Robin Thicke has recently scored #1's on the album and singles charts in the States with his album The Evolution Of Robin Thicke and his amazing single Lost Without U. The legendary Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes approached Interscope Records saying he was desperate to be involved in the next Robin Thicke project. Robin then signed to Pharrell's Star Trak label and his album went on to go Platinum in the States.
Always carrying a heavy heart, Robin taught himself to play piano at the age of twelve so he could have an outlet to express himself. By the age of fourteen, he could play anything he heard on the radio. At sixteen, with no formal training, Robin began professionally writing and producing music for recording artists like Brandy and Brian McKnight. Over the years he has amassed dozens of gold and platinum records with artists including Usher, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson and Christina Aguilera.
Robin Thicke recently visited the UK for some promotional activities and an exclusive show at London's Jazz Café. Believe me when I say the press were jumping over each other to secure an interview with him! Does his new album justify this hullabaloo? I believe it does…
EUT: How are you enjoying your stay in London so far?
Robin Thicke: Very much! The last time I visited was when I was touring with John Legend. I'm performing tonight at the Jazz Café as well which will be good.
EUT: Let's go back a bit. How did you begin writing professionally for other artists?
Robin Thicke: At 16, I was a singer signed to Interscope Records and I had so many songs that I was writing for my own album I ended up giving them to other artists. The first song I wrote for someone else that I made money from was Brandy. It was a song called Love Is On My Side on her first album. I was 16 and she was 14!
EUT: What were you doing between your last album and this one?
Robin Thicke: I was struggling to stay alive and believe in myself. The label dropped me and picked me back up then I was put on Pharrell Williams' label [Star Trak]. Pharrell believed in me for a while and we put a record together which didn't really take off. Then we decided to put out the album and shoot one more video, which was Lost Without U. It became a big hit!
EUT: Did you ever feel like giving up?
Robin Thicke: No, I never felt like giving up on my music, I felt like giving up on my life a few times! I'm being dramatic here but I was very depressed. Imagine going to twelve years of medical school and then being told you can't be a doctor. That's how it felt for me.
EUT: When did you start recording The Evolution Of Robin Thicke?
Robin Thicke: As soon as I finished my promo tour in Italy a while ago I got home and immediately started working on this album. The first song I ever recorded for this album was with Faith Evans called Got 2 Be Down. I can't wait for everybody to hear the new songs; they're really special.
EUT: Would you ever want to go back to being behind the scenes writing for other people?
Robin Thicke: Never! I love performing and I think performing has become one of the strongest things I do in my life. I love the connection I have with the crowd. I would never want to stop performing or touring.
EUT: What was it like getting to #1 with your single and album in the States?
Robin Thicke: It was justification of thirteen years of hard work so it was a wonderful feeling and blessing. I'm grateful every day for the opportunities that I've had. I feel like it was a great reward for the work that was put into the album.
EUT: Do you think people are taking more notice of you now than before with your other albums?
Robin Thicke: I would say there are a million more people at least who are driving around with my album in their car. I'd say that's a huge difference from before. I went from never having a hit to having 12 weeks at #1. There are a lot more people sitting up and taking notice of me now, which is good news.
EUT: How did you get together with Pharrell Williams?
Robin Thicke: Pharrell was a big fan of my previous album and he was signing a new label deal with Interscope Records. He then asked about what I was doing. He was like '…this guy is amazing, you have to do something with him.' We were then put together and he's been helping me ever since to get my music to people out there.
EUT: I saw the pictures where you're looking slick like James Bond. Does he have any input to your image?
Robin Thicke: No, not at all. The problem is that people think I've changed my image but all I did was cut my hair. I've always liked to dress up and look nice. The first video that I had I was playing a bike messenger so I wasn't going to wear a suit for that. It probably would have made it a cooler video if I was wearing a suit though. Everybody would then understand that I was the guy singing in the video!
EUT: Why did you end up growing then cutting your hair?
Robin Thicke: I cut my hair because I never liked it or felt comfortable with long hair. I never felt like it was really me. I had short hair my whole life and then told myself I would never cut my hair until I got a record deal in 2002. I then got a record deal and everybody seemed to like the long hair. After I did that video and did a few shows I got rid of it. This look is definitely more 'me.'
EUT: Your music is quite different to what's out there right now, what would you tell people about it?
Robin Thicke: I would say it's soulful and honest and all of the songs are exactly what I've gone through the past three years of my life. I really wanted to tell the truth and let people know that we're all struggling to love ourselves and lift ourselves up.
EUT: What kind of topics do you address on this album?
Robin Thicke: The reason the album is called The Evolution Of Robin Thicke is because that's what the album is about. It's about having to pick yourself up when you fall down. I was at my lowest point, depressed and drunk all the time, totally defeated. All I had was my music to make me feel better and give me hope. Whenever I felt bad I would go to my piano and try to write songs that would express myself. My music heals me and gets me by. Lately it seems my music has been doing the same for other people as well. People tell me about their father dying or being beaten by their partners and say that the album gave them strength to get by and love themselves. There have been a lot of powerful statements being made.
EUT: There's a track on the album called Shooter featuring Lil' Wayne. What's the story behind that?
Robin Thicke: The song was on my first album and Lil' Wayne was a fan so he rapped over it and put it on his album. We then got together and put a version on my current album. I was in a bank that was robbed when I was 17. I was one of the only people in the bank with a lady. The guys were armed and they kept walking towards us pointing their guns right at me. The police didn't even arrive until they left! It was a little scary. It was actually cool because the wild thing about it was that they were around my age and they looked like friends of mine. I just thought about what could have made their lives so bad that they had to resort to something like robbery.
EUT: Now that this album is coming out, what do you hope to achieve?
Robin Thicke: I hope to be the biggest artist in the world and have my music loved and understood by everybody. I hope to put on shows that give people love and hope and make their sex life better!
www.robinthicke.com
www.myspace.com/robinthicke
Rashmi Shastri – Apr '07
