How did you first hook up with Cash Money?

Baby and Slim came to L.A. in 1998 to promote Juvenile’s first single, "Ha." I had just dropped my single, "Westside," which was blowing up pretty big in New Orleans. They got on the radio and said they were looking for TQ, and my pager started blowing up with people telling me Cash Money was looking for me. I met them at the hotel that night and we exchanged phone numbers, and they told me they were loving my music. We built a relationship from there. It started out as a friendship and I ended up signing with them in 2001.

What was your label situation before that?

I was signed to Epic Records, but we were having problems. We couldn’t see eye to eye on the direction that I should go. Every record needs a good home, regardless of how good the music is. If the people putting it out are not built for that type of record, it’s not going to work, and that’s what the situation was. When I signed to Epic one regime was running the show, and they all got fired in the middle of my project. The next regime got a whole new plan and it was totally opposite of what I wanted. Baby and Slim finally made the offer, and basically told me that if I could get out of the Epic deal, they’d pick me up. I set about getting myself out of the deal. It took a year and some change, but it finally happened.

Have there been any major changes in your life since you signed to Cash Money?

My personal life, outside of music, is non-existent. All I do is work. I don’t have a problem with that, though, because that’s what I asked for. But, a lot of people that I dealt with before this don’t understand how the game goes. They don’t know what it takes to be successful, so a lot of people don’t understand what I’m doing right now. For some people who used to see and hear from me every day, now it’s cold turkey. It’s kind of rough on some people, but once it’s all said and done and I do what I have to do, I’ll be back. I look at having a personal life as a privilege right now. It’s all about work for me.

Are you concerned about being the only R&B artist on your label?

That was a plus for me. That’s my favorite part about it. I love the responsibility of holding down Cash Money R&B by myself. Signing me, they didn’t get a rookie. They got somebody who knows what this R&B world is about and how to deal with it. I feel like I’m up to the job and I can handle it all by myself.

Did you click with their in-house producers, Mannie Fresh and Jazze Pha?

Jazze actually did three songs on my first album, and I think my record is the first where Mannie was allowed to spread his wings. I knew he was a hot rap producer, but I didn’t know he was as talented and as gifted musically as he is. I know that now, and everybody else is going to know it when they hear the records that he did. It doesn’t sound like Mannie Fresh. He did some straight-up R&B classics on my album.

Have you moved to New Orleans?

Nah. Slim and Baby keep trying to sway me, but I can’t do it. I’m West Coast to the heart ‘til I die. That’s my spot.

There are similarities between the two places.

Yeah, the pace in New Orleans is slow just like L.A. Everything is laid-back, moving at a slow pace. But down there, they really into partying more than we are. They party all day, every day, the next day. In L.A., we’re kind of lazy. After 2, we’re trying to go home and go to sleep.

Where do you get inspiration from for your songs?

I heard the saying that art imitates life, and that’s the truth. The best artists are those that talk about real everyday life, what they’re feeling. Marvin Gaye, "Mercy Mercy Me." Curtis Mayfield, "Pusherman." Those are the songs that people always remember. The classics. The majority of them were written about life. Look at Tupac. The great ones always write about what they go through everyday. I think the reason it goes over so well is because there’s always somebody else that’s going through the same thing, even if it’s not exactly how you did it. Put a little twist on it and that’s somebody else’s story.

Do you have a favorite song on your album?

"Until," produced by Mannie Fresh. It’s the last song on the album. It’s my testament. It says, "Until they day I die, I’m going to hustle." I’m going to do what I got to do to feed my family by any means necessary, like it or not. You could put that on my gravestone. That’s the truest song on the record.

What sets you apart from R&B artists like Ginuwine and Jaheim?

I’m totally different from them cats. Not that I have nothing against them. Ginuwine is more performance, dancing. When I perform, I have a six-piece band and a microphone. Unplugged. I’m here to sing. I just know I’m not Jaheim. My street side is a little more genuine. I grew up in the middle of Compton. I never really dealt with R&B stuff before. I have always dealt with rap. I have always been the only singer in my circle. I think that’s what really separates me from the rest of them. The only thing that isn’t rap about me is the fact that I sing.

You have the reputation as being a rapper that sings. Does that work for or against you?

A little bit of both. Because of that mainstream may have been a little bit afraid of my first record. But as far as street credibility goes, it ain’t too many R&B cats that got more than I do. At this point, I’m getting older and I want to explore my talent, my gift and see how good I really am. I’m stretching it right now. It’s more of a songwriting thing. On this album, there’s more traditional R&B than on the last one. My main objective this time around was to cut off all the confusion about whether I’m a rapper or a singer. On this album, I’m singing all the way through it. - Jessica Koslow