Melyssa Ford, a well-known video vixen that has gone from being the eye candy of rappers into the real estate arena visited Sway on the Shade 45 show to talk about her life as a video vixen and what she went through.
Some quotes from Ms. Ford - (and my thought responses in PURPLE)
"These amateurs out here, who are doing too much for too little, cheapen the business."
I definitely agree with this. I believe that Melyssa Ford chose to be an urban model at a transitional point where the value of the video vixen was on a steady decline. Much like an actual musical artist because anyone with a computer, a microphone and recording software can call themselves a singer, rapper, etc. At one point, the urban model WAS ACTUALLY AN URBAN MODEL that was treated with some form of respect, but then when the market became saturated, it lost value big time. Some models became models to be beautiful and be the object of desire where other women agreed to sign the whore contract.
"I wasn’t afraid to tell the artist “Could you be respectful? Could you keep your hands above my waist and below my breasts?” Cause I’ll slap the dog s–t out of you. Please don’t.” They were always very respectful."
I feel like at the time where Melyssa Ford was at the height of her identity as an urban model (circa late 90s to the early 2000s, lyrics in your most popular songs were not speaking of women as hoes/bitches on a regular basis. It was beginning to transition into that with the rise of dirty south music (I know that music from the northeast/west could contain just as many degrading lyrics about women, but it wasn't as mainstream until the south took over). With that being said, I can see her feeling justified in her behavior and drawing a line of professionalism (in her own mind).
"Chicks started to go outside in their backyard wearing a bikini with a polaroid camera and started calling themselves models. I’m like no, that does not a model. It was really, really frustrating. It goes the same thing with anybody who devotes a certain portion of their life and blood, sweat, and tears to a craft. It’s just disrespectful. I’m not calling video modeling a craft, people, before you try and get me for that s–t, that’s not what I’m trying to say. I’m more talking about modeling in that respect."
I can understand how she may have had actual training as a model and look at someone who never took a class a day in their life or signed with an actual agency like, "really"? I do believe that the bad apples of hip hop in terms of culture and image have spoiled the mainstream perception of the genre. Of course, you have artists who degrade women, but not all rappers were doing that. The ones who were became front and center (however) and brought forth a population of "bad bitches" who sent a strong message of "only good enough to f*ck."
"I didn’t reinvent the wheel. There’s so many women who came before me. Pinup girls of the 1950s…it’s not like I was walking around butt a– naked. I was selling sensuality. I was selling a product. There was no difference between me and Carmen Electra or Pamela Anderson. I was doing the same thing that they were. I just took my image, I slapped it on product, I branded myself. I just paid really close attention to the whole supply and demand. Business 101. That was it. I don’t know. I don’t see anything wrong with it. I was working."
Honestly, I do believe Melyssa Ford actually was trying to be a professional model working for the Urban Arena. The problem is that music really does imitate life and you can't separate the disrespectful image people will have if you're next to someone who looks the same but standards are different. You're already guilty by association. Guilty meaning, asking for disrespect.
"I don’t really have any regrets because I didn’t do anything to be regretful for. I was literally known as the ‘Queen of No’ on video sets. Anybody could tell you that. Interview Hype Williams, Little X, anybody that was on production. They knew Melyssa wasn’t down for a lot of stuff. Wardrobe choices. Even certain songs for music videos I wouldn’t do because I didn’t agree with the lyrical content. I was like, ‘ I can’t represent this.’ My regret is that other women did not conduct themselves in the best possible ways and that within itself is where the stigma [of video girls] kind of [got] out of control. And unfortunately for me, it became my cross to bear because I was the most quote-unquote prolific."
Exactly. I have yet to hear any real rumors of Melyssa Ford being anyone's whore specifically. I just think if she wanted more success as a model she should have stayed away from the Urban arena. Because unfortunately, black folks don't know how to act. There are too many people (male and female) who really don't respect themselves and stand for a bunch of BS that reflects the BS they probably grew up seeing through parents or relatives. I'll stop being a psychologist now, but I think Melyssa is one that (although had a very prominent figure - enhanced or not) just wanted to be a model and normal person at the same time. Not a "bad bitch", not someone's "ho", not a "body count", but just a model.
A lot of women short change themselves by being next to some of the most hideous, Cyclops looking, disrespectful shitty faced bastards I've ever seen in my life. And that reason only makes me co-sign with Melyssa mentioning the value depreciation of the model.
BUT....she still chose the poison of selling her looks, and I really believe in her mind she thought she was valuable but stepping into the world of the "video-vixen" is a lose-lose situation if integrity is something you stand for. How much integrity can you really have when you're no more valuable than being entered, exited, then talked about in a f*cked up way afterwards?
