Tameka Raymond talks Usher's Parenting skills, Her Dating and The Future

Tameka Raymond is one woman who doesn’t play. Recently she and ex-husband Usher havebeen airing all their dirty laundry in the headlines battling it out in court over custody of their two children, but the mother of five doesn’t let anything hold her back and lose focus. Tameka caught up with UPTOWN Magazineand the Oakland native talked getting back in the dating game, what kind of man she wants to hold her down, ifshe’s really trying to keep Usher from his boys, her parenting skills and being financially responsible:

On working at an early age

I was taught to work. Ironically, my father’s mother and my aunt were also retailers, and I worked at both places from about age 7. I learned tons about fashion and how to make money all by age 10.

On her and her ex-husband parenting skills
He is a man very accustomed to having his way. This has nothing to do with how I parent. Trust me, I never will have a desire to keep a man away from his kids. I am not June Cleaver or head of the PTA, but I know I am a good mother.

On the bond with her eldest son Darrin, 21
Because I had him at such a young age, he and I basically grew up together and we are extremely close. But I am very conscious not to be an overbearing mother.

On her dating life
I am dating. It’s refreshing. I have notbeen single in a while. I got divorced andmarried in the same year. It was a run-on relationship. But a lot of guys like to play games. I like a man that’s a boss. I am not the dominant one. But a lot of the ones with the right mind-set wear OshKosh overalls. And if they are not fly, I don’t like them. I don’t bring men around my children. They have never met an ‘Uncle Tony.’ The two that I did bring around, Imarried.

On being grateful of the past but looking forward to the futureBeing raised in Oakland, and havingbeen able to see and enjoy five of seven continents, and working in such a highly competitive field, makes me very proud. I never imagined some of these things to be obtainable. And my sons teach me the meaning of true, unbiased love

Read the full interview over at UPTOWN Magazine.