When I first started writing and producing music we were dead in the middle of the gangster rap era. I remember working with MC's and it was all about being hardcore. When I would write love songs and the homies would clown me. One MC in particular would call me "Lover Boy" and tease me saying, "one day you going to be a R&B singer". I'd laugh it off but love has always been one of the topics I revisit time and time again. Plus, I missed R&B music.
Over the past year I found myself really exploring the topic with a different mindset. I guess you can call it a deeper understanding with wisdom. I think heartbreak, lust, passion, romance, and all the other feelings that come with love are essential. You have to experience and express these feelings. Its what makes humanity different from all other creatures on earth. The ability to love is sacred. These songs are metaphors straight from the heart. They are personal and have lived with me for the past year. I am opening my heart and sharing them with you.
Playing Games
This was one of the last songs I wrote for the project. The album was complete but I felt that a few songs were weak so I made cuts. While making cuts I would be in the club listening and watching the girls play games. I think I made the song in about 15 minutes at about 4 am when I told this girl to stop playing...it was like.THATS IT. Oh...the other note about the composition came from a challenge my pops gave me to create more changes in my music. So I flipped the whole second half of the song...
Weekend Love (Hanging On)
The album was originally going to be called East Point. I was experimenting with trap sounds and doing my thing with pitch correction when I abandoned my plans. I don't even really remember writing this song it came to me so quickly. Its minimalist composition is no accident. The bass line on this song is the glue that holds it all together. I freestyled a lot of the lyrics on this album and this one is no exception. I remember listening back the next day and being like...damn. "Like a puppet on a string. I'll do anything. Hanging by a thread." Ever had a crush like that?
Blows My Mind
I grew up on Prince. I am not ashamed to admit that Dirty Mind totally f*cked me up. Its all about being able to express yourself primitively when it comes to sex. Sometimes metaphors just don't get it right. Compositionally, this is more Kraftwerk than Prince. I played Kraftwerk's "Robots" album for my kids and they loved it. Because they dug it so much I went on a binge and went through their catalogue. They have always been a huge influence on my art. One of the first records I ever owned was Numbers with Computer Love on the b-side.
Break Free
I was at the end of my rope and my intuition sent me a message through this song. I composed the song and I didn't scratch out a single word when I wrote it. I did the vocal in one take. I intended the song to be deeper than surface level so when you go back to it you start to notice details hidden in the layers. This is another one that when I listened back the next day I was like...damn. This song is also one of the hardest ones for me to let go of. It might have been the second song I wrote for the project and took the longest to get the mix right. It still ain't right if you ask me but you know artist can be.
Heartless
I had my homie in the studio to witness this one. The majority of the album was composed and written in solitude in the wee hours of the morning. This came after another adventure in the clubs when I over heard gossip with my name all in it. The sad thing about showing love is dealing with the hate your going to get anyway. Its much easier to be like f*ck it and to give up. It was done in a freestyle in one take. When I was done, I played it back for the homies and they were like...don't f*ck with it. Its right.
Wanted
I don't know why this is my favorite song on the album. I think its because its the only real love song on the album. The other subjects are more about lust, attraction, and reactions to love. This is about how bad we want love of our own. This is another example of my minimalist approach to composition and has a heavy Kraftwerk influence. I wanted to use my signature tuned vocal sound but get more humanity out of it.
For The Love
I dug up my trumpet one day and it reminded me just how much I loved music. I got this trumpet at 11 years old and it reminded me of just how far I'd come. I wanted to see if I still had it so I pushed out the melody that became the vocal line. I guess you can call this a steppers tune. I have to admit that I was heavily influenced by Marvin Gaye's "Here My Dear" album. Marvin was dealing with the subject of love too and you hear him all through the album talking faintly in the background. Dropping knowledge and sharing wisdom.
International Game
This was not intended to be on the album and probably will be removed from the track list. However, it was so funky I had to drop it. Its a freestyle done in one take. I was vibing out to the Jones Girls "Nights Over Egypt" when I was thinking...I been around the world and I never seen a thing like you. Sampled off vinyl, looped on the ASR-10, and recorded through analogue audio chain. It sounds like butter on hot bread...