Soulshock Interview

INTERVIEW WITH SOULSHOCK FROM TheCelebrityCafe.com ARCHIVES

DM) What was it like working on Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel?"

SS) It was an amazing experience... I have been a fan of Whitney since I was a kid, and sitting in front her having her record one of our songs! Well it's very hard to describe, but it is still the peak of my career.

DM) Do you anticipate working with her again?

SS) Yes, we have spoken a couple of times since we recorded the song. She is very proud of the song which is why it ended up on her new greatest hits CD. A huge honor !

DM) What projects will you be working with her on, in the future?

SS) Right now there is a change going on at Arista records. Clive Davis is leaving for another label. The question is will Whitney join him at his new label or is she staying with Arista? I am sure when that is resolved she will start working on new album... she still has plenty to give!

DM) What do you think will be the ultimate impact of Clive leaving Arista?

SS) Well, since it is now official that he is starting a new label under BMG... not much. I really don't know why BMG is paying $ 150 million for something they already had!

DM) Which of your songs do you feel best show your production work?

SS) That's a tough question. I think that one of the productions I am most proud of is either Tupac's, "Do For Love" or Whitney Houston's, "Heartbreak Hotel".

DM) Of all of the artists you've worked with, who do you enjoy working with the most?

SS) I will have to say Tupac [Shakir]. First of all because I come from rap music, and working with him was just a dream coming through. But he was just such a unique person... What a loss!

DM) What do you miss most about Tupac?

SS) Well, it is rare to meet a rap artist who has so much impact on people. When he touched a subject in his songs people really listen, so I guess I am just really sad he can't tell people "to keep their head up" when things are bad.

DM) Do you think he hit the peak of his career or was there more to come?

SS) I think there was a lot more. If you watch some of the movies he did, you can see he actually was a great actor as well, I really believe he was and still is one of this century biggest stars.

DM) Do you feel that Rap music has hit it's peak in popularity or is there anew "rebirth" to come?

SS) That is a very good question. I have always said that rap is here to stay. Even in the beginning when everybody thought is was just another genre like disco that was going to die again, I knew rap was here to stay. I guess 20 years later with rap being bigger than ever they were wrong. But I must say on a more creative level that rap maybe has hit it's peak. A lot of the rap music coming out these days is just not as good as earlier rap music. That doesn't mean it doesn't sell !. Rap music has never sold as much as a whole genre as now. But I do feel that a lot of the rap music coming out maybe is driven more by making money than making art or simply dope music. I miss the "A Tribe called Quest" albums, the KRS-One albums, the "Public Enemy" albums when you just got blown away when you heard them. I still think rap music is making good music, Jay-Z is doper than dope and let's hope Lil' Kim is coming back with a HOT album.

DM) Speaking as a producer, a lot of articles are not commenting on the "pre-packaged/pre-produced" boy bands that seem to be so popular as of late. What is your take on them?

SS) I do NOT like them! I think is it one of the worst things that has happened to the music industry in the 90's. But you know the kids love'em and that's why they are here, who am I to say it sucks....that is however my answer.

DM) So what percentage of the music industry is run by music and what percentage is run by sales?

SS) I think it used to be 50/50. These days however because of the big corporations taking over the music industry it is defiantly run more by numbers than ever before...which is very sad.

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on your website.

Learn more about debugging in WordPress.