By Natasha T. Brown
“When we were making Sister Act 2, it didn’t seem like it was a classic for us. We were just a bunch of kids having fun.” – Tanya Blount
This year marks the 20 year anniversary of the classic comedy Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Lauryn Hill and Tanya Blount, a Prince George’s County native whose voice and rendition of “His Eye Is On the Sparrow,” became one of the most memorable and most-loved moments of the movie. Since then, Blount has continued to create music, perform in stage plays and travel the world inspiring those with her voice and infectious poise and positivity.
This week, in honor of Women’s History Month and the upcoming Butterfly Beautiful Girls Conference, I caught up with Blount, 38, a singer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and mother who is on a mission to uplift the self esteem and God esteem of young women and girls through the “I Am Beautiful” movement and her company, I Am Beautiful Corporation.
OnStage: What are you up to these days?
Wow, *laughs* I just opened office space for my entertainment company, Code Red Corporation. We’re located in the Downtown Cultural Arts Center in Baltimore. The I Am Beautiful Corporation is also preparing for the Butterfly Beautiful Girls Conference, taking place in Bowie March 8-9. We have three cities where we will take a two-day conference, featuring a variety of [professionals] who will bring their experience to encourage self esteem in girls ages eight to 18.
OnStage: What made you want to create the “I Am Beautiful” Self Esteem Movement?
There’s research done (by the Dove Company and others) that only 11 percent of women say they are beautiful, and that’s not even considering girls. Specifically in the Prince George’s County area, I’ve found that girls 15 to 17 are struggling with teen pregnancies, and oftentimes, you find girls and young women wanting to have babies so that they have someone to love them. So it was put on my heart to start something to get women and girls to know that they are beautiful.
I chose to do it in Prince George’s County first, specifically in Bowie, because I grew up there and I want to empower girls in my own backyard first.
The conference will be in Baltimore at the Downtown Cultural Arts Center May 17-18 and in Switzerland in December, where I Am Beautiful plans to take 20-30 girls.
OnStage: Tell me about your music now, how it’s evolved and where you’re headed?
My voice has changed a lot, so now it’s very classic – a cross between Whitney Houston and Julie Andrews. I’m striving to make really good songs, love songs with meaningful lyrics that inspire people.
OnStage: When is your next project going to be released?
I am releasing the “Butterfly Beautiful” single on March 5, to go along with the conference. So when people purchase the song it will benefit the I Am Beautiful God Esteem/Self Esteem Movement, and we also support service organization that provide direct support to young women and girls. I’m in the studio now writing and working with my husband. Before 2013 is over the album will be out.
OnStage: Talk a little about the business and music partnership between you and your husband Michael Trotter, Jr. It seems like a beautiful collaboration.
He’s a singer, songwriter author. He’s multitalented. We’re just like water. We just flow. He’s an incredible writer, we write our stage plays together. It’s just really cool to be able to love somebody and work together, be inspired by them and not get tired of them.
We published our book, Glide Devotional in January, while my book Glid-ing: From Joy to Happiness published in October 2012. Glid-ing deals with life and talks about how people want to put a lot of energy into their lives, but when God’s got you, you’re good. We use both books for our inspirational workshops and when we travel to speak to different groups.
(Both are available on Amazon and Kindle.)
OnStage: Everyone knows you from your role in Sister Act 2. How did the movie help your career?
This year will be 20 years since we did the movie. I spoke with [another cast member not too long ago] and we talked about how we can’t get away from it. Sister Act 2 has allowed me to go to Switzerland every year, and go to other countries that I would’ve never been to, where I reenact the scenes. And it’s allowed me to transcend generations. It’s just a classic. The movie is never going to go anywhere. It’s helped my career in ways that I couldn’t even imagine. When we were making Sister Act 2, it didn’t seem like it was a classic for us. We were just a bunch of kids having fun.
Tonight Blount and her husband, Michael Trotter, Jr. kickoff their new radio show called “Simply Blount,” which broadcasts from 7 to 9 pm, Sundays on wpbradio.com. Visit Facebook.com/IAmTanyaBlount, Twitter.com/TanyaBlount to keep up with this wonderful woman making history. This Friday and Saturday, be sure to check out the Butterfly Beautiful Girls Conference. I’m really excited to be leading a workshop on Saturday. There’s an international fashion show and concert on Friday night (also International Women’s Day). Learn more at butterflybeautiful.net. The conference is free and open to girls. I also encourage you to subscribe to the Butterfly Beautiful Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/iambeautifulmovement and help bring awareness to the #IAmBeautifulMovement by emailing your video or words to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Natasha Brown is a writer and founding communications strategist of Think Brown INK, a creative think tank and strategic communications agency, focused on social responsibility branding for artists, entertainers and entrepreneurs. Follow her on Twitter @NBrownINK or @TBINatasha or her company @ThinkBrownINK.