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Calling the Bluff Music

Anthony Hamilton Talks “Home for the Holidays,” Memphis, and Christmas

The sound of Anthony Hamilton’s soulfully raw voice echoed throughout the Cannon Center Sunday night as he performed tracks from his latest album, Home for the Holidays.

But it didn’t stop there. The audience also got a chance to enjoy some of Hamilton’s classics like “Comin’ from Where I’m From” and “Charlene.”

The multi-Platinum, Grammy Award-winning artist is currently embarked on a 17-city “Home for the Holidays” tour, and Memphis was one of the scheduled stops. 

Following his engaging performance, I got a chance to talk with Hamilton backstage. He opened up about the initial struggle of recording Home for the Holidays, what it’s like to be a father of six during Christmas, his recent Grammy nomination, and Memphis’ influence on his music.

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To purchase Home for the Holidays, click here

This is your first Christmas-themed album. What inspired you to create this project?

Just real life. Living, and seeing what people go through. And the holidays brings about the feeling of wanting to love and to share and do all that stuff, yet in still, you’re still going through whatever’s happening in your relationship. And for the moment, it takes away all the pain and the hurt, or it reflects it. So what I did on this album was just speak about the real.

Listening to songs from the album, it sounds like you created the album primarily for the people who aren’t able to enjoy an extravagant Christmas.

Over half of the people have those struggles and have those unfortunate Christmases. I want to let them know that it’s not even all about that — spending your money. It’s about that quality time with the loved ones and doing something that means more to you than putting yourself in debt.

Is this going to be the first of many holiday-themed projects from you?

Yeah, well, I might even make an Easter album. Peter Cottontail; I like watching him. I might as well sing about him. (Laughs). You know what, this album will probably sell for years and years. And what I’ll do is try to take this album and recreate it, maybe add another feature on it, invite different guests to sing on it. You know what I mean? Just kind of restructure it. I don’t know yet, but it’s got me thinking about other things.

What was your frame of mind going into creating the project?

It was hot as hell, and it was summer, and I wanted to go outside and play. (Laughs). It took a while to get into that mode; it was the summertime. It was hard to stay in the physical spirit with everybody in biker tights and short shorts running around, going to the beach, and I’ve got to stay and finish this Christmas album. I wanted to get it done [and] out of the way. But once I started getting it finished and working diligently on it, it started to really become a beautiful peace of work. And all of the little interludes and things that we did on the whim became very special parts of the album.

Anthony Hamilton Talks ‘Home for the Holidays,’ Memphis, and Christmas


You’re a father.

Yes, I’m a father six times. I have six boys.

Considering that, what does Christmas mean to you? How important is it to be with your family during the holidays?

Christmas means I’ve got to spend a lot of damn money. (Laughs). Naw, Christmas is just a time to reflect and spend time with my kids and let them know, ‘Even though your daddy’s an entertainer, that stuff doesn’t really matter when it comes to being with you guys.’ That’s first and foremost. ‘But this is something that affords you some things that I didn’t have.’ I just want to let them know, ‘I can put this down and set aside time for y’all,’ because they’re that important.

On stage, you mentioned that you used to go to Isaac Hayes’ nightclub and restaurant. And you’ve collaborated with Al Green, which earned you both a Grammy. Can you talk about Memphis’ influence on you?

You’ve got all the greats that come from here; all of the good music that Memphis brings to the table. Even Nashville. You’ve got country. [With Memphis], you’ve got Stax, and just knowing that all of that stuff came out of here, you pay attention to it. Sonically, Memphis had a whole movement back in the day. I listen to it. It has influenced me, and I put it in my music.

Who are you listening to right now?

Who am I listening to right now? I listen to a little Ed Sheeran every now and again. T.I.’s album is banging. I’m a big hip-hop head. And Sam Smith, I like what he’s doing. Jennifer Hudson; she had a nice album. I like Young Thug.

I want to congratulate you on the Grammy nomination for “As,” your duet with Marsha Ambrosius. How did that come about?

I got the call to be in [The Best Man Holiday], and they were telling me about the song. I couldn’t really hear it in the way they described it to me. Once I did, I felt like it would be a great duet, but I didn’t know it would be Grammy nominated. But the movie was so powerful; just to be in it was incredible.

Anthony Hamilton Talks ‘Home for the Holidays,’ Memphis, and Christmas (2)


You’re also slated to star in an episode of Fox’s forthcoming musical drama television series “Empire” in January.

Yes. Hopefully, they’ll put that Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, [and] Denzel Washington light on me.

On another note, I like how you emphasized the importance of thanking the Lord during your performance. What motivated you to do that?

That’s what guides me. That’s what keeps me from going too far over the edge, and that’s just who I am. I’ve been loving the Lord all my life. I know what it feels like when I’m not spending time with Him. I know what it feels like when somebody doesn’t have Him. I know what those spirits are, so I try to keep a good balance, and try to put it out there for everybody else to feel comfortable with Him. Sometimes the church hurts people and makes people afraid to go back to it, so I just praise the Lord right here. I might be the closest thing to church they get, so I put it out there.

Is there any advice you would like to provide for up-and-coming artists out there?

If you love it, do it. If you don’t, get out the way for those who do. And just find something you’re passionate about and let it become your brand. Let it become something that drives you to want to do better.

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Calling the Bluff Music

Jeezy Talks “Seen It All” Album, Tour

CREDIT: 13th Witness

13th Witness

“Me and Goldmouth in his jeep, we on the road/All I seen was red and blue lights, I thought he told/ Butterflies as we going through this roadblock/Ask yourself questions like, ‘Is this where my road stops?’”

On the track “How I Did It (Perfection)” off his latest album, Seen It All: The Autobiography, Jeezy reflects on a highway drug run that almost earned him football numbers in prison. This is just one of many life stories the Platinum-selling artist shares on his seventh solo album.

Jeezy is currently embarked on a two-month, 35-city “Seen It All” tour to promote the project. And Memphis is among the cities he’s making a stop in. On Wednesday, November 12th, the Snowman will perform Seen It All live at Minglewood Hall.

Jeezy took time out to talk about his latest album and tour, Bishop T.D. Jakes’ issue with his “Holy Ghost (remix),” growing both musically and as a man, and why he prefers Avión over other brands of tequila.

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For tickets to his show at Minglewood, click here

You’ve been on tour for almost a month now. How has everything been so far?

It’s crazy, man. It’s real personable and it’s real intimate. It’s an experience more so than a concert or a show. Just telling the story and watching the way records relate to different individuals. It’s almost like being in a small church, honestly.

Would you say this tour is more monumental than previous ones you’ve embarked on?

It’s more for them. You know, when I get on stage, I tell them, ‘This is y’all night. Whatever y’all want me to do up here, I’m going to do it and some more.’ But it’s more so, like, it’s really having a good time. It’s almost like being a pastor at one of those churches that holds 10,000, and then you just say, ‘You know what, I’m going to go back to my roots. I’m going to go to the local neighborhood churches, and I’m going to talk to the people and give them the same Sunday but better.’ I’ve been on tour with Jay-Z. I’ve been on tour with [Lil] Wayne, with Wiz Khalifa. I’ve been on great tours, but at the same time, it’s like this is touching people.

Prior to undertaking your latest journey, you co-headlined Wiz Khalifa’s “Under the Influence of Music” tour. How was that experience?

It was a great tour. This one is personal, but that was a real tour. That was probably one of the best tours I’ve been on. There were a lot of different types of people that I had never heard and seen live. It’s crazy because almost every night I got a standing ovation.

I would like to congratulate you on Seen It All. I thought it was one of the best projects I’ve heard from you. Explain how you think this project differs from your previous efforts.

What I did differently, I was just more honest, more personable about it, and more straightforward about how I felt. And the G’s, we don’t really get into that. We heard Jay-Z write, ‘I can’t see it coming down my eyes, so I gotta make the song cry.’ It was his way of saying, ‘I know that I could never do it, but if this song feels that way to you, then go ahead.’ With me, when I say, ‘Seen it all,’ that’s what I seen — the good, the bad, and the ugly. And I still stood the test of time, but when you get into records like “Holy Ghost” and “No Tears,” those are really records that are real sincere. And I don’t think I would sit down and have that conversation with anybody, but through my music I can tell that story. But at the same time, I never made songs that was that vulnerable or honest like that. With Seen It All, I was real honest about everything. Even with the title track, I never really talked about exactly how I did it and how I pulled up at Magic City and what my view was like. At the same time, you take records like “1/4 Block,” that’s how I really felt my first day when I got on the block and I was hustling. I felt like I couldn’t be stopped. Those are real records. They weren’t made for the radio. They weren’t made for the clubs, necessarily. They were made for this tour because I wanted to go out and perform the record to people who really understand and know what it means to struggle and to hustle and to go through adversity.

  

So you actually created this album with the tour in mind?

Yep. I start it from the top, and I go all the way through it. That’s what I wanted. I didn’t do it for the radio and the clubs. I’ve done that so much, it’s like … you hear so many things on the radio and in the clubs, it’s not a place for real message music. And it’s just like, I’ve got radio hits, I’ve got club smashes, and it’s like, ‘You know what, let me take it back to the basics and go in these venues where I know these people really love me in and love this. And I’m going to do these records, and they’re going to sing along.’ They sing all the records word-for-word.

If nothing else, what do you hope listeners take away from the album?

I just hope they understand what it really means when somebody says, ‘I’ve seen it ll.’ It’s someone out there that’s seen the world, but when it comes to what we do and how we live, I think I’ve seen more than the average cat. I just hope they walk away with some type of gems, some type of jewels, understanding that, ‘Okay, when you get in situations in life, you can put this on and listen to it.’ I listen to Makaveli all the time. I listen to All Eyez on Me all the time because [2Pac is] pretty much the only person that understands where I came from. And he was ahead of his time when he was making those records. And I was just riding around listening to them. It was just cool, and I loved them because it sounded good. But now, I find myself picking up jewels and hymns out of his words, like, every other day. It’s like, ‘Damn, I just went through that. That just happened to me.’ So he was going through those things way before I was, but he was putting them in music form. So I hope that people can take what I’m saying and put them in music form, because it’s a different type of game out there now, a different type of hustle, and it’s a different type of world from when we came up, but the same rules always apply. That love and loyalty and that honor code, that G code. It don’t really apply because ain’t nobody really stressing it in their music and in their lifestyle.

You linked back up with Jay-Z on this project. Is it intimidating to go toe-to-toe on a song with one of the best to do it?

With me and Jay, it’s always been good. But I’ll tell you this, though, I feel like I’ve scrimmaged with him enough to be ready for that. Me and Jay got more songs than him and B.I.G. got. We’ve burned so many records and [rhymed] back-and-forth so many times, I feel like when it came around this time, I was ready for it. But it was perfect, though. We just performed it for the first time together in the Barclays for [Power 105.1’s Powerhouse 2014]. And to see that response, in front of 20,000, it was unreal. It was worth every minute of writing the record and waiting to perform it. 

Bishop T.D. Jakes recently expressed his disapproval of you placing an excerpt of a sermon he presented at the beginning of your “Holy Ghost” remix. What are your thoughts on the situation?

In all actuality, it wasn’t meant for that version of the record to come out, but I was actually incarcerated at the time, so I think it was a mistake on my engineer’s and my team’s part but nothing that was blatant. But I understand his position, so I wasn’t really tripping on it. I spoke to [Minister Louis] Farrakhan about it, and we both agreed that it is what it is. And we kind of let it go, but at the same time I can see him trying to separate hisself from what I do. But at the same time, it is what it is. I always say, ‘Give glory to God.’ And I really wanted him to know that his words reach people in all walks of life, too. And I really wanted them to hear that speech, because when I heard it, it touched me.

Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 served as your official introduction to the world. From that album up to this point, how would you say you’ve changed as an artist and as a person?

Thug Motivation, I feel like I’ve got that under my belt, so I would never try to recreate my first album, but I just think that’s a big platform to stand on. So with everything I do now, I just try to keep my message going. And I think now, I’m a lot wiser, I’m a lot smarter, I’m definitely a lot more calculated, and I’m evolving. If anything, I just feel like I’m evolving. When you think about B.I.G. and Pac, they weren’t in the position that they were five albums in and 10 years into the game, and they had to figure the dos and don’ts from a whole other perspective, because you’ve got to keep going with the times. I’m riding those waves and those currents and figuring it out as I go, and I just think that’s new. The only other person I ever saw do that was Jay. People don’t last 10 to 12 years in this game. It’s just like being on your shit and making sure you’re staying true to yourself and to the people that ride with you. But a lot of the people that was listening to me when Thug Motivation was out, they’re grown now, so they don’t wanna hear no ignorant shit. You gotta come with something with some sense.

In a recent interview, T.I. talked about you guys doing a joint-album titled Dope Boy Academy. What’s the current status of the project?

Right now, we’re just in conversation about it. We haven’t went farther than that. It’s just been some conversation back and forth, but we’re just going to see where that goes.

You’re the multicultural advisor for Avión tequila? How did that come about?

I’m sipping some right now. I’m at my favorite restaurant Spondivits sipping some right now. I’m a big tequila drinker. Right now, I’m drinking a margarita. That’s my favorite drink. But what it was, I was drinking Don Julio 1942, and one of my partners put me on Avión. And when I went over to Avión, I just talked to them about making my own version of 1942, and they were with it. And it just kind of started from there. And I really switched over brands. Instead of me drinking Don Julio, I just started drinking Avión tequila. And it went on to be a business venture. I met the owner, and we became friends. It just made sense for who I am, because that’s what I drink. Anybody [who] knows me, knows that I’m shots or some margaritas. Plus it’s good. It’s better than a lot of the other tequila brands that I’ve tasted.

What’s next for Jeezy?

I’m going to finish up this tour, and I’m going to get ready to hit these folks again. I’m ready for it.

A new album?

A new everything. A whole new look and everything. I’m ready.

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Music Music Features

Not Gonna Fall Out

Fresh off a three-month American tour, an African video shoot, and last month’s MTV Video Music Awards (where the band won “Best Group”), Fall Out Boy could have taken a much-needed break.

But that would mean stopping the momentum. And after scoring multiple hit singles from their latest album, Infinity on High, and gaining jillions of MySpace friends, the Chicago-based emocore outfit has generated considerable energy.

So the quartet — Patrick Stump (vocals), Pete Wentz (bass), Joe Trohman (guitar), and Andy Hurley (drums) — have teamed up with the Plain White T’s, Gym Class Heroes, and Cute Is What We Aim For for yet another cross-country tour.

They’ll be playing Mud Island Amphitheatre on Saturday, October 27th. Hurley (pictured at far right) took a few minutes before a show in Columbus, Ohio, to catch up with Flyer.

Flyer: You guys started out modestly in Chicago’s hardcore scene. Now, you’re a rock star. Is it all it’s cracked up to be?

Hurley: It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be when I was kid and dreaming of being in a band like Metallica. It’s a lot of work, but at the same time, I get to do what I love, and it’s my job. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really feel all that much like work.

Your breakthrough album, From Under the Corktree, scored double-platinum status. Was there pressure to create a bigger, better album with Infinity on High?

Not really. I think the pressure comes when a band isn’t writing the whole time they’re on tour. They go on tour for a year or two, and then they have to go into the studio after half-a-year off, and they don’t have anything.

In our case, Patrick had been writing a lot while on tour for Corktree. By the time we went in to the studio, we had so many songs, it was like, what songs do we want to use?

Are there any songs you’re sick of playing?

I’d say the songs we play the most. I still like “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down,” but I’d say it’s “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” that I’m the most sick of.

Is it a challenge being vegan on the road?

It was really hard when we were touring on a van, and we had to pay our own way. We didn’t have any money. Now I have a lot of stuff from Whole Foods stocked on the bus, so if there’s nowhere to eat, I have my own food to make. I think the hardest places to eat are overseas. It’s usually French fries, and that’s it.

Do you ever try to convert your band members?

No. At one point, everyone was vegan or vegetarian, but they went their own ways. I’m vegan because I think factory farming is horrible. I don’t personally think eating meat is wrong. I’m an anarcho-primitivist politically, which means I think humans are supposed to live the way we lived prior to 10,000 years ago. I think our relationship to what we eat is different than it was a long time ago.

You’re also the only straight-edge member of the band. As a rock star, drugs and alcohol probably surround you. How do you maintain such convictions?

At one point, everyone [in the band] was straight edge, and we all had each other to fall back on, but I’ve always had friends at home who drank or smoked pot or whatever. For me, it’s a political conviction where I’m just against what drugs and alcohol represent to the greater culture, so I never really find myself wanting to do them.

Fall Out Boy recently filmed the video for “I’m Like a Lawyer with the Way I’m Always Trying To Get You Off” in Uganda to raise awareness about the Invisible Children organization, which attempts to prevent children from being abducted to fight in the Lord’s Resistance Army. What inspired that?

That was Pete’s idea. Even though some of us stopped being vegetarian, we still have our same political ideals. He looked for an organization that he really believed in. A lot of charities don’t really help. But [Invisible Children] really puts money into the hands of the local communities.

The video shows a young Ugandan couple in love. But the guy is torn from his lover when he’s abducted for the army. It’s almost like a documentary.

Going there was one of the most life-changing things I’ve ever done. They’re not these separate people who aren’t humans. Seeing the kids on TV with the bloated stomachs makes them seem so distant. But when you know they still love and watch movies, hang out and play sports, it changes that. That’s why we did the video we did. I’m really, really proud of it.

After all this touring and video shooting, what’s next?

This is the last tour on this record. Then we might do some international stuff. But I think we’re going to take our first real break since we started. Then again, I know we already have a lot of new songs, and we always end up going in to record sooner than we think.

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Music Music Features

Isaac Does Europe

Isaac Hayes is back in town after a successful European summer tour that covered France, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Even steady rain didn’t dampen the enthusasm of fans in Wiltshire, located in southwest England, at the 25-year-old WOMAD Festival founded by Peter Gabriel. Even with a severe weather warning, Memphis’ own Oscar-winner gave the crowd of thousands an “electric” show. As one fan said, “To see someone like Isaac Hayes perform live is awsome, [especially when] he sang ‘Soul Man’ and then ‘Shaft.’ He was superb.'”
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