It's been some time since Compton, California born and raised recording artist TQ released a new body of music. As a matter of fact, it's been five years, which is more like a century in music industry years. Yes, he's been dabbling in songwriting and the like, but, it's still been five years since TQ last released a LP. That's a very risky move to make in the fickle urban music market, where they say you "fell off" after a mere six months away from the public eye. But when things aren't going right with the label, the creative process breaks down and the artist may feel he has no choice but to peddle his wares elsewhere. That, in a nutshell, is what went on with TQ and his former label.

During a recent bit of catching up, the former Epic Records signee told us a little about the situation. "A number of things in the label, this and that" said TQ, referring to his change in label association. "The CD was basically done before I signed the [Cash Money] deal. I signed a deal with Epic when I first got into the business, but there have been big changes over there lately. The new regime that came in was totally different in their opinion. That just had a snowball effect. I was going in one direction with the album and they had something different in mind. They wanted to scrap my image and move on to making me the next Usher."

Though Usher is a talented performer and songwriter. TQ says he wanted to be his own man. And that's exactly the reason why he signed to New Orleans-based, Universal Records distributed Cash Money Records. According to the recording artist, the situation is much different than at Epic. The primary difference is in his ability to communicate with the imprint's owners. "I'm loving it. We're on the same page. We're really working on the same page," TQ professed with enthusiasm. "There may be things we disagree on, but we can discuss it. There's no arguing about it."

After a bit of a wait, his new release it titled Gemini. Though it's seemingly obvious where he got the title from, we asked him to drop some scienece behind the title. "That's my zodiac sign and, on top of that, this is a little different from the last album. It's more of a traditional R&B album as apposed to the other one. I wrote everything, "the singer/songwriter confidently explained. "Gemini is an antithesis of Never Saw Me Coming. When you listen to my old album and compare it to this one, you'll see that this is the other side. This is the more civilized side, but it still shows hints of the other one. I still got that fiery, mad-at-the-world attitude about a lot of things - but not everything. I just really wanted to show the difference, how broad my spectrum is. I felt that God has blessed me with the talent and ability to relate to people on both sides of the fence and I just wanted to showcase that."

And that's definately what he's doing with the first single released from his new set, "Keep It On The Low", featuring Baby. It's a great sumemrtime song that's bound to get the party started at the drop of a hat. But it's not all fun and sunshione on Gemini. TQ has been known as an artist who writes from his gut and speaks on issues many of his contemporaries shy away from. As we spoke, he said he feels true R&B encompasses the scope of human emotions and is a great way to soothe the world. "I think with R&B, everything serves its purpose. That classic vibe just works for this day because of all that's going on in the world," offered TQ. "Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield thay had Vietnam going on, and everything else going on. Those are the same things going on right now."

An interesting fact that some of you may not have known is that TQ is the cousin of Jagged Edge's singing/songwriting twins, Brandon & Brian Casey. The talented trio make the song "I Remember" a family affair. Though that's all love, we had to ask him why it took so long to perform with his famous family members. "It was a long time coming," TQ reasoned. "We were both under the same umbrella, but for whatever reason we could never hook up. As soon as I came to Cash Money, I told them that I wanted my boys to come through." The resulting product is a soulful midtempo groove written by Brian and Brandon. Other pop music professors with their hands in Gemini's music pot are labelmate Mannie Fresh, producer Jazze Pha, NY-Based production crew Rainbow Entertainment and R&B/pop superstar R. Kelly. Kelly's talented hand can be heard on the party jam , "Up In The Club."

Though TQ hasn't released a set since 1998, his heat behind the scenes can be felt on the works of artists from many different music genres. The multi-talented rhythm and blues singer has written songs for N'Sync, Dru Hill, LFO and even country singer Clint Black.. Calling himself a songwriter first and a singer second, TQ says his writing credits were one of the best things that have happened to his career thus far. "I learned to spread my wings. Just because I do a certain kind of music doesn' mena I can't write other music," he explained. "I had to figure out a way to make money besides making records. A lot of people have perceptions that since you're in videos, have a lot of ice and this and that, that you're making a lot of money. The basic deal for an artist is 14 cent of an album. I've learned to seperate myself from the stuff that I write to be able to get a lot of different projects. I never turn anything down. There's probably artist far away who I've never heard of, that is recording an album and wants one of my songs. He might be the big thing one day."

With his priorities in order, a dedicated imprint behind him and several pots on the fire, TQ is using his talents and business savvy to make sure his stake in the game is a lucrative one. Gemeni, scheduled to drop during the summer, features a more mature and introspective artist. Not a new view, but a view of the opposite side of the same coin.