Do you love R& B crooners? If you do, iconic R&B crooners like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Peabo Bryson, and Jon B come to mind. You can now add J. Brown to that list.
Though is not yet legendary, with his musical chops, it is only a matter of time that J. Brown will be in that constellation of iconic male R&B songbirds. With his new CD “Forever Yours,” J. Brown sings about love, relationships, and honesty. Something that is solely missing in the current roster of top-charting songs.
And when it comes to chart-topping, Brown has charted at #16 on Billboard and according to MEDIABASE is the 34th top-played artist on urban radio. J. Brown graciously spoke with Fashion Reverie as he was on tour with Elle Varner’s “Evolution” tour.
Fashion Reverie: What is your musical background?
Brown: My musical background is Christian music and gospel music. I started singing in the church. From there I transitioned to singing in youth theatre and stage plays.
FR: You are from Detroit, correct?
Brown: Yes, I am.
FR: Your mother was a background singer working with Smokey Robinson. Could you talk a little about that?
Brown: My mother and my aunt had a singing group. Where my family lived there were a lot of Motown artists that lived in that vicinity. And new groups were popping up all the time and there were lots of school talents shows to hone your craft.
My mother and aunt’s singing group got signed by Smokey Robinson for Motown, but their careers were short-lived because my mother became pregnant with my oldest brother and that ended the singing group. My father was a pastor, so my mother continued to sing, mostly in church.
FR: What inspires you musically?
Brown: I would say my children and my overall love of music.
FR: Who are some of your favorite musical artists?
Brown: Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Gerald Lavert, Next, Silk, and Ted Riley. As you can tell, I love R&B crooners. I also love Sting and Bon Jovi. My taste is rather eclectic.
FR: How would you describe your sound and music styling?
Brown: My sound is rather unique because I tend to combine different music genres. And I don’t think I sound like anyone else.
FR: To prepare for this interview, I listened to several tracks from your new CD and your sound is very heartfelt.
Brown: That is an important part of my music. I want my music to really touch the soul. I want my music to be sincere and have substance.
FR: You are from Detroit so how does the musical stylings that comes out of the Motor City influence your sound and musical stylings?
Brown: Considering that a lot of R&B greats came from Detroit, I wanted to be a part of that old school sound and have that sound as a strong base of my musical style. And because that is so much of my inspiration, it is not a huge jump to understand that you find that Motown sound reflected in my music.
FR: Let’s talk about your current CD “Forever Yours.” What was the evolution behind this project?
Brown: This project was based on me wanting to put a sound I always wanted to have in my music. I wanted to talk about things that inspire me like love and relationships. Old school music is full of those musical conversations and I wanted to go back to that with love being the primary focus.
I wanted my music to detail how a woman should be treated. And the man who is not afraid to be transparent. Sometimes, the current music is all about a catchy beat with no real message. I wanted to bring back that R&B feel.
FR: Who is your audience?
Brown: I would say my demographic is early 30s to 60s.
FR: That’s what you think?
Brown: Yea, from shows that perform in that is who I see in the audience.
FR: I listened intently to three tracks on your CD and I think your demographic is much wider.
Brown: I think my listening audience and demographic should be and is much wider. But, at the end of day it is all our promotion and marketing. The music needs to be heard by a larger audience. The first track, “Allison” on the CD is for a younger audience. I have something on “Forever Yours” for everyone.
FR: You are currently on tour with Elle Varner’s “Elevation” tour. Could you talk a little about that?
Brown: The tour has been a phenomenal blessing, considering that I have always been a big fan of Elle Varner. Basically, this is a love tour. I am man, she is woman, and we are both singing about love and relationships.
The tour came about through connections and the overall respect that Elle and I have for each other. And it has gelled and here we are.
FR: How would you describe your personal fashion style?
Brown: I have a Euro style in that I like my clothes well-fitted, not too tight, but comfortably fitted. I am simple with my style, not too all over the place.
FR: Who are some of your favorite fashion designers?
Brown: I love Moschino, Lagerfeld, Gucci, and Fendi. I like some of things of Kanye West is doing.
FR: Wow, you have expensive tastes.
Brown: I do. Now, that doesn’t mean I can afford the clothes I like. However, I do have a lot of Lagerfeld shoes and boots.
FR: The music industry has changed so much with everything being digitized and consumers can download music for free or at a very low cost. That said; how are you managing to financially continue to create music and perform your art?
Brown: It can be a real financial struggle, especially when you have a family to support. What keeps me going is my love of music and my belief in my talent. You may have to grind and grind, but at the end of the day its about your belief system.
Images courtesy of 2R Entertainment & Media
FR: What’s next for you?
Brown: What’s next is getting more airplay and recognition with my new CD, “Forever Yours,” which is available on I-Tunes. I also trying to get my social media following up. I can be found at Jbrownmusiconly on Twitter and Instagram.
William S. Gooch
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