Interviews
GFM Spotlight -L *A*W Pt. 2
By Ivan Orr
In part two of this two part interview with rapper/singer/songwriter/producer & multi-instrumentalist L*A*W we discuss the ins and outs of the music biz and much more. Make sure to checkout the new release from L*A*W Tha Planet 12 Syndrome which you can purchase here.
L*A*W Interview Pt. 2
DJ Slam Interviews Faith Evans
By DJ Slam
Another great interview from our fam Thomas Leo over at YouKnowIGotSoul.com, check him out and let him know we sent ya! Enjoy the interview.
GFM Spotlight – JoJo McDuffie (The Mary Jane Girls) Pt. 2
By Ivan Orr
Part two of our three part in-depth interview with JoJo McDuffie former lead singer of The Mary Jane Girls. In this episode JoJo talks about the breakup of the group, what it felt like to have the #2 song in the country and no furniture in her apartment… driving a rental car, dealing with Rick James and his drug addictions, the return to her teaching career, brief reunion in the mid-90’s with The Mary Jane Girls and much more!
GFM Spotlight – L*A*W
By Ivan Orr
In part one of this two part interview with rapper/singer/songwriter/producer & multi-instrumentalist L*A*W we discuss the ins and outs of the music biz and much more. Make sure to checkout the new release from L*A*W Tha Planet 12 Syndrome which you can purchase here.
GFM Spotlight – The Family Stand
By Ivan Orr
I had the pleasure recently of interviewing The Family Stand- Peter Lord, Sandra St. Victor, and V. Jeffrey Smith- what a great time I had! I strongly suggest that if you have not picked up a copy of their latest project In A Thousand Years that you do so here.
GFM Spotlight – Jeff Hendrick
By Ivan Orr
I recently had the opportunity to chat with indie-soul singer/saxophonist Jeff Hendrick about his current project Color Blind, his affiliation with Michael Baisden the great musicians from Canada and much more!
Kelly Price Interview Pt.1(The Story Behind “Tired”)
By Ivan Orr
In part one of this series we discuss Kelly’s new single “Tired” which is receiving some well deserved buzz across radio, the net and wherever else great music is heard.
GFM Spotlight – Natalie Brown
By Ivan Orr
GFM recently chatted with international vocalist-songwriter Natalie Brown about her current crowd funding campaign which you can check out here, opportunities for independent artists, and of course great music!
Enjoy some (Avery) Sunshine
Do you have Sunshine??? Well we do and we’re happy to share some of that “Sunshine” with you. I had the wonderful pleasure of sitting down with songwriter, musician and vocalist, Avery Sunshine. We got a chance to talk about her new album, her upcoming role in the stage drama “I Dream” – directed by Jasmine Guy, and share a little girl talk. So pull up a seat and enjoy some of the “sunshine”……Avery Sunshine-that is!!! And don’t forget to get that album on iTunes or at www.averysunshine.com!!!
Get to know the visionaries behind the One Music Fest
I had the wonderful opportunity to sit and talk with the organizers and founders of the ONE Musicfest. But what is the ONE Musicfest you ask? It’s a musical celebration that will have performing artists like Common, De La Soul, Goapele, Mick Boogie and many other special guests. Also, prepare yourself for a mini-putting green tournament, rec room games, food stations, gaming stations (old school games, X Box & Wii), mixologist cocktail classes and much, much more. However, don’t let me tell you everything! Please allow J Carter, Robert Shaw and Christian Ruffin to speak more of what’s in store at this unifying event in Atlanta, Saturday, July 31st.
Peep the interview
Lalah Hathaway – Unsung
Sometimes it’s just good to listen… a great interview from a great artist, with some excellent advice. Happy Friday!!!
Donell Jones
By DJ Slam
This is a reader contributed guest post from Tom Leo of You Know You Got Soul.
GFM has been big supporters of Donell, so we’re pleased to share this interview with you. Special thanks to Tom for conducting this interview.
If you’d like to contribute a review, post or feature — click the Contribute tab and submit!
Today I caught up with r&b legend Donell Jones to discuss everything from his TWO upcoming albums, to his collaboration with Big Pun, to the state of R&B music today. One thing I will say about Donell is he has always stayed true to his roots and made timeless r&b music. In speaking with him, I can definitely see that he “gets it” in terms of understanding the importance of making this type of music.
Meshell Ndegeocello Talks About Creating “Devil’s Halo”
By Ivan Orr
When given the opportunity to interview a musician who has forged a career that contains a volume of work that any student of American music should deem as important, you don’t hesistate to take full advantage of that opportunity. Now, when what this musician has to say is on par with her musical genius it’s a serious no-brainer.
Such is the case with Meshell Ndegeocello and it is our pleasure to bring you this discussion in the only way we know how: unfiltered. Devil’s Halo the new album is out and you can read a review of it here. And now without any further adieu we present the interview!
Kevon Edmonds: The DJ Slam Interview
By The DJ Slam
Follow up post from Tom Leo, who you can check out here. In case you missed it, here’s his excellent review of “Who Knew“.
Today I was fortunate enough to interview r&b veteran Kevon Edmonds. He discussed everything from his new album, to the change in the music industry, to staying true to his roots. It was a pleasure talking with him, and I hope you enjoy reading.
Thomas Leo: First of all, congratulations on the release of your new album.
Kevon Edmonds: Thank you very much I appreciate that.
Fred Hammond Interview
Fred talks about making Dallas his home. Shout out to DJ Judah & Visit Black Dallas for this clip.
Priscilla Renea
By KayBee
Talented is an understatement, to say the least, when it comes to this young vocalist who took control of her own lyrical destiny via the famed flow of “YouTube”. Owing to what some view as a lack of substance or simply likeable music, those reasons alone inspired Ms. Priscilla Renea to write her own songs and create a sound not only pleasing to her ear but to a slew of others as well. Equipped with her acoustic guitar and (self taught) piano abilities, this fresh face is ready to share her innate sound with the world.
Nadine Charles
By Ivan Orr
Recently, Grown Folks Music had the opportunity to chat with London based soul singer Nadine Charles. Nadine is currently promoting her EP Introducing Miss Charles , you can check out a review of the project here.
Nadine Charles is definitely an artist to keep on your radar screen, her sound is at once familiar and yet unique. The familiarity comes from the fact that you can hear that she respects music through the purity of her vocal tone production. Her sound is unique because she is creating her personal musical narrative on her own terms. Now, the interview…
GFM Spotlight: Nadine Charles
GFM Spotlight: Eazy
By Ivan Orr
GFM recently interviewed Macon GA based artist Eazy where we discuss his upcoming project The Raptism (due out July 16th, 2010), his approach to his art, and the state of the music industry.
An Interview With Producer Edwin “Tony” Nicholas
By The DJ Slam
Another great interview by DJ Slam and a must read for all upcoming writers and producers. Great insights are shared as well as the ever controversial question, exactly “what is a producer??” Follow Slam on twitter here. Props to Slam for sharing with the GFM family. Enjoy.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Let’s start from the beginning. After completing your music degree from Denison University, pretty soon you took a job fixing copiers, but your passion for music was there. What was going through your head at this time, since you had a music degree, but you weren’t’ in music?
Edwin “Tony” Nicholas: Well, after I got the music degree, the job that I took at that time, I never ever considered for a second that I wouldn’t wind up doing music. I mean, I had my own studio that I put together so I had to have a day job to pay the bills. So I was working in the studio at night, and then working the day job during the day, so I never for a second thought that…you know it was strictly just to get money. And so, I actually was writing…my songwriter partner during the time was a guy named Foley, and he wound up leaving to go play with Miles Davis. At the time I took a music director job for a one hit wonder group called “Teen Dream” who was signed with Warner Brothers back then, I was their musical director, and so I kinda still had some things going on musically to where I had enough stuff to do to where I hadn’t really lost hope. But the copier job was strictly just for money, I never thought for a second I wasn’t going to wind up doing music.
DJ Slam Interviews Jon B.
By DJ Slam
Recently, DJ Slam had the opportunity to catch up with Jon B. It’s a fascinating interview where he opens up on a number of subjects. We’re glad to see him back on the scene, and thanks to DJ Slam for sharing it with the GFM family. Be sure to check out more from Slam on his blog. Enjoy.
YouKnowIGotSoul: First of all, what have you been up to since the release of your last album “Helpless Romantic”?
Jon B: Basically, I’ve been putting together the new album, which is my seventh album. I feel really, really excited about this album because it’s kind of a plateau I feel like I’ve come through now with things in terms of my label and kind of getting everything, finally a home for where I really want to be musically in the industry, you know? And that’s kind of what’s kept me, for lack of a better way of describing it, I guess that’s what’s kinda kept me below the radar I guess over the years. Just trying to get all my mechanics together because it takes a lot to really turn heads in this industry. For me it’s never been something to make an album, it’s never been that hard to make an album, creatively that’s the easy part. All of the promotion and all of that stuff that goes along with it, videos, tours and all that stuff, that’s the tricky part. If you’re really grinding out there, then people are going to see you no matter what. And that’s where we’ve been over the last four or five years, just out there grinding everywhere, the United States and abroad. But this new album, getting back to the new album, and to answer your question, is basically, this new album is the first album that I’ll be releasing through my new label, Vibezelect Records. This will be the first really independent album…well actually following, or along with that I should say, is going to be my reality show, which is going to be called “Still Down.” It’s going to be on major national TV, so I’m really blown away by that, I’m so blessed to be able to have that opportunity come to me and my family. You know, it’s a beautiful year, I expect 2010 to be the best yet that anyone has ever seen of me, you know what I mean?
DJ Slam speaks with R.L. about his upcoming album
By DJ Slam
One of our favorite contributors, DJ Slam of You Know I Got Soul, recently spoke with R.L., formerly of the R&B group Next. Here, he talks about what he’s been up to, the industry, leaks and what it means to be a songwriter. Be sure to look out for his upcoming album — LoveMusic and follow him on Twitter for all the latest.
YouKnowIGotSoul: First off, let me start by saying you did a great job writing and singing for Ginuwine’s latest album, I really enjoyed “Orchestra” and “Open the Door.” How did this collaboration come about?
R.L.: I actually did about five songs on the album; I think its five records on there. I got a call from a producer who goes by the name of St. Nick, and he asked me if I wanted to get involved. Me and Ginuwine you know were cool for years since we did “The Best Man,” so I said “Of Course.” I went down and I ended up doing some stuff with St. Nick and they liked my work and asked me if I knew any other producers who would be good for the project. I brought in Oak, and we did some more records. There were actually a few more that I liked A LOT that didn’t go on the album, one went on the international version if I’m not mistaken. Over the years, we always said we need to get up and do something, and it’s a blessing for him to let me get in on the project, it was real nice.
GFM Spotlight-Vivian Green
By Ivan Orr
In this very special interview GFM sits down to talk with Vivian Green about her new album (due out April 6th), time away from the industry and much more.
GFM Spotlight- Nick Cannon
By Maggie Walsh
Grown Folks Music had the chance to talk to Nick Cannon last month on his new job as the head of Nickelodeon’s new teen network TEENick, his musical influences, and the role of new media in the entertainment industry. He told us about everything from him and wife Mariah Carey dancing to “Gigolos Get Lonely Too” at a Morris Day and the Time concert to his take on grown folks music.
GFM Interviews: Nick Cannon
GFM Spotlight- Blitz The Ambassador
By Maggie Walsh
I caught up with Blitz the Ambassador at the 92Y in Tribeca a couple weeks ago for another amazing show and to ask him a few questions about his upcoming album, his influences, rapping from Ghana to Brooklyn, and the changing music industry. I’ll let Blitz speak for himself, so check out the interview below.
