Jeremih Interview

[Lunatic]

Raptalk.Net: You taught yourself how to play several instruments as a child. Has music always been apart of your life? Would you say you’ve always had a natural knack for creating music?

Jeremih: Creating music has always been fun. It always kept me entertained and everyone around me always loved to see and hear me play.

Raptalk.Net: When did you realize you had the talent to do such things?

Jeremih: Growing up. I was always being apart of bands or concerts, all types of different things. I began and people began to look at me as a music man. I couldn’t help what my gifts where. It allowed me to open some doors in performing. I always played a lot of different instruments. I never thought I’d take it professionally or be able to really profit off it like everything is happening now, especially now that my vocals have been added. It’s been great. People look at me as a music man.

Raptalk.Net: That works well into my next question as you brought up being in bands. How did your experiences in the marching band in high school teach you more about music?

Jeremih: It was more like a discipline while being in the marching band. It was more than music and taught me a lot of things. I wouldn’t say it was like a sorority or a fraternity or anything but it was similar. It taught me a lot about character as far as the marching band beyond music. The instrument I played was in the drum line, the drum section and it was only one of me in that section. You had a lot of four-five set drummers but only one of me instrument. I always kind of stood out because of that. At the time I think the actual movie “Drum line” came out with Nick Cannon. It was cool to be in a band at that time. I felt like no matter what, that’s just my passion anyway (laughs) to be able to be apart of something I feel I could do 24 hours a day is always great.

Raptalk.Net: How did collaborating with Mick Schultz help your career?

Jeremih: With him it was more-so a lot of things with producing and doing at home on my own. While at home, I’d be free styling or starting the archives or if something new came in, I’d start all over again. I would just make something new. But with Mick, whatever I started I finished. I began using the pro tools program and we fed off each other’s energy. As a musician himself, we understood each other musically. Being able to record myself properly, I never did that at all. I would lay down regular free styles just as concepts to have ideas and would never finish them. With him, I would start and finish.

Raptalk.Net: Would that relate back to what you were saying earlier about discipline?

Jeremih: No I wouldn’t say he taught me discipline. I just felt working with him and the discipline came from all of the marching bands and things I learned back then. One sound and one band, you stay together and whatever you feel, you just let out. The music was all based off feelings, how I was feeling that day. That’s what music is. No matter what, if you’re not feeling it then people won’t feel you. When I write music now, it’s all about feelings and emotions and I put them to my music. I hope that people feel me and feel exactly what I was feeling. Listen to the album; I’m sure it will give people lots of vibes. You may not even think it’s only me on the album when listening to it.

Raptalk.Net: What’s your relationship like with your cousin Willie Taylor from Day 26? Has he given you any advice at all?

Jeremih: Yeah. Now especially that we’re both in the industry and we’ve grown closer running into each other a lot. We see each other at the big shows and all kinds of things. I learned a lot just growing up watching him, with the do’s and don’ts of the industry. I began to take notes, eventually once things started clicking for me. He has a younger brother who I was closer with because we went to College together and everything. Now everyone knows that we’re cousins and he tells me about the people to stay away from in this industry, what people are after and who has been good.

Raptalk.Net: You were signed the very first day you performed for L.A. Reid. What do you think it was about your style that he liked?

Jeremih: L.A. Reid is a musician. When I went in there and the song had a new sound, “Birthday Sex” alone had already done a lot of damage in the industry without the deal. Once he found that out and heard more of my music that day performing for him, I had a lot of believers in his office that day. He pretty much took me under his wings. It’s dope. He saw what I and Mick did. He thought it was dope. It’s not like we came in there asking for help to come out with the album; the album was pretty much done when we got there. He recognized that and as a musician himself, he appreciated that about us and his support has always been there.

Raptalk.Net: What’s it like being signed to Def Jam?

Jeremih: It’s great man. There are a lot of labels right now but there isn’t a lot that can compare to our roster on Def Jam, especially with the quality of heavy hitters. Rihanna, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, The-Dream, Fabolous, Ne-Yo – those are a lot of big names so for me to be in the mix of all those names, especially in the year 2009 is crazy. It’s like I’m a rookie and most of them being apart of the label and going out to these different events together that the label throws, it’s been great to be apart of it so far. They’ve done exactly what I signed up for to do. They haven’t let me down yet. They gave me a release date for my album and stuck with it. There were different rumors of them pushing me back or shelving me because people said I sound like a different artist like The-Dream, pretty much the music spoke for itself and the people began to embrace me as they did with my music.

Raptalk.Net: Did you realize “Birthday Sex” was going to be as big as it currently is when you recorded it?

Jeremih: No, never. I wrote that song and to me, it was like any song that me and Mick had. I knew that it was hot but I didn’t think that 1) it was going to be my single and 2) it would be the #1 single in the country or 3) even go platinum. As of last week, we went platinum with that record. It’s crazy. It’s still surreal to me that we made history. That’s rare nowadays to have a platinum song. To be able to top out a lot of big artists as well. I remember that week on the charts, Keri Hilson, Jamie Foxx, and Beyonce. I never thought that record would hold the #1 status for weeks. It did a lot of damage on the billboard. It still amazes me.

Raptalk.Net: Speaking of the competition, 59,000 sold the first week is quite impressive, beating out Maino, Ace Hood and some others. Were you worried about the competition?

Jeremih: Not really. I was more worried about the loss of Michael Jackson affecting me than other artists if anything. It was the same week obviously and he was able to alter a lot of artists’ spins on the radio and digitally. He became the talk of the world. I thought that was going to overshadow my album release but thank God people still supported your boy. Like you said, 60,000 the first week is crazy; especially now with the way the industry is. A lot of artists are selling a lot less so it’s like wow; I have a lot of fans out there. They really supported me. To not be like the others and be illegally downloaded, because that’s were music is really going as far as sales. It’s been great.

Raptalk.Net: And has the next single been picked out?

Jeremih: Actually right now, we shot the video for it last week. It’s called “Imma Star (Everywhere We Are)” and today we have another one, like a double single release and that one is called “Break Up To Make up”, another record off the album which is one of my favorites (editor’s note: video has been released)

Raptalk.Net: You appear on the new Ace Hood and Fabolous album. Any other upcoming features we should be aware about?

Jeremih: Yeah. I’ll leave that up to when it’s official. Let’s just say we got some more on the way. Probably something off the Khaled album. There is definitely a couple on the way. I’m actually on this tour right now “America’s Most Wanted” and we’ve been speaking yesterday with some other artists on the tour, speaking of music. Now it’s just a matter of time.

Raptalk.Net: How is the tour treating you so far?

Jeremih: So far, so good. it was just the first day recently and it went like a breeze. It’s my first tour so it’s all new to me. We’ve been trying to get everything together. We just got the tour bus and dancers. I’ve been on time every day to incorporate my show. Everything is going great.

Raptalk.Net: What’s next up for Jeremih?

Jeremih: Just the tour. We’re overseas now. The album just released overseas in the UK this week. It’s #1 ringtone in Japan. Will be going out there soon, next month. I’m just trying to take care of the U.S.A. while I’m here still (laughs) and be able to knock out this tour. Hopefully make history elsewhere too so we can get the record as big as possibly can be.

Raptalk.Net: Congratulations on everything you got going on. The album is hot. Thanks a lot for your time. Jeremih is on www.raptalk.net. Do you have any last words?

Jeremih: Jeremih album in stores June 30th. I hope you got a copy or two. This is just the beginning.

http://raptalk.net/website/content/view/1908/54/

Raptalk.Net hooked up with one of the hottest R&B singers out there right now in Jeremih for an exclusive interview.  After an in depth discussion of his childhood and how he acquired such a strong musical background, we discuss such things as how his main (and only credited producer on his album) producer Mich Schultz has helped his career and what kind of advice his blood cousin and fellow artist Willie Taylor of Day 26 has given him.

Next up is the Def Jam deal and how that came about, including his performance for L.A. Reid. His lead single "Birthday Sex" was arguably the biggest urban hit of the year so you know we have to discuss that one and what Jeremih's thoughts were when it was first recorded.

59,000 is what Jeremih sold first week, an impressive debut that beat out competition such as Maino and Ace Hood; congratulations to him on that as he talks about those first week numbers. Read on for more info on upcoming guest appearances, tours, and more!

Enjoy...

Read Full Interview Here:
http://raptalk.net/website/content/view/1908/54/

[MontrealCity's Most]

im down with Jeremih!!! Props and thanks...

is it the crome upon my wheels or the bass up in my trunk!

[D-Nice]

I got this album a while back but still have not listened to it yet.

[Lunatic]

I got this album a while back but still have not listened to it yet.

i can't stop playing the 3 singles..problem is they on repeat and i barely heard the rest of the album lol..those 3 catch ya attention fo sho though..

[MontrealCity's Most]

I got this album a while back but still have not listened to it yet.

i can't stop playing the 3 singles..problem is they on repeat and i barely heard the rest of the album lol..those 3 catch ya attention fo sho though..

Whats the 3 singles? i listen to the hole thing, the hole thing is fire.

[Lunatic]

I got this album a while back but still have not listened to it yet.

i can't stop playing the 3 singles..problem is they on repeat and i barely heard the rest of the album lol..those 3 catch ya attention fo sho though..

Whats the 3 singles? i listen to the hole thing, the hole thing is fire.

Birthday Sex
Imma Star (Everywhere We Are)
Make Up To Break Up

I made it through the whole album a few times and it's definitely hot, but those 3 singles are for sure my favorites.