Tatyana Ali might have made a name for herself as Ashley Banks on the 1990s hit sitcom 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' but these days, she's showing more of her own personality on the Martin Lawrence-produced TV One comedy 'Love That Girl!'

Ali is nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series at the 42nd Annual NAACP Image Awards - which takes place on March 4 - a clear nod that her latest career step is making the critics take notice.

BlackVoices.com sat down with the 32-year-old Brooklyn-born triple threat to chat about television today, why she hasn't given up on the idea of recording another album and why she can't get enough of Bravo's 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta.'

Here's 20 Questions with Tatyana Ali.

BlackVoices.com: Why did you decide this was the right time for you to make your formal return to a sitcom?
Tatyana Ali: There were a couple of things that I really liked when I was approached with it. We did four episodes independently, and I liked that and thought it was really smart and different. It gave us a lot of creative freedom, and I liked the actual show itself. I loved the character, and I haven't seen a character like her on TV in a while.

BV: What are the differences in being a part of an ensemble cast on a sitcom, like 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' as opposed to now being the lead?
TA: The show is very much ensemble. The cast is amazing, but there is a lot more responsibility and I guess it's a different work schedule - just being in every scene and all of those lines. On top of that, our shooting schedule is totally different; we are doing three episodes a week as opposed to one episode per week. The responsibility and there is nervousness a lot more.

BV: There's a strong ensemble on 'Love That Girl!' but even looking at the title of the show, a lot is on you. Do you feel any pressure to succeed?
TA: I guess so, but I am happy that I've had a lot of experiences - work experiences - that have prepared me for this. There is pressure, but also being a producer on it and my production company being involved in it, there is a responsibility for the show as a whole, and we put our best foot forward. At the same time, I believe in the show and think people will like it. It's funny.

BV: You speak about producing this show, why was that important for you?
TA: I started my production company, really, because I was finding, as an actress, that opportunities were really far and few between. I have a lot of friends who are directors and writers and other actors and so talented, and I felt like we were all knocking on the same doors trying to get projects made. It made sense because I thought we should be doing it ourselves. The first project we did was a Web series for BET, but on a smaller scale. I think it gave us freedom because we were able to prove there was an audience.

BV: A lot of people don't know that you played a part behind the scenes and in front of the camera on 'Buppies.' Do you think you will do another Web series in the future?
TA: Yes. We're actually in development on two different Web series and I love it. I like being in that medium and even with 'Love That Girl!' and what is going to happen on TVOne.com, it's very important for me to be relevant and have a very strong online presence. Internationally, we had a lot of kids in the UK watching 'Buppies' at the same time as kids in the United States, and they aren't used to that. Normally, they have to wait, but it's immediate and you're allowed to experiment and do things that you wouldn't necessarily be able to do on TV.

BV: How do you feel being a part of TV One's first scripted series, especially having the show launch around the same time as BET's 'The Game'?
TA: I think it's amazing. It's really exciting for TV One to be doing this. As a network, they are just six years old and they are taking a huge step forward, and I think it's really smart. People were talking about the death of the black sitcom about four years ago and now it's kind of like a competition, and there will be a good deal of them out. Black sitcoms have built networks like UPN, and I think TV One and BET will find similar results and this will be successful.

BV: How do you relate to your character, Tyana?
TA: She is on her own for the first time - or she thinks she is going to be on her own for the first time. She got married when she was pretty young and is now divorced. She thinks she is going to live a 'Sex and the City' lifestyle but her brother sleeps on her couch and never leaves. She wants to live her best life ever, as Oprah would say, and she is not afraid to go after it. She makes a lot of mistakes but has a lot of courage. I like her a lot. I realized how much I really like playing her. She's a little neurotic, but she is not afraid. Even when she is afraid, she goes for it anyway.

BV: What is Martin Lawrence's involvement as executive producer for this show?
TA: We've known each other for a long time and he was with this project even before I was. He's been very supportive and even with the promos on the network and just encouraging. He's given us a lot of guidance, but the room to just do our thing. He's been really amazing.

BV: Is it true that R&B singer Raphael Saadiq is also involved in the project?
TA: Yes. He is one of our producers and we actually shot the first pilot episodes in his studio in North Hollywood. He is our music supervisor. So, he did the theme song and he did all of the scoring of the show. It's actually really cool if you listen to the show, none of the music breaks are the same. They are all completely original. He made the show something completely different and did what they used to do with shows back in the '70s.

BV: Do you think you will ever return to music?
TA: I do. I'm just getting back in the studio now, so I hope so.

BV: Is there any music that is inspiring you right now?
TA: I think definitely R&B. I'm a huge Jill Scott fan. With Raphael working on the show, I've been listening to a lot of his older albums. I've been listening to a lot of music from a while ago. I'm listening to D'Angelo's 'Voodoo' and Robyn - her stuff is amazing.

BV: What else do you want to tackle? You've already produced, acted and dabbled in singing.
TA: I would love to do a project where I can sing and act and dance - one of the projects that people used to do way back in the day, old-school Hollywood.

BV: On 'Fresh Prince' you didn't have quite as many funny lines as this show. Did anyone give you any advice on how to play funny?
TA: No. We have amazing writers and the jokes are kind of there. The comedies I like are when they are based on what is going on in the story. It makes it easy. When you are in the story, and the character, the jokes happen, and it becomes funny. We ad-lib a lot if a joke isn't working until it is right. You're never stuck with having to make a joke work if it isn't working. But we have writers who've written for 'Eve,' 'The Parkers,' 'The Jamie Foxx Show,' just great comedy writers.

BV: Do you watch a lot of the reality shows?
TA: I will tell you my guilty pleasure is 'The Real Housewives' - all of them. I can't help it.

BV: Which one housewife do you like the most?
TA: I watch New Jersey, New York and Orange Country, but my favorite to watch is the Atlanta women but I'm not sure who is my favorite. The person I root for the most is Kandi [Burruss], because I like the fact that she is self-made and I think Nene is starting to work right now, but I don't know. I see Kandi working really hard and taking care of her daughter and she has this career. I relate to that. It's important to see that out of all the housewives on all the shows. Bethenny Frankel on New York is like that too.

BV: Do you think you will continue to have your recurring role as Roxanne on 'The Young and the Restless,' in addition to starring on your own show?
TA: Yes because it's recurring and we work the schedule out. I love working on 'The Young and the Restless.' I really do. It's one of the shows that I watched with my grandma and my aunts and my mom when I was little and it's really an honor to be a part of the show. I expect to be on there.

BV: Do people still stop you and say, 'Hey Ashley Banks!'
TA: Yes, people do. People call me by my name, but every now and then kids call me Ashley - the kids who are watching the show now and weren't watching it when it first aired. People tell me quotes from the show and their favorite parts. I get a lot of hugs and a lot of love. People feel like I was a part of their childhood and that they grew up with me. It's really nice.

BV: Do you watch some of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' episodes late night?
TA: I've had some distance from it, so when I watch the show now, I get to watch it the way a lot of people watch it. I laugh at the stories because some I remember like it was yesterday and some I'm like, 'I don't remember this at all.' It's kind of like watching a home movie and I look at my hair and think, 'Was that cool?' Ashley was never that cool, but it's fun because I realize that it was funny.

BV: These days, there is a lack of networks picking up black sitcoms compared to back in your day when there were so many different types of black ensemble sitcoms. Is this something you've observed?
TA: Sitcoms in general, that format the major networks aren't doing. A lot of the shows are single-camera shows and luckily there are people of color on television, but things being told from that perspective are not really happening. I think a lot of times it boils down to not having executives of color. The shows are told from the perspective of the people who are making the decisions. We're watching their experiences on television, and it's fine, but I think we're a pretty diverse country.

BV: Do you think that is changing now?
TA: You're really seeing now, even though it took a little time. If we're not going to get that perspective at the major networks, then we can hopefully get that perspective and the many voices of that perspective on our networks. African Americans are a monolithic group, and we don't just have one perspective. There are many stories we can tell and from many points of view. Now, you're seeing BET and TV One taking that over, and you didn't see a lot of cable networks do that. When you start to have actual scripted programs on these networks, they are going to find a lot of people they didn't expect to see the show. If the show is good, it doesn't matter the color of the character. It's about people of all cultures gravitating to it. That's what happened with 'Fresh Prince,' 'The Cosby Show' and 'A Different World' - that's just what it is.

Catch 'Love That Girl!' on TV One Mondays at 9 p.m. EST.