September 18, 2006 @ 3:18 pm

Sunshine Anderson: Sun Therapy

Coryn Brown

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When Sunshine Anderson broke out humming on a cafeteria line at North Carolina Central University, she inadvertently cued the double edged saber that is serendipity at times. A well-connected someone in the audience introduced Anderson to Mike City, then A&R Vice President of Soul Life/Atlantic, the label under which she eventually signed, nabbed a manager in Macy Gray, released a hit track, “Heard It All Before,” pieced together an album that debuted fifth in 2001 on the Billboard 200, then skidded, uncontrolled, into darkness. Now, five years later, the Charlotte native returns with Shining Star Inc. - her imprint on Matthew Knowles’ World Music Group label - an album, Sunshine At Midnight, come January ‘07, and a single “Something I Wanna Give You,” making the radio rounds with her trademark lambasting out of hibernation. Vibe.com caught up with the no nonsense singer to talk about male bashing, her darkest hour and why music will make room for the sun. Vibe.com: “Get your coat, get your knapsack, get your lazy butt off my couch, I want you out…” Woman to woman, who are you singing to in this single? Sunshine Anderson: [Laughs] The whole song isn’t directed at one person but it’s definitely a situation that I may have been in at one point. It’s like, “Heard It All Before” part two, except this song is kind of misleading because it starts off sweet. So “Heard It All Before” isn't for someone specific either? right Sunshine: Well, I can’t say anybody specific. The girl that wrote my current song, Candace Nelson--I wish I could have been there with her so I could figure out what was going on in her life when she wrote it. I hate to beat up on the fellas so bad. I meet guys all the time that tell me, “You had me in the doghouse!” Are you in a relationship with anybody now? Sunshine: I am, I am. How does he respond to the man bashing? Sunshine: I’ll come home from the studio so excited about this record, and I’ll say, "ok, listen to this." He’ll kind of just sit there and won’t say anything. When it’s over, I have to say, “Well? What do you think?” He’ll tell the truth. He’ll go, “you dogging me out right here, but I like the beat.” I bet it might make a brother nervous when you say “I had faked it in bed more than once…” Sunshine: [Laughs] No, I don’t think so! I think he’s pretty secure in a few areas when it comes to us, so he’s not nervous. You didn’t write the song but to sing something like this, you have to relate to it. Is music therapy to you? Sunshine: Oh, music is therapy. Being gone for five years, there have been really, really bad days. But I would put the right record on at the right time and I’ve always said music makes everything better. Where were you? Sunshine: Oh god, the album came and went. I think I spiraled out of control. I finished up the R. Kelly tour in August 2001. Atlantic went into a merger with Warner Brothers with one song left to record on my second album and my project was put on hold. So I asked to be released and it was granted. I came out realizing that there weren’t any opportunities for Sunshine, even though we went gold. There weren’t any labels waving the red flag. I would bump into people at Target and they would say, what are you doing here? To have that kind of success and then have people wondering, why is she here? That was hard. But is there a place for you in music now? In 2001, you were the only singer bringing the rawness. Five years later, you have Keyshia Cole in that territory. Sunshine: I love Keyshia Cole and it’s so crazy because she reminds me of Sunshine, the early Sunshine, the purity that comes across when she delivers the song. My young nieces and nephews that aren’t really clear that I’ve had an album out before say, “if you dye your hair red, you’ll be like…” and I’m like, ok, that’s real sweet. But what separates artists are the ways we respond to a beat and interpret a song. I feel like there’s room for everyone. Here I am, brand new label with Matthew Knowles. Did Matthew have a lot of power over this album? Rumors have it he's a control freak. Sunshine: People have their own opinions. When I left Atlantic, they gave me this album. So I came to Music World with about 19 songs already done. We know how much Matthew’s involved in his family’s careers, so under his umbrella I just feel at home. It wasn’t like that the first time around. Are you scared, coming out a second time? Sunshine: [Laughs] Yeah, to be honest. I’m kind of nervous. Matthew Knowles is damn near pressure in itself. But because of the way things happened the first time around, I’ve had a taste of success and I don’t know if I need it this time like I needed it before. I learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned I can cook. Might be ready for kids in a few years. I’m not going to miss another family reunion. I want it and we’re going to go on tour and have a good time; there was no balance before. As a musician, what did you learn? Sunshine: Know your craft. There’s bankruptcy and a lot of other things. Educate yourself. Did you go bankrupt? Sunshine: Yeah. That’s what I mean. Things were bad. Everything that could’ve gone wrong that year went wrong. I had to really pull myself up by the bootstraps. My dad said to me, "if the damn boat sinks, are you going to go down with it? If the ship goes down, are you going to go down with it?" When he said that is when I realized, sunshine can happen at midnight. Even in your darkest hour, even when you can’t see that light at the end of the tunnel, there can still be sunshine amid the darkness. Read more vibe.com online exclusives.

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