1.
When did you get started in the music business? I
got started in the music business at the age of 14.
2. How long did it take for you get your record deal?
It took me about 4 years to get my record deal.
3. How did it happen? I
used to record all around the Atlanta area. First starting out
at a rim shop in Decatur, then the Dungeon Family (Rico Wade,
Sleepy Brown, Ray Murray, and Suga Love) took me under their wings.
I entered a temporary artist agreement with Noontime after that.
Therefore, after accumulating 26-30 songs, my previous manager
and I went to New York to approach several different labels. Noontime
took me (us) to Epic first. We approached Dream Works, Warner
Bros., Columbia, and Jive. Jive presented the best offer, so that
is where I (we) decided to move in.
4. Was it a time when you ever got so frustrated with trying to
get a deal that you almost called it quits? There
were numerous times that I’ve called it quits! Being that
I was as young as I was, it somewhat took away from my childhood.
This industry would cause most people, like myself, to want to
quit every other day!
5. What kept you going when the
times got very rough and you could not see a light at the end
of the tunnel? The thing that kept me going was
the fact that I had it in my heart. I loved the way it felt on
stage and the people I was meeting and learning from. I was always
a very independent kid so I did not necessarily lean on family
or friends to support me. In addition, believe me I have been
hitting incredibly hard times since I have been in this game!
However, certain individuals are made for this game, and you realize
that when you have tried to walk away from it but come right back
to it.
6. So, after you got your deal how
excited were you about recording your first album?
Honestly, I was excited that I’d finally gotten signed but
I was more on some “this has to be right” mentality.
7. How involved was your A&R
during the recording process of your album?.
My A&R at the time was involved. However, at the
same time we had brought 26 songs towards the project from my
original demo! Don’t Mess With My Man, Don’t Mess
With The Radio, Have Mercy, No Doubt were from my demo and they
all made my first album.
8.
Do you write and/or produce yourself?
I am a writer but I have yet to experiment with production.
