Slightly... [laughing] You handled the bulk of 112's vocal production, especially on Part III. How would you describe the vocal production process to a fan?
If I give you a song - for example, "The ABCs" – as a vocal producer, I'll tell you, "Instead of chopping A off, hold that note a little longer. When you get to EFG, chop them up a little bit. I want you to cry when you get to XYZ." Vocal production is just having a vision about how the song goes and being able to talk to and show the artist when you're recording it how to get the vision that you see. I think it's a very important part of the completion of the song.
Most definitely. 112 was well-known for their interludes as well as their singles. If you could extend any of them, which one would you want to extend?
I love interludes. I think the one everybody would want extended would be the "Q, Mike, Slim, Daron" Interlude.
"I Surrender" – that's the one I really like. Now that I think about it, most of your interludes could have been full-length songs! What made you cut them short or kept you from revisiting them later?
In creating interludes, the objective is to make people want more. That's when you've done the job of creating an interlude. Sometimes, the label may say, "No, we don't have room for it in the album," or, "We like it so much we'll add it as an interlude."
Since 112, no other male R&B vocal group has really been able to realize a great deal of mainstream success. What was it that you and the other fellows brought that the other groups couldn't?
I think we stayed true to ourselves. We stayed true to the music. We never gravitated to the gimmicks or the fads. I think the one thing about 112 is that the music was always the most important, not the individuals. We were always about the music. When that is the focus, you're able to succeed. A lot of times, other groups or artists buy into the slang of what's going on today instead of making records that will stand the test of time. We were blessed to have the ability to ignore what's going on in the industry and have the strength to stay true.
Article comments
1 - jpharraway
Hello Mr. Q, I'm still proud of your success. You may still remember me but if you have forgotton, I want hold it against you. Love ya, Mrs. Pharr, Long Middle School