EXCLUSIVE: Shamari DeVoe Explains Her RHOA Departure, Why She Decided To Return To Reality TV & Why She Wants Kandi Burruss On ‘BET Presents: The Encore’

EXCLUSIVE: Shamari DeVoe Explains Her RHOA Departure, Why She Decided To Return To Reality TV & Why She Wants Kandi Burruss On ‘BET Presents: The Encore’

Recently, Shamari DeVoe met up with theJasmineBRAND to dish on a variety of topics relating to her life, singing career, and stints on reality TV!

In our EXCLUSIVE interview with Shamari DeVoe, she first acknowledged those who claim to be shocked by her vocal abilities displayed on BET Presents: The Encore. The singer-turned-reality star revealed:

“Just seeing the comments… I’m like ‘Wow, y’all didn’t know I could sing?’ But I’ve been singing since I was three years old… I’ve always been able to sing.

She then touched on the subject of certain artists on the hit BET series getting “rusty” with their vocal abilities, as well as how she exercises her own talent. She said:

“If you’re not constantly in the studio, you’re not constantly working on your craft, you’re not in vocal training, then of course you’re gonna get rusty. Your vocal chords [are] like a muscle–you have to constantly work at it. One thing about me is Cinnamon, the vocal coach on the show, [has been working with me] since I was 13 years old. So I’m constantly in training, constantly using my voice, because this is my career! Even though I haven’t been performing as much because of COVID and everything, I was still vocal training with Cinnamon.”

Shamari DeVoe then dished on being part of the original cast for the series 7 years ago–which Carlos King revealed in his EXCLUSIVE interview with us. Shamari stated:

“I was a part of the original cast that was filmed 7 years ago… It was like a no-brainer. Because I’m like ‘This is what I do. This is definitely more me. I sing and it’s not like they have to build a storyline for me. The storyline is my life–this is what I [have done] since I was 3 years old.’ So it was definitely something that I wanted to do to just get back out there [and] get my passion back.”

She continued, specifically speaking on how the BET Presents: The Encore helped her rebuild her passion and confidence–as well as how she lost it in the first place. She claimed:

“A lot has happened in the music industry to me. Losing [Lisa] ‘Left Eye’ Lopes–my mentor–[and] losing Natina, the third member of Blaque. [It got to the point] where it caused me to lose my passion and even my confidence. So when this came along, I was like ‘Let me go ahead and just get it back!’ You know, use my vocal and just continue to just be a light and bless the world… I was ‘Cool–I’m gonna do it.'”

After continuing to touch on how her career was impacted by the untimely deaths of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Natina Reed, she revealed that–despite the hardships–she remains close to her other Blaque groupmate, Brandi Williams:

“It’s just been a struggle for me and Brandi. But one thing about me and Brandi is we have never broken up. We have constantly stayed together. We’re gonna make sure we keep Lisa’s legacy alive and Natina’s legacy alive. Like we celebrate Natina’s birthday every year [with] a big party. We support the family, the Lisa Lopes Foundation, and we just wanna make sure that we continue to carry the torch for both of them… [Brandi and I] have a true sisterhood. We consider ourselves sisters. Like we still talk to each other–we just talked to each other today. We have shows coming up, we’re touring now that the world is back open again… We’ve been through a lot, so [we] know that we have each other and we know what it means to have something and lose it. And we don’t take that for granted.”

At this point in our EXCLUSIVE interview, Shamari DeVoe revealed she wishes her former The Real Housewives of Atlanta costar Kandi Burruss was on BET Presents: The Encore. Shamari said:

“I really wish that Kandi [was on the show]. I love me some Kandi–that’s my girl. I know she can’t do it because she’s on [RHOA] and all, but like I would love to just have Kandi on the show because she’s super dope. She’s talented–writer, performer, singer, actress, entrepreneur. She wrote songs for Blaque back in the day–she did the ‘808’ remix–so I would say Kandi [is who I want on the show].”

She then proceeded to speak on how she balances life as a working mother of two twin boys, saying:

“I have 3-year-old toddler boys. And you know boys are all over the place–jumping off of tables, getting knots on their heads, all types of stuff. And it is hard, but the thing is I have a village. I have support. I have family, I have friends–people that step in if I gotta go out of town. They come in, and that’s what it takes. It takes a village. And you need that, you need to get away every now and then because you have to have that balance. You have to have your self-care and all types of things that help you just to keep a sane mind. Don’t get me wrong: I love being a mom. It’s a blessing. But sometimes I do feel like Imma lose my mind. Because it’s crazy! But I have a supportive husband… he’s super supportive and he’s a wonderful dad. He steps in–I don’t know what I would do without him.”

Shamari DeVoe then discussed her departure from RHOA. As you may recall, she starred in season 11 of the franchise, but did not return for subsequent seasons. Regarding her exit, she stated editing played a large factor in her decision:

“There’s a lot in editing, so they make you look like something that you’re not. So there was a scene that I did during [RHOA] that was about couples and learning different tools and skills to keep your relationship going. And they cut that whole scene out. But they wanted to show me with my lil wine and make it seem like I’m just this drunk or whatever. But that’s not me–there’s a balance. Like they didn’t show the fact that I was doing the Married 4 Life Walk, that I was helping people come together, and the thing about [me drinking on camera is] I hadn’t drank in like 2 years because I was pregnant with the boys, I was breastfeeding. When I got on [RHOA] they [were] just shoving drinks at [me] left and right… So I’m like ‘Okay cool, I can finally get away from the twins’…[The drinks] went straight to the head.”

She continued, saying she is open to returning if the time is right:

“But I love all of the ladies on the show, and I love them and I wish them well. And I’m not saying I would never go back to [RHOA] or anything like that, but it just has to be right for me and my family… [The editing] got to the point where my mother was saying ‘Shamari, [why] are you drinking so much? Are you an alcoholic?'”

Wrapping up our EXCLUSIVE interview, Shamari revealed she would be open to staring in a reality show about her family. She claimed:

“I would love [a family show]. I would do that. Like I would sign a contract today. I would do that–I already have the name. It’s called DeVoeted. It’s going down–like seriously, I would do that in a heartbeat. I’m so big on family–I love my family, and I want the world to see the ups and downs in marriages and how difficult it is raising toddlers when you’re a geriatric mom and a geriatric dad. My husband is 53, [and] he doesn’t have any other kids–these are his first kids. So it’s like ‘Man, your energy isn’t all of that.’ It’s hilarious. If y’all was a fly on the wall in our house, y’all would be cracking up laughing at everything that happens in here.”

What do you think about our EXCLUSIVE interview with Shamari DeVoe? Comment down below to let us know!