Tatyana Ali could fool anyone into believing she is older than 20. The Brooklyn native, who at age 11 began her role as Ashley on Fresh Prince of Bel Air, possesses so much poise it’s easy to overlook her charismatic youthfulness.
While that successful television series will always be a part of her resume, Ali hopes to focus on music, partially a result of the impression her debut album, Kiss the Sky, made in a music industry flourishing on sweet girl voices such as Monica, Brandy and Aaliyah.
“When I set out to make the album, the only thing I knew was that I didn’t want to play a character again,” Ali said from a hotel room in Manchester, England. “For me, singing has always been a time to be myself. Acting has always been my time to be imaged and be told what to wear and act a certain way. I wanted it to be personal and I wanted it to be honest.
“I achieved what I wanted to. Everything is really honest. Every song on there is really personal.”
Now, the Harvard student is working on her second album.
In her six seasons on Fresh Prince, Ali grew up before viewers’ eyes, transforming from a cute little girl to a mature, powerful woman.
“It was kind of like an interesting quirk in my life,” Ali said. “Everybody who starts out young kind of goes through that time when they’re like, ‘Is this what I want to do? Do I want to spend the rest of my life doing this? Are people going to accept me growing up?’ Around that time I decided I wanted to be around show business as long as I could.”
The Fresh Prince served as her crossover from acting to singing. Viewers were first exposed to her angelic voice in an episode in which Ali sang Aretha Franklin’s Respect. Ironically, it almost didn’t happen.
“I actually didn’t want to do that. I thought it was going to be corny. Will [Smith’s] big prank on people was to find your old work and play it for the whole crew. The thing he found of me was singing on Star Search. Everybody was like ‘Oh my goodness, do you still sing?'” Ali said.
Even after positive response from the episode, she was still hesitant to begin a music career, a trend actresses Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Love Hewitt have led.
“I always thought the show would’ve held me back. I tend to be real pessimistic. I said, ‘Look, this is for me.’ One day I’ll be able to show my grandchildren and say look, ‘Grandma made an album.'”
Besides a music career, Ali has gained another huge asset from her work on the show — the friendship of actor/singer Smith, who signed her to his production company.
“Will’s like my big brother. Now, with music and stuff, he’s become a teacher because he’s been doing this for so long and he knows so much. … I think I’ve gotten a lot of freedom with my first album that a lot of artists don’t have.”
Ali’s first single, Daydreaming, peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100 Singles chart and was certified gold within weeks of its release. She was an instant phenomenon, but sometimes it can be hard to live up to all the hype.
“It was very surreal. I expected no one to pay attention to any of it. Not because of the music but because of me. I set myself up for falls and then when good things happen it’s like, wow. It’s really protection. When it started to play and people started to play it, it freaked me out.”
Now a veteran in show business, she has not been changed by fame.
“The music business really is what they call it, a business. You meet a lot of people that say ‘I see you as the next this person’ and ‘I think on the market now we really need a cross between this and this.’ When opportunities come, you have to try to stay as true to yourself as possible.”
