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Dionne Farris has good reason to flash her gap-toothed smile. ''I Know,'' her jangly single, has sprinted up Billboard's Hot 100 to No. 11, and MTV's Buzz Bin can barely contain the video. But two years ago, when Farris posed for the snapshot on the cover of her acclaimed debut, Wild Seed -- Wild Flower, her frame of mind was entirely different. ''My personal life wasn't the greatest,'' says Farris, 26. ''My relationship was falling apart, and at that moment I was really sad.''
And woefully uncertain about her future. After nearly two years of membership, the Bordentown, N.J., native left her ''extended family'' of rap ensemble Arrested Development (that's Farris wailing all over the bridge on 1992's ''Tennessee'') to pursue her own musical agenda. Meanwhile, her engagement to A.D. drummer Rasa Don was on the rocks. ''It was scary. I was like, 'Okay. I don't have a job or a record deal. I pay $695 a month [for rent]. What am I gonna do?'''
Solo and single, she began writing the songs that blossomed into Wild Seed. But searching for a label left Farris dazed and confused. ''Some people who heard me in Arrested Development thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread,'' says Farris, who eventually signed with Columbia. ''Then there were others who said, 'Yeah, so what? She sang on one record. What else can she do?'''
Just about everything, it seems. The tasty fruit of Wild Seed ranges from rock & soul to funky jazz and gospel, and Farris caresses each tune with her alto -- a blend of Chaka Khan snap, Joan Armatrading folk, and sly Prince innuendo. But categorizing her hard-to-peg sound makes her shudder. ''People don't understand me,'' she says. ''It's like cultivating roses in bunches. They're trying to turn me into a rose, but I'm not a rose. I'm a wildflower.''
