WHY NONA? WHY NOT?
Esquire magazine, March 2002
Interview by Carter Harris
Photography by Mark Baptiste
Let's settle the
eternal question right now once and for all: What is the perfect mood music?
Well, there's Stevie Wonder--if you're looking to cuddle all night. Barry
White perhaps? Too predictable. Rick .lames?
Slow down, this ain't no one-night
stand. No, if you want to show you've got soul and sense, there's only one man
for the job, and that's Marvin--Marvin Gaye.
We're talking about Let's Get It On, the divinely smooth,
seductive album that will take you from first kiss to last tango. We're talking
What's Goin'
On, an album that redefined pop music. That's not to mention "Sexual Healing," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine,"
"Your Precious Love"-- the man could sing his ass off. While we're at
it, we shouldn't overlook Marvin's other great production: his daughter, Nona
Gaye. The actress and singer--now twenty-seven -- caught our eye in Ali as the champ's second wife,
Belinda. We decided to play Howard Cosell and ask her
some questions.
ESQ:
Where'd the name Nona Aisha Gaye come from?
NG:
Aisha's not really my middle name. I thought
it was until I was about twelve. But one day we're driving in the car and my
mom's like, "Honey, Aisha's not your middle name. It's
Marvisa." And I'm like, "It's
what?" I guess my dad wanted me to have a piece of his name, and I like that,
but I don't care for the name itself.
ESQ:
Could be worse.
NG:
Yeah, it could’ve been Marveletta, Mervetta, Marvita, Marvelina. My dad wanted to go
with Marvelous and my mother was like, Absolutely not.
ESQ:
You got into making your own music with 1992’s Love for the Future album. It
had a lukewarm reception.
NG:
I had just turned seventeen when I started it, and I didn’t have any creative
control. The record label (Third Stone/Atlantic) wanted to go with crossover
pop. I wanted to come with the funk. I knew people wouldn’t accept bubblegum
pop from Marvin’s daughter, and they didn’t. It frustrated me, and after it
happened I kind of lost my fire and gave up for a little while.
ESQ:
So you decided to get into acting?
NG:
I always wanted to act but never expected it to happen like it did. My agency
sent me out, my first audition, and they put me on tape and my lip was
quivering and I left in tears ‘cause I thought I did such a horrible job. A
week and a half later, they called me back and said [director] Michael Mann
liked it and wants to see you.
ESQ:
What do you remember of your father?
NG:
When he was sober, my father was the nicest, happiest, most decent man with the
strongest life force you'd ever want to meet. I only had him for nine years,
and I remember that. I think that if my father had healthier people around
him—this might be a pipe dream, no pun intended—I think he would have gone into
treatment, that he and my mother may have reconciled, and that he could have
come to my movie premiere.
ESQ:
What about you – did you ever get caught up in doing drugs?
NG:
I had a very, very dark, murky period, and that was part of the time that I
took off from my career, to get my life in order and get sober.
ESQ:
Did you have a drug of choice?
NG:
Whatever was around. I indulged in a lot of things.
But I realized nothing good was going to come to me until I cleaned up my act.
I got sober and found out I was pregnant not too long after with my son, Nolan.
I’m so past feeling like I need to alter my mind to have a good time. My son
alters my mind; he makes me high.
ESQ:
Given that the relationship between your mom, Jan Gaye, and your dad was
tumultuous, have you tried to steer clear of famous men?
NG:
You cannot help who you fall in love with. I've dated famous men.
ESQ:
Yeah?
NG:
I thought you knew one of 'em. . . . I dated Prince.
ESQ:
Do you want to tell me about that?
NG:
Not really. I was seventeen, eighteen. It was very strange, a whirlwind of head
trips and mind screws. Three years I dated him and didn't know him and really
never let him know me, either. But that was a long time ago, and I wish him
well. I have nothing but forgiving and warm feelings to send his way.
ESQ:
Do you only date black guys?
NG:
Oh, God, no. I just love men. I don’t care about all that. I’ve dated white
men, black men, Asian men. If you’re fine, you’re fine.
If you’re nice, you’re nice. If you’re funny, you’re funny. I don’t care.
ESQ:
So now that you’re older and wiser, what are you looking for in a guy?
NG:
I want a man who is in my corner no matter what. Someone I can trust and know
that if I’m tripping, he’ll be there. You know, we’re allotted three soul mates
in a lifetime.
ESQ:
I didn’t know that.
NG:
Yes. So don’t give up hope when you think you found your soul mate and it
doesn’t work out. You get three. I don’t know if you always find all three.
ESQ:
How you found any yet?
NG:
One.
ESQ:
So you have two left.
NG: Yeah. Two left.