Porcelain Black is a Detroit native, now based in LA, who might be about to blow up big. Since moving west, she hooked up with uber-producer RedOne and is now preparing to release five Youtube videos in five weeks. This first, “Mama Forgive Me,” is available to see now, here.
She has an interesting sound, blending infectious pop with pumping industrial. She’s also very marketable and, like the music or not, we van see this pleasing radio listeners very soon. We caught up with Black and got the lowdown.
When were you born, and where?
I was born in Detroit and we lived all over the place. We lived at 8 & Ryan, Sterling Heights. Then my mom moved to Rochester and my dad moved to Royal Oak. He had a hair salon in Birmingham. So yeah, all over.
Why did you leave?
To pursue my dreams. I couldn’t have done it in Detroit, to be completely honest. There isn’t the songwriters [commercial songwriters, surely], the labels
I think people can but it makes it a lot harder. If you have the chance to actually go where the music industry is booming, then all the people that can find and help you are right there. There’s nothing in LA music-wise. That’s the funny thing – there is an awesome music scene in Detroit, but in LA where all the industry is there’s literally nothing. It’s insane, but that’s also because people in Detroit are bored and there’s nothing to do but be creative and artistic, make music and do stuff like that. In LA, there’s so many distractions and people get wrapped up in the Hollywood bullshit. They don’t focus on their art and they sidetracked into becoming club losers.
Is it frustrating that you had to move, considering how proud you are of your Detroit roots?
It’s a little frustrating but I was also ready to have a new chapter in my life. I can always go back, so I’m not dwelling on it.
How did you hook up with Universal?
RedOne signed me and he had his deal. I met him through a guy named Chris ??? who signed Katy Perry. He told Re about me, played him my stuff. We got together and wrote a couple of songs.
What’s the plan with the Youtube videos?
I did a performance in LA and performed five songs. Everything was videotaped. I filmed an intro that was played before I went on stage, and that was played before “Mama Forgive Me”. We’re releasing one video every week for the next five weeks. We want to keep people interested. The reaction has been super-awesome. My fans have been waiting forever for something. Everyone’s super-excited, everyone’s really happy. It’s been super-super-good and positive.
Do you have an album planned?
The album will follow. We’ll probably do a couple of singles before the album actually drops. Then I’ll start doing promo, touring and all that good stuff. I’ve been working for too long. Jesus Christ. If it sounds like I’m not excited it’s because I’m not. Just kidding. I’ve been waiting for so long, it is hard to get excited. It’s like. I’ll believe it when I see it, and when I see it I’ll be excited. Everything’s going good.
