A lot has been said and written about Cassie. When the former model’s first single hit the airwaves, it was quite an instant success on the radio. When her Bad Boy debut dropped and the video was played, there was a lot of criticism. That only got worse due to a series of less than impressive live performances on national television. Radio jocks, bloggers and, well, everyone was quick to exclaim that she was all beauty and no talent.

Even Cassie got in on it by releasing a statement saying, "I am aware that my live performances have been pretty bad."

But, it wasn’t just about the live shows. Others speculated that her first single, “Me & You” was actually about felatio. This only heightened the scrutiny and darkened the image of a promising young star.

But, Cassie is aware of all of this. After all, she ended that statement by noting, “I'm not a whore or a bitch, which is what people have been making me out to be. I'm a 19-year-old girl, I'm single, and I'm working my ass off.”

Well, she’s older now. She’s still working and she’s still facing those same challenges that plagued her debut. But, in this interview with HipHopDX, Cassie let us know that she’s ready to take on those who doubted and those who hated. With growth and help from major producers, she’s trying to redeem and reform her image to prove there’s more than just beauty to this rising star.

HipHopDX: Obviously there’s been some growth since the last album. How did you experience the growth and what can fans expect to hear from you now?
Cassie: I think with any experience and with time, change happens. So, I went through a lot on that first, I don’t know what you want to call it, round of being an artist and having my first album out, my first and second single and stuff like that. There was some bad with it, too. So, I grew from that and just meeting different people and traveling all around the world, it influenced me and the album I’m working on now.

DX: There was a lot of criticism that you faced the last time around. How hard was that for you to go through that in front of everybody? How were you able to overcome it?
Cassie: Being a human being, it’s definitely embarrassing. There’s no way around that. But, you kind of just have to get up and dust off and keep it moving. Otherwise, it just going to become a burden and that’s what people associate you with. That’s definitely what I don’t want is for that to be the constant for that to rest of my career. "Oh, she messed this up so this is how it’s going to go for her." I have bigger plans for myself and I have already set myself up in certain situations to where I won’t have to deal with that ever again. I’ve worked really hard. I’ve been in studio working on this album, working with my vocal coach and choreographer and busting my ass as much as possible so that I can prove to everyone that I deserve to be where I am right now.

DX: Right. There is a lot to be said about the strength and the perseverance of anybody in the industry. What’s been the hardest part about this whole thing for you? What’s a message you can give anybody else who may go through it.
Cassie: Um, I think it’s just, you know, there’s so much hate right now. You know, you’re dealing with the Internet and you can’t really live. You can’t get around it. It just is what it is. I honestly feel like…You have to keep it moving. If you have a vision for yourself and you want it to be created into something real, something you can touch, then you gotta keep working. There’s always going to be someone out there that doesn’t like what you’re doing. That’s been the best advice that I got.

DX: On your last round, there was a lot of talk about your nervousness on stage. What have you done this time to correct that?
Cassie: I’ve just really spent a lot of time pushing myself. You know, whether I’m running on a treadmill, I’m doing the Madonna running on my treadmill doing my records, and whatever it is I can do to get my stamina up and get passed it. I went out and did shows after. I never stopped doing shows after BET and 106th and Park. I never stopped because I still had to make money. I just kept it moving. I don’t know if people don’t know that or if that just wasn’t…I don’t know. I went overseas, did my club shows, did some stuff in the US and all different types of shows.

DX: It seems like they put you in a box, almost.
Cassie: Yeah. I mean, when something is [on] national television, it’s a completely different thing from being a little show that you did in Dallas, Texas at a club.

DX: Right, and maybe you were awesome there but no one got to see that.
Cassie: [Laughs] Yeah and no one got to see it.

DX: When folks were saying you got dropped from Bad Boy, what was your initial conversation with Puff like? Did it ever get to that point?
Cassie: Um, I actually had only heard stuff like "Oh, she needs to be dropped!" I had never actually heard that I was dropped because I think I would have known before any one else. I know there were petitions that people put signatures on and shit like that. That was the only thing I heard. I never actually heard about being dropped. But, there were rumors that I was leaving. Crazy stuff.

DX: What kind of conversations did you have with Puff about all of that?
Cassie: He would just be like, "Yo, what’s up? Can we, like, put a blog out there that you’re not leaving to just kill this rumor?" It’s not really anything that deep when it gets to the label but you just want people to know what’s up. You know? Continued on page 2 »