Jagged Edge – Interview

I’m jealous that you guys are in Key West.

Yeah, we might be in Key West but it’s raining. How you like that? It’s all good though.

What are you guys doing there?

We’re doing our rehearsals.

How much time do you spend doing that?

We rehearse every day from about two to seven. We put in them hours everyday.

I heard you are always in the studio.

Yeah, we are. We’re always trying to stir something up.

What is recording like when you don’t even have a song to really record?

We just go in and try and create a vibe, man. We have our own producers by the name of the Corner Boys who may have a track ready or we’ll have a sample or something and we’ll just work on stuff. The studio is in my house so it makes it easier. It’s just natural for us to crank up a hot song or single.

Is it frustrating because a song you make tomorrow might not see the light of day for a year or two?

Well, we kind of learned the game so we just wait until the wheels fall off for everyone else and we’ll come out with something hot.

You have a ton of songs on the Jagged Little Thrill, so how do you choose what will make the album?

We have a million songs. They are good songs and reality written, but the album has to have a whole vibe. You don’t want something on there that will pull away from the vibe. If you have too many vibes going, then it doesn’t work.

The fact is that Thrill has pretty much all good songs, so you can listen right through. Lots of artists put twenty songs on an album to make up for the lack of good songs. So when I see an album with more than fifteen songs, I worry because they are almost never all good.

I know, they aren’t all good. (laughs) We can’t imagine making an album that isn’t good through and through. That’s like a cake without the icing. We ain’t cutting the crust out, we give it all. We want you to eat the whole thing.

What’s it like working with other people on the album?

It’s great. It’s nice to be able to collaborate with people who enjoy music as much as you do. You come together for something good and the next thing you know you put it out and millions of people love that song.

What’s it like to think there are millions of people enjoying your music?

Sometimes doing interviews and talking about it, you really realize it. It’s amazing. To see it start from the Twins writing music and us vibing and working on it to bring it from nothing to something, then it goes from us liking it to friends, then to the whole world. That is a beautiful thing. It’s a powerful thing.

You seem to stick to the old school feel. You don’t try to go after the trends.

It has to do with keeping it real to ourselves. If one of us falls off, we’ll let them know so we can help them. We like to stay real to it all. We are in it for the money, but we are in it for the history. I want people to say they love our music.

What would you think about kids in fifteen years saying ‘Jagged Edge was the band that influenced me’?

We always say how beautiful it’ll be when our kid’s kids hear our songs on the radio and they appreciate it and can say ‘That’s my granddad’ and be proud. I just want them to be proud.

What’s most important, the artist or the song?

The song first. I think that once you have that good song and then you meet the artist they come together, that is if the artist is down to earth and real. That makes you a fan.

Who when you were growing up inspired you to want to be a singer?

I’d say New Edition. New Edition was the group everyone knew. Everyone knew each individual member too and it was cool to be in a guy group.

New Edition was rare because they knew Bobby, Ricky, and the rest by name.

Everyone knew who they were. It was pretty crazy.

Nowadays people only know the group and not really the members.

I know. We hope to change that.

With hitting the road?

Yeah.

What else do you have for the year?

We have a group coming out called Angel. We think there is a void when it comes to girl groups.

Did you create a label?

Yeah, we have our own label, but we are still looking for the right deal, so look out for it. We are also working on the first minority-owned bottled water company.

So you went from being the business to owning it.

Yeah, it’s nice.

What has it been like coming from being part of the business to running it?

You either learn the game or it’ll leave you. Instead of asking ‘Why didn’t I get this or that?’ you have to look at where you are and make the change.

+ charlie craine