India
Sorry kids, the Gotdamn Editor-In-Chief has relieved Kevin Clark this week for good reason (don’t fret, he’ll be back next week). Due to the focus being on the porn industry, I got a chance to sit down with a retired porn star and discuss her career in an industry few know about behind the scenes.
Some of you may have heard the name India before. One of the few black porn queens that was able to crossover and become a big name in the business. One hundred and fifty porn films later, she abruptly decided to leave the game. Why? Well, that’s a question that I had to ask her.
Today, India is sitting pretty on a cushion of money and pursuing her first love – music. During porn convention week, I got a chance to have dinner with the Black Widow and get her to open up about the industry, taking your work home with you, racial bias and her future.
Enjoy!
B&B: So let’s start this off right – what made you get into the porn business?
India: I got into the business back in 1997 and my career started in 1998. The reason I got into the business wasn’t a financial thing, it was more like all of the girls that I saw in the magazines –different girls, black girls. I just looked at it like “oh my god, I can do this" and I thought that there was a market for black girls to really take off and we could build something and take it to the next level. So that was my whole thing. I came in and I kind of knew where I wanted to go and if I wasn’t there by that year then it wasn’t happening. So I set out knowing I wanted to be with this company and that I wanted to be a contract girl and that’s what I did. I came in with a plan. There’s money of course and its good but at the same time I just knew that it was something bigger than just the money. I can build something here for the rest of my life where I’ll be okay financially.
B&B: Since you didn’t get into it because of the money, were you a fan of the industry prior to becoming a part of it?
India: No.
B&B: No?
India: No. One thing about me is I don’t lie. I don’t want to sugarcoat anything and make it seem like I did. I didn’t watch porn but I knew there was something there because porn was becoming more commercial. I knew of certain people because of the magazines I saw. I knew the names but I wasn’t into watching the movies. If you would have told me a couple of years ago that I would have been a porn goddess, I wouldn’t have believed you. But my friend actually said I would be. When I was 16 or 17, we were having dinner and she was like “Meka is going to be a porn star when she gets older” and I’m like “No I’m not!” And it’s just funny that I turned out to be (just that). I didn’t know much about the industry so I did my homework. I didn’t just jump in to do a movie. I researched it.
B&B: What was it like when you did your first scene? Were you nervous or overwhelmed?
India: No, I wasn’t nervous which is kind of crazy because most girls are but I was actually relaxed. I don’t think this is done often but they let me go through a big book and I got to pick out the guy I wanted in my first scene. I met the guy, he was really cool, his name was Nick. The only thing that I was worried about was that I had never went down on a guy. It was my first time. That’s the only thing I was nervous about. I wasn’t nervous about sex because I look at the body as a beautiful thing that you shouldn’t be ashamed of. If I do it, I’m going to do it all the way. I’m not going to half do it.
B&B: How many movies have you done?
India: On the list it says 149 and actually that’s not a lot of movies for somebody like me who hasn’t been in the industry that long. There are girls like 100 movies in maybe three weeks. I think that’s good because you want to pace yourself. The less you have on catalog then the more your worth is. Most girls don’t know that. Some think that the more you do the bigger you are and it’s actually the opposite. The less you do, the bigger you are. You can go to them and ask for money and bigger things because they want you. You’re in demand.
B&B: Being one of the top tier porn queens, how do you think that you got there. Do you think it was because you had a different look.
India: I think I did have a different look. It’s not like there aren’t any pretty girls in the industry. But it’s how I approached it. There’s a certain way you have to approach this industry. I surrounded myself with the right people. I had a team. I’ve never been out there by myself. I was quickly picked up and schooled. I learned real fast what this industry is. There are girls who’ve been around for ten years and you barely know their names, which is pretty sad because they do the same thing as me. I wasn’t going to settle for second or third. If I can’t be at the top – no matter what the profession – then I don’t want to do it.
I’ve always been little. I’m one of the girls who started that trend with black women. After me came Lacey Duvalle and others. At first little girls weren’t really in. All the other girls were thicker. I know that there had to be a market for a classy, black girl. I didn’t see somebody like me. If they are doing it one way (I thought) what if I come off a different way that they haven’t seen yet. I’m always looking nice. My hair and nails are done. That’s just everyday stuff that you are supposed to do anyway. Looking around there’s not a lot of women like that.
B&B: Did it feel awkward when people would approach you like a celebrity?
India: Should I say that name? Yeah I can say it because he’ll be okay with it…Samuel L Jackson. I met him in Jamba Juice. This was awhile back. I approached him like “I’m sorry, I usually don’t do this but you are my favorite actor” and he said “I don’t do this but you’re my favorite actress.” It kind of broke the ice and we started laughing. I have had so many celebrities be like “India!” That’s why I say porn has become so commercial because they all know me. This career has gotten me far – even with my music. It has opened so many doors for me that I thought would be closed. I thought that once you do porn, it’s a wrap. I’m seeing that it’s not true.
B&B: There’s a lot of people that will come out and say “she’s disrespecting herself” what do you have to say to that?
India: To each his own. I don’t care about what you do. It’s really about whatever makes you happy. You can have your opinion and you are entitled to it. I did this for me. Not for anybody else. Nobody forced me to do porn. I’m not crying on my pillow at night. I thought about all the circumstances that come with this industry – the good and the bad. I know that I won’t ever be able to run for president. Certain things I can never do because of porn. I’ve weighed my options. I don’t care what they say. I have a lot to show for what I’ve done and I’m good with it.
B&B: What’s it like being a black woman in this industry? I’ve heard grumblings from other black women who don’t get paid like white women. What’s the deal?
India: It’s just like Hollywood. Take a look at the Oscars. What do we have? One or two black people nominated and very few win. It’s no different. Porn deals with the same race issues but on a smaller scale. It’s not surprising to me.
B&B: Have you personally dealt with any racism in your career?
India: Funny enough, I haven’t dealt with anything like that. I’ve been managed by a person with all white girls and me being the only black girl. One of my girls was my close friend and she told me her rates and what they told her to do and my rate was just a little less so I said no. If I don’t get what she gets then I’m not doing it. I don’t play that. Some of the black girls fall for it. They will say “you know what, I need it so I’ll do anything.” I don’t play that. I get paid the same as any other girl out there – sometimes a little more. If you want to underpay me and I go for it then that’s my problem. Some of these black girls get $600 for an anal scene while a white girl can get two to three times as much for the same thing. The black girl may do the seen better but she cheated herself.
B&B: So you think there are a lot of misguided girls in the industry?
India: There’s a lot of them. When you act hungry in any industry, people are going to get you. Some of these girls have managers. I don’t want to name any names but their managers undercut them too. We, as black women, need to step up in this industry and learn to say no. It’s not just about taking off your clothes. It’s a business and you have to learn how the business goes.
B&B: What made you leave the game?
India: Because I wanted to pursue my music. Doing porn and music was just too much.
B&B: A lot of people, including the ones reading this interview, are going to say “Awwww…she’s going to do music now? Stay in your lane…”
India: Yeah, people do say that but I came from music, not from porn. But because people know me from porn they think that is my lane. But my lane began singing in church choir when I was young. Music is my love no matter what I’ve done in my life.
B&B: How the hell do relationships work for you being in porn as well as being retired?
India: I’ve been married actually. But when I was married I got out of the business for two years. Being married and staying in the business doesn’t really work for me. When I was in that type of commitment, I had to remove myself from this industry and dedicate myself to my marriage. The marriage didn’t work out so I decided to come back to the business. You are going to have men say that they can deal with it but they really can’t. Now that I’m not in the business it’s a bit different. Now I can talk to guys and its different because I’m not doing that anymore. But when you are, it’s difficult to come home and have your guy ask you “How was your day babe?” He doesn’t really want to know.
B&B: How do you not bring your work home with you?
India: When I’m on set, it’s work. The person I’m working with, I don’t know him like that. It’s just work. When I go home to my man it’s because I love him. I’m kind of old fashioned. I don’t like the sharing thing. I know I wouldn’t like it if he was in porn. Dating is better for me today because I’m not in the industry.
B&B: Talk about your company.
India: The company is called Black Widow Entertainment. It’s music and we have three artists – 2 rappers and one R&B guy. I’m putting out a girl on girl line of films that I’m directing. I’m not doing any scenes.
B&B: Are you actually signed and is the album coming out this year?
India: Black Widow is coming out this summer. I used to have distribution deal with Warner Brothers. Some things happened so I made a move and got another deal. I’m now at Capitol and that’s confirmed as a distribution deal.
B&B: What direction is the music headed?
India: I think people are going to be really surprised. The content is really edgy. It’s not going to be because I’m a porn star the music is nasty. It’s going to be about things that really happened in my life. We’re going to touch on sex but we’ll keep it going with other stuff too.
B&B: Well you are a woman rapper and women rappers are doing real bad right about now…
India: Yes they are. Because they can’t get it together right now. They can’t stay out of jail… no disrespect to Foxy Brown because I love Foxy. She is my favorite female rapper. But we as females have to fight harder. Guys have it so easy. Some guys are really wack. There are some girls that are better than a lot of these guys. We have to stay on top of ourselves. I have no problems with no females at all but I wish they would get it together. I do think (however) that some of the bigger females in rap are not going to want me to come out because they know that I have talent and I already have a fan base. I put out an independent album with no promotion and sold 15k by myself. That’s how I got my distro deal.
B&B: Any last words?
India: I’ve got a DVD coming out with the album called India Exposed. We got a couple of new porn girls some music video girls and some new chicks. On some Hip Hop Honey type stuff. So check me out at myspace.com/indiasplayhouse and indiasplayhouse.com. I get so many messages on my myspace and I respond to every message that they have. I take two hours a day to respond to everything.
Some of you may have heard the name India before. One of the few black porn queens that was able to crossover and become a big name in the business. One hundred and fifty porn films later, she abruptly decided to leave the game. Why? Well, that’s a question that I had to ask her.
Today, India is sitting pretty on a cushion of money and pursuing her first love – music. During porn convention week, I got a chance to have dinner with the Black Widow and get her to open up about the industry, taking your work home with you, racial bias and her future.
Enjoy!
B&B: So let’s start this off right – what made you get into the porn business?
India: I got into the business back in 1997 and my career started in 1998. The reason I got into the business wasn’t a financial thing, it was more like all of the girls that I saw in the magazines –different girls, black girls. I just looked at it like “oh my god, I can do this" and I thought that there was a market for black girls to really take off and we could build something and take it to the next level. So that was my whole thing. I came in and I kind of knew where I wanted to go and if I wasn’t there by that year then it wasn’t happening. So I set out knowing I wanted to be with this company and that I wanted to be a contract girl and that’s what I did. I came in with a plan. There’s money of course and its good but at the same time I just knew that it was something bigger than just the money. I can build something here for the rest of my life where I’ll be okay financially.
B&B: Since you didn’t get into it because of the money, were you a fan of the industry prior to becoming a part of it?
India: No.
B&B: No?
India: No. One thing about me is I don’t lie. I don’t want to sugarcoat anything and make it seem like I did. I didn’t watch porn but I knew there was something there because porn was becoming more commercial. I knew of certain people because of the magazines I saw. I knew the names but I wasn’t into watching the movies. If you would have told me a couple of years ago that I would have been a porn goddess, I wouldn’t have believed you. But my friend actually said I would be. When I was 16 or 17, we were having dinner and she was like “Meka is going to be a porn star when she gets older” and I’m like “No I’m not!” And it’s just funny that I turned out to be (just that). I didn’t know much about the industry so I did my homework. I didn’t just jump in to do a movie. I researched it.
B&B: What was it like when you did your first scene? Were you nervous or overwhelmed?
India: No, I wasn’t nervous which is kind of crazy because most girls are but I was actually relaxed. I don’t think this is done often but they let me go through a big book and I got to pick out the guy I wanted in my first scene. I met the guy, he was really cool, his name was Nick. The only thing that I was worried about was that I had never went down on a guy. It was my first time. That’s the only thing I was nervous about. I wasn’t nervous about sex because I look at the body as a beautiful thing that you shouldn’t be ashamed of. If I do it, I’m going to do it all the way. I’m not going to half do it.
B&B: How many movies have you done?
India: On the list it says 149 and actually that’s not a lot of movies for somebody like me who hasn’t been in the industry that long. There are girls like 100 movies in maybe three weeks. I think that’s good because you want to pace yourself. The less you have on catalog then the more your worth is. Most girls don’t know that. Some think that the more you do the bigger you are and it’s actually the opposite. The less you do, the bigger you are. You can go to them and ask for money and bigger things because they want you. You’re in demand.
B&B: Being one of the top tier porn queens, how do you think that you got there. Do you think it was because you had a different look.
India: I think I did have a different look. It’s not like there aren’t any pretty girls in the industry. But it’s how I approached it. There’s a certain way you have to approach this industry. I surrounded myself with the right people. I had a team. I’ve never been out there by myself. I was quickly picked up and schooled. I learned real fast what this industry is. There are girls who’ve been around for ten years and you barely know their names, which is pretty sad because they do the same thing as me. I wasn’t going to settle for second or third. If I can’t be at the top – no matter what the profession – then I don’t want to do it.
I’ve always been little. I’m one of the girls who started that trend with black women. After me came Lacey Duvalle and others. At first little girls weren’t really in. All the other girls were thicker. I know that there had to be a market for a classy, black girl. I didn’t see somebody like me. If they are doing it one way (I thought) what if I come off a different way that they haven’t seen yet. I’m always looking nice. My hair and nails are done. That’s just everyday stuff that you are supposed to do anyway. Looking around there’s not a lot of women like that.
B&B: Did it feel awkward when people would approach you like a celebrity?
India: Should I say that name? Yeah I can say it because he’ll be okay with it…Samuel L Jackson. I met him in Jamba Juice. This was awhile back. I approached him like “I’m sorry, I usually don’t do this but you are my favorite actor” and he said “I don’t do this but you’re my favorite actress.” It kind of broke the ice and we started laughing. I have had so many celebrities be like “India!” That’s why I say porn has become so commercial because they all know me. This career has gotten me far – even with my music. It has opened so many doors for me that I thought would be closed. I thought that once you do porn, it’s a wrap. I’m seeing that it’s not true.
B&B: There’s a lot of people that will come out and say “she’s disrespecting herself” what do you have to say to that?
India: To each his own. I don’t care about what you do. It’s really about whatever makes you happy. You can have your opinion and you are entitled to it. I did this for me. Not for anybody else. Nobody forced me to do porn. I’m not crying on my pillow at night. I thought about all the circumstances that come with this industry – the good and the bad. I know that I won’t ever be able to run for president. Certain things I can never do because of porn. I’ve weighed my options. I don’t care what they say. I have a lot to show for what I’ve done and I’m good with it.
B&B: What’s it like being a black woman in this industry? I’ve heard grumblings from other black women who don’t get paid like white women. What’s the deal?
India: It’s just like Hollywood. Take a look at the Oscars. What do we have? One or two black people nominated and very few win. It’s no different. Porn deals with the same race issues but on a smaller scale. It’s not surprising to me.
B&B: Have you personally dealt with any racism in your career?
India: Funny enough, I haven’t dealt with anything like that. I’ve been managed by a person with all white girls and me being the only black girl. One of my girls was my close friend and she told me her rates and what they told her to do and my rate was just a little less so I said no. If I don’t get what she gets then I’m not doing it. I don’t play that. Some of the black girls fall for it. They will say “you know what, I need it so I’ll do anything.” I don’t play that. I get paid the same as any other girl out there – sometimes a little more. If you want to underpay me and I go for it then that’s my problem. Some of these black girls get $600 for an anal scene while a white girl can get two to three times as much for the same thing. The black girl may do the seen better but she cheated herself.
B&B: So you think there are a lot of misguided girls in the industry?
India: There’s a lot of them. When you act hungry in any industry, people are going to get you. Some of these girls have managers. I don’t want to name any names but their managers undercut them too. We, as black women, need to step up in this industry and learn to say no. It’s not just about taking off your clothes. It’s a business and you have to learn how the business goes.
B&B: What made you leave the game?
India: Because I wanted to pursue my music. Doing porn and music was just too much.
B&B: A lot of people, including the ones reading this interview, are going to say “Awwww…she’s going to do music now? Stay in your lane…”
India: Yeah, people do say that but I came from music, not from porn. But because people know me from porn they think that is my lane. But my lane began singing in church choir when I was young. Music is my love no matter what I’ve done in my life.
B&B: How the hell do relationships work for you being in porn as well as being retired?
India: I’ve been married actually. But when I was married I got out of the business for two years. Being married and staying in the business doesn’t really work for me. When I was in that type of commitment, I had to remove myself from this industry and dedicate myself to my marriage. The marriage didn’t work out so I decided to come back to the business. You are going to have men say that they can deal with it but they really can’t. Now that I’m not in the business it’s a bit different. Now I can talk to guys and its different because I’m not doing that anymore. But when you are, it’s difficult to come home and have your guy ask you “How was your day babe?” He doesn’t really want to know.
B&B: How do you not bring your work home with you?
India: When I’m on set, it’s work. The person I’m working with, I don’t know him like that. It’s just work. When I go home to my man it’s because I love him. I’m kind of old fashioned. I don’t like the sharing thing. I know I wouldn’t like it if he was in porn. Dating is better for me today because I’m not in the industry.
B&B: Talk about your company.
India: The company is called Black Widow Entertainment. It’s music and we have three artists – 2 rappers and one R&B guy. I’m putting out a girl on girl line of films that I’m directing. I’m not doing any scenes.
B&B: Are you actually signed and is the album coming out this year?
India: Black Widow is coming out this summer. I used to have distribution deal with Warner Brothers. Some things happened so I made a move and got another deal. I’m now at Capitol and that’s confirmed as a distribution deal.
B&B: What direction is the music headed?
India: I think people are going to be really surprised. The content is really edgy. It’s not going to be because I’m a porn star the music is nasty. It’s going to be about things that really happened in my life. We’re going to touch on sex but we’ll keep it going with other stuff too.
B&B: Well you are a woman rapper and women rappers are doing real bad right about now…
India: Yes they are. Because they can’t get it together right now. They can’t stay out of jail… no disrespect to Foxy Brown because I love Foxy. She is my favorite female rapper. But we as females have to fight harder. Guys have it so easy. Some guys are really wack. There are some girls that are better than a lot of these guys. We have to stay on top of ourselves. I have no problems with no females at all but I wish they would get it together. I do think (however) that some of the bigger females in rap are not going to want me to come out because they know that I have talent and I already have a fan base. I put out an independent album with no promotion and sold 15k by myself. That’s how I got my distro deal.
B&B: Any last words?
India: I’ve got a DVD coming out with the album called India Exposed. We got a couple of new porn girls some music video girls and some new chicks. On some Hip Hop Honey type stuff. So check me out at myspace.com/indiasplayhouse and indiasplayhouse.com. I get so many messages on my myspace and I respond to every message that they have. I take two hours a day to respond to everything.
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