There aren’t too many ASCAP-nominated songwriters who moonlight as video vixens, but judging by her scintillating cameo in the video for Usher’s recent No. 1 hit, “Love In This Club,” Keri Hilson takes her beauty and brains unself-consciously in stride. Lounging in a Midtown New York City office on a crisp spring afternoon, Keri, 25, basks in the glow of imminent stardom.
And it’s no wonder she radiates confidence. Not only did she write Timbaland’s “The Way I Are,” a song that made the whole world sing in 2007, but she got to sing it, too. The glamorous multitasker knows all too well that being up-front is what matters most.
“For [‘The Way I Are’], it was that people knew I sang it,” she says, donning a comely tweed jacket and fetching newsboy cap that make her look like a sexy riding instructor. “Once people know your name, the rest opens up. It was less important to me that people read the credits on that record.”
Thanks to the high-profile success of songwriters-cum-singers like The-Dream and Ne-Yo, increasingly the look in R&B is putting down the pen and picking up the mic. The jury is out on whether it’s a full-on trend or just a nice bit of record-label synchronicity, but either way, this summer, Hilson, along with four-time Grammy nominee Sean “The Pen” Garrett, and newcomer Ryan Leslie—collectively responsible for more than a dozen No.1 hits—are crossing their fingers and hoping that their written bona fides translate into bona fide singing careers.
But none of this is new. During Motown’s glory years, Smokey Robinson was not only a staff writer for the famed label—he, along with the Miracles, also sang many of its most beloved classics, including 1965’s “The Tracks of My Tears” and 1967’s “The Tears of a Clown.”
Same for husband-and-wife-songwriters-turned-singing-duo Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson—they penned 1968’s Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell chart-topper “You’re All I Need to Get By” and scored their own monster with 1984’s tremendous “Solid.”
Sometimes even the reverse occurs, as with Prince, who began as a performer but also penned hits for Chaka Khan (1984’s “I Feel for You”) and ’80s girl band the Bangles (1986’s “Manic Monday”) on the side.
This year, Timbaland protégé Ryan Tedder charted as an artist (OneRepublic’s “Apologize”) and as a songwriter (Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love”). And no conversation about R&B multihyphenates is complete without bowing before Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, his then-partner Antonio “L.A.” Reid, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
For the better part of the ’80s and ’90s, these powerhouses dominated the charts as performers and hit makers for hire (Boyz II Men’s sublime “End of the Road” [1992] and Janet Jackson’s breakthrough album, Control [1986], respectively).
But while it might be a familiar song, in 2008 there’s a new arrangement. Hilson, Garrett and Leslie are primarily known as songwriters. They have been, for all intents and purposes, anonymous partners in the process—not stars, but star makers. Other prominent songwriters have resisted the desire to launch solo careers.
For the energetic Bryan-Michael Cox, the man behind songs for Usher, Mariah Carey, and recently Making The Band 4’s Day26, writing and producing has always been the endgame.
“There’s nothing hard about [being in the background] for me. I enjoy it. Been in the background for 10 years,” he says, “and I’ve always sang, always played piano, done open mics. I just didn’t want to write my own image. My goal was to write and produce, not to become a star.”
With heavy shifts in the music industry, Cox’s track makes sense. CD sales are down, and artist development is at nil, so now may not be the optimum time for any artist to go for self. Writers—content creators— are making money every time the singer blasts a note, every time the song is played or legally downloaded—all the while taking few, if any, of the risks that come with being a celebrity. So why jump up front now?
“What do you mean, Why now?” Garrett says, calling from Los Angeles en route to the airport. “Why does any artist come along? I’m an artist at heart. What makes an artist you like? Oh, I like his voice. Oh, I like his songs. The things that make you like an artist is what I am. I have my story to tell, my songs to sing, and my show to give. That’s what made me decide [to sing] now.”
Born in Atlanta, Sean Garrett, 30, is the son of a U.S. Army Sergeant Major and grew up shuttling back and forth from England and Germany (he attended high school in Nuremberg, and he does sprechen sie Deutsch). In 1995, Garrett landed a solo deal with a German label that folded before his album was released.
Bad luck continued in the U.S. In 2000, Garrett, then 22, was this close to signing with Warner Bros., but the label’s black music department went belly-up. With nowhere to go, Garrett shifted his focus to songwriting.
It would prove a smart career move because in 2003, after hearing a three-song demo, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, on his way to being chairman of Island Def Jam, signed Garrett as a songwriter to his prestigious publishing company, Hitco (which includes Gordon Chambers, who’s written hits for Anita Baker and SWV; production crew Organized Noize; and singer/songwriter Tony Rich).
Garrett hit the ground running. His first official credit was soul singer Latif’s 2003 “I Don’t Wanna Hurt You” (Motown), but it was Usher’s seismic 2004 smash “Yeah!” that established him. Since then, he’s written stunners for Destiny’s Child (2004’s “Soldier,” “Lose My Breath”), bangers for Nelly (2005’s “Grillz”), and pop punishers for the Pussycat Dolls (2006’s “Buttons”) and Fergie (2006’s “London Bridge”). It’s an eclectic array of credits and artists, and Garrett rightfully takes pride in his ability to creatively custom fit all of his clients.
“You have to work very closely with the artist to give them songs that feel just right,” Garrett says. “I know which artist to work on, what songs will look good on them.”
Garrett’s cosmopolitan Euro youth—late nights in sweaty clubs, house music booming—is all over his debut, TURBO 919 (Bet I Penned It/Interscope). The album is bursting with high-energy disco rhythms and frantic production. Speaking again, on the way to a promotional gig in Japan—where his first single, “Grippin’” featuring Ludacris, is already a No. 1 ringtone (the song is creeping up Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, too)—Garrett’s mindset is confident and pragmatic.
“We’re going to have to go through the same issues and stages that every other artist goes through, and that’s whether the public likes and accepts you or not. Whether they think your music is hot or not, that’s what it comes down to. We’re trying to do something great, we’re trying to save our music and should be applauded instead of questioned.”
Read the rest in the July issue of VIBE.
del.icio.us
digg
Furl
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Comments
No comments have been posted.