R&B - real R&B, just might be making a comeback. Alicia Keys has a new album out, Mary J. Blige is on tour, Usher is making his way back, Chris Brown has finally dropped his second album; things are looking up. Inspired by some of music’s current greats and old school legends, new artist Philly is trying to make a name for himself. Admittedly he has his work cut out for him. The twenty-something singer has to play the game like double-dutch and look for the right time to get in the ropes and jump for his life. In talking about what he believes to be his destiny though, he’s got the jumping in part covered.

Nfared: You’re from Philadelphia right?

Phylle: Yup, that’s correct.

Nfared: And what brought you to Atlanta?

Phylle: I moved to Atlanta to pursue my music. My father was in the military so we moved from place to place or whatever and the last place we moved was Virginia cause it has the largest naval base, but it really wasn’t poppin there so I had to go somewhere were I could make things happen for myself so I picked Atlanta.

Nfared: So none if your family is here?

Phylle: Nope. Actually when I moved to Atlanta , I didn’t know anybody here. I just decided to move because I needed to further my career. I just picked up and moved—it was a weird dream. My grandfather was a preacher and he was the one that started me singin—it’s a long story but I’ll try to make it quick – he started me singing and he passed away a while ago and he came to me in my dream and said if that’s what you want to do you have to go where the people are, and we had a conversation in my dream about me moving and everything so the next month I up and moved.

Nfared: How did the moving back and forth as a military kid impact you as an artist?

Phylle: It gave me experiences and different flavors to my music to create my own style so I don’t just sound like I’m from a particular area cause I don’t sound like Philly, I don’t sound like Virginia, I don’t sound like Atlanta or anywhere else that I’ve lived, or New York—I don’t sound like any of those places. It was hard though to stabilize yourself when you’re constantly moving like to build a foundation or a family as far as music which is always important to have a good support system behind you, it’s hard to build that when you are constantly on the go.

Nfared: Have you always wanted to sing or did you have a musical revelation when you were ten and heard yourself singing in the shower?

Phylle: Well it was—I’ve always had a love for music every since I was young. I was actually going to school to be a doctor though, but I’ve been writing since I was eleven so that was something I always did, but as I got older I realized my love for music was greater than my love for anything else and I feel you should do what you love and not do things for money or whatever the case may be.

Nfared: How do you feel about where R&B music is right now?

Phylle: Well I make it my point—I respect everybody that’s in the game because it takes a lot of work to get in the game and stay in the game. I just think what’s happened is right now we have a lot people who have found their niche and they’re just working their niche and I think a lot of people are just used to having their down home singers and not so much stylists and I think we have more stylists now than down home singers. I like them both though.

Nfared: And you don’t see anything wrong with singers who are stylists versus down home singers?

Phylle: Well I can’t say--- like I love Faith Evans, like I really do. I love the real singers, I do, but what I noticed and I noticed it’s a trend, people say what they want, but they don’t really want that, cause if you take say a Faith Evans album and compare it to like a Ciara, Ciara would outsell Faith. You just have to ask those questions. It’s become more of a business than it is music now. So it’s like your marketing has to be on point, you gotta be in the gym; you gotta look a certain way. You know music is what comes last really. And I love Ciara; let me throw that in there.

Nfared: Yeah and I really like her too, and not at all to say that Ciara is not talented, but as far as singers go, does that not say something to you about where music is, the fact that it’s not really about how talented a singer you are anymore?

Phylle: Yeah—well, it’s become a major business, but with time things change. You know people say it’s a circle of life like the real singers are going to come back and everything else, but it is about your hustle because you can’t just depend on your talent anymore to get you over because there are a million talented people. What sets you apart from those people? And it’s like being an artist, everybody can’t do it. It’s not like oh I woke up this morning and I felt like being this. It’s a lot of behind the scenes work and grinding that you really have to do and that’s why I say I respect anybody that is in this game regardless of how people rate their talent or what ever. If you can get in this game and maintain, you got my respect.

Nfared: Where would you say you fit into the picture of music?

Phylle: I’m not a traditional R&B artist, I’m not Neo Soul, I’m not a rapper, but it’s like I kinda of have formed my own little sound I guess you would say a little niche I call it like Hip-Hop&B. It’s not totally R&B it’s more like rough Hip-Hop beats with a smoothed out melody over it or something like that. I like to include a lot of live instrumentation in the tracks I do choose because it’s bringing back a different sound that you don’t hear anymore because music has moved to more of sound effects and sound bites and you don’t really get the killer snare or the tambourine shaking in the back. That’s what I try to do, I try to incorporate a lot of live music cause I have a lot of respect for musicians and I try to pay homage to those people with the songs that I choose to write and the tracks I choose to write to.

Nfared: It’s human nature for people to compartmentalize things because it makes it easier for us to understand. So when you get to where you trying to get and your material is out and people automatically say, “Oh, he’s Neo Soul!” or what ever they say you are, are you going t be ok with that?

Phylle: Well I respect that, I respect Neo-Soul and plus it comes from Philly so they gone be like he’s from Philly, that’s automatic Neo Soul. It’s cool cause I’ll be what ever you want me to be. That’s what I think being an artist besides being a singer--- the difference is an artist; you have to be what ever your fans want you to be to them. So it’s kinda like if that’s what you take me for, that’s fine, I’m fine with that, as long as you enjoy what you hear, I’m satisfied.

Nfared: So you’re doing the very, very independent thing right now with not being signed to anyone. From your perspective, what are the advantages or disadvantages to being signed to a major or indie label?

Phylle: Well I’ll try to be positive and start with the advantages first to try to be positive. First off you would have a budget and that makes a big difference in everything you do, you can sit down and plot out your budget and how much your going to put into marketing and what not and you can have a team of people behind you and it’s like a mini machine when you’re singed to a label, like you get your image consultant, your A&R person who’s going to pick songs for you, tell what to sound like, tell you what to act like, tell you what to be like. So if you’re just a singer who has no idea about the business side and marketing, that’s wonderful for you because all you have to do is sing and they do all of that for you, but the bad part about that is you get the end of the stick when it comes to the payout because you have this massive machine behind you pushing you, you have to pay their salaries and that comes out of your check before you get it so that’s money that you won’t even see unless you’re a writer or something like that. Independent wise the good part is you have creative control, you can take any direction you want to, and you can be free as an artist. Pretty much the field is open and you can be experimental, you can try this and try that, but the bad part is it comes out of your pocket, all expenses up front. You gotta pay for tracks, studio time promotional materials, and you have to do a lot of the leg work, but I find that doing the leg work myself helps me appreciate it more. I think people can respect me and my craft more because they see that I stand behind it and I’m not waiting for someone else to come up with an idea, oh lets take it to iTunes and oh lets do this or that.

Nfared: Plies talked to me about some of the sacrifices he has had to make to get where he is, and one of them is his freedom. He can’t go places alone anymore, there’s always an entourage and body guards and people asking for autographs—would you be willing to sacrifice your freedom to get to the place you want to be musically?

Phylle: I mean it’s my dream so I’m willing to sacrifice what ever I have to sacrifice for it. I believe--- it’s funny it’s kinda like this is what you wish for when nobody is checking for you, but then when everybody’s checking for you, you don’t want it anymore. I can’t agree with that cause anybody that’s doing it knows what comes along with it. I mean with everything comes great responsibility and, to whom much is given much is expected and I’m fine with that, I mean I can’t say Imma be personally happy when I’m going through the airport at four in the morning and somebody is snapping pictures in my face, but I realize that that’s the life I chose.

Nfared: Yeah and I think for Plies and for a lot of other major stars it happens so fast—I mean he was doing the underground thing for years, but as soon as he got a major deal it all took off for him. Before you know it you’re surrounded by all these people and your on a strict schedule— I think for some they know it’s coming and they know what they are getting into, but it just happens so swiftly there is little time to adjust.

Phylle: Well, like think about Dream Girls. When people think about dreams, they only think about the good things. There are bad parts too though. Dreams seem great but when your dreams come true you have to have a balance in life with every positive you’re going to have to have a negative. And I can’t even say that that’s a negative cause yeah you can’t go to these places anymore, but there are things that you don’t have to worry about that you had to worry about before. He don’t have to worry about his lights getting cut off anymore. So it’s like hey, like Musiq [SoulChild] was saying before he got signed he was homeless living in his car, but that’s something he never has to worry about anymore, so it’s just a trade off.

Nfared: Is it is frustrating to you that it’s so hard to get into the industry and make the right connections and get your music in the right people’s hands, or do you feel like it’s helping you grow.

Phylle: Umm, a bit of both, cause it’s like—you know when you go to that job interview and you like ok yeah I just got my degree, so I’m good and imma go and they say, well we need somebody with more experience and you’re like well how can I get the experience if I can’t get the job. That’s the frustration that you have. I’m not going to say which radio station, but I was talking to the director today actually and he made me feel good, but at the same time it was one of those frustrations. He said, oh I’m really digging your music, it’s hot I’m really feeling your style, but you really need more exposure right now, and I’m thinking to myself like ok you want me to have more exposure, but how can I have more exposure unless YOU who is with RADIO gives me a chance to get it. I mean it’s like you know if you know the clubs, gone play, it and the DJs gone play it, and he was like yeah get on your grind and get to the DJs, and I mean I respect him and I appreciate it cause he didn’t have to take his time out to do that, and it was definitely a compliment to know that he thought my music was worth playing on his station, but it’s like that exposure thing, it’s like when is enough enough. But it’s all good cause gone catch your boy at your local skating ring, at your high schools, your colleges, I’m gone be everywhere.

Nfared: What does it do for you to see other people doing what they love and doing what they are passionate about and you have to go to your regular job?

Phylle: It’s good to see people to living their dreams and it gives me hope like ok if it can happen for them it can happen for me and I am definitely happy for anybody that does it. It’s just people have to appreciate it and realize that nothing is promised. You can be number one today and be nobody tomorrow. I think it’s sad to see people who don’t appreciate their blessings or the opportunities they’ve been granted cause everybody doesn’t have those opportunities. Like I mean sometimes you can have somebody like of course, there can be somebody out there can sing better than me, dance better then me, look better than me, but if I get this opportunity I’ll outshine them at every chance, you know so it’s kinda like you have to appreciate those opportunities cause they don’t always come back around.

Nfared: You said it a second ago, the fan base is so fickled, you’re a star today and then you’re of the charts by the end of business. How do you prepare yourself for that?

Phylle: Well I take a saying that I learned from two different people, one is Lauryn Hill. She said, “They hail you then they nail you.” That maybe true and it happens, but what David Justice said and it really stuck with me, he said “One third is going to love you, one third is going to hate you, and one third is going to be right in the middle.” So all I can so in a day to day basis is be the best me I can be when I interact with fans, when I perform, it’s just to give them me, and be the best me I can be. It doesn’t hurt to be nice to people, and when people see you’re a genuine person and see that you actually are real and see like oh he’s a cool dude, they’ll respect you more and you just try to bring that other one third to the side that likes you so you’ll have two thirds of the people liking you and you can’t get no better than that.

Nfared: What is the feeling around your album? What do you want listeners to come away with?

Phylle: The theme of the album is, of course it’s called “The One” and it’s basically a relationship from start to finish, good and ugly, and whatever. It handles all kinds of relationships from dating to your best friend girl trying to get with you to your best friend trying to get with your girl, I mean its just like, I tried to make it so that it’s something for everybody. So it doesn’t really fit into a category as far as like Neo Soul, Hip-Hop, R&B— it’s something for everybody. That’s what I would want you to hear, like I can play this when I’m feeling sad, I can play this when I clean up the house, I can play this when I want to party. That’s what I was going for, and you know the album, it’s my first full length album so it’s kinda special to me definitely. I wrote all the songs on it and I had a couple of guests on the album. I was lucky to have those people come through. They’re not big people but they’re people that I think as far as their hustle and their style, it was a blessing to have them. It’s just something for everybody and just handling relationships, and the title track “The One” basically breaks down like when you find that one person like the things that go through your mind as far as spending your life together and all of that good stuff. Pick it up ladies!!

Nfared: Is any of the things you mentioned, your best friend trying to get with your girl, all of that, is that from personal experience or are you just a real good story teller?

Phylle: I knew that question was coming. Actually um, it’s both. A lot of the experiences are person whether I went through it myself or I had friends who had been through those situations from you know like creeping—“If He Only Knew”, it’s this song about yeah, we creeping behind his back, but pretending to be friends, it’s just like, it’s stuff that happens and that’s why I wanted to write about it cause people try to stay away from those type of topics, but I didn’t try to make it so graphic to where it’s disrespectful to some listeners’ ears; it’s said in a tasteful way and I think that definitely it is personal whether it’s me or a friend.

Nfared: What does the future hold for you in music?

Phylle: Well since I started my label I do have a female rap artist already and her name is Nakylla. Her real name is Nakelia, but we changed that cause she has a killer flow. It’s definitely—I’ll be happy to be an artist and doing my thing full time. That’s the ultimate goal as well as brining other artist in and them not having to go through the struggles I went through, being able to be a stepping stone and help others get to their dreams and aspirations. I also want to do a little bit of acting and all of that stuff, but that comes in time, trying to be the next Will Smith and make Will Smith money.

Nfared: Where is your album available?

Phylle: iTunes, Napster, CDbaby, Rhapsody, like twenty other sites. What ever you like we got it. Don’t forget the ringtones!!!!!! They available too! At the end of the day it’s like I realize I’m doing all I can and it’s a blessing to have great people around helping me to do what I do.

Sometimes all you need is a little push. MCP