Tatyana Ali sat down with KING magazine to talk about her past and future. I think she looks great ! I was happy to hear she graduated with honors from Harvard. Impressive...

It’s very rare to see a child actor flee from Hollyweird to get a higher education. Those “don’t do drugs” campaigns must have seeped in.

College was my opportunity to be around my peers, which you don’t get to do when you’re a child actor. And I wanted to be normal and see what else was out there, see what else I was good at. And there are some other things that I’m good at.

Such as?
I’m good at the sciences, I love learning about plants. You know, I’m a dork…it’s cool. I’ve come to terms with that and I dig it a little.


What are your thoughts on black Hollywood?

It’s kind of like the Wild West out there, and not just for black Hollywood. In a traditional sense, things look bad—there are people out of work, shows aren’t going up and a lot of films aren’t being made, because of the fear of actors going on strike. But I think it’s a real fertile time to stake your claim. With things up in the air, it creates new space for people who are trying to break through, business-wise.

The same can be said about the music business, yet you’re still dropping a new album.
I found my voice with this album, The Light. I can never stop singing. Remember, I recorded my first album [1998’s Kiss the Sky, MJJ Music] when I was 16, and other people wrote most of the songs. I really wanted the next album that I did to express who I am. And the only way I can do that is to write it myself. So in that sense, I found my voice.


I'm not too sure how I feel about another album from her. That first one was a disaster. I remember my brother had it and I roasted him for actually buying it instead of burning it. People need to stop trying to be the jack of all trades and stick to what they're good at. Hopefully she'll come out and shock us all.