DA-PROFESSOR SPEAKS WITH CHICAGO GAY RAPPER/SINGER

Shortly before the Chirstmas holiday in 2008, I was surfing You Tube for the Brandy/Monica video "The Boy Is Mine" and during my search, I found a link to a video titled "The Boy Is Gay." Curious, I decided to check it out, and while I was watching the video, I was shocked and impressed to see somebody doing a Gay version of the Grammy-Award winning classic. Well the artist who decided to give the song a Gay Twist was Gay Rapper/Singer/Songwriter/Producer/Entreprenuer JR, who's been making music for the past decade. Born and raised in Chicago, JR, had began performing in his teenage years, landing a deal with Jive Records, but like many who were signed to the label, he never got to opportunity to record due to the label putting it's focus on R. Kelly. Frusrated, JR decided to strike out on his own, and he hasn't looked back. He's been making music and connecting with the Gay community. I had the opportunity to speak with the performer via telephone about his career, friendship with porn star Mr. Sauki.

DA-PROFESSOR: How are things going?
JR: Things are going great. I have a new CD out. My new video and single is out. I'm happy.

DA-PROFESSOR: How many CD's have you released?
JR: This is CD # 9.

DA-PROFESSOR: How did you get involved in music?
JR: As a child, I grew up listening to Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Michael Jackson. All of the greats and I wanted to be a singer, so I just did what I had to do to get there.

DA-PROFESSOR: What other singers influenced you?
JR: The # 1 singer would be Janet Jackson. I love Johnny Gill's voice. He's a great singer to me. TLC was my favorite group at the time.

DA-PROFESSOR: What do you admire about those performers?
JR: Janet Jackson. I admire her ability to put on a show. Her singing, her dancing, he businessmind, when it comes to how she works her contracts. Johnny Gill for him is more about his vocal ability. I don't have that, but I wish I did (laughs). TLC I love their personalities and their work ethics. Paula Abdul, she was an excellent cherographer. She still is very creative and that's what I love about her.

DA-PROFESSOR: How long have you been performing professionally?
JR: Professionally, I started at 19. I still have very old footage of me doing shows when I was 19.

DA-PROFESSOR: What made you decide to pursue a career as an openly Gay Performer?
JR: I was making music and a friend of mine said wouldn't it be funny if a guy was singing the song you're writing to another guy. And I said it would be funny.
The first CD was a joke. I was speaking my mind, but I was really serious about pursuing a career in it, but I got such an major response to it. Everybody love the idea of a guy singing to another guy, so it turned into a mission to give gay people a voice. When listening to the radio today, they're into singing songs that we can relate to. They don't know about being homeless because you told your mother you're gay.

DA-PROFESSOR: The first song I heard from you is "The Boy Is Gay" a remake of the Brandy/Monica duet "The Boy Is Mine." What prompted you to redo that song?
JR: (Laughs) One of the stories that needed to be told and again, it was meant to be fun. There was a time when i wasn't trying to be famous. I switched it around to the woman saying my man's not gay and I'm like sorry to tell you he is. Did you like the song?

DA-PROFESSOR: Yes. That was the first time I learned about your existance (both laugh). I remember speaking to you two years ago and you told me you started out as a child performer. Am I correct?
JR: Yes I was. Talent shows. Church. And when I was 15, I was signed to Jive Records. Nothing came out of it because at the time I was about to do my work, R. Kelly had released his "12 Play" CD so that was it. Everyone focused on that, and that taught me not to wait around for anyone, so that's when I started trying to get stuff on my own.

DA-PROFESSOR: Did you have problems getting out your contract with Jive?
JR: I never got the chance to record anything. I never even went to the studio, and it wasn't just me. There were about 6 or 7 of us who were waiting to get signed, but we were waiting indefintely. Then they also released Aaliyah, and she was with Jive at the time, so that's where the money and budget went.

DA-PROFESSOR: I like your song "Addicted To Boyz" and "In Love With a Porn Star"
JR: Competition, actually. There were individuals who were going towards me prior to releasing those songs. It was a competition thing. I had no idea it would take off the way it did because I made a video, and it wasn't one of my favorite songs to be honest, but I made simple, because people would love it. It's a easy hookd and there you go.

DA-PROFESSOR: I watch your videos and I notice that you features guys who are masculine, feminine, and in between. What prompted you to features all types of Gay models in your videos?
JR: Because there's more than one group of Gay individuals, period. I so that because mainstream, straight America have always put in media one type of Gay person and I don't that's a great representation of the Gay community. There's masculine, thugs, ultra feminine. Trangsgender, and that's why I do that.

DA-PROFESSOR: You also did a video with Mr. Sauki, who is one of my favorite porn stars. What was it like meeting him for the first time?
JR: For the first time I met him, he was nice and sweet, and I was very happy because he told me he masturbated to my music videos and that was all I needed to hear (I laugh). I was chubbier back then.

DA-PROFESSOR: What do you admire about his work?
JR: We're friends now. He's been like it's very professional. There are other people who are in it for the sex, and just to have sex, and they're passionate about the sex. He was like this is work for him. He's very pretty to me.

DA-PROFESSOR: Another song I like is Hatrix. What made you decide to perform to Janet's "Feedback?"
JR: "Hatrix" Oh wow. The word "Hatrix." The word hate mixed with the Matrix. I feel like I'm on fire all the time, even though it was a long time ago. I still feel like I'm caught up. And I guess that's good thing. It's OK to talk about me, but hatin' and conspirin' agaisnt me is another thing.

DA-PROFESSOR:I see that your shows features you dancing with dancers. What made you decide to dance instead of walk back and forth?
JR: Janet Jackson (laughs). I admire her concerts and I saw her live, and with this CD/DVD, all the videos will have dancing. I have a crew of dancers adn we're rehearsing. I'm hoping that next year we can do a tour, and at the end of the it, make a DVD of the tour and sell it. I didn't dance as much then than I'm dancing now.

DA-PROFESSOR: I also admire that you're also extremely smart and business-minded. How important is it to be business-minded?
JR: Extremely (laughs). I gotta say when I was at the Out Music Awards in 2009, I met Tori Fixx, and talking to him helped me a bit. Meaning he was telling me you have so many CDS you should have your music on I-Tunes. It would be a great thing to have your music on I-Tunes basically because I was selling my CDs on my website strictly from me, but now I understand to have my music on I-Tunes other than that contacts and business needs to be taken care of. Business and entertainment is what I'm all about.

DA-PROFESSOR: Which cities have you performed in?
JR: Atlanta, New York, Dallas, Florida, Ohio, Indinapolis, Portland, Oregon, Those are big cities. Last year, I was supposed to go to Brazil, but I couldn't go because for 1, I didn't have my passport, and # 2, there was some crazy things they wanted me to do.

DA-PROFESSOR: Last year, there were many Gay Teens and Adults who were being bullied and committing suicide. How did that affect you as a person?
JR: That's why I made a song and video about this. It affected me deeply, because I personally know a few people who were Gay bashed in Chicago. I don't wanna say it gets better, but people needs to be involved and try to look out for each other.

DA-PROFESSOR: There are many Gays who wanna see LGBT Rappers and singers perform at their Prides, yet many pride organizers don't wanna recruit them. Tell me from your prespective why?
JR: If they don't wanna book you, then they don't wanna book you. I'm not sure why they don't wanna book you. It's Gay pride and you have Gay performers; that doesn't make too much sense. If they don't wanna book you, there's not much you can do about that. I don't know if it's a bad repuatation that make people not wanna book you.

DA-PROFESSOR: You have several artists you're working with. Who are they?
JR: Melanie. A singer. I'm working with a young man, who's sings on my second single. His name is Tristan. There's Kyle Daquan. Domonique. Those are my artists and they're not all Gay.

DA-PROFESSOR: What other business ventures you're working on?
JR: There is a sitcome that I'm currently creating, tentatively called "Boys Town" and hopefully be recording by the end of September.
There's my second season for my dating show "R U The Boy?" I'm filming that now and that would be released in September. Then there's the Talk-show I'm looking to start towards the middle of the summer. I have a porn company that I'm putting on hold. People keep asking me to make a movie. I'm not in the movies. Recording the album. I produced a couple of tracks for Cat-Eyez.

DA-PROFESSOR: Do you plan on having a clothing and fragrance line?
JR: Actually I tried to do the fragrance line a few years ago. I took a haul back because it took alot of money to do. I didn't know about how getting it into the store, so I'm trying to stragetically do this. I did make one bottle for myself.

DA-PROFESSOR: You lived in Chicago all your life?
JR: Yes. I also lived in Atlanta for a year and a half.

DA-PROFESSOR: What was it like living in the ATL?
JR: Difficult. Very difficult. I'm a brown-skinned boy and most of the boys who are worshipped are light-skinned boys with pretty skinn and they weren't checking for me. You had a few people who were digging me, but most people are very pretty and light-skinned and I'm not a pretty light-skinned boy who's skinny.

DA-PROFESSOR: JR Me and my best friend Donald Peebles an author and blogger speaks about this issue alot. Me personally, I'm not a color-stuck person. I like both Dark and light-skinned men, but it seems like many wanna get with a light-skinned person, though they may or may not be a good person, and when light-skinned guys wanna get with dark-skinned men, many of their associates get mad. How does it feel to know that people are still color-struck?
JR: You know it's so weird. My friends who are light-skinned were on my dating show, but what I'm trying to explaint it to them they act like they don't know what the hell I'm talking about. And I hate to put this in this context, you know how there's White privilage? They don't really know they have the privilage to everything because of their skin color. Look at Beyonce. She's talented, but come on. If she was dark-skinned, it would be the bigger issue that now. So that's what I really feel. They don't realize they have privilage and they actually saying they're realizing it now since I bring it to their attention.

DA-PROFESSOR: You're from a city that has major history and where talented artists like Chaka Khan, Jody Watley and Da-Brat's from. How does it feel to come from that city and how do you plan to keep their legacy alive?

JR: Well, being an Out performer, very difficult. The new single is getting attention from mainstream America. My goal is to get people to unnderstand that Gay people are just as talented obviously because not everyone in the straight world is necessary straight. And if I kicke the door down, i can give Chicago the attention it has. Alot of people don't know their history very well cause they say I'm the first Gay rapper there is and I'm not; there was a few people before me but I would say rapper/singer alot of people don't think that Chicago people are talented.

DA-PROFESSOR: If you have the opportunity to work with any mainstream artist, who would it be?
JR: (Laughs) There's only one; Janet Jackson. I really don't need to do a song with her. I just wanna get on one of her the stages and do the dances with her. That would be enough for me (giggles). That's all I need to do.

DA-PROFESSOR: You know Janet and Michael teamed up to film the classic "Scream" video. What did you like about the video?
JR: The dancing!! I love the break down scene when they did the dancing together. That was so epic together. I really wished that they would have danced more in that video. I really do. Michael was known to be the dancer and for the females that would be Janet. I loved the weird music. I really want to make a song like that with an open Gay artist in regards to Gay bashing.

DA-PROFESSOR: Where do you see yourself in the next 5-10 years?
JR: In 5 years, I would hope to have cracked the mainstream a little more. I got a message from Trey Songz a few weeks ago saying he liked my music video and my song. I hope to reach people like that and they give me a chance to be in that creative community to share my music with the world. 10 years, I should be sitting on my ass behind the scenes, running stuff beign a puppet master.

DA-PROFESSOR: How do you think you're making an Impact on the Gay Music Scene and Gay community?
JR: The impact is very strong. It's so shocking. I have to question 'Are you talking about me? because unfortantely when "Addicted To Boyz" came out, You Tube shut my page down due to the sexual nature in the song and everytine I put up a page, they would take it down, so I lost alot of people. I'm searching people and they're searching for me. I get messages from people in Africa. Japan. Austrialia. It doesn't reflect on my twitter page. It reflects on my I-Tunes page. When I see who brought what. There are a couple of young guys from Chicago who told me I told them something, they got their act together and now he's pursing a career as a professional artist. One guy told me he was scared to come out and after seeing one of my videos and it influenced him to tell his father who he was and what he wanted to do.

MY FUN AND BOLD CHAT WITH HOUSTON-BASED GAY RAP DUO THE QURE

When I first heard The Qure's single "Baby Mama," my mouth didn't hit the floor. It went through the ground. I couldn't believe how bold, raw and talented this Houston Texas based duo were. Well it's suits them well because many fans can't get enough JAPAN & APOLLO who's debut mix tape received thousands of downloads upon it's release, having fans want more. The duo met through a mutal friend and after getting their hang ups about each other, they clicked and became tight friends and music partners, who's personalities (JAPAN is the wild one, while Apollo is the mellow member) work well and it shows on their music.I had the opportunity to interview the talented duo via telephone and this was one interview that kept me on my toes.

DA-PROFESSOR: How did you two meet?

JAPAN: I'm from California.
APOLLO: I'm from Tennessee. Two different spectums of the world.
JAPAN: We were introduced by a mutual friend and we didn't like each other at first.
APOLLO: I didn't like him. (All three of us laughs).
JAPAN: We're just keeping it real. Now he's my brother from another mother. I wish a nigga would!

DA-PROFESSOR: So Apollo you're from Cali?
JAPAN: I'm originally from Cali. I'm a Cali boy.

DA-PROFESSOR: What part?

JAPAN: Sacremento born and Oakland raised. I flew back and forth between Cali and Texas and ended up going to the University of Austin for journalism and moved on from them.
APOLLO: I'm from Nasville, Tennessee. Home of country music. That don't make me country.
JAPAN: Yeah he country. (both laugh).
APOLLO: I came here for work and ended up meeting Japan and here we are.

DA-PROFESSOR: What prompted you to perform a career as an Gay Hip-Hop group?
JAPAN: It was accidential. Both of us love music and we're really, really competive. Not with each other, but anything we see another person do, we can do. If they're steam rolling, we can do it.

DA-PROFESSOR: Who are your musical influences?

APOLLO: Mine are more singer based than rap based. Old School.
JAPAN: He's the Black dude. I'm the White dude. We call it melodic and infusion. Olaot of our songs, "Revenge," "Turn Off Da Fans," and stuff like that we build on inspiration. James Brown, Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff." Those things. Dionne Warwick for "Walk." If you hear something Black, it's Apollo. If you hear a White voice, it's JAPAN.
APOLLO: Don't push it (All three of us laughs).

DA-PROFESSOR: I LOVE THE Mix-Tape. What was the concept and inspiration for the title "Gay 4 Pay?"

JAPAN: Honestly, we put the album together accidently. We were listening to tracks and we put songs to them and we started playing them in clubs here in Houston. Then in the end, we were like "Gay 4 Pay." If you wanna do anything with me you gotta pay me (All of us laugh out loud). That's real talk.
APOLLO: It kinda started out as a joke. Then we were listening to tracks, then we were like I can write to this. It started out as a joke, then we started taking it quite serious.

DA-PROFESSOR: One of my favorite joints is "Baby Mama." What was the inspiration for the song and what inspired you to rap over Lil' Kim's hit "Whoa?"

JAPAN:I'm glad you like that. I cringes sometimes when I hear that song. Believe it or not, more females love that song, more than anything. Females love that song. We thought we were gonna be pissed, but they loves that song more than anything on the album. I guess it's because 9 times out of 10, they're fucking with a dude with a baby mama.

APOLLO: Everybody's boyfriend got a baby mama.

DA-PROFESSOR: Another favorite is "Milk & Cookies." What prompted you to write about your favorite entertainers and how would you think they would react if they were to hear the song?

JAPAN: We love them all!! That was a ode. That's like an ode. That's like paying homage.
APOLLO: The sexy above the sexy.
JAPAN: If you wasn't on that list, you ain't shit. If they hear it, they should be proud of that shit (all three of us laugh).

DA-PROFESSOR: Revenge is antoher favorite. I love how you incorporated The Human Leauge's "Don't You Want Me" and Oran Juice Jones' "The Rain." He's from Texas too.

JAPAN: I didn't know that. That goes to show you Apollo again. I'm the Human League. Apollo you're so Black dude.
APOLLO: Get on my nerve. (I laugh).
JAPAN: It's one of our favorite songs.

DA-PROFESSOR: Alot of people can relate to the song because it deals with I can't believe that Bitch Motherfucker did this to me and I held you down and you're gonna cheat on me with some tired bitch! (All 3 of us laughs).

JAPAN:We love that song. Everybody can relate to that. Everybody can relate to that whether it's Apollo's verse or my verse, and in all honesty, that song is a piece of art to me. The way that we fused "I will follow him.'I think that shit is gangsta.

DA-PROFESSOR: I like the lines I called your mom's crib and told her you know your son is gay/Takes dick in the ass in the bed where you lay.

APOLLO: I was speaking from real experience. I was quite mad during that relationship.
JAPAN: Apollo's mean.
APOLLO: But I'm really the nice one. I'm America's sweetheart. I'm not a vengal person.


DA-PROFESSOR: You also did a sexual song called "Turn On Da Fans."

APOLLO: I'm pretty mild compared to Japan. He is pretty explicit.
JAPAN: Well the truth is when we wrote that it was a heat wave here, and there was a thunder storm that knocked out all the lights and in the apartment we were in at the teime was very fucking hot and it was nearly 100 degress. We wrote that song that night.

DA-PROFESSOR: JAPAN, you're from California. Oakland has produced many talented artists including MC Hammer, Oaktown's 357, En Vogue and Toni, Tony, Tone. How does it feel to be raised in a city where the Black Panther movement and those talented artist came from?

JAPAN: I gotta show up and show out every single time. En Vogue. Too Short. E-40. Ice-T. Ice Cube & N.W.A. D.J. Quick. Those guys influenced me. Being from the West Coast, they are great influences. If you ever get the opportunity to see us live, you'll see exactly what we bring every (single) time.

DA-PROFESSOR: Apollo You're from Tennessee. In additional to Country music, Tennessee is also known for producing several Blues and Soul artists such as Issac Hayes and Stax Records. How does it feel to come from the state that produces great soul musicians?

APOLLO: That's what I'm about. I love soul. I love harmonics. I love melodies. I'm a rapper and a singer, but I love to sing and I love to rap as well. We're entertainers.

DA-PROFESSOR: You're very active in the HIV Community. How important is it for you to be active in the community?

JAPAN: We want to bring more attention to that and do it in a positive way and not be demonized. That's extremely important the activism. That's the most important thing. At some point we want to bring together some kind of foundation where we can bring boys that's been newly diagonsed in our spot to give them HIV 101 and teach them it ain't over. Alot of those boys can't pick up the pieces. And that's what we wanna do for them. We also understand we gotta get their attention and get their attention through music.

DA-PROFESSOR: The South is known for people being friendly, but it's also know for people throwing the bible belt at gays. Have you ever had to fight homophobia?

APOLLO:I've never encountered it. Being in the south that's weird to hear it. But me personally I've never encountered. JAPAN have you?
JAPAN:I haven't neither.The truth is I'm like an Lantern. I've never been gay bashed and I've never been called a nigger. I've been in Texas half my life on and off. I've never experienced anything like that. Not even online.

DA-PROFESSOR: You're coming out with a new album am I correct?
JAPAN: It's called "The Virus" We are super, super, super, super stoked about this album, because it's our first original. There are ten songs on the album (and) everything is us.
APOLLO: The Virus is more mature. The songs everything can realte to. It's very emotion driven.
JAPAN: It's alot darker and not darker in a bad way, but "Gay 4 Pay" was inspired by people, places and things. "The Virus" is inspired by emotions, situations and feelings and relationships. Not even relationships with men and women, but relationships with God. Relationships with your best friend. Actually the lead single from the album is "Made To Ride."

DA-PROFESSOR: So Apollo you're the laid back one and JAPAN is the wild one.
APOLLO: He's a shit starter.
JAPAN: Apollo's the good cop and I'm the bad cop. Apollo's absoultely the ice and I'm
absoultely the fire. We feed off each other. Apollo's my favorite rapper. I'm inspired by him single everyday. That's real talk. I feel like I'm blessed to be in a group.

DA-PROFESSOR: Where have you performed at and do you have plans to do any touring?

JAPAN: We've performed all throughout the south. We got the change to play with Last Offence and Twizza' We got the chance to rap with them. After we drop "The Virus," we're putting out a remix album with ten songs and we're picking the hottest Gay Rappers. Regardless of whether they came before us or whether they came after us. I have a collabolation with Sonny Lewis. Sonny Lewis is a good guy. Apollo has a collabulation with Tim' M West.
We love Tim' M West.
APOLLO: Nobody better not say anything bad about Miss Jenkins.
JAPAN: Nobody better not say anything about Tim. I love Tim Dirty Dawg. That is my big brother. Tim has shown us n a very short period of time, how to make it happen. When Tim speaks. I'm hard-headed. When Tim speaks, I listen. Because of Tim, we did a show with him and at that show, there were producers from the Austin Music network there, and they called us a few weeks later and ask us to do a TV show. It's a 16 piece episode with musics all over Houston.

DA-PROFESSOR: What prompted you to do a remix album and reach out to the hottest Gay Rappers?

APOLLO: I think that everybody thinks we're stuck up.
JAPAN: While part of it may be true, we wanted to reach out to our brothers. Everybody's putting out really good music, you know what I mean. We're very impressed. I really wasn't really impressed at first.

APOLLO: I made him listen to the music
JAPAN: He had to literally strap me down and make me listen to shit. Not so much now.
We wanted to reach out and show love. We're all in a race to see who's gonna be the first to get signed to a major label. May the best man win. That's real talk. In the meantime, we wanna have some fun.

DA-PROFESSOR: I like for yo to give me a real answer on this one. It seems that most Pride Organizers will hire Drag Queens, but not reach out to and hire Gay and Lesbian artists. How does it make you feel?

JAPAN: In my opinion, I think that in order to embrace things like this, you have to be visionors. If a person denies us, depress us. I kinda blame it on them. It's like the first female rapper and the White rapper. There's obviously gonna be a Gay Rapper. If you don't see that and if you can't feel us and you don't wanna deal with us, like my partner used to say a bitch don't like me, they don't like themselves.
That's real talk. You have to be a trendsetter.
APOLLO: In the south, they're quick to put on a drag queen or transgender. I'm not putting down drag queens or transexuals, but they're quick to put them on insread of live entertainment. They rather see lip-synching.
JAPAN: I'm a steamroller. and I really don't accept no for an answer and wherever we go, we get in. Houston has showed us an incredible amount of love. We're the dukes of Houston. We're gonna start filming our reality show "The Dukes of Houston."

DA-PROFESSOR: If you have the opportunity to work with any mainstream artists, who would it be?

JAPAN: I wanna piece of Rhianna. I wanna piece of Rhianna. I like Rock & Roll. I like the White Boys.
APOLLO: I like more singing type dudes. I like Ryan Leslie. Big shout out to Ryan Leslie. He's a Harvard graduate.
JAPAN: To be honesty, most of the people I wanna work with are dead. I'm inspired by Old School. Bob Marley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones.

DA-PROFESSOR: What else do you have planned besides the album and reality show?
We're thinking we're doing one more mix-tape, and shortly after that I'm gonna do a solo project "Made In JAPAN" and Apollo's gonna do a solo project "Showtime At The Apollo." We're busy boys. We both have strong work ethics. We are both furiously competitive.

DA-PROFESSOR: How did you come up with your stage names and what do they mean?
APOLLO: Apollo's Greek. Apollo the God, little G of music. The sun. He keeps it happy. He keeps it going. He's musically incline.
JAPAN: I'll keep that real. Fuck that. Apollo call himself Apollo cuz he think he fine. That's why. He think he fine. He think he got the body of a Greek God. (We all laugh).
APOLLO: Mind your business (Laughs).
JAPAN: Then JAPAN is an acromyn for Just A Pretty Ass Nigga.It's a big name, but it is what it is. I make no apologies for that. That's the name of the mix-tape "Glamour By Glamour." That's like a movement because there's too many youngsters are afraid of being themselves. Fuck youngsters, there's grown niggas who are afraid to be themselves. That's what we're talking about. That's a lifestyle. We wanna empower and embrace those who are afraid and empower themselves.

DA-PROFESSOR: How do you think that CD is gonna inspire listeners to be themselves?
JAPAN: Even before the CD, I think that everything we put out there. The pictures and everything. We are not afraid to be who we are You know what I mean.
We lead by example. To much is given, much is required. God has given us everything we asked for. Literatually. Winners think about winning all the time. We wanna win.

DA-PROFESSOR: How do you think you're making a impact on the Gay Community and Homo-Hop scene?

JAPAN: I hope we can inspire. Apollo and I challenge one another other. And we inspire one another. There's always gonna be competition, but we love each other. When one of us gets signed that's a beautiful thing. When one of us gets signed, you're turning the light on and when you turn the light on, there's a whole bunch of us in the room.
APOLLO: When one label gets one, the next label is gonna want another. It's gonna be a domino effect.

DA-PROFESSOR: What advice would you to a kat who wants to pursue a career as an openly Gay Rapper?

JAPAN: Bring it! There are two words; bring it! The world is listening to us. There were some kats who got to do somethings with Kay Slay and that's a good luck. If we come to the game talking dumb shit. Talking about sucking dick and getting fucked all the time, that's what the world's gonna see us. I think the world knows we are extremely talented and the truth is we been behind the scenes doing hair and everything. We're trailblazers. We're pioneers. We're trendsetters and I mean that.

BLACK MUSIC MONTH CLASSIC FLASHBACK REVIEW: SONGBIRD NIECY'S SOULFUL UPLIFTING DEBUT

DENIECE WILLIAMS
FREE
1976 COLUMBIA RECORDS
WRITTEN BY DENIECE WILLIAMS, HANK REED, NATHAN WATTS, SUSAYE GREENE
PRODUCED BY MAURICE WHITE AND CHARLES STEPHANY
# 2 R&B/# 25 POP/# 1 UK

Being a member of Stevie Wonder's backing group Wonder Love was beneficial for Soul singer/songwriter Deniece Williams. Not only did she have the opportunity to tour the world with a Motown legend, she was able to develop her vocal and songwriting skills. The result: "Free" her debut single that became an international classic and favorite among music lovers, who still plays this classic at parties, weddings, and while dancing, cuddling and making hot passionate love with their partners. Co-written with Nathan Watts, Hank Reed and former Supreme and fellow Wonderlove member Susaye Greene and Earth, Wind & Fire members Maurice White & the late Charles Stephany, this classic mid-tempo ballad is a well written and well arranged song that touches the heart, mind and soul with music and lyrics that inspires people to be free to be themselves without restraints.
The classic opens with the keyboard performance followed by the drums, bass and cymbals. Afterwards, Niecy sings the opening line

'Whispering in his ear/My magic potion for love
Telling him I'm sincere/and that there's nothing too good for us
But I got to be free, free, free.

The song then goes into a smooth and funky, mid-tempo groove, courtesy of the bass, drums, horn section as well as the keyboard solo and ad-libs by Niecey towards the end of the song, which gave listeners a sample of what she had instored for her fans.

Deniece Williams' debut single still sounds as great as it did when first released during the Disco era, and after 35 years, fans still play that song when they want to be free.



FACTS ABOUT FREE

FREE has been remade and sampled by several R&B and Hip-Hop Artists.

Jazz/R&B singer scored a minor hit with his version of "Free" on his debut album.

Rapper Mic Geronimo sampled "Free" for his 1994 hit "Shit's Real"

R&B Singer Debelah Morgan scored a minor hit with her cover of "Free" in 1994.

R&B Singer Chante Moore remade "Free" on her 1994 "A Love Supreme" and while it never was released as a single, Chante performs this during her live concerts. She also incorporated The Commodores' 1980 R&B/Country hit "Sail On" at the end of the song giving it a Gospel feel, which is why her version is titled "Free/Sail On." In addition to singing lead, she sang background vocals with Phillip Bailey, lead vocalist for Earth, Wind & Fire, who worked with Deniece in the past and is one of her good friends.

Rap Trio Lords of The Underground sampled "Free" for their 1995 hit "Faith." Deniece appears on the song and the video singing a re-written hook 'Let the faith set you free.'

Rapper Lil' Kim sampled "Free" for her single "Can't Fuck With Queen Bee" with singers Govenor, Shalenna Thomas and Full Force.