New Joint: JoJo "Hollywood"

JoJo "Hollywood"

Judging what I've been hearing from JoJo, she seems more poised and focused than ever and it shows in her music. Really anxious to get a new album from her!

New Joint: Johnta Austin "Patron" (Produced by Bryan-Michael Cox)

Johnta Austin "Patron" (Produced by Bryan-Michael Cox)

Demo of a song he did for Trey Songz. Eventually, Trey passed on the song and the beat was given to Amerie; she turned the song into "Red Eye."

New Joint: David Banner "Stutter" featuring Anthony Hamilton (Produced by 9th Wonder)

David Banner "Stutter" featuring Anthony Hamilton (Produced by 9th Wonder)

When I saw David Banner did another song with Anthony Hamilton, I couldn't help but think it would be "Cool" part 2, and I wasn't too far off. I consider this a sequel to the previous song they did together and I'm definitely feeling it. This is off Banner's new album "Death of a Popstar" which is a collaboration with producer 9th Wonder.

YouKnowIGotSoul Top 10 R&B Albums of 2010: #5 Sade "Soldier Of Love"

Sade is one of the few select artist that can take a ten year break between studio albums and still find her audience intact upon her return. In 2010 Sade graced us once again with the masterpiece "Soldier Of Love". The album touches on relationships, love, and heartbreak. Even though all these topics sound melancholic, as you listen to the record, Sade successfully embeds a feeling of empowerment to the listener. I leave you with a personal favorite of mine "The Moon And The Sky".

YouKnowIGotSoul Top 25 R&B Songs of 2010: #1 Dwele "What's Not To Love"

Dwele "What's Not to Love"

We've finally reached the top slot on the YouKnowIGotSoul Top R&B Songs of 2010 and that honor goes to Dwele with his single "What's Not To Love." If you had a chance to hear my interview with Mike City, who wrote and produced the song, you would know how big I was on it. It was a very tough decision, but since I first heard this song early in the year, I can't stop playing it; and to me that's the sign of a classic song.

YouKnowIGotSoul Top 25 R&B Songs of 2010: #2 Teedra Moses "R U 4 Real"

Teedra Moses "R U 4 Real"

This selection might come as a shock to many, but my huge support for Teedra aside, this is a very, very good song. So smooth, sensual and soulful; and to think it was only a mixtape song. Her new album "The Lioness" is coming in early 2011.

New Joint: Faith Evans "Worth It" (Reader Choice)

Faith Evans "Worth It"

Shout out to reader TagTheMelody who is not only a big supporter of YKIGS, but also a huge fan of Faith Evans. She picked a song to be featured from Faith Evans' latest album "Something About Faith" and chose "Worth It." I will agree with her it's one of the best songs on the album and worthy of a feature!

Lost Soul: Blaque "Rainbow Drive"

Blaque "Rainbow Drive"

After reading that the group is still active and currently working on a fourth album (despite having their second two albums shelved), I had to feature a song by the group. This is an album cut from the former Left Eye proteges debut album from 1999.

Lost Soul: 702 "You'll Just Never Know"

702 "You'll Just Never Know"

Personal favorite from the group's sophomore album "702" in 1999. Amazing slow jam.

YouKnowIGotSoul Top 10 R&B Albums of 2010: #6 Ne-Yo "Libra Scale"

With his fourth album, Ne-Yo tried to create a concept album of sorts on "Libra Scale" based around a movie vision he had in his head. To accompany the album, he released six extended music videos which portrayed that vision he had. Although none of the singles were overly successful, and he recently stated in an interview he let his fans down by losing focus during the recording of the album, the contingent at YouKnowIGotSoul can agree that for what it was, "Libra Scale" was an enjoyable album. All movies, concepts and hype aside, this was front to back a good mix of r&b music.

YouKnowIGotSoul Interview With Meelah (from 702)

Boy that Twitter is a powerful weapon. Imagine a recording artist stepping out of the limelight for over seven years only to begin recording again and have instant access to their fan base like they never left. Yep it's possible these days, and Meelah is living proof based on the constant love she's getting from her supporters who are proving they haven't forgotten about her. Ok to be fair this isn't just any artist, it also helps that she's super talented, has an amazing voice, and created a handful of classic songs while part of 702. Now back in the studio and prepping her debut solo album, she's more excited than ever to show those supporters she didn't forget about THEM! In this great interview, she discussed the circumstances that lead to the demise of 702, the magic she's creating in the studio with her boyfriend Musiq Soulchild, trying different things sounds while still creating music that will please 702 fans, what took her so long to get on Twitter, and the truth behind the rumored 702 track with Aaliyah "Candy Girls."





YKIGS: Since you’re no longer part of the group 702 and you’ve embarked on a solo career, tell me about what you’re currently working on.

Meelah: Well, I’ve just been being mommy for the last two years; I’ve just totally shifted my focus into parenthood. I took a break for awhile and now I’m finally ready to get back out there, I’m just having withdrawals, I’m like feining and itching *Laughs* to release some new music and do what I love again. So currently I’ve been in the studio, finally, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work with some awesome people and people are waiting patiently and they’re showing me so much love and interest and support which only ignites my fire and makes me hungrier. I’m so humbled and honored that people even want to hear from me, it’s been such a long time. I’ve just been working on some new solo material and hopefully I could share some with you all soon, give you all some little teasers, get some feedback, that would be cool.

YKIGS: You were speaking about being a mommy, how do you feel that being a mother has affected your career and how has that altered your plans? Take me through that.

Meelah: It definitely affects your career…well I guess everybody’s different, it depends on the individual as well. For me, it doesn’t stop your life, it definitely doesn’t mean that you can’t pursue your dreams anymore, but it does kind of alter things. Because I know for me, I’m no longer my number one priority, it’s about my son now and it just kinda alters things. I have to think about him first before I go to the studio or just jump on a plane or do things spontaneously as I used to, I have to say “Ok wait a minute, let me make sure my son is straight, let me make sure he’s good and he’s not going to be lacking anything from my end, my love, my attention, my affection.” It just makes you have to think twice before you just say “Oh ok well I’m going to do this and do that!” Nope. *Laughs* Like hold up, let me check on my son first. But thankfully I’m not doing it alone, I have a great support system, my mother actually just relocated from Las Vegas for me because she knows that I want to get back into this music thing so she’s like my number one fan so she’s like totally dropped everything she’s doing in her life in Vegas and came out her to help me with him. And also I am with his father, so thankfully I’m not a single mom, so that’s always great as well, so I’m very blessed.

YKIGS: Talk to me a little bit about 702 and at what point you decided to leave the group and go on a solo career.

Meelah: Well 702’s last record was in 2003 which I still can’t believe, oh my goodness, the time flies! Our last release, which unfortunately kinda fizzled and burned before it even had a chance to see the light of day, it was our album I like to call our ‘let’s try again’ album. We had some pretty decent success, but unfortunately after the second one, like after the rise of “Where My Girls At,” things started taking a turn for the worst unfortunately on the business side of things, and within the group and we just started to have some problems. I think that took a toll on us in so many ways, emotionally, personally, visually. So we had been going through some things for awhile and I decided that I was at a point where it just wasn’t healthy for me to be a part of the situation anymore. Instead of staying in an unhealthy environment, I decided to just walk away and especially after the last album had such disappointing sales that put the cherry on top of the cake. It was like ok, this is not working, we tried a third time and it’s just unfortunate everybody’s fighting, and not to play the blame game and say “oh well it didn’t work because of this, that and the other,” it just didn’t. So I got to the point where I decided I still have to live, I still have to make a living and I kinda just took a mental break for awhile, I just stepped away for a minute. Then I decided a couple of years ago, I’m like “Ok, this is what I love to do, this is my passion, clearly this is what God gave me this gift for.” So I didn’t want to just all together stop singing and stop doing music because 702 had kinda dissipated and reached our demise as a group. So I said ok, I’m going to carry on. A lot of people have this misconception that I left the group because I was the lead singer and I had this ego of like “Well I sing everything anyway, so I’m going to go solo, I don’t need the girls!” And that’s definitely the very last thing that it was, like I said we just had too many problems and everywhere we looked, like left, right, it was just problem after problem and it got kinda ugly and I was like this is not even worth it. So the ladies went on and lived their lives and I continue to pursue music, so I’ve been so grateful like I said earlier that I’m even able to try at this thing again, I just feel really blessed.

YKIGS: Let me just say though that the third album you guys did, “Star,” definitely should have done a lot better than it did. And the single “I Still Love You” I just think a lot of people didn’t get it, but that single was amazing.

Meelah: A lot of people didn’t get it that is so true, thank you so much I really appreciate you saying that. It was a tossup between that and “Star” which was both written and produced by The Neptunes, but the label was just kinda torn between which one should have been the first single because I think they already decided that “Star” was going to be the first single but “I Still Love You” was getting a lot of positive feedback. So at the last minute, they were like “Oh maybe we should make it ‘I Still Love You’” and everybody was confused, we were like “Oh I don’t know!” I love “I Still Love You” that was one of my favorite records on that album, but I think being we had been gone for so long I think we had had like a three year hiatus and we were just so concerned like “Ok, are people going to understand ‘I Still Love You,’ is it too slow, what do we do?” At the end of the day the label has the last say *Laughs* and they went ahead with “Star” but they didn’t really push it and it just flopped and they didn’t want to spend any more money after that so they didn’t care that “I Still Love You” was doing such great things on its own, they were like “Budget closed, next!” *Laughs* It’s so sad, it was just over as quickly as it began. Hey, everything happens for a reason I guess. *Laughs*

YKIGS: How would you describe the sound of the music you’re doing solo in comparison to the sound fans are used to hearing from 702?

Meelah: You know I can’t even really put it into any type of descriptive verbalization for you honestly. It’s not a huge departure from what I was doing with 702, however it’s growing, it’s something that is definitely an evolution because I wanted to establish my own sound. However I did want to consider 702’s core audience and what made people fall in love with us. So I’m trying to stay true to that but at the same time I’m being very experimental and thinking outside of the box and not doing the things that people are pretty much expecting or thinking I’m going to do because I was with 702. I think a lot of sounds that a lot of producers that I’ve sat with like to throw me is stuff that’s I guess is typical of 702 and I’m kinda like “No, I’m not that girl, I don’t listen to just r&b.” I love listening to all genres of music, I am very open when it comes to doing different and new things and innovative things, but I’m still kinda experimenting. I haven’t really pinpointed my sound to a tee yet, but it will definitely be no matter what the music sounds like, full of soul, full of beautiful harmonies, and hopefully you get to feel the passion, the conviction and the love that I put into it. *Laughs*

YKIGS: On your Twitter I’ve been reading about how you’ve been in the studio with personal favorite of mine, and that’s Musiq Soulchild. Tell me what that experience has been like, the sound he’s helping you create, and how you guys work together.

Meelah: Oh my goodness, such a blessing and honor to do this, like a living legend sitting next to me, he is so talented. It’s been really cool, that’s another guy that would you wouldn’t even imagine, I mean you know he’s musical, but I think a lot of people have this perception of him being just a certain type of musical because he was stuck in genre when he first came out and labeled as Neo Soul so a lot of people think we’re going in that direction. He’s so versatile and he’s been producing tracks for me and I just know people are going to be shell shocked like “Who did that? Musiq Soulchild did not do that track!” *Laughs* So we’ve been just experimenting and just doing all types of different music together because he’s the father of my son as well, so it’s just been interesting because we’re together, we have a baby together. *Laughs* We live together, we decided to work together now, it’s so interesting because I don’t see him as Musiq Soulchild now, not anymore, I’m still a fan but now it’s like that’s my boo and my baby daddy! *Laughs* But when we’re in the studio and I see him, there’s Musiq Soulchild, he’s totally different in the studio, he gets in there and just wow, he puts on all hats and dude is so super quick and talented, the things that he comes up with are insane. So we’ve just been writing songs together and creating what we think will be just refreshing to hear. It’s been a really great experience, I’m learning from him, I’m really learning a lot from him, he introduced me to so many new things and different artists and different types of music and different ways to approach music. It’s totally opened my eyes to a lot of different things in terms of just speaking the music language.

YKIGS: I hate to ask but can you give me the inside scoop on when his album is coming out? *Laughs*

Meelah: *Laughs* I don’t mind you asking it’s cool! People are waiting and itching to hear that music, so I don’t mind you asking. He’s actually finishing up, he’s been working on it for awhile now and you all will not be disappointed. I can’t give you a date because he doesn’t have a date yet, but hopefully soon. I know when we’re out and about and people come up to him, he will say hopefully the top of the new year. Hopefully he’ll have something soon within the next couple of months, they should be wrapping things up, they should be ready to release. *Laughs*

YKIGS: Cool, thank you! Talk to me a little bit more about Twitter. You last released the album with 702 back in 2003 and now you’re coming back. What type of love have you been getting from fans on Twitter, because it’s a totally different way to interact with your fan base. Tell me about that.

Meelah: It is totally different. Honestly I just joined Twitter this year back in May so I’m kind of late. For whatever reason I was kinda anti-social network, I wasn’t on Facebook, I wasn’t on Twitter, I just wasn’t into it, I was like thanks but no thanks. *Laughs* I had to soon slap myself and figure out this is the way to connect with your supporters, this is the way to reconnect with the people that truly love 702. I learned that, as soon as I got on Twitter, I’m talking about in a matter of minutes, I got so much, it was like an outpour of love and positivity. It’s so funny now because I used to be like I’m not getting on Twitter, and not I’m addicted! *Laughs* I’m addicted to it now and my manager Cory tells me all the time because it’s like “Look, you need to be on Twitter even more, you gotta just really make yourself available and speak to your fans.” It’s not that I don’t love them back, I promise you, I’m a mommy now and I make that the excuse for everything but I just get a little preoccupied at times! *Laughs* It’s like you know what, this is what people Tweet about, they Tweet about every little thing that’s happening in their lives. *Laughs* So I’m like alright, I gotta step my Twitter game up, I gotta get my account verified, I’m going to Tweet everything! *Laughs* So I mean I’ve had a good experience, now I find myself on Twitter more than Facebook. I’m guilty of being biased and partial, I’m partial to Twitter now, I love Twitter! I wouldn’t even have been able to hook up with you and do this interview if I hadn’t been on Twitter! *Laughs* Honestly, I’ve done a few interviews via Twitter, I’ve had three or four others all set up via Twitter, so shout out to Twitter! *Laughs*

YKIGS: *Laughs* Besides Musiq, is there anyone else you’re currently working with in the studio or people you’d like to work with for this album you’re working on?

Meelah: Oh my goodness, I’d like to work with so many people, but I’ve gotta be real, I’m just so excited. I live a lifestyle of the cliché but I’m so serious, I’m just so happy and feel so blessed to be doing this again. I’m willing to work with anybody that wants to work with me. Seriously, it doesn’t’ even have to be an A-list, big name producer, I just want to work with whoever is just as excited about working with me as I am with them. So I’m just in the business of making good music, it aint even about a popularity contest and all of the name dropping “Oh I got this person and this person and this person on my album!” I just want to get in and create magic. However *Laughs* of course a girl can dream, I’d love to work with Will. I. Am., I think he’s incredible at what he does. I actually got the chance to reconnect with Missy, I mean she’s like a sister now, we have such a chemistry. I’ve been knowing her since…when did she come into my life, like ‘96, ‘95? So off the bat we just have chemistry so we’ve been working together, not on a consistent basis, but here and there, she’ll reach out and I’ll go out and work and start vibing. We haven’t completed anything yet *Laughs* but we are off to a great start so I’m excited about that. I’m in Atlanta now, based in Atlanta now, I was in L.A. for the last two years and I just moved to Atlanta about a year and a half ago. This is like the little capital for producers and songwriters and it’s just like everybody is out here. I have yet to make my rounds because a lot of people still don’t know I’m out here. So I need to holla at The Dream *Laughs* and Tricky, all them dudes. I would love to work with that camp. So far I’ve just been working with up and coming producers and I’ve been working with producers that aren’t necessarily up and coming but they’ve been around for awhile and they’re just so low key that you wouldn’t know them like that, but you know their music. So I’ve been just trying to make my rounds like I’ve said. Right now I have a wide selection of producers that I’ve been dealing with and I’m not finished yet, I’m going to try everybody I can, I don’t care if I have 60 songs! *Laughs* I’m just trying to work with everybody, so if you’re listening and you’re interested, I’m open to submissions. People have been asking me about that on Twitter, they’ve been wanting to submit things and I’m definitely not one to just turn anybody down just because, I don’t mind listening at all and if I feel like it’s something that I want to do, by all means I’m going to try and make it happen.

YKIGS: How can they reach you to submit something?

Meelah: They can e-mail lyrics, production, whatever to meelah.w@gmail.com.

YKIGS: So I wanted to talk to you about after your second album with 702, you took a little bit of a hiatus and I know you were working with Faith Evans. Tell me about what that experience was like.

Meelah: You know it’s such a small music world, I actually worked with her with 702 as well. She wrote a song for 702 maybe for the second album, we ended up not using it but we would always sing it acapella, we just loved it even though it didn’t make the album. We met her through Missy back in the day so I kinda already knew her. Then once I was on my little hiatus, we kinda reconnected and at the time she had a management company which was managed by her and her company. She’s just vocally a beast and all around an amazing artist to me so I felt so lucky to even be under somebody with that type of celebrity. I just always looked up to her, even in high school I looked up to her music, she was just dope. So I got the privilege of writing with her on a lot of her stuff, co-writing with her so that was something that I’ll never forget and I was with her for a couple of years and eventually like everything else it ran its course. But I was so grateful to have been able to be under that umbrella, see her in action and writing and how she gets down in the studio, so that was just so dope.

YKIGS: As a huge fan of Aaliyah, I’ve just got to ask you about a rumored song “Candy Girls” that you were supposed to work on with her or it was completed and never got released. I’m not sure about the background but I was hoping you could fill me in on that.

Meelah: Umm, I don’t know, I never heard of that one!

YKIGS: Yea, because it’s on your profile here.

Meelah: With Aaliyah? You know what, people put things on Youtube, you know that and they run with it, it’s all type of stuff that I discover on Youtube about me and I’m like “What? Where did they get this?” Of course I’d established a cool little friendship with her though Missy of course, we’d be around each other here and there and in the studio and she gave 702 a cameo appearance in her “If Your Girl Only Knew” video. So I definitely was around her but as far as working with her, I’ve never worked with her musically. But the closest connection I can say I did have to her musically was when I did a song with Missy, it was myself, Missy and Ginuwine and it ended up being the song Missy released when Aaliyah passed away, it was dedicated to her.

YKIGS: “Take Away.”

Meelah: Yea “Take Away.”

YKIGS: Ok, I guess that rumor was false then unfortunately. *Laughs*

Meelah: Yea! Oh my gosh I would have loved to have worked with her in some kind of way, oh my gosh, she was just such a sweet spirit.

YKIGS: Now I want to ask you about “Steelo.” When you first were coming out with the track, did you expect it to become the hit that it became to the point where to this day people still consider it a classic?

Meelah: Can I just say, that is STILL my jam, ok! *Laughs* I love “Steelo,” it’s just something about that record to me. And maybe I’m saying this because I was a part of making it happen, but I really feel like how many years later, it came out in ’96, this is 2010, almost 2011, over ten years later, to me I still feel like it goes hard, I just do. I’ve been to places in New York at clubs or overseas even out at a party and randomly they’ll just play it, and it still sounds good to me! *Laughs* You know how you can hear something from back in the day and you still enjoy it but you can tell it’s a little dated, that’s an old school joint. To me “Steelo,” there’s just something about it that’s has this current appeal. Did I think it was going that big? No, I wasn’t even thinking about the level of success, I just knew I was 17, I had a record deal, I had just graduated high school and I was like this is the life! I’ve got a song on the radio, a and I was on my way to college and instead I took a detour and I’ve got an album out! It was so much going on that I wasn’t even thinking about the success of the song, I wasn’t thinking about if this was really happening or what is happening right now. *Laughs* So oh my God, I was just happy that we got to work with Missy on that one and that’s kinda like where that sound started, that sound came from with 702. She was on that record at the time and that was back when she was getting ready to blast off with her career. What I will say is I didn’t know that her career was going to end up how it did. Not because she wasn’t talented, she was just so talented as a song writer and a producer, but just because oh my goodness, we established such a close relationship and we were friends back then, and she was like your homey. *Laughs* And all of the sudden she’s this huge hip hop female legend, oh my goodness it’s crazy, people just blow up right before your eyes and it’s like wowww. I’m just happy we were able to get her for a minute before she blew up like that. *Laughs*

YKIGS: Let me just ask you, through your association with Missy, because I’m a huge supporter of the group Playa and also Static who passed away, did you ever have a chance to work with Static or know him?

Meelah: I did not get a chance to work with Static. When I tell you that was one of the most talented writers I have ever crossed paths with, he was so talented. I think I may have been around Playa a couple of times here and there just because we were around Missy and Tim over the years and I would see them sporadically in the studio or something. But I ran into him when I was still living in L.A. probably about three or four years ago. I was out and I ran into him and I stopped him and said “I’m about to start working on some new music again, I really, really want to work with you man.” He showed me nothing but love of course and he was like “Absolutely” and we exchanged numbers. Unfortunately it never got a chance to happen, but I think he’s so dope. I was so happy for him when “Lollipop” came out, I was so excited for him. That was the dude, gone too soon, so talented.

YKIGS: Thanks for sharing that. That’s all the questions I had, is there anything else you’d like to add?

Meelah: Nope, other than the fact that I’m finally back in the studio and hopefully I’ll have something to share with everyone soon. If you’re not following me on Twitter already, please do so I so appreciate the support and that’s @ItsMeelah. I’m also on Facebook at Facebook.com/Meelah. Also I just did a little photo shoot with Derek Blanks a couple of months back, you can check out some of the pictures on my Facebook. I’m actually going to probably shoot with him again, some more stuff, I’m all into experimenting and trying new things, I want to go and try a different look. I think I need a different look, I think I’ve been looking the same since 702. *Laughs* Which is not a bad thing, I’m grateful that I can still pull it off but I’m just really interested in wanting to just try some new things. I just want to say thank you to everybody for all of the love and support, like I said it’s been an outpour of positive vibes and I’m just so grateful. Thank you so much to all of you guys who are following me on Twitter, and even if you’re not it’s all good just thank you for hearing what I’ve got to say. And thank you so much DJ Slam for wanting to do this interview with me.

YKIGS: No problem, thank you so much Meelah for this great interview, I really appreciate it and best of luck, I’m really looking forward to hearing the new music.

Meelah: I am too, I’m so excited like foreal, foreal this is the most excited I’ve been, I really think so. I’ve recorded over the years, while I was on my hiatus I’d always go in the studio but now it’s just I don’t know, I’m just really super excited, maybe the inspiration is different, the motivation is different. I can’t wait to hear what everybody thinks.

YouKnowIGotSoul Top 10 R&B Albums of 2010: #7 Erykah Badu "NEW AMERYKAH Part Two: Return Of The Ankh"

New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) is Ms. Badu's fifth studio album to date. With production from J Dilla, ?uestlove, Madlib, 9th Wonder, Sa-Ra, Karriem Riggins, and Ms. Badu herself; the album tells a troubled love story through a beautiful blend of Hip-Hop, Soul, Funk, and R&B bliss. Here is one of the best cuts from the album "Umm Hmm" Produced by Madlib & Erykah Badu.

Erykah Badu - "Umm Hmm"

YouKnowIGotSoul Top 25 R&B Songs of 2010: #3 R. Kelly "Love Letter"

R. Kelly "Love Letter"

In any normal year for r&b, there is no conceivable way this would be anything less than number one; the song is that good. At the same time, there was SO much good r&b out this year that I had no choice but to slot this at number three. In any case, r&b enthusiasts around the world are surely rejoicing to hear that R. Kelly is back to making that good music.

YouKnowIGotSoul Interview With Daron Jones (from 112)

The game has changed. With the internet giving artists the opportunity for exposure that was once never there and suddenly creating intense competition, artists are forced to question what value they are adding to the consumer to differentiate from the next. Although Daron Jones has garnered a large fan base and gained legendary status from his time in 112, as you will hear in this interview even he has been forced to change the way he does things to continue a career in music. But the difference with Daron is he gets it, and has what it takes to succeed. Upon the release of his first solo album "Uncensored," I talked to Daron about the sound he has on the album compared to the sound of 112, the interaction with fans he has on Twitter and Facebook in promoting his music, the best marketing tool he has as an independent artist, the best song he's ever written, and if he hopes 112 will ever get together again.



YouKnowIGotSoul: First off, I just want to congratulate you on the release of your new album “Uncensored.” How are you feeling with the release of this album?

Daron Jones: It’s good, I’m loving it. It’s not just an album for me, it represents a time in my life and just a time…it represents growth as a man. It just represents me standing up on my own and saying everything I want to say and being all that I am as a man and as an artist.

YKIGS: For those of your fans who haven’t had a chance to hear it yet, how would you compare the sound of this album to what they’re used to hearing from you on the 112 albums?

DJ: I think in a sense it’s an evolution of that to a certain extent because my contribution on the 112 from the writing and production standpoint was pretty big, like I did 80% of the music the whole time we were a group. With that being said, it was a lot of hip hop influenced music, it was a lot of pop, soul, jazz and gospel, and I think on this album you’ll get kinda like the same thing but I think it’s more so my way, instead of having everybody’s input, I’m just doing it my way. But it’s just pretty much a lot of the same things sonically and a lot of the same messages.

YKIGS: I wanted to ask you about the first single you released, “Money.” Did you receive any backlash from fans who weren’t quite expecting that sound from you? What has the reaction been like?

DJ: Yea I mean I did, the song “Money,” it went on a blog called “Sound Saavy” and the first time it was wow, they didn’t really understand the sound and they didn’t really understand the evolution of my sound. So yea I did initially, but for the most part, everybody was just happy to have me back and they understood the song and they understood where I was going. At the end of the day, the bottom line was just a message encouraging faith in a time when we all kind of dealing with recession just to kinda put it out there like this is where the future’s at. Like we all trying to get back to the money and we all trying to do it big and that’s really what the song was about, it’s just really to inspire. For the most part, those that were open minded were able to receive that message.

YKIGS: Ok, I can understand that. What made you decide to title the album “Uncensored?”

DJ: It had a lot to do with me as an artist and as a man. Because as an artist, growing up in the business and coming into the business at 17, it’s kinda like you become censored because everything you do has to run through an executive or a group of people that have to make the final decision on what it is that you’re singing or how you’re presenting your product, even how you’re presenting yourself. So the “Uncensored” title was just a way of me saying that part of my life is over with, the part of my life that anybody can tell me what to say or what to do with my music or with my life in general, that’s done. Now I’m completely uncensored so these things I’m saying, you’re getting it directly from the horse’s mouth and it is what it is now, the past is the past and we’re moving forward with Daron Jones and the DPS movement.

YKIGS: So you released the album a little over a week ago on December 5th. How happy have you been with the response you’ve got on it from fans and whoever has heard it?

DJ: Wow, I mean the response has really been incredible. Mostly what I’m getting is that ok, wow, I’m happy to see that you’re doing an album. A lot of people are happy to see that I’m doing a solo album because most of the response I’m getting is that I was a lot of peoples’ favorite in the group and they just had to see that ok, you got an album and it’s a solo album and I can actually go get it right now. Most of the response has been overwhelming on the positive side.

YKIGS: Since you’ve released the album online through your own site on DPS Productions, do you feel you’ve had any difficulties reaching your fan base?

DJ: No, it’s funny you say that, it’s been very easy to reach the fan base because of Twitter and because of Facebook. I’ve been using Facebook really as a marketing tool and really Twitter a lot as a marketing tool and it makes it a lot easier to reach out to fans. That’s the thing about being independent right now, especially an artist that has a fan base already it’s like a whole nother world. Because I came into the game, I mean on my first album the amount of money that I was making per cd was just like, it aint even enough to mention. But now I get every penny from the money that comes in, whenever a cd is sold it goes directly to me and it’s just a totally different world now.

YKIGS: Yea, I mean I follow you on Twitter and see you actively on there interacting with fans and all of that type of thing. How has that kinda changed the way you do things. You can get instant feedback from fans, how has it changed the way you interact?

DJ: Man it’s awesome because and it’s funny that you say that because me and my team talk about this a lot. It kinda opens up a playing field, like I was kinda talking about this the other day. Ok, just say for instance, like what’s really setting artists apart? Ok, I’m Daron, and I can sing and I can play the piano and I can produce songs. So at the end of the day, if I’m on BET spinning 30,000 times a week, or if I’m on VH1, it just automatically makes me a star for the most part as long as I can pretty much provide that which the BET audience is looking for. See now that you have stuff like Youtube, the playing field has evened up. So whoever is controlling BET and VH1, they really don’t control who our stars are anymore. People can get on and be a star on their own and a lot of times these outlets that people are used to getting their music from, it kinda renders them powerless in a sense because they are not the only places where you can go and get 22 million people to watch you, or 30,000, or 40, or whatever the number is. It was a day when the only place where you could get that type of exposure was on a television network, now you can get it online. *Laughs* So it kinda opens up a playing field, like Susie from down the block can be the next Taylor Swift. So now it’s kinda like Taylor, what makes you so special? Everybody gotta go the extra mile and interact with the fans, I think it separates who’s who now, it’s gonna tell who is real about it and who is doing it just to be doing something.

YKIGS: I don’t mean to take anything away from what you’re doing because I think you’re doing an amazing thing releasing the album online, independently by yourself. But do you feel that maybe some of your fan base that’s not on Twitter, not on Facebook, and maybe they really don’t even know you have an album out? How do you feel about that?

DJ: Oh yea that happens too, we get a lot of that so I don’t just do everything online, I still kinda get out in the streets as well and try to balance it out. It’s just the best tool that I have at this point is not necessarily just Twitter or Facebook, but rather just the old school aspect of word of mouth, people telling other people and then getting to them that way.

YKIGS: What’s the transition been like from being in a group to being a solo artist? Has it been smooth?

DJ: Well it’s kinda difficult for me actually because outside of being in 112 it was just always making songs for somebody else. So whenever I’m writing a song it’s like I always had to keep other people in mind and I had to kinda censor what I was saying or I had to write based on who was going to be saying it. So just being a producer period, whether it’s producing for 112, Paintbrush, or whoever it was that I’d been writing and producing for, I kinda had to come to terms with the fact that this is my music. Because it took me awhile to kinda just swallow that like ok, I’m writing for me now, so it’s like what do I say? *Laughs* So that took a minute for me to kinda just say, I can say what I wanna say and I just put my name on it now instead of somebody else’s. I kinda took me a minute to grasp that concept because I was so used to writing for everybody else.

YKIGS: I want to talk to you a little bit about your production, because I’m the type of r&b fan I take the time to read the liner notes. I’ve seen your name and know you’re a very talented producer. I actually talked to Stevie J., another talented producer, and he talked about how he had a hand in helping you learn your craft in production on a trip you guys took to Trinidad. Tell me if you remember anything about that and what you remember learning from Stevie J.

DJ: Man I’ll say to this day, Stevie J. is like one of the most talented producers I ever ran across. I don’t think I ever met a producer that was more talented than Stevie J. because it’s like Stevie can play every instrument. So when I met Stevie, he made me wanna step my game up. I actually picked up a guitar when I met Stevie, and then the first song that I played the guitar on was the one that I produced for Keyshia “I Should Have Cheated,” but that was because of Stevie’s influence and just being around him. I can’t even really say it was just one situation, just being around him period within the Bad Boy movement whether it was at Daddy’s House. One thing I learned from Stevie too was that confidence, like Stevie always had that confidence, like Stevie would say stuff like, in the beginning, when we were doing the bad boy thing, he would be like “Yo, watch how I change music, watch what I do.” And I saw that and I remembered that and as I grew older, it’s like I picked up some of that. You gotta be confident and you gotta know what’s going to go down because you’re going to receive a lot of…you are going to get a lot of people saying “You don’t know what you’re doing” or “What’s that,” or “Why it don’t sound like it used to sound.” So kinda being around him prepared me for that, I don’t know what to say about Stevie. *Laughs* I could go on and on and on, but the main thing is I aint never met a producer doper than Stevie J.

YKIGS: This might be a difficult question for you to answer but I figured I’d ask it anyway. I went through your whole discography, saw all of the songs you’ve had a hand in writing and producing, do you have a song that consider the best song you wrote or produced?

DJ: *Laughs* Wow *Laughs* Woooo.

YKIGS: *Laughs* You can throw a couple at me, just anything that comes to mind!

DJ: I don’t know, I mean I guess “I’m a Playa” on the 112 “Part III” album was one of my favorites. I think the Keyshia Cole “I Should Have Cheated” was one of my favorites because that was a time in my life when everybody was questioning my abilities. I feel like people were questioning me as a producer, they were saying “Well what have you done outside of 112?” A lot of the songs I was doing at that time, they weren’t singles on other people’s albums. The song with Keyshia represents me kinda standing up for myself and what I felt my worth was. Because that song initially was for Nivea, and Nivea didn’t want to make it a single, and at the time my manager was trippin “Yo D just get the check, they gonna cut the check, it doesn’t matter if it becomes a single, Lil Jon got the first single on the album and this is going to be a big album for Nivea!” And I just got to that point, I was tired of my songs, songs like I feel like are big singles not getting the attention that they deserve. If it was another song I would take the check, but this time around I’m not taking the check, if they’re not going to release it as a single, it’s going to sit on my computer, it’s going to sit in the archives until somebody comes along and realizes the statement that this song is making for women. And then me and him kinda fell out about that, but I just took a stand and that song represented a turning point for me as a producer like “Hey man, yall going to have to make my songs singles, I’m not just going to sit my songs on albums where they can’t get the exposure they deserve.” And then when that song came out, it was crazy because it blew, I think it was the third or fourth single for Keyshia, and Ron Fair at Interscope had already told me “Yo we’re going to put the house on this song.” But they released a couple of singles before it, so when that song came out, it was just kinda like everybody that was doubting me because I didn’t have anything in awhile, everybody that I was working with was like “Nah we really don’t wanna use this stuff right now.” So Keyshia put me back on the map.

YKIGS: Very cool, very interesting. This now led me to another thing I’d like to ask. Is there a song that you wrote for another artist and maybe felt should be a single, maybe felt like it would have been a big hit if it were released as a single but unfortunately that didn’t happen? Can you remember a circumstance like that?

DJ: Well back in the day I wrote a couple of songs for Usher that ended up being not on his album, but ended up being actually big 112 singles. “Anywhere” was for Usher. “Anywhere” was for Usher and “Dance With Me” was for Usher.

YKIGS: How does that make you feel? Does that almost make you feel like you have vindication that another artist turned it down and then you were able to turn it into a hit?

DJ: Yes because it kinda built my confidence because I’m a big student, I’m a student of the game. I’m sure with the conversation that we just had about Stevie you could kinda gather that I like to learn, so as a producer I was learning to kinda balance having my emotional ties into music as well as kinda giving the consumer what they wanted and giving radio what they wanted. I was kinda fighting this whole situation at that time while I was growing as a producer. So I was listening to things that Puff would say, we wanted to put out ballads on our first album, and Puff would come in the meeting and say stuff like “Hey I just met with five program directors, they don’t wanna hear that!” So at the end of the day, I was learning to find balance with my production because I was listening to cats that was on the marketing sides whereas other artists they just go into the studio writing whatever they feel. But with me, I was kinda like listening to what the cats on the marketing side, the executive side was saying, and I was taking in. So I had to get to that point where I was involved in that thought process when I would write songs.

YKIGS: Aside from the album you have out now, are you currently in the studio writing and producing with other artists or do you have plans to for the future?

DJ: Right now I’m working with my sister, her name is Sunny Jones, and she’s going to be out, we’re going to drop the EP of her in the Spring or whenever. So right now we put out a snippet of her song “Play My Position” and a lot of people are digging that so we’re going to drop that at the top of the year, like a five song EP, the introduction just to get people knowing who she is and how she gets down.

YKIGS: I had a chance to interview Mike from the group as well recently and he was saying he still hopes the group 112 can get back together some day and make it work. Is that your hope as well?

DJ: Well I don’t really hope for that so to speak, I just want everybody to just move and if it happens it happens.

YKIGS: Looking back at 112, what would you say is the legacy of the group? I mean you guys achieved so much, so what do you think is the lasting legacy?

DJ: Woooo, that’s a good question! At the end of the day one of the great things about 112 is how long we actually stayed together. A lot of groups that were before us they didn’t stay together as long as 112 did. Of course the hit records and just the way that we touched people in a positive way with the music as a brand I mean nobody can ever take that away.

YKIGS: That’s true. That’s all I had prepared, is that anything else you’d like to add?

DJ: Man I just want to say thank you for your time and taking the time out. And I want to say thank you for everybody that supports me as an artist and I don’t know, just be looking forward to some new music because I’m just going to just keep giving it out! *Laughs*

Rare Gem: Deborah Bond "Keep On"

Coming from New Haven, Connecticut Deborah Bond brings a very unique soultry sound to the music scene. "Keep On" was released on Deborah's Debut album "Day After" in 2003. Three years later, Deborah released "After Day" a cutting edge remix version of her debut album. Along with her band 3rd Logic, Deborah has spent the majority of 2010 performing in events such as the "Luanda Jazz" festival in Angola, Africa. Deborah is rumored to be working on her "Madam Palindrome" Sophomore album, we hope to see it in stores very soon. To hear a sampler of her new album, please click here. We will keep on featuring Deborah's music on YKIGS and hopefully get an interview with Deborah herself. To learn more about Deborah, you can follow her on Twitter @QueenZeb and visit her official page www.deborahbond.com