ALONE " 0 born with here open, " ys her mother J n Gay . "She w looking round, v ry aware, very alert. A friend of min said This b by has a very old oul.' She w that Nona's oul had fore ... " I t's not unusual for gifted en­ tertainers to be described in such an aesthetic manner. It ms they a literally born to be performers. Nona Gaye knows sh was to be an artist. "I've al ways known. This is all I can s myself doing, " she says. One might say for Nona it' all j 0 .the genes - genetically speaking, that . . With her fa­ th r being the legendary Marvin Gaye it would seem abnormal for her not to have talent. Nona's debut album, Love For The Fu­ ture, gave evidence that the Washington, D.C. native indeed was given her calling as a birth­ right. The album also proved that sh could really sing and wasn't just another studio vocal concoc­ tion. The album caught the at­ tention of the guy formerly known as Prince. He. was im­ pressed enough to work with Nona on her next upcoming al­ bum and to also invite her to do a duet on his "Love Sign" track. pl'Olm.wmaJ ci tion really turned into a per­ sonal thing?' Read on as Nona Gaye shares the details about her career and other tidbits about her life. In addition to singing, , don't you also model? NONA: "Yes, I've been mod­ eling for .about ten months now, 80 it's still quite exciting to me. Since I'm 5'10, I guess it was-sort of the natural thing for me to do. I haven't done that many assign­ ments yet. aut I've done an ad for Armani. I'm still kinds hav­ ing a problem keeping my weight down to modeling size. To me, I've always had a little weight problem. I tend to over eat every once in a while. My agent sometimes gets a little up­ set with me about it." It' difficult to ee that you have any kind of weight prob­ lem: NONA: "Well, it's not your typical no 1 ight problem. But it i if you're a odel. Peopl in t modeling ind try j t want you to be ultra-thin for everything. And h n 1 ant to 1 a f w poun , I j t simply don't t. I also enjoy running. But doing th Armani ad lly cam by accident. I w doing a pho 0 shoot for tl Italian r­ sion of Glamour magazin , and th ph ograph r recomm nded me for th Armani ignrn nt." What waayourmom' (Jan Gaye) initial reaction about you going into how busi­ rae ? NONA: "She was quite ap­ prehensive at first because sh knows what the business is all about and how many sharks are out there. 1 really think that she was scared for me because 1 was 16 at the time. But now she knows that I really want this and I'm not stopping until I get my career to the exact point that I'm striving for. I've always wanted to be in how busi It was either acting, singing or dancing, and nothing else. I've got some acting related projects that will be released very soon I can't give too many details but I can say it's for both TV and film." Since you grew up in a "'NA.OI&aUI ... f4 " u a breue cloinf your (irst al- bum' . . NONA: "Not at all. But this next album is now so easy. That first album was just so difficult. 1 had problems expressing my­ self musically when other people were around - other people like the producers. But this time around since I'm working with Prince 1 have no problems at all." So what is it about work­ ing with Prince that eems to bring out the best in artists? NONA: "He' just magical when he's in the studio working with you. I mean it's when you hear th music, you just can't deny it. So 1 had to just belt out the music and I couldn't hold it in." How did you and Prince first meet? NONA: "It's a re By long story but I'll shorten it. We first J esse Jackson says • ac • , "While we're willing to talk, we're also willing to walk. I t's n w tim for ag­ gressiv dir c ction," he said. dor Hollywood d 11 W U, t n mo p y ith the nnoun m nt t lop d rve e producer on the proj , hich a top priority at rPict E ho to broadcast a fictionalized ve ion oft documentary -t cingt step of t inn r city Chi- cago tee with pro bas t- b 11 d - during t 1995 NBA pl yoffs. Th y hope to peg a major NBA nam to star. Id ally, Lee would also tak on th role of director, . but given the fact that he re ntly began production on hi n film, t grit y, urb n thrill r, "Clocker ", chan are he won't be fin­ ished in time. In fact, L e's ummer dance card is more than full. Earlier in the year, he SPIKE LEE signed on to serv as executiv producer for "Tales From The Hood", an urban horror anthology al 0 sporting a summer production schedule. before I do anything like that. I'd like to really firmly e tablish myself musically, th way that Natalie did with her ca r. I would want th public to or hear what I can do musically as Nona Gay nd th 11 take on such a proj , which would such an honor for m to do." Have you had to overly prove yours If b ca you're Marvin Gay , daughter? Do you think your father would've wanted you to b ; n how busine ? I asked. our mother thi que lion. What' two of our fccoorit am ng our father' ong? 'par­ r" 1- You'll probably ha to it to believe it but W leySni ill don long hair and gold gown for his role a drag q nin "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie New- " mar. Just shocking is word that Sni has fired long- time mana r Delores Ro­ bi n on (actr sHolly Robinson's mom) after a five-y r run that aw Sni rise to becom one of Hollywood's key box offi play ,sooring a report 7 million on hi I film, "Drop Zone" (with Sylv r Stallone). WESLEY SNIPES Family Matters - Stephanie and LeVar Burton are celebrating the birth of their first daughter, Michaela Jean, born earlier last month .. - Sorry to h r of Whitney Houston's recent miscarri looking fo ard to t birth of their child. By The Way - TV toppers Martin Lawrence and Will Smith have teamed up to star in an upcoming featu film entitled "Bad Bays". - Cab Calloway is back hom from an extended hospital stay after suffering a massive stroke in June. Th 86-year old perform r is still very w k. Let' k p rum in our prayers. Tha w re the a ·t tw that our mother al. ted .. :A. "At 0\1' >rl .') I He is also believed to have gotten a similar deal on another not-y -released film, "Money Train", and even more for his I test picture "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything .... ". Rhone: Boss Lady She' Black, be utiful and savvy. And now 42-year old Sylvi Rhone (CEO of East/We t R rds) ha n named ch irman a El ktra R rds. That will make Rhon , a 13-yearexecutive with the Warner­ Atlantic group: th first woman to become a major label presi­ dent. ful tenure at th label is capped off with th SWxai. of t . En and rv rt. it that a thatledtoherlaunchingE t/Westin1990. Inth meantim, on th slate of upcoming releases for Elektra is the latest from Anita Baker. Spike Does Hoops Remember "Hoop Dreams", the documentary that earned top marks at the Sundance Film Festival and subsequently landed the filmmaking m of Steve James, Pe r Gilbert and met at a record company func­ tion and it kinda of started from there. We got to be friends and later we started working to­ gether .. .l had been such a big fan of his. When we had our first conversation it was such a won­ derful experience for me because I was always such n fan. I w a little, just a little bit nervous in doi ng th "Loue Sign" du t with him. But he made me f I so comfortable. " NONA: til have no idea. But if you find out before 1 do, let me know! (laughs) But in case I'm ru ked, I'm ready." So is it true that you and Prince are a hot item? I ther a po ibility that you will tour with Prince? a boyco uJ f w rno y What did you think about you mom g tting a tattoo re­ cently? JESSE JACKSON - A t re any plans for ou to do n album proj twit h your [ather'. nui ic in a imi­ lar format the way alali Col did with her father? b can't believe it. I had no idea. Th t just blow me away, re- By." . other than your album and modeling, whflt are your immedia� plans? NONA "I'm writing a movie cript, and I'm learning how to play the b ss guitar. There r n't that m ny femal b pl y . I think it would re funky. I'm r dy to j t go out on th and ar it up! And I don't mind bre ing any finger- n il n il , " m ilz", who c: ?" Fi« I III/ 11111 Ifl [ornuitum rull ' II" u« I"." '"IIIIIIIII \/lIIIIIII'lIf IJII";llI/l � /o"'d"r