Peaches ⏤ Vol 30
Peaches ⏤ Vol 30
Warning! The peaches are sweet and not safe for work.
Hi Friend!
Before we get into today’s gossip topics, I want to say I have absolutely been loving the feedback I’ve gotten from you all over the past few months. Whether it’s a like, retweet, IG share, email reply, text, or you say something to me in person, I love hearing you cackle (that one is for your Jess) about my teenage stories, relate to my vulnerability moments, and reflect on some amazing moments of the 90s and now 00s.
Keep the love coming; it keeps me going.
Ok, now let’s get into it. Similar to Vol 20, this volume is dedicated to gossip we were all just a little too young to understand and discuss at the time, but once we got of age, and when the juiciest tell-all book dropped, we were all nose deep in one of the most infamous video girls of the 00s.
Karrine Steffans aka Superhead.
Sit back and enjoy my storytelling, antics, and commentary on this instant bestseller and a crazy life some women still strive for.
The Beginning
Karrine was born in August of 1978 on the island of St. Thomas. Little did she know, 17 years later, she would find herself stripping in at a Phoenix, AZ club and birthing who the industry knew as Yizette Santiago.
She just didn’t walk into the strip club. Her boyfriend at the time, who she was living with momma basically said, “if you are going to live here, you need to pull some weight.” She introduced her to a club where she was working and then had the nerve to get jealous because Karrine became more popular.
So you know that relationship and live-in situation ended quickly.
By Dec 1995, Yizette had made a name for herself and became a very popular dancer in Phoenix, to the point where other clubs would call and request her to come dance, or she would get asked to dance at private parties for NFL & NBA players.
An Arizona Cardinal’s player invited her to do a private dance session for one of his friends. When she showed up to the house, she was face to face with Kool G Rap, who is often cited as one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time and a pioneer of street/hardcore content.
Of course, Karrine didn’t know who this person was. She was showing up for a job to get her money and be on her way. But she never left.
Kool G Rap introduced her to a lifestyle she had never experienced before, gave her a beautiful son, and beat her on a regular occasion.
It took Karrine a lot to escape the wrath of G Rap, but after she had her son, she realized she had to escape.
I never knew who G Rap was until I read the book, but those who are 80s Hip-Hop heads know who he is. I also recently heard his name during season 2 of Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
Karrine attests his behavior to his diminishing fame in the industry.
The Men
One of the reasons everyone was attracted to the book is the effortless tea spilling about the men she has been with in Hollywood. Now it’s our time to talk about it. The list is long; hang on tight.
Ice T — He was her bankroller for a hot minute. The craziest part of her story with Ice is how she knew he would be able to fund the beginning of her lifestyle, and she also knew that she wasn’t going to be able to start her life in LA with her one-year-old son.
So she drove to her baby daddy apartment, Kool G Rap, waited for him to come outside, sped up to the car, and with one swift move blocked his car in, flung open her car door, and placed her son with a bag in front of G’s car and then sped off.
Now I am not a parent just yet, almost, but I could never imagine just leaving my kid in the parking lot with his father, who used to beat the hell out of me when I was pregnant. Karrine didn’t know the type of lifestyle she was about to walk into, but damn, ain’t nothing more important than your kid(s). Sis was wild with that move.
Ja Rule — Out of everyone she has been with, I think Ja was her comfort zone. He brought some sense of security and safeness to her midst insane situations. One of the funniest moments she shared was when she was performing her #1 act on him. This dude threw his legs up in the air and grabbed his ankles, and began to shake in enjoyment.
This was when the nickname Superhead came about. Karrine discovered her “secret power” her first time with Ja. Watching him squirm, twist, and turn and contour his body into almost frightening moves while he enjoyed his pleasure. She knew she had the power after that moment.
After Ja gained his composure and was able to come off his orgasm and drug-induced high, Karrine began rapping lyrics from a January 2000 song by Jadakiss called Blood Pressure.
“Got a chick named Superhead, she give super-head. Just moved in the buildin', even gave the super head”.
Folks think Jadakiss made the song because of her, when in fact, the song was released months before Ja calling her Superhead.
It was supposed to be a secret nickname between Ja & Karrine, but soon that would be her nickname amongst everyone.
She knew Ja had a long-time girlfriend and babies at home, but Sis didn’t find out he was married until she read it in a magazine he was featured in for Father’s Day. That same night she met up with him to party as usual, and she was fuming. I’m talking Left Eye burn your house down fuming. She snapped and started throwing champagne bottles and glasses at his head right in the middle of their section at the club.
I always find it funny when the side jawns go crazy, but then can I blame them. Their head is being filled with so many lies, what-ifs, and empty promises, that eventually they just snap. Ja would say he was done with her after this, but they always circle back, don’t they.
The circle back came around not too long before 50 came on the scene and crushed Ja’s career. She shares that the two of them would talk about his situation with 50, and she could see the concern on his face, and deep down, she knew his reign would come to an end.
Fred Durst — This is one of the few white guys she mentions by name in the book, and I also found this an interesting choice. She ran into him as he was driving out of a parking garage at a record label. And he dissed her so fast after she gave him the super head in his office, leaving her feeling dejected.
Besides her getting instantly played, nothing about their relationship was moving to me. They did have their first date at one of my favorite restaurants, P.F. Changs. In the early 2000s, this was semi-fine dining, now not so much. I still fool with it tho.
Papa — She met Papa while visiting her friend Chuck on a music video set. And because Papa was the topic of discussion when the book was released and for years afterward. He deserves his own section.
Ray J — I laughed when I came to this part of the book again. I said to myself, “damn, Ray been around the block.” At 18 years old, Ray wasn’t hip to Karrine and her major/minor list of men just yet, so they were a very public couple. Running around LA, acting like two teenagers in love.
Until Ray no one really did the public stuff with Karrine; they just partied. Holding hands while being out and meeting his family was brand new and felt like a real relationship to her. His family did not approve of her 1) because she was 4 years older than him and 2) he had just finished a long-term relationship with Irish of 702.
I had NO clue he dated Irish for years. They met on the 1996 hit song “Get it Together” video when she was 16 years old.
Karrine loved Ray, but her lifestyle caught up to her. She actually told on herself and confessed about her relationship with Papa. Ray called her horrible names and hung up on her.
Interesting how Ray was so innocent just a few years prior, but soon after that, he turned very very savage and had a long list of Hollywood names on his list as well. But yet, no one thinks twice about it.
Karrine also never commented on the well-known under regions of Ray, which is usually the first thing that came out of a woman’s mouth when they mentioned being with him. Maybe it’s because he was only 18 at the time. *shrugs*
Dr. Dre — When she met Dre, she was juggling Ja, Ray J, and of course, Papa. She didn’t think Dre was cute when they met, but it was his power that drew her in, not surprising.
The way she describes sex with him is so cringy.
As he got on top of me, I was empty and cold. I stared at his face, his eyes, and it was only when I ran his resume and status through my head that my insides began to feel warmer.
I wonder what he thought when he read how so many other men drove her wild with passion, and he was womp womp.
Jay-Z — She met him on the set of the “Hey Papi” video shoot. Funny story, when this song first came out, I swore the lyrics were “day by day” and not “hey papi.” When I would sing this song wrong in high school, my friends clowned the hell out of me, but then they started using my impromptu lyrics themselves.
Her encounter with Hov was straight to the point. They snuck off during the video set in his Benz, buddy whipped it out, put a condom on (smart man), she performed, and then went back to set to finish filming.
By this time, Hov had to have heard the “word on the street” about Superhead because he knew the exact mission he wanted to accomplish.
And didn’t this chick try to say she was Becky with the good hair when Lemonade dropped? Sis was scratching, trying to stay relevant.
Irv Gotti — To bounce from Ja to Irv is tasteless, tacky, and downright desperate if you ask me. Karrine ran with Murder Inc. heavily in her days, mainly with Ja. And after she used his head as target practice, they were somewhat done, so she decided to keep it in the family. Terrible decision if you ask me.
Her first documented hook-up with Irv is from the Between Me & You video shoot, where she had to “orally” apologize to Irv to keep her job on set. The desperation!
Gotti used Karrine as a pawn. He would basically loan her out to his people for her to sleep with or give super head. And this chick would willingly go. Like it was her duty or some shit. Basically, he was her pimp, and all she got in return was drugs, VIP parties, and a beat-up self-esteem.
What’s even weirder is Irv would always ask Karrine after she slept with his people how it was because he liked to compare himself to other men she had been with. If this isn’t the weirdest dick measuring contest.
Mystikal — Her most notable video appearance is when she wore those star pasties during his 2000 hit song Danger. While she never outright admits to sleeping with him, she insinuates that they spent nights together while filming the video. I wonder what they did??
Vin Diesel — The fact that Karrine could land a role playing Larenz Tate’s wife in the 2003 movie Man Apart still baffles me. She had one rule given to her by the film director F. Gary Gary, don’t sleep with the cast. While she did not make the first physical move, she broke the rule.
According to her version of the story, Vin snatched her up into his trailer without warning, and the rest was history. They kept their entanglement on the low during filming, but I am sure it was obvious what was going on.
She describes their intimate moments as I would expect her to. I think her attraction to Vin was his obliviousness to the Hip-Hop world. While Karrine was desperate to be a part of it, I also think she wanted to get away from it, which is how Vin made her feel.
And you know, four months after Man Apart wrapped its filming in 2001, sis was BROKE BROKE. I’m talking penniless. She was getting a nice little check while filming this movie too.
Shaq — All she saw was dollar signs with him because nothing is remotely attractive at all about Shaq. He is entirely too tall and does not seem like the brightest crayon in the box in his everyday life.
And then she would go on to say she would be drenched in his body sweat after having sex with him. Gross. She even had to flip her mattress because it was soaked from his sweating. Ain’t no way it could have been me. How did Shauni put up with that for over a decade??
Plus, she said she had “bigger” expectations for a man his size. *shrugs*
Either way, he bankrolled her for a period of time, so I guess he did want she needed him to do.
Puffy — They met cause of Gotti. He sent Karrine to “take care” of him one day in February 2001, soon after he and JLo broke it off.
They met out at a club, and while she was standing next to Gotti, Puffy puffed out his chest and said, “I want you. Can I have you?” to Karrine. Then he turned to Irv and basically asked his permission, and he responded with, “I’ll send her to you in a little bit.”
They finish the night up at the club. Irv takes Karrine back to the hotel, sleeps with her, then sends her to Puffy for her to do the same to him. My goodness, I just wanted to shake her and be like, what are you doing to yourself. Slap her and say stop it right now.
When she got to the house, Puffy kicked Farnsworth out of his room and proceeded to sleep with Karrine in his bed. No wonder he couldn’t stand Puffy towards the end of their friendship/working relationship. This dude was mad disrespectful. I bet you he didn’t even change the sheets when he was done. Probably made Farnsworth do it.
Karrine called sex with Puffy average. I laughed.
Xzibit — Their relationship had always been on the low and private. I could tell how she described their times together; she had a ton of respect for him, and even with her extensive past, he had a lot of love for her. Only seeing her for what they have between each other and not her current situations or past.
In her book, the best part of Xzibit’s feature is when they go to a party at Puffy’s Miami house in December of 2001 for NYE celebrations. When Puffy spotted them coming into his party, he whisked Xzibit away in a concerned fashion and said, “She’ll have you on video with fingers in your booty.” #dead
According to Karrine's words, my take on Puffy behavior during this entire party is very suspect, especially when he took Xzibit and Karrine to an after-party at a gay club in Miami.
Merlin Santa — aka Romeo from The Steve Harvey Show. They became friends mid-2000 but reconnected in 2002. Apparently, Merlin had been looking for her, and when he showed up at her door, she barely recognized him or his behavior. She said he had a habit of roaming the streets all night and into the early mornings. He was troubled with something and often said he would have a reason to stay home if the two of them were together again.
When they reconnected, Karrine was trying to do things differently, so she didn’t hop in the bed with him; she actually told him no sex. But she knew that sex would have kept him at her house and off the streets. She felt really guilty for her choice, but she promised herself she would do better (good for her).
Five days after Merlin left her home for what would be the last time, he was found shot dead early in the morning while sitting in his car. 😣
DMX — While these two didn’t sleep together right away, they ended up having very colorful and loud sexual experiences. X had a gentle and kind side to him, which I absolutely believe. He would go with her and her son Naiim to the park. Hold her from behind and hug and kiss her intimately. They would sit around the hotel eating cereal and talking for hours.
She describes X exactly how I would picture him, as a humble, chill guy.
Now their sex life was another story. She said he would act like a dog while intimate. Growling, scratching, biting, and acting very animalistic. Not surprised, but also surprised.
I don’t know if I could have kept a straight face if a man started growling while we were doing it. Just the thought of it makes me cackle.
Bobby Brown — She met Bobby the same way she met Puffy. Irv “introduced” them to each other. The pimp was at work yet again. While he was very publicly connected to Whitney, he was rather open and careless with his relationship with Karrine.
They would feed each other food at restaurants. She would join him and his oldest son for dinner often. They would publicly kiss in hotel lobbies. Hang out at the Santa Monica pier. Tell his mom about his “girlfriend in LA.” I mean Bobby was ruthless and did not give a fuck.
What was very interesting was on one of their dining occasions, Karrine went in his pocket to get his card to pay for the meal, and the card she pulled out had Whitney’s name on it. She also saw an ATM receipt with a balance of less than $15,000 on it, believing Whitney put Bobby on a tight money leash.
He would confide in her saying he didn’t want to do cocaine anymore and hated that everyone thought he was the one who got Whitney hooked on drugs. But it would take years and after Whitney’s death for the truth to finally reveal who actually hooked who.
Years later, in 2012, Karrine made headlines when she revealed that she once got a text from Ray J telling her to relay to Bobby Brown that he'd... um, enjoyed relations with... both his women, meaning Karrine Steffans and Whitney Houston. Here she go trying to stay relevant, yet again.
Usher — She met him in 2000 while she was leaving the W Hotel after dinner, and he was walking up the steps to check-in. He said, “where are you going” and Sis replied, “with you,” and that was that. They spent a lot of time with each other soon after they met, but then Usher fell for Chilli and they lost touch.
Four years later, they ran into each other again, at the same hotel, but it was not the same Usher. During those years, he developed a ridiculous arrogance that was extremely off-putting. To the point where he would yell, “Bitch get the fuck out” to her when they would have arguments, to only yank her back into the hotel room when Karrine would try and storm off.
Her most embarrassing moment with him had to be soon after the hit single “Lovers & Friends” dropped, and they were in a car heading back to the hotel. During the ride to the hotel, Karrine was pulling out all her early 00s sexual moves and continued the acts when they got into the hotel.
But after he was done, his ass got up and walked to a suite next door where another woman was waiting on him. Savage! But Sis, what did you expect?
Papa
She almost lost his number the night she met him. He swiped her phone and walked away to use it. When he returned her phone, she began clearing the number that was on the home screen, and he said to her, “I know you are not clearing the home screen.”
She called this man for four straight months with no response. You dedicated AF to call a man consistently like that. But it also further let us know that Papa was somewhere at the top or very important.
The identity of Papa was a mystery; some say it still is. But if you put your investigation hat on while reading this book, you can see how she describes him.
Here are the Papa facts:
One of the most significant members of the hip hop community
She first saw him in a 1991 music video featured on BET’s Rap City
His eyelashes curled perfectly above his almost squinty eyes
His home was a long way away from LA
Not married when she started the relationship
No wild parties, no entourages, no other girls, no self-abuse
Got married around May 2001
Papa knew about most of the guys she had been with, and it made him uncomfortable at times, but he stuck with her until that one day she surprised him at his hotel.
Not long after Papa got married, he was in LA for a few days. After spending the morning with him in the studio, Karrine decided to surprise him and go to his hotel and sit in the bath, light candles, eating grapes waiting for him. But when he walked in, it was not the reaction she wanted.
He yelled, “What if I had my wife with me?” At that moment, she should have realized what her role was and what always would be in his life.
The rumor mills about the identity of Papa went on for years. And while Papa has not come forth to confirm nor deny the accusations, most people think it is Method Man mainly because Karrine ID’d him as Papa by taking to social media.
Funny thing, while on my girl’s trip to Kiawah Island, SC, this past weekend (that’s why ML is a tad late today), this topic came up. This goes to show, this was a memorable moment in the culture.
But let’s break down the clues that she does give us in this book.
One of the most significant members of the hip-hop community. What Meth did with Wu-Tang in an era where West Coast rap took over the airwaves is very significant. This hip-hop group is still one of the most influential groups of our time.
She first saw him in a 1991 music video featured on BET’s Rap City. Karrine says she saw Meth in a music video when she was 13 years old. She was born in 1978, add 13 to that, and we are somewhere in 1991, maybe ‘92. This is the only clue that doesn’t quite add up. Protect Ya Neck is the first and only music video that ever featured Method Man around that time, and this was not recorded until ‘92 and released in ‘93.
His eyelashes curled perfectly above his almost squinty eyes. We all know Meth has squinty eyes, mainly from the trees, but he also is known for his eyelashes that have been commented on before.
His home was a long way away from LA. He is from Staten Island and still resides in New York. There is only one other US city just as far from LA as New York, and that is Miami. Who that notable would be living in Miami during that time? It’s certainly not Uncle Luke, ha!
Not married when she started the relationship but got married around May 2001. Method Mad got married in March 2001.
No wild parties, no entourages, no other girls, no self-abuse. If we think about it, Method Man has always been super low-key, from day one. You don’t hear about him in the streets or on the gossip blogs; he really keeps to himself. So this fits his description as well.
We still don’t know if this is true, but looking at the bread crumbs dropped in her first novel, it could be possible.
What do you think? Who is Papa? For a moment I thought it was LL Cool J, but he got married in ‘95.
Video Vixen
Karrine was featured in some of my favorite music videos of the early 2000s. She met one of the decades most notable music video directors, Hype Williams, at the Fatty Girl video shoot, a song featuring Ludacris, Keith Murray, and LL Cool J.
After that, Karrine became a staple in music videos, sometimes wearing the most notorious outfits.
Check out some of my faves.
Fatty Girl — Ludacris, LL Cool J & Keith Murray
Hey Papi — Jay-Z
POV City Anthem — Caddillac Tah
Between Me & You — Ja Rule ft. Christina Milian
If you blink, you will miss her in this video. She was kicked off the set to only return after giving Irv Gotti a little behind the curtain attention. I guess another video girl, Keisha, had something to do with it. My investigation skills have not let me find out who this Keisha girl is yet, but I’ll keep poking around.
Danger — Mystikal
The Price of the Life
When Karrine was at her all-time lows, she would call on those who funded her life before, and almost every single person would hang up on her or say no.
She would buss it wide open for some of the industry’s most prominent people and their homies, and they wouldn't even give this girl a dollar when she was out on the streets living in her car with her son.
It would be those who never got a taste of Superhead who would help her out in desperate times like John Singleton, F. Gary Gary, and Magic Johnson. Or at least it hasn’t been reported or talked about.
Karrine returned to the strip club very often just to make enough money for hotel stays and rental cars. She would go through drive-thrus with dollars to her name to buy her son a chicken sandwich and while she ate nothing on most days.
She went from the main attraction in music videos and filming a major motion picture to living on the street within 2 years, TWO! Using gas station bathrooms to bath her and her son often.
Sis lost everything, including her dignity.
During her broken, penniless downfall, she would get a call, probably from someone who she begged for money and they said no, and go running for the night to get her fix. But nothing stayed consistent in her life. Even Papa started to push her to the side and not be there for her like before.
She didn’t begin to get stable again until mid-2002. Still, she found herself dipping her toes back into her rockstar lifestyle every so often. It’s like she couldn't escape the game. It had such a hold on her.
Karrine starts her book with a warning to women and young girls seeking to get into the industry that it is not worth it or what you think it is. Anyone who reads her first book should instantly say, “Oh, this life is not for me,” but some still want the glitz and glamour at the price of sex. To each its own, while it makes for a hell of a good story and gossip, I wouldn’t wish that life on anyone.
Let’s Not Forget
I couldn’t talk all about Superhead without remembering one of her more recent iconic moments.
Y’all remember when this hit the internet??
The memes from this situation circulated on Twitter for weeks! This was a hilarious moment in social history.
Just type in “Karrine Steffans” into Twitter, and you will have a field day.
P.S. Let’s not forget that Karrine also dated Darius McCary, aka Eddie Winslow. It’s just too much to relive with this woman.
Whew, chile, I am done for the day, and the storytelling is done. Karrine wrote a total of 7 books and shared so much of her personal life we could have had lunch all day. You see what time this hit your inbox right??
While most of you probably knew all of this already, it was fun to relive a moment from the early 2000s that shocked us all when we picked up her book to read.
How old were you when you read it? I was either 20/21 when I read this book in a couple of days.
Well, until next time. Don’t forget to share, like, comment, or reply if you enjoyed yourself! See you Nov 1!