
On her origins
My father is from Mali, West Africa. He was a diplomat when I was a kid so we traveled a lot. I was raised in Ghana, Nigeria and I have lived in New York and DC. My parents are retired and now living in Mali.
On getting into modeling
I started modeling when I was 17. I was going to see a movie with my friends and I was just waiting for them at the cinema when a woman came and asked me if I would like to model. I said, โYeh, why not, but Iโm not tall and Iโm not pretty.โ And she said, โYou are. This is my cell phone just give me a call.โ
I called her and we did a photoshoot and a lookbook and then I started. Itโs a crazy life. I was with Elite Model Management. I did commercials, photos for Louis Vuitton and runway shows. A lot of things.
I didnโt really like it. I didnโt hate it because it was mostly fun, but I didnโt take it seriously. It was just a way to earn money when youโre 17. Itโs cool, you go to school and you make money doing a fun thing. When I finished business school in Paris I decided to just model because Iโd earn more money doing that and I didnโt want to work in a bank somewhere. So I moved to New York and continued modeling.
But thereโs a lot of pressure on the girls. You have all the top models but you also have models who work a lot but donโt have name recognition. Thereโs a lot of competition between girls; you have to stay thin, you have to always be good looking, you have to fit in what theyโre expecting from you. Itโs not always easy. If you take that really seriously it can lead to trouble.
Eventually I stopped modeling and moved back to Paris to do something Iโd always dreamed off, getting back into music.
On her new music career

When I was modeling I still did a lot of music. I was composing for some artists here in France so the boss of my current record company heard about me and came once to listen to one of my gigs. They really wanted to work with me so I said, โOkay. Where do I sign?!โ
The response to my album Everyday is a New World has been amazing. I couldnโt even dream about this. Itโs crazy because I spent almost two years on the album. I wanted everything to look like me and I wanted something really personal from this album. When it was released people went crazy, I was doing interviews with all these journalists and TV shows and it was great because I didnโt expect that. I just wanted to do music.

On Nneka, and other young African artists
I donโt know Nneka closely, we just met like one or two times. But sheโs great, I like her music. Here in Europe there are few African artists really rising. So it was cool for me to have Nneka before so now itโs kinda my turn, so Iโm happy.
On whether her hair is real
Itโs real. The real hair is even bigger than the wig (laughs). I wear a wig for some shoots because when I work I have to have the same head, the same look. But my hair underneath is natural.
On going natural
I used to have natural hair as a kid but my sister is a hairdresser and she started relaxing my hair when I was 11. At the beginning I liked it because it was smooth and just like all my friends, then I started hating it because it hurt and even when I took good care of it it broke off.
Seven years ago I thought, okay, Iโm going to stop. I cut off when my hair, I didnโt even know that was called โtransitioningโ. I just let my hair grow and then I started cutting out all the relaxed hair gradually. It was difficult to take care of both textures, so I did a lot of braids.
At the beginning it was difficult because I was taking care of my natural hair like I used to take care of my relaxed hair, so I wouldnโt wash it very often because I was not used to that. When I was in New York I had a friend who was natural and she told me about what she was doing so I tried out different things.
On her regimen
When Iโm working I use a lot of protective styles like weaves that I donโt keep more than 8 or 10 days. My hairdresser braids my hair underneath very loosely so that the front doesnโt break off.
I wash my hair once a week and I also wash when itโs really hot like, now it is in Paris. In the winter I shampoo every two weeks. In between shampoos I co-wash with conditioner.
I use Mizani products because before becoming their spokesmodel I wanted to try them on my hair to check if theyโre really good, and they are. I also use Alba Botanica and Amazonia Preciosa products. I deep condition once a week before I do my shampoo using castor oil with rosemary, ylang, ylang (an essential oil that smooths my hair) and shea butter.
I spritz everyday with water, castor oil and jojoba oil. Before I go to bed I braid my hair, and spritz it. When I wake up in the morning I put some Mizani cream in and comb it or do a braid out.
As far as styling, sometimes I do twists and braids. If Iโm wearing my real hair to a shoot Iโll do an afro or twist outs. Here in Paris it gets really cold in the winter, so I do a lot of protective styles.
On being the new Mizani spokesmodel
Mizani is a line for black hair, relaxed or natural and they didnโt have any spokesmodels for that. They asked me to do it about 6 months ago so weโre going to start shooting in September and Iโm really happy about that. LโOreal (Mizaniโs parent company) is such a huge company for cosmetics and hair. They have spokespersons for their cosmetic products, like Beyonce and Kerry Washington, but they didnโt have anyone for black hair products. That was bizarre because so many black women are buying their stuff. So Iโm really proud to be the first one. I really, really canโt wait.
Her number one beauty tip
Always take off the makeup before you go to bed. And get facials when you can.
Inna, thanks for chatting with us! For more of this lovely lady check out her Facebook page and her MySpace page.
Nice interview. I love that her real hair is actually bigger than the wigs. Thatโs whatโs up!
sheโs gorgeous and that head of hair is WOWZA. loved the interview, very chill ๐
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Iโve never heard of this artist before but I enjoyed the interview. cool that she was raised in Nigeria part of her life, my Country :-). Anyways, I noticed that in the US they really put a lot of emphasis on advertising to the black community. I guess because the black population is so large there. In canada there isnโt really that many campaigns or companies directly geared towards black people. I also liked how she was very honest about her personal views on the modelling industry (ie, not really taking it seriously,etc..). has anyone listened to her music? what do… Read more »
nice hair!
Iโm really feeling her afro..* wig or not*
Great interview!
She is absolutely beautiful! I love her hair! Great interview. Iโm hoping she has a preview of her music on her site.
Sheโs a gorgeous young lady, I look forward to hearing her music. That fro is tha bizness!!!
I love her music itโs 60โs and 70โs but itโs still fresh. I bought her whole CD and I wasnโt dissapointed.
i loved this interview made me like her more.
LOL what wig is it?! Can I buy it for this winter?!?! LOL
Great interview! I hope my hair can look get that big someday! ๐
Love her hair and style!!
I love her style!
You can find her music on youtube. The only song I know from her is Mister H (as in happiness, I think). Itโs pretty cool and refreshing! Check it out!
She is so beautiful.
YAY! Another Parisian girl! Iโm French too, and her music video for French Cancan was just broadcast, so I wanted to check if it was her real hair or not, and to my surprise BGLH did an interview with her!! I was like, so happy! Anyways, Iโm so glad itโs her real hair, it proves some ignorants that yes, with time and care, Afro hair can grow llooooooooong! It would be so cool if you could do an Ayo interview, and ask her about her famous updo style! I think its a one strand twist coming up from the nape and… Read more »
I donโt like her music that much but i think sheโs gorgeous.
But iโm kind of disappointed because sheโs lying when sheโs saying that her real hair are bigger than the wig (wig she is wearing in all the pictures here).
She is the โfaceโ of Mizani LโOrรฉal and we can see her real hair on the posters advertisement.
Hair which are really beautiful btw -> http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0XGZlLdcdOA/TSpBLiDtueI/AAAAAAAABps/341-oQVm73Y/s1600/Inna_Modja.jpg
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[โฆ] amazing but few dare to do the same. Iโm always wearing a flower in my hair, even before Inna Modja became famous. But now that she is, I use to hear people calling me โInnaโ whenever I go out. So [โฆ]