I love cool ass people, man. You don’t really get a chance to build with too many people via Beauty & Brains – the allure of those flashing lights can kind of take a person’s soul, you know? But with 24-year-old Dollicia Bryan, she’s more Carol Ann than Kim Kardashian. Refusing to believe the hype, Ms. Bryan has let her calm demeanor speak volumes in XXL and Black Men’s magazine, having recently wrapped up a shoot to be KING magazines next cover girl.

Like I said before, I love cool ass people and Ms. Dollicia Bryan is clearly as cool as they come. And as she sit down with Beauty & Brains, she gives the ladies some tips on stepping out for the summer, explains why Bow Wow can’t take her away from Jamie Foxx and says who is blackballed from that ever elusive spotlight.

Beauty & Brains: How are you doing today, Ms. Bryan?
Dollicia Bryan: I am doing great. How are you?

B&B: We’ve been trying to do this interview for awhile now. What’s new with you?
DB: I just finished doing some work on the Glow in The Dark Tour with Kanye West. I am currently filming a movie, too, so I was available right when I needed to be. The stuff I did was pre-recorded, so when you see me in his “gold fantasy girl.” I also just wrapped shooting an Absolut Vodka commercial.

B&B: Congrats on your XXL magazine look, too, D. Many ladies look at magazines like XXL, KING, Black Men’s and Smooth like they would a Playboy. In terms of one’s career – how do those looks help or hurt one’s chances of getting that crossover look?
DB: It just depends on your choices and the ones you make. At the end of the day, sex sells, so they’ll push you to the limit. I don’t try to do backshots in my pictures. I want to change people’s perception of us [females]. But on the flip side, I had to learn the hard way at times that this was a business. People will try and push you towards sex, but it’s up to you to say no and keep it moving. You have to know when to stop. Whenever you feel uncomfortable, you can stop it. I just shot my first cover for KING magazine, and I think that the people will enjoy what they see.

B&B: We’ll do a little word association and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. Superstar…
DB: Oprah.

B&B: Chris Brown…
DB: Growing.

B&B: Jamie Foxx…
DB: A good friend.

B&B: Beauty…
DB: Personality and heart.

B&B: A lot of young ladies look to yourself and other models as an extension of their own beauty. With the summer approaching – what are five tips that Dollicia Bryan can give the ladies to get a guy’s attention?
DB: Men love fragrances on a woman. It’s about to be summertime and ladies should wear something different; something real exotic. A vanilla or a passion fruit, you know? Different smells so you don’t smell like every other girl. You should smell almost edible. Your hair, a lot of guys are into hair, you always make sure that it’s nice. Please don’t try to make it extra, it looks fake that way. Make it as natural as possible. If you’re going to show your legs, you shouldn’t show your top and vice versa. Always leave something to the imagination. You should always want to keep your wardrobe kind of mysterious. Keep your lip gloss poppin’ [laughs] and keep your toes and shoe game on point.

B&B: So, what should the ladies be rockin’ on their pretty toes?
DB: Anything Italian will be sexy. With a high arch and your toes looking scrumptious is always the best way to go.

B&B: Let’s switch gears, here… The stereotype of women is that you’re an airhead, easily susceptible to getting some down-low lovin’ from the game’s best and brightest stars. How much of that is true and how much of that is just speculation?
DB: I would say, umm… I don’t know. I’d say that it’s about 50/50. You have young girls that aren’t star struck and they’re thinking of this as just doing a job. You have half of them who aren’t from the big cities and they come out there and they’re just green. People will get close to them and they’re flattered by the attention. A lot of girls aren’t used to that, but they learn quickly. If you don’t, it may be too late after that.

B&B: So, what part of the fantasy works – the truth or the speculation?
DB: I would prefer it to be the truth, but after the Jamie Foxx and Bow Wow situation, I’ve gotten a lot of exposure. If I’m next to somebody now, then they think whatever.

B&B: Wait, wait, wait… I heard about the Jamie joint, but Bow Wow…? How?
DB: Bow Wow is supposed to be trying to take me away from Jamie Foxx. [Laughs] But we’re [Jamie Foxx] just cool. I see him around all the time. When I was younger, I got my start coming up in radio, so I was around Jay-Z, Pharrell and the like and it was always cool. But around their boys, they’d talk crazy about girls. I used to do a radio show with Rasheed Wallace on Jammin’ 95.5 in Portland with his cousins. They talk crazy too! [Laughs] A lot of people think that I’m a new face in this business and that’s not true, I just don’t get caught up in the hype of everything. Continued on page 2 »