Subscribe
Hellobeautiful Featured Video
CLOSE

What is “R&B Divas: LA?” “R&B Divas: LA” is a reality TV series that premiered in July 2013. Airing on TV One, it’s a spinoff of “R&B Divas: Atlanta,” and it follows six singers struggling to keep up with the demands of their careers and personal lives. Some might call them has-beens, but cast members Chante Moore, Claudette Ortiz, Cynthia “Lil Mo” Loving, Dawn Robinson, Kelly Price and Michel’le Toussaint don’t see it that way. The ladies on “R&B Divas: LA” are trying to prove they’ve still got it, and these days, there’s no better way than reality TV to make that point.

What is “R&B Divas: LA?” It’s different things for each of the cast members. For Claudette Ortiz, formerly of the trio City High, it’s an opportunity to “inspire women after being in an abusive relationship with her former bandmate Robbie Pardlo,” as Hip Hop Hollywood reports. Ask Dawn Robinson, formerly of En Vogue, the question, “What is ‘R&B Divas: LA?’” and she might talk about sharing with fans a seldom-seen side of her personality.

“Hopefully they see that I’m really an inspirational person, I love to inspire,” said Robinson, who quit the R&B foursome in 1997. “That’s who I have always been, but that never got across in En Vogue.”

What is “R&B Divas: LA?” It’s not a showcase for washed-up soul singers, as Michel’le Toussaint, perhaps best known as Suge Knight’s ex-wife and Dr. Dre’s baby momma, made clear in her HipHopHollywood.com interview. “I’m passionate about letting people know we still do what we do,” she said.  ”And don’t call us has-beens, because we ain’t gone no where … we just want to show what it’s like to keep your grind on.”

What is “R&B Divas: LA?” A hit, if you believe TV One president and CEO Alfred Liggins, who was no doubt thrilled when the show’s debut episode became the year’s most-watched primetime show among the network core audience.

“The interest in R&B Divas LA has been overwhelming,” Liggins said in a press release. “The journey these six women take over the course of this season, and their willingness to share it with TV One’s viewers, has been incredible.  We are enormously pleased our audience has responded so enthusiastically.”

Watch the first 10 minutes of ‘R&B Divas: LA’
1 photos

The grand return of the Melanin Awards amplifies and honors the finest Black-owned beauty brands with honest reviews, and discusses the evolution of beauty in Hip-Hop culture.