Hip Hop oozes from his lyrics and soul drips off his voice. He is John Legend, born John Stephens, the voice on Jay-Z’s “Encore”, Alicia Keys’ lead single “You Don’t Know My Name”, and Talib Kweli’s upcoming single “I Try”. He was all over Kanye West’s debut album The College Dropout, yet for all of his ubiquitousness Legend is still a slight mystery. Signed to Kanye West’s production company, KonMan Entertainment, Legend seemingly appeared out of thin air, belting soulful hooks and bridges along side some of Hip Hop’s most talented and visible personalities. Don’t get it twisted, however. Long before adopting the stage moniker ‘Legend’, Stephens was grinding to ensure that his assumed stage name wouldn’t merely be a visual catch, but rather a fitting title. Stephens will refute any accusation that his relationship with current “It” man, Kanye West, is the result of his fortunate space. From college kid to choir director, from choir director to Lauryn Hill collaborator, Legend has put in years of stage sweat and studio time to bring his current position to fruition. While mad heads bob to his vocals on the tracks of numerous other artists, Legend quietly signed a deal with Columbia Records/Sony Music, and is planning to shock the music industry with his debut album. Legend speaks with AllHipHop.com Alternatives about the necessity of positive relationships in urban families and explains why Golden Globe Nominated actor Kevin Bacon gave him a call that sound something like, “You did a great job f**king my wife.” AllHipHop.com Alternatives: Your real name is John Stephens, so what’s up with stage name Legend? JL: It was started a couple of years ago by this cat named J. Ivy, he actually raps on Kanye’s ‘Never Let Me Down’, he’s a spoken word artist. People always told me I sounded like an old soul or that I came from another era and he started calling me the Legend, then John Legend and it just kind of caught on. Before I knew it, more people were calling me John Legend than John Stephens. So I had to decide whether I was going to go with my real name or the stage name, I decided to go with my stage name. I thought it would be something that would catch people’s attention and it kind of suggests what I’m coming with musically. Plus, two years later some red haired white dude named John Stephens was on American Idol [chuckles], so it’s best that I changed it. AHHA: You said the name Legend suggests what you’re coming with musically, what are you coming with musically? JL: I make you recall an earlier era, with some of the style I bring. The name also has a little bit of a swagger to it, and I feel like some of my music has some swagger to it as well. So the name mixes classic feeling with a little bit of swagger. Some people ask me about it and they’re like ‘well you’re not a legend yet are you?’ I’m like no, I know I’m not a legend yet, hopefully I will be one, but ya know, it’s a name and it works. AHHA: You use to play piano at a church in Scranton, PA. How do you go from playing piano at a Bethel AME to playing on Lauryn Hill’s ‘Everything Is Everything’. JL: I was introduced to Lauryn by a girl that went to Bethel. The girl was living in Scranton, but she grew up in Jersey with Lauryn. She is a singer and she was working on with Lauryn on the Mis-education album. She would go to Jersey to work on the album with Lauryn and one day she needed a ride over there. So I gave her a ride, and while I was there she was really bragging on me to Lauryn. So Lauryn had me play a couple of songs on the piano and she loved it. She had me play on ‘Everything Is Everything’ right there on the spot. AHHA: How did you link with Kanye West? JL: I was doing demos and records for a while before I met Kanye. I’ve been a solo artist in the northeastern corridor since like 98’, 99’ and I met Kanye in like late 2001. So I was doing my thing in NY and Philly for like three years before I met Ye [pronounced Yay, short for Kanye]. I met Ye through Devo Harris, AKA Devo Springstein, who is his cousin and who was my roommate in college. When Ye moved out to the east coast, it was about 6 to 9 months before [Jay-Z’s] The Blueprint came out, so this is before Kanye started to really get his name out there as a producer. Anyway, he came to one of my Harlem shows in May of 2001 and that was the first we met and he saw me perform. A couple of months later he called me out to his house in Newark to work on some stuff for his album, tracks like “Home”, and “Family Business”. This is like late 2001 before he even had his deal. Afterwards, he and Devo were like ‘man, you should use some of Kanye’s beats, ya’ll work well together, you should write some stuff for your demo to his tracks,’ and they were right. We started making tracks together and it was just hot. The first joint I wrote was called ‘Do What I Got To Do’, and that’s one of the joints that’s gonna be on my album and one of the joints we’re considering as a single. The song created a little buzz and as Kanye’s name as a producer started rising he wanted me to sign to his production company. So I ended up doing that and ever since then he started plugging me into everything, putting me on Alicia’s record, putting me on Jay’s record, Slum Village, Dilated Peoples, all these records before n*ggas really knew who I […]

“Real is kind of hard to put into words.  If you could put it into words then it wouldn’t be real.  Real is the unexplainable.  But you know it when you hear it.” – LYFE Parlaying in front of the industry circuit, LYFE, the new age soulful street rhythm and blues mix has entered the street game from a sharp dart angle.  A former prisoner of the jail system, LYFE is an example of how to re-work the pent up energy that festers in the Beast. The crooner releases earth tone tracks, self written from in and outside the walls of the cellar.   Determined to leave the past behind, and focus on the distinctive voice that will set him free for the future, LYFE makes a passage way for fans to feel his music truthfully.  LYFE, a natural blood born musician with a raspy tone reflective of Kiss of Death, Jada Kiss, launches his street ailments behind the sultry sounds slash pounds of piano keys and heart-throbbing beats.  LYFE, a charismatic star paints pictures of success with street honesty.   Coupled with Houston rocket rap star Lil Flip on the exclusive I Know What You Want, LYFE clearly gives new breed music the elements needed to make classic hits.  AllHipHop.com Alternatives:  How did you get into the R&B circuit?  Lyfe:  I came home about a year and three months ago. I had a chance to do the Apollo joint in New York.  I won like five times on there and I really just went around doing a whole bunch of open mics smashing everything.  Then I did a couple of label showcases.  Then I got a couple of offers.  And then I signed with Sony.   AHHA:  Now this is within a year and a half after coming home?  Lyfe: Yeah.  AHHA:  I’m sure you already had the singing pattern down before you went in, or did you discover that while you were locked up?  Lyfe: Naw, I was singing.  I was doing my thing before I went in. But I wasn’t on no major level.  AHHA:  What is the theme behind the music that you present to the people?  Lyfe: The theme is realness.  I mean a lot of people say that they are keeping it real, but they are only keeping it partially real. They are only trying to show one side of it, which is the bad side.  But there is also a good and a middle side.  I’m just trying to show all of it.  AHHA:  Before we go any further…we have to go into the definition of what is real (to you)?  Lyfe: Real is kind of hard to put into words.  If you could put it into words then it wouldn’t be real.  Real is the unexplainable.  But you know it when you hear it.  AHHA:  You signed with Sony, so what market are you trying to reach with the album, because it is not your typical R&B “let’s take it straight to the bed” music.  It has a soulful feeling.  There are some real life experiences that I hear through the snippets.  Lyfe: Demographically, fifteen on up…  AHHA:  So what is embodied in this album that would make me or a fan buy it? You say real, are you touching upon love or anger?   Lyfe: I mean I’m definitely bringing some new topics.  I’m bringing some old topics, but I’m bringing them in different ways.  Like most cats, if they talk about love, it’s like “I love her, she left, or I did her wrong, or you know I love him, and he did me wrong.” But I’m dealing with their inside like “aight, like I love her, but we been like together for like four years, and I’m kind of tired of her.” You get what I’m saying?  So I’m dealing with some of the stuff that ain’t nobody gonna say.  It sounds funny, but sometimes the truth is funny.  You know what I’m saying?  AHHA:  Now are you concerned about getting into that whole platinum realm, or are you just looking for people to just buy your music and be a fan verses a fly by night purchaser.  Lyfe: I mean I guess when you talk about platinum, I mean everybody would wanna be platinum, and have some success you know what I’m saying?  I’m not gonna say I’m just doing this strictly for the people, but I think for the majority of what I’m doing, it is really heartfelt.     

Successful business people have attained most of what they have through trials by fire. Xavier Aeon, the flagship artist for F.I. Entertainment, is no different. In fact, the risks that he and his camp have taken may have made them successful long before they were destined to be. The buzz they have created within both Hip Hop and R&B are letting both sides know that F.I. is vastly approaching. Having collaborated with the likes of Jadakiss, Elephant Man, and well-known producers from both sides, Xavier is attempting to rise to the top of the food chain and yet belt out smooth melodies that can make a woman’s heart shiver. The Puerto Rican born, Hartford, Connecticut bred crooner took a few minutes with Allhiphop.com Alternatives to shed some light on F.I.’s powerful steps toward R&B supremacy. Allhiphop.com Alternatives: To start things off, get into your background a bit and talk about where everything started for you. Xavier Aeon: I started singing in the church when I was around four years old. I was in the youth choir and my mother was the director. When I was six or seven, she put me into the adult choir. At first, I used to be really nervous when I sang, and I really didn’t like it too much because it was a lot of pressure. Once I started singing, the reaction from the congregation and positive comments kind of made me see the power of music and how it can change your mood and uplift them. That pretty much made me say, “you know, I might want to do this for a living when I grow up.” AHHA: Who exactly can you credit for giving you that push to take things to a professional level? XA: When I was in middle school, I started writing and started listening to music on the radio. The writing kind of went on to production and, you know, trying to make tracks and practice songs, putting them together. That’s pretty much it. I got a partner of mine named Huff, who’s a friend of mine who I met in high school. Me and him started writing songs together. We formed that partnership, and he’s the main collaborator on my album. We wrote a lot of the stuff together. AHHA: Talk about the general progression of your record label, F.I. Entertainment, and how you are able to collaborate with artists that some established labels have not been able to collaborate with. XA: Like everyone else, we learn by trial and error. As you know with the music industry, there really aren’t any rules, you know what I mean? Everybody gets on in different ways. At first, we were just going to do production. I wasn’t going to do the whole artist thing. But, as we started going around the labels and started letting them hear these songs, they kept asking who the person is singing these songs. After awhile, the company lawyer and the business manager thought we should have a front person. We get pretty good responses from the material. From there, after we demoed up some songs and started writing for artists that are currently out, we decided to put out a mixtape. Once we put out the mixtape, we got nominated for the Mixtape Awards, and that was the moment a lot of people started checking for us. We were the only R&B act nominated in the category “Best New Artist on a Mixtape.” We were nominated along with Lloyd Banks, Peedi Crakk and other rappers. AHHA: That is fire! Also, get into what you are currently working on right now musically. I heard you may have a lead single with Jadakiss, which is definitely a good look for you. XA: I’m currently working with Chris Henderson, who wrote and produced “Happily Ever After” for (R&B singer) Case. Cheri Dennis, a new female vocalist on Bad Boy, has her first single with him. I’ve also worked with Troy Oliver, who produced “Differences” for Ginuwine and “Jenny On The Block” for J-Lo. I love to collaborate when I make music, but with Huff being my main partner, we keep things in house as much as possible. We have a way of going about making songs that’s real easy. At this point, we don’t even have to communicate that much to each other. We know the vibe we give to each other in the studio. AHHA: You also collaborated with Elephant Man. Did you and he share the same studio space, or did he lay down his vocals elsewhere and send them to you? XA: We were down in Miami for The Source Awards weekend. We met up with Tony Kelly, and he heard of “The Hood” album, which is that mixtape I was talking about earlier. He liked the vibe and liked what we were doing, and he was like, “yo, why don’t you come down to my studio and vibe.” I came down, he played me a couple of tracks, and then he gave me a track that I thought was crazy! Me and my writing partner got to it and a couple of minutes later we pretty much did the song. We came in and started recording vocals, and while we were recording, a light went off in Tony’s head. He said, “Elephant Man would be perfect for this.” We thought that would be crazy! He called Elephant Man, and he came down and listened to it. He wanted to ride around and listen to it. We left, and he came back and recorded his vocals. And like they say, the rest is history. AHHA: What happened with the Jadakiss situation? Did something similar take place? XA: This is another one that kind of happened by chance. I made the track to it, and I let the fellas listened to my idea for it. They were like, “this is one of those club banger joints…we need somebody hot on this, man!” Next thing you know, […]

There is no greater feeling than feeling that you have finally arrived. Ask Truth if she thinks she has arrived, and she will have a story of growth and inspiration to tell. After finally discovering certain elements she had yet to find, Truth is ready to throw her trump card on the table and cash in on the all the chips. Not only is she preparing to release her highly anticipated sophomore project, Ready Now, she is set to show the critics that music flows within her soul. When she last checked in with Allhiphop.com Alternatives, this album was only an embryo in its beginning stages. Now, the album is in its third trimester and ready to be birthed. Do you want to know where the real Truth lies? Read on and find out for yourself. Allhiphop.com Alternatives: I have not heard anything from you since the last time we talked. What has been going on and how is the record coming along? Truth: I’m just promoting the record. Getting into set mode, which is definitely a stressful mode. AHHA: Has anything transpired differently or is everything on track as it should be? Truth: Everything is pretty much on track. The last time we talked, I had just finished up. I got it mastered and ready to be released. I did the video and everything that is required for promotion points. I’m actually getting ready to go on the road on June 7th. AHHA: I assume you put together the concepts and the thought behind the album? Truth: The concept is pretty much the new me. This is a little different from my first record. You can definitely hear the growth. It’s a metamorphosis, that’s for sure. I stand out amongst the tracks now. You know, it’s just a refresher. (laughs) AHHA: A refresher course, huh? It is necessary to bring out the other side. Everyone has to grow as they put out more records. Truth: You constantly have to reinvent yourself or the fans get bored. AHHA: Were you able to scoop up Dr. Dre for a couple of tracks? Truth: We didn’t get a chance to get together. We tried to make it happen, but it just did not happen. We spoke a few times about it, but his schedule didn’t comply with my release date. I did my record in like four months. AHHA: Who was able to step up and get name recognition on the production side of things? Truth: Battlecat, Raphael Saadiq, this new cat under Raphael named Kelvin Wooten, this kid named Alonzo Jackson, and the Wilson brothers [the sons of The Gap Band’s Charlie Wilson]. I wanted a refreshing sound, so I got a few new producers. They are not new to the game, but as far as the whole name thing, you don’t really know them yet – but you will. AHHA: Along with the growth that we were discussing earlier, was there anything else you aimed to bring forth this time around? Truth: My musical side. I definitely got to show a little bit of my musicianship on this album. What I mean by that is I did a little co-production, I felt like I was in there, I fitted what I wanted and I let producers know direction sometimes. I really got in there and got in on the music. This time around, you can hear the marriage. There’s a lot on there for the ladies and it’s sexy for the men. AHHA: On average, how many songs do you create before you pick the final cuts for the album? Truth: It’s totally different from the first album. On the first album, I did 55 songs. This time around, I did about 20 or 21 songs. The difference is the first time around, I was a brand new artist and I had to find myself a little bit. The sound had to be discovered. This time around, I was more familiar with what the sound should be. Now, it’s more based on quality instead of quantity. AHHA: With the creative control you had on this album, did you find that the marriage between Hip-Hop and R&B sometimes does not work? Truth: The world of R&B ain’t ready for those hard beats. The people that love R&B just love R&B – they ain’t trying to hear all that mixed up. Lauryn Hill was a success mixing up R&B and Hip-Hop – but you can only do it lightly. AHHA: Do you feel that R&B is at a low point due to the introduction of less instrumentation and more synthesized drum beats? Truth: Yeah I do. Someone needs to dial Emergency 911! AHHA: [laughs] Truth: Individuality and great music is missing right now. Neo-Soul is taking over. I don’t like the term “Neo-Soul” because soul comes from way back. Neo-Soul is just R&B, but it’s a little organic. People like Jill Scott are always going to be cool because they still add an element of the streets. Right now, it’s all about the streets. I would say that it’s because of the time period we’re in that it’s all about the streets. We are in a hard time, and people want to hear truth. They want to hear the gutter and they want to hear the real. Any kind of typical R&B is going to get lost in the sauce because people can’t vouch for that.

With six countries – Cuba, Venezuela, St. Thomas, Columbia, Brazil and the U.S. – represented in this 10-member collective, Yerba Buena, loosely translated into “good weed”, is the ultimate in cultural gumbo and musical fusion. Only one man could be the adhesive that pulls all of this together, Andres Levin, the bandleader of Yerba Buena. Levin produced Yerba Buena’s entire debut album, President Alien, an album that features Stic.Man from dead prez, Meshell Ndegeocello, Roy Hargrove, and Latin legends Dave Valentin and Andy Gonzales. Levin is also responsible for Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti. Dexterously able to tap into the most energetically visceral aspects of music, Levin composes blended rhythms that lean toward the future while respect the music’s roots. Fresh off their Grammy nomination for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album, Levin spoke with Allhiphop.com Alternatives about the herbal concoctions of Yerba Buena. Allhiphop.com Alternatives: Congratulation on the Grammy Nomination, even though things didn’t turn out in your favor. That’s all good. Getting nominated is a great honor and quite a surprise given that we just put the record out a few months ago and we’re the only independent label out of all the nominees in the category. AHHA: How did you develop your sound? It’s been a process; mainly it’s been the fortune I’ve had to work with so many different and great artists in different styles of music. I’ve traveled around the world. I did exclusively R&B for about five years and I worked with Chaka, Tina, Ce Ce Peniston all the divas, then I got into the more electronic underground and worked with David Barren and Arto Lindsey. I went to Brazil for a while and produced a lot of records there. I produced a lot of the Latin Rock bands, which I thought was really interesting. Parallel to that I was working with the Red Hot Organization quite a bit, so those project always took me to Portugal, Nigeria, and back to Brazil. I was kind of bouncing all over the place doing different kinds of records and from all of that experience I created what would be my sound. AHHA: You were the principle producer for the Fela Kuti tribute album from the Red Hot Organization (Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti) – Why was that an important project to present to the world? Well I think a lot of people know Fela, but a lot of people don’t. There are many different levels to that record and why it’s important. One, to propagate his art form and who he was, and also Afro-Beat as a style of music I think is very underrated and hasn’t been explored as much as it should. It’s very connected to Cuban music and Hip Hop and Reggae. AHHA: That kind of takes us right into Yerba Buena, cause all the cultural collision that occurs on the Fela Kuti tribute, you can hear the same thing on President Alien. Yeah, I was making both records at the same time. That’s really the idea behind Yerba Buena, to mix all these styles, but no so that it sounds like a kitchen sink, it’s a real style; it’s a new form. AHHA: If you had to describe Yerba Buena to someone, what would you say? Man, that’s always hard [pauses]. It’s a kind of Afro-Cuban, funk collective from New York. It’s not just funk though, it’s a whole bunch of stuff, it’s very New York. I don’t think I could have made this record anywhere else but here, unless I was gonna fly in a bunch of muthafuckas [laughs]. AHHA: Yerba Buena means Good Weed? Yeah, good weed, it’s also the tea that they drink in South America called Yerba Mate. They pass it around like a joint, but it’s a tea. Also the name describes our sound as a potion. All the styles are different herbs that we mix together to make this special tea. AHHA: Why does all of this music fuse together so perfectly? What keeps all the different sounds together? Africa man, it all comes from the same mother. That’s a lot of what I do, I spend a lot of time finding distant cousins and putting them together on one track. A lot of the same rhythms from Nigeria ended up in Cuba and changed a little bit and then went to Brazil. You’ll find there’s a lot in common, you just have to look for it. AHHA: What’s a Yerba Buena live show like? Oh, that’s amazing. That’s a whole other side to the band that people feel can be stronger than the record. With ten people on stage, we have a very strong presence and everybody’s kind of like a solo artist in their own right, instrumentally, vocally, or visually. For us if the audience is not on their feet, we don’t play the same, so we need that interaction. AHHA: You said the next albums going to be different, what can we expect? It’s gonna be more live and more with the band and less with so many guests. I’m exploring some different recipes, so it should be fun. Check out www.yerbabuenamusic.com for more information on the band

The name Patti LaBelle is synonymous with one-word adjectives: diva, show-stopper, extraordinary, etc. Her career has spanned over four decades, and in that length of time, she has stunned the world time and time again with ageless classics. She set the benchmark that vocalists, male or female, would always attempt to follow. Her powerhouse vocal ability and sultry style have combined to create a mystique unlike any that has been seen in this entire industry. Many have tried, and many have failed, and she has proved there can only one Patti. After over 30 albums recorded – 16 of them solo – the ultimate in class and charisma has decided to triumphantly return to us one more time. Her latest opus “Timeless Journey” hit stores nationwide on May 4th, and of course, her millions of adoring fans are in a stir. What could possibly drive a living legend to want to continue to take the long journey into the hearts of her listeners? The vivacious superstar sat down with Allhiphop.com Alternatives to answer those questions. Allhiphop.com Alternatives: I would like to start our conversation off by saying what an honor it is to be speaking with you. I, as a young man and young journalist, never thought I would experience anything like this. Patti LaBelle: Thank you! AHHA: What kind of responses and fanfare have you received with this album thus far? PLB: Great reviews so far. It entered the Pop charts at number 18 and the R&B charts at number 8. AHHA: You do not need anyone to take any unnecessary air space sharing vocals with you, but did anyone make the cut as a guest on the album? PLB: I have one song that I did with Floetry. We wrote it and they sang on it. I did a song with Carlos Santana, but of course he didn’t sing – but I did sing with one of his band members, named Andy Vargas. I also did a song with Ronald Isley. The only other producer that you would know on the album would be Babyface. The other guys are the underdogs. I dealt with a lot of the up and coming producers and writers on this album. I demoed about 44 songs and I had to choose 14 out of those 44. AHHA: Discuss with me the preparation and measures that you take in order to put together such an incredible production. PLB: This time the preparation was easy because my son Zori has a studio in Philadelphia. This was the easiest time I’ve had in the studio because when you are doing demos, it’s very smart to see if you love the song before you pay the producer $150,000 for one song. So, this way I had time to create, come up with ideas, and it didn’t cost me money. Since it’s my son’s studio, I can stay in there as long as I want. At the end of the project, I didn’t go over budget. Instead of going over budget, I think I had $5 left to go buy me some chicken. [laughs] One day at a studio, when I never hit the microphone, a big producer {name withheld} hit me with a bill for $24,000. I said, ‘Well, did I hit the mic?’ That was stupid. I was determined not to do that this time. AHHA: Does creating and crafting these albums become more natural to do after each and every album? PLB: Yes. With me, I don’t take very long in the studio. My son calls me “One Take Patti”. You know, some people are so pitiful and they can’t sing at all, so the producer has to take it one word at a time or one line at a time. Someone asked me, ‘Ms. LaBelle, would you like to do this one line at a time?’ I said, ‘I will kill you up in here if you try to do one line at a time!’ I don’t do it like that. AHHA: It is no secret that R&B is shifting their marketing toward the new generation of listeners. Are you doing anything in particular or different to keep up with these changes? PLB: I didn’t intentionally do it. I think some of the stuff came out on the album that sounds like I tried to, but I didn’t. Everything that I did was age appropriate. I’m 60, and I did 60-year-old women songs. I’m not trying to be the Hip-Hop Queen, although I am the original Hip Hop Queen. I’ll give that to my daughter Mary J. – I don’t try to do Mary J. Blige songs; I do Patti songs. If it ends up sounding like a younger person’s rhythm, it just so happened that I loved whatever that was. I’m not trying to impress the younger or the older generation. I’m just really trying to impress people who happen to like my music. AHHA: I have a serious question for you. Are you against the loss of live instrumentation in R&B? In the last few years, I am sure you have noticed that machines have taken the place of live instruments. PLB: I love live tunes, and I love the fact that someone will keep a job. That machine coming in knocks everybody out of work. I love the sound of a full orchestra, or if it’s a band, I want to see everybody playing something up there. I don’t want to see nobody pushing buttons. I don’t go out like that. I like the real thing. AHHA: Would someone like Alicia Keys be a person you would consider a breath of fresh air because she can actually play music? PLB: She can play that piano! I love her. If you are going to do this business, really do the business. AHHA: What do you do personally to want to stay in this business? The industry is ever-changing and does not stay the same as the years go by. PLB: I […]

For Rhian Benson, music has always been an inextricable aspect of her life, but it wasn’t until the precious nature of life was underscored by her mother’s illness that she realized it was to be her calling. Her debut album, Gold Coast (a reference to her Ghanaian heritage), is part contemporary jazz, part soul, but all earnest. Written entirely by Benson and featuring compositions by soul alchemists James Poyser and Bob James, Gold Coast is a soothing expression of honesty, vulnerability, and empowerment. Ms. Benson spoke a minute with Allhiphop.com Alternatives about her journey to music and her thoughts on US-African relations. AllHipHop.com Alternatives: Give us a little on your background. Rhian Benson: I was born and raised in Africa, West Ghana, my father is Ghanaian, growing up there was just amazing, I think I took a lot of it for granted as a kid, as you do, ya know every kid kind of takes their environment for granted. AHHA: How did your background shape you musically? Rhian Benson: Hugely because my family was so musical, my grand dad started the tradition, he taught himself how to read and write music through correspondence courses back in the forties, and he learned to play several instruments. So he passed that on to his kids and they passed it on to me, and I just kind of feel like I’m carrying on the tradition in a way – even though it wasn’t something that I was encouraged to do by my parents. My parents wanted us to have an awareness of music, but deep down inside they wanted us all to be professionals in normal careers. I was headed down that path for quite a while before I had an epiphany of sorts and decided that I wanted to pursue my dream of becoming an artist. AHHA: What event sparked the epiphany? Rhian Benson: At college I went down a different path. I got a degree in economics and ended up working in the investment banking industry for about a year, and that’s as long as it took for me to realize that I was in the wrong place. So going back to school was kind of my taking time out to figure out what plan B would be. I had started my program at Harvard when I had gotten a call from London and my mother was in the hospital, she was very ill. So of course I jump on the next plane to London, and after a series of test they found out she had cancer and they thought she had about nine months to live. Obviously I stayed and I became her caretaker… it was a very difficult time and she was going through various treatments and wasn’t well at all. All of this made me start to think about how short life is, and what could be worse than coming to the end and never having done what you really want to your whole life, so I decided to start singing. My mother is doing very well now, but it was during that time that I decided to start making music. AHHA: The album is pretty nice. How did you go from London to working with Bob Power and James Poyser? Rhian Benson: They actually came on board towards the end of the process, I had already written all the songs for the album. I had actually produced some demos myself that the label actually kind of liked. The feedback was pretty good, but this was the first time I was producing stuff and I felt that the quality just wasn’t there yet, so I begged my label to contact James and Bob on my behalf because I just a big fan of their work. It took a little hunting down to find them ‘cause they’re both very busy, but when they heard the music they were interested. AHHA: With you being from Africa and having been in the United States for a while, what are your thoughts on the U.S.’s relationship with Africa? Rhian Benson: Well, I can only speak about the relationship the U.S. has with Ghana. It gets hot and cold a lot, a little bit too frequently. Having said that, Ghana was never occupied by the States, it was a British colony so Ghana’s relationship is with Britain first and foremost. I think there are a lot of opportunities for American companies to come and invest in Ghana and I think they’ve been a little bit slow to do so. It’s not really given a fair ground to play on, when I think about all the natural resources Ghana has, but it’s gotta compete with the big boys and they get screwed every time – gold prices for example. This fair trade is really a nice concept, but it’s still not really applied. The U.S. is very selective ya know, they have to be getting something in return, but I just can’t blame them for that, a lot of the European super powers are guilty of doing the same thing themselves – it’s unfortunate. AHHA: Do have any planed trips back to Ghana? Rhian Benson: Oh yeah, ya know my parents still live in Ghana. Last year I went there three times. In fact, I’m hosting a show for BET called “Gold Coast” and the first season aired late last year and we actually went out to Ghana and filmed. AHHA: Do you have any last words for those who may not know your music? Rhian Benson: First of all check it out, it’s my first album and I’m very proud of it – it’s definitely a sit back and chill album. It’s an album I think you could put on at the end of a stressful day and you just wanna lie in a bathtub with candles. It’s a soothing and positive and uplifting album. AHHA: Is there a website people can go to? Rhian Benson: www.rhianbenson.com.

One year ago, B2K was arguably R&B’s hottest ticket. Countless interviews, endless television appearances, and various marketing schemes combined to make the quartet immortal amongst their legions of fans worldwide. No one, including B2K themselves, could possibly foresee that this would come to an end. Sighting creative differences, disillusionment with management, and an urging to take on solo projects, B2K went from hot to not seemingly overnight. Although fans are still loyal and carry the flag of B2K months after their highly publicized break-up, many wonder if the group can ever be resurrected. According to former member Raz-B, it can (and will) happen sooner than most people think. He believes God is the sole reason the group was put together, and with that attitude firmly in place, it will only be a matter of time before the group will return. In a candid interview with Allhiphop.com Alternatives, he discusses their imminent return and the many projects he has placed his stamp of approval on. Allhiphop.com Alternatives: You have a clothing line coming out. Can you tell us anything about it? Raz-B: I got a clothing line coming out called MonteMariance. The line is real different; it’s not like the average sweat suit type of thing. If anybody saw the Soul Train Awards or saw the shirts we were wearing with the little button patches on it, that’s one of the first shirts coming out. Look out for that maybe later this year, early next year. AHHA: Last time we spoke you said that you were going to move to China. Is that still going to happen? Raz-B: Yeah, I might actually have to move there because of the success I’m having over there right now. I’m actually going to be the Youth Ambassador for China. I’m also performing on the Great Wall of China in September. They’ve already got Microsoft as a sponsor, Clear Channel Corporate as a sponsor, American Express, and Coca-Cola. It’s huge, so look out for that real soon AHHA: Are you in a position to tell us about your record label? Raz-B: RazBeatz Entertainment is definitely up and running. We’ve been in the studio, and we’ve just cut a record with 3LW that I produced. It’s real hot and real controversial. The album will be out this summer. It has that Timbaland joint on there, called “Shake That.” We are getting ready to shoot the video for it. We are also getting ready to shoot the video for the B2K-3LW record and the video for the “Boyz For Life” remix that I went back in the studio and remixed for the fans. AHHA: Word has it that you are about to put out a gospel CD as well. Can you speak on that for a moment? Raz-B: I am doing a gospel album, and it probably won’t come out for about another year or so. I want to take my time on this album due to the message that I have to put out there. I have to put an indirect message out there. Since the world is materialistic, as powerful as these Jews are, as powerful as these companies are, and all these billions of dollars they got, they could not keep the movie “The Passion of the Christ” from coming out. Why? Because it’s the Lord’s will! So, I’m going to be talking about positive and negative stuff. I’ve been spiritual my whole life. I recommend that everybody go read five minutes of the Bible, and I guarantee you’re going to like everything that you read. You’re going to read more and you’re going to continue to read more, because all the information is right there from marriage to everything. AHHA: What is your opinion of the music business as a whole right now? Raz-B: Honestly, it’s corrupt. It’s a mess. That’s why God has been giving me so much knowledge to be able to maneuver around the system that I’m caught in, as far as being able to release my records, and give my records away and have my fans support it. I just think the record business is negative, a demonic business. I don’t recommend it to anybody. AHHA: Have you and B2K discussed bringing the group back together? Raz-B: Yeah, we have actually had a meeting and have been talking, but there is still a roadblock. I was sitting back, listening to these radio interviews, and I was saying we are sorry about the group. I’ve been trying to orchestrate this and put the group back together, but I had to go public. I can’t do it by myself; it’s a team effort. You helped me build B2K, so I need your help on building it back up. If the fans put enough pressure into the “Boyz For Life” song and video, it’s going to put a big demand on B2K. The power relies on the fans. AHHA: You also have a foundation in the works. Get into that as much as you can. Raz-B: I just applied for it about four weeks ago. It’s called “The RazBeatz Foundation.” It’s a universal foundation willing to do anything to help anything that’s needed. I want everybody to write letters when it’s all set up. It will be attached to my website, www.razbeatz.com. We’re going to try and meet as many as possible, from kids around the world just trying to make a change and just having people around the world signed up. I will be doing other things with other foundations, such as Make-A-Wish, and different things. AHHA: Lastly, what do you have planned for the future? Raz-B: Definitely completing this record and getting it out this summer. Kicking off a tour with me, Ray-J, 3LW, 4-Deep, a new artist by the name of K-Young, and also putting the group back together. We will be back together in the next three or four months with the help of the fans. That’s what’s up right now. Tiffany-Ann Tilley is the 15-year-old stepdaughter of […]

With a sound that combines Hip Hop lyrics with the sultry vocal stylization of R&B, Chicago native Andreus hopes to carve out a place for himself in the saturated R&B scene. In the way of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, Andreus wants to bring the reality of the streets back to Rhythm and Blues. Passionate and convicted, Andreus refuses to have his sound dictated by the current monotony of urban entertainment, and he pledges to be a source of reflection and thought in the mundane sea of “sex me” crooners. AllHipHop.com Alternatives: You are pretty self-contained as an artist. You produce, you write, you do everything…Is it harder for an artist to break into the industry when you don’t have some famous producer or industry suit pumping your name? Andreus: Actually coming form Chicago it’s hard to break into the business. There’s no platform here. We’re not really recognized as a city with a vast amount of talent. So I would say the hardest part is just being out of Chicago and being independent. AHHA: Did you ever think about switching your home base to New York or California? Andreus: The east coast is really taking to me, so yeah it crosses my mind, but I know I can do it from here. Ya got Kanye West coming out of here holding a lot of things down, but even he left. I don’t know, I suppose to go to New York in about another couple of weeks and I’m gonna see – if I like it I might be there. AHHA: You used to rap. Why the transition to singing? Andreus: Everybody from my mother to my friends was saying, ‘man you cold on the emceeing, but man you got a voice, and with a voice that good it don’t make sense to waste it’. But I wanted to sing about what I rapped about, so that’s where I come up with the street lingo, [reminiscent] of Curtis [Mayfield]. I was more or less conscious like a gangsta rapper, but I just started back singing like two years ago. AHHA: Did you ever think about doing like a singing-rapping combination kinda like Lauryn Hill or Novel? Andreus: Yeah, I was maybe think on my next album maybe kinda doing that. It just depends on my direction. I kinda did that on my current album – there’s a song called “Ghetto Music,” where I do some rapping. AHHA: Your moms is from Mississippi, and you have a song entitled “Mississippi,” is there a connection? Andreus: My mother was born and raised in Mississippi, my fathers mother…every member of my family, and as a kid I grew up there in summer times. My mother would send us down south to keep us out of trouble. I hadn’t been there in years, and I had a dream one time that I was there and I was fishing with my uncle that I hadn’t seen in twenty-something years, and that’s where that song got it’s fire from. AHHA: It seems like R&B is pretty saturated right now, and it even feels like it’s at a creative halt. You’re either a neo-soul cat or you’re a Hip Hop/R&B act. What do you think that’s about, and what do you think will get R&B over this creative hump? Andreus: It’s corporate man. Hip Hop was our answer cause we’re the generation X’ers and the only thing we had was Hip Hop. Once they figured out that Hip Hop was the new language and Hip Hop is keeping these kids out of trouble, they used cats like NWA as scapegoats and gangsta rappers to glorify Hip Hop and now all you here in Hip Hop is ‘I’ll kill you’, ‘my b#### this’, ‘my b#### that’. What it sends is disturbing messages to kids instead of having a variety – and it’s the same philosophy with R&B I feel. As long as R&B is disrespectful to a women and disrespectful to ourselves you’ll hear it a million times a day… But you get a cat like myself and you’re not gonna hear it, cause corporate America don’t want our youths to hear a good positive message. Everything we create, they use it and we shoot ourselves in the foot with it. People like myself and other artists just need to rally together and keep pushing it to the radio and program directors. I mean, you hear the same song a million times a day. The Black music scene is horrible right now. AHHA: With that said, what does Andreus bring to the table? Andreus: Andreus is bringing what Curtis and Marvin brought thirty years ago. I spend a lot of time talking about relationships. I spend time talking about what happens in the hood, what we’re going through – real things that real Black people go through, cause what you seeing on the video, that ain’t how we living out here – that’s an illusion, just a real small fraction of us. These young boys need some new stuff and that’s what I’m providing right now. AHHA: Any last words for the people? Andreus: Real music ain’t dead. I’m holding up the candle for all the Jill Scott’s, Maxwell’s, and D’Angelo’s. AHHA: Yell out your website for the people. Andreus: www.andreusmusic.com

The trombone isn’t an instrument that most people think about as a lead instrument, but then again Jeff Bradshaw isn’t like most people. The type of cat who likes to swim against the current, Bradshaw is here, defiantly, to make us all love the trombone. Raised in Philly Bradshaw has been involved in the soul revolution from the very beginning. He worked on Erykah Badu’s first album, and now wants inject a new sound in the mix and place his own stamp on Contemporary Jazz and Neo-Soul. His debut album, Bone Deep, is a pleasing collection or soul sounds, from funk to soul, with the common vein of it all being the sophisticated sound of his trombone. With the help of a few friends, Jeff plans on making the trombone a notable lead instrument, as well as making his name a household classic. AllHipHop.com Alternatives: How long have you been playing the Trombone? Jeff Bradshaw: All my life, it’s one of 28 instruments that I play. AHHA: 28 instruments bro? Jeff Bradshaw: Yeah, the Trombone is just my instrument of choice. AHHA: And you were never formally trained in any of those instruments, how did you learn them? Jeff Bradshaw: In the church and my father plays like ten instruments so it’s kinda in the family. AHHA: Like any artist, you’ve paid your dues, how long have you been on the fringes of the industry? Jeff Bradshaw: About ten years ago I started playing in the soul/hip hop clubs with live bands. Went from there to meeting all the producers of the new neo-soul movement, the guys who produced Gerald and Floetry and Bilal and Musiq Soul Child and Glen Lewis, the six producers that started in Jazzy Jeff’s camp and started the new neo-soul renaissance. AHHA: How long ago was that? Jeff Bradshaw: Man, that was about eight years. I started with those guys recording in the studio professionally, the first studio recording I did was “Other Side of the Game,” for Erykah Badu…and the rest is history, I recorded with everybody from Musiq to Floetry to Jill to Glen Lewis to Bilal to Michael Jackson to Earth Wind & Fire. AHHA: The Trombone is not an instrument that most people think about as a lead instrument, what called you to the Trombone? Jeff Bradshaw: In School, in music class, the teacher would spread all the instruments all over the room and she told all the students to stand by whatever instrument they were interested in playing. And everybody stood by drums, piano, bass, trumpet, ya know essentially all the other instruments and the trombones would be way in the corner by themselves. I’ve always been a trendsetter, not a trend follower – so I thought that would be the instrument that I would make cool, that I would make sexy. AHHA: You played a part in Jill Scott’s 2001 tour, did you just play the trombone, or did you have any other duties? Jeff Bradshaw: Yeah I played trombone and I helped arrange the live show. AHHA: That had to be a pretty dope experience? Jeff Bradshaw: Ah man, touring with my homegirl, she’s the best as far as I’m concerned because she’s the total package…as a person who was new in the game and was never expected to be as big as she was, but she handled it gracefully. AHHA: Tell those who haven’t heard the album what they can expect? Jeff Bradshaw: A movement of music, from everything to R&B to Neo-Soul to Funk to Alternative Rock…I mean I’m a contemporary jazz artist, but this album has so much more that’s why we called it Bone Deep, cause I’m a trombone player, but it’s deeper than the bone. It’s got so much, it’s like a complete meal, it fills you. AHHA: What kind of production is on the album? Jeff Bradshaw: I got together with some of my friends that are in Philly, Omar Edwards who was the music director for Jaguar Wright and is currently on tour with Jay-Z, Julius Irvine who basically produced half of Vivian Greens album, James Poyser who did Erykah’s last two albums…I just got together with some of my production family. I co-wrote and co-produced the entire album, it was my vision, but I needed the structure, being that it was my first time putting a record together. AHHA: You said that you feel that Bone Deep is ‘gonna be the biggest Jazz record in the last fifteen years’. Why? Jeff Bradshaw: It offers more variety than any album that I’ve bought or followed…there just hasn’t been another album that’s offered this much high velocity of power and selection. And it’s the first time for the bone in contemporary jazz and it’s a whole new voice and breath of fresh air for contemporary jazz. AHHA: Any last words? Jeff Bradshaw: Thanx for the love, big shout out to Allhiphop.com, I appreciate the love and appreciate your interest in my music, hopefully a year from now we’ll be talking again about all the Grammy’s I’m nominated for, the million records I sold and the love you cats showed me early on. For more on Jeff check out http://www.JeffBradshaw.com

AHHA:  Any new producers for this album?  Mercedes:  No, not really.  We’ve definitely gotten into the do-it-yourself thing.  It’s cool if we come across people that have time and wanna do some stuff with us, but at the same time we just have to keep rolling and doing our thing.  AHHA:  You guys have such an inseparably beautiful chemistry, with that said, have you thought about solo ventures?  Mercedes:  We’re not closed to the thought.  But we have such openness and ability to do whatever we want that we don’t feel the need to do our own thing.   Tracy:  Right, it’s like we’re two solo artists in a group…except we don’t have to be on stage by ourselves [laughs]  Mercedes:  I think that what makes our stuff special is the combination of the two of us.   Tracey:  I’ve come to realize in the last few years that I have no desire to be a solo artist and it’s not that I don’t think I could, I do believe in myself enough to think that if I wanted to go after something like that I could, but I don’t have the energy for that, and I like what we have together.  We help each other out so much, I like having a partner.  I like having someone in this with me, cause it’s times when you’re doing good and it’s times when you’re not and if you don’t have someone to go through that with, it can be so frustrating.  My mom, man… there’s been so many times when she’ll be like ‘baby, you should just get a job’ [laughs].  AHHA:  Your last album was critically well received by a host of outlets including an A- from Entertainment Weekly, is there any frustration associated with being so talented and adored by those that know your music, but still so overlooked by the masses and not seeing your talent reciprocated in dollars?  Tracey:  I think that the masses will come, you can’t blame people cause they never heard of you, I mean I wouldn’t have heard of me either if I wasn’t the one doing it [snickers].  So I can’t be mad about that.  I get a little frustrated at our peers, because as much as they may put on airs that they’re a certain way, they have a way of making people feel less cause they haven’t done X, Y or Z.  I don’t worry about our reception by the public, cause we get so much love on our website that it’s amazing, when I read some of that stuff, it’s like wow, we really touch people.  I’m happy, I’m just happy that somebody feels like they got something out of a song that I wrote.  AHHA:  One thing I was always impressed with, was that you never have features on the album just for the sake of having some cat rap a verse, are you keeping that the same or are there going to be a couple of guest spots.  Mercedes:  Well there is one major collaboration on the album, and it’s with Jean Grae.  AHHA:  Now that works…that’s a perfect fit.  Tracy:  It is…it just makes sense.  Once I hung out with Jean and talked with her, we have very similar stories and she’s just an incredible emcee, I love her. I love her lyrics and what she chooses to address in her music, in that way I also thinks she’s very similar to us.  When’s she what’s to say something, she says it and she doesn’t care what you think.  Mercedes:  Yeah, cause we weren’t into the cheesy now-here-comes-the rhyme-on-this-song concept and it just so happen that on this particular song, that the vibe and where she was coming from, the emotional texture of it just fit the song.  We were honored that she was just completely down and into it.  AHHA:  And not to be sexist about it, but it seems right that your first featured rhyme be from a woman?  Tracey:  Yes definitely…here we are cool with all these guys, Black Thought, Talib, Common, all these guys who would be natural first choices.  But we never felt like we needed to have a rap break just to have one for the sake of it…our music was never about that.  AHHA:   Does the album have a date?  Tracey:  June or July  AHHA:  Any last comments?  Mercedes:  For all people who have supported our music in the past, I just hope that our next project meets those expectations and more.  Tracey:  Keep an open mind, you’d be surprised what you’ll like.  

Every Tuesday night at Philadelphia’s The Five Spot, the most earnest expressions of poetry and song are popping off.  On any given night you can catch an up and coming act like Jazmine Sullivan, or a veteran of the business like Erykah Badu might grace the stage right after a nervous high school student puts it down.  It’s intimate, it’s tangible, it’s accessible to new talent  – and it’s all thanks to two young ladies that call themselves the Jazzyfatnastees.  Tracey Moore and Mercedes Martinez are only two albums deep in the game – the third on its way – but they have twelve years of experience in this topsy turvey music industry.  They have seen deals come and go, group member leave, come back and leave again, albums completed and never released… all the usual events that many successful artists can attest to.  Regardless, through it all the two young ladies remained focused, blessing us with two distinctly different, yet individually solid albums – Once and Future in 1999 and The Tortoise and The Hare in 2002.  Their trials with the music game have generated cohesiveness between the ladies that is rarely seen.  Students of life and music, Tracey and Mercedes saw experience and genuine stage presence as their way to establish their position in the fickle music climate.  Driven and committed, the ladies didn’t wait for venues to come to them, they created their own venue, one in which they could constently perform at until their stage set was impeccably dope.  The Jazzies called their creation the ‘Black Lily Women in Music Series’.  They did not horde their creation, but instead fostered its growth by inviting any and all to grace its stage, as long as performers with sincerity and dopeness.  Thus, the Black Lily was born.  The list of artists who have rolled through the Black Lily music series is thick:  Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Macy Gray, Bilal, Musiq, Aaries, Floetry, Nona Hendryx, Toshi Reagon, Jaguar Wright, Kindred, Jazmine Sullivan, Glenn Lewis, Julie Dexter, Common, Mos Def and, of course, The Roots…just to name a few.  Boasting talent and experience that precedes the term neo-soul, these ladies produce music that is challenging and intriguing.  They promise to continue that tradition on their forthcoming, as yet untitled third album.  The Jazzies took a minute from finishing up their third studio album to chat with Allhiphop.com Alternatives about the new record and the importance of the Black Lily music series. AHHA:  What’s up ladies, what’s been going on? Mercedes:  We’re putting the finishing touches on the new album and getting ready to start working on our new show. AHHA:  When you say ‘finishing touches’ how many tracks do you have left or all the songs done? Mercedes:  We might do one or two more tracks. AHHA:  I understand that you girls are from Cali. What motivated the move to Philly? Mercedes:  We had gotten out of our deal with Tommy Boy and we had pretty much worked with all the producers we could in L.A. that were willing to do anything for free, and we didn’t have a manager either so we were kinda doing it on our own.  Tracy:  We were struggling in L.A., ‘cause we had exhausted every resource that we had.  We dealt with different management, different musicians, we were in between a couple of camps and it just wasn’t going anywhere.  I was really hard because there was no musical community in L.A. AHHA:  What role did the Roots play in your moving? Mercedes:  When we met the Roots, we were blown away.  And actually Ahmir had heard of us too through Pos from De La Soul, so he was kinda excited to meet us and wanted us to do some stuff on their album, Illadelph HalfLife. They said in exchange for us doing some stuff with them, they would do some stuff for us, so we came out to do that and they just embraced us and were willing to do what a lot of companies and people aren’t willing to do, and that’s develop new talent.  Tracy:  We were supposed to only be in Philly for two weeks but it ended up being forever [laughs].  And it turned into like seven years. Mercedes:  We found a support system in Philly. AHHA:  You guys dropped your first album, Once and Future, about a year after Badu’s Baduizm and you guys kinda preceded the whole neo-soul marketing of the music…what do you think of it now, now that the industry has stamped it with a name and it’s kinda… Mercedes:  Cheesy [laughs]…Well, there’s a double edge sword to that, it’s cool when people start labeling something a movement cause it means that they’re paying more attention. What’s not cool about it is that you all getting lumped into this one thing. Like now everybody’s gonna be ‘neo-soul’, which means everybody’s stuff is rooted in the 70’s, which is cool, but then there are all these other influences that just aren’t represented by the term neo-soul.  So we’re kinda happy that it seems to be on the down slope and everybody can be looked at as individuals.  The danger with lumping everybody into the neo-soul thing, is the minute somebody categorizes something it starts to seem corny and they might not give you a chance, ‘cause they’re like ‘oh here’s another neo-soul group’. Tracy:  I think people have been scared to take chances in Black music, we don’t trust ourselves enough to believe in something, we can’t ever take a stand, we always have to find something that emulates something else.  AHHA:  Don’t you think the drive for money and riches in Black music creates a lot of that follow the leader mentality?  Tracey:  I don’t think the alternative Black sound isn’t one that couldn’t make money, if money was put behind it, it’s just that no one knows it exist…these kids don’t know anything about that, their being sold sex right now, fancy […]

When you think of women in R&B today, you may be inclined to think of massive mainstream acceptance and that certain untouchable quality that we often call ‘diva’. Teedra Moses has the beauty and well rounded talent of any modern day soulstress, but she’s determined to keep herself in touch with her fans on a different level. From her humble roots in New Orleans to her new deal with TVT Records, Teedra Moses keeps it real for the streets. She is the consummate homegirl with classic appeal, and she is bringing her own special style to the charts. Her debut album Complex Simplicity is due out in April, and her video for the song “Be Your Girl” was directed by the incredible Hype Williams. Not bad for a young lady who has been singing and songwriting for less than three years. Teedra took some time to speak with AllHipHop.com Alternatives about her inspiration and outlook on the industry. AllHipHop.com Alternatives: Your style has been compared to artists like Patrice Rushen and Cherrelle. Do you ever feel any pressure being compared to people like that? Teedra: No, because that’s still just one part of my sound – that’s just who people pinpoint because there are so many sides to my sound. I don’t feel any pressure at all. AHHA: Does it ever bother you when people try to constantly label your sound? Teedra: It used to – the first couple of months of hearing people compare me to other people – it did, to be honest. But I understand that people need to understand what you’re doing, they need to make it familiar to them, so that’s the way that they make it familiar. AHHA: Your mother, who passed away, was a gospel singer. How much of a role did gospel play in the music that you write and produce, and would you ever consider making any gospel albums? Teedra: I think gospel has a lot to do with what I do because it’s all about ‘feel’. I’ve only been singing and writing songs for two years, and no one ever taught me about singing or making harmonies, or how you write a song – so it’s all just from my feeling, and gospel is all feeling. It’s all emotion, there’s nothing technical about it. My music and the way I write it, and arrange my songs is about how it feels, and I hope that people can take that from my music. I’m interested in doing gospel, but not [for] myself – I would love to work with other gospel artists because I’m a writer, so I would love to collaborate. I want to kind of build my career as a secular singer before I would even indulge in something like that. AHHA: Your bio says that you started writing your songs to Prince’s music. If you could go back and sing any one of Prince’s songs with him, which one would it be and why? Teedra: [long pause] That’s the hardest question anyone has ever asked me in my whole life. You know what? It would have to be that song ‘Baby’ {singing} Baby, what are we gonna do… It’s a song he wrote where it’s about a girl where I think the girl got pregnant, and he can barely take care of himself, and he really can’t take care of a kid and her, but he’s gonna try to do it anyway because he loves her. If it ends up that she’s pregnant, then they’re gonna thug it out together. That’s just like heartfelt s### and I love that, so I think that would probably be it. Not that that’s my exact favorite song, because that’s a hard thing to do – pick a Prince song that’s my favorite – but that’s something that I would want to perform because it’s something I can relate to. AHHA: How much influence vocally or arrangement-wise did Prince have on you? Teedra: The influence is getting greater and greater every day, because his arrangement is always unorthodox. It’s always less… it’s so simple, still at the same time it’s so complex. Prince altogether has a huge influence on me as an artist, as a writer. Everything that he does I feel like he felt it, and you felt that he felt it. That’s what I try to put in my music. AHHA: I read that you wanted to be an emcee when you first started out? Teedra: When I was much younger I started out doing talent shows rhyming, but I love Hip Hop music. That’s our culture – anyone that’s young in America is into Hip Hop music. Hip Hop has influenced every kind of music – gospel, rock, jazz – it’s influencing everything. Even though everything has influenced Hip Hop, Hip Hop in turn influences everything. It’s who I am. I can’t explain it. I am Hip Hop. I grew up dealing with the same issues they were talking about – when I was listening to those records I truly related. The way I write, I write like a rapper. I write from what I see – situations I see my homegirls go through, situations I go through. AHHA: Do you feel like working with someone like Jadakiss fulfills those aspirations to rhyme? Teedra: Dealing with Jadakiss was absolutely perfect because he’s really in tune with what’s going on in the streets. There are some rappers that rap from a high rise, and I feel like he’s coming from that level that I’m on. There’s a lot of different rappers that I wouldn’t like to work with, and then there’s some that I would, but I would love to work with something new and fresh. AHHA: How did you hook up with Jadakiss initially, and how did you hook up with Hype Williams for the video? Teedra: I recorded the song ‘You’ll Never Find’ before I even got my deal, and I knew I wanted a rapper on it, […]

The man partially credited with introducing new jack swing (a mixture of R&B and hip-hop) has a name – Keith Sweat. Sweat and producer Teddy Riley embodied the burgeoning mixture between two genres already on a collision course. But, back in the late 80’s, they were just getting started with Sweat’s Make It Last Forever and forever changed music’s soundscape. But Sweat didn’t fade to black like a lot of the 90’s one-hit wonders – he has continually delivered hits time and time again. Now, Keith has released a collection of great hits that span from 1987-1998, a first for the R&B crooner. The album reflects his five consecutive #1 albums, 17 soulful songs and AllHipHop Alternative sat down with Mr. Sweat for an insightful Q&A. AllHipHop Alternatives: What made you guys put out the greatest hit collection? Keith Sweat: Rhino Records was behind that. Basically it’s more like my career is not over. I don’t see it as one of those situations where I was even considering puttin’ out a greatest hit because I feel like the greatest hits is like the “best of,” when your career is done. I say im not done but you know me. I think if anything it should be the best of Keith Sweat . AllHipHop Alternatives: Is it true that your signed to Swizz Beats? Keith Sweat: Nah that’s not true. That’s not true at all. That was a rumor. Me and him have been talking and if I ever sign with anybody it will be a joint venture situation because I’m not trying to be signed to someone else’s label. AllHipHop Alternatives: What are you up to these days career-wise? I know you had dropped an album maybe a year ago? Keith Sweat: It had great reviews but I was honestly frustrated with the label I was with [Elektra]. The promotion and the marketing behind me it wasn’t no effort to make me the star or the “ celebrity” that I’ve been over the years. True effort wasn’t behind it a push wasn’t behind it and ain’t no love lost but it just wasn’t there. AllHipHop Alternatives: Do you feel that industry may be too concerned with a lot of the younger artist these days? Keith Sweat: I think we all artist like myself Charlie Wilson, Stevie Wonder, artist that have made a career and still have a fanbase. I just think Ron Isley has showed you. Luther has showed you that. We all got comeback potential. It’s all about the record at that point. Its all about people want if you got a hot record and having a record that people wanna hear. We can go and do shows because we got the hits, we got the records that people are like “Yo they got records.” We can go and do hour and a half show, those types of situations. I think its the people at the record labels who make the decisions , I don’t think its the fans that makes those decisions. I think that doing an injustice to the fans by making a decision like that because [industry people are] speaking for the masses instead of speaking for yourself. You can’t speak for people. AllHipHop Alternatives: Did you, early in your career, were kind of put into the new jack swing category? Keith Sweat: I think we started the hip-hop and R&B. I think that’s what it was. I don’t really consider it new jack swing. I consider it to be hip-hop and R&B. I think it was rap beats mixed with R&B music. I just guess its the label somebody gave it. I think I was doing R&B music because I had always listened to people like Isley brothers and teddy put some hip-hop beats on R&B music. I don’t consider what I was doing new jack swing, I consider what I was doing hip-hop and R&B. AllHipHop Alternatives: For me, your greatest song was “Make It Last Forever.” What would be your personal greatest hit? Keith Sweat: Really everything from my first album. Not one song stood out more than the other. I guess if one did it would probably be “Make It Last Forever.” AllHipHop Alternatives: You were kind of on the notorious side for pleading or begging with the ladies. Was that by design and did those remarks bother you? Keith Sweat: Honestly it never occurred to me, I write. If you listen to R&B music and you listen from the timeof Marvin Gaye and Stylistics, all of them did the same type of music. It was love songs it wasn’t about nothing else. Basically that’s where R&B has always been. If you think about it, if you go back to the stuff that they sampling, The Moments , Stylistics , Deftones and all of them – those were all love songs if you ever listened to their stuff. Whether in design that I did it was just that’s what I thought R&B ways are about. R&B was always a song you sing to ladies. It was never designed but it worked and it still works so if you think about it – women buy the records. If you just create a fan base on just soley women you gonna be in this game for a long time. Brothers buy me because the women like it. AllHipHop Alternatives: Do you still do a lot of shows? Keith Sweat: Yea, all the time. AllHipHop Alternatives: Do you have any particular workout regiment or whatever. You don’t seem to have aged at all since like the late 80’s. Are you a vegetarian or workout a lot? Keith Sweat: Yeah, I work out a lot. I work out crazy. I work out about twice a day. It’s probably an hour and a half in the morning and then an hour and a half at night. I eat right but sometimes you slip. I love Twizzlers. I gotta have Twizzlers. AllHipHop Alternatives: Do you plan to do […]

The tones that are thrust from Meckelle’s vocal chords create a warmth steamy enough to melt the thickest snowbed, and that may be what just what her native city of Chicago needs during the winter months. As many artists come and go, showing promise and making strides to be the best, Meckelle plans to show you that she is the best, and that she will not be one of the statistics. She has settled on a summer release for her debut album, Pieces, and will release it from the independent point of view. Though not signed or marketed by a major label, Meckelle does not feel the need to be the next big thing on the scene. After hearing her belt out awe-inspiring tunes with little or no effort, you will see she is already ahead of her class. Take a listen. Allhiphop.com Alternatives: Your debut album is on its way to the stores shortly. Talk about that and anything else associated with the album. Meckelle: Well, Pieces is the name of the debut. Hopefully, it will be out by this summer. I don’t have anything tentatively, but we are looking at a summer release date. AHHA: When you say ‘we’, are you referring to a specific label or company? Meckelle: I’m on a small label with only a couple of people on it, so that’s what I mean when I say ‘we’. AHHA: Most up and coming R&B talent say their early musical background comes from church. Is that the case with you as well? Meckelle: I was three, and my grandmother…you know how they like to embarrass you in front of people? I still remember like it happened yesterday. They dressed me up and stuck me in front of the people in church. That’s kind of where it started. One day, I must have been singing gospel or something, and she caught me. She had me in church two weeks after that. I started when I was three, but I didn’t really get into it until I was thirteen. When I was fourteen or fifteen I joined the Minnesota Mass Choir, which was cool because it was an outlet and it was something else to do. AHHA: After you see the initial response from the first album, will you be looking to jump into a major label situation? Meckelle: Well, at this point I’m not, because I know I would have to have a certain amount of leverage coming from an independent standpoint. After the first project is out and I find out which way it’s going to go, then I’ll know what to do next. You know how you see people on TV and they got on all this bling-bling? It’s not really theirs, you know what I mean? AHHA: It is not even theirs, and it may not even be real. {laughs} Meckelle: Plus, every single dime they get, they got to pay it all back. So, it’s kind of like having a bad loan. I love the music side of it, it’s just the business side is kind of shady. As long as the independent thing does well for me, I can swing with that. That way, I can have more control over what I want to do, and I don’t have to worry about somebody making me do something that’s not me. AHHA: That is true, because you will find yourself performing out of someone else’s heart. Meckelle: If you’re not doing what you want to do as far as your own career, it gets old and you don’t want to do it anymore. AHHA: Have the people who have heard your music previously drawn comparisons to you and any other artists? Meckelle: I haven’t gotten that yet, but I’m sure I will. AHHA: What is your opinion on the state of R&B right now? Do you think it is in a healthy state, or do you feel like there is a lot of repetitiveness going on? Meckelle: In certain places with certain artists, it’s real cool. It’s not the way it used to be, but I guess everything has to change. I don’t have any real complaints right now, but it’s really different. It’s difficult to market a “real” R&B artist. AHHA: Do you feel Black artists get fair or not so fair representation on channels like BET, MTV, VH1, etc.? Meckelle: I guess they are represented okay. They are represented on BET definitely. VH1 is doing better than what it was. MTV is cool with it as long as it’s a mainstream thing. AHHA: Do you feel as if there are any changes necessary with regard to the images that are brought forth? If so, what do you feel needs to be changed? Meckelle: As far as stuff that comes out on TV and videos? AHHA: Like the boob popping out during the Super Bowl. Meckelle: Basically, that was not her fault. She did like two apologies and they will not let her live it down. She’s got to deal with all that backlash, and it was a mistake. You could tell by the look on her face. Technically, that was not her fault. She didn’t mean for that to happen. AHHA: What do you plan to contribute to the music industry that no one has contributed as of yet? Meckelle: I’m hoping to contribute because I sound different. I’m hoping to contribute or at least make an imprint. I don’t know if I want to be a megastar because that has its drawbacks, too. As long as I get to help people and make a difference, I’m cool with that. AHHA: From a personal standpoint, what you gained thus far from your career? I don’t necessarily mean on a materialistic level, but from all aspects that you can see. Meckelle: I’ve learned a lot and I’ve seen a lot. In order for me to get what I want the right way, I’m going to do have to do the right thing […]

Cleveland native Avant landed his first recording contract in 1998 when he was barely 20-years-old, and in 1999 MCA Records released his song “Separated” on a summer compilation. Avant signed a deal the following year with Magic Johnson’s label, which was distributed through MCA Records. In 2000 they released his first full album, My Thoughts, which went platinum. The contract with Magic Johnson Music was short-lived, and MCA took over with Avant’s second album, Ecstacy, in 2002. With his new album, Private Room, Avant hopes to highlight his songwriting abilities. The first single “Read Your Mind”, released in September 2003, set him up nicely for the new year. He is maintaining hope that the third time will be his charm. AHHA: Over the course of three albums, how far do you feel you’ve actually come in your recording career? Avant: I’m still not where I wanna be. I want to be in this game for fifty years, like the life of Ron Isley. I think I’m on a good pace though, growing and understanding my fan base, and them understanding me as well. The first album was a special album because it was my first – it went platinum. I think in marketing and publicity that MCA Records didn’t deal with neither one of them records the right way, so it kind of left me a little mixed up and scorned, but coming into this third album I wanted to make it real personal. I wanted to try to beat the odds. If I’m not gonna get the publicity I wanna make it personal so when the ladies listen to it they feel like I’m right there, wherever they are – the bedroom, bathroom… wherever – so they can call their friends like, ‘You need to pick up this Avant album’. AHHA: What does Private Room room represent to you? Avant: I’ve grown as a person, so there’s more to talk about in life. I try to make every scenario a little different – talking about taking you to heaven, or just having some fun, or maybe just having some phone sex. I tried to combine everything and make a great album. AHHA: Who did your songwriting on the album? Who did the production? Avant: I wrote like 95% of the songs. I didn’t write ‘Heaven’ or ‘Have Some Fun’ – I wrote everything else on the album. I’m very in tune with that – I’ve been very blessed to write every last one of my albums. I’m glad to be able to grow and give people what they want at a constant level. My man Steve Huff [produced] every song except two songs too. AHHA: What was it like being signed to Magic Johnson’s label before Geffen? Avant: Magic started me out – I thank Magic for everything. He just felt like he didn’t want to do music anymore. He has his hands in a lot of stuff. He was like ‘I gave you a chance to open the door, now it’s on you to kick it down and to stay in the game’. I really appreciate everything Magic has done for me. I was also signed under MCA Records, but they turned that into a catalog label, so now I’m just with Geffen Records. The publicity is getting up and people are starting to notice me as a person and as an artist, and that’s all I can ask for. AHHA: Did it affect you to have Keke Wyatt get so much attention from your work together? Do you have plans to work together again? Avant: It was kinda weird, but on the same token I never looked at it like that, but I did get a lot of press on that. I wrote the song “Nothing In This World” and everyone thought it was on my album, but it was on her album. Her album went gold though off of one single, so I’m blessed to be able to help her out. My album came out and ‘Makin’ Good Love’ did wonderful – it actually sold 600,000 units of that single – it sold what the album had sold at that point. I did the [song] ‘Don’t Say No, Just Say Yes’, but it was Hip Hop driven on the radio at that point, and the company didn’t want to stick it out. That kind of hurt my feelings because everybody that listens to that song to this day is like, ‘Yo, that is one of the hottest joints you ever wrote’. Those are the things you have to deal with in life – everyday you have potholes and things that don’t go well. It all depends on how you’re gonna deal with it. I try to just continue on, because I know that everyday is not gonna be peaches and cream. KeKe and I are about to do the Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell song ‘Your Precious Love’. AHHA: Are you doing any touring this year? Avant: Yeah, real soon actually. It’s gonna be me, Jagged Edge, Joe, and Ginuwine. It’s gonna be one of those old sexy tours. AHHA: Sounds like a panty dropper tour… Avant: Haha! That’s my goal! My goal is to drop a couple of panties, or to have a couple of them on stage when I get off. I’m not gonna pull my own coattail, but you must see me perform. AHHA: You mentioned that it’s been such a Hip Hop driven market. Do you think R&B has been set to the side when it comes to touring? Avant: We’re trying to show with this tour, to let people know that we can, as R&B artists, go out together… Just like how Jay-Z and them did the Hip Hop thing, we want people to know that R&B can do the same thing. AHHA: What are your plans with your songwriting? Do you have artists hitting you up, or how does it generally happen for you? Avant: It’s kinda weird you know, […]

With the slow, careful movement of a mother carrying her new born child, The Maker gestured to transfer the fragile item he held to its nervous recipient. Ms. Regina Carter, Grammy Nominated violinist and jazz artist from Detroit Michigan, reached to take the priceless apparatus from The Maker. Unsatisfied with Ms. Carter’s positioning, The Maker stopped and shook his finger in the way of a stern school master. After repositioning Regina’s hand under the weight of the treasure, the Makers confidence was renewed, and with that, Regina Carter became the first non-classical artist and first African-American to wield Nicolo Paganini’s violin. The tedious negations that took place prior to this moment and the historical triumphs that would follow, are exciting and inspiring. In 2001 Regina Carter, who had collaborated with Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige, traveled to Genoa, Italy and made history by playing 18th Century violinist and virtuoso, Nicolo Paganini’s violin for a benefit concert. Less than a year later, Ms. Carter made history again by actually recording an album with the storied instrument. The album, Paganini: After a Dream, is a beautiful collection of classically infused selections, with arrangements that allow for Ms. Carters graceful improvisation. Nick named the “Cannon,” because of its naturally booming sound, Paganini’s violin is indeed a treasure, and in the hands of Regina Carter, the result is gold. Shortly after being reunited with the “Canon,” in November 2003, this time on US soil for a concert at the Lincoln Center, Ms. Carter talked with Allhiphop Alternatives about her background as an artist and her adventure with Paganini’s “Canon.” AllHipHop Alternatives: For those who aren’t familiar with you, could you give us a little bit about your background, ya know, when you started playing, where you’re from? Regina: Well, I’m from Detroit, Michigan and I started playing violin when I was four years old and I started on piano when I was two. I grew up playing European classical music and went to Detroit public schools and was influenced…well I shouldn’t say influenced, but I was surrounded by Motown and a lot of the pop music of that time like Parliament and the Funkadelic and some other stuff. AHHA: The violin is such a graceful instrument that when most people think about it they don’t think about jazz or funk. What made you lean towards jazz as opposed to classical? Regina: I think I was attracted to the drums, the percussions and being able to have that involved in any music I was playing and then being able to improvise, all of that really attracted me to want to play jazz. And I say jazz, but I play all styles of music ya know, and I’m able to play with a lot of different people but I think the main ingredient or the main the main thing that attracted me was the improvisation, being able to have my own voice. AHHA: Your latest project, Paganini: After A Dream, is amazing musically, but it’s also historic. Could you tell us how all of this developed and why it’s historic? Regina: Well…it all started two years ago when a friend of mine named Andrea Liberovici was visiting New York and he was visiting another friend of mine named Vana Gierig who use to play piano with me. And he [Liberovici] was just listening to some orchestra tracks we had done and said it would be great if I could do this concert in Italy using this violin that belonged to Paganini, and Paganini was a great violinist and he music sense. But people had said that they felt Paganini had sold his soul to the devil and made a pact with him because he could play things on his instrument that to date no one can do. He would break all the strings, except for one on his violin and play a whole concerto on that one string. AHHA: Wow. Regina: Yeah, so people threatened to stone him. But when he passed his family still had his violin and this violin he had was a 250 year old violin, it was made by a great violin maker named Guarneri del Gesu. The reason Paganini has this violin is because he lost his violin in a gambling debt and Guarneri loaned him the violin and after hearing him play it, told him he could keep it. And that’s why Guarneri even has a name to date, because of Paganini. So they [the family] willed this violin to the city of Genoa, Italy and then the city said okay, the violin has to be played otherwise it is useless. So once a year they hold a competition called the Paganini’s Competition, and whatever classical violinist would win playing on of Paganini’s pieces, they would get to play the violin in concert, using it for about an half an hour to forty-five minutes. So no one outside of the classical idiom had ever touched the instrument, so when Andrea went to the community a lot of people were like no, she can’t play the violin, it’s gona debase the value of it if she plays jazz on it. So it was like a very derogatory way that they looked at the music, and my thing is if you think like that when you’re not only speaking about a music, you’re speaking about a culture that the music comes from. So we finally got through all of that, we convinced all the politicians and I played a concert there that was really successful and they donated the money to Doctors Without Borders and they dedicated that night to New York because is was right after 9-11. And then they allowed me to record this record using that violin, which was big feat for me cause I’m the first non-classical player to play it and the first African-American. So it’s a huge deal, it’s a huge personal deal. AHHA: What’s so special about this violin? Regina: Ya know I can […]

Chazzie Shepherd has achieved more in the music industry than some veteran artists, but has yet to sign a major label contract. How is that possible? The Atlanta native consistently works with the industry’s best, and has put in more work behind the scenes than most. Music insiders bask in the glow that is Chazzie’s sultry and authentic sound, and the time has come to give the outsiders a taste of what she has to offer. Chazzie is an artist in every sense of the word. She is a multi-faceted musician who is a master of the Country, R&B, and Rock –n- Roll genre. She is a painter whose works of art captivate the homes of some of music’s most well known talents. And this is only the crust of what she has to offer the world. This rare gem sat back with Allhiphop.com Alternatives and laid down her master plan to take the game over, slowly but surely. Allhiphop.com Alternatives: Let’s get into what you currently have in the works right now. Obviously, there are certain things you cannot speak on, so talk as much as you can about your music as it stands right now. Chazzie Shepherd: I am currently doing some things with Parliament, I’m on Cee-Lo’s next album, which is dropping January 20th, and I’m also doing some things with Killer Mike. I have some paintings, and I’m getting ready to go in the lab and do some things with Ludacris. I did some paintings for Cee-Lo’s wife and for his manager, and I did some paintings for Luda. AHHA: Are your paintings the ones that were featured on MTV Cribs when they did a segment on Ludacris? CS: I don’t know which ones you saw, but any of the ones you saw in Cee-Lo’s house, I did. The ones in Ludacris’s old condo, I didn’t do those, but the newer ones I did. I have a couple of songs I’ve done for Macy Gray for her documentary, and I have two songs that are available now on this movie with John Amos, called “The Watermelon Heist.” I have a number of different things going on. AHHA: Do you have any information about your upcoming debut? CS: I’m going to try to have everything done after I go on this tour. We haven’t come up with a date to drop it. AHHA: Is this an independent project, or are you going to go with a major label? CS: I wanted to do the independent thing. I didn’t really want to sign to a major label because I think right now it’s in my best interest to go independent. The majors are raping people. I’m trying to stay clear from that. Although I’m doing some major things, and it would be good to have the people of the industry who’ve been there for a minute, I’d rather risk some of these small time people who’s really trying to get their name out there, and being real about it first. AHHA: When does the tour begin? Is this just a national tour, or are you venturing out overseas? CS: [It started] December 4th. This is a just a promo tour, so we are going to stay in the states. I got to stay clear of the water right now. We’ll probably head overseas in the spring and the summer. AHHA: What exactly drew you into this business? CS: I grew up doing this all of my life. I’d been singing in church. My mom played the piano in church for 30 years, so being that she was over the youth choir, I had to sing in church. Then, I ventured off into learning and wanting to write songs on my own, and fiddling with the keys a little bit. I fiddled with the guitar a little bit, too, so I just tried to establish myself as an individual and not really follow the gospel thing. My music is kind of a conscious music. Everything has a message behind it. You’ll bounce your head, but if you take the music away and listen to the lyrics, they’ll move you just as well. AHHA: I took some time to listen to your music, and I identified three different influences. I want to know how much these three particular people play a part in what you do. I hear a lot of Cee-Lo… CS: When people hear my songs, they always swear he’s on it. Actually, I did that before I even got on the album with him. AHHA: I hear a lot of Macy Gray… CS: Yes sir, yes sir! AHHA: Is she a major influential force in your music. CS: Yes, I love Macy Gray. Anything that’s kind of back wood and deep root. I can get down with anything kind of country but real. I go from old Billie Holiday, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, and then I can go to 2Pac, Eminem, and Dr. Dre. It depends on what mood I’m in. I love all kinds of music. I love country music, so I got a couple of country tracks on there. I got some rock –n- roll on my next album, and we’re already working on that. Expect the unexpected with me. You can’t say I’m just neo-soul because I’m everywhere. AHHA: I also hear a lot of Erykah Badu in your music, too. Where does she fit in with the influence of your creativity? CS: I listen to her a lot, but I’m more caught up on her lyrics. I like Erykah, of course I like Cee-Lo, Outkast, Nappy Roots, and Talib Kweli. But like I said, it’s all kinds of music. I’ve been inspired by a lot of different people. I play the piano for my mom, and I play the guitar because it was something that I wanted to fiddle with. I’ve been doing this for 12 years, and I was writing behind the scenes for a minute. I did some stuff […]

When you see Nick Cannon’s name on the marquee, the venue would do well to list the titles that come along with him. Comedian. Rapper. Songwriter. Producer. Movie Star. There’s no bridge that he hasn’t crossed, and at the tender age of 23, he’s only hit the beginning stages of a bright and prosperous career. Nick is most determined to become a household name sooner rather than later. His latest movie, “Love Don’t Cost A Thing,” and his debut self-titled album were released within days of one another with a massive buzz being created around it all in the process. The San Diego, CA native is on his way to becoming entertainment’s next big thing, or is he that already? Nick gave the answer to that question to Allhiphop.com Alternatives, along with speculation around his personal life and what he’s doing to become incomparable amongst Hollywood’s elite. Allhiphop.com Alternatives: Talk about the new movie you just did and everything that is going on surrounding that. Nick Cannon: The movie is called “Love Don’t Cost A Thing.” Christina Milian plays my love interest, which is a real good look. Steve Harvey plays my dad, Vanessa Bell Calloway plays my mom, and Kenan Thompson plays my best friend. He’s one of my best friends in real life, too. There was a lot of family going on around the set. It felt like we was chilling and doing a movie in between. It’s a cool comedy, man. It’s definitely a coming of age story. Everybody can kind of relate to the possibility of peer pressure and the popularity contest that went on in high school. AHHA: What day exactly does the movie hit theatres nationwide? Nick Cannon: Friday, December 12th it goes nationwide, so everybody got to go! AHHA: This is a big week for you, so get into the album that just dropped, too. Nick Cannon: The album is self-titled really. It’s a reflection of myself. I’ve been working on it for so long. I had my first demo when I was eight years old, doing the Bom Squad thing in San Diego and all that stuff. I’m putting all that work into it, and luckily, I had the pleasure to work with all these amazing artists that helped me out on my album, from P-Diddy, R. Kelly, B2K, Mary J. Blige, Ying-Yang Twins, Just Blaze, Biz Markie, Joe, Nivea…it’s crazy man! I produced ¼ of it; a few of the songs were recorded in San Diego, so it’s definitely a reflection of myself. AHHA: Tell us your experience while you were working with R. Kelly. Nick Cannon: Man, it’s amazing. R. Kelly is a musical genius. I watched him do five songs for five different artists in one night. He just be flippin’ it, and you be ready to kill it. AHHA: So, he already knows how he wants it to sound, the arrangement, how he wants the music to flow, etc.? Nick Cannon: Exactly, and he be on that vibe. He’s just a workaholic. AHHA: When you teamed up with him, were people in your ear talking about his current legal troubles? Nick Cannon: It really wasn’t none of that. When somebody’s a phenomenal artist, that’ll overtake the whole situation. We could care less about what’s going on with anybody’s personal life. We are here to make music, and that’s what we did. AHHA: A lot of people want to know if there is any sort of rift between you and B2K? You made the comment “I’m a grown man, not B2K” on that “Gigolo” record. Nick Cannon: Nah man, it ain’t nothing. The comment was in all good faith. I say a whole bunch of lines in different songs, but just like back in the day when Biggie said “I got more mack than Craig,” and Craig Mack ain’t have no beef with that. I was just really showing love. I remember letting them hear the song and they loved it, so it’s all fam. It’s good to stir up a little controversy to make sure everybody’s listening. AHHA: What’s your current status with Nickelodeon? Are you still working with them, or are you evolving past the teenybopper thing and moving on? Nick Cannon: I’m definitely still working with them. I’m not feeling my show anymore, but I work with them on so many different levels. I got some things I’m producing for them, some behind the scenes stuff. I got an animated project I’m working on for them and a couple of game show ideas. AHHA: That’s what’s up. Now, there’s a lot of speculation about your relationship with Christina Milian. What’s going with that? Nick Cannon: That’s one of my best friends. AHHA: There is nothing outside of a friendship? Nick Cannon: Well, you know I’m a gigolo. I got to go see what I can do. (laughs) I’m a young cat out here. I’m not going to put boundaries on myself. But, she’s a good person and one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. You want to be friends with each other first before you hop into the relationship thing. Otherwise, you are just playing house. AHHA: With the buzz surrounding you and your album, I can see some comparisons between you and another cat when he first came out, and that’s Will Smith. Do you think you are the new generation Fresh Prince, or are you steadily cutting out your own niche in R&B? Nick Cannon: I’m just here to put it down and do my thing. I love the comparisons, but those types of things don’t bother me at all. As long as I can make my mark, I’m here to blaze my own trail. It’s rare when you can see someone who’s a stand-up comic, an actor, a rapper, and a producer all at once that can do it all well. I’m just striving to work hard and do the best work that I can possibly do.

Some call him “Energy God”, others call him “Ele” but to most he’s known as “Elephant Man” -The dancehall star who is certain to have “superstar” added to his roster of names. Known for his infectious dancehall chat style, signature dance moves, and electrifying performances he has captivated both dancehall and hip-hop fans. He has a new album, Good To Go, a hit single, “Pun the River Pun the Bank,” and he is getting constant air and video play with his “Get Low” [remix] collaboration with Lil’ Jon & The Eastside Boyz and Busta Rhymes. With all this on his plate already, its no wonder that “Ele”, “Energy God” or “Elephant Man” is posed to become a household name. AllHipHop Alternatives: I know you probably heard this many times but tell me about the name “Elephant Man” and how it came about? Elephant Man: Well the ladies name me dat. They call me anaconda “ The trunk” AHHA: How about energy god? Cause I’ve heard it floating around? E: Yea, energy god. I was given the name I think in 1990. I was given the name by leng “Supreme Promotions” AHHA: Well I’ve been fortunate enough to see one of your electrifying performances and I know that a lot of people are gonna wanna know what it takes to put it together? Like do you have a format? How do you come up with the outfits? E: Well you know you gotta put your stuff together, you have to prepare for your shows, that’s how you do it you know. You gotta plan what you gonna do, you gotta sit down, you gotta figure out this is what we gonna do. You gotta call up the tailor, let him know that this is an event, that you feel yourself wearing that particular clothes and that particular hair style and that particular outfit and you know that Ok I’m gonna take it this way, I’m gonna start with this track, I’m gonna close out with this track. Whatever you see me. AHHA: This is all from you or do you have a team of people who come up with the whole idea? E: It is all from Elephant Man. AHHA: Now about the dances, cause I know I’ve been trying to get into these dances and I think that I’m gonna have to take a class or something. How do you come up with them? E: Well you know Jamaica is the backbone for every dance. In Jamaica, you know every dance in the world so you know in Jamaica we go to every party, we see what’s up, we see the dance, if the dance move and all dem stuff, so you know we just take it from there. We got our own dance unit so you know the latest dance come and we practice it and we do it. AHHA: Well that’s what I’m trying to get to, the latest dance that come in, cause I know that you for instance started the “log-on” dance. Do you sit at home one day and come up with it or you say, you know what “I’m gonna do this and its gonna be called the “log-on” dance. E: Well we in the dancehall and we doing the dance and then we say we gonna call it that and we just name the dance. AHHA: Oh ok, so do you have any favorites? E: Yea AHHA: Which one? E: I love the “Pun the River, Pun the Bank”, I love “Signal the Plane”, I love”Fan Dem Fff”, I love “Online.” I love every one of dem. AHHA: And all these are all your dances? E: Yea. AHHA: Great. How about DJing? How long have you been doing this? Cause I heard a rumor and you just said 1990 was the year you were named Elephant Man, so it’s been a while huh? E: Yea, I’ve been doing this from when I was about 15yrs old, but professionally about 91-92. AHHA: Ok, I’m gonna ask you about your thoughts regarding reggae music and the fact that its being influenced by hip hop tracks and collabos and stuff? How do you feel about that? E: I feel good to see the hip hop collaborating with the reggae music. Its even doing good for the reggae music too because when people see that flavor, its like something they’ve never seen before and it creates a different melody to your ears and you know a different sound. I like that, the collabos and all that stuff. AHHA: How about those hardcore fans who’re probably not feeling that , you know the ones that want to hear straight gully reggae? How do you feel about that? E: If somebody call you to do a collabo with them, they should be glad because you’re not changing you’re part you doing reggae in their stuff. If you wanna go and do something else that’s your fault and your problem, but if they call us, straight reggae they gonna get. AHHA: Ok, so you basically stay reggae and they do what they do? E: Straight AHHA: Ok, so tell me about the new album? E: Yea, the new album “Good to Go” come out on December 2nd. I got 23 tracks featuring artists on it. You got like Elephant Man, that’s me, Lil Jon, Bone Crusher, Kiprich, you got like Elephant Man and Ghostface Killah. AHHA: Yea E: Elephant Man and Big Tigger from BET , Elephant Man and Sasha. Elephant and Jimmy Cozier, Elephant and Missy Elliot. Crazy. AHHA: Sounds like you did a lot of collabs on the album. E: Crazy. AHHA: How bout producers? Who did you work with? E: I work with Dave Kelly and Lil Jon. AHHA: Oh you did? E: Yea and all of them. Don Corleon and all of them. AHHA: Ok, any touring plans? E: I just came off tour. AHHA: What tour was that? E: That was the Higher Level tour. […]