Keke Palmer is 14, and she's already a force. Since her breakaway star-turn in 2006's Akeelah and the Bee, she's dropped a solo album (So Uncool, Atlantic Records), landed roles in Madea's Family Reunion, Jump In! and Cleaner with Samuel L Jackson, and she's currently tearing up your BET with the subway anthem "Keep it Movin."
On Saturday, November 3, Ms. Palmer makes her debut as teen pop star CeCe Livingston on Nickelodeon's teen comedy Just Jordan, a show which would be a guilty pleasure except we don't feel at all guilty about loving it. On the cusp of her appearance, as she was preparing to tour on her album (which we love), VIBE got up with Keke to talk about So Uncool, songwriting, and Lil JJ.
VIBE: Tell me about your experience filming Just Jordan.
KEKE PALMER: I already knew Lil' JJ and I knew Raven Goodwin who plays his cousin Tangie on the show, so to finally be a part of that cast was a lot of fun.
How did you know them before?
Um, just mutual friends, parties… I knew JJ, I went to his Sweet 16, and then my mom is best friends with Raven's mom, so I know them pretty well.
Is comedy something you wanted to do?
I'm always a comedienne! Everybody thinks I'm so dramatic because of the roles that I play, but I'm really goofy. Doing Madea's Family Reunion, The funny that Tyler Perry does is really, really funny as well. I like the funny that's, like, when you watch it you say, "Oh my God, I so did that before!" (Laughter)
So I wanted to talk to you about your album and your video for "Keep it Movin'". On the inside of your album all your outfits are super cute.
Thank you! Yeah, that's all my different, you know, episodes of myself, you know? Sometimes I wanna be skater, sometimes I wanna be punk rock, sometimes I wanna be old-school hip hop... Sometimes I wanna be just regular old Keke, and sometimes I gotta slow it down and be Beverly Hills Keke, 'cuz of CeCe Livingston! (Laughter)
What made you first want to make music?
My mama sang so I always thought when I grew up I'd be a singer, but acting kinda shot off for me first. When I was about nine, we moved to California and, you know, all these amazing things started happening with me. Then singing came back up to me after I did Akeelah and the Bee, then Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who did a song on the soundtrack of Akeelah and the Bee, told my mom that it would be good to try to get me out there and do an album and have movies come out. So Atlantic Records signed me and I started on my album a year ago and I'm really proud of it. I think it's pretty good, and I'm really excited about everything that's going on with it. I think before people hear the album, they think, "Oh, she's probably gonna be some teenybopper kid" and. you know, "I don't think she can sing" or "I don't know if she can't sing" but I don't think they count on me being a true artist until they hear the album. A lot of people are surprised when they hear my CD, they're like "Whoa man, you really can sing!" and "This is some real R&B/hip hop music!" and so they're really surprised afterwards. I'd say one of my favorite songs to record was the song I did with Rodney Jerkins called "Friend Me Up." had just come from Shreveport [Louisiana] filming the movie with Samuel L. Jackson and we were just getting to the last couple of songs, trying to fit them all in, ready to close down the album, and we get this song from Rodney Jerkins influenced by my sister and me. We thought of this title, "Friend Me Up," because sometimes when you're an actor or a singer you meet people who try to friend you up and be your friend and, you know, be actors or make them movie stars too.
Do you like proving people wrong like that, where you're like, "Yeah, p.s., I can sing!"
Yeah, I like when people don't expect a lot from me because then I can just bust it out and they're like, "Whoa"! (Laughs) I like impressing people. They're like, "Whoa man, you're better than I expected, I thought you were gonna be singing like…" (Makes weak singing noises) (Laughs)
Did you write a lot of songs with your sister?
Yeah, I wrote three songs on the album with my sister, me, and this guy named Toby Gad who wrote "Big Girls Don't Cry" for Fergie. And then I wrote one song with just me and Toby called "Rainbow." It was a lot of fun working with my sister. Both of us, she's like... Okay, it's different, because she does good with melodies and lyrics and then I'm a good lyricist, I come up with good words. We're a lot alike in different ways. She actually likes a little bit more punk rock music than I do, but she does like hip hop as well, so it's a lot of fun to merge our genres together.
If you could clone yourself twice, what would the two clones be doing?
Oh, so I can be 14 years old still or can I be different ages?
You could be whatever age you want.
Okay, one is going to be 18, and one is going to be 16. The 14-year-old would be doing what I'm doing, of course, but the 16-year-old would probably still be living in Chicago, living out my life there, and if I was 18 I'd be in California and I'd have a boyfriend. (Laughter)
Essential! (Laughs) You don't have a boyfriend now?
I have somebody I like, but I can't have a boyfriend. My dad said I can't until I'm 16. My mom acts like he's my boyfriend. Like, if I'm down today she'd be like, "Did your friend-boy say something to you wrong?" And I'm like, "No, Mom!" (Laughs) And sometimes if we're just hanging out and I'm in her room just watching some TV, she's like, "Mmm, so what's up with you and your friend boy? Are you gonna hang out with your friend boy this weekend?" (Laughs) She knows that we like each other, she knows! (Laughs) My dad doesn't do that though. He's like, "You've been hanging out with him too much." (Laughs)
That's so perfect! I love that she flips it.
Yeah, she calls him a "friend boy." He's the only one. He feels really lucky, because he's the only one that she ever has called that. The other guys she all thinks weren't worthy. He knows that he's really cute! He looks a little bit like Pharrell.
Oh, really?
He's not an actor. His dad is Creole and his mom is Indian, Italian, and black. And he has, like, really curly hair and I remember when my mom first met him, she was like, "Whoa! You have good hair like that?" (Laughs) It was so funny! My mom really likes him and stuff.
Is it hard to meet people? Do you ever become friends with fans?
Um, it's happened. I remember... Well, sometimes I might meet somebody and then we might not hit it off the first time that I meet them, like if... Like, you know the boy from Everybody Hates Chris? Tyler?
Yeah, yeah. I love him!
Okay, when I first met him we did not get along that good. But then the second day... He's like my best friend. We're, like, best friends. Like, the first day - we didn't hate each other - but like the first day when we met we were just like, "Eh, whatever." (Laughs) And then now we're like - I talk to him about everything! We're really tight.
Watch "Keep it Movin":
Keke Palmer and Lil' JJ on the set of Just Jordan. Photo: Lisa Rose / Nickelodeon.
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