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Teo: |
Let's talk more about your new
album. The title is "Montell Jordan - R U With
Me," right? |
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Montell: |
It's no longer gonna be called R U
With Me. It's self-entitled "Montell Jordan." |
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Teo: |
OK. When does it drop? |
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Montell: |
February 5, 2002, right before
Valentine's Day, Teo. |
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Teo: |
That's perfect! Who worked with you
on this album? I heard that there is a song that you
recorded with Case. |
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Montell: |
Yes. It's called "Coulda
Woulda Shoulda," me and Case. I worked with
WC from West Side Connect. Do you know WC? He is a guy
that the West Side Connection was with Ice Cube, Mack 10 |
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Teo: |
Oh, yes... |
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Montell: |
I did a song with WC. And I did a
song with the pastor of my church in Atlanta, Bishop
Eddie Long. And other than that, I didn't work with
anybody else on the album. All new people, new producers. |
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Teo: |
My next question. Do you like
singing with other people or you prefer singing by
yourself? |
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Montell: |
I like to sing with other people. |
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Teo: |
With other people...? |
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Montell: |
Yes, sir. I enjoy...I always wanted
to be in a group when I was a kid because of the music I
used to listen to, but I couldn't find people that were
serious as I was, so I had to go solo, man. You gotta,
like Michael Jackson, you gotta cut the rest of them that
can't clown loose, you know... |
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Teo: |
Yeah?! |
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Montell: |
I'm joking! I like The Jacksons,
too. They're talented. |
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Teo: |
What was working with Case like? |
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Montell: |
Hey, he's my buddy, man. He's my
label mate. |
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Teo: |
Are you very close to other Def
Jam/Def Soul artists? |
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Montell: |
Yes, I am. I'm close to Christina
Millian. She's pretty. She's a pretty girl, a good
writer, too. I'm close to Case. Ja Rule's my friend. And,
uh...I talk to L.L.Cool J. I talk to Run D.M.C.,
Redman...Me and Method Man both have a kid. His son's
about the same age of my daughter. They are a month
apart...close label ties! |
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Teo: |
Yeah...That's cool! |
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Montell: |
And Slick Rick, too. He's one of my
inspirations, too. And Kelly Price. She's my sister! |
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Teo: |
Kelly Price, of course! Where did
you record your new album? How long did it take you to
put it together? |
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Montell: |
Over a year. I put it in Atlanta,
GA. |
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Teo: |
Atlanta... |
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Montell: |
Yes. In my own studio. |
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Teo: |
Oh, you have a studio there? |
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Montell: |
Uh-huh. It's called 6-8 Studio. (*1) |
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Teo: |
Is there a particular message
behind your music on your new album, or anything you're
trying to leave the people with? |
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Montell: |
Yes! I want everybody to know who
Montell Jordan is for the first time! |
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Teo: |
For the first time!? |
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Montell: |
For the first time, just like
meeting this album is like meeting me for the very first
time. |
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Teo: |
I read it in your bio that your new
album reflects the Real Montell Jordan. How would you
describe yourself as a person, I mean, what's the Real
Montell Jordan like? |
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Montell: |
The Real Montell is changing,
changing constantly and dealing with that change. He is
confronting with himself right now. |
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Teo: |
You keep changing!? |
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Montell: |
Yes. |
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Teo: |
What's something about you that
you'd like your fans to know that they might not know? |
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Montell: |
Something they might not know? |
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Teo: |
Yeah. |
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Montell: |
Uhmmm...uh... |
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Teo: |
This may be a tough question... |
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Montell: |
Oh, no...there is a lot of stuff,
you know, it's just that you wanna give them something
that means something. Uhmmm...something about Montell
they might not know? Ahh, I get stage fright before I go
on perform! |
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Teo: |
You do? |
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Montell: |
Yeah. I throw up! |
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Teo: |
No kidding! |
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Montell: |
No kidding. But after I get on
stage, I'm a lot better. |
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Teo: |
Really? You feel more relaxed. |
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Montell: |
Yeah. Absolutely! After I throw up,
I always feel better! Are you gonna tell everybody that,
Teo? |
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Teo: |
Yes, of course! |
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Montell: |
OK. |
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Teo: |
I'm gonna put this up on my
website. |
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Montell: |
I saw your website, too, man. Great
job! (*2) |
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Teo: |
Oh, thank you very much! |
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Montell: |
Yeah, yeah, it's hot, man! It's a
really really nice site. |
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Teo: |
Yeah? Thank you very much. What
about touring? Are you going to be touring soon? Where
can people see you? |
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Montell: |
Starting mid-January. |
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Teo: |
Mid-January? |
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Montell: |
Yes, sir. I wanna tour all year if
I can. |
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Teo: |
Are there any other projects you
want to mention you have coming up? |
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Montell: |
I did songs with Christina Millian
on her up-coming album. And, uh... |
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Teo: |
Did you write or produce her songs? |
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Montell: |
I did two songs with her. They're
called...uh...I wrote and produced. One song is called
"It Hurts When" and one is
called "Twitch." |
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Teo: |
What's next for Montell Jordan? |
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Montell: |
Next for Montell Jordan is, uh..., writing
and producing for some new artists coming out of Atlanta,
GA. I'll introduce them, the whole new artists to the
industry. I'll take over the industry. |
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Teo: |
Wow! And, of course, you're gonna start
working on your next album, right? |
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Montell: |
I'm going to. Yeah! I wanna start working on
it probably next summer. |
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Teo: |
Next summer? |
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Montell: |
Yeah. Be ready to release another one in
2003. |
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Teo: |
Are you planning to tour in Japan in the
near future? (*4) |
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Montell: |
I've got to! |
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Teo: |
Have you been to Japan before? |
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Montell: |
Yes, sir. I've been to Tokyo, Hiroshima,
Nagasaki...I love Roppongi, ha, ha, ha! |
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Teo: |
Roppongi?! |
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Montell: |
(laughter) |
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Teo: |
When was the last time you were in Japan? |
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Montell: |
I was there in Japan...uh...I was in Japan
like a year ago, when we went to some military bases out
there. (*5) We
went to Okinawa (*6),
South Korea. I did 3 or 4 shows in Japan just last year.
I did like 9 shows over in South Korea. |
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Teo: |
You've been to all over the world. You even
went to Cuba, right? |
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Montell: |
Yeah. |
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Teo: |
I like that song..., the Spanish version
of...uh... |
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Montell: |
"Once Upon A Time" |
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Teo: |
Yeah. Was it very difficult for you to sing
in Spanish? |
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Montell: |
Yes, Teo. Yes, it was very hard. |
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Teo: |
But you sound great in that song! |
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Montell: |
Thank you. Thank you very much. |
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Teo: |
OK. Now...uh... |
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Montell: |
Teo, that was one of those longevity things
that you do..., like when you asked me, "how do you
stay around for 5 albums?" That's one of the things
that you have to do, to try to stay around for that long.
It's really creative, you know. |
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Teo: |
Yeah. |
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Montell: |
Stretch your boundary. Stretch your limit. |
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( Click here to go to Part 3 ) |
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Copyright 2001 Teo. All Rights Reserved. |
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Part 1 | Part 3 |
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