Interview: Sean Garrett – Singer, Songwriter, and Producer

Although Sean Garrett is one of the most respected songwriters within the music industry, he has yet to become a household name. Even so, it would be safe to bet that every American has come into contact with one or more songs from his music catalog. Inside Garrett’s discography, one will find: “Yeah” (Usher), “Lose My Breathe” (Destiny’s Child), “Run It!” (Chris Brown), “London Bridge” (Fergie) and “Break Up” (Mario).

In 2008, Sean Garrett transitioned to the public spotlight, when he released Turbo 919 in Japan, which featured collaborations with Akon, Lil’ Wayne, Ludacris, and Pharrell. The following year, he took his performance on the road – touring with Mario, Trey Songz and Day26 on BET’s 106 & Park Tour – and further established himself as a solo artist.

Fresh off the heels of a successful tour, Garrett received a GRAMMY nomination for his contributions to Beyonce’s I Am…Sasha Fierce! After the first leg wrapped, Sean Garrett managed to squeeze some time out of his busy schedule and settle down for an interview with Clayton Perry — reflecting on his admiration of Lionel Richie, his nine contributions on Destiny Fulfilled and the story behind Jay-Z dubbing him “The Pen.”

In addition to being a singer and songwriter, you are also a producer. At what particular point did you start playing the keys?

You know what’s so ironic about my production — my production was probably the last thing that I started doing. Production was the last thing I did because I was always studying music. And as an artist, I kind of did things backwards. I was an artist first, and then my songwriting started to just really flourish, and then fooling around with being a producer and being an artist was coming along at the same time. So, I think the first thing was definitely my beginning as an artist and knowing that that was my calling — was the point of me knowing that I had a big career as a songwriter, artist, and producer.

Why do you think that your evolution followed that path?

I think because of the passion that I have for music, period. Some of my favorite artists were singers, songwriters and performers — like Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Elton John — they’re people that actually performed the music they wrote. So, that’s definitely the route that I’m taking because that’s what my passion is. I write songs that I feel are great songs, but I feel like only I can perform them and pull them off the way that I feel like they should be performed or written or actually sung. Sometimes it’s a little difficult when you have a song you want to try — you’ve got to try different things. I’m always trying different things. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to push a new artist or an artist that’s been in the game for a long time to do things that they’re not usually used to doing.

Article Author: Clayton Perry

Over the past few years, Clayton Perry has interviewed some of the BIGGEST entertainers in music, film and television. Check out his digital archive with 180+ definitive conversation pieces.

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