IN CONVERSATION WITH CIARA

interview by JANA LETONJA

Numéro Netherlands Digital presents Ciara as the Cover Star of the day. Grammy Award winning singer and songwriter, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Ciara is celebrating 20th anniversary of her debut album ‘Goodies’ this year. During her 20-year career, she has sold over 23 million records and nearly 30 million singles worldwide. Besides all of her music accolades, Ciara is a devoted wife and mother of four as well as a philanthropist who co-founded the Why Not You Foundation with husband Russell Wilson which is dedicated to fighting poverty through education and empowering today’s youth to lead with a ‘why not you’ attitude.

Ciara, this year marks the 20^th anniversary of the release of your debut album. How exciting is it to celebrate this milestone in your career, and in your life? And how good does it feel seeing your singles like ‘Goodies’ and ‘1, 2 Step’ continue being such iconic songs still today?
I feel it’s kind of trippy that so much time has gone by so fast. To know that it’s been 20 years since that special day in my life that I’ll never forget, launching my song ‘Goodies’, hearing it play on the radio for the first time, riding through a drive through, and my eyes filling up with tears and seeing that my dream was happening right in front of me was so surreal. 

And then my song with Ludacris was just an incredible moment in my life because one of my dreams was actually happening and my dream was coming true. I also had things within my dream that I wanted to see happen, like performing and working with those artists like Missy Elliott who’s like a big sister to me. A lot of my dreams were happening in the beginning and so to look back at that, it’s so motivating and I feel so proud of the journey. I feel so blessed to be able to reflect back at this moment in my career and to know that fans are still loving it and the songs still trend on TikTok, and they feel like brand new songs all over again. It’s very surreal, it’s amazing. And I’m so grateful for the journey.

TikTok changed the industry quite significantlyy in the last few years with how it makes older songs so popular today.
I remember my niece, who’s pretty young, jamming to one of my songs and she had no idea it was me. I thought that was the funniest thing. The song was trending and it’s just crazy how that goes, but it’s an amazing thing when your songs can be timeless and ageless for that matter. I think that’s the power of music. Music can transcend time, music marks time, music is so powerful and it’s a universal language that we all connect with each other through. And I just feel so blessed that that’s my job.

What are you planning for celebrating 20 years in the music industry? Are you excited to join your long time friend Missy Elliott on tour this summer?
Going on tour is definitely going to be a great space for me to make some special moments out of the songs from my ‘Goodies’ project, which I’m excited about. And I’m definitely going to be intentional about the fact that it is the 20th anniversary, so I definitely plan to shine, to celebrate. But also, we’re working on some cool things, especially that will line up after the tour.

I’m going to do something fun also to celebrate the moment for when the ‘Goodies’ album came out. We have some fun things in store and most importantly, I just want to keep it fun and a bit nostalgic. I think it’s so cool to look back and know that life has evolved in such a beautiful way for me. That little girl on that cover 20 years ago now has four precious babies and is still out here grinding with the same mentality, the same passion, the same spirit of just wanting to rock the world, make the world dance, and have a time of my life while doing it all.

Looking back on when it all began, how would you sum up your career til this day, and how have you as an artist developed throughout all the years?
Maybe I would say inspiring, just because I was a little girl. I was a military brat, so my family was very fortunate to travel the world because of it. I think when I look back at the little girl that I was, when I was dreaming big and having a why not you attitude, and starting to build the foundation of believing in myself, I’m constantly reminded that it is so important to believe in yourself and to never give up. Even when people may tell you no or you can’t, you got to say I will.  

I’ll never forget where I came from and I think for me, I’m continually inspired by my personal journey because I do know the power of committing to your dreams and believing in them. So I think the word inspiring probably comes to mind when I think of my journey, because I know that while I’ve been so blessed to accomplish a lot, I still have a lot more to do. I feel inspired through my journey because I know that there’s so much more that I can accomplish and that I will. I’m going to continue to accomplish my goals and my dreams. 

Even when it’s ugly and funky and you don’t feel like it, that’s a time when you have to dig even deeper and tell yourself you can. And there’s something so powerful about speaking life into yourself and manifestation. I’m a big believer in manifestation because that’s been a journey of my life and my career. Mostly all that’s happened in my career and on this journey has been literally seeing, having a vision, believing in it, and speaking life in it. I’ve always believed in the things that are going to happen for me and also writing them down, so I’m not going to stop that formula. I’m going to stay encouraged when the times are tough because I do know that those times pass. And I do know that when you stay encouraged, you find a way to will yourself through the most challenging times. And eventually the story is beautiful and it’s your beauty marks.

I am a huge fan of your music and to me, personal favorite single of yours is ‘I Bet’. If you had to pick only one out of all your songs, which one holds the most special place in your heart and why?
It’s hard for me to pick my favorite song. The most significant one, it’s between two songs for me and they kind of bookend each other. Obviously ‘Goodies’, because that’s where it all started for me and I remember really believing in that song. I had to go through a label change and all that stuff, and at some point in time I learned the label was trying to take the song from me and give it to another artist on the label, which is kind of crazy because I wrote a significant part of that record. But to know that that song really put me on the map in such a big way was really cool. And it was also special sonically. I was the first female to be able to introduce that sound or be a part of that sound and movement, so that was really cool. 

And then when I fast forward to one of my songs, ‘Level Up’, that is really significant to me because it summarized a lot of things in my life and it really spoke to the chapter of ownership and independence for me, and female empowerment and just self-empowerment in general, it’s amazing to see that that’s a song that keeps on giving to me. It’s kind of also cool that this song is starting to outperform some of my old catalogue, from the visual to the actual song itself. I feel so proud. When I fast forward to this little girl, this big dream and big vision and these goals, now having created her own record company, doing things independently and putting out a song called ‘Level Up’, I feel like there’s a somewhat of a bookend to those records. Those records have some similar energies between them and both have been very significant in my career.

You’ve been credited as an icon in the fields of dance, entertainment and R&B. What legacy do you want to leave on the music industry?
The beautiful thing about music is that it is timeless, which is a blessing. I’m not sure how long I plan on trying to do the Matrix on the stage, but there’s definitely some time left, which is amazing. But I think that when it’s all said and done, I hope that people, when they look at me as an artist, say that I gave it all I had whenever I was on the stage. And whenever there was an op opportunity to impact someone’s life, I gave it all, I was a woman who had impact on someone’s life with my music. I think that’s important.

And I hope people will feel that I really was a girl that could do it all. I was a mom, an entrepreneur, and that I ultimately built a legacy that will live on beyond me and that my children can continue to enjoy and share in whatever ways they can. I don’t know what the platforms will be then, but they’ll be proud of me more than anything. They’ll be proud of me and feel motivated to believe in their dreams also. I think that’s the thing, leaving a legacy of belief and a legacy of inspiration and hope.

Music is not the only field you’re very active in, as you are also an entrepreneur and philantropist. You launched your own label Beauty Marks Entertainment in 2018. Can you tell us a bit more about that decision?
The message behind Beauty Marks is that all the scars you get from the obstacles you face in life are your beauty marks. That was my way of looking at life. When I was going through those moments, they felt so bad and almost like I couldn’t recover from certain moments, or they were so challenging, they just were like ugly moments in life. I was able to reflect on those moments and say “Wow, they were beautiful because they gave me character, they gave me wisdom, they gave me strength, they gave me all that and more”. Sometimes in life, you have to go through the ugly to get to the pretty parts in life. And I also think back on how when you have a dream and you dream big, you always see the pretty part, but you never see what it’s going to really take to get there. And sometimes it’s not easy when you’re going after your goals. Beauty Marks really summarizes that journey for me. 

And then also, on the independent side, I had been through an incredible journey being signed to labels. Ultimately it just became like a cyclical kind of process and I felt like I put too much of myself in the process to get so little back. And I got exhausted with that part of the process. There’s nothing worse than having a vision for yourself, but having to wait for people to make a decision on your vision and to give you their opinion on, if it’s good or not. It’s not a good place to be in, especially when you also invest your own resources and you just may not get back exactly what you put into it as well. So there was an artist side of my mind and there was entrepreneur side of my mind that was really focused and motivated, and that inspired me to create my own label and to be able to do things my way. It inspired me to write ‘Level Up’. And it also just reminded that no matter how much success you have, things may come easier in certain cases, but you still may be doubted along the way, people may still count you out along the way. It’s a part of life, but I think the question you have to ask yourself what are you going to do about it. 

In my mind, I know where I want to get to. I have that attitude, like why not? Why not you? It’s been really fun though because ‘Level Up’ is now three times platinum and getting even closer to four, which is crazy. Also my newest release, ‘How We Roll’ featuring Chris Brown is now almost Gold, which I’m excited about. People have been showing me so much love. My songs have been resonating well with my fans and I feel that love back, so I feel so inspired, I feel so motivated.

Some of your business ventures also include your skincare line OAM (On A Mission) and Ten To One Rum. What were the main driving factors behind the launch of both, and what does daily inspire its goals?
OAM stands for on a mission and I say I’m a woman of ambition on a mission, and in this case make clinical skincare simple for all. My current collection is a radiance collection and it’s vitamin C based. I used to be the girl that would always use body lotion on my face and body wash on my face. I just didn’t put any care into how I was loving my skin. My makeup artist, Yolanda, would always tell me “Ciara, did you use your eye cream?”, and I’d kind of toss it off. And then I said I got to start thinking about life long term, I got to start thinking about my skin long term, I need to start pouring into my skin with like the highest level of love and care. I took it seriously. 

During the pandemic, I worked on the formulations for OAM. Our serum in particular has a 20% dosage of vitamin C. I went through 32 prototypes to get to this serum, that’s how meticulous I was in the process. And I also believe that people should be able to experience what I call affordable luxury skincare, so it was important to me to give the consumers a product that was efficacious and truly great for the skin. We are a dermatologically based brand and skincare line, so I want to make sure these products are really efficacious, but also when you experience them, there is a sensorial kind of feeling. Like our hydrating cleanser, the way it foams up on your face is so good and also keeps your skin hydrated. Every part about how I built this line mattered to me down to its name. And it’s been so cool to see how many consumers have now evolved into taking great care of themselves and taking great care of their skin.

And then my rum Ten to One. I also started working on this project during the pandemic. My partner Marc Farrell, who is just a brilliant mind, started it one year before we met, and I just joined him on this journey because I always had a strong passion and love for rum. It was actually the first spirit that I had in my life when I turned 21 years old. I was breastfeeding for 10 months in the pandemic and it was time for me to wrap it up. It was time for me to have a little celebration of the journey, so the first drink that I had was a Mojito we mixed with Ten to One and it was so amazing. So I joined Marc on this journey and we’re now the fastest growing rum, and we’re the most award winning rum in our space as well. I’m just super proud of where we are and who we are in this space. Rum is definitely a slower market, but I do think that we’re going to see so many more rum lovers come to the party. Our vision is to get people to reimagine rum and seeing rum in a way sexier and elevated space than how you’ve always seen it with the frozen Daiquiris. I’m excited for what’s ahead for us. I think it’s going to be really great and I can’t wait.

One of the aspects of your career is also involved with fashion. What do you enjoy the most about fashion, and what does it represent in your everyday life?
Fashion is a big way of how I express myself. It’s a big part of me. I think when you think about the power of music, you think about the visuals. There’s nothing better than when you have the best fashion to match the song. Fashion and music go hand in hand. It’s just such a fun world to play in and to experiment and try things. There’s no perfect formula to fashion, which is so cool. I think it allows people to express themselves. You can feel one way one day and it inspires you to wear all black, or you can feel a certain way another day and you want to wear all white. That’s the beauty of fashion, that you can go as far as you want to go, you can go as minimal as you want to. And it’s always been a big part of what gets me excited as an artist. It’s like, I know the song, what am I going to wear? You always look how are we going to complete the vision. And so fashion is like how you put the period at the end of a sentence of a creative idea.

What exciting projects are you working on next? And which of those are you most looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to everything for this whole year. There’s some really fun stuff coming soon, some cool announcements that I can’t wait to share with my fans and so I’m pumped up for that. There’s some really cool campaigns that I’m a part of. I am also serving as a creative director for the fall campaign for the brand Bebe, which I’m excited about because that’s a bit like a 2000s moment and all the looks I curated. I really love how the collection came out and it really feels amazing to be able to go back to 20 years ago. How that little girl with that big dream, big vision who used to shop in the mall and go to the Bebe stores is now being a creative director for a collection for the brand is super cool to me.

And there’ll be more music for my fans. I am so excited for the songs that I have in the chamber. My fans will definitely get a taste of it on tour, so I can’t wait for that. We’re just going to keep it going. I feel like I’m just getting started 20 years later from my first album. I feel like I’m just beginning and I can’t wait for the next 20 years. 

talent CIARA
photographer/creative director/production TYLER PATRICK KENNY
styling MARNI SENOFOTO
hair DAVONTE WASHINGTON
makeup YOLONDA FREDERICK THOMPSON
nails MIHO OKAWARA
videographer/lighting MEECH with @TUNNELMEDIAGROUP
production/host ANJANETTE MARAYA-RAMEY
maraya performing arts staff SAM ESPINO, STEPHEN EVANGELISTA, XAVIER HICKS, DIEGO LYNCH, ANJANETTE MARAYA-RAMEY(ceo & founder), DIANA NICASIO, NAHLA VALDEZ
maraya performing arts students MCKINLEY ELLISON, LONDYN HOLLOWAY, SÓL TAN, SIENNA WEBB, CALI WILSON, CAYLA WILSON
pr @THENYLC @BEAUTYMARKSENTERTAINMENT
editor TIMI LETONJA
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN
special thanks to @MARAYAARTS for the great space and hospitality