Hey you guys! So, on March 8th @ 8:00 PM EST I recently had the chance to sit down and briefly ask a few questions to brand new Indie artist Jimmie Reign for a couple of minutes, I am really feeling this chick, she seems nice and happens to have a good head on her shoulders, anyway check out another one of the few Exclusive Think2wice.org Interviews conducted by me below. Also, while your checking out the transcript below feel free to listen and enjoy a rip track by Jimmie Reign entitled “Got For You” in the music player above, it kind of relates to Beyoncé‘s “Irreplaceable” I might do a showdown post later on…
Mike: What’s your name and where are you originally from?
JR: My real name is Jamesa (you say it like Juh-may-suh) and I am originally from California- born in the Tracy, Livermore area- then I was raised in the Bay Area.
Mike: So, how did you come about? Who discovered you?
JR: At around fourteen I started writing and singing hooks for my god-brother’s group (Side 2 Syde) and I also began singing in the studio, it was being ran by Mr. Derrick Mann. He managed me for a little while and through him I met other Bay Area rappers and artists. Later on I was managed by Paul Anthony (Full Force, Lisa Lisa), he was the person who really jump started my career.
Mike: What are your expectations involving this type of industry?
JR: Hmmm… Good question [smiles]! Honestly, I’ve been in this industry long enough to know that if you expect too much, you just get your feelings hurt. What I expect in this industry is for it to make me work harder because I will never have a chance [here] unless I do. I expect this industry to make me make sure I know who I am as a person, because the music business is fake and unless you know yourself , you can have a world of trouble trying to deal with the industry. I also expect to reach my goals. I feel this industry is set up to help you reach the top and then watch you as you fall. I’m out to prove that I can make it. I will not fail.
Mike: Did you initially have a drive for music? And if so how did you get your start in singing?
JR: I have always loved music! My dad is a minister so my sisters and I sang in church all the time. He was also involved in the music industry when he was younger so I always heard the stories and listened to the songs from when he was an artist, I guess it was always in me, but I knew I wanted to be a singer professionally the first time I stepped into the booth at the studio. It was like I was addicted and I just wanted to record as many songs as I could. After hearing the first song I wrote, at fourteen years old, I knew I had to do this for a living and I have just been blessed with the opportunity to do so.
Mike: Who are some your influences?
JR: Brian McKnight, Amel Larrieux, Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker, The Emotions, Nas, Biggie….love ’em all, they have had a huge part in the way I make music.
Mike: What can we find in your cd player right now?
JR:You will always find a Musiq Soulchild cd- I LOVE him!! Notorious B.I.G. “Life After Death“, Robin Thicke, Faith Hill and Beyoncé.
Mike: Do you get any say so when it comes to your sound, style, or distributions?
JR: Oh yes! Anyone who has worked with me knows that I MUST have complete control when it comes to this. I can act like a real “diva” if I don’t get any say in what is going on with my career. I do have a stylist, manager and producers I work with and they are very good at figuring out how far I will go, what I will and will not do. So when they present things to me, I am usually all for it.
Mike: I heard you have opened up for many different celebs throughout your career, who are some of the ones you have opened for?
JR: Yep…ummm R.Kelly, Raphael Saddiq, Goapele, J.Valentine, Bilal, Latoya London, and Keyshia Cole.
Mike: Do you feel your music will be influential or up to par with the music that is out right now?
JR: I know my music is influential right now. I know it because no one else knows what genre to put me in or what one artist to compare me to. It is flattering to know that I am different and that people can not put a label on my sound.
Mike: When can we expect an album to drop?
JR: I just completed the Go Girl Mixtape which is available for free download on my myspace page so I am really working hard at pushing that right now. I think by the end of this year I should be ready to drop a new album.
Mike: Have you used any artist samples for this project?
JR: Well this last cd, “Go Girl” was a mixtape so a good portion of the music is sample based music or music that was already done by another artist. It was fun “fliipping” the tracks to make it my own sound though.
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