Now solo, former Floetry singer targets homophobia with first single

Marsha Ambrosius isn't going to tell you that it gets better. Her video, â┚¬Å”Far Away,â┚¬Â is an all-too-real take on gay bullying and suicide that's inspired by her friend's attempt at taking his own life. The song is also the lead single from the English singer's very personal Late Nights & Early Mornings, her first solo album after parting ways with R&B duo Floetry.

We caught up with Ambrosius, who opened up about the inspiration behind the bold video, how people are reacting to it and why it's breaking color barriers, too. 

WATERMARK: Why is the issue of gay suicide so close to your heart?
MARSHA AMBROSIUS: I'd gone through a situation with a friend of mine who was battling issues with his sexuality, and not being accepted and the feeling that there's no other way out than to take your own life. To try to deal with someone who's in such a dark place, it was very disheartening for meâ┚¬â€the bestie that's all smiles, ensuring that the world will be okay.

Did he commit suicide?
No, definitely attemptedâ┚¬â€and not once, but a few times. Thankfully, he's still here.

How do you feel about the buzz surrounding the video?
It's so overwhelming. It was never my intention to cause a stir, but I wanted to get a reaction and I'm thankful that it's opened a line of communication to people who wouldn't speak to each other at one point. Whether it was a fight against what's right or wrong or what's love and what's hate, people are speaking and I'm changing minds.

All I want for people to see with this video is that hate is hate no matter who you are. When you can't be accepted for who you are in this world, that's all you have. It's getting people talking and disagreeingâ┚¬â€or agreeingâ┚¬â€so I'm thankful for that.

Do you think there's a race divide when it comes to gay people in the media?
Initially, it wasn't on my mind. It was just how I portrayed my scenario as if those were my friends, and I wasn't thinking of it as breaking color barriers, too. I think for two openly gay malesâ┚¬â€black males at thatâ┚¬â€to be shown in the light that they were was a very surreal moment for many.

And you didn't go with the down-low approach, like R. Kelly did with â┚¬Å”Trapped in the Closet,â┚¬Â which seems like a common portrayal of black gay men.
Rightâ┚¬â€and I even saw some comments like, â┚¬Å”What is this with gays on the down low?â┚¬Â There's nothing down low about this. This is broad daylight in New Jersey, somewhere in the sunshine, looking into each other's eyes lovingly. This is an open relationship for two people that are in love.

Why all the heartbreak on the album?
I guess there are three songs conceptually that could be heartache records: â┚¬Å”Far Away,â┚¬Â â┚¬Å”Hope She Cheats on You (With a Basketball Player),â┚¬Â which was written for a friend who went through a bad break-up, and â┚¬Å”The Break-Up Song.â┚¬Â The rest of them are just about having great sex: great make-up sex, great break-up sex. (Laughs)

Is this based on your own personal experiences?
Oh, most definitely. With the title, Late Nights & Early Mornings, it's how I lived life. It was just late nights in the studios, maybe at a show, waking up the next day to go travel and perform somewhere, wherever. And it's a continual cycle. Even in a relationship, as sensual and seductive as it gets, you want that late, hot and steamy night with the one that you want to be withâ┚¬â€and then wake up to a nice early-morning breakfast.

What was the best early-morning breakfast you had?
Belgian waffles, whipped cream, powdered sugar, a cup of hot cocoa, a side of fresh fruitâ┚¬â€and him, with his 6-foot-3 chocolate self. (Laughs)

Based on a line from the song (â┚¬Å”Hope that she Kim Kardashian-ed her way upâ┚¬Â), I take it you're not friends with Kim Kardashian?
I don't even know her, but she is such a sweetheart. On the record I'm actually giving her a compliment, and how I got that line together was, yeah, I may have just known her from a sex tape that she did with an R&B singer at one point, but she turned that around and made herself a million-dollar mogul and a marketing machine.

I'm not gonna say that an R&B singer is going to release a sex tape of him and me tomorrow, but it's not to say I haven't sent a sexy text message that someone could just then say, â┚¬Å”Oh, I've got Marsha's tits!â┚¬Â

But there's no sex tape with a 6-foot-3 chocolate lover?
Who knows!