by Adelle Platon (Highlighted area below speaks of MJ)
SisQo may have very well been before his time, dropping the ultimate booty clapper of 1999 with the “Thong Song.” Just flip the switch to your local Hip Hop
/R&B station or Soundcloud, currently flourishing with ratchet anthems fit for the era of leaked nudes. Despite being M.I.A. for 13 years (he’s actually been touring the world with his R&B group Dru Hill), the uber-popular ’90s singer with the platinum Caesar says he’s back in business.
While his out-of-nowhere dance track “A-List,” an appropriate bottle service soundtrack that features Waka Flocka Flame, steers away from his full-body vocals and utilizes AutoTune, he assures that his follow-up single will be a “butt-naked-me-and-the-piano record.” An appropriate description from the guy responsible for that thong song.
Yet, his comeback hasn’t come without controversy. After an Instagram video circulated earlier this month of an alleged scrap between him and Jagged Edge’s Kyle Norman, SisQo insists there’s no R&Beef. He’s ready to leave all the tabloid fodder in the dust—hisBig Brother appearance and those gay rumors included. Here, he discusses his upcoming album, collaboration wish list and that one time the King of Pop gave him the ultimate cosign.—Adelle Platon (@adelleplaton)
VIBE: How did you tap Waka Flocka Flame for your new single?
SisQo: Being gone from the public eye for so long after having the success with my first two solo efforts, I’m pretty much a brand new artist all over again. My first record “A-List” is pretty much a club banger so we were just trying to figure out who had a really good track record with club bangers. All lanes pointed to Waka and it didn’t hurt that my niece had a little crush on him from watching him on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta. We reached out and once he heard the song, he said, ‘This is dope I’m down.’
Was there any hesitation or fear that the people who knew SisQo from songs like “Got To Get It” or “Incomplete” might not recognize your sound on this new record?
Definitely but it wasn’t really a fear. People that are fans of what I do and have followed me this far know my policy on music. I do my best to never make any music that sounds like other music I do. Like what Jay Z say, “If you like my old stuff, buy my old album.”
Tell me about your third album, Last Dragon.
It’s kind of like finishing a trilogy of solo albums, but I had mentioned a billion years that it was a trilogy plan. My first album was Unleash the Dragon, second was Return of Dragonand this one, Last Dragon. I had the names of the albums laid out from my first album.
We’ve heard you do the dance records, the turn up records and serenade the ladies, but what sides of SisQo can we expect this go-round?
Definitely hallmarks of what you get when you sign up for my brand. Like you said, the turn up records as well as the kind of records where I’m just crooning. As a matter of fact, I’m actually shooting the video for my second release called “Lips.” That’s just a pretty much butt-naked-me-and-the-piano record. I can’t take complete credit but I was definitely a part of the sound of what R&B or pop music is considered today, which is kind of like a sing-rap kind of deal. I was one of the pioneers with songs like “Got To Get It” and “Thong Song.”
My first single “A-List” is pretty much following that standard. Somebody said something about AutoTune and I’m like I’m barely even singing on “A-List.” It’s more of a swag record but [using AutoTune] was pretty much to keep it syncopated. If you try to croon over a record like that, it’s not going to really lock on the beat and it’ll sound crazy. When people talk about AutoTune a lot of people don’t really know what it is. They think it’s just a robotic that they hear, but AutoTune is on every single record, even people talking. Just to dispel the rumors of me doing whatever’s “out right now,” my next single is me pretty much going to the next level of what I was a part of starting.
Are there any artists out right now that you feel you could mesh with musically?
SisQo: Man, I don’t know. It’s a couple of really talented artists I wouldn’t mind working with. Nicki Minaj has worked with every other R&B or pop artist so I would love to see what a collaboration [with her] would be like.
Can you imagine a “Thong Song” remix with Nicki Minaj?
When I heard the Sir Mix-a-Lot [sample] on “Anaconda,” I was like, “Oh dang I wonder what that would’ve sounded like if she would’ve sampled ‘Thong Song’.” (laughs). That probably would’ve been ridiculous actually. I think it would’ve been too big. I don’t know if the world is ready for something that epic just yet.
But it’s almost like now, you can do whatever you want because you have enough experience in the game but are in tune with everything going on. Is that why you also mentioned wanting to work with Chris Brown as well?
Oh yeah, it’s like when I seen him and Usher do a song together, I was like “What?!” because he’s like damn near my little brother, well not little because he’s taller than me (laughs), But you can just see a lot of influence from the stuff I did earlier in my career with Chris [and his music]. We met a long time ago and he told me he appreciated my work. We just haven’t had the opportunity to connect since then. He may have learned from me in the beginning of his career and now, me coming back into the industry, I could learn some stuff from him and a lot of the younger artists that came out. Trey Songz, Omarion, all of those younger guys that’s out right now, are kind of like our little brothers if you will. We feel the same way that Boyz II Men and Jodeci [probably] felt when [Dru Hill] came out.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE MEETING MICHAEL JACKSON?
I was maybe 4 or 5 years old when I saw Michael Jackson do the moonwalk and that’s when I was like that’s what I want to do. Michael Jackson flew me out to meet him in 2001 and he told me, ‘Man you’re really talented and you’re going to go very far in this industry.’ To be honest, after he told me that I was the shit, I didn’t really care about doing another album (laughs).
Like on some “Nobody could tell me nothing.”
They couldn’t and you know what’s the worst part about that? If you noticed after 2001, [there was] this negative connotation of who I am as an artist. That nobody could tell me nothing. Even though I never really said that, that may have been the aura I was giving off because I was like, ‘Michael Jackson flew me out.’
Where did he fly you out to?
It was Virginia Beach and me, him and Teddy Riley were down there together and hung out. I met his kids and that was when Teddy had worked with me on my second album. He did my first single “Can I Live” and I got the photo too.
So you mean to tell me Michael Jackson really bumped “Thong Song”?
He clearly knew my music but we didn’t talk about that. I was just wondering why he wanted to meet me, like, ‘Dude you’re freaking Michael Jackson.’ Everybody else goes to meet him. And just for the record, a lot of the preconceived notions of who Michael Jackson was as a person were literally upside down. His voice was deeper and when I went to shake his hand, he gave me a pound and he’s like a sturdy dude. He seemed like he could whip your ass for real. He was brolic. He was the first dragon. I’m the last dragon.
Being in the public eye like Michael Jackson or an artist like yourself, sometimes stories about your personal life could get twisted. Recently, a fight allegedly broke out between you and a member of Jagged Edge. What went down?
READ MORE: http://www.vibe.com/photo-gallery/interview-sisqo-jagged-edge-fight-michael-jackson?page=3
Source: VIBE / Adelle Platon / MJ-Upbeat.com
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