How did the two of you forge that relationship?
It was our music. He loved my first album. He ran across my manager in New York in the MTV building and said, "Are you the manager of Robin Thicke? You know I love his song, ‘Shooter,' and I'd like to put it in my album." He flipped it, and it became an underground hit.
Another interesting collaboration can be found on Ashanti's The Declaration: "Things You Make Me Do." The song is very sexy and the two of you sound great together. Did you approach Ashanti or did Ashanti approach you about doing that song?
I don't really do collaborations like that, because I never really sing songs that I don't produce. But sometimes, you just kind of drop all that and just let things flow. We saw each other in New York and we went to the studio and we just knocked it out right away. Even though it's not how I normally operate, that's what you got to do as an artist. You've got to check your ego out. Besides, Ashanti is such a sweet person. She's just cool.
Speaking of ego, your sophomore album experienced an eight-month delay before hitting the shelves. What did you take from that experience?
I've learned so much. The worst thing that can possibly happen to you sometimes turns out to be the best, you know? In that period, I rewrote half of the album and put 9 songs on. It turned out to be a completely different album. I just have to follow the road that God's put me on.
Is there a particular song that came "out of the blue" and really captures the essence of that particular period?
A lot of them: "Complicated," "Can U Believe," "2 The Sky," "Angels."
Of those, "2 The Sky" is my personal favorite. What was the writing process for that particular song?
The album kept getting pushed back and the band had a performance on the road with Keyshia Cole, so we just had to keep the ball rolling. One day while we were rehearsing, my keyboardist and musical director, Larry Cox, started to play this little riff. And in the next fifteen minutes or so, we wrote the whole song by just jamming. What you hear on the album is a six-minute block with another three-minute reprise. It was so much fun.
When touring, what do you find to be the most rewarding part of live performance?
Just the people, the interaction – you can actually bring them joy by singing your songs to them.
Is there a particular city that you love to perform in?
Article comments
1 - stan
If you love Robin Thicke adn also are a french speacker take part