Kat Graham

Kat Graham has quite a few dirty little secrets!
The Vampire Diaries star already proved she was fond of the '90s with her last single 1991. And her follow up single promises we can expect her whole album to have that old school feel!
Photos: Kat JUST Missed The Mark With This Patterned Number At The VMAs!
On Friday, the 26-year-old dropped the music video for her new song Secrets, which features the singer taking the world's longest bath and expressing her interest in public screwing — and we LOVE it!
Check out the soaked songstress singing about secrets in the video (below)! - Perez Hilton

Kat Graham rules the stage while rocking white suspenders at the Life Is Beautiful music festival on Sunday evening (September 27) in Las Vegas, Nev.

Last week, the 26-year-old singer and actress released her debut full-length album, Roxbury Drive.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Kat Graham

“I love the ‘90s dances. The whole album Roxbury Drive is a kind of throwback to that,” Kat explained while making an appearance on Good Day LA.

Kat spent her weekend at Life Is Beautiful where she celebrated her album’s release by playing several sets with songs from the new album and speaking at the fest’s “Challenging the Game” learning series.

Roxbury Drive is now available in stores and on iTunes.

10+ pictures inside of Kat Graham at Life Is Beautiful festival… - Just Jared

Just a year ago, Kat Graham was in her seventh season on the CW’s hit series The Vampire Diaries as the resilient, selfless witch Bonnie Bennett alongside her supernatural-powered entourage and released her debut full-length album Roxbury Drive, a track-by-track homage to the 90s era. Fast forward to 2016, Graham bids farewell to her Diaries character and prepares for the follow-up to her debut effort. Backed by a legendary musical entourage which includes Babyface, Randy Jackson and the late Prince, the triple-threat’s forthcoming project (out February 2017) toys with sounds from a new era and proves that she’s just an old soul at heart.

Graham’s debut album, Roxbury Drive, was a fresh flip on the '90s decade from Graham’s self-produced old-school beats and TLC-reminiscent vocals to the Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds feature – the only guest appearance on the album. While trap and electro-pop styles flood music charts today, Graham opts against riding the wave for her forthcoming project. “I’m somebody who doesn’t believe in conforming to maybe whatever is on the radio,” she tells Billboard. “I’m still somebody that listens to a lot of James Brown, a lot of The O'Jays, a lot of TLC...in that era, producers had more musicianship.”

Babyface’s mellow tenor and influence was interspersed throughout Graham’s debut album, Roxbury Drive, and served as a mentor to the actress/singer on her upcoming release meticulously reviewing her deep cuts. The “1991” singer also caught the attention of legendary musician Prince, who she said helped “honed me in as a songwriter” and guided her into a new sound for her forthcoming album. “Prince was saying why I wasn’t doing more of that Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer funk style record and he goes, ‘this is the direction you need to be going in.'”

“All Your Love” comes as the first single off the upcoming Jeeve Ducornet-produced album and was hand-picked by producer, music industry titan and Graham’s longtime friend Randy Jackson. Laced with a driving funk bassline and an uptempo disco beat, the single captures the essence of the album which Graham tells Billboard is called Love Music, Funk Magic, slated to be released on February 24, 2017.

A bevy of her upcoming projects find the singer journeying back into past decades as she stars in the Tammi Terrell biopic about the career of 1960s Motown Records artist and the highly-anticipated Tupac film All Eyez On Me, where Graham takes on the role of Pac’s best friend Jada Pinkett-Smith. “It was really important to me that I capture the essence of their friendship versus doing a caricature or an impression of her," the actress says. The multi-talented artist also notes that she's working on an animated film and hopes to take her musical projects on the road for a tour. As Graham moves beyond her Diaries character and looks towards a busy 2017, all "eyez" are certainly on her. - Billboard Magazine

Kat Graham is fired up. You probably know the 27-year-old actress best as Bonnie Bennett, the all-powerful strong-willed witch and loyal BFF on The CW's Vampire Diaries (a critically underrated gem during its first three seasons). You might also know that she makes music, and released an album last year. But to write her off as a YA actress cum pop music product, all gorgeous features and no depth, is to have her fucked up. In fact, she's so invested in changing what she believes to be the perceptions surrounding her that when we sat down to talk she responded to my first question with a breathless, impassioned ten-minute response.

Even before TVD announced this would be its last season, Graham was planning her exit. She's got too much on her itinerary to continue carving out time for a supporting role on a network show. She's Jada Pinkett Smith in the upcoming 2Pac biopic All Eyez On Me, plans to produce TV and films that further along the wave of shows like Insecure, Atlanta and Queen Sugar have started. Oh, and a new album that she worked on with Prince before he passed, the first single from which, "All Your Love," drops tomorrow. Are you ready to take Kat Graham seriously, Hollywood?

I have to admit, I got a huge late pass to your album Roxbury Drive, I listened to it in the last week, it's pretty good. I can't believe you produced it yourself!
Thank you! Yeah, I started off as a recording engineer and a beatmaker. I was this skater kid that would skateboard to auditions and then I would use the money I’d make and buy a bunch of equipment and make a bunch of beats. I still am that kid, just with a little more money. ​

Did you end up leaving Interscope because they wouldn’t let you do your own thing?
I just wasn’t feeling this kind of direction that a lot of labels will put on girls that look like me. Like, "Oh she’s cute, she’s CW, she can dance, we know exactly what do with you." I’m not the girl that you should really just hand over tracks to. I can make my own stuff.

I had gotten a call from Prince, who was aware of what I was doing. I had started to work with him, and kind of got the idea of what the next album was going to be and the direction I needed to go. I was going back and forth to Paisley [Park], and then talking with Kenny [Babyface Edmonds]. Prince asked,"Why aren’t you dancing more? Why aren’t you doing more of this kind of funk, this kind of Donna Summers, Giorgio Moroder, like really cool funk records?" And I was like alright, let me get on it. I only got about three songs done before he passed and I spent the rest of the summer honing in on exactly what he meant. So that's the album that I just finished last month. You have to be careful when you are an actor because people are so quick to make you not legit. I just wanna be a good artist.

What about your decision to leave The Vampire Diaries?
It wasn’t a decision. My contract was up. It was a great journey, and I would never leave a show in which the character’s story wasn’t complete or coming to completion.

It's been like, seven or eight years. Does leaving feel a little bittersweet?
When you work with people for eight years, you definitely are going to miss them. I learned a lot on what to do and not to do and I made great friends. Also, I grew to find that being an African-American in the industry, or on the kind of show I am, really does have a lot of weight, it just depends on how much responsibility you decide to educate the public with. I’ve definitely become more active in that way.

In what ways?
I just want to make sure that I'm taking roles that are positive, real, honest reflections of African-Americans because I do think the media can put African-American women in the background. Then unfortunately, what happens is subconsciously our culture begins to assess that as reality. You have to be very careful with the art you create and you put out. I didn’t realize that until more recently.

Well, you're in the upcoming 2Pac biopic All Eyez On Me playing Jada Pinkett-Smith—how did that come about?
I originally went and had a meeting with Carl Franklin, who was the director attached at the time, and didn’t really hear anything. Then Benny Boom jumped on as director. I had worked with Benny on a couple of music videos, so he knows the kind of energy I have. I just thought it was a meeting and he took me around, and was like, "This is Jada." He took me to meet Demetrius [Shipp, the actor playing 2Pac], and we hit it off immediately. I’m really proud of the movie. I think Pac would’ve loved it; Demetrius did a phenomenal job, just gave me chills.

Have you talked to Jada at all?
I talked to her after. She was really supportive. I told her what scenes I shot, what they were focusing on, and you know I was like "I hope you like it." From where I'm sitting, there aren’t a lot of black female producers who are also music artists and also actors who are also very socially conscious, so she is extremely influential to me. But it also was comforting because I didn’t feel like energetically we were that far apart, in terms of what we consider important in the world today. I think she is going to dig it, the family is going to dig it.

What does the movie illuminate between the Jada-Pac friendship?
One of the most incredible things that Jada told me was—no one’s ever going to know the depth of their relationship. Only Pac can really explain it, but what I tried to portray was the essence of their friendship, and how supportive and connected they were. When you're doing a biopic, a lot of [actors] worry about talking, moving like a person. Capturing the essence of their friendship was probably the most important thing for me, and Demetrius’ and I’s friendship, because we are very close. You just get a really intimate look at Pac, and a lot of people feel like they know him through his music, his poetry, his life, and his brushes with the law. Everyone feels like they have a good idea but this really immerses you in his world.

Do you feel like it’s going to resonate, especially with everything going on in the country recently?
Yeah, because ain't shit changed. It’s starting to get worse. Right now more than ever, we need to feel empowered, we need to get loud, we need to be heard. I feel a lot of moments no one was louder and bigger than Pac, so I think that not just African-Americans, but anyone who was a fan of his, are going to love this movie.

So what's 2017 look like for you?
We got the album coming. And a couple of movies. This one I did with Terry Crews and King Bach is so stupid funny. It’s called Where’s the Money? and I believe it's coming out next year. I did an animated movie called Speed and then I have a couple of other projects that I will start filming when I figure out my touring.

What can we look forward to in this final season of Vampire Diaries?
It’s such a packed season. We got a couple cool villains coming up, there is a lot of action. This definitely feels like the final season of the show, no bars held. It’s a big season for everyone. There are a couple of new characters that come, a lot of characters kind of turning against each other, so it’s cool.

Do you ever see yourself doing another TV show?
Yeah, but hopefully not one that I’m not producing. I want to be able to have a bit more control, especially when we are talking about diversity. I want to make sure that nothing gets pushed under the radar, that people that are a little different are protected and represented well. - Complex Magazine

With The Vampire Diaries’s eighth season set to be its last, actress Kat Graham—who’s been playing a young witch named Bonnie since 2009—spent this past year preparing for her graduation from the hit Y.A. series. Outside of the show’s busy schedule, Graham juggled a multitude of exciting new projects—including a starring role in 2017’s mega-budget Tupac biopic All Eyez On Me and a new album that she collaborated on with Prince. Yes, that Prince.

As if that weren’t enough, Graham was also named an International Goodwill Ambassador for the aid organization Empower 54 after being introduced to its founder, Princess Modupe Ozolua of Nigeria.

“I felt that I was on way more red carpets than missions,” says Graham about her impetus to give back. “I took a look at what was happening in the world, and I didn’t feel like I was contributing enough.”

The 27-year-old spent three years working on the cause of refugees in the Middle East and Central America with the UN Refugee Agency before meeting Princess Modupe and shifting her humanitarian focus to align with Empower54. Graham now dedicates her time to helping elevate the organization’s profile, in addition to raising awareness for the plight of the millions of African civilians suffering at the hands of Boko Haram, one of the world’s deadliest terrorist organizations. Empower54 actively and directly provides rehabilitation through health and education programs to the malnourished children, displaced families, and refugees affected by this violence.

“Modupe is literally on the ground, rescuing men women and children from villages that have been devastated by Boko Haram,” says Graham. “I need to be doing that. I don’t want to be alone at 80 years old, dripping in diamonds—having never helped anyone. That’s not my path. That’s not what I care about. That’s not what excites me.”

Considering her heart of gold, it’s no wonder that Prince—who himself was a celebrated philanthropist—took Graham under his wing prior to his untimely passing earlier this year. His Royal Badness made a habit out of elevating and championing women—including other current stars like Rita Ora and Janelle Monáe—throughout his life, and Graham was no exception. She released her first EP, Against the Wall, in 2012, but it wasn’t until a year later that Prince reached out to offer a helping hand. On her birthday in 2013, he asked that she meet with him—and so she did.

Skipping plans to celebrate her 24th with friends in Mexico, Graham instead hopped on a plane to Minneapolis; the rest is history. With the High Priest of Pop as her mentor, Graham has steadily grown as an artist, shaping a sound that is equal parts pop princess and disco diva. Together, she and the Purple One worked on an album that drops in February—but a love of music isn’t all she shared with the late icon. While talking to Graham, it’s evident the pair’s connection ran deep.

“He’d want me to have uncomfortable conversations,” Graham explains. “He’d want me to be talking about how important it is for magazines like Vanity Fair to be portraying positive images, and at a greater volume, of African-American women and men.”

Speaking of those images: Graham auditioned for and landed the role of Jada Pinkett (pre-Smith) in next year’s highly anticipated All Eyez on Me. Mirroring the sudden loss that she experienced after Prince’s death, Graham’s portrayal of Jada during Tupac’s final days will show she’s capable of moving beyond the popular TV series that was responsible for catapulting her into the spotlight. Playing a role in retelling Tupac’s story helps Graham to blur the lines between her existing experience as an actress and her foray into music, allowing her to take a critical next step in her career.

“Tupac has always been somebody who represented a higher consciousness of what it means on both sides of the coin to be black in America,” she says. “He and Prince were leaders who moved to the beat of their own drum, and I can only hope to follow in their footsteps.”

On October 21, the CW aired the final season premiere of The Vampire Diaries. Now—exactly one week later—Graham is debuting her new single, “All Your Love,” on iTunes. Part of the full-length album that drops in February, this new music marks a new beginning—and the prospect of an extremely promising 2017 for Graham. - Vanity Fair