Grammy-Award winner Debra Killings is one of music industry’s most in demand musicians.  Debra has worked with the best, including Aretha Franklin, TLC, Toni Braxton and Madonna.

She was the beautiful singing voice of Angela Davenport in Idlewild. Not only is she a vocal talent, her virtuosity on bass guitar can be heard on recordings for Carlos Santana, Curtis Mayfield, Jay-Z and OutKast, among others.  Most recently, she ignites the audience as bass player for Big Jim’s Penthouse Playas, house band of The Mo’Nique Show.

Top producers know her work well, Dallas Austin, Baby Face, L. A. Reid, Big Boi and Andre 2000, are a few of them.  Her songwriting credits cover recordings by artists, George Clinton, Will Smith, Paula Abdul, and more.

Debra Killings is talent personified!

Interview with Flaimahmy, March 7, 2010

FM:  I first want to say that I just loved the movie, Idlewild. I thought it was very artistically done.  You were the beautiful singing voice of the character Angela Davenport, played by Paula Patton.  How were you chosen to be the voice of Angela Davenport?

DK:  I had done several things with OutKast before.  They were familiar with me; I had done a lot of  base lines with background vocals for them.  The movie came up and they were looking for somebody to sing for the character Angela Davenport.  I don’t know how my name came up but Big said, “Let’s just get Debra to sing it.”  That’s basically how it came up.

FM:  And you did an exceptional job. You are a gifted vocalist, bass player, writer and  producer.  What do you think is your greatest talent?

DK:  My greatest talent…hmmm…I don’t know if it has anything to do with music.  I think if I had to choose between…I don’t know.  (Laughter).  At certain times it may vary.  Girl, I don’t know.  (Laughter).

FM:  Well, what are your top three?

DK:  Well, I know what I love to do.  I know I love to play bass.  At times I love to write…and produce.  Maybe those are my top three.

FM:  Has it been difficult being accepted as a female bass player?

DK:  Oh, absolutely.  Absolutely.  I know a lot of times you are underestimated because you are a woman.  Automatically, they chalk up in their heads that she’s probably not good because she’s a girl.  But, you have to earn your respect and keep your chops up and keep doing what you do as a musician.

FM:  Many people don’t know you are a mother, how many children do you have and how old are they?

DK:  I’ve got two kids, Rex is sixteen and Ton is eleven.

FM: Have you had to overcome many obstacles as a mother in the business?  Has it been difficult to balance home life and professional life?

DK:  You know there is always going to be a challenge trying to balance the two.  Say for instance if you’re put in a situation where you have to leave town to do music stuff or stay in town to do music stuff, you have to put your ducks in a row before you leave home and do what you have to do to make home right first.  Then everything else will be good.  That’s the way I try to balance it.

FM:  Have you had to leave on tour often?

DK:  You know I’ve  only been on one major tour.  That lasted I think about one and a half months.  I was in and out.  My kids were younger.  The balance was there because my husband was in the pocket, my mom was helping me and that’s the way we kept it kind of pretty good.  Most of my stuff, I do session work here in the city and very seldom out of the city.  Most of my stuff is session work and a couple of gigs every now and again.  I’ve got a pretty good balance, a good handle on it.

FM:  You are bass player for the house band, Big Jim’s Penthouse Playas of The Mo’Nique Show.  How did you get that gig?

DK:  I worked with Big Jim a while ago on The Fighting Temptations sound track with Terry Lewis of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.  He knew I was a musician and a vocalist.  When he got offered this position he thought it would be a good idea to have a female in the group, somebody aside from all these knuckle heads (laughter) so to speak.  He didn’t have my number; he was trying to find me.  He finally posted something on my Facebook.  I decided to call him back and he told me all the details.  I told him I would love to do it.

FM:  How old were you when you became interested in music?

DK:  My brother started when I was probably in the fifth grade and I was really interested then just because he was.  But, when I really just put my foot down to be a musician and singer it was probably in the eleventh grade or so.  I was probably about fifteen.

FM:  Who taught you how to play bass guitar?

DK:  My brother started me out because he played guitar and then I mentored under this guy named Alvin Sykes.  He plays and engineers for everybody.  He pretty much made me get serious about it and showed me certain techniques.

FM:  Since your brother plays also, do you come from a musical family?

DK:  Not really.  I think we’re about the only two.  Well, as a matter of fact, when my mom was younger she played keyboards for a local church but she hasn’t played in years.  Maybe it came from that!  It probably stemmed from that.

FM:  Are your children interested in the music industry?

DK:  Girl, not at all.  They are into baseball and football.  I think they could be because they pick up on little things like how to work MP3 players and all that kind of stuff…not MP3 players…I’ve got an MPC.  They work that…hmmm…not so much yet.

FM:  I’m tickled because you’re the third musical mom whom I’ve interviewed and whose children are not interested in the music industry.

DK:  You know, I think we’ve been in it for so long, I think they don’t see any real value in it.  That is weird but a lot of people’s kids venture off and do other things aside from music.  Yeah.

FM:  You are executive producer of your album, “Open Heaven.”  One song is entitled, “I Choose Love.”  Is this more personal, universal or both? (www.debrakillings.com).

DK:  I think it’s both.  As a matter of fact it’s a song that I guess everybody needs to take heed to.  If we did we wouldn’t have as much violence; we wouldn’t have as much mess.  Even love is a choice, really.  That is something that you have to choose.

FM:  Of the many talented people you have worked with, do any stand out above the others to you?

DK:  I’ve worked with so many people.  I think Deborah Cox is one of my favorites, a phenomenal, phenomenal singer.  Dallas Austin.  Basically, everybody I’ve worked with because you know when you’ve dealt with a creative person you have to respect that creative person for what they do and what they’re doing…so yeah all of them really stand out.

FM:  Are there talents that we have yet to see, or areas that you would like to explore?

DK:  For myself?

FM:  Yes.

DK:  I know what I would like to do more of and that’s writing and producing for other people.  I’ll probably tap into that a little more in the future.  That’s it.

FM:  Is there anything further that you would like to share with our readers?

DK:  Keep God first and everything else will fall in line.

FM:  We consider you to be a Fly Mommy.  What do you think makes you a Fly Mommy?

DK:  What makes me a Fly Mommy…hmmm…I don’t know…haha…(Laughter from both).  Girl, I guess because I can do it all.  I can jump on my kids and still do what I do as a musician, as an artist.  I guess that’s really what makes me a Fly Mommy.