The ladies of The Claudia Jordan and Friends Show. Left to right, Porscha ,Danisha, Claudia, Flora, and Tina Divina.
Tina Divina
Close your eyes and imagine a warm kiss on the back of your neck and the gentle hand of your lover cupping your shoulder. Feel your heart pounding as the lights go out. Now you're ready.
Tina Divina is a blogosphere phenomenon. Her MySpace blog was so popular that it caught the eye of the creative director of Jill Scott's record label, Hidden Beach, who then hired Divina to oversee the official Hidden Beach blog.
Jamie Foxx, the award winning actor, comedian, and singer, owns a channel on Sirius Satellite radio called the Foxxhole. The channel is home to such personalities as Sheryl Underwood of "The Sheryl Underwood Show" and model-turned-radio host Claudia Jordan, who hosts "The Single Life with Claudia Jordan and Friends", of which our friend Tina Divina is a regular on-air contributor. The show is about relationships; how they work, why they don't, and all of the hot and juicy details involved with being grown, sexy, and free.
As a writer, poet and radio personality, Divina has her hands full, which is why I'm grateful she had time to answer a few questions. Without further ado, I give you, Tina Divina.
StopBeingFamous: Why do you think the divorce rate continues to climb every year? Is it because women cheat?
Tina Divina: Haha, that's funny. No, I think it is because people are quick to give up before we stick through the hard times... We made it work, forgave and moved on. Now we will jump at the slightest thing. As well, women used to need men financially and for stability. The work force wasn't as it is today... Now that has changed and so has the need for women to stay in unhappy situations.
SBF: What were you doing before you joined the Claudia Jordan show?
TD: I am a poet, writing is my first love. I blog on my website (www.tinadivina.com) a weekly poem usually centered around love and relationship issues. There is always a story someone can relate to.
SBF: I understand you are originally from Chicago, what made you move to L.A.?
TD: Actually I was born in Detroit, MI. My family moved to Southern Cali when I was three years old and I grew up in Redondo Beach, CA. Fast forward many years later, I met my ex here in California and he was from Chicago and wanted to move back, so for the sake of love and a change of scenery, I moved to Chicago with him. I lived there for about five years but the winters were kicking my butt and my beach-raised -ass,moved back to the sunshine state... thus leaving him there in the cold. Ha,ha,ha!
SBF: Too bad for him haha. How did you come to work with Claudia?
TD: Claudia and I have been friends well over ten years. Often times on Sundays the girls would get together for dinner and of course there was always wine, (laughter), either at Claudia's house or Flora's house (Flora is one of the five Single Life contributors). We'd have these round table discussions and naturally the conversation would end up about why in the hell all of us are single. We'd share our various crazy relationship/dating stories, all of this gave Claudia the idea for the show. Each woman has her own very different and unique story. So when Jamie Foxx offered Claudia the time slot for her own show, she asked me if I wanted "in" and I was like HELL YEAH!!
SBF: Exciting! Given the synergy Jamie Foxx has had over the past three years of his career, with the movie "Ray", blasting him into the stratosphere, it makes sense for him to venture into radio. Does he have any input as to what happens on the show?
TD: Not to my knowledge, he gave Claudia the reigns and believes in her talent and her humor and ability to make light of the darkest situations. She is a very real woman, has been in love, been hurt and women can relate to her and she will be the first to say she isn't perfect, has made mistakes etc...
SBF: What's the weirdest piece or fan mail you've received?
TD: I try to be good about responding to people because I know that I am fortunate to even get the response from people that I do. To have so many subscribers and so many commenting on my blogs, etc... There are times that it becomes hectic and I remember once I didn't respond to this guy on MySpace quick enough and he went off on me like I really knew him. Ha,ha,ha. He then began to blow up my inbox with messages so I had to block him as it just became too much!!
SBF: Wow, that's scary. You have a blog on Jill Scott's Label, Hidden Beach. How did this come about?
TD: The Creative Director of Hidden Beach happened to avidly read my blogs and loved my work and the forum that I open for discussion. He wanted to see me take that concept to a bigger platform and incorporate his artists in them and feature their music as the setting. We talked about it and I loved the idea and we have since expanded it to incorporate podcast, video and audio artist interviews on the site. It's a way for the fans to take part and learn more about the artists and perhaps what inspired a particular song that was being featured. For example, with "Hate on Me" by Jill Scott, I would blog on the subject of "haters" and then talk to Jill about the song itself. We are still waiting to launch, the site had to be designed specifically to be able to accommodate all of this.
SBF: Describe the room you're in right now?
TD: I'm in my bedroom. My place is very open, loft like and very plush... Ha,ha,ha, literally I loveeeeeeeeee, and I mean LOVE pillows, so they are all over my place. My room is a mixture of Moroccan and Asian inspiration with silky fabrics and jeweled earth tones like deep red/gold/plum. I am also very big on smells, I love currant and pear scents and my room's scent is a mixture of that.
SBF: So far, who's been the most interesting guest to appear on the show?
TD: We have a nice mixture of guests, and each brings a different flavor than the last, but T.K. Kirkland simply cracks me the hell up!!
SBF: Lets say you meet a guy at the club and he's cute, and everything he says is perfect... Does he have chance of seeing the pillows in your bedroom that night?
TD: Hahaha. HELL NO!! I mean, I'm not a fan of a one night stands, and any I've ever had were my choosing, like it was one night because I didn't wanna see the dude again. Honestly, and I have said this on the show, women have to treat their bodies like a precious gem, and if everybody had it and seen it and been in it, it loses value... I'm keepin my ish platinum!!
SBF: Is the main topic of the show always about sex?
TD: Actually, it is not always about sex. The show is about relationships and why these five women have been single for so long. In the subject of relationships of course sex plays a major role, but we also had subjects like "Are we there yet?" which talks about how long you should date before you commit, likewise with "Baby Mama Drama" or "Interracial Dating"... As long as our divorce rate continues to rise, the conversation on how to save our future relationships will continue. It's all about learning from one another and even learning from our callers. One may think they are alone in a situation to find out plenty others are going through the same thing.
SBF: On one episodes of the Single Life, you admitted to having a threesome. Tell us about that, and would you ever do it again?
TD: I have before, but in the realm of a monogamous relationship. I thought the man I was with I would spend forever with... And I wanted to keep it spicy, plus I am a very adventurous person, so we had lots of fun... Would I do it again? Hmmmmmm.....i dunno. ;)
SBF: On an ordinary day, what could we find Tina Divina doing?
TD: I am a single parent so often times if I'm not working then I'm with my daughter and we love shopping and the beach!!!
SBF: Ok, I have been waiting to ask you this question for awhile and here it is: Would you rather play one round of Russian Roulette and win 8 million dollars, or have unprotected sex with ten strangers from the most AIDS-ravished region in Africa?
TD: Ha,ha,ha... Ummm, what are the rules to Russian Roulette again?? Ha,ha,ha!! Is there an Option C? End of interview.
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