Dencia: Модата и музиката са симбиоза, създадена в рая на изкуството

Певица, бизнес дама, диджей, моден дизайнер, филантроп – Dencia не се спира пред нищо, за да изкове името си с големи букви. Силен старт ѝ дава Холивуд, където участва във видеоклипове на Крис Браун, 50 Cent и Лейди Гага. През 2011 г. Dencia създава своя първи сингъл “Beri Beri”, пробивайки в музикалната индустрия. След като лансира първата си линия грижа за кожата Whitenicious през 2012 г., започва изграждането на козметична империя с над 8 марки под нейно креативно ръководство. В дизайнерското ѝ портфолио се отличават имена като Ники Минаж и Риана, доверили се на нейните модни творби. Днес тя се гордее с постигнатото и цели да помогне на другите да извървят пътя към успеха. Вижте какво сподели музата Dencia пред Glamour Bulgaria в ексклузивно интервю.

1. Какъв жанр музика създавате?

Моят уникален звук и стил са вдъхновение от различни жанрове, които обичам, създавам уникална комбинация от афробийт, поп и денс музика. Заразителни ритми, завладяващи мелодии и жизнена енергия са акцентите в моето звучене.

2. Как балансирате музикалната си кариера с другите си начинания като предприемач и моден дизайнер?

Да балансирам музикалната си кариера с другите ми начинания е като жонглиране, но всичко е свързано с това да приоритизирам и управлявам ефективно времето ми. Вече не правя толкова музика като преди поради здравословни причини, но и не изпитвам нуждата да записвам парчета едно след друго. Хубав сингъл няколко пъти в годината е напълно достатъчно. С модата обаче не изоставам. Много стилисти се свързват с мен, за да облекат своите знаменитости, така че насочвам усилията си в тази посока.

През 2017 година преминах през обучение за диджеи и напоследък се наслаждавам повече на това начинание. Толкова е забавно да пускаш парчетата, които обичаш.

Не на последно място, козметичната ми империя нарасна неимоверно и чувствам, че там искам да съсредоточа своите усилия. Целта е непрекъснато развитие, за което имам невероятен екип, който поддържа бизнеса физически, докато аз се фокусирам върху творческата част.

3. Как модата влияе на вашата музика и обратното?

Модата и музиката са симбиоза. И двете служат като мощни форми на себеизразяване и ми позволяват да покажа своята креативност и личност. Живите цветове, смелите шарки и уникалните стилове в моите модни дизайни често намират място във визуализациите и естетиката на музиката ми. Влюбих се в модата преди музиката. Израснах, гледайки червените килими на MTV. Няма музика без мода и няма мода без музика. Едно модно шоу се нуждае от музика, музикалните видеоклипове се нуждаят от мода. Това е връзка, създадена в рая на изкуството.

4. Какви послания се надявате да предадете чрез музиката си?

Чрез моята музика се стремя да предам послания за овластяване, любов към себе си и прегръщане на собствената уникалност. Вярвам, че музиката умее да вдъхновява и издига другите и искам песните ми да резонират с хората на дълбоко ниво, да им напомнят за тяхната стойност и да ги насърчават да се гордеят с това, което са.

5. Какви са вашите предстоящи проекти или сътрудничества?

Непрекъснато проучвам нови творчески пътища и си сътруднича с талантливи артисти и продуценти, за да донеса свежа и иновативна музика на моите фенове. Също така имам много козметични сътрудничества. Целта ми винаги е била да работя с други знаменитости и да създавам марки за тях. Записах няколко песни с един наистина страхотен изпълнител, и се надявам да ги пусна скоро, когато се изправя на краката си.

Освен това, снимам риалити шоу. Винаги съм искала да покажа на света какъв е животът на истинския африканец в Холивуд. Освен това, актьорският състав е невероятен.

Също така, написах книга за бизнес и самоусъвършенстване, защото вярвам, че знанията, които натрупах през последните 14 години, могат да помогнат на много хора по света да преминат по този труден път на предприемача, спестявайки време, усилия и пари.

Моят най-голям проект засега е да започна своето духовно пространство. Израснах в църквата, където се молехме всеки ден, а в момента виждам, че хората не знаят как да се молят за себе си и разчитат на пастори. Искам да ги науча да го правят сами. Молитвата е  мощно освобождаване, когато се овладее. Бог е невероятен, той ме благослови толкова много и искам и други да го изпитат.

6. Как вашият културен произход повлия на избора ви на музика и кариера?

Това, че се гордея с африканското си наследство, дълбоко оформи избора ми на музика и кариера. Черпя вдъхновение от богатите и разнообразни музикални традиции на Африка, влагайки в песните си елементи от афробийт, афро-поп и други африкански жанрове.

7. Какъв съвет бихте дали на амбициозни музиканти, които се опитват да пробият в индустрията?

Моят съвет е да останат верни на себе си и никога да не се отказват. Вярвайте в таланта си и работете усилено, за да усъвършенствате занаята си. Обградете се с подкрепяща мрежа от хора, които вярват във вашата визия. И най-важното, винаги бъдете крачка напред, достатъчно прозорливи, за да знаете кога да подписвате договори и кога не. Важно е да разберете, че трябва да създадете продукт отвъд музиката, който да продавате на хората, за да забогатеете.

8. Имате няколко различни марки продукти за грижа за кожата. Разкажете ни повече за вашето пътешествие към красотата.

Израснах с баба, която много обича да се разкрасява, гледах я и се учех от нея, тя е на 78 години, а все още се гримира и се грижи за кожата си всеки ден. Обичаше да си прави натурална козметика. Тези неща бяха наистина вдъхновяващи и това просто ме привлече към козметичната индустрия. След като отидох в интернат, не беше позволено да се гримирам, така че се фокусирах върху хубавата кожа. Когато здравето ми реши, че трябва да се отдръпна за малко от музиката и да се занимавам с бизнес, грижата за кожата беше първото нещо, което ми дойде на ум поради това, през което преминавах със заболяването витилиго. Започнах да правя продукти за кожата и просто проработи, така че си казах защо не започна да го продавам и на други хора, което се оказа много добре за мен.

Когато стартирах моята марка Whitenicious, нямаше нищо подобно на пазара. Това беше преди повече от 11 години. Бях много млада, но се получи наистина добре и вдъхнови много млади жени да направят подобна стъпка. В момента имам повече от 8 марки на пазара, сред които Mancare с The Kempt Man, darklicious, Envydiacosmetics, Whiteniciouskids и други.

9. Как оставате мотивирани и вдъхновени в една постоянно променяща се и конкурентна индустрия като музикалния бизнес?

Не се състезавам с никого. Имам свой път, вярвам в съдбата си и че това, което трябва да бъде, ще бъде. Имах няколко парчета номер едно в iTunes през годините и това наистина е нещо, което направих сама. Аз съм един от хората, които пренесоха афробийт в светлата страна на музиката. Ако погледнете първите ми видеоклипове от 2011 г., ще видите, че са много красиви в сравнение с видеоклиповете, които вървяха по това време.

Много съм горда от това къде сме днес. Чувствам, че всички ние проправихме пътя за Изпълнителя, този с големите турнета и награди, така че за мен това не е състезание, а победа за Африка като цяло. Нека не се състезаваме помежду си, а да се подкрепяме един друг и да растем заедно.

10. Кое е най-голямото предизвикателство, с което сте се сблъсквали в кариерата си досега и как го преодоляхте?

Ще кажа, че беше през 2014 г., когато пуснах Whitenicious и светът ме атакува. Създадох марка за избелване на кожата, но не бях първата с подобни продукти. Тази линия обаче се възприе погрешно. Списания, рекламиращи продукти за избелване на кожата, ме атакуваха, хората започнаха да ме тормозят, но вярвах, че това е чиста ревност и омраза. Продължих да изграждам своята империя и 11 години по-късно, тя наистина се разрасна. Парите от тази дейност ми помогнаха да създам фондация Dencia за надежда, с цел да спонсорираме десет деца сираци от Африка всяка година, които да пратим в хубав интернат, за да получат добро образование. В момента водя преговори с някои престижни училища в Нигерия, Камерун, за да стартирам кампанията.

11. Как използвате своята платформа и влияние, за да дадете възможност на други жени в музикалната и модната индустрия?

Използвам своята платформа и влияние, като си сътруднича с други жени в музикалната и модната индустрия, показвайки техния талант и предоставяйки им възможности да блеснат. През последните 14 години 90% от хората, които са работили с мен и за мен, са жени. Вярвам в подкрепата и повдигането на колегите жени за създаване на по-приобщаваща и овластяваща среда в тези индустрии.

Dencia: Fashion and Music are a Symbiosis Made in Art Heaven

Singer, businesswoman, DJ, fashion designer, philanthropist – Dencia stops at nothing to forge her name in capital letters. She got off to a strong start in Hollywood, where she starred in videos for Chris Brown, 50 Cent and Lady Gaga. In 2011, Dencia created her first single “Beri Beri”, breaking into the music industry. After launching her first skincare line, Whitenicious, in 2012, she began building a cosmetics empire with over 8 brands under her creative direction. Her design portfolio includes names such as Nicki Minaj and Rihanna, who trusted her fashion works. Today, she is proud of what she has achieved and aims to help others walk the path to success. See what the muse Dencia shared with Glamor Bulgaria in an exclusive interview.

1. What genre of music do you create?

My unique sound and style are inspired by a mix of different genres that I love, I create a unique blend of Afrobeat, pop, and dance music. My sound is characterized by infectious rhythms, catchy melodies, and vibrant energy

2. How do you balance your music career with your other ventures as an entrepreneur and fashion designer?

Balancing my music career with my other ventures can be quite a juggling act, but it's all about prioritizing and managing my time effectively especially because I'm very hands on with everything I do & I micro manage everything because I believe I'm literally the only one who can really execute my vision, I have a mission, driven by a vision of a different version. I am extremely intelligent, like Genius intelligent compared to most people so it's hard to give full control of anything to people which tends to be a lot of work on me but being the genius that I am, I easily get things done.

In the last few years, I have done less music due to my health because with music, you have to physically be available to promote it. I feel like if I'm not going to be able to do that. There's no need to be releasing records back-to-back, but I make sure that a few times a year, I put out a single that's really fun.

With fashion, I have always been doing it. I have a lot of stylists who reach out to me all the time to get clothes, shoes or other fashion items for other celebrities. I live around a lot of celebrities who are constantly working so it's easy for them to take things from me so I keep designing things for pulls & rentals.

I enjoy DJ'ing more these days because it requires less physical and mental work than recording music, going on tour and promoting, I went to DJ school in 2017 so when I can, I enjoy DJ'ing because I like to play music that I love personally and it's always just so much fun but in general,

My cosmetic empire has grown so big , I feel like focusing more on expanding my cosmetic empire, which has longevity and I can pass it on  to the next generation and continue creating Generational wealth like the Lancôme's of the world, It's easier for me and much more important for me so I focus more on that. That's one of my main things right now. I don't have to be physically there, but my brain is constantly working, so it just puts me in the place where that is my top priority. My goal is for my cosmetic empire to keep expanding, I have an amazing team that supports it physically & I do the creative part allowing me to focus on creating music when needed, designing fabulous clothes and shoes, and pursuing a DJ career & other entrepreneurial endeavor.

3. How does fashion influence your music and vice versa?

Fashion and music have a symbiotic relationship in my life. They both serve as powerful forms of self-expression and allow me to showcase my creativity and personality. The vibrant colors, bold patterns, and unique styles in my fashion designs often find their way into the visuals and aesthetics of my music, creating a cohesive and immersive experience for my fans. I fell in love with Fashion before music. I grew up watching Mtv red carpets all the way from Cameroon and every time I saw a lil Kim and other celebrities on the red carpet back in the day, I was like,I wanna be like that,I wanna wear that ,I wanna be on that red carpet too ,dressed like that and that just really went hand in hand with  music more than anything else that I wanted to do. there's no music without fashion and there's no fashion without music. Think about it. The runway shows need music; the music videos need fashion. It's a relationship that's made In Art heaven.

4. What messages do you hope to convey through your music?

Through my music, I aim to convey messages of empowerment, self-love, and embracing one's uniqueness. I believe in the power of music to inspire and uplift others, and I want my songs to resonate with people on a deep level, reminding them of their worth and encouraging them to be proud of who they are. I'm a huge fan of country music, which is like storytelling. Most of my music is about love. I'm a lover. I'm big on love. I'm big on relationships. I'm big on just loving the world so a lot of my music has to do with love and I believe the world needs a lot of love.

5. Do you have any upcoming projects or collaborations?

Yes, I have some incredibly exciting projects and collaborations in the works! I'm constantly exploring new creative avenues and collaborating with talented artists and producers to bring fresh and innovative music to my fans. I also have a lot of cosmetic collaborations with celebrities & other none celebrities & companies.I create brands for them ,we collaborate, and I'm very excited about that because these projects are gonna help these artists make money , music is a great avenue to become famous, but you need to use that fame  and make money and that's what a lot of artists don't take advantage of and there's not much money music right now Unless  you're a Beyonce , you are not selling out big arenas, my goal has always been to work with other celebrities and create brands for them, which is what we're doing right now so I'm really excited about that , i've recorded a few songs with some really great artist that I hope to release soon as I am back on my feet and strong enough to be on tour or promote the music,that's exciting and I'm looking forward to going on a DJ tour and some festivals this summer, I'm shooting a Reality show about being an African in la , it's something so many people have been wanting me to do, but all the offers I had in the past weren't a good fit for me, my goal has always been to show the world what a true African in Hollywood Is. The cast is incredible.

I'm looking forward to them because I've not done much in the last three years because my health was down, I focused more on my business from my hospital bed, but now that I'm back on my feet I feel like I want to be out and about and be out in the streets and give the world what they deserve, a full experience of Dencia. I’ve written books on business, personal life, and much more that as soon as I find a great publisher, I'll release them, I feel like the  knowledge I have accumulated the past the past 14 yrs can help a lot of men and women around the world, I'm someone who is well educated, travelled the world, I have a vast understanding and always tell myself, if I had someone like me in my life, I'll be  a billionaire by now , there's so much people can learn from me, things I didn't know and now I know because of experience, a lot of people won't have the opportunities I've had to learn from , but they can learn it from me, it'll save them time and money. And above all my greatest one will be starting my spiritual space, I've started a prayer project where I teach people how to pray, I'm very spiritual, I grew up in the church, we prayed daily at 5:30AM since I was a child, I have seen my influence on the people around me , I want to share it with a broader audience, a lot of people don't know how to pray or are embarrassed to pray for themselves & they rely on pastors & prophets for prayers, I want to teach them how to do it for themselves, it's such a fun powerful release when you master it. I can't wait to share this with the world, God is amazing, he's blessed me so much & I want others to experience it.Stay tuned for surprises and announcements, as I can't wait to share them with you!

6. How has your cultural background influenced your music and career choices?

Being proud of my African heritage has profoundly shaped my music and career choices. I draw inspiration from the rich and diverse musical traditions of Africa, infusing my songs with elements of Afrobeat, Afro-pop, and other African genres. Embracing my cultural roots has allowed me to create a unique sound that resonates with audiences around the world. It's important to me to represent where I come from and share that with the world and I call myself an African and I always speak of  being an African because I believe that as an African, I can represent most of my continent and I absolutely love doing that through my music, I'm a pan Africanist to the core.

7. What advice do you have for aspiring musicians trying to break into the industry?

For aspiring musicians trying to break into the industry, my advice would be to stay true to yourself and never give up. Believe in your talent and work hard to perfect your craft. Surround yourself with a supportive network of people who believe in your vision. And most importantly, always be a step ahead, intelligent enough to know when to sign contracts and when  not to. intelligent enough to know it's important to have a product to sell to the people not just music because I always tell myself,if I could build the multimillion dollar empire I have right now which I started  11 years ago and I had only 4000 followers on Instagram ,Again I understand that I'm a genius, but I say this to say that with all the millions of followers  that they have nowadays and are open to opportunities that are bigger, they can create anything and become richer off of it, not just by sitting on the music, for example, look at an artist like Rihanna,  she's one of the biggest artist in the world, but has barely touched a Mic in years since she started doing the cosmetic thing . all I'm saying is build a brand that goes beyond just your music.

8. You have several different skincare brands. Tell us more about your beauty journey.

I grew up with a grandmother who is very much into Glam, watching her and learning from her, she is literally a GlamMa till this day at 78 years old, She will wear her make up and do all the skin care every day and it was amazing as a child watching her. She is so gorgeous and it just made me want to be like her and she's big on skin care. She's big or natural organic stuff. She'll make all this natural concoctions and use on her skin every day. Those things were like really inspiring so I feel like from watching her do all of those things,it  just drew me towards the cosmetic industry? I also grew up being like a glam girl. I love to dress up. I love to be nicely moisturized,Lip Gloss and Lipstick . I was not very big on Makeup. Growing up, it was more skin care,Gloss & hair so being that I went to a boarding school ,there was not much we could do with Makeup and Hair so we focused more and having nice skin.

When my health decided I should step away from music for a little bit and do business because of what I was dealing with at a time, skin care was the first thing that came to my mind because of what I was going through physically with vitiligo,I got so deep into it,I started doing all the skin care products and it just worked so I said,why not just start selling it too for other people which turned out really well for me. in the US,people are so into skin care.When  I started my brand (Whitenicious) there was nothing like that on the market for people who wanted something like it that actually worked. This was over 11 years ago. That's a long time ago,something that a lot of black girls in the United States weren't doing, like the young Madame CJ walker ,i'm like the blueprint that everybody is trying to copy now, 11yrs later, you even have brands stealing my name, copying my websites word to word and containers, packaging all over the world. Most of their brands haven't gotten as big as Whitenicious yet. I was very young and it worked out so well and it inspired so many younger women to do similar. I currently have more than 8 brands in the market, I just got u to Mancare with The Kempt Man which is a luxury brand for men, I have darklicious cosmetics, I have envydiacosmetics, Whiteniciouskids etc

9. How do you stay motivated and inspired in an ever-changing and competitive industry like the music business?

For me, I am not in competition with anybody. I have my own path, I believe in my destiny and I believe that what has to be,will be. I don't compete. I just put up what I think feels like good quality music and I just let the universe do its job. I've had several number ones on iTunes throughout the years and that's really Something that I did on my own. I've had opportunities to sign record deals, but I choose not to because I felt like I didn't want to be a slave for anyone lol everyday I see artists, top A'list artists crying about their slave contracts. I felt like I was already making good money with my skincare brands like Whitenicious, why will I want to sign a record deal? Most  record deals wanted my businesses as part of it and I was like, why would I do that? My mom was like why would you do that? My sisters are like why would you do that? and I'm like yeah,why will I do that? I'm one of the people who really took Afrobeat to the bright side if you look at my very 1st music videos back from 2011,the videos were  very beautiful compared to videos that were  being released at that time, I brought the spicy Hollywood to Afro music . Before Afrobeats  blew up in the United States ,we have been pushing for many years and then it  blows up and it's like,I'm watching it again like one of the first people who was doing that out here in LA. I am very proud of where we are today. I feel like we all paved the way for the Artist doing it  big now and major tours,winning awards so for me it's not a competition it's a win for Africa as a whole.I'm so happy where everything is especially for the African boys and girls who are actually killing it right now,they're at the Grammys,performing at the Grammys,five years ago ,the Grammys will not let that happen. I remember when I told the Grammys about the African artist ,they didn't even know who this artist were but today this are  artist performing on the big stages too and I watch it and I tell myself,wow we really worked hard for this to happen which is amazing. it's so  beautiful to watch how things have changed and evolved  so it's not a competition,it's more of let's uplift  each other and grow together.

10. What has been the biggest challenge you've faced in your career so far, and how did you overcome it?

I will say it was in 2014 when I felt like the world was attacking me when I released Whitenicious, I felt like a lot of people especially in Hollywood which is like high school,  the ganged up  to bully me and they used this black girl Lupita Nyongo to do it and I felt like It was very wrong because just like her, I'm an African girl (Immigrant )who is also finding her foot in this world and so for you to come in and sit there with your two seconds on a movie and talk about me and let people bully me to the point that it got , it was very weird, odd and sad.when I look back at it,as much as it was financially beneficial to me,it was still very weird because I feel like what was the reason, but she was also trying to get  her money,because I guess she was trying to get a deal with L'Oréal  or somebody and she literally was on a stage where it was about women empowerment and uplifting, and she decided to try to drag me down, but thankfully, God is bigger than her, thank God that I was raised by my grandfather who was a Military  judge, I have the mentality of an Army ,you cannot break me,so that really came in handy in 2014 when the world was like really ganging against me ,they were gang banging on me,I was just like damn like what did I do ?I really never saw what I did wrong. I just created a skincare brand ,before me ,so many brands have created skin brightening products,magazines promoting skin brightening products were attacking me so I was like this is just pure jealousy & hate  and I just took it like that and I just ran with it and kept building my empire,11 years later my Empire is really big and like I'm looking back at those people  and some of them are Whitenicious customers . Most of this people are still on the same spot that they were 11 years ago,they barely have a brand to  their names that has done well, so like Kanye West will say. Why should  I listen to you if you're not doing better than me? how do you know right from wrong when you have not even done anything for yourself? Why are you judging me when you barely know anything ? But I used that and turned it into into multi millions of dollars  which I also use to help children through the Dencia foundation for hope.through Whitenicious, this fall 2024, I'm creating the Dencia foundation for hope education fund, my goal is to sponsor 10 orphans every year to a nice boarding school especially the African child, I'm currently in talks with some prestigious schools in Nigeria, Cameroon, to start, education is very important in Africa and my goal is to give that to some African girls especially.

11. How do you use your platform and influence to empower other women in the music and fashion industries?

I leverage my platform and influence by collaborating with other women in the music and fashion industries, showcasing their talent, and providing opportunities for them to shine. I believe in supporting and uplifting fellow women to create a more inclusive and empowering environment in these industries.

In addition to collaborations, I also use my social media presence to highlight and promote the work of talented women in music and fashion. By sharing their stories, achievements, and projects, I aim to inspire and empower others while fostering a sense of community and support among women in these industries.I reach out to some of them and offer other business collaborations, to create brands for them, pay for their studio sessions, flights, wardrobe, a lot of people reach out to me and I absolutely enjoy sharing my ideas with them and helping them grow.The last 14yrs 90% of people who have worked with me & for me, are women.