Truth Hurts story on HitPage.com

[Dedicato]

Moment of Truth

Dr. Dre is at it again. After unleashing rapper Eminem on unsuspecting rap fans in 1999, the hip-hop maverick is now introducing his latest discovery -- R&B singer Truth Hurts. "I think a lot of the music the female artists are putting out right now is kind of bubblegum-ish," says Dre. "I wanted a singer that can really sing, but do the type of music that my audience is gonna buy. I don't think that's been done so far. It's been done with singers singing on rap records, what have you, making it edgy. But nobody . . . [has made] an entire edgy R&B album. And I think [Truth has done] it."

Truth Hurts (née Shari Watson) currently is heating up the airwaves with her erotic single "Addictive" (featuring Rakim), and will drop her debut CD, Truthfully Speaking, on June 25. And like her nom de plume implies, the newcomer tells it like it is -- both in her songs and in her feelings about the music business. "I had been watching a lot of what was going on in the music industry," Truth tells Billboard magazine. "I was disappointed that a lot of artists aren't allowed to be themselves. They're often put together, and the things that they're singing or rapping about aren't a part of who they are. I believe artists should know something about what they're speaking of."

The starting point in this St. Louis native's singing career began when her mother enrolled her in operatic and classical vocal classes when she was 11 years old. By the age of 13, with fake ID in tow, she was performing nightly gigs fronting her cousin's band at a local jazz club. When she graduated from high school, she nixed plans to study opera at the University of Chicago, and instead headed off to California to pursue her dreams. Toiling around in the Bay Area music scene, Truth started paying her dues singing at local talent shows. In 1994, she was in an R&B group called Shug & Dap (she was Shug) with a record deal on Giant. They were able to release only one single and then disbanded after the label folded. Soon thereafter, she started penning songs for R&B singers like Monifah, L.V. and Eric Benét before teaming up with the good doctor as a staff songwriter for Aftermath Records.

Now it's Truth's time to shine. Her Truthfully Speaking disc has been described as a blunt document on love and life. "I don't really call it R&B," the 30-year-old says. "It's a little edgy, but it does have the same values of old-school R&B in terms of melody and lyric. I just call it bringing some truth to the table." Adding more fuel to her fiery hit-making trail, Truth plans to drop an "Addictive" remix, with the album's title cut (featuring embattled singer R. Kelly) as a B-side. "It's crazy. Ridiculous!" she boasts of the controversial collaboration. "We're gonna throw that out there to see what people say because we had planned that to be my second single. Not just because of R. Kelly, because the song is crazy. We don't have no issues with it."

This summer, fans can see the diva in person, as she joins the eclectic bill of the Smoking Grooves Tour featuring noteworthy risk-takers OutKast, the Roots, Jurassic 5 and Lauryn Hill. And if you're not able to catch Truth grooving in concert, go to your local video store and check her out in Will Smith's Ali (she played a lounge singer) and Dr. Dre's The Wash (she played Snoop Dogg's girlfriend).

Truthfully speaking, the R&B princess admits that without Dre's mentoring and guidance she wouldn't be where she is today. "I learned everything I need to know from working with Dr. Dre," she attests. "I love him for being a perfectionist and knowing what it takes to do this s**t for real. Not just throwing out some nonsense. He's a master at this game."

Thanks to Trent Fitzgerald, Staff Writer, HitPage.com

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