KRAVE is an up-and-coming female trio from Atlanta, Georgia. The group consists of “Jazzy” (Jasmine Kearse), “Shan Q” (Shanquilla Robinson) and Chanel Ross, all of whom were discovered and molded by Devyne Stephens, one of the industry’s well-known talent groomers. In 2010, KRAVE plans to infuse the world with their unique brand of “ghetto pop” and establish themselves as one of the music industry’s premiere vocal groups.
In the midst of radio promotion for KRAVE’s latest single, “Go Crazy” (featuring Flo Rida and Pitbull), Jazzy, Shan Q and Chanel took some time out of their busy schedules to settle down for an interview with Clayton Perry—reflecting on the group’s founding, focus and first performance.
Before joining forces to form KRAVE, all of you ladies were pursuing solo careers. When you look back at your early years, what previous training or experiences do you think helped prepare you for this particular opportunity?
Jazzy: My family is pretty artistic. But I’ve never really had any formal training of any kind. My brother was really into theatre, and he belongs to this organization called YEA, Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, here in Atlanta.
So that kind of taught me the ropes, as far as how to train and really study the art of music.
Shan Q: When I was in middle school and high school, I took ballet and jazz. I also attended a performing arts high school, so that kind of helped me out. After I graduated, I started touring across the country with several artists – Ne-Yo, Ciara, Jay-Z and Teairra Mari. So that helped me with becoming a member of KRAVE and just being able to be develop my stage presence and learn about touring and performing.
Chanel: Honestly, the only musical training that I had was some chorus in high school. That did help, though, because learning how to read music was definitely a plus. And outside of school, just being around business-savvy people helped, and working corporate jobs helped me to know the business side and the work ethic involved.
Since you were coming from different backgrounds, how long did it take for you to gel as a group?
Jazzy: The gelling process didn’t really take that long, because we were friends before we started the group. We met while we were in high school, even though we went to three separate high schools. But we clicked on a platonic level, first, before any type of business or group relationship came about. So, it kind of flowed naturally. But we decided that we wanted to be a group just after realizing what we like to do. We realized we like to sing; we like to dance; we like to entertain. And it was a mutual talent of ours. It was kind of a natural transition. You know how girls, they hang out, they sing, they play and dance and dress up. So it just so happened it kind of worked out that way.
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