Dawn Robinson, a founding member of the 90s R&B group En Vogue, said this week that he had lived in the car for about three years since some living arrangements were over.
In a nearly 20-minute video posted on her official YouTube channel on Tuesday, Robinson said she didn't want anyone's sympathy and was pleased with the decision she made. She said she had her own apartment rather, but she put some positive spin on her situation.
“I'm pleased that I made this choice because I had to go through this fire,” Robinson said in the video, adding that she was in the middle of a spiritual journey that included periods of isolation from family and friends. “I'm in this trench now. “I don't exchange my experiences and what I've experienced for the world.”
The representative of En Vogue, still active without Robinson, declined to comment beyond the fact that the group had not had contact with her for more than five years. Robinson could not immediately contact us for comment and did not say on her video where her vehicle was.
Robinson's mother, Barbara Alexander, called from her Las Vegas home on Thursday afternoon and said she was first warned in the video on Wednesday.
“It's a bit difficult to see because it's my daughter,” Alexander said. “I feel bad about her situation, but Dawn doesn't have to be in that situation. That's what she chose.”
Robinson said in her video that she and her mother often thrust their heads in at the time before she lived with her mother and stepfather in Las Vegas for several years. Alexander explained a similar struggle, saying he had no idea where his daughter lived now.
“I've never actually spoken to Dawn in nearly three years,” she said, adding that she was planning to call her soon.
“Dawn doesn't have to live in a car,” she said, noting her musical talent. “It's ridiculous. She doesn't have to live that way. Dawn has the music that she can tell Taylor Swift. That's how amazing she is. So I hope she can put her life together, leave all her demons, or anything she's fighting for, and move on.”
Alexander said he wanted to reconcile with his daughter. “If she knocks on my door now, I'll grab her, I'll hold her, I'll even talk about what's there right now. It's over, so I'll move into the past,” she said.
En Vogue was founded in the late 1980s with Robinson, Terry Ellis, Cindy Heron and Maxine Jones, and climbed the charts in the 1990s with songs like “Hold On,” “Free Your Mind,” and “He Can Feel.” A New York Times review of one of their concerts in 1992 praised the members' vocal skills, saying, “There are no weak voices in the group.”
According to Billboard, Robinson left the group in 1997, but competed in reunions in 2005 and 2009. Current members Ellis, Heron, Jones and Lorna Bennett performed at the NBA All-Star Game in February.
Robinson, who was also known as singer-songwriter Rafael Saadik and music group Lucy Pearl, said her friends warned her not to share details about her living environment. “My goal is to inspire,” she said. “And let people know that you can do anything.
Robinson said she took a different approach in March 2022 after living with her mother and stepfather. She said she decided to live in a car after studying “van Life.” This is a trend that has skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic, where people live in cars forever.
“I loved what I was watching,” Robinson said. “I just thought, 'I can do that, I can do this.' ”
Robinson said over the years she has developed careful routines that include caring for her car, covering windows when necessary, and not talking to certain people. She also has membership at the gym where she showers. “I'm a funky diva, but not funky,” she said.
Towards the end of the video, Robinson said her career would bounce back, addressing concerns that she might be sharing information for publicity.
“There's a lot of things people have done for advertising stunts,” she said. “It would be a stupid publicity stunt to say I live in my car and don't actually live in my car. But this is not a publicity. I have all the footage from Vegas to LA to prove that.”
Kitty Bennett contributed to his research.
