When FOX’s new hip-hop thriller Empire made its debut last week Wednesday (Jan. 7), what immediately jumped out was the opening scene. In the scene a young singer belts out a beautiful song that left many fans wanting more. That singer was V. Bozeman, an up and coming talent from South Central L.A. Earlier this year, Bozeman released a creative video for "Race Jones," a song written by CeeLo Green with whom she also signed a production deal in 2012. Now she is currently signed to Timbaland's Mosley Music Group and on her way to superstar success. In a phone interview with XXL, V. Bozeman discusses how she always wanted to be a singer, how she got involved in Empire and what's next.

XXL: Who is V. Bozeman?
V. Bozeman: 
She’s bold, beautiful and black. That’s who V is.

Where are you from?
I’m from South Central L.A. I went Crenshaw High School. I used to sing for my church and been pursuing my dream of being a singer ever since. I’ve been in girl groups here and there. I’ve been signed to some great writers and producers; Babyface and CeeLo. Now Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group is my home.

What did you grow up listening to?
I grew up listening to all types of gospel music. Of course Whitney Houston, who is my idol. Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Anita Baker, Toni Braxton—real big song divas. People that we heard all our lives, that’s my inspiration.

I’m a huge Whitney Houston fan. What impact did she have on you?
I knew exactly what I wanted to be. I’m a singer first and when I heard her voice and the gift that she had I knew that God gave me something, too. I understood what the gifts were. It wasn’t anything else I wanted to do but sing. I always have been connected to Whitney Houston.

When did you decide that you wanted to pursue becoming a singer as a career?
That happened to me when I was six years old when I heard the women in my church sing. I always knew I wanted to be on the stage; I never had a Plan B. My family and I were just together over the holidays talking about that when we were in Chicago. A lot of my family in Chicago are really education-oriented; like, “What are you going to do for your career?” They would always ask me that when I go to visit. I gave them the same answer every time; I want to be a singer. I never wanted to be anything else.

Did you ever feel like quitting?
No, but did I get tired at times? Yes. I understood that music chose me and God gave me a gift. When you know it’s your destiny... When he gives you a certain talent that you have to share with the world, you can’t run from it. I’m telling you my road has been hard. But I still fought for my dreams and this gift to be shared because I feel like it's vital. I have such a perspective and so much to give to the world. When you have something like that it’s not easy to just turn away because it gets hard. Everything great that you try to obtain is never easy.

What obstacles did you face?
I went through people saying I was ugly or didn’t have the right look. I wouldn’t be embraced by the masses because I wasn’t that cookie cutter model type of artist that people are used to seeing. I went through a bad, abusive relationship at a very early point of my career, plus my girl groups breaking up. Coming from South Central L.A. it’s not easy to get in this industry. It’s not easy getting over that hill into Hollywood. You have to go through a lot of new obstacles to get to the right people, especially when you're young like I was. I can have a real big biography when the time comes. I’m definitely going to tell my story.

How did you end up at Empire?
I hooked up with Timbaland at Mosley Music when we were working on Opera Noir. It’s a collaborative project that Timbo and I are releasing in February. While we were working on that I showed him this song I did called “Race Jones” and he was blown away. I had been sitting on “Race Jones” for a year and a half; I just needed the right timing. Timbaland said he’s working on this series for Fox with Lee Daniels and wants to show him this video. I didn’t even think too much of it but when he said Lee Daniels, it's pretty major. But I don’t get married to certain ideas because you never know in this industry. Things can fall apart. But Daniels liked it and wanted me on the show. He talked to my manager, I read for my part and the rest is history.

It had to be incredible to see yourself on TV.
The feeling was, now the work begins, because I always wanted to do this. Even if I was singing, I wanted to do acting. I've been in independent films over the course of my career. I have some acting experience behind me. I just said, "Wow, this dream is really coming to fruition."

I intend on being a triple threat. Artists now, we have to be more than just one thing. So I always wanted to pursue acting and modeling. So when I saw myself on the screen I said, "Let's go." It wasn’t a sense of shock, it was a sense of, Yes, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. This is what God gave me, I just know it.

What’s next for you?
Opera Noir, it’s a project that Timbo and I did that is going to change everything. It is going to revitalize black music, black culture; it is going to change it for the better. I can’t wait for this thing to hit the streets. It’s going to be a powerful piece of work. After that it’s going to be my album, which is Music Is My Boyfriend. I’m extremely proud of it because it was birthed out of Opera Noir.

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