COVER STAR: DIAMOND WHITE – Reignland
photography by Keitaro Cloward
story by Ella Audrey Rae
a talented actress and singer/songwriter, Diamond White has proven she is built for this with compelling bangers and her ability to take any role and make it unforgettable. Diamond started her journey at a young age and went on to compete on X-Factor, star in films, do voice over work and get a recurring role on the last season of Empire. I first saw Diamond on YouTube when she released her music video, ‘Cleopatron’. After that I became obsessed and I wanted more. She inspires many with her fearless vulnerability she displays in her music. Her lyrics were always relatable and her vocals were captivating to say the least. I immediately had to get her for the cover. Can we also state, how photogenic she is? When I got the cover photos back, I couldn’t breathe. I was blown away by her ability to not only be so original with her style but also not feed into the ‘trends’ or ‘standards’.
How are you handling the pandemic so far? // “at this point eating takeout in my bed has become a regular occurrence. a day not spent scrolling down tic tok is a great one.”
Has it messed with your creativity yet? // “I’ve definitely been more crafty. Hot glue gunning everything. I also shaved my head and that made me feel like a rockstar so that gave me a boost of creativity.”
You got a major role on Empire for the last season and you were incredible. How did that role come about? // “I sent in a self tape after several glasses of wine and the offered me the role HA.”
How did you prepare for the character? // “LALA was a nervous mess in the beginning andim the same way especially when it comes to meeting new people my age. Sooo I just pulled from my social anxiety.”
How was it meeting all of those legendary actors and actresses? // “It was a bit nerve wracking. I stayed to myself. Im a bit awkward. Everyone knew each other and had there own inside jokes and what not so I would just sit and snack on the food on set. I just be mindin my business”
What did you learn from that set? // “that Taraji p Henson is hilarious”
What was your favorite memory from the set? // Taraji P Henson accidentally calling me Rihanna
photography by Keitaro Cloward
Aside from acting you also have done some voice over work, how does one get into that kind of field? // “literally just having an agent that has a voice over department
What has been your favorite character to voice so far? // “I loved doing FULI in the lion guard buuut now it’s my most recent one but that’s a secret for now”
During the LA uprising, you went to the rally in FairFax to support. What did you experience as you watched this all unfold? // “it was cool to literally watch history right before my eyes. The energy was something over never felt before. The protests are still strong and happening even tho the news isn’t showing it and I just hope justice actually gets served cuz there’s a WHOLE lot more cops that need their karma and Families in pain because of their careless actions. I hope people don’t stop and don’t forget that black lives matter when it’s not right in there face”
How did you deal mentally with all of the craziness that was going on when it came to seeing black Americans being mistreated almost everywhere? // “it’s been like this. Im black it’s almost like we’re born knowing the bullshit. We’re strong as hell for that. For me, what I do is try to do my part. Im the girl at the party that’s checking a white kid I saw saying the “n” word. Period.”
photography by Keitaro Cloward
Have you ever personally experienced racism? And if so how did you deal with the situation? // “of course. I by far haven’t gotten the worst of it. I live in la so people are pretty human here but the shit I don’t like is seeing the “ur so pretty for a black girl”. THAT irks me. A black guy LITERALLY said this to me in person and I responded “get the fuck out of my face” bc at the end of the day. If a BLACK man is saying that to me? He don’t even appreciate himself.”
What is your advice to others about dealing with racism in America, especially the younger generation? // “educate! Have the tough conversations. Don’t feel like your being the angry one. You have every right to be.”
What has been your hardest song to release and why? // “Well all of them bc im just doing this shit by myself so getting the music out is hard as it is lol”
How do you come up with these bangers? Do you have a process? // “I make music constantly. Some days are hard some days are easy to come up with ideas but my best ideas happen when im peeing honestly.”
photography by Keitaro Cloward
photography by Keitaro Cloward
You’ve been a creative in LA for awhile now. What are your tips for the new comers? // “literally just figure out a way to figure it out. There are no rules.”
Your new single, ‘Fck What I Need’ is such a banger. I can’t stop playing it. How did this track come about? // “I’d just broken up with my ex and and I wanted was freedom and fun regardless of what I actually needed. I wanted that hot girl summer.”
How do get over someone that you feel that strongly about in your opinion? “Tequila and game nights with ur friends”
photography by Keitaro Cloward
What made you cut your hair off for this new visual? Was it a split decision at that moment or did you plan to do it anyway? // “i was making dinner with kyllo (who produced the track) and it popped up in my head. We’d been getting super into this artist named yung lean and I was really inspired by his energy. Kyllo goes ” that would be crazy and fire” my mom said “don’t do that, you can’t do that”. So i planned it and did it.”
What makes you want to experiment with your style like that? // “well I love the idea that I can literally do I want. Because I literally control everything in my path. Everyone does. So I do what I feel.”
Do you think your fashion ever influences your music? // “hell ya. The more manic I am the better the fits and better the music.”
You can get her new single, ‘(fck) what i need’ on digital platforms now and watch the official video on her YouTube.
see the full spread at reignland.co/diamondwhite. + print.
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