TOYA DELAZY
‘How do you feel about being the voice of the first black Powerpuff Girl? What was it like being a judge on The X Factor? Are you really a royal? And erm, sorry to ask, Your Majesty, but why is there a video online of you wielding a knife?”
I’m waiting to meet Toya Delazy in a north London cafe and the questions scribbled across my rainbow stripey notepad are nothing short of extraordinary. The woman I’m about to interview is a princess, a Powerpuff Girl, a number-one-selling singer, a humanitarian and, above all else, an artist. Toya breezes in looking every inch the modern-day superhero in her lime green bomber, zig-zag leggings, red bow tie and glasses with octagonal lenses. I compliment her look and wonder out loud if her ensemble is inspired by her gig as the fourth member of Cartoon Network’s Emmy-winning squad. “Gurrrl, I’ve been rocking pastels for years!” she laughs. Upbeat Toya may rarely stop smiling, but I soon discover that she’s on a serious mission to empower young women through her music, style, and new role as Bliss. “If it takes getting a brown girl so everybody’s encouraged to feel like they can do anything, why not?”