Right after my solo album this time next year, were planning on doing another Dru Hill album, so basically starting all over again from one. So this is kind of the end of that portion of my life. We did the third Dru Hill album in 2003, and now this will be my third solo album. Like I said, we started back in 1996 and I pretty much had a release ever since then. Sisqo: Well, actually its the end of that portion of my career. Now also with you releasing The Last Dragon and completing the trilogy, is this a hint of whats to come? ĪHHA: Back in October when The Best of Sisqo was released, a greatest hits album sometimes marks the end of a career. Im just some kid from Baltimore callin all the shots. When Im controlling the content, the music, my look, everything, the distribution kinda looked at it like they were like a side job. You know, with a lot of the distribution its all about control. Its like Im writing the music, producing the music, the music is on my label. I think what happened between me and my distribution and how we kinda fell out because I think they were a little upset with how much power I had at such a young age.
Well what happened was, I learned way back in ∙9 that it probably would be in my own best interests to put my music out on my own label. Is that the result of what happened previously with Dru Hill in terms of your label issues and also, as you stated, your past issues with your distribution as a solo artist? So thats pretty much it.ĪHHA: You have a really active role in the business behind your music. Weve got our iTunes stuff together, and even though were going for ads for my first single Whos Ur Daddy closer to the Spring, youre already able to purchase it now on iTunes and on. We found the best way to do that was to be on the cusp of the digital revolution, because everything is going digital. I just wanted to make sure this time when I came back out, we didnt have that margin of time to be I wanted to stay consistent.
So Ive been in the industry, just not out there in the public eye. In 2005, The Best of Dru Hill came out, and is where were at. In 2003, we released that album, 2004 we were on tour overseas. was something that I really wanted to focus on, because the last time I had a solo album was way back in 2001, and then 2002 I started working on the new Dru Hill album. I havent really been gone its just trying to find the right way to resurface into the industry here. Instead of just coming back out the traditional way, my team and I did some research to find out how we could eradicate the issues that kept me away for so long. We were just at odds for like so long that eventually my contract was up and I was able to move forward. And, you know, when you work with certain distribution they have their own agenda on how your music should be facilitated to the public and what have you.
Im a performing artist and have been pretty much on the road ever since 1996. My old distribution, man, we were at odds with the way my music was facilitated to the public because Im always recording music. A lot of people dont know that all of my earlier music Thong Song, Got to Get It, Incomplete that was all on my label, and I had distribution. Sisqo: I have a whole team of people that have been helping me facilitate my music in a different way. Sisqo: Ive been basically getting my soldiers together to lead the digital revolution. With a firm grip on the business behind his music, Sisqo spoke with us about entering the digital age with his dukes up, his issues with past distribution deals and R&B “clones”, and the story behind him and Mya.Ī Alternatives: So where have you been? The conclusion to his trilogy – The Last Dragon – will be released this Spring, led by the single Whos Ur Daddy? While group breakup speculations, rumored pregnancies and lingering sexuality debates hang overhead, Sisqo remains unfazed. Ten years later, he and his Dru Hill comrades can still sell three million records on a bad day. Unlike many of his peers, Sisqo still holds the mantra that he is where he is for his fans and because of them. Regardless of the critical jabs, no one will ever pronounce that thong-th-thong-thong-thong with one syllable again. Lead singer Sisqo became the focal point of both praise and criticism throughout the group’s successful years and his own solo endeavors. Its been well over a decade since we met the R&B quintet Dru Hill.