Meet Princess Datwork Amber Calvin

We had the good fortune of connecting with Princess Datwork Amber Calvin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Princess datwork Amber, why did you pursue a creative career?
Modeling and radio

Radio : I came from a troubled household , I had no freedom, and I took care of my household my siblings while my mom and my stepdad was at work . The only escape I had was music. I would sit for hours watching MTV and bet vjs .. Donnie, Simpson, Bill Bellamy and Al b sure .. I would steal my mom‘s VCR tapes and just record them and study and re-watching them . And I said when I grow up I want to be just like them ! Not as in fame but really do what they did and love it. I wanted to interview celebrities I wanted to introduce new music coming out and give my opinion but also talk to the people and get more Intel of why they make the music in things like that.
It was my love for music. I’ve been in the around the entertainment world ever since I was 18. I will go to the club, but not for where everybody else will be for. I will go to the club just to listen to the music and watch the DJs and hang out with the DJs in the booth. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t know how. So later on in life one of the DJs that I used to watch and study and hang out with he was a teacher at a school that taught him how to be a radio host so I took a chance and I signed up. The rest was history. I learned everything I needed to know.
I’ve done a few celebrity interviews , i’ve been interviewed been on podcast… my first celebrity interview was Freeway Rick Ross and that really told me this is where I’m supposed to be. It’s just not a job for me. It’s a passion and a love. I live with my grandfather when I was younger by myself it was just me and him. I remember he had a back room full of records and record player. I don’t remember what record it was, but I remember it was a Michael Jackson record before I knew what scratching and mixing was I would put it on the record and I would scratch a mix. lol I was like three when I was in kindergarten I made my grandfather buy me a cassette player and I used to walk around with headphones on all the time till this day. I still do actually I’m consistently listening to music listening to lyrics listening to beats it just does something to my soul and that’s why I started doing Radio because I love the art of it. And it is art. Also as a child, I was deaf so the vibration music hits me different as well because of that, even though I can’t hear fully now.

Modeling : as long as I can remember, I was in the clothes fashion as a baby. I was the only child for a while. I was dressed in the best of the best I was walking around and double breasted suits with a little dresses ruffles with the hats, everything just matched. All my life I was told I was beautiful. I didn’t understand it because I had a verbally abusive mother that always lowered my confidence and told me I was ugly and she looked better than me so I grew up thinking I was ugly. As I got older people kept telling me and when I would get my hair done everybody told me that I look like a supermodel, and I used to think it was funny as I got in my older teens I realized maybe I should model I didn’t understand what modeling was. I was in the hip-hop culture really heavy. I used to purchase all the hip-hop magazines, the XXL’s yo tap , right on hip-hop weekly the source etc etc in the back of those magazines there used to be ads and you could also write your favorite entertainer
I noticed a ad from Carl canny I don’t think that’s how you spell his name lol
He was looking for models for a contract, paid everything to fly out to New York to be his new whatever whatever . I came from much of trouble home so I thought that was my way out of my house I applied.
To my surprise, I was accepted and they wanted to fly me out
I can’t remember how it went I think my parents found out . And I wasn’t able to go ..
so I forgot about it and left it alone
My early 20s photographers would always come up to me and ask me if they could take pictures of me and they would you know give me the pictures and I’m like no lol
And one day I took the offer . The photographer told me about model mayhem so I got on model mayhem… and I started seeing all the models and I was like wow this is amazing and what was amazing to me was the creativity the art the clothing, the hair the colors everything I was in love I’m like oh my God I wanna do this. I have to do this. I felt like it was a way to express… I seen girls in water snow paint and I’m like I love this so I started you know collaborating with people
Then I found John Casablanca or they found me. I can’t remember.
I went in there and I signed up .. I was trained by a woman that was on a Naomi. Campbell’s show called the face. It was like next top model that teachers name was Khadijah and I thought she was so beautiful so so beautiful and I was just in all of her, I admired her in her beauty and her confidence she was showing me how to walk one day and I couldn’t get the steps right and I was beating myself up real bad and she was like let me talk to you. She pulled me in the hallway and she asked me what was wrong and I told her I said I’m never gonna get it. You’re just so perfect and I told her how I felt like you’re so beautiful. You’re so confident. I’m not confident like you and I’m not Pretty like you and she yelled at me so bad. lol 😂 so bad .. and she told me how beautiful I was and what she really thought of me and she thought that I was pretty and that meant a lot to me because I’ve never had that you know growing up yeah I heard it all the time but it was different this time and she told me and I’ll never forget. Don’t never put your head down. Always keep your head up to the sky.
And from that day forward I never lowed my confidence. Even when I was in school, I would post my pictures of my progress. My mom will comment under my post and photos. You’re still ugly and I look better than you and it didn’t bother me anymore because I didn’t care what she said..
I started doing modeling expose. I graduated from John Casablanca. I signed to their agency and I’m still signed to their agency till this day….. so now a model for the art of it and to show confidence to women that don’t have it or women that was like me that’s my main mission to build confidence in self and in body no matter what , no matter now big u are no matter life ur small or different
Follow your dreams, no matter what..
I want to inspire. I have two daughters myself and I never did what my mom done to me. One of my daughter’s dark skin and my mother embedded in her that she was ugly as well. I tell my daughters how beautiful they are every chance I get and they are little versions of me.
So just because you grew up in that environment, that doesn’t mean you have to be the same you can break that cycle.. and now that I’m older and I understand a lot more I understand my mom is very bitter with who she is within and so she projects that on her children and she’s also jealous of that confidence . And wanted that confidence she was treated poorly as a child talked about her skin being called ugly so now I have a tad. Compassion for that.
Modeling isn’t about pictures and being beautiful. It’s about art. It’s about clothing. It’s about expression and modeling. You’re free to express yourself creatively

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Never give up even when people tell you you can’t

My whole life I said goals for myself and I achieve them just approve to myself that I can do anything in the world that I want to enlighten. My father told me whatever I put my mind to. I can do it and I have done just that in more ways than one, and I’m still doing it. You will have competition, but your focus should be only with competing with yourself and proving to yourself that you can do it no matter what. And keep going until you get what you want the world is literally in your hands. it’s not gonna be easy but it’s also not gonna be hard. It’s mental fear will stop you drive will push you… my drive to inspire pushes me my drive to succeed pushes me, and I want my story in my image to push people the same

And show your bully’s and haters y they are mad . And make them madder by succeeding and lifting yourself up when nobody else do

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The grove
Any beach
Art museums
Natural landscapes

I love fat burger lol it’s the best it still taste like the old-school burgers that you remember

And Lala land cafe for a nice latte

Roscoes chicken and waffles classic
And walking thru Hollywoods historic places and the Hollywood Boulevard strip

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
John Casablanca
MTM agency
Ohio media school
Khadijah
Larance braggs
Don Juan Fasho radio host
DJ diamond
Phil Brown, from Cumulus and iHeart
Ug Lee
Bet and mtv network
Seat fillers

God and Jesus Christ

Instagram: Princess_datwork

Other: app.talentmgtintl.com/profiles/Amber-Calvin.

MTM model website

Image Credits
Larance braggs