Suga-T burst onto the hip-hop game in the mid-90's lending her vocal talent to her brother E-40's hit song "Sprinkle Me." She soon launched a successful solo music career and also worked as an actress appearing on the MTV series The Lyricist Lounge Show. Suga-T is back and she has a new message she would like the world to hear.


When did you decide to pursue this new positive, inspirational outlook on your career?
Suga T-Actually, while I was doing the old image I decided but I just didn't know how to address it because I was spiritually awoken with a more mature relationship with the Lord and I finally took the time to listen to what he was telling me. And that is what he told me to do. Change my image and I won't get peace until I did it. It wouldn't mean all the money, fame and glory but it mean for me first to understand and spread this message among predominantly our people, black people, minorities people that don't have the opportunity to get out of the hood. People who don't know how to get through changes and be successful without having to rely on sex, money, alcohol and drugs and let people know that I can relate to them that I wasn't only on screen as a performer but I actually experienced life's changes.

Listen to Suga T discussing her past image

Be About It, The New Me by Suga T is that the name of the tour?
Suga T-Yes, I am doing a motivational tour. Motivational speaking as well as spiritual empowerment as well as touring professionally as a performer. That's what I am doing through the Be About It tour. Anywhere from the churches to the schools to the stadiums and to any facility that feels they can use my services.

When you are speaking to the crowds do you ever use examples or tell stories from your past life?
Suga T-Yes, I do.

So far have you done a lot of engagements?
Suga T-Yes, I have.

How is it received by the audience?
Suga T-It's received great. I am just now starting to do a lot of publicity. I was basically doing it independently without a lot of publicity but people like yourself which is a very appreciated situation because as you know the bigger you are the more people know and see where you are coming from and they will be able to book you. They have been perceiving it very, very well and those that don't I know they aren't supposed to hear it.

Are you taking the tour outside of the Bay area?
Suga T-Yeah I have actually been out of the Bay area. I'm going to be going to Mississippi. Shortly, Texas, Europe, Spain, and Japan we are working on a deal now. That would be in terms of me as a recording artist as well in between there people would like me to share in their environment I'm going to go for that too.

What is the name of the album?
Suga T-The album is named Be About It The New Me, Expressions of Newness.

How long did it take you to record the new album?
Suga T-Three months. No, time at all. That's the easy part. I don't say this in cockiness I say this in truth I'm a professional its easy to record music and come up with writing if it's coming from your heart. The hard part is positioning it and getting people behind it and to push it and to believe in what you are doing.

Have you thought about going on the Trinity Broadcasting Network or any of the religious channels?
Suga T-Actually, I am going to go on to all of them. I am a mainstream artist. I am not in the box or in the gospel arena. TBN, UPN, The Black Family Channel all of those places BET wherever the message can be heard I'm going, clubs wherever the message can be heard.

What exactly is drama free radio?
Suga T-Dramafreeradio.com is drama free radio where they play nothing but positive music, music with substance and messages that promote hope, educate and inspire.

I see you have a perfume line too.
Suga T-Well girl that one was hard okay. When we are talking about music that would be bad for me to have a hard time writing songs as long as I have been doing this mess. So no doubt the perfume line was definitely a challenge. What it was, was that I was doing a radio show a public radio show called More Public Radio and was and they were determined to help me come up with something I could sell while I was on the radio. So he had said why don't you do a fragrance, he had said cosmetics line at first. Then I thought about it with a cosmetic you have to have all these different colors and stuff. So if one color you have to buy more to balance out to still sell and make some money and I just didn't have the money to make an investment on something that wasn't going to make money for me.

What happened was he mentioned fragrance and again I had not a clue. He ended up not necessarily showing me how to do it and I ended up speaking at a church program and a lady asked me if I would be the spokesperson for her line for a fragrance that she was working on. When I told her "Yes," it ended up that I did all this research and helped her she wanted me to be a spokesperson as well as market it. Just be a part of the whole project in general so I started talking to people and building relationships and networking and putting together the advertising and marketing plan. I have a production company from producing albums as well as this fragrance but I ended up doing the whole 9 yards because no one helped me. She backed out on me for whatever reason and I just continued to focus and I said "I already did this stuff and I don't want to create any bad relationships," I didn't like people to think I am blowing them smoke so I said I would continue and do this for myself and that's what I did, coming up with the smells and creating a strategy and a formula that will allow me to create a fragrance and I didn't want it to just be a fragrance I wanted actually to have meaning behind the production that I bring in.

Our motto is to be all you can be and you can do all things through love and faith We don't just put the product into the store we created a line which is called the Street Line and its Sprinkle Me endorsed by my brother E-40 and I and we also created a line that is an independent sales line we bring forward Suga Chicks, we also have the All-Stars for the guys who want to sell it and then we have a line that is online which is called the E-Stars program. Our goal is to always have a scent that we can connect to the young generation and in the future we will be going into schools we feel that if you can sell anything you can deal with anything and coach them on self esteem empowerment as well as self improvement and a way to make money and to teach them to invest in their own business. But of course they wont have to have to have much money available. And teach them how to open up accounts and successful life skills and career skills.

I interviewed your brother E-40 not to long ago and he was telling me all about Fat Burger and talking about his family and talking to both of you all I see that you both have this strong sense of family and the entrepreneurial spirit. Where do you think this came from?
Oh honey it came from the Lord. God had blessed my grandfather. My grandfather was a pastor him and my grandmother and for many years they pastured a church. He was a superintendent and they also had their own businesses. They had businesses for the communities and other businesses. Elder Charles Thurman, Superintendent Charles Thurman and State Mother Uley Thurman of the North Zion District.

So we've seen hard work anything from throwing newspapers early in the morning with grand daddy to going to his church and him being able to preach to the benches but being there faithfully and loyally whether somebody came or not he was going to be there, so that came from seeing that as well as my mother she did hair and she also had her own businesses dealing with youths and then we have my father he drew and he did music did tee shirts as well as had a trucking company and he always had his own businesses whether he was working with a business or just having his own business. I got it from, it started from the head which is God and then it goes to my grandparents and then it goes to my mother and father and then I got it from my brother so that generation is where I connected in terms from us experiencing the street environment and being professional street people to bringing it into a school environment. I actually went to school and got my degree from Contra Costa College as soon as I got out of high school and got my business management degree and dint learn anything from it until I actually did business and helped my brother run our label, well the family label Sik Wit It Records. And welfare helped me to being a teen mother I had to make sure I got the check signed at the appropriate time so I could get my check for the month, I had section 8 as well so I had to make sure all my paper work is in order so I had to have some structure and discipline when it came to being a young mother.

Related Links-http://www.suga-t.biz
http://www.suga-tfragrances.biz
http://www.dramafreeradio.com
www.myspace.com/sugainspired

Suga T interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, and Thabiz.com 2006
Dorrie Williams-Wheeler is the author of Be My Sorority Sister Under Pressure and the Unplanned Pregnancy Book for Teens and College Students. She is the founder of Thabiz.com and Imissthe80s.com and writes for the Rap, Teen, and 1980s section at Bellaonline.com. She is an ASCAP member as a writer and a publisher. Please contact Dorrie for advertising inquiries, lyric writing inquiries, reprint rights, paying entertainment jobs, or general comments.
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Suga T interview may not be reprinted, copied or distribute without permission. You may link to this interview.Interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, thabiz.com June 2006.