This week Dawn Robinson formally of En Vogue and Lucy Pearl, shared with the world she was homeless and sleeping in her car.
“You guys, for the past three years, I have been living in my car,” Dawn stated Tuesday, March 11th on social media.
Dawn says she does not want anyone’s pity and that she is comfortable with the decision she has made.
“I’m glad that I made this choice because I needed to go through this fire. I’m in the trenches of this right now and I’m like, ‘I wouldn’t trade my experiences and what I’ve gone through for the world.’”
Dawn Robinson mentioned in the video, she was in the middle of a “spiritual journey” involving a period of isolation from family and friends.
After Dawn‘s revelation, En Vogue stated they had not been in contact with Dawn in more than five years.
UB‘s very own, songwriter Ivan Matias previously detailed his experience working with EV on their final, yet biggest single collectively “Don’t Let Go (Love).”
Ivan also mentioned a “spiritual journey” Dawn was going through at that time and spilled on En Vogue‘s last time in the studio together, with the original four.
Ivan also made headlines this week, as he commented to Dawn’s video.
Dawn is the problem. Was only in EV for 2 albums. Fell out with EnVogue, Lucy Pearl, Dr. DRE, Elektra Records, Atlantic Records, managers & her own Mama that housed her for 2 years at almost 60 & me that wrote & produced "Don't Let Go." She's been a victim since 1995. ?
— IVAN MATIAS (@Ghettopen) March 12, 2025
Needless to say, Ivan along with many others feel Dawn is the issue and has always been the issue.
Regardless, revisit our conversation with Ivan as he discusses working with the ladies on their platinum, #1, Grammy nominated single “Don’t Let Go (Love).”
“We’d originally written “Don’t Let Go” for Aerosmith & we thought we’d be responsible for ruining En Vogue when Elektra President Sylvia Rhone loved it & hired us to record it on the quartet. Sylvia heard something we couldn’t. Andrea ordered me to get into that studio & cut those vocals anyway — while she went to get her nails done (laughs). It was then that we employed the “you like it, we love it” outlook.” – Ivan Matias
UrbanBridgez.com: Tell us the story of En Vogue and how you recorded the last song before they broke up?
Ivan Matias: Wow! Those girls were at a stressful point in their career. The group was signed to East/West through a production deal with Foster & Mcelroy. They felt they weren’t seeing the money they deserved given their success. There was talk that Dawn was promised the opportunity to do a solo album but that option was snatched off the table due to the mediocre response to Terry’s solo album that had just been released. Label execs opted to expand the groups sound & put together a new En Vogue LP instead. Label was waiting on Dawn to agree to new recording terms. As she stalled; the label wasn’t sure what she would do.No one wanted her to sing the lead on “Don’t Let Go” because they feared what inevitably happened. It took several days to record vocals while going back & fourth with record company. Unsure of the quartet’s fate; the label rushed the song out on the “Set It Off” soundtrack. It blew up but so did tension in the group. We began to record 5 songs for the En Vogue album but Dawn wasn’t at recording sessions initially. Dawn stated she was at a spiritual retreat deciding what she was going to do but others said she was secretly recording songs for her solo project during the first few weeks of recording. I love Dawn’s voice & was leaving leads unrecorded, taking my time with the recording of the backgrounds, stalling & getting heat from everyone hoping she would show to record the leads that no one wanted her on. She finally returned but tensions did not cease as we recorded her leads & backgrounds on songs.
There was a HUGE blow up in the studio which led to Dawn leaving & never returning. We had to re-record all of her leads & background parts. The details of their history are most def “Unsung” or “Behind The Music” material! It’s difficult when you have 4 very strong, talented & very different personalities. It’s a shame because I think if those girls got back together; they could actually have a major comeback. They’d have a clear run because female groups are scarce.
UPDATE: Maxine from En Vogue Retweeted Ivan‘s Interview via her Twitter.
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