”As a woman in the industry, there are so many things you're up against..."
The latest issue- VIBE Vixen writer, Adelle Platon, phoned in the ever so lovely Casandra Ventura to get the scoop for her cover story: "Breaking Bad"....
How do you stand your ground as a woman in a male-dominated industry?
”As a woman in the industry, there are so many things you’re up against. If you’re pretty, you’re too pretty. If you’re talented, you’re too talented to the point where people don’t want to listen to your music. And I’m not talking about Beyoncé, who is way up there. I’m just talking about people who are making the music that they love. It’s a confidence thing. It doesn’t matter what you bring out as long as you believe in it and back it up. That’s something that took time to learn. I would second guess myself a lot.
The first time I stepped out of the zone of standing behind somebody and being worried about giving my opinion was when I did “The Boys” video with Nicki Minaj. It was a trying experience, putting looks together with my team and being very, very involved and saying, “No, I’m not wearing that. This is not happening. This is how I want my hair and make-up.” That was the first time I really stood my ground and when everyone looked up, it was like “Girl, you really killed it.” It’s knowing what I want, being aware and sure of it. And not being phased by all the other bull that goes down...."
The first time I stepped out of the zone of standing behind somebody and being worried about giving my opinion was when I did “The Boys” video with Nicki Minaj. It was a trying experience, putting looks together with my team and being very, very involved and saying, “No, I’m not wearing that. This is not happening. This is how I want my hair and make-up.” That was the first time I really stood my ground and when everyone looked up, it was like “Girl, you really killed it.” It’s knowing what I want, being aware and sure of it. And not being phased by all the other bull that goes down...."
There’s a level of confidence that’s so evident in the way you present yourself these days. You aren’t hesitant to talk that shit on RockaByeBaby. What caused the transformation?
”Most of the things that have happened to me have been very organic. The first thing that I actually put out was the “All Gold, All Girls (Remix)” with Trina and Lola Monroe. That was where the sound kind of started. The first song I recorded for the actual mixtape was “Numb” and then I added Rick Ross to it. It was a vibe that I was creating and the story came to be from the attitude of the songs. Like you said, I was talking a lot of shit. I was really putting myself out there but I love the fact that I finally got the chance to do something with the attitude that I have. You hold back to a certain extent when everybody is saying, “This needs to go to a chart and that’s the only way it can be successful.” But no, you can be successful by making music that people love. We got over 2 million downloads on this mixtape that I never ever imagined at all....."
A lot of folks are saying that you signed with Drake’s OVO Sounds label. Is that true??
”I honestly don’t know where that came from but I had heard about it. I went to the OVO Festival in Canada, which was really dope, but no, I’m currently signed to Bad Boy and Interscope. Drake and I talked at the festival about working together, so hopefully that comes into fruition....."
So you’re going to start mastering the turntables now?
”I hope it gets to that. I’ve been slowly but surely learning how to DJ. I’m really interested in learning how to do the turntables and I really want to do both dance and hip-hop. Dance is easier actually to mix when you’re DJing, but old school hip-hop and finding the real beat in there is way more difficult.."
Is there anything else that you feel like you need to conquer or do you feel like it’s time to settle down a bit and maybe have a couple mini Cassies?
”Oh my god! Me and my friends are always talking about that. Maybe some mini Cassies or Cassiuses coming up. I’m not really sure. My new thing right now is I’m going to get back into some acting. I did Step Up 2 a while ago and I enjoyed being on set so I think I’m going to start taking classes, work with an agency and seeing where that goes as well. I’m working on a sophomore album currently so hopefully things start to move.."
What about the ballads?
”We definitely have ballads. I love slower records, like a good Sade record. Solange is putting out a new project that’s coming out really soon that I actually just worked on. She did a compilation of some of her favorite artists out right now and we did a really dope record together which I’m excited about. I think her deadline was like two weeks ago to finish everything, so it’s coming out really soon..."
Catch the full interview over at VIBE Vixen
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