Danyel Smith chasing Mariah Carey
You know L.A. native Danyel Smith. Channel-surfers know her from VH1 ubiquity,
contemporary black music fans from her '90s tenure as Vibe editor, and aficionados
of urban literature from Smith's surprising first novel, More Like Wrestling. Her
second, Bliss (Crown), just hit stores in July.
Who's your model for Sunny?
My perfect pop star, in terms of an artist, is probably a combination of Mariah Carey
and Erykah Badu. And that's really what I had in mind.
What do you mean by perfect pop star?
Somebody with a beautiful voice, depth, appeal to the so-called underground, as well
as the masses - and by masses I mean worldwide. I get real seduced by people who -
and I know it's the force of multinational corporations - manage to seduce the entire
world. In a perfect world, Erykah would have done that. Mariah's done it, to a degree.
They both have weird voices to me. They both write, which I respect. And that's what
Sunny does and she's always trying to get respect for.
Speaking of weird and Mariah Carey, how weird is it to have her blurb on your
cover?
[Author and former Vibe editor] Alan Light endorsed the book and I ran into him at a
reading of his. I said I got Mariah Carey to endorse the book. And Alan really liked
Bliss. But he said, "That's the first person I think of when I think of a literary
masterpiece!"
I did a cover story many moons ago. It was a dramatic moment in her life and it was
dramatic for me. It was one of those things where I couldn't get in touch with Mariah.
I managed through my ways to get her cell number, called her, she picked up the phone.
"How the f*ck d'you get my number? Who the f*ck are you?" I talked to her, and she
tried to tell me she was in some remote corner of the world and no one could get to
her. I thought she was in Fiji or something, and she was in Sonoma County! So, I was
like, "Look here, sister, I'll be there before midnight." And I did. I was in her
room from like two in the morning until almost dawn. We just had a great conversation.
I'm not under the illusion that me and Mariah Carey are any kind of friends, but I do
think it was just one of those moments. Maybe it meant a little something to her, which
is maybe why she felt comfortable endorsing the book - and I know she did like it -
and why I felt comfortable asking her.
(LA City Beat - MariahCareyPh.com)
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