The French define the word, je ne sais quoi as “I don’t know what” and is used often used when describing something or someone that has a “certain something” that you just can’t seem to put into words.
Well, the same could be said when describing bassist Divinity Roxx. Not only is she easy on the eyes but her guitar skills are as alluring as her mane of golden locks.
In other words, this chick has “it”…whatever “it” is!
Raycornelius.com recently had the pleasure of chatting with her about her new album, Roxx Boxx Experience, her relationship with the iconic and the ever so bedazzled, Bootsy Collins and her thoughts on working with the biggest female entertainer on the planet right now…Yeah, I’m talking about Beyonce.
Check it out!
RC: How did you get your name Divinity Roxx?
DR: The name Divinity was given to me when I was 12, around the time I started rapping…I added the last name Roxx right before starting to tour with Beyonce.
RC: You play the bass. You sing rock music. You’re a female MC. How would you really categorize yourself?
DR: I don’t categorize myself. I am who I am and I do what I do. I call what I do rocked out hip-hop music.
RC: Your new album, the Roxx Boxx Experience, is finally here. What can fans expect?
DR: Fans can expect the ultimate collision of rock and rap. I’m soft in the middle but hard on the outside so you get a bit of that too. Its raw, its loud, its hard, its rockin, its intimate, its sexy, it’s bold. It’s just real.
RC: I hear you have a few special guests featured on the project including Killa Mike and Bootsy Collins?
DR: Yep. I’ve known Killa since I was a kid, before the bass, when I was just this lil’ rapper girl runnin’ round the streets of the ‘A’ jumpin in cyphers. He’s a really cool dude and I love what he stands for and what he’s been able to accomplish in his career. I really look up to him.
I was fortunate enough to meet Bootsy a couple of years ago in Germany, but I’ve always been a fan of everything he stood for. I was so excited when he said he’d make an appearance on my album.
RC: Speaking of Bootsy, you’re a professor at his ‘Funk’ University. How did this come about?
DR: I believe that when we met he was just starting the Funk University and we hit it off in Germany and I think he was into what I was doing and the innovativeness of it so he asked me if I’d like to share my insight with some of his students and of course I was honored.
RC: So how important is the name, Victor Wooten to your career?
DR: Victor Wooten is like my uncle man. He was very essential to my career and if not for him I’m not sure where I’d be. He really gave me an incredible opportunity to be a part of his band back when nobody knew my name. I was just this girl from Atlanta developing the skills to play bass and rap at the same time. When he asked me to tour with him I’d only been playing bass for a couple of years. I toured with him for 5 years and appeared on 2 of his albums. He taught me a lot about what this whole touring thing is about. He taught me quite a bit of invaluable life lessons.
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RC: If you could go back in time and play the bass for any concert or musical performance what would it be and why?
DR: That’s a hard question. I wish I could have been Bob Marley’s bass player or Jimi Hendrix’s bass player because both of them were legendary and broke a lot of ground in the music business. They will live forever through their music. Every generation of music listeners from now until the end of time will know them and their music. I would have liked to be a part of that.
RC: At what point in your life did you know that being a musician is what you wanted to do for the rest of your life?
DR: I always loved music, but I didn’t really choose this. This chose me. I was in college to become a journalist when I picked up the bass guitar. I had no idea what I was getting myself into or where it would take me, but my heart knew, and I’m glad I followed it.
RC: You work very closely with The Songs for Kids Foundation? How did you get involved?
DR: A few years ago I was invited to do a show called 500 Songs for Kids, an annual fundraiser for The Songs for Kids Foundation where they count down 500 of the most popular songs. Each song is performed by a local or national artist or band and it’s just a really good time. I did Eric B and Rakim’s ‘Paid in Full’. (I think it’s on you-tube somewhere) But I love what they are doing for children. They go into the hospitals and sing songs that cheer up and brighten people’s day. It’s a deeply personal involvement for me as well because when I was a kid I had a rare blood disorder and spent many days and nights in children’s hospitals. I know what the kids and their parents are going through, and if we can brighten their day by bringing them music, I ‘m down for that. It’s the least I can do with my gift.
RC: Let’s switch gears for a minute…
DR: OK
RC: You have been performing as a bassist and musical director for a little known singer out of Houston, Texas, by the name of…Beyonce! How did that opportunity come about?
DR: Beyonce held worldwide auditions for an all-female band. I wasn’t gonna audition until my friends held a coup in my house and refused to leave until I agreed to audition. I just figured it was a publicity stunt or something, I mean she could have anybody in the world play with her and there are many well known talented female musicians so I didn’t really believe it, but it was real. I auditioned in Atlanta, and CNN ended up following me around and interviewing me during the process, which was crazy. What was crazier was going to New York and landing the gig…
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RC: What’s your most memorable experience working with her?
DR: I have a lot of great memories working with Beyonce, a lot of them funny and silly and good times. She’s an incredible lady and she’s funny and silly and we all have a good time together and quite a few laughs in rehearsal. I think one of the memories I think about most occurred at the end of the ‘I Am’ tour. We were all pretty burned out. I mean, burnt out. It was the last leg of the tour and we were in Brazil, our first show in Brazil, and we were on stage set for the top of the set. I was tired. I was ready to go home. I was burnt out. I was done, over it all. I was thinking to myself, “here we go,” set for ‘Crazy in Love’. The kabuki dropped and all I saw was 50,000 screaming Brazilians, ready to sing, dance and experience a great show. All of a sudden I was rockin harder than I had in a long time. I had tears in my eyes. It was like being smacked with this incredible energy that I couldn’t ignore. I was happy to be there. I was refreshed, reset, and thankful to God for such an incredible opportunity. It gets tiring man. We work damn hard for long hours and sometimes it’s not all glitz and glamour, and its not always fun (most of the time it is, but not all of the time). But in that moment all the hard times and travel and BS didn’t matter because we were giving people a slice of happiness, and that felt good. I’ll never forget that.
