Damn cell phones. Despite all the technological advances in the industry, you still somehow have to struggle to find a good signal (or maybe it's the carrier, but I digress). But even amidst the static and fade-outs, the voice of Koffee (that's Ms. Koffee to you) still sounds as sweet as ever. As she lets her interviewer know that she her lunch break is getting ready to come to a close, she shows no shame in letting it be known that she works an ordinary 9-to-5 when she's not serenading audiences or recording vocals. And there lies the beauty. After being bombarded with so many individuals who try their hardest to make it seem as though they're bigger than what they really are, it's refreshing to talk to an individual who's more than comfortable just being in the skin she's in.

Originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, Koffee - born Dawn Dillard - bounced around a variety of locations before finally calling Atlanta her home. And just as her childhood wasn't confined to one area, she lets it be known that her music will not rest in one category. One minute, she's singing a sultry bedroom soundtrack. The next, she's providing vocals that match an upbeat groove. Baby girl appears to have more arms than the NRA, as she juggles multiple styles at once.

“Basically, when I first came out, I think I was trying to target Neo-Soul, but then I realized [something]. I was like, I don't wanna just be Neo-Soul. I don't wanna just be R&B,” she testifies about her eclectic arsenal of sounds. But it seems no ideas are original, not even when it comes to being outside the box. While Koffee was experimenting to find a sound all her own, a soulful beauty from Philly was captivating audiences with a voice and sound that mirrored much of what she was creating while in the lab.

“I remember when Jill Scott came out [and] I heard her album. I was like, Wow, she beat me to it,” she explains with a giggle before telling how she had to dodge the inevitable comparisons. “And then everything that I would do, people would be like, 'Oh, okay, your trying to be like Jill Scott.' I'm like, No, I'm trying to be like Koffee.”

What doctors call Schizophrenia is the norm in the music biz – the good ol' stage name or alter ego. While Dawn Dillard is the average corporate-career mother, Koffee, the namesake of one of Dawn's poems, is the outward, expressive vixen. Not one to shy away from a personal topic, her lyrics contain issues such as love lost, love gain, domestic violence, and insecurity with one's self. “I do have some, yes,” she replies when asked about those insecurities. “Actually, if you listen close to all the [songs] that I'm gonna put out, you can hear insecurity in different areas. And once you listen to it in it's entirety, you'll be able to get a good synopsis of who I am.” But in the music industry, it can be downright impossible for an artist to tell someone who they really are once the curtains close because, for the most part, a lot of artists don't know who they are themselves. And Hollywood doesn't make things any better for those on the road to self-enlightenment. It seems that the Euro-centric industry has crowned the slim, light-skinned, and always beautiful Beyonce' as the standard of beauty for Black women, with many of them feeling undervalued. But Koffee is from an different breed. “Luckily, I've been conscious enough to know not to look to Hollywood for [acceptance] because I know the truth,” she says. “And reality is, that's called make-up and make-up artists and money. That's not the real. The real is sometimes you have a bad hair day. Sometime you might look bloated (laughs). I know Beyonce's had a bad day. Regardless of what anyone says, I've always thought on the inside I'm beautiful.”

Just as she’s not one to wait on someone else’s approval when it comes to her physical attributes, Koffee appears to only need validation from herself when it comes to her musical career. Nope, you won’t see her on national TV, at the mercy of Simon Crowell or being in line as one of the many hopefuls who are looking for a stamp of approval from some A&R who’s out of touch with the music scene.

“I discovered me and I believe in myself right now,” she declares confindently. “With this being the third album coming, I kind of have the fortitude to say, ‘Okay, it’s time for the photo seesion at this point, it’s time for the marketing strategy. So right now, I’m kind of pushing myself through this process.”

The album that she speaks of is Voltage, a body of work that she has set on being the ultimate connection between her and the listening audience. It sounds as though what she has told in her interview is only a a small piece of what she intends to unveil to the masses. But with all that she’s given, one has to ask, Is she giving too much of herself?

“No, there’s been a time when I felt I’ve not given enough. But never too much,” she says. “Because no matter how I do it, I’m always going to do it classy with what I give to the public.”

Sex may sell, but so does talent and determination. With big labels working at the speed of Tupac, music nowadays feels more like a empty box than it does a complete package. Actual skills have taken a backseat to a good background story or a marketable look. Everything is either sweetened up or watered down. What happened to the days when an artist just gave it to you straight, in a take-me-as-I-am display?.But there appears to be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. With open,. honest music and a mind that’s all her own, there’s no need for cream or sugar with this Koffee