By Odeisel

R&B male singers these days come a dime a dozen. They either follow the broken legacy of Jodeci or they collect the breadcrumbs left by Prince, Michael Jackson or R. Kelly, only bothering to copy what their talent allows. John Blu is trying to break out of the mundane, even though he shares these same inspirations and follows the close association with Hip-Hop that everyone else in his lane does. Planet Ill sits down with Blu to talk music, fear, and how writing a song for a woman doens’t always go the way you intend. Below are the results.

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Planet Ill: As a new artist, what determines the subject matter of the songs that you sing?

John Blu: I’m a singer, songwriter-producer. I try to produce and write everything that we release and I’m glad that Jive gives me that creative control. As far as [being] a new artist and releasing a single, my whole focal point is trying to come up with something that hasn’t been touched on or if it has been, trying to do something that’s original. Just bring a lot of new ideas to music. Like no one has done a song about cologne and really blew it up the correct way, so that’s the approach I took with that one. What woman don’t want a man that smells good? So let’s make a song about hygiene.

Planet Ill: The song is, however, sexually related. In a market with Trey Songzesses and all these other guys who are limiting themselves to that kind of topic, how can you distinguish yourself?

John Blu: There’s only a certain amount of concepts that you can actually write about. It’s love songs, you got your club songs and, like you say, most artists tend to sing about sexually related songs or something in that context. But it’s kinda hard, because sex sells, so it’s kinda like what they [the fans] want to hear. But how can you flip it and distinguish yourself from them instead of following them around in the same pattern?

For instance we were going to release a song that I had that was pretty much along the same title of… it was a Jamie Foxx record. The “Blame It On The Alcohol” record. I had a song called “Blame It On The Liquor” and we were about to release that and I just knew in the back of my head, ain’t nobody write a song like this, before, well let me go put this out. And then you hear the Jamie Foxx record. If you sleep on an idea too long, somebody’s going to beat you to it.

Now, instead of just sitting on records, my whole thing is, if I come up with a creative concept, I’m trying to put it out there like asap so that way, it’s like they bit off me instead of I bit off them.

Planet Ill: Where do you get the ideas, musically, that end up on your record? What ideas inspire you?

John Blu: I play the keys, I play the drum, and I play the baritone horn. I play around on the bass also, but I never took lessons or anything so it was always like a God-given gift. So what I did now, instead of me going out there playing live, and gigging live, I just use it towards my production and create my own tracks, whether it’s rock tracks, gospel tracks, R&B tracks, Hip-Hop tracks whatever I can pretty much do.

I grew up around music, not necessarily in my family but I was just connected to the right friends that were in the gospel market and some of my friends are musicians so I grew up around it and they influenced me to get into it and start producing. Some of my influences are Michael, and Prince because he plays so many instruments and he can entertain at the same time.

Planet Ill: Gospel music involves a lot of complex arrangements, particularly with the keys and vocals. Have you mastered the ability to speak with your music as well as your words?

John Blu: I think I have because before you even hear a lyric on my song, the first thing that has to catch your attention is the beat. And I feel like you could just play the instrumental and it sounds like a hit, without lyrics on it, then you like 90% there. You got yourself a hit because the beat has to catch your attention first and then it’s pretty much the hook.

People tend to catch on to the verses further down the line. Like, “Oh this guy might be talking about something.” But the first think you need is that catchy hook and that beat; that track.  And I feel like my tracks pretty much speak like they bang, whether they gonna be a slow record or a club record. For my third single , I’m thinking it about slowing it down since I done had two back-to-back records, which is the “In Love Wit Yo Booty” and the “Cologne” record. So I want to slow it down and the same think you’re going hear with this, when the track drop, it’s going to be crazy.

[pro-player width=’425′ height=’344′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD6qCIHT0Ro[/pro-player]

Planet Ill: How much of your lyrics reflect your life and how much are items that you project into the lives of other people?

John Blu: I try to write a lot of things that everybody can relate to or either been through. Most of the time I don’t write what I’ve been through per se, because I had an experience where I remember I wrote a song for a young lady back in the day and  that whole thing reversed on me. Like I’m thinking I was gone win her for writing a song for her and it actually scared her away. So it kinda scared me away from writing songs for females. Now I just write what other people can relate to, not necessarily what I’m going through, but what everybody else can relate to, because I be around and I see so much.

Planet Ill: How much does fear affect your artistry? How much does it impact the way that you produce, write and sing?

John Blu: Back in the days I was young so I learned a lot from that fear. It groomed me into becoming who I am today. You gotta have tough skin to be inside the music industry. You ain’t gone be able to please everybody. So that’s what it taught me that you’re not going to be able to please everybody. But you gotta focus on your craft and it will make room for you. Fear will force you to increase your gift and it keeps you focused.

Planet Ill: When you got on the stage for the first time, how did you overcome that fear?

John Blu: I think that’s like repetitiveness (sic). You gotta do it and you gotta build that confidence in yourself. I started early and I did have that stage fright because I was afraid of what people may think or if they would accept my music. The judgmental part of it had that fear in my heart. As I kept going and kept perfecting it, you lose that fear for performing.  Now, the biggest show that I did was in Tampa, and that was about 50-60,000 people, so I felt like if I could do this, I can do anything now.

Planet Ill: How do you force the audience to pay attention to you, especially in the larger arenas?

John Blu: When I’m on the bill now, because I’m becoming one of those branded names, I’m actually a headliner that’s opening up for a bigger headliner. I know who they REALLY here to see, so how can I steal the show? So what I try to bring to the show is a lot of shock value. I don’t want to be one of those singers that stand still in one position and just sing. There’s nothing wrong with it, but that’s not me. I try to bring my dancers and I try to be involved with them as well.  A lot of character; a lot of sense of humor on stage when I’m on the mic, also. So I feel like if I can bring that talent, that gift, and also make the audience laugh it’s a win-win situation. So that’s what I try to bring to the stage. A lot of different ideas and a lot of shock value.

Planet Ill: You’re working on your third studio project. How have you progressed as an artist throughout those projects?

John Blu: I think I’ve learned how to master the craft of staying relevant as far as sound because every two years, the sound changes and the music changes and if you can’t keep up with it, you’re going to be stuck in the past. I feel that God blessed me with the ear to be able to keep up, create, or either be one of those trend setters to start a new path that changes the terms of music. That’s pretty much it. It’s a gift.

Planet Ill: Is there anything that you would like to get out to fans?

John Blu: Definitely look out for the third album, it’s in the making. I got a mixtape that I’m dropping on the 18^th of January before the album and we got the third single to follow up from the “Cologne” record. We fittin to shoot three videos for three records from the mixtape so we can just flood the industry with the visual because I still feel that the face of John Blu is not branded as well as the music. So I’m trying to make the face and the music meet up. They can definitely look forward to that.

We got the AAU mixtape we’re working on also, we got the DVD we’re working on and really I’m just trying to get a lot of placements so people can just keep their ears open for on John Blu penning records on several artists or producing records for several artists as well as myself.

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