Check out this fun video from everyone's favorite soulstress, Lalah Hathaway. "Let Go" is the first single from Lalah's forthcoming set, SELF PORTRAIT in stores June 3rd.
SPECIAL TREAT FOR ATL FANS!
What a great Father's Day Gift! Lalah Hathaway and Rahsaan Patterson perform on Saturday, June 14th at the Atlanta Civic Center at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets on line, visit Atlanta Civic Center.
Music2Nite had the pleasure to interview Lalah Hathaway recently. We would like to thank Lalah for her time and dedication to her beautiful music. Enjoy the interview!
1. The following quote is in your BIO:
"I don't necessarily want to fit into what's happening now, but I want to stand with it, on my own thing. I would really love it if people need the record. I put a lot of myself into this album, so I hope people can hear me and understand who I am."
How do you see today's music marketplace, in the forever lasting argument of commercial vs real music, do you and do you feel that there is more commercial music rather than real music out there?
There is always going to be contingent as to what you consider underground, some of it is more homogenized than others. I do think that in this country that some of it is so homogenized it feels lopsided, if it tells a story, then the story is very one sided. I don’t begrudge anybody, but some artists out there are singing the same record they sang on the last 10 songs. What is that story? I don’t know, I can’t understand what anybody is saying anymore. There’s a lot of stories that reference food and Kool Aid and it never occurred to me to sing about that. I just find American music badantic, I’m unimpressed, I’m bored. Great singers, singing the same stuff, its kinda of appalling. Some people, I’m like come on now, you are really great you have the opportunity to be great.
2. You also mentioned that:
"This album is like a movie of my life over the last couple of years. The portrait I see of myself is of a very confident, smart woman who is extremely funny, independently wealthy and well-traveled – all things that I am to a small degree. "Every day, I realize that I'm walking toward the woman I'm going to be. She's there. I can see her."
Do you feel that music has helped you to become the woman you'd like to be?
Absolutely, I’m the crazy music lady, like the cat lady, like the crochet lady, 24 hours a day I’m listening to music. For me, growing up in the industry with these parents, music has really helped to shape my life. Music absolutely helped to shape me, helped to shape everyone. To live a life without music would be woeful. If you really had to live without music, you wouldn’t know when to cry in the movie, or when the ice cream truck was coming.
3. What makes "Self Portrait" different from your other albums?
The one thing that I can say that makes it different is time. I'm coming into myself as an artist, and I've had the time to mature, to learn how to express myself, to allow myself to be vulnerable. To ask for what I want from musicians, the label, writers and myself. I think the difference is time and maturity.
4. I know it’s hard to pick, but what would you say is the best “stand out” track from "Self Portrait", and why?
I can't pick one. I don’t know. "Tragic Inevitability", but that is a lie. I cannot pick one. It's like asking, "of all your fingers, which is your favorite". It's hard.
5. Do you feel that working with other artists such as Marcus Miller, Meshell Ndegéocello and Mary J. Blige have influenced your music?
Absolutely, artists that I've spent time with like Marcus, Meshell, Gerald Albright, Take 6 have definitely influenced my music. Having grown up in that sound, many artists have mentored me from afar, before I even knew them, they helped to hone my career.
6. Would you like to collaborate with other artists in the near future, and if so who?
Yes, the Neptunes, Timbaland, I'd love to work with Chaka Khan, Sting. I've played with Rahsaan Patterson, Angie, Ledisi, I like playing with Ledisi. We often think about people that would make good tour mates. It’s hard to imagine a guy who's a singer that is in the same sort of place as me, I'm not sure that I have a male counterpart.
7. How do you think you've evolved as a songwriter, especially in your new album?
Well, my songwriting skills I'm really working on, I really wanna be a great writer. Artists like Stevie Wonder, Rahsaan, Jolie Mitchell, Carly Simon, James Taylor really know how to take a thought and make it into something that people will remember forever. Really focusing on allowing the thought to come through and not censoring it. I have to work on it, it seems odd and strange, since its been a part of my life. You can't write great songs just because you sing great. I'm working on just allowing myself to be open and not censoring my idea and just listening to great songs.
8. Do you have any current tours or plans on touring to promote your new album?
I do, just got back from Japan, went to the Bay to play at Yoshi's, I was in NY on the day my record came out (June 3). I'll be in Virginia in July and also Pennsylvania and Detroit. All the dates can be found on www.lalahhathaway.com in the "See Me" section.
9. What can one expect when going to a Lalah Hathaway show?
You know it’s gonna be good, I really want to be one of those artists, you may not know what you’re gonna get, but whatever it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be good. I want them to feel transcendent, like they are escaping into a place that they can run to. But it means that in that moment in time that they don’t have to worry about anything, they can just float. I really like to take care of people in that way.
10. Is there something about you, a hobby or personality characteristic that your fans don’t already know about you?
I don’t know what the fans know, but I’m really geeky and into video games and computers and gadgets. I’m a serious gamer. I own every system ever created. Calico Vision, Xbox, PlayStation, DS Lite, Wii, Merlin, Mattel handheld football. I got the iPhone right away, 7 hours after it came out. I was credit for inventing it 5 years ago in my own head.
New Album: Self Portrait Release Date: June 03, 2008
