Choreographer Of T-Pain 'Booty Symphony' Phone App Defends Her Work

Creative director and choreographer Sakinah Lestage has packaged the finesse of women's hindparts in the form of a beat making, ass shaking orchestration app called Booty Symphony. VIBE was able to catch up with the humorous mastermind, who has worked with T-Pain and his Nappy Boy artists, as she dished about her bootylicious project.

How did you come up with the idea?
I was actually hanging out with a few artists in Miami. We were all hanging out at this club and just after sitting there and having a couple drinks, I was like, ‘You know what would be cool, if your phone rang and you had this video ringtone that was all these booties choreographed.’ I’ve seen booty shaking in videos or I’ve seen video vixens that shake their booties, but never actually choreographed booty moves. Everybody started laughing, but after that it turned into this “what if” session. Like, what if you can slap the phone, what if you can shake it and I found out later that video ringtones aren’t as hot as applications, so that’s how it turned from the idea to the actual application.

Cool. Why did you think this would be an app for people to have or want to have?
It takes your mind off of things. You know everybody plays with some sort of app while they’re waiting in line at the grocery store or they’re at the bank just wasting time or even in the club when people are being antisocial. Some people jump on they phone and play with it, so I figure Booty Symphony is just fun. It’s entertaining. Everyone’s always trying to figure out a way to produce a new beat, so beat makers can tap the app and watch the booties move as they try to come up with a hit right there on their phones [laughs].

Not all people are receiving this idea in the most positive way. What would you say for people who think this is a degrading application portraying women again in a negative manner?
I think that this isn’t to be taken seriously. First of all, I’m from Atlanta, so we’re known for big butts. We’re known for booty shaking. That’s kind of a southern thing anyway, so when I went into this I didn’t look at it as being degrading. It’s not showcasing anything that we don’t normally see in videos anyway. I just felt like it’s fun, it’s not to be taken seriously. It’s actually supposed to be comical, so for people that are feeling that it doesn’t show women in the best light, I think there’s way more things to worry about, and this is just a fun thing. Just relax and take it how it’s supposed to be taken which is in humor. That’s the cool thing about it, you don’t have to use [Booty Symphony].

Very true. It's a choice to get the applcation. Why do you think booty is so important these days, and where do you think the booty craze stems from?
It’s nice to look at a nice booty, you know--from the little ones to the big ones. I think people just started realizing it’s better to have curves than be straight up and down. Honestly, my personal opinion is that when they made a big deal about J. Lo’s booty years ago people were like, ‘Wait. I want one of those’ [laughs]. Everybody wanted booties after that.

I'm glad you said that because everybody is trying to get a booty by any means necessary! What are your feelings on butt enhancements?
I think to each his own. I wouldn’t do it, but if that makes you feel better about yourself then good luck. And hopefully, in 20 years it’s still looking the same way it did the first day you got your shots [laughs]. I’ve heard some horror stories so I wouldn’t recommend it myself, but I’m not knocking anybody.

Nowadays, younger kids are using cell phones, so they'll have access to this application. What ages is this geared toward?
We felt that it was fair to give it a mature rating. Those apps are still visible, but you get a notification when you’re going through the app stores. It’s mature; It’s for older kids.

Okay, this is the fun part. What are your top five favorite celebrity booties?
J. Lo is definitely on the list. She’d be like number one because she comes to mind first. Wow, Jada Pinkett has a nice booty and she’s older now, so it’s like I want my booty to look like that when I’m older [laughs]. Let me see… you know who has a good booty? Britney Spears has a really good booty. She got some curves. Beyonce’s got a nice booty. She’s got my hips than booty, but it’s still a nice one. Um, and then Ester Baxter. She’s got massive booty! [Laughs] She’s got booty for days!