**EXCLUSIVE** It Was Like A Dream Come True...

Hello Global Grind!

I've been signed to Def Jam records since I was 14 years old & I still can remember how excited I was. At the time Jay Z was president of the label & I couldn't believe that I was going to get to work with him. It was like a dream come true.

I released my debut album 'First Love' in 2008 & although it was Grammy Nominated, it didn't sell the way I would've hoped.  My single 16 @ War was a great intro to the world from me, but deep down inside, I really wanted the label to release my song Slow Motion as a follow up. Slow motion is about a girl asking a guy to be her best friend before they rush into a relationship or rush to have sex. This song embodied everything that I believed then & still do now, & I know so many other young girls my age feel the same way. I wonder sometimes when will I be able to make and release the type of music that I love & know my fans will love instead of the songs that label execs tell me I need to put out.

How do I find myself musically if I'm not able to dictate what records my fans hear, or even what records I record?

I have an AMAZING team! My dad who is my manager, my brother Dex, who sometimes acts as my road manager, but also a VERY talented artist himself; My publicist Mecca Moore, my co-manager Phillana Williams, & my label DEF JAM all support me & I know that they want nothing but the best for me, but I haven't figured out how to express my feelings to them without someone thinking I'm talking back or trying to be grown. All I wanna do is make good music that I know my generation needs.  Sometimes I sit in my room & listen to records from past generations, & the quality of the music is so different. I want to make songs like that! Songs that hit people and they feel deep down inside. Not bubblegum.