She's No Angel. And She's No Beyonce, Either.

Do you aspire to that ubiquitous fame that your sister has?
No. I am very, very scared actually of getting to that level. It seems miserable to not really be able to really take advantage of all this world has to offer by having to avoid so many things and particular places. My friend just told me, "You have to take your baby to Chuck E. Cheese tonight. What if you couldn't do that?" I'm like, "Nooooo!" [Laughs.] You gotta be able to go to Chuck E. Cheese. But right now, I have to go on a school night, because if I tried to go on a regular night, it would be hell for me. And him.

Do people approach you?
Yeah, for pictures and autographs. I know I really have a different perspective on that. If I'm at a concert or an autograph signing or, you know, somewhere in work mode, then that's a different story than being at Chuck E. Cheese with your son. Or at a restaurant with your friends, whom you rarely get to see. Or at church, or even shopping. People actually have a sense of public property about celebrities and artists. I will tell you no in a heartbeat, especially if I'm with my son. It's not fair to him, and I don't understand how people wouldn't understand that.

I can't believe people approach you at church.
Oh, no, church is definitely a hot spot.

You're a bit of an entrepreneur, like your sister. Can you talk about why you started Baby Jamz, a toy line featuring hip-hop nursery rhymes?
My son loves hip-hop music, and no matter how much Beatles and Stevie Wonder I play, he wants to hear ""Soulja Boy" and "A Bay Bay." He's part of that generation, so I wanted to make nice, clean versions of those songs. So I took traditional nursery rhymes and did that, which is actually really hilarious when you notice it's my voice in them. But it's really been doing well.

So your son likes to listen to that?
Yeah. [Laughs.]

It sounds like you don't agree with that.
No, it's not that I don't agree with it. I think it's fun music, for what it's worth. I just grew up in a different era where R&B and soul music were very alive, and that would always be my first preference since that's what I was around more. But it just seems like, in this day and age, you can't escape that music. And there are some people who can do a very good job with it, so I'm happy he likes "A Bay Bay" and "Soulja Boy," but I'm happy he likes Kanye [West], too. [Laughs.]

When I think of the average 22-year-old, she isn't making albums and raising a 4-year-old son. How do you balance all of the different things in your life?
No. 1, I learned how to say no. I learned to only do the things that I'm passionate about. I just cut out time. Like these two days, I'm really backed up on demoing out songs that I wrote, but it's very rare that I have two days in my hometown, so I just have to push those to the side and do them another time. Now I have to go to the park and take my son swimming. It's just all about what is a priority to you.

You keep saying that you're not that famous. Do you think that you're really forming who you are with this record?
I feel like I'm starting over. No matter how long I try to get away from my first record or "Bring It On," the reality is that 800,000 people bought "Bring It On" just in the first week it was out. So [laughs], I definitely am realistic in that people know me. I'm starting over, in the sense that I really, truly am and pushing something that really is me.

© 2008