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CECILE
Interview & Photo: Noel Malcolm

How do you feel about Oral sex?
Cecile: I don’t have a problem giving, or receiving. If I had a man, I’d be giving.

So are you single?
Cecile: I don’t have a man. I’m single, nine months and counting. I’ve also been celibate for those nine months, and there’s nothing wrong with me.

The person you were with before that, how long were you with them for?
Cecile: Long time, really long time, like two years or so. I only have relationships, I don’t have casual sex. I mean, if I found the right man, then maybe I could have a one-night stand. It’s never happened, so I can’t say (laughing).

Who would be the right man for a one-night stand?
Cecile: Like Tyson Beckford or something, definitely.

Any other celebrities come to mind?
Cecile: Shaggy and all his money. Nah, you know I’m just kidding. Shaggy’s my friend, and big ups to his wife. But I’m just telling you who’s a good one-night stand: Shaggy and his money.

Of course, there have been a lot of more raunchy, daring female artists who came out before you, like Lady Saw. Coming with your own style, did you feel intimidated by what other women had laid as a foundation?
Cecile: No, I never was worried about matching up to them. I figured out that I had to come up with something that wasn’t already there, so that wasn’t strange to them. Because I’m from a different part of the world, like "Do it to Me Baby," when I’m openly saying things, it’s kind of strange but I had to work my way in. So I came with something that was familiar to them. And then I’m slowly writing and I’m slowly going to make my own entrance. My own unique style is slowly coming out. Lady Saw is a good friend, and she’s a very great, great artist. She’s very confident, she’s given me a lot of advice. She wasn’t afraid to share what she knew, unlike some other hypocrites in the business. Big ups to the big woman in the dancehall business, Lady Saw!

Elephant Man talks a lot about his Anaconda and different sexual positions. Have you heard anything about him, or any other artists?
Cecile: I don’t know any of Elephant Man’s women, I know he probably had many but I don’t know any. I danced with him and I don’t think he’s telling any lies about his piece. It looks like he’s being truthful!

Have you had any relationships in the industry?
Cecile: Yeah, everybody knew about Mad Angu. That’s it, there wasn’t any other relationships in the industry.

Have you had any backlash to the album?
Cecile: No, not yet. My video is banned from daytime television, I just found that out. The song isn’t banned, just the video, for "Give it to Me Baby," is banned from daytime TV.

Did that upset you?
Cecile: No, I just didn’t know that there were any guidelines I had to be following. But now that I know, I’m not one to break the rules. I can be raunchy, seductive, and I’ll do my thing. But I didn’t know that there were guidelines, and now that I know, I’ll have to decide whether to adhere to them. Then you suffer the consequences, and the consequences of having a video like that is not bad. I could probably sell it, I could probably make some money.

Have they told you what the problem was?
Cecile: No, I haven’t been formally told. I’d like to know when I go back to Jamaica, I’ll try to find out.

Do you have any idea of what you presented in the video that made it inappropriate?
Cecile: No, nothing. I know they said that it was shown during an inappropriate time when kids were watching, and that’s okay. That wouldn’t have been my fault, that would have been the TV station’s fault. So some things they can’t show at certain times and that’s obvious.

LISA RAYE
Interview: Jill Tracey / Photo: Julia Beverly

Strikingly beautiful and stunningly down-to-earth, men pause when Lisa Raye walks into a room. Her sensual beauty and approachable attitude have made her a woman in demand in Hollywood, but as many beautiful women have found, it can also be a curse to be that damn fine. LisaRaye doesn’t worry about resting her laurels on her beauty, however, this golden girl is a down-ass chick. OZONE recently chatted with LisaRaye to find out just what it’s like to be the object of desire for so many men.

You chose to start your career with a sexy role, playing the stripper with a heart of gold and a mean right hook, Diamond, in "The Player’s Club." Most actresses don’t take on those kinds of roles until they’ve made a name for themselves. Were you conscious of that? Did it help you, or make it hard for you to be taken seriously?
LR: Well, first I didn’t have a clue that character would turn out to be so big! But because of the fight scene, I got the reputation for being a girl who didn’t take no shit. I wasn’t conscious of what the role would turn out to be, no. But I’m glad I did it, because it was a different kind of sexy role. I think people took me seriously because she was sexy but she was strong. She was smart, and I think audiences respected her.

Let’s talk about your current role. You’re playing a character loosely based on Will Smith’s first wife Sheree on the Will and Jada produced comedy, "All of Us," on UPN. How did that come about?
LR: Well, I’ve been friends with Will and Jada for a while, so initially I didn’t try out for it because I thought maybe they’d just see me as a friend. But my agent called and told me they wanted me to come in and read for it. I had just flown out to the East Coast, so I had to turn around and come back the next day. I read, and the day after that we went to network and I had the role.

I love the show, and what I like best is that your character puts a new spin on the whole "baby-mama-drama" thing. There is a bit of drama there, but she’s not just being difficult or a spiteful, bitter woman.
LR: I wanted to bring a new dimension to that idea of the baby mama. Why is she always a bitch? No. This character is very forthright, and she’s holding it down and making sure her child gets what he deserves. She’s not a bitch, she’s a good mother.

Last time we hung out you were seeing former Miami Dolphin Tony Martin. What’s up with that?
LR: My relationship with Tony didn’t work. When I was with Tony, I was ready to settle down. I wasn’t really big in the game yet, and I wanted to do the damn thing, you know?

Yeah, I remember that fabulous ring.
LR: But the more I raised the bar in my career, the more we sorta separated. Then I started to become like, this Fantasy Girl, and with a persona like that you’re not available to everyone. But I would have done what Janet did. I loved what Janet did.

You mean being secretly married for nine years?
LR: Yes, that was the best. But there’s a positive in everything, because when things didn’t work out, I really started to concentrate on me. I started in this business late, so I felt like I had to catch up!

That’s the best way to get over the loss of a love, stay busy! And you got really busy. There was that kinda Whitney Houston character you played in "Rhapsody."
LR: Yeah, that was another role with a strong character that didn’t take no shit, then I did The Source TV show which gave me the ability to be visible in between projects. Then there’s the movie "Civil Brand" and the upcoming "Gang of Roses" starring Stacy Dash, Monica Calhoun, and Mario Van Peebles.

What do men find sexy about you?
LR: Well, that I have beauty and brains. That I can be a friend and a lover. That’s what I think men find sexy about me. I think what makes a woman sexy is realness, and that glow of confidence that comes from within. And I mean confidence, not arrogance.

Do you think men can tell the difference?
LR: Oh, hell yeah. We can all tell the difference. It’s like this girl I met on the set just recently. Beautiful girl, seemed smart, well put-together, game tight, but when she opened her mouth it was over. She just came off so arrogant like she thought she was the shit, and she really wasn’t. That just turned me off from even talking to her woman to woman. Men are the same way, if not worse.

Do you think that’s arrogance, or lack of confidence? I find that the women like that are usually the most insecure. They’re like the Wizard of Oz, all smoke and mirrors, but when you get down to it, they’re just scared little girls.
LR: You are so right. And neither makes for an attractive woman. What are they defending themselves from? It’s just not genuine. You have to be confident and comfortable in your own skin in order to be real with others.

Yeah, but I can see how it happens, especially to really beautiful women. People are always blowing smoke up your ass, especially those that want something from you. How do you distinguish the real people from the ones just "trying to be down" with LisaRaye?
LR: I am totally into Buddhism, and meditation is awesome. I’ve been through things in my life and I’ve come to a point where I want everything in my inner body and my mind to be strong. You can’t sit around and cry about the negative things and people you encounter. What are you gonna do about it? I have to do something every day to help me reach my goals. I set weekly goals, monthly goals, and yearly goals. You get a feeling of satisfaction when you’ve completed your goals for the day, then week, and so on. It makes you strong. I am definitely a hustler, and I keep suck-ass people out of my life.

What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for a man?
LR: I rented a yacht for someone’s birthday. I mean, I did it up, we had everything. Food, drinks the works. We went out on the yacht, then we went to a bungalow that I had decorated.

You decorated it yourself?
LR: Girl, yeah, I hung the red and white streamers and everything. I had scented candles all over and in the bathroom, where I led him and undressed him. We stayed in the tub for three hours. Then it rained. We just fucked for hours. Ooh, then there was the time I decorated the house like a Macy’s Christmas window – I mean the tree, the toys, mistletoe, all of it. Then I popped out of the box, that was a lot of fun.

Girl, there are men everywhere reading this just wishing they’d be that lucky on Christmas. So has a man done anything that romantic for you?
LR: I did get a nice Range Rover, but men just aren’t as creative as women. For a woman, just talking and being yourself is sexy sometimes, but men are visual. That’s why they love strip clubs. You have to show it to them so they’ll understand. When we bend over they can fantasize. The whole masturbation process for men is visual.

So if your man asked you to "do" Diamond for him, would you?
LR: Oh yeah. I don’t want to get bored, either. Shit, you want me to be your China girl, Barbie doll, Diamond, whatever, I’m with it.

Is there anything you wish you knew about men sooner? Something that would have made a past relationship better?
LR: I think probably that they must feel like they’re men. You have to appease men. Be negotiable with them and most importantly, tell them what they want to hear.

I think people would be surprised to know that you’d go out of your way to appease your man.
LR: People often underestimate how far I’ll go for love. If I’m in it, I have no problem expressing my love to the object of my desire.

You can catch LisaRaye Tuesday nights on UPN’s "All of Us," or on tour as Hennessey’s first black spokesperson. You can also visit her website, www.LisaRaye.com, for her 2004 calendar and limited edition posters, playing cards, incense, magnets, and workout video.