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Craig David - Craig David: Shooting Star From U.K. to U.S. |
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Posted by:  Jasper - June 26th, 2003 01:27 AM - Source: Rap-Up
The UK's biggest R&B export speaks with Rap-Up, read the interview as published on Rap-Up.com below.
He's sweet, soulful, sexy, plus he's a perfect gentleman. And over seven million-that's the # of people who purchased his debut Born To Do It-fans around the globe know it. His Born To Do It spent more than 60 weeks on the Billboard® 200 chart and his 2nd smash, Slicker Than Your Average is already scoring hits like "What's Your Flava?" Awards? He's got 'em: a 2001 Grammy® nod, two 2001 MTV Europe Video Music Awards, two 2001 Billboard® Music Video Awards. Accolades? Yes, those are coming his way, too. His superstar music industry peers have been quick to big up the London-born lad. Bono added a verse from David's hit "Walking Away" into his performance of U2's classic "One" at the 2002 Brit Awards ceremony, and Elton John has been quoted as saying, "If there's a better R&B singer than David, then I'm Margaret Thatcher." Recently David spoke to Rap-Up about his love of U.S. hip-hop and R&B, his unique, chart-topping, record-breaking sound, and how there might be a duet with J. Lo in his future.
Rap-Up: Is there a meaning behind the title of your album?
Craig David: There wasn't really a focused meaning for it… There was a song on the album called "Slicker Than Your Average" and that was the first time I was really talking about how I felt about certain things and getting a few things off my chest. And it sort of sounded apt to use it as the actual title of the album because I just felt that there are so many artists out there that I try to bring something new and innovative to the forefront. And it'd be nice to be part of that to say, "Hey, I'm trying to do something that's not just your average… something that gets your attention in some way."
Rap-Up: It's like you can fill in the blank.
Craig David: Yeah, kind of keep it open, like Yogi Bear was smarter than your average bear. You can fill it in with whatever your want to put… clown… artist… vibesman…
Rap-Up: You grew up in Southampton. What was that like?
Craig David: It was nice. On the outskirts it was very plush. It had very beautiful places. But in the inner city we had our little ghetto, as you'd call it. It was a nice place to grow up because you knew that only 10 minutes away you had city center and then you could go straight to the suburbs where it was grass and forests.
Rap-Up: In the U.K., garage music is very popular. And your music has often been labeled that. What is garage?
Craig David: I grew up listening to R&B and hip-hop music predominantly from the States. And the garage scene is sort of a derivative of US garage music. If you take house music and you put a nice melodic song over the top of it, and sort of break the beat up a little bit so it's not so four-to-the-floor, it's just this one beat pounding to your head. That's what garage music in the U.K. brought to the forefront. It was able to take a song that was very much R&B and try to make the back end track so it's not just so hardcore, and it sort of blew up in the U.K. and Europe. The closest thing you could say to it is the chorus of "Fill Me In," in which the track comes kind of skippy and you feel it's kind of bouncing. So it's similar to Miami bass in some ways.
Rap-Up: I read where you said you didn't want this album to be a Born To Do It, Part II. What things did you try to do differently on Slicker Than Your Average?
Craig David: I think mainly it was production. Me and Mark Hill [longtime studio collaborator] got great formula when we write together and that was really cool. But I felt like I didn't want people to pick up the album and think, 'Well, the songs on this second album could've fit on the first one.' I wanted to show that I've been touring and vocally I feel I've progressed and I've got so many new things to talk about. Also I wanted to show the DJ side of me, the club-based tracks. It was pushing the production, making it a little bit more innovative without going too left field.
Rap-Up: Do you have a favorite song on Slicker Than Your Average?
Craig David: "Rise And Fall" is one of my favorites on the album. Not only having Sting do it on the track with me but the lyric is very poignant the way in which you can have success so quickly and how it can be taken away from you so quickly. I feel a lot of people take things for granted and if you don't stay focused it will be taken away from you and the next thing you'll be saying is, 'How did it all fall away from me?' I think it's one of those songs that I feel is very close to me personally, because I can relate to the things being said in the song and hope that I never come across the fall.
Rap-Up: Sting advised you, "Remember who you are." What advice would you give to a young artist?
Craig David: You don't miss your water until your well runs dry would be one quote I'd use. Again, it's just in life people take things for granted and you should try to appreciate every day as it comes and never plan too far ahead. I mean everyone's got their goals and aspirations but just kind of work hard from day to day because you never know what's around the corner. That's kind of my advice for young, aspiring artists and songwriters.
Rap-Up: How has your family reacted to your success?
Craig David: I recently bought my mom a new house so she's kind of vibing. They're cool. I think it's wonderful for my parents to say, 'Okay, our son is doing something positive with his life. He's not getting caught up in drugs, crime and violence, all that kind of stuff that can go on very easily when you've grown up in council-estates, which are like your projects in the States. Growing up in that environment, it's very easy to get caught up in those types of things, so I think they're proud that I'm doing something in the right way with my career.
Rap-Up: At 18, "Fill Me In" was #1 on the U.K. charts, making you the youngest-ever British male artist to achieve that.
Craig David: It was a dream come true, but it was so surreal that it kind of went by so quickly. I didn't quite know what was going on. Because you dream of the day to have a #1 record, and when it actually happens, you're like this can't really be me, can it? And you get taken away by the whole flow of everything. The next thing you're looking back thinking, 'Oh, how great that was when I had a #1 record.' That's one of the things that frustrates me slightly. I sometimes don't appreciate what is going on when it's actually happening. It's only after that you look back and think it's so cool when those things were happening. I'm trying now to appreciate where I am and what I'm doing. Otherwise, it all becomes a history thing for me.
Rap-Up: You've been a part of both the U.S. and U.K. music scenes. Can you talk a little bit about the two?
Craig David: I think because I've been so heavily influenced by American R&B and hip-hop music that it's wonderful to be in America and be submerged in all of that sound. And it inspires you to want to do things with your music. The great thing about growing up in Southampton is that I was able to listen to R&B and hip-hop music in a slightly different light. In Southampton the whole kind of gun, gangsta, champagne, flossing on 20s with ice wasn't really the same. So when I was writing lyrically I would try to bring something that was a little bit more real to the table. But I was very influenced by the way in which the music and the beats and the melodies sounded. So I think my swerve of that style of music was slightly different to what was going on in America. Because I think sometimes when you're in a place that's so influential like New York, for example you can end up being reactive instead of proactive. And you end up trying to jump on the bandwagon of whatever's hot at the time. So I think London has it's own little scene in its own little way and once in a while someone will break out and take it worldwide and it's nice to be part of that.
Rap-Up: You've said "collaborations need to be special." Are there any artists that you'd like to work with in the future?
Craig David: I think it would be really cool on the next album to do a more contemporary duet with someone, if I was going to do one. Someone like Usher or Justin Timberlake. Actually, I even think the way in which Jennifer Lopez handles herself is pretty cool at the moment. She doesn't try to adlib crazily on the song. She just comes up with quite a cool hook and it balances quite well. You never know. It's one of those things where if the song is right, then the artist will follow. You'll know who it suits perfectly. I'd definitely like to do a younger duet on the next album. I look forward to it.
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