-old school-hip-hop. Definitely not pop, it’s HIP-HOP!
You’ve been likened to Neneh Cherry. Are you flattered by the comparison?
Yeah, because I love Neneh I think she’s great, really cool. She was in the studio working opposite me once and she said my music sounded good, you know, so that was a big up!
Tell us about the new single Badass Strippa…
I was in L.A. in the summer and the sun was hot, there were girls in bikinis on the beach, we went to a lap dancing club… after that I got back to England and it was raining and it was like “this is pants” and I just started writing… it’s an extreme actually of what really did happen with me out in L.A…. I just put a few things together.
What rules does Jentina live by?
Jentina doesn’t have any rules; Jentina needs some rules! My rule is… I don’t have any rules. Actually, that’s a lie… I made one this week. I had to cut a few people off around me because I was paying too much attention to them and not concentrating on my music. So I only have one rule and that is to make sure I am concentrating when I need to be. At the moment my music needs to come first. Also I want to give up smoking – that’s gonna be a rule one day. NO SMOKING!
Are you ready for success?
Since I’ve been born so many strange things have happened to me that don’t happen to the average person… for me this is no bigger or no different to when I was 15 and I moved to Miami when all the other kids were still at school doing GCSE’s. To be honest with you, I’m ready for the stage because I always have been, but I can’t say I’m ready for people chasing me around with cameras otherwise I might end up doing a Bjork! You know, I never look at anything like that in my life…
What’s more important to you – critical acclaim or commercial success?
The people. I lived through this life and I have so many people say that they love me and tell me I’m great and then I have about 50 million haters who try to put me down but I don’t care what those people think, you know. For me it’s all about people who I get on with and who like me for me. I don’t really care about those people on the other side, you know. It’s the fans that matter.
What do you think of shows like Pop Idol?
That’s actually a good question. People look at it as their only break and they’ll queue up for like 20 hours to get in. I will say that most of the people they pick can’t sing but there are a lot of people queuing up there who can and that is their only chance. Not everybody is working in a shop and then somebody comes along and gives them the opportunity of a lifetime. If that’s their only way of getting a break then good on them for trying. If music is your passion then you’ll do anything to get there and I understand that.
What’s in your stereo at the moment?
K West. He’s my best at the moment. Then Magoo, Missy, Eryka Badu, Jill Scott, Glen Lewis… I have millions but there’s just a few.
What are you going to spend your millions on?
I’m really funny actually, if you asked me how much I had in the bank could never tell you – If I had a million in there or I had nothing, I never know! I never plan it. I have a savings account because one day I’d like to buy a house and live happily ever after. I’d obviously help my family out but I’m not really one for buying things. Trainers – there you go!
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
My plans are to get the album locked down tight – I wanna make sure it’s the best. Get my stage performance on a roll, do some gigs, put my single out and just enjoy it. I’ve got a few little things on the roll.
Is the album almost finished?
Yeah, it’s almost done. We’ve actually got enough material to start the second album! We’re just mastering and mixing this album. We’ve worked hard.
When it’s out?
It’ll be out in September hopefully. We’ve been working so hard over the last two years.
What’s your worst habit?
I’ve got a bad one and everybody who knows me knows this as well. If anybody rings me and leaves me a message or texts me… I never get back to anybody! I do not ring anybody back – that’s my worst habit. It’s not that I don’t like you, I just forget! It’s not cheesy socks under the bed or anything like that.
FAQ
Name: Jentina Chapman
Born: Guilford, Surrey
Height: 5, 8”
Starsign: Pisces (not a fish, a piranha!)
Lives: Southwest London
Favourite female singer: Tracy Chapman, Missy Elliot, Little Mo
Favourite male singer: Glenn Lewis, Kanye West
Favourite group: Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Favourite album: The Clash (can’t remember the title)
Favourite book: small and black with lots of boys numbers in it!
Favourite TV show: Jentina TV on cable!
Favourite actor: Ray Winstone
Favourite actress: Kim Cattrall
Favourite concert: The Datsuns and Tricky
Favourite holiday destination: Santa Monica (peaceful, quiet, expensive!)
Favourite shop: Charity shops! Le Jude? in Paris.
Favourite Film: Love, Honour and Obey
Hobbies: I’m a couch potato!
My name is actually… well, if you do a search of my name on the internet, you won’t get my website you’ll just get a load of people from the Netherlands, as Jentina is supposedly a Dutch name. It’s actually my Mum’s name and my Grandma’s name and I was born on my Mum’s birthday and she was born on her mum’s birthday so that’s how I got the name. And when my nan was born they couldn’t decide whether to call her Jenny or Tina, because they liked both names, so they put it together as Jentina. My mum got the same name when she was born, and then when I was born I got the same name as well - It’s a little confusing! So really it’s a Dutch name but I prefer to think of it as a ‘blend’ of the two names in my family.
When did you decide you wanted to be a performer and who were your influences when you were growing up?
Well, I’ve never thought I was the best singer in the world, but I love to rap. When I grew up I used to love Naz and Tu Pac. They were the only two cassettes I had and I used to have to hide them under my bed as my mum used to go mad because of all the swearing in them! I suppose I was about 10 or 11 when I got my first Naz tape and it carried on from there.
You grew up in Peckham. What influences has your background had on your music?
Well, I didn’t grow up in Peckhamm, I grew up in Surrey and then I moved to Peckham when I ran away from home in my early teens. Growing up where there was absolutely no hip-hop culture at all in Surrey, I just made it all up myself. When I moved to Peckham I met my first group of friends and they were all rappers, so I just blended in with them. A lot of people used to say to me ‘White girls can’t rap!’ and all this nuts, but that just made me want to carry on more, you know. But I was too busy worrying about trying to survive and not getting locked up for the things I was doing, as opposed to concentrating on becoming a rapper when I moved into town… if you know what I mean!
Who have you been working with on the album?
I’ve worked with Jimmy D and he did a mix for me that was really cool. My little crew of people is really just my manager, David Dorrell, he’s had a massive influence on me and he knows his music. Also Matt Rowe is one of my producers and Jason Cohen. But in the next couple of weeks I go to Miami to work with Beenie Man and Dave Kelly.
Are there artists that you would like to collaborate with?
I would like to, but to be honest… I never think of myself as good as the people I would like to work with, so it would be a bit scary to work with them. If I could work with anybody it would be Missy Elliot – that’s my girl, love her!
How would you describe yourself in five words?
I think I’m very loud, outrageous, busy… I run around like a busy bee! I think I’m funny even if no-one else does! And loving, you know... believe it or not. I’ve got a lot of love.
How would you describe your music to people who haven’t heard it?
To me it’s ‘Jentina music’ because every time I hear it I never think ‘Oh, that sounds like… this person or that person’. I never try to make it sound like anybody else so to me it’s just my music. If I had to describe it I’d say… I’d like to think it was electro-old school-hip-hop. Definitely not pop, it’s HIP-HOP!
You’ve been likened to Neneh Cherry. Are you flattered by the comparison?
Yeah, because I love Neneh I think she’s great, really cool. She was in the studio working opposite me once and she said my music sounded good, you know, so that was a big up!
Tell us about the new single Badass Strippa…
I was in L.A. in the summer and the sun was hot, there were girls in bikinis on the beach, we went to a lap dancing club… after that I got back to England and it was raining and it was like “this is pants” and I just started writing… it’s an extreme actually of what really did happen with me out in L.A…. I just put a few things together.
What rules does Jentina live by?
Jentina doesn’t have any rules; Jentina needs some rules! My rule is… I don’t have any rules. Actually, that’s a lie… I made one this week. I had to cut a few people off around me because I was paying too much attention to them and not concentrating on my music. So I only have one rule and that is to make sure I am concentrating when I need to be. At the moment my music needs to come first. Also I want to give up smoking – that’s gonna be a rule one day. NO SMOKING!
Are you ready for success?
Since I’ve been born so many strange things have happened to me that don’t happen to the average person… for me this is no bigger or no different to when I was 15 and I moved to Miami when all the other kids were still at school doing GCSE’s. To be honest with you, I’m ready for the stage because I always have been, but I can’t say I’m ready for people chasing me around with cameras otherwise I might end up doing a Bjork! You know, I never look at anything like that in my life…
What’s more important to you – critical acclaim or commercial success?
The people. I lived through this life and I have so many people say that they love me and tell me I’m great and then I have about 50 million haters who try to put me down but I don’t care what those people think, you know. For me it’s all about people who I get on with and who like me for me. I don’t really care about those people on the other side, you know. It’s the fans that matter.
What do you think of shows like Pop Idol?
That’s actually a good question. People look at it as their only break and they’ll queue up for like 20 hours to get in. I will say that most of the people they pick can’t sing but there are a lot of people queuing up there who can and that is their only chance. Not everybody is working in a shop and then somebody comes along and gives them the opportunity of a lifetime. If that’s their only way of getting a break then good on them for trying. If music is your passion then you’ll do anything to get there and I understand that.
What’s in your stereo at the moment?
K West. He’s my best at the moment. Then Magoo, Missy, Eryka Badu, Jill Scott, Glen Lewis… I have millions but there’s just a few.
What are you going to spend your millions on?
I’m really funny actually, if you asked me how much I had in the bank could never tell you – If I had a million in there or I had nothing, I never know! I never plan it. I have a savings account because one day I’d like to buy a house and live happily ever after. I’d obviously help my family out but I’m not really one for buying things. Trainers – there you go!
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
My plans are to get the album locked down tight – I wanna make sure it’s the best. Get my stage performance on a roll, do some gigs, put my single out and just enjoy it. I’ve got a few little things on the roll.
Is the album almost finished?
Yeah, it’s almost done. We’ve actually got enough material to start the second album! We’re just mastering and mixing this album. We’ve worked hard.
When it’s out?
It’ll be out in September hopefully. We’ve been working so hard over the last two years.
What’s your worst habit?
I’ve got a bad one and everybody who knows me knows this as well. If anybody rings me and leaves me a message or texts me… I never get back to anybody! I do not ring anybody back – that’s my worst habit. It’s not that I don’t like you, I just forget! It’s not cheesy socks under the bed or anything like that.
FAQ
Name: Jentina Chapman
Born: Guilford, Surrey
Height: 5, 8”
Starsign: Pisces (not a fish, a piranha!)
Lives: Southwest London
Favourite female singer: Tracy Chapman, Missy Elliot, Little Mo
Favourite male singer: Glenn Lewis, Kanye West
Favourite group: Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Favourite album: The Clash (can’t remember the title)
Favourite book: small and black with lots of boys numbers in it!
Favourite TV show: Jentina TV on cable!
Favourite actor: Ray Winstone
Favourite actress: Kim Cattrall
Favourite concert: The Datsuns and Tricky
Favourite holiday destination: Santa Monica (peaceful, quiet, expensive!)
Favourite shop: Charity shops! Le Jude? in Paris.
Favourite Film: Love, Honour and Obey
Hobbies: I’m a couch potato!
