Born and raised in Detroit, this young beauty with the Motown sound is sure to set more than a few hearts a-blaze. Able to make you sing, “My Girl,” without knowing the words, Ms. Tayma Loren (pronounced Tay-ma) is a traveling man’s favorite woman. A singer who used to be signed to J Records enjoyed some success with her group; a trio called Lyric.

With special appearances from Loon, their song “Young & Sexy,” featured on NBA Live 2003 and appearances across the country – the 24-year-old Detroit-to-Brooklyn transplant has been making audiences eat out of the palm of her hand for years with her sexy, exotic look.

For the woman whose name translates into “Queen” in Swahili, nothing less is expected, but to be the best. With a solo album in the works and a single, co-written by one of the game’s best – The Dream – this Queen is looking to be in charge of her own castle. As the talented Ms. Loren sits down with Beauty & Brains – she discusses why the group life will never be for her, how those sexy eyes always gets her into trouble and what men she gives a "10" to in the industry.

Beauty & Brains: From reading on your page, it seems like you’ve given up on being a team player and focusing more on being your own woman. You weren’t selfish as a child, were you?
Tayma Loren: [Laughs] Selfish? Well, as a child, I was really quiet and kept to myself. I think that that spilled over into the things that I did do when I was in a group. When I first started – it was good that I was in those groups because it helped me grow. I don’t consider myself as being quiet anymore, though. I’m just happy to not depend on other bitches. [Laughs] That’s such a headache that I tried several times. Initially, I thought that I was ready to go out on my own, but it’s so much better being solo now. Being independent for yourself, you learn that the smallest things are so appreciated. From dressing to rehearsal, everything is dependent on everyone who’s in the group. The last group I was in was so frustrating because I was dealing with people whose focus wasn’t the same as mine's. We’d have a meeting to go to the next day and they’d be out partying. If stuff gets fucked up, you couldn’t blame the individuals in the group – the entire group was to blame – and I didn’t want to have to continue to take up for other people’s mistakes.

B&B: The one thing that’s clear is that music seems to be your first love. How did you find that to be your passion instead of anything else?
TL: I grew up in a very musical family. My brother is a producer. He did [J. Holiday's] “Bed,” [The Dream's] “Shawty is a 10,” and damn near half of The Dream’s [Lovehate] album. I actually had a pleasure working with him on my record “Tipsy.” That’s something that you’re not going to be hesitant about doing; working with The Dream. He’s cool to work with.

B&B: Now, you never been into modeling or being the video girl or anything like that, have you?
TL: Never. The only video I’ve been in was my own.

B&B: Why not [Laughs]…?
TL: [Laughs] I guess I’m too short. I know nowadays the girls can be, really, any height, but I’ve never been into that scene. I like to leave a bit to the imagination. No disrespect to anyone else, but I’d rather be viewed for my talent rather than my “assets.”

B&B: Well, clearly you got the beauty to do more than compete, but when you were signed to J. Records back in the day – did you think that you’d have to reinvent yourself as an artist?
TL: At the time, I don’t know, I knew at the time that I definitely wanted to break out and do my own thing. I was using the group to catapult myself, but I knew that it wasn’t going to go too far. That’s why I think it’s always interesting to reinvent yourself. I changed my hair color, for instance; I felt like it was a fresh start. I had done the group thing for so long and now I had just wanted a fresh look. I felt like the blonde added a “look-at-me now” quality.

B&B: Well, looking at the music business can be shakier than the modeling world – especially with the Inter net and all. But when you’re not in the studio – what does Tayma Loren do for fun?
TL: What do I do for fun? [Laughs]… I don’t do much. I just work a lot when I’m at home. That’s about it. I seriously don’t go out much. I’m usually holed up in my place in Brooklyn, but, right now, I’m here down in Atlanta.

B&B: This probably like the billionth time you’ve heard this, probably, but you have a very exotic look about yourself. What’s your background?
TL: I’ve never heard that one before. [Laughs] I’m straight Negroidian. I have heard that my eyes look kind of Asian, but my mother is pretty dark-skinned. I guess I was just blessed.

B&B: The rule in the game usually goes that “sex sells” and with that exotic look – has it ever gotten you into trouble that you didn’t expect to get into?
TL: Hmm… Good question. Nope, I don’t think it ever has. The more that I start to promote this single, the more I think it’ll get me in trouble. So far, I think that I’ve been good. The funniest thing that I’ve seen so far, since being in the industry was when I was doing a show and, you know how when you perform for people you kind of sing to them? Most people realize that its part of the show, but this guy came up after the show and thought that I was looking at him. I was like, “Are you serious?” I didn’t want to be rude. You try to make people feel good, but he was feeling too good. Continued on page 2 »