Whatcha Watchin'? Issue #30

Major label–turned-independent vocalist and Peeping Tom backup singer Imani Coppola takes a moment to wind down before hitting the road again

By Amber Drea
Published: December 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

After the success of Imani Coppola’s debut album, Chupacabra, with its hit single “Legend Of a Cowgirl,” she seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth. However, the vocalist who fuses R&B, rock, pop, and rap together in a completely unique way has been busy producing and self-releasing records ever since. With seven full-lengths under her belt, Coppola is ready to put out her eighth, Black and White, which combines her former aesthetic with punk aggression and ghetto-fabulousness à la Gnarls Barkley (for whom Mike Patton’s project, Peeping Tom, opened on a few European dates). After touring with the Who, Coppola spent some time relaxing at home in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood with a bottle of wine, enjoying the shift from summer to fall. “The autumnal equinox is my favorite [equinox],” she writes via e-mail. “It’s an honest season with no pretense. New York has a way of reminding you of your own mortality on a daily and seasonal basis.”

BOOB TUBE: I don’t have cable, so I have no idea what’s on.
MOVIES:Snakes On a Plane. It was exactly what it was supposed to be — entertaining and completely ridiculous.
LISTENS: I really don’t buy too much music and don’t own an iPod. I listen to whatever I’m handed by labels, management, or promoters. Right now I’m enjoying Citizen Cope and Mojoe.
READS: I just read Running With Scissors [by Augusten Burroughs] and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was very pleased to discover someone had a more dysfunctional upbringing than I did.
BROWSES: MySpace. I have a zillion friends.
SHOPS: I actually don’t like to go shopping. It dehydrates me and gives me a headache — all that dance music they play, the stress, the trying on, the people. I enjoy food shopping, though.
EATS: Just had dinner at Bar Piti the other night. It’s an Italian ristorante — it was delicious.
HOBBIES: I enjoy writing, photography, traveling, art, cooking, and my fluffy white cat.
HANGOUTS: I don’t hang out. I’m 28. I work on music all day every day.