For Tameka it's time to break the ice of online bullying and criticism over the years. In latest Rolling Out Magazine issue, she gives a lesson on self-confidence and how she manages to stay positive in a world full of negativity.
Mrs T.I explains how it felt for her to hear T.I call her his wife for the first time and how she is able to keep their love much sweet.
READ THE INTERVIEW BELOW:
It’s common knowledge that you have gone from being just an artist to a woman who is intimately involved in so many aspects of the entertainment industry. How do you continue to evolve and add these impressive notches to your belt?I think a large part of it is that I actually love what I’m doing. I enjoy being behind the scenes when it comes to the music, and I think that one of my greatest achievements is creating the OMG Girlz. I say that because I built them from scratch, so seeing them evolve and grow means so much to me … it shows me that my hard work and ideas are paying off.
Speaking of the OMG Girlz, do you ever experience déjà vu when you see them going through situations that were reminiscent of your time with Xscape?Yes, I do. Just dealing with the girls, I definitely feel it. I just try to talk to them and give them advice based on the things that I went through personally. Those are my babies, though … it’s my daughter and my nieces so it’s easy and it’s better.
Being a businesswoman seems to come easy to you, but how have you balanced that with being married? After being in a longtime relationship (with rap star T.I.), has marriage changed anything?A lot of people say that things change and maybe my husband might say something different but I don’t really see much of a change. I just feel like I’ve been doing some of the same things as a married woman, that I was doing years before … so it’s kind of like continuing on with the papers now. Honestly, I’m just enjoying it. I’m enjoying being called a wife, because it’s different than just being in a relationship … it feels a little better now.
Tell us about the first time you heard him call you his wife, and you were officially married. How did that make you feel?I was kind of like ”damn, that’s me.” I felt like a lucky lady and I love it every time I hear it. It just does something to me … it sends a signal to my body and tells me to jump all over him whenever possible [laughs].
So we’ve talked about you being a businesswoman, a mother and a wife. But at the end of the day, you still have to be a woman. How do you maintain peace and happiness in an industry and society that is always critiquing women in the spotlight?I do it with confidence. I believe that confidence is everything for a woman. You just have to be comfortable with who you are and what you bring to the table. I’m at the point in my life where I pretty much don’t give as what people think … but if I see something that I don’t like on Twitter and I feel like I want to say something back, I will, because that’s just me. I’m not really quick with my temper, though, and I stay positive and surround myself with positive people. At the end of the day, positivity is the thing that you need the most … that and confidence.
I’m sure though that there are days when you don’t feel as confident as you typically are. How do you deal with those days when you just don’t feel pretty?Again, it’s all about positivity. You’ve got to know that today is just a bad day, and you just have to take it in and keep moving because tomorrow can be a better day. I never let things keep me down, so if it’s a bad moment right now, I will deal with it keep it moving. And if I’m feeling like I’m not looking right, I just don’t take any pictures.
Do you consider yourself a role model, or is that something that you don’t want any part of?I don’t really consider myself a role model, but there are people that tell me I’m their role model. And you know what, I will accept that, and I will take it with pride. I’m grateful if anyone wants to consider me a role model. But I always want people to be better than me … if I’m doing something that you want to do in life and you feel like I’m doing good at it, that’s great … just do it better.
Is that a conversation that you have with your kids? Do you push them to be better than you?Definitely, because it’s very important. I tell them all the time, ”if you see somebody doing something good, strive to do it just as good or better.”
