This is Part 2 of our candied interview with Kandi Buress.
In this interview, Kandi talks about dating, her mastery of songwriting and the
art of the comeback.
Click here for the first installment.
AllHipHop.com: Do
you date industry guys?
Kandi: (pause then bursts
out laughing) Lets see well normally I don’t but I might be kinda communicating
with somebody right now but we’re just friends for right now so I don’t know.
AllHipHop.com: Aww see you gotta give us the scoop now.
Kandi: I can’t give
you the scoop, because its not even scoop to give yet. See and that’s another
thing you talk about the whole public thing at this point in my life right now
I cant even go out with somebody who’s high profile because as soon as we go
somewhere together everybody makes it seem like we’re together. When in real
life you cant even hang out with someone and just go out to see if you even
like them before your pegged as an item and that’s kinda not fair. That’s why when
you asked that question I was kinda like have I met anyone in the industry who
has sparked an interest yes but I’m scared to go out because even if we just
have dinner people put us together and I don’t even know if we’re compatible.
AllHipHop.com: Ok
I’ll get out your business, lets get back to your music. So this project is
indie?
Kandi: I’m doing it
through Asylum Warner Bros. We’re just trying to figure out what single we’re
officially gonna go with. I did “I Fly Above” because it was on the show so i
kinda worked that song on my own before i got with them but I’m still gonna do
like a viral video to go with that but they want to do a new song that no one
has heard yet so we’re still figuring that out. They want my album slated for
summer but i want it out NOW, but i understand the whole process. So for right
now I’m just jumping on other projects and keeping my buzz going until its time
for my album to drop.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah,
it seems like you took some time away but you’ve always been writing behind the
scenes and I know the money is better as a writer
Kandi: Yea it is,
and that’s why I’m very happy with everything I’ve been doing behind the scenes
but you definitely always miss it. I always tell people its a lil bit harder to
have had success and then go back to just chilling and being back behind the
scenes than it is to have never had success. People are like “Oh if I could
just do it one time” no because then when you get it once you want it again and
again.
AllHipHop.com: Is it
more intimidating coming out now vs the first go round when you were all green?
Kandi: No, I think
its just a lot of things have changed since then. Like say for instance now you
can do an indie album and you can sell 100-200,000 copies and that’s deemed a success
because you’ve made hella money. Now see I had sold a couple hundred thousand
with my solo album but it was considered a bust because I didn’t go gold or
platinum. But if I did that now I’d be real happy, but things have definitely
changed.
I also know a lot more now like I don’t think its totally
the labels’ responsibility to promote the album. Now you gotta do more in
promoting yourself. And investing in yourself so I’ve grown a lot vocally I
don’t even sound the same my voice has developed a lot more now and I’m on
other peoples songs more now. And I think all those things help as well so I
think I’m a little smarter when it comes to the music same aspect but at the
same time it is scary because if it doesn’t do well you still gonna be disappointed.
AllHipHop.com: When
it comes to reinventing yourself as an artist who has been around as long as
you have, how do you keep it pushing and remain relevant?
Kandi: Well I think
its the transition that’s important when your an artist. Like a lot of people
that I started with they’re not even in the business anymore and they don’t
even know how to get back in the business. So my career has been about
transition, you gotta know how to transition, like going from being an artist
to a songwriter or going into the production side or management or whatever
your good at, you gotta be good at multiple things. If you’re just dependent on
being an artist, you could be outta here in no time. You just gotta know how to
stay on your grind and I think a lot of women sometimes we suffer because
sometimes their grind isn’t as strong as a lot of fellas that’s in it so
there’s even less females that I started out with that are still in the game.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah
well that probably comes from the fact that women get so distracted with things
like kids and looking for love and other things that become distractions. Was
love a big distraction for you?
Kandi: Relationships
are definitely a distraction even for me but i think my relationships
definitely suffer for my career because I’ve always put that on the back burner
whereas a lot of women don’t always. For a lot of women it’s about the
relationship. I’ve seen so many relationships fall apart because the guy he’s
not gonna tell you “I’m not going into work all the time so he can go lay up. A
woman though, she’ll fall in love and be like “girl i cant make it today I just
wanna lay up all day with my boo’ and a man will be like ‘baby lay right there I
gotta go get this bread real quick so he’ll go do what he gotta do and come
back and be in love with you later. Ya know? So I just try to adopt that
mentality because I’m a mother and a daughter and the bottom line is I’m the
one who has to take care of things around here, I’m the go to person so I got
other folks depending on me so i cant let their stuff fall apart trying to
chase a relationship.
AllHipHop.com: How
have the past 10 years defined you as a woman?
Kandi: I defiantly
think I’m stronger now. I’m a better businesswoman. Way more mature, of course
there’s always room to grow and get better. But I’m a real businesswoman now
with my store here in Atlanta (www.tagsatl.com) and just involved in so many
more things that I don’t want to let just being an artist define who I am. I’m
just trying to keep growing and being a better mother and a better person. I
think even the way I deal with fame – I think I just appreciate things more.
Having gone from the fame of Xscape then the highs and lows of my career have
just really taught me how to appreciate things more and to really fly above.